Two Worlds,Two Men by Joy Frawley [Blog Tour, Author Inspiration & Giveaway]

Two Worlds,Two Men

by Joy Frawley

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BLURB:

Jocelyn and Neely are having a perfectly pleasant dinner at the Sheep Heid Inn when it happens: Jocelyn suddenly finds herself sitting across the table, not from Neely, but a strange man dressed in medieval garb. This man is no apparition. His eyes, the deepest brown, clearly look on her in intimacy; his touch causes her pulse to rise.  Jocelyn realizes two things: from his clothes, he is clearly an aristocrat, and that she, Jocelyn Stewart, seems to be in some sort of romantic relationship with him! Minutes later Jocelyn returns to Neely, in the present day, weak and terrified. Together they begin to unravel the forgotten past and find themselves facing the reality of medieval Scotland. A strange world steeped in folklore and superstition; where life begins and often ends with the sword. As Jocelyn travels back to medieval times she learns that the man she keeps seeing is no other than Sir Colin Campbell of the powerful Campbell Clan. When Jocelyn is with Colin, she wants never to leave his side; then she returns to the present and cannot imagine herself with anyone but Neely. Jocelyn struggles with a choice. Which man will gain her heart when both offer such different love? She is in love with two different men in two different worlds.

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EXCERPT

Jocelyn looked around for the driver who was supposed to be waiting for her arrival with a sign. She had hired someone to pick her up because, as an American and first-time visitor to Scotland, she had figured it would be less stressful.

She didn’t see the driver anywhere; then, just as she started feeling nervous, she saw a man holding a sign with her name on it. And what a man he was! He was broad shouldered, strong and had dark brown hair with reddish tints. He exuded masculinity like some cologne, and even across the airport, she thought she could smell it. Smoothing her unruly hair, she started to walk over to him.

The man, seeing her approach him, took a step toward her. “Are you, Jocelyn?”

When he spoke her name, she found herself frozen in place unable to respond. She’d heard this voice before; she knew this voice. This man spoke her name exactly like the dream she had had all those years ago! She had been stirred awake in bed by a voice of a man, who spoke her name with a Scottish accent. His voice was gentle and low; as if he wanted to gain her attention, but not cause her alarm. Jocelyn had clutched the sheets to her chest and stared out into the darkness of her bedroom almost feeling his intimate presence beside her. She lifted her hand up to her ear having sworn his warm breath had brushed her skin. Jocelyn remembered she had turned her head, anxiously, toward the pillow next to her and almost thought she would be looking into the eyes of a stranger; yet she had not been frightened. This man, his voice, somehow comforted her.

Now, she stood in the airport and caught her breath as she faced the man before her. Her eyes searched his face for something; though what it was she wasn’t sure. Jocelyn felt her heart beating so fast she was certain the man could hear it as memories flooded her mind of that night so long ago when he or someone spoke her name in the darkness. Was that the reason for her vacation to Scotland? Was she unconsciously trying to find the man?

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Character Inspiration

If you have never written a book you may be surprised to find that we can unconsciously bring a part of ourselves into the characters we write about. I wouldn’t say that the characters are self-made replicas. A more accurate way to put it is that the characters can portray attributes or aspirations of our own or other people in our lives. I found this to be true with my main character Jocelyn Stewart who finds herself time traveling between present day and medieval Scotland. Though I haven’t time traveled lately, I thought I had back in college at a frat party. But wait, I’m getting off track here.

Anyways, Jocelyn is introduced to the reader as a somewhat docile personality who is struggling with a barren life. It’s not that she isn’t capable to take care of herself, it’s the missing passion that causes her to find adventure in a foreign country. And find adventure she does with her hot innkeeper and a medieval clansman. As a young women I to found life a bit of a struggle to navigate with all its twists and turns leaving me perplexed at what to do next or where to go. I think it’s only natural. So while writing Two Worlds Two Men I instinctively found myself describing insecurities that I personally experienced and brought those thoughts to Jocelyn as a character. Insecurities such as meeting a handsome man for the first time and wondering what he is thinking about you. Or the fear of meandering through life with no real purpose. Or maybe the fear of never finding that someone special to share your life with.

I may be crazy, but I don’t think I am alone in having had all these thoughts cross my mind as I grew into the person I am now. I think most of us have done the same. It was kind of insightful as a writer to find myself including these personal characteristics into Jocelyn. But it was even more insightful to find myself portraying her at the end of the book as a young women who had found herself. A woman who confronted her peers, her lover and her own fears head on to complete the task she knew she needed to do. The character Jocelyn showed determination and purpose-both of which she longed for on her flight to Scotland. And those are attributes I think most of us aspire to as well.

My point is that maybe, just maybe, we can as writers gain insight into ourselves while creating our characters. I experienced this and even though I didn’t time travel to get where I want to be both Jocelyn and I turned out okay in my opinion.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Joy Frawley is an author and writer of the upcoming romance novella; Two Worlds, Two Men due to release on October 2014 by Resplendence Publishing. Joy lives in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan relishing in living the life of the classic “townie” with her two dogs Piggs and Diggs. You can reach her at joyfrawley@gmail.com  or joyfrawley.com.

Buy Links:

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1zMj2IW

Resplendence Publishing: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/m8/706-978-1-60735-807-7--two-worlds-two-men-by-joy-frawley.html

GIVEAWAY

 $25 Amazon/Barnes and Noble gift card to one randomly selected winner during the tour.

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