Guest Post: Introducing L.J. Harris

YAY! Another one of the authors from the Second Chances anthology was coerced agreed to join me for a guest post!

Today, I'd like to give you the opportunity to meet L.J. Harris, someone I've been fortunate enough to call my friend for almost two years now. A fabulous author, and a wonderfully special lady, I'll let L.J. tell you a bit about herself, and her story Heart of Glass.

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Thank you Layne Faire for having me!

I’m very excited to let you all know about my contribution to the Second Chances Anthology, Heart of Glass.  

For the past 3 years, I’ve been an avid reader and author of fan fiction, and not only did being a part of the fandom improve my writing skills, I’ve made several life-long friends along the way.  I’ve written both het and male/male stories, canon and non-canon, and have had a blast writing stories around the Twilight characters, but now I feel it’s time to focus my energies on creating original fiction.  The novel I began before I starting posting to fan fiction is in need of reworking, and when that is complete I hope to submit it for publication as well, but in the meantime, I thought I’d dip my toe in the water by submitting a short story for publication, and that’s when I was inspired to write Heart of Glass.  

You never know when or where inspiration will hit, and the storylines I come up with are often based around often insignificant events, but events that capture my imagination and cause it to run away.  Heart of Glass came to me in that way, and was inspired by several window washers who frequent the busy intersections of the main road that leads into my home city, Canberra, Australia.

I often used to see them on my way in to work, toiling away, and it got me thinking. What were their lives like?  What led them there?  If they had been given other opportunities, would they still be there, braving all kinds of extreme weather conditions to make a living? I jotted down a few ideas, and it wasn’t long before the character of Heath Connors was born. 

Not long after that, I spotted a left hand drive Mustang (we have right hand drive cars here in Australia) driving down the highway and sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb among the luxury cars that normally travel into the city, and the story solidified. That car stood out so much that I just knew that one of the characters would own it, and that’s when I came up with the character of Zack Doherty.

Heart of Glass is a story about a man who has always lived his life to please others, and somewhere along the way he loses himself so much he finds he’s unhappy with his choice and can no longer continue travelling the same path. Heath’s journey of self-discovery finally begins when he breaks free of the shackles that have always tethered him to a life he didn’t want, and when he finally feels as though his life is going in the right direction, life throws Heath another curve ball, when he sees Zack for the first time.  

And when they encounter one another again…let’s just say the sparks fly. While Heath feels out of his depth, at the same time he’s unequivocally attracted to Zack…

Though he seemed nervous, there was no mistaking the fire in his deep blue eyes, so I decided to go for broke and whispered in a low, seductive voice, “I know we’ve only just met, but I really want to see you again. Can I get your number?”

“You don’t have to … I … mean, um … I don’t exactly have a number, and I’m sure you have more important things to do than waste your time with someone who can’t even afford to buy their own phone,” he stammered nervously, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed several times.

I wanted to lick it.

Instead, unable to resist touching him, I ran my hand up the smooth skin of his arm until the tips of my fingers touched the soft skin of his throat, then gently grazed them along the skin of his freshly shaven jaw.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got nothing else to do, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than in your company, Heath Connors. So how about I call by your office in the morning and we take it from there?”

“You … want to go out? Wi-with me?” he asked, stumbling over his words, the apples of his cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink.

Adorable.

“I’d love nothing more,” I answered with a smile, my fingers gently caressing his beautiful, flushed face.

“I don’t … I don’t know what to say,” he blurted, his glorious smile almost taking my breath away as his body called to me, and his sweet breath wafted across my face. Without further thought, I leaned in closer until my lips were a hairsbreadth from the shell of his ear.

“Just say yes,” I murmured.

This is the story of how two people get their second chance to find happiness, and how important it is to live your life the way you want it, no matter what others think.  

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the very wonderful stories that comprise the Second Chances Anthology. 

L. J. Harris.

*****

 

Bottom Drawer Publications

 Thanks so much for taking the time out to drop by, L.J.! I'm eagerly waiting for the email with my copy of the anthology, but given the excerpts I've seen, this looks to be a great assembly of stories by new authors. Check it out!