the way back | excerpt + giveaway

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about the book

Young love means everything . . . until it leaves you with nothing.

The summer before her senior year of high school, Laney Jacobs and her best friend jump from a six-story beachside cliff in an attempt to impress their boyfriends. Laney rose from the water. Her friend did not.

Six years later, when Laney’s troubled mother’s memoir hits the bestseller list airing the family’s destructive secrets, Laney is forced to relive the trauma, this time in the public eye. To escape the scrutiny, she seeks shelter at her estranged grandmother’s seaside inn. But she can’t reconcile the loving woman with the heartless parent in her mother’s book. As she seeks answers, the boyfriend who once cost her a promising future reappears, stirring up both pain and hope.

When her mother’s vindictive fans threaten her grandmother’s livelihood and the lighthouse Laney has come to love, she turns to the century-old words of a young lighthouse keeper to help her find the courage to move forward. But once truths from the past come to light and old love finds new beginnings, will Laney discover that forgiveness is the only way toward true healing?

publisher: hope creek publishers

release date: june 18, 2024

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excerpt

“Laney?”

The baritone voice sounds so familiar. Not one of the other servers, though.

“Laney.” It comes again, this time louder. The deepness of it probes and picks at the scarred places I’ve been trying to bury for the last six years. My blood turns to ice.

It can’t be.

I’m imagining things. No one from California is all the way out here except me. And even if one person from my old life happened to show up in Bar Harbor, of all people it wouldn’t be him, the person I tried so hard to escape.

The bartender slides one glass of wine toward me, and I clutch the stem of the glass with enough force to shatter it. I turn from the bar as if my feet are weighed down with wet cement.

A small intake of breath passes my lips at the sight of him.

I’m caught unawares by how good he looks in his khakis and polo shirt, the slight shadow of stubble across his chiseled chin. I try not to think of all he’s likely accomplished in the six years since high school, of all I haven’t—the too-old college drop-out.

My face burns and I attempt to swallow down my emotion. “Jason.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually here.” He places his hand on my arm, and I’m shocked by the instant heat that burns my skin. A foreign longing rushes through me, and I attempt to tamp it down.

I pull away from the fingers that scorch the skin beneath my blouse. “What—what are you doing here?”

about the author

Heidi Chiavaroli (pronounced shev-uh-roli…sort of like Chevrolet and ravioli mushed together!) wrote her first story in third grade, titled I’d Cross the Desert for Milk. It wasn’t until years later that she revisited writing, using her two small boys’ nap times to pursue what she thought at the time was a foolish dream. Despite a long road to publication, she hasn’t stopped writing since! Heidi writes women’s fiction, combining her love of history and literature to write both split time stories and contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. Her second Carol Award-winning novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott’s life and led her to write The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast series, a contemporary twist on Little Women. Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Wyatt, her standard poodle.

Connect with Heidi by visiting heidichiavaroli.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of The Way Back, themed canvas tote bag, bath salts, 3 specialty teas, ocean-inspired candle, magnet, gel pen, notebook, and $25 Amazon gift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight June 19, 2024 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on June 26, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

tour schedule

justread publicity tours