The Journey of Champions summary—
Travis McCoy thought the journey home would be the hardest
choice he ever had to make. It isn’t until he finds himself walking out the
door and leaving his family behind that he realizes his journey is only just beginning.
Now, with only a handful of weeks until Christmas, Travis tries to find his way
back home. This time, he plans on staying forever.
Excerpt—
An hour later, Penelope parked in front
of Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport. The trip had been filled with
awkward conversations mixed with deafening silence. She had prattled on about
what she and Max had planned for the coming week. While Travis knew it was just
her way of trying to distract him, it hadn’t worked. All he could think about
was how he’d miss one more of Max’s football games, how he wouldn’t be able to
hear about Mr. Nickels giving too much homework or to read with him before
bedtime. These were all things that he had gotten used to doing, and now he
wouldn’t be able to — not until he came back, anyway.
They climbed out of the car without
speaking, Travis grabbed his bags from the trunk, and they walked into the
airport. Penelope stayed next to the sliding doors while he checked in for his
flight and picked up his tickets. Turning back to her, he swallowed against the
lump in his throat. Saying goodbye to Max had been hard, but the thought of
leaving Penelope had Travis trembling.
“Well, I guess this is it,” Penelope
said with a wistful sigh. She placed her hand on his chest and sniffed back her
tears. “I thought I could do this without crying.”
“If you cry, I won’t be able to go,”
Travis murmured.
She smiled. “Then maybe I should start
sobbing.” She shifted her attention up to him. “Promise me that you’ll come
home.”
“I promise,” Travis replied. “I promise
to come back to you and Max. Just remember that I love you, Penelope.”
“I love you, too,” she whimpered before
leaning up and brushing her lips across his. “Hurry back to me, love.”
“As fast as I can,” he whispered.
Somehow — and he wasn’t sure how —
Travis managed to pull himself away from her. He fought the urge to claw at the
ache in the middle of his chest. Just the few seconds that he’d already spent
away from her had him rattled. How was he supposed to go a week or longer without
holding her in his arms or feeling her gentle kiss?
In a daze, Travis managed to get
through the security check-point and down to his gate. Settling down on one of
the hard, plastic seats, he placed his elbows on his knees and rested his
forehead against the palms of his hands. His stomach was in knots, and more
than a few times he swallowed against the bile that had been creeping its way
up his throat.
Just when he was about to hightail it
to the nearest restroom, someone sat down next to him and placed a hand on his
shoulder. Travis looked up, gasping when he saw Russ there.
“Didn’t think I was gonna make it
before they called for our flight,” Russ chuckled before he could utter a
sound.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Travis asked.
Russ smiled and shook his head. “I’m
coming with you, boy. I once made the mistake of letting you go. I’ll be damned
if I let it happen again. Besides, Miami is a huge part of your life, Travis.
It’s time for me to see it, don’t you think?”
“But I thought you hated to fly.”
Travis lifted an eyebrow in his father’s direction.
“I do,” Russ admitted. “But for you,
I’m willing to give it a go. Just don’t laugh at me if I get a little scared.
If people were meant to fly, God would have given us wings.”
Travis laughed. “You have my word,
Dad.”
“Good,” Russ muttered, stretching his
feet out in front of him.
“Dad, thank you for coming with me,”
Travis said, his voice sincere. “It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome, Travis. Today is a new
start for both of us — a new journey.”
Travis nodded. “The journey to
forever.”
Authors bio and links—
Lisa Bilbrey is a mom of three and
has been married to her high school sweetheart since 1996.
Finding a love in the written word, she started writing as a way to express herself. From the first word she wrote, she'd found her heart and soul. Always willing to learn, she's spends much of her time trying to improve as a storyteller.
Finding a love in the written word, she started writing as a way to express herself. From the first word she wrote, she'd found her heart and soul. Always willing to learn, she's spends much of her time trying to improve as a storyteller.
In late 2011, Lisa opened
Renaissance Romance Publishing with Michele Richard and Laura Braley.
Links—
Tour Schedule—
4/9—Jennifer Garica- Promo Excerpt
4/10—Lisa @ Fic Talk- Promo Excerpt
4/11—Sapphire Kande- Promo and
Excerpt/ review
4/12—
4/13—Wyndy Dee- Guest Post
4/14—Lindsey Grey-Review
4/15—Mich-Review
4/16—M.B. Feeney- Guest Post
4/17—M.C. Rayne- Guest Post
4-18—Elizabeth M. Lawrence- Guest
Post
4-19—Lorenz Font-Guest Post/ Promo
and Excerpt
4-20—Credoroza – Promo/excerpt
4/21—Kathryn Romeo- Guest Post/
Promo
A
Day in the Life
So, you want to experience a day in my life, huh?
Are you sure? Okay, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Seven in the morning, I get up, get my kids up.
Which sounds easy, but it is not. My daughter, age ten, is not a morning person
and fights against me when I try to get her up. First, we start by me gently
nudging her awake. Then, we go with a firm voice telling her get her butt out
of the bed. Finally, we go with the yelling and me threatening to take away
everything she loves if she doesn’t get up. Fun, right? Yeah, that’s where the
fun is just starting.
The next struggle is getting her to check her
blood glucose and eat breakfast. She’s a diabetic, and has to prink her finger
with a lancet before she can eat anything. Once we get that done, I force food
down her throat. She’s not a breakfast eater, but her blood glucose does better
when she gets at least fifteen carbs in the morning.
Once we’re all dressed and fed, I drive them to
school. My oldest recently had a surgical screw put in his foot after breaking
the same bone twice in less than six months. He uses a knee scooter, which is
better than crutches, but still not ideal, ya know? I drop him off first, and
then take my daughter to the elementary school. My middle son walks to school
since he had athletics first off.
With the kids safely at school, I come home and
make a cup of coffee and settle down in front of my laptop. I spend the first
hour of my morning doing laundry, cleaning house, and catching up on emails and
the multiple chat boxes we use on Skype to run our publishing house. After I
have those done, I either start writing or editing, all depending on what’s on
the days schedule. Sometimes, I catch a nap.
Just before lunch, I run up to the school and pick
up my oldest, driving him from the high school around to the AG building, which
is about five hundred yards apart. With his foot being busted, it’s really hard
for him to make it to get to class on time.
I pick him back up for lunch, and feed him before
taking him back to school. Then I go back to editing/writing until the kids get
home from school, and the husband from work. Then, the real fun begins.
On a typical night, we have basketball, boy/girl
scouts, church, baseball, football. There is rarely a night when we don’t have
something—usually more than one something—going on.
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