You might remember a few weeks ago when we sat down to chat with Welcome to Hickville author Mary Karlick. We’re back with the follow-up, Hickville Confessions, and this time, Justin stopped by to let us know his top ten favorite things about Ryan!
We’ve also got a fun giveaway and an excerpt from Hickville Confessions to share with you. We’ll get right to Justin’s list:
I could write about the things Justin loves about Ryan but I think the readers would rather hear it from him.
***Justin’s Top 10 Favorite Things About Ryan***
- The first day he saw her, he noticed her big blue eyes and the cute pixie haircut. He especially liked the paint-splattered shirt she’d worn on the first day of class. It wasn’t screen-printed paint either. These were real splatters. She’d caught him looking at it and with a butt-load of attitude had said, “Self portrait.” There was something cool about a girl who’d say that.
- The way she pulled at her hair when she was nervous.
- The way she sang slightly out of tune.
- After the hell she’d gone through, she’d faced everybody with a bring it on attitude.
- He liked her sarcasm. He liked her strength. She hadn’t shrunk into the corner when he’d asked her who she’d lost. She was a fighter and he had no doubt that if he’d pressed her for more, she really would have thrown her coke at him.
- After Justin saved his mom from a suicide attempt, Ryan came to him. These are his thoughts. Like ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air, and all the other corny things he could think of, Ryan appeared with a smile on her face. Not concern or sympathy—a smile. And without hesitation or thought, he pulled her against his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and held on. She hugged him back and it felt so good. All of the horror of the past twenty-four hours dissipated like the wisps of a bad dream.
- He wasn’t sure if she was crazy or cool, but either way, he liked it.
- The wonderful sound of her giggle.
- She wasn’t afraid to call it like it was. It made him smile.
- And the number one reason Justin loves Ryan is summed up in his words to her. “You amaze me, Ryan Quinn. You and your super sexy short hair, and your perfectly beautiful face, and your freaking amazing body.”
***About Mary Karlik***
Following a career as a nursing instructor, award-winning author, Mary Karlik earned an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania. A native Texan, Mary loves horses, dogs, cats, country music, and small town diners. Although she has recently relocated in northern New Mexico, her heart remains in the Lone Star state.
***About the Book***
Hickville Confessions by Mary Karlik Series: Hickville High #2
Published by Self-Published on April 14, 2015
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 340
Goodreads Buy the Book
New town. New look. New beginning. High school junior Ryan Quinn has a past. She will do just about anything to keep it hidden, even if means joining the ultra-conservative, no fun allowed, Purity Club. But secrets are hard to keep in a small town and when the Purity Club girls discover the truth, they viciously attack Ryan.
Justin is the kind of guy who can make Ryan forget her vow to change. He’s the kind of guy she should avoid at all costs. But he knows her soul secrets. He understands her and it is torture when she is away from him. But as she deals with the outward scars on her face and the inward shame of her past and Justin’s home life continues to spiral out of control, their relationship becomes as convoluted as their home life. Will they find the courage to open their hearts to each other in spite of their family drama?
***EXCERPT***
Justin Hayes didn’t care that he’d been kicked out of the Homecoming dance, but he was pissed as hell that they treated Eric like a victim. When Coach Graves escorted Justin out, he lectured him about his anger and how he needed to get control of it before he wound up in trouble with the law.
Jesus. How had he become the bad guy?
When they got to Justin’s truck, Coach Graves put his hand on Justin’s shoulder, all fatherly, and said, “Son, think about what I said. You have to learn to let things go.”
Justin opened the door and turned to Coach. He wanted to tell him he’d gotten it all wrong. But Justin had thrown the first punch and that was all that really mattered. He choked back all the things he wanted to say and closed the door.
His hands gripped the steering wheel as he fought the urge to slam down the accelerator. He didn’t need more trouble. He needed to wrap his brain around the truth that had been revealed tonight. One more thing to add to his big, stinking shithole of a life.
He made a right by the courthouse, where girls in their Homecoming gowns frolicked in the fountain. He pulled up alongside the curb and put it in Park. They’d soaped the fountain. At least someone was having fun tonight.
As he watched the scene unfold, uneasiness filled him. Those girls weren’t dancing in the bubbles. They looked like they were trying to drown someone.
Holy shit! They’re going to kill her.
He jumped from his truck. A deep growl erupted as he ran toward them. The girls screamed and scrambled like rats from a sinking ship. Macey Brown stared at him as she stepped over the rim of the fountain, hatred blazing in her eyes. She wasn’t scared like the other girls. She was mad that he’d interrupted.
He pushed past her. Ryan Quinn sat up and splashed water in her face. Her skin was raw and bleeding. He scooped her out of the water. She wasn’t crying—she was beyond that. She leaned her face into his chest and her body trembled in his arms. He opened the truck’s passenger door and slid her onto the seat.
Macey stood in front of the hood with a pair of shoes in her hand. “You can have the whore. Jesus doesn’t want her and neither do we.” She chucked the shoes at him.
He caught one. The other thunked onto the windshield. He grabbed the shoe and climbed behind the wheel.
Macey stood on the sidewalk with her hands on her hips. Her prom dress clung to her body and pieces of her hair had come unpinned, making her look even crazier than she was. Katie tried to pull her away, but she wasn’t budging. As he drove away, Justin took a last look in the rearview. Macey remained on the sidewalk with her middle finger pointed toward heaven.
***GIVEAWAY***
Good luck, Pretties!
