Blog Tour - Excerpt & Giveaway - Wheeler by Sara Butler Zalesky




Wheeler

Sara Butler Zalesky

Publication date: July 4th 2016

Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports, Suspense


Known as the Ice Queen of the peloton, pro cyclist Loren Mackenzie rarely shows emotion in the heat of competition; she leads her team with quiet strength and determination. But her successes have not come without suffering, and her tragic past is hidden inside tarnished armor.
While out on a training ride with her cycling team near Enfield, England, a chance meeting quickly develops into an unexpected whirlwind romance. But a relationship with an A-list celebrity brings with it the microscope of tabloid-media attention, which expose jealousy and rivalry that threaten to undermine Loren’s leadership of her team.
The new romance also reveals a dangerous obsession, culminating in a terrifying confrontation with someone from Loren’s past. Her injuries not only put her chances at the World Championship in jeopardy but also bring forth memories of a life she had long buried – for good reason.
Can Loren open her heart to the love she has held at a distance, or will her fear ultimately defeat her?
The follow up novel in the Wheeler series is coming soon.

Excerpt from Wheeler, by Sara Butler Zalesky

28 July

Les Andelys, France

Graham looked at his watch and groaned.
“Loren, the sun isn’t even up yet, and I can’t drink my coffee with you moving so fast.” She stopped to gesture to the sky.
“Are you kidding? The sun’s been up for almost half an hour now.” He was grumbling when he caught up to her. 
“I’ll get up if I have a compelling reason. If not…” He wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. “I’d rather do other things.” She wiggled out of his embrace to pull him along by his hand.
“How about we give other things a break, okay? I want to do things with you.”
As they walked up Chemin du Château de la Gaillard toward the ruins, the hill became a little steep.
Loren didn’t seem to feel the effort of the climb, but Graham was struggling with it right from the start.
“You can’t be out of shape!” she called out to him. “You ran a marathon. Come on! We’re going to be late.”
“I didn’t realize we had an appointment,” he muttered, then groaned. “I need to do more hill work.” When he reached where she waited, he rubbed his eyes. “I think my eyes are clouding over.”
Then he saw the look on her face. “Why do you look like the cat who ate the canary?”
“Look,” she whispered and pointed over the ridge. “It only happens early in the morning in the summer.”
A thick fog was rolling in off the Seine, obscuring the valley below the Château. She took his hand again as the mist began to curl around their feet and by the time they reached the castle ruins, the mist had concealed even the grass. He let go to stand in the middle of the gallery.
“How did you know about this?”
She smiled at him. “I looked it up before we left for dinner. Isn’t this cool?” Graham watched as she wandered around the base of the castle, marveling in the atmospheric phenomenon that is fog until it obscured her. He turned and cleared his throat.
“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” There was no echo of his recited line from As You Like It, but his head snapped up when Loren’s voice come from somewhere to his left.
“It were as possible for me to say, I loved nothing so well as you, but believe me not, and yet I lie not; I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing.” He was stunned speechless for half a second, recognizing the line from Much Ado About Nothing. Graham projected his voice as he responded.
“By my sword Beatrice! Thou lovest me!”
“Do not swear and eat it,” he heard her call out.
His heart rate rose. “I will swear by it that you love me, and I will make him eat it that says I love not you!” Her voice became louder to his ears, but he couldn’t tell where she was.
“Will you not eat your word?”
“With no sauce that can be devised to it,” he replied. “I protest I love thee.”
“Why then, god forgive me.” He marveled at the sadness in her voice.
“What offense, sweet Beatrice?” Graham answered, turning around.

“You have stayed me in a happy hour.” She was close to him now and his heart was beating out of his chest. “I was about to protest I loved you.”
“And do it with all thy heart,” he said and she appeared then, her copper hair moving around her shoulders as she came toward him. Her smile took his breath away as she cupped his face in her hands.
“I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” Loren kissed him, then released him. Her eyes were shining pools of silver as she took his hand and placed it above her heart. “Je te donne mon coeur.”
Graham ran his thumb over her lips. “As you are mine, I am yours. Always.”


Author Bio:
Sara was born in the wee hours of a November night in New York City. When her family moved to a small borough in northwestern New Jersey, she had little choice but to move as well. Self-sufficiency is a tough thing for a toddler.
The dichotomy of being the middle child of three, but the only girl, was difficult, as typically no one really pays attention to a middle child. Mostly, Sara spent her time creating fanciful stories in her head when she should have been focused on other things, an issue that continues to this day. Most of these stories have never been shared, let alone completed. This all changed in the spring of 2015, when Sara was encouraged by a friend to expand upon a short story she had accidentally emailed to him. The result is 'Wheeler’, a romantic, women's fiction/sport novel, which combines the author's romantic inclinations and her passion for cycling. Sara currently resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, with her loving husband and their son. She is a paralegal for a boutique law firm in Chester County, Pa, an avid road cyclist and indoor cycling instructor at a national chain. Follow the author’s blog at sarabutlerzalesky.wordpress.com or on Twitter @sarazalesky. She does a little dance every time someone ‘follows’ her on Twitter. Really.


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