Accused Blog Tour! (+$20 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Accused 

Author: Wendy Byrne

Series: Troubled Boys, Strong Men #1

Pages: 263

Date Published: 2015

Publisher: Two O's

Format: Kindle

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:
Spawned from the depths of every parent’s worst nightmare, Jillian Beckett’s 16 year old troubled son is charged with murder. He’s unable to remember what happened and swears he’s off drugs, but should she believe him? Her ex-husband doesn’t. The high-priced lawyer she hired doesn’t. Where does motherly instinct intersect with reality?

Afraid and alone, she reluctantly enlists the help of her son’s football coach to find the truth of what happened. As they battle to uncover the guilty party, confidences are shattered, lives are on the line, while her son is one step closer to spending his life behind bars.

~Character Interview with Sam Carter!~

My name is Sam Carter and I’d be the first to admit I was trouble with a capital ‘T’ when I was a kid. I’m not making excuses for my behavior as a juvenile, but I didn’t have things easy while growing up. My mother was a teen when she had me, and didn’t know anything about raising a child. I was alone a lot and foraged for food more than any little kid should have to. But then I got thrown into the foster care system and a whole other kind of crazy took over my life. When I lived with my mom it was a known kind of crazy. But then I started living with strangers where I didn’t know what would set them off, what would get me kicked out, or how to avoid their physical and emotional wrath. Right before the judge nearly put me in jail and threw away the key, I got lucky and went to live with the Mother Theresa of foster moms—Mama Iris. Because of her confidence in me along with unwavering support, not only did I finish high school, but attended college on a football scholarship and went on to play in the NFL.

Now I teach math and coach football at the local high school. I try to keep the testosterone to a manageable level in the locker room, impart any wisdom I might have learned over the years, and hope at least a handful of them pay attention. I know all about how it feels to be a teen boy—confused, scared, wanting to prove something to somebody—be it friend or enemy, and very much wanting to fit in.

That’s where I met Travis. When I heard he was arrested, I know I have to help in anyway I can. And then I meet his mother. While I’m immediately attracted to her, I also find her fascinating in a way I can’t quantify. I’m thirty-eight years old so a pretty face alone no longer draws me in. There’s got to be more substance to a woman for me to find her interesting, let alone fascinating. Jillian’s an artist who has a few scars of her own that I can tell are dictating her life right now.

It’s clear she wants the best for Travis and loves him in a way a mother should, but I also see something in her that makes her scared and vulnerable as well. She’s struggling with an overwhelming problem and thinks she’s alone in this mess when I volunteer to help.

It’s clear in the beginning she doesn’t trust me, but I’ve suffered from that malady—that old I’m going to do this on my own song and dance—a time or two in the past. I know in order for her to accept my help I need to be patient. And even though I came into this thinking they arrested the wrong kid, the further we investigate, I’m more and more convinced of it. But what or who’s behind it is what neither of us can get a handle on. We’ve got to figure it out because right now the odds are stacked against Travis. 

~Try an Excerpt!~

Sam spotted Travis sitting with his mother. In a sea of average, Jillian Beckett stood out. With a model’s face and body, she drew attention even when dressed in a pair of old jeans and a pink oxford shirt. There was a part of him that found her attractive—okay, a huge part of him—even though it made him feel like shit thinking of her like that. His first priority should be Travis, and it was. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he had a babe for a mom.

 He watched her get up and start to pace while Travis sat at the table looking nervous. Neither one seemed to be talking and Sam could sense tension between them even from across the room. It didn’t feel right to interrupt, but he didn’t have a choice once Travis spotted him and waved him over.

Jillian turned and stopped her frantic pacing. Hesitation played out on her face once she saw him. Something was going on between her and Travis and she didn’t want Sam’s interference. Before he could reconsider, Travis walked across the room and ushered him back to their table. “We could use some help, Coach.”

Her face was pale as she shook his hand and they both sat down. At least she’d stopped pacing. Still, he fought the urge to touch her as she clasped and unclasped her hands.

“What’s going on?” Sam didn’t want to linger on thoughts of his past.

Travis looked at his mother, then at Sam, then hung his head. “I am so screwed. The blood on my shirt matches Max Gill’s and the gun I had in my room was used in a killing a while back. I swear I didn’t do either, but the evidence says otherwise.”

~Meet Wendy!~ 

Wendy lives in the Chicago area. She has a Masters in Social Work and worked in the child welfare field for twelve years before she decided to pursue her dream of writing.

Between teaching college classes, trying to get her morbidly obese cat to slim down and tempering the will of her five-year-old granddaughter, who's determined to become a witch when she turns six so she can fly on her broom to see the Eiffel Tower and put hexes on people--not necessarily in that order--somehow Wendy still manages to fit in writing. She spends the remainder of her days inflicting mayhem on her hero and heroine until they beg for mercy.

She has written three books in the Hard Targets trilogy, Hard to Kill, Hard to Trust and Hard to Stop. In addition, she has a contemporary romance through Entangled Publishing called The Millionaire’s Deception, a self-pubbed Christmas short story called The Christmas Curse and two interracial romances, Fractured and Mama Said.

 Wendy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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