Showing posts with label Cynthia Terelst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cynthia Terelst. Show all posts

Monday, July 6, 2020

Time for a game - are you up for it? @CynthiaTerelst #DownUnder #SecondChanceRomance #Giveaway


 
By Cynthia Terelst (Guest Blogger)

Thank you, Lisabet, for allowing me to visit your blog to introduce my new book, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.

In August last year, my daughter moved to a new town for work. She told me how, in this small town with just one short street of shops, there was a top pub and a bottom pub, and at bottom pub people remembered your name. You could go in only once every few months and they would still remember you.

I thought this was really interesting. I made a random post about it and one of my friends said it sounded like a puzzle. So I thought, why not write a book revolving around a scavenger hunt. But of course, that couldn’t be the whole premise of the book. So I created a second chance romance which was based around a fake, million dollar scavenger hunt. And then, because I like to deal with real life issues, I added a subplot about loss and how that has an effect on relationships.

You can’t have a scavenger hunt without places where to find the treasure. After I decided I would set the book in Sydney, Australia, I needed to figure out where the treasures were going to be hidden. Writing the clues to direct the players to those places was a challenge. It sounds easy. But, trust me, it’s not. You need to provide enough detail for them to get to the answer, but still be vague enough so they cannot guess straight away. To add to that, you need to take readers on a journey of discovery with the charcacters.

Today, I am going to share a set of clues with you from the book. The first reader to guess the correct destination will receive an eBook of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. The book is set in Sydney, Australia so if you are playing along, direct your investigation there.

  • Nobody knows how many people died here.
  • It was the last place many people saw after arriving in Australia.
  • The grave diggers did not keep detailed records, and some bodies were buried in unmarked graves on a hillside, at the bottom of which was the water supply.
  • Visit the home of the gravediggers to find your first item. The only way to find it is in the dark.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Will one of the treasures they find be each other's heart?
It’s been five years since Tara walked out of Shepherd’s life without a word. Since then he’s spiralled through drugs, alcohol and empty relationships, with Tara on his mind the whole time. Now he wants to win her back, and what better way to do it than by creating a fake scavenger hunt? He knows she won’t be able to resist.
Tara’s lost enough loved ones and she didn’t want to see Shepherd added to that count. So, when she saw him high at graduation, she did the only thing she could – she walked away. When she’s teamed up with him for a million dollar scavenger hunt, the feelings reignite. For a second chance at love to work, she needs to be brave enough to open up to him, to tell him everything she withheld the first time around.
Shepherd didn’t realise how much winning would mean to Tara. He now needs to come up with $3 million for her foundation before the hunt is over. If he can’t he will need to tell her its all fake, and he doesn’t know if he can risk that.
Will secrets destroy them a second time around?

Excerpt

Tara

Shepherd and I sat on the couch side by side and watched The Martian while we ate dinner. The warmth from where our arms touched seeped through me. I should have moved away, but I didn’t want to. The spices from the tacos radiated off him. What would they taste like when mixed with the sweetness of him? My eyes were drawn to his lips, the curve of them. I could practically feel their softness.

Shepherd turned his face to mine. My eyes lingered for a moment as I imagined his soft breath brushing my face as he bent his head toward me. My breathing shallowed to the point that it was nearly non-existent, as if I were a starfish. I turned my face away and resumed watching the movie, making sure my hands kept to themselves and my thoughts remained on the man saving his own life on the screen. Matt Damon may have been the most attractive astronaut I’d ever seen, but he was nothing compared to Shepherd.

The movie ended and I sat there while the credits rolled. Our closeness suddenly made me feel like we were in a flux capacitor. Time—five years of it—had been starved, and now it was swallowing me whole. Everything about Shepherd felt like home. Everything. And if I allowed it to, this feeling wouldn’t just swallow me, it would become me.

I jerked away from him, my heart racing, my skin cold, while I broke into a sweat. I couldn’t allow this to happen. Shepherd was no longer my solace. He never truly was because he never knew my grief. My grief over my brother. The feelings of loss at my parent’s death.

No, Shepherd was not my solace. Not then. Not now.

Buy Link

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited



About the Author


Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love. Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.

She lives in Queensland, Australia, where the sun shines at least 283 days a year.

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Have you had a fortunate life? #Romance #Giveaway #Australia @CynthiaTerelst

Cat's out of the bag cover
By Cynthia Terelst (Guest Blogger)

Hi everyone,

I’m Cynthia Terelst. I write contemporary romance with some heat. Thank you to Lisabet for inviting me to share a story with you today.

When I think about the question above, my first instinct is to say no. I don’t have riches or drive a fancy car or wear designer clothes. But living a fortunate life does not need to be about money. I’ve survived a suicide attempt, heartbreak, domestic violence, and mountains of debt. That to me is fortunate. Surviving, living, is fortunate.

And on top of that I have done many amazing things. My daughter and I travelled around Australia for three years with our cat and dog. There were many reasons we did this, but the most significant was the number of hours I worked and how I was missing watching her grow up. The trip had the desired effect; we are close, almost like sisters.

Some of the places and experiences mentioned in my first novel, The Cat’s out of the Bag, are from our travels. We did climb a fire tree like Evie and Jesse, but only made it to the first platform. My daughter’s ten-year-old legs were too short to make in the rest of the way. But when you think about it, climbing 30 metres (over 90 feet) up a tree using only steel pegs driven into the side of the tree, with no safety harness or netting is pretty impressive for anyone, let alone a ten-year-old. (Sorry, I can’t share a photo, but if you google Fire Tree Pemberton you will see what I’m talking about.)

Ultimately, The Cat’s out of the Bag is a love story, with some Australian scenery. We watch Evie and Jesse’s relationship grow. It’s not always an easy path, just like any relationship. The book touches on tough subjects like domestic violence and trust. Rest assured, this is not a totally serious book, there are many places where you will laugh.

Giveaway - I would like to give an eBook of The Cat’s out of the Bag away to one lucky reader. Please tell us why you feel you have a fortunate life. The winner is selected randomly and is not based on the best story. We are all fortunate in some way and this is a good opportunity to appreciate that.

The Cat’s Out of the Bag

One van. Two hearts. Thousands of kilometres.

Jesse’s a self-made billionaire who yearns to get away from his empty life and the money-hungry parasites who inhabit it. The plan? Go to Australia, tell no one about his money and find himself. Instead of finding just himself, he finds Evie, who is everything anyone should aspire to be. Now, what he aspires to be, is hers. But to be hers, he needs to tell her everything.

Evie has left her past behind. She has rebuilt herself, and her life, into one of happiness. After she meets Jesse, while volunteering at a cat shelter, memories of her past filter back in. She is stronger now and wants to trust him. But after all she has been through, is trust even possible?

The quest to find a cat a forever home leads them to travel across the country together. Can the close quarters drive them to open up to each other? Or will it drive them apart?

Excerpt

Jesse

The wave petered out, and I paddled back to the line-up. Sitting, watching, waiting. The constant breeze in my ears and the sound of waves breaking relaxed me. Lulled by the gentle rise and fall of the swells, I thought about Evie.

She was one of the most complicated people I’d ever met. Whatever she had been through had made her strong and independent. But underneath, she was all doubt. I could see her trying to be brave, but that could change in an instant as her insecurities took over. I felt like it was a fight between Nick and me, and I didn’t even know the guy. I didn’t know how to beat a ghost. But I would. I would figure it out, and I would gain Evie’s trust, bit by bit.

Her. Me. That’s what I would strive for.

Buy Link


About the Author

Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love.
Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.

She lives in Queensland, Australia, where the sun shines at least 283 days a year.
Social Media Links










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