Blog Tour: Insipid: Christine Brae

by - Sunday, June 22, 2014



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Banal. Lifeless and Colorless. These are the words that describe my life. I’ve made the right choices, done all the right things. I’m strong, intelligent and highly successful.

I’ve lived scrupulously, loved greatly, and shared my blessings equitably.

But life hasn’t been fair with me.

Now I’m drowning in the middle of the ocean, desperately searching for the shore, surrendering to the fact that I will never be happy.

Then he came along.

Life is unpredictable. You can play it safe and resist change for fear of the unknown. Or you can close your eyes and take the leap with the knowledge that your life will change forever.

Which one will I choose?

My name is Jade Richmond and this is my story.



DELETED SCENE NUMBER 2:

Oh, come on. Leya. Please. I don't mean anything to him. He's got too much crap going on with the women where he lives. And the age difference! I can't get past it. Besides, he doesn't know anything about me. He doesn't even ask. What we have is just physical. I'm his potential fuck buddy when he's in the U.S.”

“Fuck buddy, my ass. The guy has been texting you ten times a day, calling you at least every few days. It took you two months to accept the age issue. Get over it. You deserve this, Jade. Please tell me that you know you do.”
Teaser #3
The next day, I decide to sneak in a run along the lakefront before going into the office. I have a monthly membership at a gym by the marina for locker and shower space on days that I run outside before work. The morning turns out to be a bit balmy, so I figure a quick four miler will be sufficient to help me let out some steam. I take a different path than most runners, running the back way along the water rather than the scenic route. My thin white tank top with a built in bra is almost still too hot to wear on a day like this. The last mile is grueling. It takes every bit of energy for me to soldier on despite being lost in my thoughts, enjoying my music. Even before I slow down for a walk, I hit the stop button on my Garmin watch, excited to see that I still made good time despite the slower pace. I cool down briskly, reminding myself that the earlier I get to work, the sooner I’ll be able to see him.
Him. He is standing right in front of me, wearing a gray sleeveless tech shirt and black running shorts, with a circle of sweat centered on his chest. We have the same neon-colored brand of shoes. It makes me laugh.
“I saw you out at the mile two marker but thought I would give you time to finish,” he starts. “How was it?”
“Bad. Those late nights at the office are taking a toll on me,” I reply jokingly. “Never mind the cigarettes. Are you heading back?”
“Do we have to? Can we cool down with a short walk? It's only 7:30.”
“Sure.” We trudge on slowly along the cement path towards the starting point. I look around worriedly, prepared to turn the other way the minute we see someone from the office.
“Relax, we're just running together.” He reads my thoughts. How does he do that?
I know,” I respond defensively, stopping in my tracks when a large group of birds blocks me from moving any further.
Lucas keeps going until he realizes that I'm no longer walking alongside him. He turns around with a questioning look, about to open his mouth to speak. 
“Birds. I can't,” I say, standing there helplessly. “Don't shoo them this way, then they'll all start flying towards me!” I shriek, backing away, terrified as he begins to approach me.
He circles around them until he's back at the place where I stand. To my astonishment, he lifts me up and slings me over his shoulders, running through them and flapping his arms.
“Lucas! Put me down! What are you doing?” I giggle, bouncing up and down in his arms.
“I'm protecting you from the birds!” he reminds me as if this is totally normal, running and keeping a firm grip on my legs at the same time.
A flash of light sparks the corner of my upside down eye. “Luke! Did you just see that lightning? It's going to rain! We'd better head back!” I cry, my words bouncing disjointedly as I’m jostled up and down. The birds are long gone but I'm still enclosed in his arms.
“First the birds and then the rain. Jade! Is there anything you aren't afraid of?” He runs effortlessly for a few more feet and then stops to put me down. He looks around and turns to me seriously. “Okay, the coast is clear.”
The clouds choose that moment to open up and the raindrops fall like buckets of water. We’re soaked in a matter of seconds. For some reason, we find it extremely funny, bursting into laughter at the same time.
“So much for that!” He snags my hand and we run for what little shelter there is, the drinking fountain shed, which has a little awning that extends a few inches past the structure. I’m not surprised that there’s no one there. People must have sought more dependable refuge once the lightning started to hit.
“Look at my hair!” I exclaim, running my fingers through my thoroughly flat head.
“Jade. That's not what I'm worried about,” he says as his eyes darken and his look changes. I follow the direction of his gaze to find my shirt soaked through and totally transparent.
“Oh my God, Luke!” I wrap both arms around my chest in embarrassment, but his eyes never move.

His hand gently reaches out to wipe the drops of water from my cheek, slowly trailing downwards towards my crossed arms. He bends his head down and growls provocatively in my ear, “I'm dying to touch you.”

Inspirational Pictures 

“Living a lie can kill you. It erases the very essence of who you are. Pretending to feel, masking your thoughts, faking your words day in and day out—these actions leave you with an excruciating pain in your chest, a heaviness in your heart, a loathing for the person that you are. It’s a slow and agonizing death. And I don’t know how long I can fight to stay alive.”

Insipid focuses on the hard reality of how going through life without truly living and simply existing can change us into that person we no longer recognize. 

Welcome to Jade Richmond’s reality.

I am just going to put it out there that Jade is not going to be everyone's cup of tea and quite frankly, another time, another place, she wouldn't be mine either. At points, it was hard to empathize with her choices. To say Jade is an enigma is an understatement. Our heroine is not all sunshine and bright smiles, nowhere even close. She is real. She is raw. She is flawed

Jade has learned in the most damaging of ways that life is not filled with peaches and cream. And while her actions and responses to the aftermath are not always going to be easily acceptable or understandable to us as a reader, that is OK, it doesn't have to be. All we have to understand is that even the hardest, most uncomfortable stories need to be told too.

There will be many readers who will not understand her, who will hate her character with a passion, and then there will be those  who will see past the superficial façade she uses as a shield and completely get her. I am one of those who totally got her. Why…because Jade in a sense is me. Her story is my story. Jade's drowning reflected parts of my own personal drowning. It was easy to connect to her emptiness, indecision, and lack of self-worth while placing myself in her shoes to walk a mile in them. That is not to say that I did not feel absolute frustration with Jade or lack of understanding for the choices she made because believe me there were many times I wanted to throw my tablet. The bottom line though is at the end of the day, I loved Jade’s character. 

So yeah, as I stated above, Jade Richmond without a doubt will not be everyone's cup of tea, but that is the beauty of this story—she is not meant to be. As a reader, you will either love her or you will hate her; either way, I promise you will walk away passionately feeling something towards her.

Jade’s journey towards peace and redemption was one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. At around 53% in, Christine knocked me for a loop blind-siding me. I found myself having to walk away to collect my bearings. My heart ached so badly; it literally hurt to breathe. From this point on these characters completely wrecked me. The reality and morality behind Insipid had me taking a close look in the mirror. Upon this revelation the story became so much more to me. Each and every word left me feeling something

Christine Brae, in my opinion, has done it again. The only thing stopping me from giving Insipid a well-deserved five star review was a few writing technicalities.

Thank you, Christine Brae, for the opportunity to read and review a complimentary copy of Insipid in exchange for an honest review.
author pic
Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Insipid, her third book, is due to be released in June of 2014.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.



Christine is giving away:



· Three Insipid ebooks



· Three Insipid signed paperbacks



· $50 Gift Card (winner choice on retailer)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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