Adult Women's Fiction/Romance
On sale for . 99 cents at Amazon
This is not your typical love story. It’s not so black and
white. Lines are crossed. Walls are smashed. Good becomes bad. Bad becomes
very, very good.
Shayda
Hijazi—the perfect daughter, the perfect wife, the perfect mother. For
thirty-three years she has played by the rules, swallowing secrets, burying
dreams, and doing whatever it takes to anchor her family. Shayda Hijazi is
about to come face to face with the one thing that can rip it all apart, the
one thing her heart has always been denied: love.
Troy
Heathgate—untamed, exhilarating, dangerous—a man who does exactly as he
pleases. Life bends to his will. Until he comes across the one thing he would
give it all up for, but can never have.
Born
on the same day in opposite corners of the world, their lives collide. And
nothing is ever the same again. Now Shayda is flying free and Troy has found
the one thing that centers his soul, but even as they beat the odds, a cancer
diagnosis puts Shayda in a painful dilemma. On the one hand is the man who
makes her feel gloriously alive and on the other, her children, and a husband
ravaged by the past.
Spanning
three decades, 53 Letters for My Lover is a fiercely sensual, emotional ride to
the heart of an epic, forbidden love that defies it all—an intimate exploration
of love, loyalty, passion, betrayal, and the human yearning for hope, happiness
and redemption.
AUTHOR WARNING: This book is a blend of women's fiction and romance. It
involves infidelity and an attempted rape. If you are not comfortable with
these subjects, this may not be the best book for you.
"He Said/She Said" with Shayda
and Troy
Shayda's
quotes from 53 Letters For My Lover (99c
sale until July 16th!)
Troy's
quotes from the companion short story, From
His Lips (free on the US site)
The first time
they meet:
Shayda:
Dusty sneakers, grey
sweatpants…and then—the most startling pair of blue eyes. They reminded me of
the cut outs I had saved in my wish book, of the places I wanted to visit. Blue
like the water that surrounds the islands in the South Pacific. I felt like I
had been picked off the pavement and plopped smack dab in the middle of it. I
floated there for a while, suspended in its endless horizons as it held me for
long, still seconds.
Troy:
“Here you go.” I knelt beside her. That’s when I first
saw her face.
At the time, I was completely clueless about just how
significant that moment was, how it would derail both our lives, because at the
time I was just an ordinary guy looking at an ordinary girl on a quiet, shaded
street. That’s how a lot of things start, don’t they? Our most profound
experiences, our greatest adventures. When we’re just looking. Because if we
knew that we were really at the beginning of miracles and plagues, and slayings
and resurrections, we might retreat. But not knowing, I kept looking. And so
did she.
Except she didn’t just look at me,
she looked into me. As if she saw a place there that she’d
always wanted to go, and it stunned her that it actually existed.
The moment when
everything changed:
Shayda:
For a moment, I fought against the disarming
tenderness of a stranger, the shame of being caught in a moment of weakness.
Then his arms circled my waist, pulling me away from the door, from whatever
heartache he had witnessed in my reflection. The fight drained out of me. I
turned into the shelter of his embrace, and he, not knowing, not asking, took
me in.
Something changed in that instant. For me. For him.
Like when the sun and moon align and day turns to night. They finally see each
other’s faces and hang, transfixed, even as their eclipse throws everything
else into darkness. For those fleeting moments, everything made sense—the
pattern behind the random trajectory of life, the infinite order beneath chaos.
Troy:
For a while, she just stood there, like a deer that
knows it’s been caught in the hunter’s cross hairs. Then she bolted.
I seized her before she could escape, pinning her
against the glass, my hand over hers, so I could anchor her, keep her from
getting swept away.
Hey. It’s okay.
She made a small, choking sound when I pulled her away
from the sliding door. My arms went around her and her cheek found my chest.
And just like that, something fell into place.
All of my wild, crazy exuberance fit perfectly in the
quiet crevices of her dreams. It was as if all my life, I had been running
towards this moment, this diamond sharp clarity of being and belonging, this
strange, intriguing girl with her rose breath and her broken wings.
The point of no
return:
Shayda:
“Three days.” I drop my chin to his chest. “I haven’t
thought beyond that.”
“Three days, huh?”
I squeal as he puts one hand under my knees and picks
me up.
“We better get going then. You, my dear, have a lot to
make up for.” He grins and carries me out of his office.
Troy:
I had three days to get her to face the truth—that she
loved me, that she wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t left a gaping hole in her
heart, that the only reason she wouldn’t admit it was because she was scared,
because it would destroy everything safe and familiar and predictable in her
world.
I didn’t care anymore. She would go through hell, but
I’d be there to catch her. All I had to do was crush her defenses, lead a
seventy-two hour assault on her senses and walk away with her heart in my hand.
She would have no choice but to follow.
(5+3=8)
Fun Facts about 53 Letters
By
Leylah Attar
·
The final rewrite for
this book ended up with 50 Letters, but that sounded too much like 50 Shades...ha…so
I had to get creative within the parameters.
·
When I started writing
about Troy, I pictured him as a 50-50 mix of David Gandy and Henry Cavill. Hey,
a girl needs her inspiration!
·
I would say Shayda looks
a lot like Sarah Shahi (Fairly Legal, Person of Interest), but with curly hair.
·
Troy loves giving neck
kisses. He thinks that's one of the sexiest parts of a woman's body because
it's so open and vulnerable. That's also the spot most predators will go for in
the wild, so it's a very primal thrill when she wants to feel your lips there.
·
Troy has been known to
email a few fans via his scarycherry addy
in the book, but it's a hit or miss. His time is equally divided between work
and play, but his favorite activities include devouring brownies and Shayda.
·
The Butterfly
Conservatory and Prince of Wales Hotel mentioned in the novel are real places.
·
To get a visual
perspective on Troy and Shayda's cottage, and other aspects of the story, visit
the 53 Letters pinterest board.
·
This book was released
on Troy and Shayda's birthday (yes, they share the same birthday) - June 17th!
(A 53 Letters Short Story)
FREE
Troy
Heathgate has it all - brains, brawn and the kind of smile that just begs a
ribbon. Everything but the woman he loves. But now he’s back and determined to
possess her. There’s just one catch - she’s married to another man.
This short teaser story (9,500 words, 38 pages) is a re-telling of
select scenes from ' 53 Letters For My Lover'. It is narrated from the male
point of view - raw and uncut.
***This is a companion to the full length novel.
Although you can read it on its own, the recommended order is after the full
length novel, as an extra glimpse into the hero's perspective.****
About the Author
Leylah
Attar writes stories about love—shaken, stirred and served with a twist. When
she's not writing, she can be found pursuing her other passions: photography,
food, family and travel. Sometimes she disappears into the black hole of the
internet, but can usually be enticed out with chocolate.
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