The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES P. C. Zick's book: Behind the Bar.
Author Patricia Zick is an award-winning writer for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction.
Behind the Bar
Behind the Love Trilogy
Author: P. C. Zick
AVAILABLE
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Susie and Reggie return to the Behind the Love Trilogy as the main characters in this romance. Susie and Reggie have been together since high school. When they watch good friends Dean and Leah find happiness, they both know something in their relationship must change. Susie believes that means marriage; she didn't expect it to be Reggie deciding they needed a break from one another.
While on break, a handsome publisher comes back to Victory to sweep Susie off her feet, while the voluptuous Sally Jean works her charms on Reggie. Meanwhile, the Victory Tavern owned by Reggie grows into a star attraction for the town. Dean and Leah help, and Susie’s sister Lisa returns home and provides Susie some much needed answers to the questions about their father. Reggie nearly loses everything in a bet that jeopardizes the Tavern.
Secrets revealed bring more questions. When Reggie realizes Susie is the woman he loves, Susie must decide if she can ever trust him again.
Before either of them can move forward to a life together, they must realize their past does not define them.
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE - SUSIE
Susie glanced on the other side of the bride and groom to where her boyfriend of five years stood. Reggie’s eyes roved around the crowd despite her fervent prayer willing him to look at her as they witnessed the open expression of love between their best friends. As Leah and Dean exchanged their vows, the wind blew in the trees and a small branch fell behind the minister as he blessed their union. Susie always thought she and Reggie would marry first.
That's what I want. Reggie and I have waited too long.
She looked at Reggie again, but he still surveyed the small crowd gathered on the banks of the river for the wedding. She followed his gaze, and to her surprise, she saw her sister, Lisa, standing in the front row with the others who had come to witness the marriage of Dean Davis and Leah Bryant.
So Lisa had finally come home to Victory. Susie nodded, and Lisa smiled at her. She wondered if everything was all right. As far as she knew, she and Dean weren’t that close, even though they’d graduated the same year. She turned her gaze back to the happy couple, who were engaged in a prolonged kiss. She heard Reggie’s laughter above all the cheering.
"I present to you Dean and Leah Davis, husband and wife.” Jacob, the minister and Dean’s brother, beamed over the heads of the newlyweds.
Susie watched Jacob, and marveled at his transformation from Leah’s fiancé to the minister who married her to his brother. Ever since Dean returned to Victory a few months earlier, lives had turned upside down. Jacob’s faith helped him face the horror of his mother’s abuse over the years, and allowed him to forgive his brother for his past transgressions. Life worked in mysterious ways, and now Susie hoped some of the magic of the day would plop itself onto Reggie’s head. Maybe he’d be inspired enough to ask her to marry him, finally.
Susie brought her attention back to the wedding. The crowd whistled and stomped their collective feet on the grassy knoll above the Deer River. Then they surrounded Leah and Dean. Susie turned around and almost bumped into her sister.
"Lisa, I can’t believe you’re here.” Susie grabbed her sister. “I’m so happy you’ve come home. I've missed you so much."
"And I've missed you, baby sister," Lisa said. "I can’t say I missed this town though."
“How did you know about the wedding?”
“I didn’t. I flew in this morning, rented a car, and here I am. I came to see you, of course, but the one person I could find in town told me what was happening.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t wait for you to meet Leah.”
The two women could almost be twins with their auburn hair, blue eyes, and porcelain skin. They were both willowy, although Lisa was slightly taller, with a few more curves than her younger sister.
Reggie came over and gave Lisa a hug.
“You came back,” Reggie said. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you here again.”
“I thought the same thing,” Lisa said. “How you doing, Reg? Still keeping my sister happy?”
“Sure thing,” Reggie said.
“I thought maybe Sam and Trevor would be here, too,” Lisa said. “You know, the fearsome foursome who won the state football championship and all that.”
“Trevor sent his regrets,” Reggie said. “I’m not sure about Sam. He’s a big shot these days.”
“So I heard,” Lisa said. “I saw an article about his success as a publisher.”
Reggie snorted and Susie slapped his arm. “Behave, Reggie.”
“He runs rags and makes a fortune doing it,” Reggie said. “He always knew how to take advantage of a situation. I’m going to get a beer. You girls want anything?”
“I’m going to wait until the toast,” Susie said, and Lisa agreed. “Don’t forget we both have to give a toast.”
Reggie headed for the keg, while the two sisters walked away from the crowd with their arms entwined.
“When are you and Reggie getting married? I thought I’d be attending your wedding before Dean’s.”
Susie shrugged and looked over at Reggie standing at the keg pouring a beer. “I’m not sure. Soon, I guess.”
“Especially now that the famous tat artist has capitulated. Who’s this Leah woman anyway?”
Susie was surprised she’d never mentioned her best friend Leah to her sister. She was sure she had in one of their many late night phone calls. But then again, she spent most of those phone calls listening to Lisa complain about her lack of work and cry over the rejections from trying to get gigs as an actor in New York.
“Leah is one of my best friends,” Susie said. “She was engaged to Jacob, but then Dean blew into town, and the two of them fell in love at first sight.”
“That’s a load of crap,” Lisa said. “There is no such thing.”
“Sure there is. I saw it happen. Leah’s a good person. One of the best. You’ll see if you stick around long enough. She’ll help you put things into perspective.”
“I don’t know how long I’m staying, but I’ll keep an open mind.”
When friends of Lisa’s came to welcome her home, Susie left her sister. She found Reggie talking to Sally Jean who’d managed to pour herself into a very tight red dress for the occasion. Susie was surprised to see her, but not surprised that she and Reggie were talking. When Dean turned Sally Jean down, she started spending far too much time at the Victory Tavern that Reggie owned and ran. She came in with her tits hanging out of anything she managed to wrap around her body like Saran Wrap.
“Hello, Sally Jean,” Susie said when she came up beside them. “I’m glad you made it today. It will mean a lot to Dean.” Susie didn’t say how Leah might feel, but the couple made the decision to openly invite the entire town of Victory to help them celebrate their nuptials. She had to give Sally Jean credit. There were balls squeezed in somewhere under that dress.
“Hi, Susie,” Sally Jean said. “You look very sweet and wholesome today.”
Susie looked down at her plain yellow sleeveless dress. Leah insisted that Susie wear something she already owned or could wear again if she bought something new. Susie had gotten the yellow summer dress at Kohl’s last week. Until now, she thought it flattering to her slim build. But standing next to the voluptuousness of Sally Jean, Susie looked like a school girl.
“Reggie, I think we’re supposed to give the toast now so they can start serving the food,” Susie said.
“Sure thing. I’ll be right there.” He leaned down with his glass and poured another beer. “How about you, Sally Jean? Ready for another brew?”
“Sure, why not? Better to be plastered today. I really thought it would be me marrying Dean.”
“I’m sure there’s someone out there for you,” Susie said. She put her arm through Reggie’s and pulled him with her to the barn. “See you inside, Sally Jean.”
Author Genre: Literature & Fiction
Website: P. C. Zick
Author's Blog: Living Lightly
Twitter: @PCZick
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest
Author Description: P.C. Zick began her writing career in 1998 as a journalist. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction. She describes herself as a "storyteller" no matter the genre.
She's published five works of fiction and two nonfiction books.
She was born in Michigan and moved to Florida in 1980. She finds the stories of Florida and its people and environment a rich base for her storytelling platform. Florida's quirky and abundant wildlife - both human and animal - supply her fiction with tales almost too weird to be believable.
Her fiction contains the elements most dear to her heart, ranging from love to the environment. In her novels, she advances the cause for wildlife conservation and energy conservation. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion.
"This is one of the most exciting times to be an author," Ms. Zick says. "I'm honored to be a part of the revolution in writing and publishing."
Author's Book List
Native Lands
- Florida Fiction SeriesNature and Love Disrupted Always Find a Way Back
Murder, Sex, and Deceptions Threaten the Existence of a Tribe of Native Americans and Their Beloved Everglades
When their environment is torn apart by a conglomerate of international interests, a tribe of native Floridians thought to be extinct rise up and form their own oddly matched conglomerate, and with the assistance of nature, attempt to halt the destruction of the natural world they treasure. Cultural boundaries established centuries ago are erased as love and nature seek the balance lost in the battle for power and control of the last of the Florida frontier.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Behind the Altar
- Behind the Love TrilogyLeah Bryant’s life satisfies all her needs. Her engagement to Jacob Davis, minister of the Sunshine Church, gives her the security she requires after living on the streets during her teenage years. She runs a food kitchen out of the church for homeless vets who are living on the banks of Deer River.
All is perfect until the day her future mother-in-law Geraldine tells her the church is shutting down the kitchen, and Dean”"Jacob’s brother”"rides his Harley into her heart. Leah’s world begins to crumble as she falls into Dean’s muscular and tattooed arms and discovers the passion she's never known.
??? Homeless vets, deranged mothers, and a tattoo artist collide in this story of true love.
Dean, who’s been away from his home for ten years, finds himself irresistibly drawn in by Leah’s natural beauty and genuine goodness. As they fight to stay away from one another, Leah and Dean keep finding ways to be together. The more they fight the attraction, the harder it is to stay apart.
??? Will Leah go ahead and marry Jacob despite Dean’s haunting her every thought?
??? Will Dean exact the revenge he came home to hand out?
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Odyssey to Myself
- World Travel Guide and MemoirTake a trip to Casablanca and Marrakech, Tuscany and Venice, Bocas del Toro and Panama City, and Santiago, Chile
Odyssey to Myself is a world travel guide for trips to Morocco, Italy, Panama, Chile, and down Route 66 in the United States. The compilation of essays show Muslim women dressed in hijabs and working in Casablanca. Moroccan history and food provide a colorful backdrop as the author explores her place in the world.
Take a trip to Casablanca, Marrakech, Tuscany, Bocas del Toro, and Santiago as P.C. Zick writes about her experiences traveling outside the confines of her small world. Observations about life and culture bring to life the sights, sounds, and smells of the ancient alleyways of Fes, the masters of Italy, and the strategic location of Panama. The people of Morocco, Italy, Panama, and Chile come to life through the experiences of the author as she absorbs the cultures so different from her own.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
A Lethal Legacy
A fascinating study of human expectations, failings, and redemption
A Lethal Legacy takes the reader on a journey through Ed Townsend’s twisted family legacy. He complicates the familial connection even more when he falls prey to the siren of his much younger cousin Kristina, who is beyond saving as she plots to get her fair share of the Townsend family legacy. Ed’s best friend and cousin, Gary, struggles as he marries women he doesn’t love all because he knows his father will never accept his homosexuality. It takes divorce, disease, and murder for Ed to realize that acceptance only comes from within once he is ready to face the truth.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Trails in the Sand
- Florida Fiction SeriesA Family Saga Filled with Love Triangles, Sea Turtles, and an Oil Spill
When environmental writer Caroline Carlisle sets off to report on endangered sea turtles during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the last thing she expects is to uncover secrets - secrets that threaten to destroy her family, unless she can heal the hurts from a lifetime of lies. To make matters worse, Caroline's love for her late sister's husband, Simon, creates an uproar in a southern family already set on a collision course with its past.
Using real-life events as the backdrop, Trails in the Sand explores the fight to restore balance and peace, in nature and in a family, as both spiral toward disaster. Through it all, the ancient sea turtle serves a reminder that life moves forward despite the best efforts to destroy it.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Tortoise Stew
- Florida Fiction SeriesSmall town politics take center stage in this novel about the development of Florida at any cost. Kelly Sands is a reporter covering some of the more controversial and contentious issues in the fictional north Florida town of Calloway. Dead armadillos and gopher tortoise carcasses are left as calling cards to those opposing the development as commission meetings erupt into all-out warfare. With the murder of one commissioner and the suicide of his wife, Kelly begins an investigation that threatens to topple the carefully laid plans of the developers and politicians to bring a movie studio and landing strip within the city limits of the small town. When a young girl is killed by a semi-truck from Monster Mart, the environmentalists become even more vocal against the developers' plans. Chaos reigns as both sides raise voices and fists in one cacophonous uproar until saner heads bring justice to all.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Live from the Road
- Route 66 FictionEnlightenment on Route 66 - Humorous, Painful, Rewarding
Live from the Road takes the reader on an often humorous, yet harrowing, journey as Meg Newton and Sally Sutton seek a change in the mundane routine of their lives. Joined by their daughters, they set off on a journey of salvation enhanced by the glories of the Mother Road.
Along the way, they are joined by a Chicago bluesman, a Pakistani liquor storeowner from Illinois, a Marine from Missouri, a gun-toting momma from Oklahoma, and a motel clerk from New Mexico.
Death, divorce, and deception help to reveal the inner journey taking place under the blazing desert sun as a Route 66 motel owner reads the Bhagavad-Gita and an eagle provides the sign they've all been seeking.
Enlightenment comes tiptoeing in at dawn in a Tucumcari laundromat, while singing karaoke at a bar in Gallup, New Mexico, and during dinner at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, Arizona.
The trip isn't always easy as laughter turns to tears and back again. However, the four women's lives will never be the same after the road leads them to their hearts - the true destination for these road warriors.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- KOBO
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner
Mystery Reader’s Circle
Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.
