Burning Gold - Softcover

Calloway, Clea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988629607 ISBN 13: 9780988629608

Publisher: Gold Series, 2014

Synopsis

At age fifteen Jenni Ann had always thought she was sturdy, strong and stable. Until the horrific night her family was ripped away from her she could never have imagined life without them. The secret she holds torments her. She even stops talking to her best friend. But she finds new friends when she meets Rickie and Kiara in the alley. They show her another way to feel better, rolled up and lit with a lighter. But even feeling good has a way of ruining you when you’re with the wrong crowd. She has to get help! Through her painting and visiting the old homeplace her Pappy built in the North Georgia Mountains peace might become hers. Then, the handsome Ashton Holt Parker, Jr. enters her life and she knows that love and happiness could be hers if he doesn’t discover her secret and her lies from her dark past. Is the secret she is hiding really the reason for The Night or is there still danger out there waiting, waiting for her? Waiting for them? A crisp autumn breeze shakes the leaves as they twirl and twist, some staying firmly on their graceful oak limbs while others are spun lazily to the ground that is their destiny. Jenni Ann had always thought she was the sturdy leaf holding on strong. But like the leaf that doesn’t stay on the limb will she ultimately spin in the twisting wind out of control to her fate?

About this title

About the Author

Clea Calloway was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, attended Georgia State University, and loves the North Georgia Mountains. She is happily married, having just celebrated their twentieth anniversary, and lives in Atlanta with her family.  

Clea has been fascinated with books forever.  Her name is actually from a book, the forth in the Alexandra Quartet, written by Lawrence Durrell.  She collects First Edition Signed books and has a VERY hard time getting rid of any book! Her debut novel, Burning Gold, has received 4/5 star reviews and she is looking forward to publishing her next novel in the Gold Series very soon.  

She participates in Angels On Earth - They are men and women who are committed to helping raise awareness about maintaining a healthy lifestyle after cancer.  

She also loves Canine Assistants - Of the donations they receive, 95% go directly to the training and placement of service and seizure response dogs with children and adults throughout the country.  Look for a Canine Assistant in the red vest at CHOA or in the airport.  

She has also recently found a very worthy charity, The Covenant House - They house unwanted and homeless teens, many of whom have aged out of the foster system.

To find out more, visit CleaCalloway.com

From the Inside Flap

Excerpt From Burning Gold:
Jenni Ann at age sixteen:

I opened my door, stepping out to join Ricky.
"No, baby," he said. He came over to me and leaned me against the car door. "This is one the Rickster has to do by himself." He gave me a quick peck on the lips.
"Okay, baby," I complied.
Back in the car with Kiara, I was curious.
"He's getting beer right? K?"I turned to her.
"Honey, whatever he's getting we are gonna be happy about it, so don't you worry," she reassured.
"So," she continued. "You and Ricky are getting along pretty well, huh?"
"Yeah," I answered blushing a little. "I really feel great with him." I turned to look at him through the window. It all looked like a normal transaction from here. "Really great..." I trailed off.
"Well," she advised. "Just make sure you use condoms. You don't want a baby daddy!" she snickered and we gave each other a high five.
"What about you and Buck?" I asked. "Is it serious?"
Oh," she answered vaguely. "Is anything ever serious with Buck? I mean he dropped out of school to work in the motorcycle shop. I wonder about him. But I love him...yeah, so, I'd say it's serious."
The vacuum seal of the driver's door was broken, interrupting us.
"Ooh la, la," Ricky crooned dropping a bag with a twelve-pack of beer in the seat. "We are gonna have some fun tonight!"
Ricky's parents had money, so he had money. And he had the car. It made him the unofficial Leader. Kiara was the Brains. Buck was the Brawn. So what, I wondered, was I? I looked over at Ricky and smiled. Before he backed out, I leaned over and gave him a kiss. A real kiss. The Lover, I thought. I'll be the Lover. No one in this group knows about my awkward preteen years. About my goody-two-shoes reputation.
"What kind of fun?" I asked in anticipation.
"The White Horse has ridden in to town," Ricky said as if at a poetry reading in a Little Five Points coffee shop.
"Ohh, yeah!" Kiara cheered. "Sweeett score, Rickster!"
"White Horse?" I shook my head not understanding.
"The powder of the gods, my Jenni dudette," Ricky said, steering the car into a shabby apartment complex. There were signs of shrubbery past held back by broken cement curbs. Jagged pavement fronted up to the peeling brick, two-story units. Buck's motorcycle was a shiny toy next to an old huge rusty Buick.
"Damn it's cold out Buck!" Ricky said as he entered. "Why'd you make us wait so long?"
Buck reached out to Kiara and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Ricky, you know I gotta work now," Buck answered between kisses. "And I've missed my Baby K!" He was freshly showered and smelled like Irish Spring soap.
"Who wants a brew?" Ricky called out from the kitchen over the sound of aluminum sliding on metal refrigerator racks. "Oh! And, Buck! Do I have a surprise for you!"
Ricky chose the tacky big brown chair. He pulled the table a bit closer to start crafting this surprise. I watched as he took out a plastic baggie with white powder. He deftly poured some into a paper, added the pot, and rolled it all together. He made four in all until the white powder was gone.
"The White Horse is here!" he announced triumphantly as he lit the first joint.
It wasn't long before I was in the chair with Ricky. I didn't even notice when Kiara and Buck moved to the bedroom. I was sitting on his lap, kissing him. He was kissing me. We were falling from the sky. We were floating. We were laughing and touching. Lips...slowly...moving. Lips touching lips. And our hands were the branches of our centers, reaching out, wanting to know more. Wanting to reach the sensation of that sun inspired blossoming. It was all was so warm, so ingeniously planned in the universe. No questioning. No protesting. No other way in the world that was more right then in that moment. I was the one, the one who deserved this love and weightlessness from my Knight on Shining Armour. My Prince who came to me on his White Horse. I was rocking my internal lullaby with his every touch. This was where I was meant to be. Nothing else mattered. Nothing.
~~~

Edition details

• Publisher: Gold Series
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0988629607
• ISBN 13: 9780988629608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300