Synopsis
Alex had everything when he was with Madison. But the darkness within him wouldn’t go away.
After two years apart, he returns to Pelican Bluffs and to the girl he never wanted to leave. Madison wants to give their love another chance, but Alex can’t fight fate.
He is what he is.
Ruined. Crazy like his mother. And Madison deserves so much more. When his secrets spill out into their small town, Alex has a choice to make. Hide away in the darkness forever, or let love in.
Author Q&A
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
1. I’m half Chinese; my father’s family immigrated from Shanghai in the 1940’s2. My father’s a glider pilot, so when I was a kid I spent a lot of weekends hanging around the airport and flying planes.
3. I’ve got more names than you can shake a stick at. I was born Emily Mary Mah and my Chinese family gave me the name Shi Yue. Then when I married my husband I got the last name, Tippetts, so I can do a lot of different pen names and still have them be my real name.
What book are you currently reading, and in what format?
Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams, as an ebook. I’m going to serialize it for him so I’m reading to find the best places to break each episode.
Do you have a book that you read over and over?
The Bible and the Book of Mormon, but I assume you mean a novel. When I was a kid it was King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. Nowadays I never find time to re-read a book, though!
Is there a book you know you’ll never read?
The rest of the Twilight series. It just isn’t my kind of thing.
You’re deserted on an island. A genie appears and gives you six wishes. You can’t wish for more wishes, and you can’t wish to be home. You can only wish for three specific items and three people to have with you. What are your wishes?
A computer with magical internet access so I can keep writing. A study home to live in that won’t require a whole lot of maintenance. A boat and fishing equipment.
The people are easy. My husband and two boys!
If you could time travel, where would you go first and why?
To the future, past when I can expect to live naturally, simply because there’d be no other way for me to find out about it.
What are you currently working on, and when can we expect to see it for sale? (title if you have it and a synopsis)
The title is Break It Up and it’s a new adult romance. Kyra Armijo (whom some readers will know from my Someone Else’s Fairytale series) gets the chance to work on a documentary about the chart topping boy band, Triple Cross. As part of the job, she goes on tour with them in Europe where she strikes up a romance with one of the band members. Since she assumes it’s all an act on his part, she doesn’t bother to tell him about her racy past, which would destroy him if the tabloids found out. Things get awkward when she realizes he’s being sincere, and even more awkward when one of the other band members tries to compete for her attention.
Excerpt from Love in Darkness
“We have to break up,” I hear myself tell her. I’m standing on the rocky beach, my back to the crashing surf. In front of me is Madison, gazing up at me with pure pain in those ice blue eyes. Behind her is the rugged rock wall of the cliff face.Her hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail and the breeze stirs the wisps that frame her face. The air is cool, but not cold. “I know myself, all right?” I explain. “The moment you move on, I won’t be able to take it. So I’ve got to let you go.”
“Don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Take it back. Please. Alex, I don’t want to break up.” Her eyes are wide, like clear, crystal pools.
“And I need you not to write to me,” I say.
“Why?” Now she claps both her hands over her nose and mouth as if to hold back pain or tears, or whatever it is shining from her gaze.
It takes every ounce of my control not to back down. I have to stop kidding myself and finish this. “Because, I don’t want to know the moment you move on. I just… I need you to give me space.”
“You’re going to Japan. That’s not enough space for you?”
“I’m sorry, all right.” I back away, stepping carefully on the rocky beach. “But it’s not like we were ever going to last.”
“Why not?”
That, I should think, is obvious. Because the two of us together makes no sense. She’s beautiful and popular and has guys lining up around the block for a chance to be with her. I’m a high school dropout with a criminal record and no future. She should be embarrassed to be with me. Eventually we’ll both have to grow up. At least I’ll have the memories.
As I turn away, I hear her scrabble behind me, then the rapid beat of her boots against the stony ground. “Alex, wait.” Her tone is anguished.
I set my jaw against the pain, like I’ve stitched my own heart with a silk thread and am now yanking it hard enough to tear the organ. I keep walking.
She grabs my hand, her supple fingers wrapping around my palm. “Stop.”
I stop, but I don’t turn.
It doesn’t matter because she darts around in front of me and puts one arm around my waist. The other hand she slides up my back to grasp my shoulder. Her soft curves fit against my body. It’s how she always holds me, and I can’t endure it this time. I bow my head and just let the tears fall.
“Alex,” she whispers, touching her forehead to mine, that soft breath against my lips. “Don’t, okay? You promised you’d never hurt me.”
At that I let out a sob. Forget saving face. She knows me for who I am anyway and now she’s wiping away my tears. “Listen,” she says, “you need me not to distract you from your mission, fine. But I’ll always be here for you, and when you come back, I’ll be waiting.” She strokes my cheek with the backs of her fingers and leans up to press her lips against mine.
I don’t want to kiss back, but at the same time, I can’t resist. She runs her fingers through my hair and the kiss goes on and on until I’ve got both arms wrapped tight around her and I’m drinking in her essence, liquid fire that pools in my core. I have to stop this.
But when I do, she doesn’t let me pull back. She leans in and looks me straight in the eye. “I’ll wait for you. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. Let’s not end things with a fight, okay? Let’s end it on a good note for now.”
“Goodbye, Madison.”
“Bye, Alex. For now.”
“I love you.” I don’t mean to say it, but it slips out, my whisper barely loud enough for me to hear it myself.
Madison’s chin snaps up. “What?”
I shake my head, willing her not to press me.
“Alex-”
I start to pull away but she reels me back in, not by force, but with her gaze. Her eyes beg me not to leave. She puts one arm around my waist again and slides her other hand up my back. “It’ll be all right. Everything will be all right,” she says.
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About E.M. Tippetts
Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance as E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah. She is a former attorney with degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and business law from UCLA. These days she lives in New Mexico – the place where she grew up – with her family.
She also designs book covers and formats paperbacks and ebooks for her company E.M. Tippetts Book Designs.