Today is the day, Our stop on the Gutter Girl by Lynn Rush and Kelly Ann Blount blog tour.
I know both Flo and I can't wait to read this and review it for you....but until then here is an excerpt for you...
I’d run through every scenario I could dream up as to why I’d helped Jace like I had. Each time I
came to the same conclusions… One, he’d needed my help, bigtime. Two, okay, so maybe I’d
had a little crush on him since third grade. He was one of the only people at school who never
called me Goth Girl. Three, I’d probably made the biggest mistake of my life helping him.
I wiped down the counter beside the register as I looked out over the food court area. The
Hot Dog Shack was in a prime spot to see most of the other food vendors. There was a sea of
picnic tables scattered throughout the massive opening that lay before us, but off to the right,
there were a few more private tables for employees of the vendor area to hang out at for breaks.
For some reason, the mall was super dead right now. I suppose all the students lucky enough
to be able to do after-school activities were busy doing that. In a couple hours, it’d probably pick
up.
Since Ernie wasn’t here yet and I was waiting for the next food rush, I grabbed my phone and
looked up Jace’s profile on Scribbles again.
I shook my head and read over the messages that Jace’s fans had left him. They were intense.
Loads of people begged him to update his book, others sent him fan art of his characters, and
there was an entire hashtag dedicated to getting him to the next level:
#PublishKingdomofSwords.
I never would have guessed that about Jace. First, he was a star athlete on the football team,
but he wasn’t an asshole jock like most, even though today he wasn’t the nicest when getting his
notebook back. Second, he was uber-famous on this Scribbles site, and still, he was so humble.
That deserved some respect right there.
Two elderly people with white hair and matching maroon jogging suits approached the cash
register.
“Welcome to The Sword Shack, I mean, er, The Hot Dog Shack, what can I get started for
you today?” Sword Shack, really? I really had lost my mind, hadn’t I?
After I punched in their order and they shifted to the pick-up area, I got out the sanitizer
spray and wiped down the counters while Derrick, our hot dog chef extraordinaire, worked on
their food. I usually cleaned as soon as I got to work, but the whole Jace situation had left me
distracted.
“Order’s up,” Derrick shouted.
I forced a smile. “No need to yell. I’m right here.”
He shrugged and started scraping the grill down with a brush.
“Here you are. Have a great day,” I said as I set the tray of food down on the counter under
the Order Pick Up sign.
The couple smiled and thanked me.
They looked so normal and happy. My heart pinged and it suddenly felt like I was breathing
water instead of air.
What would it be like to have them for parents, or even grandparents?
My train wreck of a homelife often left me contemplating this exact question. I didn’t have
the luxury of a mom and dad who loved each other, who made sure everyone sat together for
dinner every night, or hell, just managed to keep the lights on at home.
I can’t wait until I graduate in May and I can get the hell out of dodge!
I already had an internship set up at the Winters Players Theatre. I’d work my ass off for a
year there and then hopefully learn enough from everyone to join the acting troupe the year after
that.
“Hey, what the heck is going on?”
I looked up and came face-to-face with Ernie.
His plump cheeks were slightly red and his glasses had slid down his nose.
“What do you mean?” I threw the rag I’d used to clean the counter into a red bucket under
the cash register.
“Why are you telling people you’re WriteEmHard on Scribbles?”
Star football player Jace Rovers has a secret. And not just any secret—a shocking secret… He writes romance. The kind with swords. And dresses. And kissing.
Nobody knows. Not the other kids at Twin River High. Not his overbearing parents. And certainly not the millions of fans who’ve read his book on the writing platform Scribbles. And that’s the way he plans to keep it.
Except suddenly one of the other football players grabs his notebook in jest and starts reading a kissing scene out loud…and Jace knows he’s busted.
But then McKenna Storm, resident goth girl who avoids the spotlight like a virus, snatches up the notebook and tells everyone she's the author. And lucky for Jace, she later agrees to continue the ruse...for a price.
Heck, he'd give her anything not to reveal his secret. But when they start to fall for each other, he knows he'll have to keep the biggest secret of all—his darkest character is based on her…
Gutter Girl by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount
Publication Date: May 10, 2021
Publisher: Entangled Teen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattlesnakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can’t resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.
When she’s not running or writing, she’s watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well. She’s madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites
KELLY ANNE BLOUNT is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s probably lost in a book, watching Twilight, snuggling her five furry rescues, or having an adventure with her handsome husband and their darling daughter. After living in a palace in Scotland, across from the Caribbean Sea, and in the snowy land of Wisconsin, Kelly and her family reside in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. Kelly loves connecting with readers on social media! Stop by and say, “Hi!” or ask a question. You can find her everywhere @KellyAnneBlount.
