Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway Lessons Learned by Jillian Neal

Published: October 30th, 2013

Description:

One breathtakingly hot, passion-filled, night ignites a fire in his soul. Everything in his world should be nothing short of perfection…but he is Rainer Lawson.

His wild evening with Emily is the Realm’s front-page story. Could he have lost the respect of the man that has been like a father to him? Could his family’s hard-earned fortune really dissolve before his very eyes?

Evil rapidly cinches its chokehold, and everything his father fought and died for threatens to implode. Rainer attempts to protect those that he loves and satisfy the fiery passions between he and Emily, but everything in his world is spinning wildly out of control. His desire to prove himself could very well be his undoing.

Sometimes the best of intentions are not enough, but perhaps it is the trials by fire that make the man. Steel sharpens steel, and passion burns white hot in “Lessons Learned.”

Are there “lessons” in your novels that you most want your readers to grasp? 

So, many lessons! I want my readers to ask “why?” Why is this person doing this? Why did he or she react that way? Then when we put the puzzles together I want them to understand that people are not all good or all bad and that most people do have a reason for doing what they do. 

I want my readers to see that marriage can still be hot! I love that the Haydenshires are still “very active.” I love the passions that course through the relationships I craft. I want women to find their own passions and to put passion back into their marriages or relationships. 

I wanted to show that women are beautiful despite the stereotypes we’re bombarded with day in and day out, and I wanted to show that men are not morons. You will see several of my female characters self esteem falter due to societal pressures to be a certain way or have a certain look, but then you’ll also see their partners expressing how beautiful they think that they are. On the other hand, it infuriates me when I see a television show where the father or husband is portrayed as imbecilic and that is too dumb to get in out of the rain. Stop that! So, my female characters are not double zeros with triple DDD’s, and my guys are intelligent, caring, strong, men. I’m also not a big fan of a very passive female character. My girls have personalities, and thoughts, and ideas all their own and they aren’t afraid to let you know that.

EXCERPT:

“Logan please stop here. Just for a minute, please!” 

Logan nodded he studied Rainer speculatively, but without question he pulled into one of the parallel spots on the back side of the cemetery. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Logan offered. 

Rainer knew that whatever he wanted is what Logan would do. Even if they never went to Coriolis and were fired for it, he would be there for Rainer. Certain that he’d never deserve a friend like Logan Haydenshire, Rainer wanted to be alone. He tried to give Logan a reassuring smile but wasn’t able. 

“I’ll just be a minute.” 

“Take as long as you need, man.” With that, Rainer threw open the door and took off in a heated sprint towards the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He rushed over the hallowed ground. Rainer ran faster not certain his feet were hitting the ground as he moved behind the largest of the monuments and headed west. 

He hated that he knew how to find the spot so readily. He halted and walked as a funeral was taking place and respect was clearly something Rainer needed to work on. He felt his throat close and tears threatened to burn his eyes. He nodded his head as he passed Cal Haydenshire’s cross grave marker. Keeping his head bowed he moved to the monument at the end of one of the endless rows and fell to the ground. He summoned instantly. He watched as his father’s name and birth and death dates appeared in the marble. His parents had been buried in Arlington because of the sheer number of Non-Gifted lives they’d saved in their quest to make certain that the Gifted didn’t abuse the Non-Gifted with their powers. 

Rainer moved slightly and turned his cupped hand outward. He watched his mother’s name appear. He sat there staring at the letters and numbers, lost for several minutes. He wasn’t certain why he’d needed to come so badly, not certain what to say, or how this was going to fix anything at all. He just sat staring at the marble headstone. The granite representation of all he’d lost and all he’d given up, of what had made him who he was, the devastation that had defined him. 

He knew his father would’ve been just as disappointed and horrified at what he’d done to Emily, as Governor Haydenshire. Rainer felt sick. 

“I’m sorry,” he blinked back tears. “I just don’t know how I screwed up so badly. I just…” Rainer wiped away the hot tears that flowed down his face. “I’ll never be as good as you.” He shouted the thought that had haunted him since he’d watched his father’s casket lowered into the ground at fourteen years old. He pled to the pitiless granite and the merciless air around him.

“I don’t think that’s true, man.” Rainer spun around. He gasped as his heart flew. Logan, worried about Rainer, had followed him. “And I don’t think he expected you to be perfect, Rainer.” Logan sank to the ground beside Rainer. “I mean, at least Em’s not going to end up in jail because of a belly shot.”

Logan turned back to the monument and bowed his head. 

“S’up, Governor Lawson?” He offered. Rainer felt a smile form on his face. “He’s a good guy, sir. Try not to be too hard on him. He was only doing what Emily asked him to, and you were married, you know women will always get you into trouble.” He vowed to the ether.

Rainer found it very odd to be sitting in front of his parents’ graves, with all that had happened, laughing. After another few minutes, Logan stood and offered Rainer his hand. 

“Come on. Let’s try and clean up the mess we’ve made.” Rainer accepted Logan’s help up. 

“Bye, Dad.” He choked and let his hands run along the cold granite. “I will fix this. I swear to you.” He turned to follow Logan back to the car with renewed fire burning inside of him. 

Book#1

The Gifted walk among us. They are unseen, but in plain sight. The Earth’s energies are as visible to them as the tangible world is to us and they can harness and bend these forces to their will. Atop the Pentagon resides the government of the Gifted Realm.

Rainer Lawson is set to join the ranks of Elite Officers in the Gifted Police force. With his fellow officers, they will work together, using their abilities, to try and end the most sinister criminal organization in existence. His parents fought and died to re-establish the Realm, and he won’t allow them to have sacrificed in vain.

The will to protect those he loves has always driven Rainer, but his desperation to protect Emily, the love of his life, consumes him. While passions ignite and vengeance is sought, Rainer may discover that all of his money, fame, and power, could cost him the only thing that has ever truly mattered.

During the blitz Lessons Learned will be 2.99$ and book 1 - Within the Realm - will only be $.99 

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About the author:

Jillian Neal is a New Adult author with a passion for passion. She tells strong character driven novels told from the male perspective. Her guys aren’t afraid to let us inside their minds or inside their bedrooms. Young love comes to life inside the author’s Realm along with sinister crime fighting, mixed in with a hearty dose of family. The engaging adventures will stretch your mind and keep you coming back for more.

Jillian lives outside of Atlanta with her husband, and children.

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