~ Book Spotlight & Giveaway ~
Better
by
Carey Heywood
 |
Release Date: February 17, 2014
|
~
Synopsis ~
Aubrey is embarking on a bucket list trip around the world,
the last wish of her Aunt Ally. It was supposed to be the trip Ally would take
when she got better. Now it's just a chance for Aubrey to say goodbye.
Adam escapes in his solo trips overseas, working just enough to fund the next one. When the opportunity to circle the globe falls in his lap he can't refuse. The only catch, he won't be traveling alone this time.
Unable to hide from each other Adam's overprotective nature thwarts Aubrey's desire to find her own way. Can they move past initial assumptions to find something better?
Adam escapes in his solo trips overseas, working just enough to fund the next one. When the opportunity to circle the globe falls in his lap he can't refuse. The only catch, he won't be traveling alone this time.
Unable to hide from each other Adam's overprotective nature thwarts Aubrey's desire to find her own way. Can they move past initial assumptions to find something better?
~
The Story Behind Better ~
Better
was inspired by my own story. Cancer and Harry Potter You wouldn’t think cancer
would be the first thing someone thinks about when thinking of Harry Potter,
but for me, it always will be. I had not read the book when the first movie
came out. It was just before Christmas 2001. At the time, I lived in Phoenix,
but I was back home in Alexandria for a visit. My father was ill, having had a
stroke earlier that year. Being home was hard, and seeing him like that was
surreal. I had an escape though—my friend, Cameron. Cameron was one of those
guys that it took me too long to figure out just how wonderful he was. We met
in seventh grade French class. My mother met his mother the night before, and
she made a point of telling me that Cameron and I should be friends. When I saw
him, I disagreed. While he was always handsome, he had a quirky fashion sense
that I did not get. It was middle school, and I was trying so hard to fit in.
He didn’t seem to mind standing out though, and he was always wearing this
ridiculous trench coat. We became friends. To this day, I’m not certain that I
have ever known someone as truly sweet and generous as Cameron was. I say was
because Cameron died. That’s where the cancer comes in. I’ll get back to that.
At the end of and after high school, I was in an extremely toxic and abusive
relationship. During one of our breakups, I went out on a couple of dates with
Cameron. Looking back, I wish I had been ready for him, but I wasn’t. My head
was not in the right place to deal with accepting my attraction to the guy with
the mohawk when I was still all messed-up over a guy who was nothing but a
thug. Cameron was too different. I moved away, and when I came back for a visit,
we went on another date. He took me to the little Chinese place next to where
the Blockbuster was. Over dinner, he told me he had cancer. He learned this
during his freshman year of college. He kept having stomach pains and went
twice to the student clinic, only to be sent away with painkillers. The next
time, his mom told him to go to the emergency room. They found a tumor. I
remember being shocked over dinner but not scared. Nobody I knew had died of
cancer. He would be fine. We kept in touch while I was in Arizona, talking on
the phone maybe once every couple of months. Just as I suspected, the cancer
went away. He beat it. He even went back to school and worked up the nerve to
ask some girl out. I was jealous. He never got a chance to go on that date. The
cancer came back, and he moved back home to Virginia. The next time I saw him
was December 2001. He looked different but not bad. We went to see Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He had already seen it, but he took me anyway. That
was his way, always looking out for me. We swam together during high school. I
remember my coach wanted me to join this other team. I was scared because I
wouldn’t know anyone. Cameron decided to join too. He looked at me, so serious.
“We’ll carpool.” And then, through that awful relationship, I remember him
putting his hands on either side of my face, trying to convince me I deserved
better, wanting to beat up my ex for hurting me. That December in 2001, I was
home one week, and I saw Cameron three times. I was busy when I first got back
to Arizona. I didn’t call him right away. When I did, it was just after New
Year’s. He was in the hospital. I spoke to his younger brother. He told me
Cameron overdid it when I was in town. I didn’t know. Cameron called me when he
got out of the hospital. It was the first time I actually considered that he
might die. I remember saying that he couldn’t die, that I was putting my foot
down, like I had any power. I made him promise me he wouldn’t die, and he did.
He promised. When we hung up, I was certain he would beat it again. That was
the last time I ever spoke to him. When my caller ID flashed his name, I
answered all happy and excited to talk to him. But it wasn’t him. It was his
dad. The second he said, “This is Cameron’s dad,” I knew. We didn’t talk long,
and I honestly don’t remember anything after he said, “Cameron is gone.” At the
time, I was a smoker. I went out on my front porch to cry and have a smoke. I
lived in Phoenix. It never really got windy unless there was a monsoon, which
between you and me, I never understood what the big deal was. It was just rain.
It rained all the time in Virginia. Either way, it was windy, really windy, and
there wasn’t a monsoon. It felt like Cameron was coming to say good-bye, using
the wind to wipe the tears from my face. After that night, I began to associate
wind with feeling Cameron’s presence. I would lie in bed at night and turn the
ceiling fan above my bed to the highest setting to imagine it was him. He was
the wind. Harry Potter helped me grieve. It gave me time to rest in my memories
of Cameron. I bought each book as they came out and saw each movie. When the
second movie came out, I went by myself on opening weekend. It was packed,
standing in line with little kids dressed up as wizards. I had people,
strangers really, sitting on either side of me. They probably thought I was off
when I sobbed through the opening credits. I just wished Cameron were there
with me. That familiar opening melody broke my heart. By the third movie’s
release, I had a boyfriend. We were pretty serious, but he understood why I
went to that movie alone. I told him about Cameron. When we became engaged, he
started to come with me. He would hold my hand while I cried. The last two
movies were hard. The books were all out. The end was in sight. During Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, I came close to inflicting bodily harm
on the people sitting behind me who were laughing during that scene at the end
with Harry and Dobby on the beach. Didn’t they know? Couldn’t they understand
these movies, this experience, meant so much to me? The last movie was the
hardest for me. I am now married to a wonderful man, and we have beautiful
children. I understand how blessed I am. I mourn the what-if with Cameron, and
even if nothing had ever come of us, I feel sad every day because the world
lost such a beautiful soul. So, for me, Harry Potter will always make me think
of Cameron and the cancer that took him away.
~
Links to Buy ~
~ About the Author ~
New York
Times and USA Today Bestselling author. I make up stuff and write it down. Here
are some things that make up who I am, in no particular order; Books, Swedish
Fish, Rivers, Kids (I have some), Husband (I have 1), Dog, Wuss, Reader,
Elephants, Mermaid Shows, Belgian Chocolate, Plastic Rings, Fizzy Water, Abs (I
don't have them...well yes, I have them but they're nothing to look at I meant
Abs that I like to look at), Twitter (@careylolo), Making up Words, Chair
Dancing, Old Movies, Cartoons, Belgian Waffles, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream,
People, Kayaks, Screen Porches, Laughing, Colored Paperclips, Junky Green
Laptop, Golden Rule, Falling in Love, Jumping in Puddles, Spellcheck, Windy
Days.
~ Connect with Carey ~
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