Objects in Motion A Conch Garden Novel Volume

“Multilayered, evocative, and utterly absorbing, Objects in Motion is a heartrending dive into the depths of the human spirit.” – Meghan O’Flynn, bestselling author of the Ash Park series

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BEYOND THE BREAK

A new friendship. A simple gift. A love that defies convention.

It’s been three years since Claire Pyles lost her baby to stillbirth, three years since her picture-perfect husband committed an act Claire can’t seem to forget, much less forgive. Three years she’s spent struggling to reclaim peace. Still, she has every reason to be happy—a dream job as principal cellist in the symphony, a beautiful home, meaningful volunteer work at the cancer center. Claire may have suffered tragedy, but it’s true what her mother always said: Someone always has it worse.

Right now, that someone is Hazel Duval, a violinist who recently stumbled into Claire’s life. Shy and prone to panic attacks, Hazel offers a welcome distraction from Claire’s own problems—something Claire can actually fix.

But when the two women travel to Italy for a music festival, Hazel’s panic intensifies, and Claire’s attempts to help seem only to worsen her friend’s mental state. Then one morning, Hazel does something Claire never would have predicted: she kisses her.

Claire views this kiss, and what follows, as the purest form of giving—a restorative she can offer her friend that no one else can. But what Claire is about to learn is that Hazel is not the only one who is broken, and Claire is not the only one with the power to heal.

Provocative, revelatory, and tragically realistic, Objects in Motion tells the other side of the story from Beyond the Break, where readers saw Claire only through Hazel’s eyes. Whatever readers of Beyond the Break thought they knew about Claire…they were wrong.

Kristen Mae is the bestselling author of Red Water and Beyond the Break, as well as the hugely popular and completely twisted short story Black-Eyed Susie. She is also a social media manager, freelance writer, classical musician, and artist. Check out her website, AbandoningPretense.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram @abandoningpretense.