Here is a little bit about Relinquishing Liberty
On the outside, Liberty Davis appeared to have it all…a loving family, a tight knit circle of friends, and a bright future ahead of her. Everything was perfect. That is until her brother tragically took his own life, turning her whole world upside down.
Left to pick up the pieces of her broken family, Liberty is faced with focusing all of her attention on helping her parents cope with the loss of their son, while putting her own life on the back burner. But what no one seems to realize is that she is just as broken inside.
Now, four years later, twenty year old Liberty is taking back the reins of her life. She leaves behind everything she’s ever known, hoping to make a fresh start…one where she isn’t faced with the constant reminder that her brother is nothing more than faded memory. What she didn’t expect to find along the way was Shayne.
Tall, dark and tattooed, Shayne Thompson has developed quite a reputation for being a player. Despite everyone’s negative perception, Liberty still finds herself drawn to him. When she learns that Shayne knows all too well what it feels like to lose someone you love, she finds that they have a lot more in common than just a physical attraction.
When Liberty discovers a secret from Shayne’s past that threatens to tear them apart, she begins to question everything she’s ever felt for him. Will Liberty choose to follow her heart or will she give up the one person who finally made her feel whole again?
**This story contains language and sexual scenes, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.**
Left to pick up the pieces of her broken family, Liberty is faced with focusing all of her attention on helping her parents cope with the loss of their son, while putting her own life on the back burner. But what no one seems to realize is that she is just as broken inside.
Now, four years later, twenty year old Liberty is taking back the reins of her life. She leaves behind everything she’s ever known, hoping to make a fresh start…one where she isn’t faced with the constant reminder that her brother is nothing more than faded memory. What she didn’t expect to find along the way was Shayne.
Tall, dark and tattooed, Shayne Thompson has developed quite a reputation for being a player. Despite everyone’s negative perception, Liberty still finds herself drawn to him. When she learns that Shayne knows all too well what it feels like to lose someone you love, she finds that they have a lot more in common than just a physical attraction.
When Liberty discovers a secret from Shayne’s past that threatens to tear them apart, she begins to question everything she’s ever felt for him. Will Liberty choose to follow her heart or will she give up the one person who finally made her feel whole again?
**This story contains language and sexual scenes, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.**
I decided to ask Maureen some questions that she may not address in her bio so we can get to know her a bit better. I know her quite well, I like to think that I am her #1 fan, she may agree :) She is very down to earth and always there for her friends.
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**Spoiler Alert – If you have no yet read Relinquishing Liberty, please do not read further!**
Exclusive First Teaser from Unforeseen Heartbeat (Second Chances #2) Maureen Mayer © 2013
(Unedited and subject to change)
I awoke in a foggy haze, shaking off the memory that has plagued me for years, and thanked my lucky stars it was only a dream…well, more like a nightmare. I snuggled back under the blankets, but the instant I felt a hand slowly came across my bare hip, my eyes flew open and my body froze. The arm tightened around me, tugging me into a warm, hard body and the second I felt his soft chest hair tickle my back, I knew it was Jeremy.
“Mornin’, babe.” He mumbled groggily into my ear before pressing a kiss against my neck.
“Mmm, mornin’. You want some breakfast?”
“Nah, I think I’m just gonna grab a shower before I head out.” He leaned over and gave me a peck on the lips before untangling his arms and legs from mine and tossing the blankets off of his gloriously naked body. He knew how I felt about morning breath, so he never pushed for more than a quick kiss. He never stayed long enough for breakfast either, but I always offered out of habit. That’s just how things were with us. Simple. Laid back. No expectations. We got what we wanted from one another and that was that. No need to complicate things.
I curled up under the blankets while Jeremy threw on a pair of boxers before heading to use my bathroom. Soon the sound of water pelting against the shower tiles lulled me back into a peaceful slumber. When I finally peeled my eyes back open it was quickly approaching noon, and I knew that Jeremy was long gone. There was a note propped up on my nightstand, but I didn’t need to read at it to know what it said. “Thanks for last night, babe. I’ll call you next week.” Jeremy was a man of very few words, but I liked that about him.
I met him my freshman year at Savannah State University, after we partnered up for a group project that required us to spend time together outside of class. Somehow we had managed to get an A on the project, but I’m pretty sure we spent more time exploring ways to not get caught having sex in the library…and the student union…and the locker room of the athletic center. Soon it became a challenge to find places we hadn’t christened, and by the time we were convinced that we’d fucked on every surface of our lovely campus, we finally ended up in bed together. Over time, the spontaneity of our sexcapades had dissolved, but we still managed to hook up on occasion. There was no commitment or exclusivity given to our situation, and we both continued to sleep with other people, but somehow we always found ourselves gravitating towards one another. What could I say? The sex was out of this world, and I was never left unsatisfied. I guess if I was forced to put a title on it, I would say we were fuck buddies, but let’s be real…we weren’t even remotely friends. We just liked to get down and dirty.
I yawned as I stretched my arms up over my head and the blanket slipped away from my still naked body. My dress from the night before was lying scattered on the floor next to my bra and panties, and I smiled at the thought of how quickly Jeremy had peeled them off of me the moment we returned from the club. I grabbed a clean over-sized SSU t-shirt from the laundry basket and slipped it on before heading to the kitchen to make some coffee.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes as my feet slapped across the cold kitchen floor, I smacked right into the fridge door. Jesus, what the…
And that’s when I saw it. All six-foot-four of Robbie’s boyfriend, Lance, standing there naked as a jaybird…and at full attention. It was one of those moments where I knew I should look away, but my eyes were practically super-glued to him. He brought the carton of orange juice up to his mouth, but not before I saw a smirk tug at the corner of his lips. And then I saw it move…
“Eww eww eww!” I squeezed my eyes shut and continued yelling until Robbie came running out his room. I opened my eyes just enough to see that he was rocking his birthday suit just as proudly as Lance. Oh for Pete’s sake…
“Not you too!” I turned around so I wasn’t tempted to look.
“What’s wrong, baby girl? What’s with all the shouting?” Robbie walked over to Lance, snaking the carton of juice out of his hands to take a swig for himself.
“Will you guys put some damn clothes on!? Since when do we walk around the apartment with everything hanging out, flapping in the breeze?”
Robbie chuckled and swallowed quickly before he could sputter juice everywhere. “Hmm, I don’t remember reading anything about required attire in your little roommate agreement.”
I spun around and rolled my eyes at him before turning my attention back up to the ceiling. “Seriously? I didn’t think it was necessary to include that since we’re civilized human beings and all. Or at least I thought we were.”
“Sorry, Maddie, I didn’t think you’d catch me out here. I’ll make sure to at least keep my boxers on next time.” Lance winked at me and pulled me into an awkward side hug that almost resulted in it touching my leg.
“Hey, you know this is my apartment too. I should be able to walk around with my Johnson sprung free it I want to. You’re more than welcome to join me. It’s no secret that I’m not offended by the female anatomy.”
“That’s because you’re gay dipshit! My lady bits don’t get you all hot and bothered. Me on the other hand…it’s just…ughh it’s just weird okay!”
“Baby girl, are you trying to tell me that my sexy ass gives you lady boners?” I could hear Lance chuckling at Robbie’s comment, and I turned to glare at him. At least he had his boxers on now.
“Both of you, please, can you just keep some clothes on when you’re outside of the bedroom. What if I had company over?” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling even more awkward the longer our conversation went on. It was getting really hard to keep eye contact with Robbie with the state he was in.
“Is Jeremy still here?” Robbie wasn’t exactly his biggest fan, and I could hear it in his tone.
“No. He left hours ago. Don’t try to change the subject. Just promise me you’ll keep your…member…covered from now on. Okay?”
Robbie smiled and grabbed a dishtowel to cover himself before crossing the kitchen in my direction. My body stiffened in response to his close proximity, but he leaned in just close enough to press a kiss against my forehead. “I promise, baby girl. It won’t happen again.”
He took off towards his bedroom with Lance in tow. They were sickeningly sweet together, but I really was happy that they had each other. When Robbie first moved in, I was a little apprehensive about living with a guy. Just one look at him and I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid falling into bed with him. He was six-foot-two-inches of delicious eye candy; jet black hair, ice-blue eyes and a killer smile. When he told me he was gay, I was both relieved and disappointed. Why was it the hot ones were always gay? I swore it was like the universe was plotting against me every time I met a decent, good-looking guy.
But the first night I heard his screams piercing through my bedroom walls, my heart nearly split in two for him. I did end up falling into bed with him…for completely different reasons. I spent the first three nights holding him in my arms until the nightmares subsided and his tears faded away. Soon I’d become accustomed to hearing his soft whimpers, and that was the trigger to let me know another nightmare was approaching. Something terrible from his past continued to haunt him, but I never pressed him to open up about the details of what had happened to cause him to become so broken.
When Robbie started dating Lance, I was no longer needed as his protector from the nightmares. Lance spent nearly every night here, and although Robbie’s cries still seeped through my paper-thin walls, Lance was there to hold him and whisper in his ear that everything would be okay; that no one could hurt him anymore and he was safe. My love grew ten-fold for both of them from that moment on.
I sighed softly as Robbie shut the door behind him and started up the Keurig. Looking around our messy apartment, I decided I should probably thoroughly clean this place up before I had to go in to work tonight. School was starting up next week, and every semester I always put off anything that didn’t involve classes, work, parties or boys. Liberty was always the one to pick up my slack when it came to chores around the apartment, and not once did she ever complain. But now that she was shacked up with the enemy…ugh. I shuddered just thinking about it. I still couldn’t believe she actually accepted a proposal from that cocksucker. What the hell was she thinking?
I was surprised to see that she had returned to Savannah after her father’s heart attack, but I was even more surprised to see Shayne by her side. The moment I saw the huge rock sparkling on her finger from across the restaurant, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. After everything I exposed to her about him. About the monster that he truly was. I poured my heart out to her and she held me in her arms as I relived the whole story. And now…now she was going to marry him.
I promised her I would stand by her side no matter what happened, but seeing them together, happy and acting like nothing ever happened…it was almost to much to bear. It just went to show you how little Shayne thought of me. Even after knowing I had once carried his child.
What inspired you to become a writer?
It wasn’t until I began reading the Fifty Shades series, almost a year and a half ago, that my love for reading grew like wildfire. I owe most of my inspiration to the amazing authors who put their hearts and souls into their writing, immersing me into their stories with their passionate, awe-inspiring words and developing characters you can’t help but fall in love with. In February 2013, I finally made the jump into writing when a simple idea sparked for a book, and within hours the plot grew tenfold. The moment my fingers hit the keys, the story began to develop and after four months of blood, sweat and tears, Relinquishing Liberty was complete.
What do you have to have while writing? Snacks, soda, candy?
I have to have Red Bull, Full Throttle or Starbucks. Caffeine is a MUST, and I wouldn’t be able to function without it! As for snacks…chocolate, gummie bears, or Munchies. :)
Which of your characters in Relinquishing Liberty did you most relate to?
I can definitely see a bit of myself in Liberty. I know what it feels like to want to run away from everything and make a fresh start. Liberty was at a pivotal age where she was faced with making difficult adult decisions, and being close to her in age, I sympathized with her internal battles because in many ways, I had been there before.
Chapter one in Relinquishing Liberty was a tear jerker, have you yourself ever been affected by what happened in that chapter?
I have not been directly affected by what happened in the first chapter, but I have had friends and loved ones who have lost people to suicide. I’ve seen what taking one’s life does to the people they love and that love them, and how many people their lives can reach, even in a short amount of time. It breaks my heart to think that there are people who believe that they have nothing left to live for and that no one would even care if they were here one day and gone the next.
What can we expect in your upcoming book?
Unforeseen Heartbeat (Second Chances #2) mainly focuses on Maddie and her struggle with relationships. I don’t want to give too much away, but in many ways, Maddie is a lot like the old Shayne. Which is ironic because she’s not quite his biggest fan. Her views on relationships and love are misconstrued because of what happened to her years ago, and since then she has found herself in this perpetual routine of hooking up with guys, but never sticking around long enough to see if there could ever be more.
When Hunter unexpectedly comes into the picture, Maddie begins to question whether she is truly capable of opening her heart up another person, and the deeper Hunter delves into her life, trying to tear down her walls, the more she pushes him away. Maddie finds herself forced to make a difficult decision, but the real question is whether she will shut Hunter out of her life for good or open up her heart and allow herself the life she never dreamed she deserved.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well, I like long walks on the beach, I eat way too much Mexican food, and I cry like a little baby whenever I watch those damn SPCA commercial…seriously, that Sarah McLaughlin song gets me every time! (And yes, that’s all true!)
Really, I’m just your average twenty-six year old. I live in Buffalo, NY with my family and my boyfriend that I’ve been with since I was seventeen. I’ve always had a love for the outdoors, and I owe that too my dad. I was a bit of a tomboy growing up, and I guess that’s always stuck with me. When the city isn’t buried under snow, I love to go hiking, fishing, camping or spend the day lying on the beach. I’m a sucker for off-color humor, and you can find my boyfriend and I constantly quoting movies staring Will Ferrell or Chris Farley. I never go a day without reading, and when I’m not writing, I’m most likely curled up in bed with my kindle, diving into a steamy romance novel and falling in love with the latest book boyfriend. (And that list of BBs continues to grow daily!)
Maureen Mayer was born, raised and currently resides in Buffalo, NY with her loving and supportive family and boyfriend of 8+ years. She’s always had a love for the outdoors, and when the city isn’t buried under snow, she can be found hiking, fishing, camping or lying on the beach. She’s a sucker for off-color humor, but holds a sweet spot for sick and twisted horror films. When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up in bed with her kindle, diving into a steamy romance novel and falling in love with the latest book boyfriend.
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