They
say if you want to really find a good book, go to page 69 (the middle
and meat of the book) and you like what's there, it's definitely worth
reading the whole book. For today's feature, I'm zooming in on page 69
of Richard I. Levine's new romance, Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
When they met in the fourth grade, it
was love at first sight for Mitchell Brody and Jessica Ramirez. He was
the freckle-faced kid who stood up for her honor when he silenced the
class bully who’d been teasing her because of her accent. She was the
new kid whose family moved to San Juan Island, Washington, from San
Juan, Puerto Rico, and whom Mitch had thought was the most beautiful
girl in the world.
She was his salvation from a strict
upbringing. He was her knight in shining armor who had always looked out
for her. Through the many years of porch-swinging, cotton-candied
summer nights, autumn harvest festivals, and hand-in-hand walks planning
for the ideal life together, they were inseparable…until 9/11, when the
real world interrupted their Rockwell-esque small town life, and Mitch
had joined the Marine Corps.
This is not just the story of a
wounded warrior finally coming home to search for the love, and the
world he abandoned twenty years before. It is also the story of a man
who is seeking forgiveness and a way to ease the pain caused by every
bad decision he’d ever made. It’s the story of a woman who, with
strength and determination, rose up from the ashes of a shattered dream;
but who never gave up hope that her one true love would return to her.
As she once told an old friend: “Even before we met all those years ago,
we were destined to be together in this life, and we will be together
again, because even today we’re connected in a way that’s very special,
and he needs to know about it before one of us leaves this earth.”
Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is available at Amazon.
“Gracias, Señora, gracias,” Corey said and ejected the chambered round. “You’re lucky, Mitch. She had the
hammer cocked and this rifle is so old there’s no safety on it.”
“You’re still a smartass,” Mitch said, letting out a sigh of relief then signaled for a helping hand.
Once on his feet, the room appeared to shimmy.
Unlike similar episodes, the nausea became more intense before it began to subside. Feeling unsteady now, he leaned back against the countertop and paused, blaming his discomfort on the heavy smell of deep-fried fritters mixed with the pungent signature of the oil-based paint throughout the entire kitchen.
“Hey, you okay there, Pal?” Corey asked. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Yeah, sure. I’m either dehydrated or she kicked me harder than I realized, or maybe it’s because I haven’t
eaten since breakfast. Either it’s that, or all the traveling I’ve been doing is starting to catch up to me,” he lied.
His doctor had told him to expect more of these episodes.
As he waited for things to settle, he surveyed the kitchen and noticed the changes in everything from paint scheme and window treatments to the stainless-steel appliances. However, the butcher-block countertops, a once prized possession of his mother, had remained.
Nicer than I recall, but certainly not the decorative upgrades that Sam Wyatt would ever do, he thought. His eyes narrowed when they finally fell upon the old woman’s face. He thought he knew her, but didn’t know from where.
What do you think? Would you keep reading?
Richard I Levine is a native New
Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in
several occupations and a one-year coast-to-coast wanderlust trip, This
one-time auxiliary police officer, volunteer fireman, bartender, and
store manager returned to school to become a chiropractor.
A twenty-five-year cancer survivor,
he’s a strong advocate for the natural healing arts. In 2006 he wrote,
produced, and was on-air personality of The Dr. Rich Levine Show on
Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five-year chiropractic practice
in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop at the end of 2016 and moved
to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O.
While briefly working as a
ghostwriter/community liaison for a Honolulu City Councilmember, a
Hawaii State Senator, and volunteering as an advisory board member of
USVETS Barbers Point, he appeared as a background actor in over
twenty-seven 5-Os, Magnum P.I.s, NCIS-Hawaii, and several Hallmark
movies. In 2020, he had a co-star role in the third season episode of
Magnum PI called “Easy Money.”
While he no longer lives in Hawaii, he
says he will always cherish and be grateful for those seven years and
all the wonderful people he’s met. His 5th novel, To Catch the Setting
Sun, was inspired by his time in Hawaii.
Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is Levine’s first foray into the romance genre.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ http://www.docrichlevine.com
X ➜ https://www.twitter.com/Your_In8_Power
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/RichardLevineAuthor/
Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/rilevinedc
