One to Watch: Debut Novella

As I’ve learned over the past couple of years. New authors have a steep learning curve. When I first started writing, I didn’t know about everything available out there to help make my writing better. There are writer organizations which provide learning, mentors, critiques, and contests. Only last year did I put a book through a critique group and find out how helpful input from other authors can be. It was through this critique group I first read something written by Jessica Alyse. I even commented on one of her submissions how blown away I was by her vivid descriptions. And now, with her debut novella, you’ll see what I mean.

Avery Sanders has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime, an opportunity to live out a dream—move to Italy and study the art of coffee. When she meets a man she once ran into in a store for a second time, she’s stunned…and excited. The man seems like everything she’s dreamed about and she’s drawn to him.

Police officer Liam Reed can’t believe the pretty girl from the store has crossed his path again, and he plans to make good on his promise. If they saw each other again, he’d ask her out. As the two spend time together, he realizes this woman is the one God planned for him, but when she explains her aversion to dating anyone with a dangerous job—firemen, soldiers, policemen—their future becomes more blurry.

While on the outside, Avery seems confident and cool under pressure, her past hurts have been buried deep causing her to shut herself off from certain parts of the world. And the deeper past pain is buried, the more painful it is to unearth. Alyse does an excellent job of delving into Avery’s past and giving the reader a peek at the reasons behind the character’s decisions.

Sometimes with humor, others with gut-wrenching decisions, this novella is about family, love, and letting go and trusting God. And it will leave you wanting more.

Now now available on Amazon