Dark Energy, a contemporary romantic suspense from Addison Brae

We are thrilled to have another return visitor to the blog this week. Help us give a very warm welcome back to Addison Brae. Addison is here to share Dark Energy, the newest release in her contemporary romance series Return to Becker Circle. Welcome, Addison! We are thrilled you are visiting us again and we can’t wait to hear more about Dark Energy.

Q&A with Addison Brae:

Where is your favorite place to write?
Dark Energy (and the first book, Becker Circle) take place in bars, so my favorite writing spot was sitting at a bar watching bartenders, servers, and patrons interact. Inspiration happens anywhere I can take a laptop—on our balcony with a glass of wine, rooftop deck overlooking Dallas’ cityscape, or curled up on the sofa with Lucy (my cat)—anywhere except for the computer where I work on my day job.

What inspires you as an author?
Life experiences are huge inspirations for me. I wrote these books during a stage in my life when I was single, going out a lot, and meeting some of the most unique people on the planet.

How do you spend your free time?
During this unforgettable shelter-in-place period, I’m doing everyday at-home things way more than usual—jogging, cooking, organizing stuff in the house, playing with Lucy, and binge-watching favorite series. I look forward to life getting closer to normal for everyone. When that happens, I can indulge my passions again—travelling, watching live music, catching up with friends over a cocktail, and doing all of these with John, the love of my life.

What are you working on next and when can we expect to see it?
There are many projects in progress. The next one will be a young adult contemporary fiction that I hope my publisher will release in late 2020 or early 2021. Stripped of her Olympic gold, figure skating career, and even her identity, Docia must disprove the vicious adoption scandal threatening to end far more than her dreams. The speculative romantic thriller I’m writing now explores how mainstream use of artificial intelligence will affect relationships. It’s terrifying to write. You’ll never look at your Alexa or Siri the same again.

About Dark Energy:

Cybercrime doesn’t talk. It creeps in and destroys lives right under Gillian’s nose when a cryptojacking scheme lands her boss, Pinkie, in jail. Gillian had just started over with a new career, boyfriend, and confidence after escaping a vicious murder investigation that shattered her ability to trust. Then Pinkie’s arrest leaves her struggling to run his two bars while also unraveling the conspiracy.

Gillian will not let her mentor and friend go down for something he didn’t do. Neither will Jon, the most talented musician on the bar’s stage and the perfect boyfriend…until his good fortune sends her reeling. Gillian forces herself to trust the cops, people who hurt her, and known criminals. Will it be enough to free Pinkie and save her life?

Series: Return to Becker Circle
Genre: contemporary romantic suspense

You can find Dark Energy (Return to Becker Circle) on Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia (99c on Amazon through June 14), Smashwords, iTunes, Kobo, and B&N Nook. Proceeds go to Hope’s Door New Beginning Center to help fight domestic abuse.

Excerpt from Dark Energy:

Chapter Two

Car traffic and jets stir me awake. I stretch and don’t open my eyes since I haven’t slept enough after such a long, incredible day. Then I remember restaurant reviews may be out. Slivers of the May morning sunlight make stripes across my soft grey and yellow comforter. I grab my phone and open the news feed, page through the day’s headlines. Do I want to know?

A headline jumps out at me—New Uptown Bar Opens to Sell-out Lunch Crowd. It must be us, and most definitely not PinHead Preston’s review.

Uptown’s newest place to be seen is Pinkie’s Too, the satellite site to its sister bar in Becker Circle.

Yes! It’s a good one!

The trendy but chill invitation-only crowd lunched on a full menu with Creole cuisine and pizza as the bar’s specialties. The cocktail menu is creative but non-pretentious with options including the Creole Cosmo and Pinkie’s Old Fashioned.

As a Dallas cultural history buff, the most unique Pinkie’s Too feature is the tables—each custom designed to commemorate a musician with Dallas roots who carved notches in music history. Some of the tables I could inspect without interrupting patrons’ meals were dedicated to Lisa Loeb, Erykah Badu, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Demi Lovato, Edie Brickell, Michael Nesmith, Boz Scaggs, LeAnn Rimes, Steve Miller, and even Meat Loaf—the musician, not the food.

It’s a great reminder of Dallas’ diverse, deep music culture.
Today’s soft opening only covered lunch. Friday is the true grand overture with the doors unlocking in time for happy hour with an appetizer menu from open until last call. The highlight will be one of Dallas’ up-and-coming bands, ShowStoppers. Come back to the website this weekend for my review of the nighttime experience.

I point and flex both feet, doing my under-cover happy dance and continue flipping through other news. No sign of a Dallas Daily News review from Don Preston yet until I choke on my own breath. Doctors Clear Accused Murderer for Trial. My happy feet halt.

Two photos appear underneath the headline—one shows a dark-haired man with a deep tan teeing off at a charity golf tournament. A chill runs through as it all floods back. The other is a mug shot, the usual sparkling dark eyes now chilling and full of hatred. The same hate I saw in Kyle’s eyes that night when he held the sharp, cold blade to my neck. The photos capture two of Kyle’s opposing sides.

I pull the covers tighter and squeeze my eyes closed to erase the vision.

Shattering glass.

The ear-splintering ring of the 9mm round going off outside my bathroom.

Kyle folding on the floor. Blood oozing from his shoulder.

My arms extended in front of me with my fingers frozen around the gun.

My resolve for no one to control me again. Ever.

The news brief says the judge threw out the venue change request. It also says the Dallas district attorney is withholding charging him for the attempted murder of his ex-wife and aggravated assault of another Dallas woman pending the trial outcome.

The “another Dallas woman” reference is me. It still seems like it was a different Gillian.

About Addison Brae: 

Addison Brae lives in Dallas, Texas on the edge of downtown. She has been writing since childhood and continues today with articles, video scripts and other content as an independent marketing consultant. She writes romantic suspense and contemporary young adult fiction. When she’s not writing, Addison spends her time traveling the world, collecting interesting cocktail recipes and hosting parties. She’s still addicted to reading and enjoys jogging in her neighborhood park, sipping red wine, binge-watching TV series, vintage clothing and hanging out with her artistic other half and their neurotic cat Lucy.

Addison’s Links:

Read more about Addison Brae on her website, Tirgearr Publishing, Amazon, and BookBub.

Connect with Addison Brae on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.