Note from DD:

I almost didn’t get this posted in time! We had a huge storm last night that wiped out the power for hours. The house got hot. Candles made it hotter, so I blew them out and went to bed. Nothing better to do! Then one of the dogs started barking. Harry doesn’t like storms, and he expects someone to sit in the living room with him or he’s a nervous wreck. I’m not sure when power came back on, but I awoke to air-conditioned air and lights on all over the place, and with Harry nowhere to be found. Rat bastard. So, now I have a crick in my neck from sleeping in the recliner. Can you guess where I’m going as soon as I post this? Yeah, to my nice soft mattress.

Anyway, Brenda Maxfield is my guest today. Check out her new book!

Assaulted and pregnant, sixteen-year-old Lizbet Morgan is shipped off to give birth in secrecy and hand her baby over to strangers. When she returns home to her family’s strict religious community, she is expected to pick up where she left off.  But the nightmare isn’t over. Her close friend Johnny isn’t the only one asking questions, and Lizbet fears that the reason for her absence will soon be discovered. She must decide whether to tell the truth or continue to obey a religious system that forces her to tell intolerable lies. 

 Excerpt from Lizbet’s Lie

I held out the fuzzy yellow blanket, and Edie took a step closer. When I saw her hands close around it, my heart turned to brick. She yanked gently, but I couldn’t let go. She yanked again as if in a mini tug-of-war.

Ned put his arm around me. “Let go, Lizbet. Give it to Edie.”

Edie’s hands dropped from the blanket. “It’s all right, honey. You don’t have to give it to me if you don’t want to.”

“Let go,” demanded a voice behind me, and I turned to look at Farah. She stood at the entrance to the hallway where my bedroom had been located for the last seven months. Her eyes pierced mine with firm resolve. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

I turned back to Edie’s pitying expression. She gave me a gentle smile. “It was good of you to knit it for the baby.  I’ll give it to—”

“Don’t say their names!” I cried and scrunched my shoulders up to my ears. I drew a sharp breath, and Farah brushed my side where she’d come to stand.

Farah pried the blanket from my hands and handed it to Edie. “Everything is going to be fine, you’ll see,” she said close to my ear. “I’m giving Edie the blanket. Then the baby will have something to remember you by.”

Edie took the blanket and pressed it to her chest. Tears filled her eyes, and the pity in them deepened. “Lizbet, it was an honor to have you with us during these past months. You take care of yourself. And if you need anything, let us know. We know it’s over for you now, but we still care.”

Edie’s husband Steve came out from the side office. “I guess this is good-bye then. Stay in touch if you want to.”

Edie closed in. “Lizbet,” she said and her voice was low. “Beverly wants you to continue counseling. She says you aren’t finished. You ask your momma and daddy, you hear? And I’ll send them Beverly’s report.”

Ned stepped to my side and helped me into my coat. “Don’t worry, Edie. We’ll take good care of her.”

Like my folks would ever in a million years agree to counseling.

“Lizbet.” It was Farah. She looked ready to cry. “You better visit me. Don’t you forget.”

I reached out and gave her a hard hug over her bulging stomach. “If I can.”

I walked to the door and realized Ned hadn’t followed me. I turned, and he was standing before Farah staring at her like he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Ned, I’m finished here. Let’s go.”

He flinched and put his attention back on me. “Of course, Lizbet. Let’s get you home.”

Steve opened the door and the crisp spring air settled over us. I pulled my jacket a bit tighter.

“Don’t forget,” Farah called after me.

Ned’s truck was waiting under the portico. He lifted my suitcase into the bed and then opened my door. I stepped up into the cab and sat down with care, trying to situate myself against the soreness.

Ned hopped into the driver’s seat. “You okay?”

I fixed my eyes ahead through the windshield, and gazed at nothing. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Ned coughed and put the key in the ignition. The truck roared to life. “No reason. No reason at all.”

But he watched me. I could feel his eyes. I felt like I was balancing on a tightrope stretched over a cliff instead of sitting in my brother’s truck on a torn-up vinyl seat. Any tiny breeze would topple me, and I’d crash with a splat in the cavern below and no one would be able to put me together again.

The radio blasted some lame country song.

“Do they know I’m coming?” I asked.

Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/mcqoswc
Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/ks43j7b
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/418064
Astraea Press: http://astraeapress.com/#!/Lizbets-Lie-By-Brenda-Maxfield/p/34826687

Brenda Maxfield Author Bio:

My passion is writing! What could be more delicious than inventing new characters and seeing where they take you?

I’m a teacher so I spend most of my waking hours with young people. I love chatting with them and hearing their views on love and life. My students are magical, and I am honored to be part of their lives.

I’ve lived in Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Costa Rica. Presently, I live in Indiana with my husband, Paul. We have two grown children and three precious grandchildren, special delivery from Africa.

When not teaching, I love to hole up in our lake cabin and write — often with a batch of popcorn nearby. (Oh, and did I mention dark chocolate?)

I enjoy getting to know my readers, so feel free to write me at: contact@brendamaxfield.com. Join my Newsletter Gang and get the latest news, contests, releases: http://mad.ly/signups/85744/join. Visit me to learn about all my books and some smart and sassy, clean teen reads: www.brendamaxfield.com  Happy Reading!

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