In
Her Eyes
Wesley
Banks
Genre: Sports Romance * Publisher: Chasing Pace Publishing
Date of Publication: 3/14/16 * ISBN: 978-0-9861934-2-2
Number of pages: 264 * Word Count: 57,000
Cover Artist: Dane at eBook Launch
Book Description:
When Ben Wilder is given a second
chance he focuses on the one thing he's always been good at: running. After
walking on to the University of Florida he begins to quickly move up the
national rankings, paving a path towards the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Everything is going the way he planned, until the day he bumps into Casey
Taylor.
New to Gainesville, and focused on
her first year out of medical school, Casey is initially hesitant to let Ben
into her life. But the truth is she's worried about letting a guy near the one
thing she loves most: her daughter, Emma. After one fun and fateful night Casey
can no long bury her feelings behind these excuses, and takes a chance on a guy
she is slowly falling for.
Casey's relationship with Ben
starts to gradually build into a love that she has never felt. But more
importantly Emma has taken a particular liking to Ben. As they all spend more
time together Ben is forced to confront painful memories when he starts to
notice something hauntingly familiar in Emma's eyes.
After a local journalist uncovers
the secret of Ben's past their lives begin to converge on a single promise that
Ben Wilder has long since made: to never give up...no matter what.
Excerpt:
Ben was tired, but
he was excited when he woke up on Monday morning. It was Casey’s day off and
Coach had given the team the week off, minus a team meeting this afternoon,
since they had another month until the NCAA Championships.
Emma’s school
started at seven forty-five which meant if he got to Casey’s around eight, they
could spend the whole day just relaxing.
When he arrived
the garage was shut, so he walked up to the front door. Before he could knock,
though, the door swung open and Casey jumped on him, wrapping her arms around
his neck and her legs around his waist.
“My hero,” she
said in a terrible southern accent. Then she started giving him little pecks
all over his head and face.
He walked inside
with her still wrapped around him and kicked the door shut. Laughing, he said,
“Who is this strange girl, and what did you do with Casey?”She continued on in
the southern accent. “You won the race for your beloved and claimed victory.”
Ben sat her on the
backside of the couch and looked down at her. “What on earth has gotten into
you?”
“You, Sir Runner.
Now, take me, take me now.” Casey puckered up her lips playfully and Ben
laughed.
Ben leaned in to
give her a quick kiss, thinking she might taste or smell like alcohol, because
right now that was the only explanation he could come up with. She tasted
like…cookies.
He looked around
the room and to his right, sitting on the kitchen counter, he found his answer.
He let go of Casey and she fell backwards onto the couch.
“Hey!” she said as
she hit the couch cushion.
Ben walked over to
the kitchen and picked up a small tub of Cookies ’n Cream ice cream and a bag
of Fudge Filled Chewy Chips Ahoy. He held up both and looked over at Casey who
was half-hiding, half-peering over the top of the couch. “Please tell me you
are not eating cookies and ice cream at eight o’clock in the morning.”
Casey jumped over
the couch and came running at Ben, a ball of sugar filled energy. She wrapped
her arms around his waist, her legs around the back of his calves, and inched
her way up his body. When she reached the top she bombarded his neck with
kisses. “My hero,” she said. She stopped for a moment and looked at him with
the most devious, sensual grin. She leaned in closer until there was almost no
space between her lips and his. Then like a cheetah springing on a gazelle, she
grabbed the ice cream with her left hand and the cookies with her right, hit
the ground and took cover on the couch.
“You have serious
problems,” Ben said.
Casey pulled out a
cookie and dipped it in the ice cream and held it up for him to see. Then she
started humming and dancing the cookie around like she was taunting him.
Ben took two
steps, dove across the couch, snatched the cookie from her hand and shoved it
in his mouth before she could barely move. She looked at him wide eyed and in
complete silence and then jumped on him. They wrestled and tickled each other
like five-year-olds, stopping every now and then for a quick cookie break.
This went on for
about thirty more minutes and then she crashed on the floor next to him. Her
head lay across his chest as he played with her hair until eventually he
crashed too.
******************************************
When did you decide to become a writer? Why?
Since I was in high school, I’ve always written. It wasn’t
until mid-2014 that I decided to try and pursue writing full time.
I asked myself this question: “If you would do anything even
if you didn’t get paid, what would it be?” The answer for me was writing.
What are some of your favorite authors/books?
Here is a post about the books have impacted me the most: http://wesleybanksauthor.com/10-books-that-have-impacted-my-life/
More recently though I’ve been waiting in anticipation of
Patrick Rothfuss’ book Doors of Stone.
Have you written a book where the ending surprised you?
Not yet, and I’m not sure if this will ever happen. Mainly
because I always start with the end in mind.
What is your favorite scene in this spotlighted book?
There’s this one scene with Casey and Ben where they have
plans to hang out for the day, and Casey has a bit of a sugar high. It’s just a
fun, flirty, very real scene.
Can readers find you at any Author/Reader conventions in the near future?
I was this close (since you can’t see me I’m holding my
fingers really close together) to attending RWA this year in San Diego. And
it’s something I may do in the future, but I’m not a big “event” person.
If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
I’ve been very fortunate to have already traveled to some
pretty amazing places. I think it’s a 3-way tie between returning to Africa
(specifically Namibia), Japan (near Mt. Fuji), or Patagonia, Chile.
If you could meet any person (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
Definitely Jesus. Even if I wasn’t a Christian, he’s still
had one of the most profound impacts on the world of anyone in history.
Some people may think that answer is a bit of a cop out, so
my next person in line would probably be Abraham Lincoln.
******************************************
About
the Author:
Wesley Banks was born in 1983 and
grew up on the west coast of Florida. He graduated from the University of
Florida with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. After spending over 7 years building movable
bridges from Florida to Washington he decided to focus on his true passion:
writing.
Wesley recently moved from Florida
to Oregon to get back to the great outdoors that he loves so much. He lives
with his wife Lindsey, and his two dogs Linkin and Story. Most of his time
these days is spent writing, with as much rock climbing, hiking, or skiing as
they can fit in.
Wesley’s debut novel, Hope In Every
Raindrop, was released May of 2015.
Website: http://wesleybanksauthor.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wesleybanksauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wbauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/wbauthor/
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