Before this very bookish weekend ends, I’ve got something special on the blog! Today is my stop for the blog tour of Tara Frejas‘ first book, Paper Planes Back Home. Tara and I were classmates in the #SparkNA workshop, but only got to talk and hang out when we manned a booth at Eastwood’s Books & Brews. I got a copy of her book then, but I wasn’t able to read it because you know how many books and how little time we have, right? But it’s a good thing, too, because I had just enough time to read it for the blog tour!
But I’m not reviewing it just yet – I’ll save that later this week. :) Today, I’ll give you a sneak peek at this lovely, lovely novel.
Paper Planes Back Home by Tara Frejas
Published on February 21, 2015Â
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
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When Gianna wakes up on a cloud, she is disoriented yet fascinated. She thinks she’s only dreaming until she gets a storm of paper planes—”They’re thoughts of people who remember,” a man on another cloud tells her—each pleading for her not to leave. The man tells her these planes are the key to get out of there, and while she thinks it’s hard to believe, she decides everything is worth trying if it meant finding her way back home.
Excerpt:
“What is it?â€
Skylar looks up from the message on the unfolded paper plane, his expression that of uncertainty mixed with relief. “It’s just . . . I don’t know who this is from. But it’s really nice of them.â€
They are silent for a while until he nods toward the new batch of planes around the newcomer.
“Don’t you want to read them?â€
“I do.â€
“Don’t mind me,†he says with a shake of his head, reading the reluctance on her face. “I’ll be okay.â€
She picks up a paper plane, looks at it thoughtfully. “Is it possible to share paper planes?â€
A pause. When she looks back at him, she realizes he doesn’t quite know how to answer the question. “Shall we try?†she asks, handing him the plane in her hand.
“No. I can’t do that,†he says, waving his hand dismissively.
“I have plenty to spare.â€
“I don’t think that’s how this works,†Skylar points out, his tone unsure. It’s reassuring again when he says, “It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about me.â€
She sounds defeated when she finally concedes, turning her attention instead to the plane she has just unfolded. “My name is Gianna, by the way.â€
“It’s nice to meet you, Gianna.†Skylar lets his words hang in the air for a while before he asks, “So . . . what happened to you?â€
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, I’m sorry. She runs her index finger over the words. She can almost hear Aaron say them. “Car accident,†she tells Skylar. “A crash. That’s all I remember right now. You?â€
Skylar nods, noting a gash just above her eyebrow he supposes she got from hitting the steering wheel. “Just another day on the field. Only I wasn’t so lucky.â€
“I’m sorry to hear that.â€
He only shrugs in response and takes a look at his paper plane with a smile. It’s the small things that make a difference, son, he remembers Sam, the old man of about fifty, who had kept him company before he was able to fly back home, say. He was a lively fellow who always had stories and wise words to tell and perhaps, without him, Skylar would’ve already drifted off to sleep.
He stands up and walks toward the plane he’s building, only half-finished and crude-looking at best. There’s the base, the nose, and the tail, but nothing to support wings just yet. Glancing back at Gianna, he calls out. “Hey, do you want me to show you how to build your ride?â€
About the author:
Tara Frejas is a cloud-walker who needs caffeine to fuel her travels. By day, she works in project management and events, and she writes down her daydreams at night. She began publishing fiction for public consumption in 2004, posting her pieces on various online channels like fan forums and Blogspot, eventually exploring other avenues like Livejournal, Soomp!, Tumblr, and most recently, Wattpad.
Aside from her obvious love affair with words and persistent muses, Tara is very passionate about being caffeinated, musical theatre, certain genres of music, dancing, dogs, good food, and romancing Norae, her ukelele. She owns a 6-month-old male bunny named Max who sometimes tries to nibble on her writing notes.
Paper Planes Back Home is her first novel.
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