Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Book Spotlight - Between Boyfriends by Sarka-Jonae Miller

Between Boyfriends is available for purchase on Amazon and Amazon UK. Take advantage of our JANuary sale through 1/31 and get the novel for only $0.99.



Book Description 
Jan Weston has always been boy crazy, but when "the one" breaks her heart she vows to change. Jan quits dating and takes a hard look at herself, discovering that she does not like the flawed woman she sees in the mirror. 

Thus begins Jan's hilarious adventure of trying to find her way as a single lady, a journey that begins with her mother discovering she dropped out of San Diego State University to attend massage school. Mrs. Weston is furious at being lied to and cuts Jan off. Now Jan is without a guy, her American Express card, and a way to pay for school. Instead of merely nursing a broken heart, she now has to deal with rejection from her parents and the joys that come along with working for a living. 

But maybe that is exactly what she needs. She is forced to change how she treats people and to reconsider her values. She starts to lean on her friends and discovers who really cares. She also accepts help from the last place she expected: Juan, the hot guy at her massage school who she had written off as a joke. But can Jan really change or is she just between boyfriends?

 Excerpt
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“So, what happened with Mike? Are you OK? Did you get dumped again?”
Jan knew it was obvious. She might as well go down the street to a tattoo parlor and have “reject” permanently etched into her forehead.
“Yes, but I’m over all that. I’ve given up dating. I’m focusing on . . . ” Oh no, I have to say something, “ . . . school. And my health. I’ve started working out.” Jan hated lying to Raven but rationalized that it was already tomorrow somewhere.
Raven cocked her head to the right like a curious puppy. “You’ve given up on dating?”
“Well, I’ve just realized that dating is a ridiculous concept and is better left to people without hearts.”
“Like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz?”
Jan took a drink of her iced tea. It tasted delicious after she had spiked it with three Splenda packets she had kept in her purse.
“No,” Jan answered. She began to feel confused again. She just didn’t know how to explain her logic. “It’s just that most relationships end in either breakup or divorce. So why bother? A lot of girls seem to jump into them even when it’s obvious that it’s not going to work out.”
Raven nodded. “Yeah, I know a lot of girls like that. Some guys too. They want someone to tell them they’re attractive, take them out, and to keep on reserve for weddings and parties. Sometimes, it’s worse though. They need a guy to give them an identity. If they aren’t someone’s girlfriend they feel lost because they don’t know who they are.”
I wonder if she ever thought that about me? Jan fidgeted with her straw.
“It’s weird isn’t it?” she agreed. She thought back on times she had panicked because she couldn’t find a date for a social event. “If you believe in soul mates then there’s only one person out there for you, so why stay with someone once it was clear they weren’t ‘the One?'”
“Well, define ‘clear,’” Raven challenged kindly. Jan couldn’t. “Besides, if a girl doesn’t know who she is then she won’t know what she wants out of a relationship. I hear things all the time in the salon from girls who date guys that never take them out, flirt with their best friends, blow them off consistently, and forget their birthdays or anniversaries. But these girls make up excuses instead of seeing the obvious truth that their boys just aren’t that into them.”
Jan opened her mouth to rant about what jerks those men were, but Raven cut her off.
“But it isn’t only the guys’ faults. These girls let them get away with it. They may verbalize to their guy that it’s not OK, but they stay with him no matter how many times he screws up. Their actions say it’s all right so why would the guy change?”
Jan was stunned. It had never occurred to her that men may notice her actions and draw assumptions. She counted on people to listen to her words and forgive her tone, body language and actions inconsistent with what she said.
“But shouldn’t guys be considerate and loving to their girlfriends irregardless?”
Raven raised an eyebrow. “Why would you date a guy that wasn’t considerate to begin with? Why agree to become his girlfriend when his actions say that he doesn’t love you?”
Jan’s perception jumped to a new height. She felt like someone had switched on a spotlight and an iceberg had appeared in front of her. She choked on the emotions, ideas, and opinions clambering for attention. She’d never really considered having a choice in becoming someone’s girlfriend, or that there should be a prerequisite for monogamy. Obtaining a boyfriend was the point of dating, wasn’t it? Why bother otherwise, and why take it slow if it is what you wanted? Then again, she had to admit that a lot of the guys she had dated had been jerks, some from the moment she had met them. So, why had she pursued them?
“I guess that makes sense,” Jan answered. “I’m not sure that people care so much about finding a great person that treats them well as they do about finding someone who’s attractive and willing to spend time with them.”
Raven shrugged. “Personally, I’m much happier spending time with my friends, male or female, that make me feel good rather than with a boyfriend that brings me down.”
Jan couldn’t help but wonder, Is there any other kind?

Author Bio
Sárka-Jonae is a novelist and a health blogger from San Diego. She has a BS in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and writes for many popular websites. Before writing full-time, Sárka-Jonae was a personal fitness trainer and massage therapist. 
Sárka-Jonae practices yoga and kung fu. She is an animal love and an avid traveler, having visited Costa Rica, Canada, England, Mexico, and Paradise Island. She has also been to France and Thailand researching her next books.




Author Links

3 comments:

  1. I wanted to let you know that I nominated you for a Liebster Blog Award. You can see your nomination here! Welcome to the Blogging Community! http://beccathebibliophile.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-won-liebster-blog-award.html

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Becca! I'll be checking out your site :)

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  2. Thanks, Leighta. I'm looking forward to doing a book spotlight for Flirting with Magick on my blog soon. http://www.betweenboyfriendsblog.com/

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