Happy Friday! Oh and happy Valentines Day! Jamie Ayres is here to help us celebrate with not only her new release 18 Truths (watch the trailer:18 Truths Book Trailer), but also with her own tale of romance. Don’t forget to enter the contest here. The floor is yours Jamie!
Thanks for hosting me, Michelle! In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing the story about how hubs and I first met. You’ve all heard the rumors, but here’s the TRUTH to set the record straight. (Totally kidding, I know I’m not famous enough for rumors, but it’s nice to pretend . . . that’s why I’m a writer!)
I was 14 years old, and it was the first day of high school. After locating my fourth period Word Processing class, I stepped in the doorway in search of an open seat. That’s when I spotted him. Sitting in the third row, second to last seat, that last seat next to him still wide open. In my head, I heard a gentle whisper that said, “You’re going to marry that boy someday.”
Believe it or not, at this stage in my life, I DID NOT hear voices in my head, let alone listen to them. But for whatever reason, I didn’t panic. I just thought, Well, I better go sit next to him then. I introduced myself right away. This boy was named Dan Ayres.
For the next month, I talked Dan’s ear off. He barely said five words to me in response, often drumming his fingers on the table, playing with his pencil, or making low noises of agreement when I voiced one of my many opinions. Finally, my teacher moved me to the front of the room for . . . get this, talking too much! Imagine that! Me—talking too much?
As I shuffled to the front row, I was convinced Mrs. Allen had just messed up fate and Dan would never ask me out. Flash forward to fifth period lunch. For the past month, there was this other boy (I’ll call him “Guy”) who had actually talked to me since the first day of school. We had a mutual friend named Nikki who introduced us and although I didn’t think I was going to marry him someday, I did think he was H*O*T. That same day Mrs. Allen moved my seat, Guy asked me out. Figuring Dan was a no-go, I said yes. He asked if I’d come to his cross-country meet that day. I said yes again. Nikki and I walked down to the track after school as I told her, “You know that boy Dan? The one I’m gonna marry one day? I’m pretty sure he runs cross country, too.” She rolled her eyes and laughed.
What I didn’t know then was Dan watched me walk down to the track, thinking, Jamie must be here to cheer me on. I’m going to finally ask her out. Then he saw Guy give his friend a hug and peck on the cheek (are you following along okay? There might be a quiz later, LOL). Dan asked his other teammates about us. They told him I was the Guy’s new girlfriend. Dan thought, Crap! Because Guy was one of his best friends.
Long story short, I ended up dating Guy for over three years. He was my first love. In many ways, I think it was a blessing in disguise Dan and I didn’t date until my first year of college. High school drama can be a heavy thing, and we avoided a lot of that by not dating. We weren’t the people we needed to be yet to have a healthy, functioning relationship.
By the time I actually didn’t want to date Dan anymore (due to religious reasons) was about the time he asked me out! Of course, I still said yes! I figured I owed it to the voice in my head to see if ‘it’ was right. Our first date went very well and lasted all night (no, not in the way that you think . . . we sat up talking at the beach). As usual, I got a little too excited and told him at the end of it: “I love you and I’ve known since the moment I saw you that I was going to marry you so whenever you’re ready, I am!”
His response? “Thanks.” Turns out, no matter how long you’ve been good friends with a boy, saying that on a first date kind of freaks them out. But the joke was on him because eight months later, we got married. That was August of 1998. The rest, they say, is history. 15+ years and still going strong 🙂
Weird thing is our daughter will start high school in the fall at the exact same one where we met that fateful day. I’d be terrified and thrilled if she came home after her first day and announced she met the guy she’s going to marry! The downside to getting married at 18 is our daughters think getting married that young is completely normal . . . sigh.
HAPPY*VALENTINE’S*DAY!!! What’s your real life love story?
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With the lessons the 18 Things life list taught her engraved on her heart, Olga embarks on a new adventure as a spirit guide, but nothing prepares her for the chilling truths she’s learning along the way.
BLURB
Lying is unbearable, betrayal is inevitable, and choosing which path to take is impossible.
Olga Gay Worontzoff ended her senior year as an eighteen-year-old girl totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.
But Nate has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. His mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart.
Unfortunately, a series of mistakes threatens everyone around her and plants Olga in the center of cosmic events much larger than she ever imagined.
Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched.
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Website: www.jamieayres.com
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Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches young adults as a Language Arts middle school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. Although she spent her youthful summers around Lake Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she’s thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Her books include the first two installments of her trilogy, 18 Things and 18 Truths. Visit her online via Twitter, Facebook, or at www.jamieayres.com.
unwanted, fear, fear, fear. I was afraid of everything. I actually went to a teacher in the sixth grade and requested to have a separate role in the class so that I was never be put on the spot during class. I was so afraid of ridicule.
michelle ziegler 