Tag: Ivy Bennett

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.
Today’s snippet is in Ivy’s POV.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Ivy pressed her lips together before she replied, “Not this time, Dylan. There’s always an excuse for your drinking. Your father’s death. Your broken leg. The police taking your bike—”

“Hey, that was truly unfair,” he interrupted.

“And now your job. I want more of this life other than this trailer and surviving from week to week.”

He raked his hand through his hair. “Okay, honey. We can do that.”

“No!” She reached for her bag and began throwing her few belongings in it. “I can do it, but on my own.”

With heavy shoulders, she sat on the edge of the bed. “I need to do it,” she whispered. “I owe it to myself to find out whether I was meant for bigger things.”

At some point in her life, things had gone bad. She’d been raised by her mom, who had worked hard to make ends meet every day. Leaving her at the age of only twenty-two, Ivy had been in search for more in her life. More than working all day only to wake up the next morning to do it all over again—and not getting anywhere. Her mother had always said that much of life simply happened and was out of their control.

Well, Ivy disagreed.

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.
Today’s snippet is in Ivy’s POV.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Well, Ivy disagreed.

She looked up at him and saw him raise a brow. “Bigger things?”

Letting out a big breath, she stood again and continued packing. “Yes, bigger things. A humble house with a small backyard. With flowers of all colours. Planting my own vegetables. Children to love and hug.” She turned and pointed at the tiny bathroom. “Something bigger than this little box.”

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I’ll come with.”

“No, Dylan. This is going to be my journey.”

When he placed his hand on her arm, she slowly met his gaze.

“Honey, we can work on this.”

She exhaled another long breath. “We’ve been working on this for three years now, Dylan. It’s time to concede defeat.”

Concede defeat. She shivered at the phrase. Defeat meant battle. Had her relationship with Dylan been a battle? Was there a winner or a loser?

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

“Mate, what on earth is PedXing?”

The guy chuckled. “Short for pedestrian crossing,” he replied.

Jared let out a snort. “Yeah, I don’t think I would’ve guessed that one. I’m glad they told me to look for RV and not Caravan Park.”

With a little shake of his head, he waved his hand as a thanks and left, still chuckling about the PedXings abbreviation. A country speaking the same language and more or less having the same background, yet, being so different surprised him. But why? Why did it? After all, it’d been over two hundred years that each country had evolved in a different way.

Jared returned to his motorhome, drove to his allocated spot, and got ready for the night. It’d been a full, packed twenty-four hours, leaving him exhausted and tired. He was going to explore Sin City the next day.

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

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Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Once he arrived at the rental place, he went through the procedure of checking the motorhome, filling out papers, getting acquainted with the steering wheel on the left side instead of the right, and adding the first stop to the GPS.

Las Vegas.

Following the GPS wasn’t all that hard, and Jared made it out of Los Angeles alive and in one piece. Somewhere close to San Bernardino, he stopped to stock up on food and then made his way up through the San Bernardino National Forest towards Vegas. It was going to be a long drive on the first day, but he was sure he’d make it. He tilted his head, working a kink out of his neck and occasionally rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes with the palm of his hand, but the excitement of driving through America for four weeks in the little motorhome kept him wide awake in anticipation.

The library staff had provided him with piles of books and website addresses to find out where to go and what to see. Vegas hadn’t been on many of those lists but had always been mentioned as You’re there, you might as well go and have a look. And that was what he was going to do. He drove along, humming along to the American country music blaring from the radio. There wasn’t much to see in this vast part of California. The land was barren and dusty, with mountains clearly visible in the distance. The colour play of the blue sky, brown land, and patches of green, all highlighted by the sun. Although unchanging, the scenery kept him interested. Yet, Jared was pleased when he finally made it to Vegas later that afternoon, and after driving around a little to get an idea of the city, he found an RV Park, and checked in. About to exit through the office door, he turned and asked the man who had served him, “Mate, what on earth is PedXing?”

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

“Mate, I’m closer to forty than I am to thirty. One would think I can look after myself,” he’d said.

Sophie had laughed, but his friend hadn’t been convinced at all. Jared had packed Mark’s list with phone numbers, internet addresses, and the lot, but wasn’t sure whether the list had been packed in the bag which had been left at home, because, at the last minute, he’d decided to travel light.

Jared looked out the window towards the sky. Yet, it wasn’t like the sky he was used to at home. It looked a bit like Hobart’s sky on a hot summer’s day with a nasty front approaching, with a fire in the distance, and the smoke still lingering.

He’d asked the taxi driver to get him to the motorhome company in Hawthorne. His mouth curved at the idea of having flown over the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, without the ‘e’, twenty-four hours earlier, only to end up in a place called Hawthorne again. The drive was surprisingly short and pleasant. The traffic he had expected wasn’t there, but nonetheless he stared in amazement at the number of lanes on the freeway. There were four on each side. And they still had traffic jams! His tired eyes took in the surroundings, the suburbs, the houses, and the many things that were so similar to Australia — yet so different.

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Hi everyone –

We’re back from our travels to the southern island of New Zealand.
As always, we had a wonderful time and I’ve returned with many new book ideas … watch this space!

I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Finally, after what seemed like an endless morning of shuffling through the Los Angeles airport, he exited the building only to be stuck again in yet another queue—waiting for a taxi.

It took half an hour or more to get a taxi before Jared was on his way to his next destination.

His gaze was glued to the view around him, taking in the big city of Los Angeles. The well-known high rises in the centre of the metropolitan, the mountains in the background, and opposite, the Pacific Ocean. He had spent most of his life in the small city of Hobart in Tasmania. Never really having had the urge to travel or the interest to explore other places, he’d only visited Melbourne and Sydney a couple of times for landscaping exhibitions. There had been someone in Sydney he’d visited occasionally, but that had been a while ago. Even then, he had booked the hotel as close as possible to the exhibition centre to avoid having to deal with the big city. He had coped and survived. And he’d relished returning home to Hobart. No wonder Mark had nearly freaked out at the idea of him not only leaving the country but out of all places going to America—On. His. Own.

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

The woman behind the counter had looked to be in her thirties, and although carrying a stern look on her face, he did get a smile that lit up her lovely brown eyes and softened her expression. Yet, the massive amount of questions she asked him left him feeling as if he was back at school, and he didn’t want to fail and be sent back to Australia.

“Bringing in any medication?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Any food.”

“No, ma’am.” He hesitated. “Ah, ma’am. I have a few leftover bikkies in my bag?”

The customs officer looked up at him with a blank face. “Bikkies?”

A fine sweat beaded his upper lip, and his palms moistened. “I suppose you’d call them cookies.” He grabbed the package out of his backpack and showed her the item in question.

She laughed, and it was a genuine and beautiful laugh. Not just a polite one, but also the kind that came from deep within. With a slight shake of her head, she replied, “Only you Australians could come up with a word like bikkies.” After a moment’s pause, she told him, “They’re all yours, honey.” And she proceeded with taking his photo and fingerprints.

With a little chuckle at himself, he grabbed his bag thinking immigration wasn’t all that bad.

 

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Two weeks later and after fourteen hours stuck in a crowded plane, Jared set foot on American soil. Actually, he didn’t set foot on soil but on one of the buses that transported a whole airplane full of tired travellers to the terminal for immigration purposes. It was still early in the morning. In fact, it was two hours earlier than he had left Melbourne. A fact that amazed him and showed how little he knew about travelling the world. The flight had fortunately been uneventful. He’d asked for an aisle seat next to the exit and had been able to throw in a snooze or two. Now holding on to a flimsy strap in the bus, Jared tried hard to breathe through his mouth to avoid the lingering smell of the passengers who, it seemed, hadn’t had contact with water and soap in many hours. It was like a trap he wasn’t able to escape.

Next on his journey was a long stop-and-go struggle through the immigration hall and customs. For some odd reason, Jared hadn’t expected going through immigration to be a memorable five minutes.

“Sir, may I see your passport?”

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!

Hi everyone –
I’m sharing another snippet from FRESH BEGINNINGS,
a story this is mainly set in the USA and follows our itinerary
when we travelled through five States in a motorhome a few years ago.

 Enjoy ♥♥

This week’s Hook …

Heaving a big sigh, Mark replied, “Nope. Not at all. It’s just a bit of a surprise.” Grabbing his own car keys, he added, “Come on over for dinner on Saturday and we’ll go through details.”

“No worries, mate. I look forward to it.”

Jared slid behind the steering wheel and started the engine. He was looking forward to his holiday. He needed one, and not necessarily because he was exhausted or worn out, although tired, yet he needed a break in his routine. Driving out of the parking lot, he followed Mark to the intersection ahead before turning in the opposite direction. His friend’s reaction showed him as well that it was time for a change. Apparently, his life was so predictable that even a holiday surprised his friends

Blurb:

Jared Fraser from Hobart, Australia, embarks on a journey in a motorhome down the legendary American Route 66. Yet, his travels take a couple of unexpected turns from his initial plans. One of which is meeting Ivy, a beautiful hitchhiker. As they spend time together, she captivates Jared and stirs long-dormant emotions within him.

Having recently made the difficult decision to leave her boyfriend, Ivy Bennett is determined start over and find her own happiness. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jared, their meeting sets off a chain of events that will test them both in unforeseen ways.

While on this journey, can they both find the strength to let go of their pasts and embrace the possibility of a fresh beginning.

Get your copy today!