Author Spotlight Featuring Jill Haymaker's Colorado Summer Stars

Jill Haymaker has started a new chapter in her life, writing full time. 

Please read on about her latest, Colorado Summer Stars. 

Leslie, Thanks for having you on your blog today. My new release, Colorado Summer Stars in the seventh book in my Peakview Series. These stories are set in the small, fictional town of Peakview, Colorado high in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and focus on second chances in life. Although Peakview is a product of my imagination, it is based on many small mountains towns that I have experienced. Although I no longer reside in Colorado, my heart remains in the mountains.

I have always wanted to write a story about how one recovers from the horror of a relationship gone totally wrong. How does someone learn to trust again after their trust has been shattered? In Colorado Summer Stars we follow Nicole on one such journey. Her faith in men has been destroyed, but a handsome cowboy may turn everything around. It is never too late to find love.

Excerpt:  

CHAPTER ONE 

“If you think for one minute I didn’t see you flirting with those guys at table seven, you’re dead wrong.” Dave glared at her. Nicole Phillips slammed her tray of dirty glasses onto the large wooden bar so hard that the glasses clinked together and ice cubes jumped out like fish escaping from an aquarium. What would it take for him to trust her? Obviously, not five years of her undying loyalty. She’d never screwed around on him. Not even once. Never even considered it. And he didn’t know that, how?

She grabbed a bleach-filled rag and stomped away to clean off the now-empty tables. Wendy glanced over at her. “Don’t worry about it. He’s been drinking all night. He’ll probably forget what he said when he sobers up.”

Easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one living with Dave. Not the one he was supposed to love. She walked to the bar, and he turned his back to her like she didn’t exist. Was that supposed to hurt her even more? Even more than embarrassing her in front of all their friends and co-workers? She took off her apron and sat down beside Wendy to count her money. It has been a long night.

“You guys coming out to breakfast with us?” Wendy asked.

“I’m in.” Nicole had no desire to rush home to be alone with Dave.

“Dave?”

He turned to Wendy, still ignoring her. “I’ll pass. Not in the mood.”

“Fine. Suit yourself.” Nicole stood up to walk next door to the all-night diner with several of the staff.

Dave grabbed her arm. “If you’re meeting up with him, don’t bother coming home.”

She jerked away. “Meeting up with who? Will you get over it.”

“Did you give him your number?” He glared at her again.

She’d had enough. “Yeah, and our address, too. You can expect that he’ll be stopping by later.” She stormed out the front door into the cool evening.

“Hey, wait up,” Wendy called. “You know how he gets. Don’t let him upset you. He’ll sleep it off.”

“I know.” Nicole’s heart deflated. This wasn’t the life she dreamed of. Not even close. At 2:30 a.m. the breeze off the ocean in San Francisco sent a damp chill through her body. She ran the rest of the way to the diner. Maybe after a big breakfast she’d feel better.

It was almost 4:00 when she parked in front of the brownstone row house where she lived with Dave and two other couples. The rents were much too high in the city to get a place of their own. She liked it well enough. It was in walking distance of many small shops and restaurants. The vibrancy of the city had excited her when she’d arrived from Colorado. Now, she wasn’t sure.

She made her way up the narrow staircase that led to their third-story bedroom. She tiptoed into the room, hoping to slip into bed without awaking Dave.

“Have fun?” His voice boomed from the dark bed.

Blurb: 
How did her relationship go so wrong? When NICOLE PHILLIPS flees San Francisco after her boyfriend’s jealousy turns violent, she doesn’t know where to go next. Out of a job and a place to live, she heads to the only place she feels safe—her childhood home in the tiny town of Peakview, nestled high in the Colorado Rockies. The one place she’d sworn to never live again.

RICK BRADY was a skinny, nerdy kid, earning him the not-so-flattering nickname of Scarecrow in high school. He’d been glad to escape his reputation and leave Peakview behind. When his parents’ health begins to fail, he returns to Peakview and opens his own veterinarian practice on their ranch. He’s never really been in love, unless you count that crush he had on the most popular girl in school from kindergarten through senior year.

Now fifteen years after they both left town, they are back home and searching for answers to questions they can’t define. Beneath the beauty of the Colorado summer stars, they reconnect. They soon discover that it’s not easy to leave the past behind. To move forward and find true love, they must overcome their insecurities and doubts and learn to trust again.

Come home to Peakview, Colorado where everyone has a chance at love.

Buy:

Amazon

Bio:

Jill Haymaker was born and raised in Indiana and Ohio. After high school, she attended Bowling Green State University before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado. Ms. Haymaker made her home in Fort Collins until her recent move to East Texas. She practiced family law in Fort Collins for the past 20 years. She has three grown children, a son and two daughters. She also has three granddaughters.

Jill has always had a passion for writing. Colorado Sunset was her first full-length romance novel in her Peakview, Colorado series. Her latest book, Colorado Summer Stars is the seventh book in the series. If you love small town romance, you will love the characters in this series. She also has had several short stories published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, the most recent in the book Random Acts of Kindness.

When not practicing law or writing, Jill enjoys The Colorado mountains, horseback riding, gardening, long walks with her Shetland Sheepdog, Laddie, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She enjoys their numerous sporting events. She is also an avid football fan and can be found on autumn weekends cheering on her favorite teams. She has a passion for working with high school youth- she is a youth group leader at her church, coaches a high school mock trial team and is a volunteer at cross country and track meets.

Find Jill:
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