Angela Smith Guest Post:
I went to the eye doctor the other day. I’ve been going to that office for at least twenty-five years now, and even though the staff changes, I’ve only been through two actual doctors, and they are related. The first retired, but his son-in-law took over.
I’ve known them a long time, so while the conversation we had might feel odd for some patients, for me it was completely natural.
Last year, he went through an unexpected divorce. So what did he do? He decided that three weeks out of the year he would do something adventurous. He calls it adventurous, but some would call it crazy. This October, he is visiting Peru. In June, he visited Sumatra. He’s done a few other things and I lamented that I’m not near that adventurous.
My first comment to him when he said he went to Sumatra was did you get to enjoy the coffee? Because I love coffee and Sumatran is one of my favorites. He said “Oh you mean the cat?” And I’m confused. No. I mean the coffee. Then he explains to me that there is a certain coffee bean in Sumatra where an endangered cat eats the leaves of this bean and poops it out. They then take that poop and extract the beans or what have you, and they brew coffee. In New York, you can buy one cup of this coffee for $800. He got to try it for free.
I have cats. I love my cats. But I’m not sure I’d want to try anything, including a rare coffee bean, from their poop.
Apparently it is a thing. And he tried it, said it was okay but not worth $800. Of course it doesn’t cost that in Sumatran country, but it’s one of those rare trends in this country that I would have never discovered if not for that conversation.
So what does that have to do with my release of Dark Justice?
He spoke of his adventures, many of them harrowing. I’ll keep most of my adventures to my books, thank you very much. But it was interesting too, because he said years ago he did nothing but work and go home and relax after a hard day. After his divorce, he decided to do three new adventures a year. And I see many of us doing what he did after work. Go home. Do nothing. Too much honey do list on weekends. I love to read, I love to write, but I think a bit of adventure outside of those pages is important as well. And if you can do it with your partner, all the better! Not always either though when life is full of responsibilities, right?
In Dark Justice, Luke and Lauren were high-school sweethearts before he was sentenced to prison. In the past, they often took turns surprising each other. Once they rediscover each other, they rediscover those important relationship goals, which is so important in relationships today. Going home and resting is great, and I do it all the time! But date night is also important to marriage, even if it means having dinner at home, listening to music, and looking at the stars! But adventure is important! Going to a state park, watching the rare Harvest Moon on Friday the 13th, does wonders for date night!
Here’s a quick paragraph excerpt from Dark Justice during a weekend they devoted to surprise each other:
Lauren ate a light breakfast, too excited to eat. Sipping the mimosa, she dipped her brush in the paint and wondered why she hadn’t painted with Laramie. Why hadn’t she shown Laramie how important it was to embrace your creativity? Life shouldn’t revolve around work. Going to school, going to work, going home and forgetting your dreams. Dreams could exist in the real world. She could work a full-time job and still make time for aspirations and creativity.
Her brush swept across the page. She painted a tree shrouded in lights, similar to the tree on Luke’s property. A woman wore a delicate white dress that swayed as she danced under a bright moonlight. Then animals popped out under the moonlight. Birds, bunnies, foxes and frogs.
Everything she had felt—the difficulties, fear, hopelessness and everything she’d been tempering for the last decade—flowed from her paintbrush.
I hope you enjoyed this short excerpt and post, and thank you so much! Now…I’m suddenly craving Sumatran coffee. But not with cat poop. Although if it was available I might be tempted.
What do you think? Would you try coffee made with cat poo?
Title: Dark Justice
Author: Angela Smith
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 17, 2019
Synopsis:
She’s in love with her sister’s killer…
Lauren has loved Luke since first grade. They planned to marry—until he murdered her sister. The moment he was sentenced to prison, Lauren fled with her secret baby and made a new life. Now she’ll do anything to keep their daughter safe. But her hard won peace shatters when Luke is exonerated, and it sets her on a path of mixed emotions to discover the truth. Letting a killer into their tightly knit family is out of the question. Or is it?
She almost destroys her life by threatening his…
Prison stole his future with Lauren and twelve years of Luke’s life, so the last thing he needs from her is a knife in the back or a gun in his face. Lauren believes he killed her sister, and he has no plans to pick up where they left off. Luke can’t afford to trust her, but he wants nothing more than to convince her he’s worth fighting for.
Their daughter is in danger…
Luke is heartbroken when he learns they had a child together. Now his daughter is in danger. Lauren trusted the wrong person for far too long, but he hopes she’ll now trust him. Luke will risk everything to keep them safe. And Lauren will risk everything if she lets him into her heart.
About Author:
Angela Smith is a Texas native who, years ago, was dubbed most likely to write a novel during her senior year in high school. She always had her nose stuck in a book, even hiding them behind her textbooks during school study time. Her dream began at a young age when her sister started reciting ‘Brer Rabbit’ after their mom read it to them so often. She told her mom she’d write a story one day and never gave up on that dream even though her mom was never able to see it come to fruition. By day, she works as a certified paralegal and office manager at her local District Attorney’s office and spends her free time with her husband, their pets, and their many hobbies. Although life in general keeps her very busy, her passion for writing and getting the stories out of her head tends to make her restless if she isn’t following what some people call her destiny.
Connect with Angela Smith:
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