Thursday Excerpt - Book IV

THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, BOOK IV … MIKE
BY L. DIANE WOLFE

A prisoner of guilt for so long…

Mike Taylor is the epitome of stability. His family is proud of his academic and athletic achievements at Georgia Tech, and despite the temptations of college life, he has maintained his moral standards.

Yet beneath the peaceful surface, Mike is consumed with guilt, fearing condemnation and rejection. A former girlfriend’s abortion and the intense love he feels for his roommate’s wife constantly remind Mike of his failures. Unable to forget and full of shame, he refuses to forgive himself.

When Danielle enters his life, he realizes he can no longer hide the past. Will she be able to reach him or is Mike past the point of redemption?


From chapter two of The Circle of Friends, Book IV...Mike:

Standing in the kitchen doorway, Mike surveyed the party crowd from a distance. In the dim light, the room appeared quite full, and the loud music vibrated off every wall, adding to the confusion. Electing to brave the throngs of people, Mike began weaving through the crowd, navigating drunken college students like a car in an obstacle course. Feeling disorientated by so many bodies, he moved quickly to reach the other side.

As he sidestepped a couple locked in a passionate kiss, Mike came face to face with Sarah. Her hand around a bottle of beer, she looked up at him in surprise. Pleased to have found a familiar face in the crowd, Mike smiled at his roommate. Sarah took a sip of her drink and returned his grin, her eyes bright. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she suddenly leaned closer and kissed him.

Completely stunned by her behavior, Mike was unable to utter a sound. Sarah winked and turned away, obviously heading for the front door. Hesitating only for a moment, Mike quickly pursued her. Glancing over her shoulder to assure that he followed, Sarah stepped outside. Pushing past another couple, he hit the screen door and burst onto the front porch. Once outside, however, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Sarah?” Mike called, slowly descending the steps.

He walked to the end of the sidewalk and stopped. The streets were eerily deserted. Mike glanced in both directions, but did not see Sarah anywhere. Panic began to fill his chest. To where could she have disappeared?

“Sarah?” he called.

Mike ran into the street and spun around, his eyes searching every yard. There was no sign of his roommate, no answer to his desperate call. She had simply vanished into the night.

“Sarah?” he cried, his voice bordering on a scream. “Sarah? Sarah!”

“Mike!”

His eyes flew open as Mike awoke with a start. His chest labored for air and his hands tightly clutched the covers. The ceiling loomed over his head, a stream of light from the parted curtains playing across its surface. Reality began to sink in as Mike remembered that he was in a hotel room, far removed from Atlanta. Sarah had not just kissed him and then vanished into thin air. It had all been a dream.

Quickly he turned his head toward the other bed. Its occupant was awake, propped up on one elbow, and staring at him. Mike’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Mike, you were talking in your sleep!” Matt moaned, rubbing his eyes. With a sigh, he rolled onto his back.

“I was?” he asked, feeling his stomach turn.

“Yes, loudly,” Matt informed him, stretching his legs out from under the covers.

Emitting a groan, Matt pulled himself upright and threw aside the blankets. He rubbed his hair once, the wavy locks disheveled by his slumber, and yawned mightily before rising to his feet. Mike watched his roommate stagger toward the bathroom and waited until he heard the door close before exhaling. His muscles were still tense from the urgency of his dream. Mike closed his eyes and forced his body to relax.

Had he spoken Sarah’s name out loud? Was the sound of his wife’s name what had awoken Matt?

Copyright 2009 L. Diane Wolfe

Release date: October 6, 2009, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.
$19.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 300 pages, Fiction/YA
ISBN 978-0-9816210-4-3 / 0-9816210-4-X
The Circle of Friends
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“Book IV…Mike is such a powerful, engrossing, incredible, beautiful novel. But it still manages to be light hearted, funny and heart felt. There is real emotion and real people in these pages…”
- The Book Pedler

“MIKE is an engaging story of friendship, love and overcoming guilt caused by past mistakes. A well-written work, Ms. Wolfe has a storytelling style that captivates.”
- Susan Eileen Walker, author of ‘The Secret of the Dance’

“(The) series deals with the real issues facing today's society, including, but not limited to teens and young adults. It's refreshing how you've kept it real, and with no gratuitous sex and unnecessary foul language, and that's why I highly recommend your books to both young and old-'er'. It's inspiring how these young adults support one another, but that's what friendship is about at any age!”
- Darlene Wofford, author of ‘Edgewise’

“Book IV will grab you where you live, and will not leave you disappointed.”-Michael Douglas