Cover and Excerpt Reveal: When The Chips Are Down: Beth Rinyu

by - Monday, February 16, 2015


When the Chips Are Down
Beth Rinyu

Add to Goodreads
Expected March 20, 2015
Melanie Hanson's life didn't go quite the way she had planned. Her cheating ex-husband traded her in for a newer model and she’s in over her head dealing with the drama that comes along with raising her twin teenage daughters.


The last thing she is looking for or needs in her life is a man - or is it?



Ben Wilder is the boy that Melanie loved to hate throughout high school, the boy that all the girls loved and the boy that didn't give Melanie the time of day, unless it was to tease her. When she runs into him once again she realizes...he’s not a boy anymore. Older and wiser, she’s determined not to fall for her secret crush from all those years ago. But sometimes our heart has different plans than our head. Will she finally get her happily ever after with the man she least expected to have it with?



Take a humorous journey with Melanie and her daughters as their lives begin to parallel and they discover that although they may be separated by a generation their struggles are still the same.


I tried my best to ignore him, but I could feel his eyes settling on me. I took a deep breath when he got up and sat next to me. “Well, at least I know your real name now.” I shook my head, still trying to avoid eye contact. “So, how’s your ass doing?”



“What!?” I finally turned my head and looked directly at him.



“From your fall the other day.” I looked away. “Was I really that much of an ass to you during high school that you are still carrying a grudge all these years later?”



“Don’t flatter yourself. It has nothing to do with you.”



“Oh, okay. So, are you bitchy like this to every guy you come in contact with?”



“Yeah, maybe I am! What’s it to you?”



He held his hand up in defense. “Doesn’t matter to me one bit, sweetheart, but you’ve clearly been shafted by a guy a time or two to have an attitude like that. I mean, don’t get me wrong. The bitchy ones are better in bed with all that pent-up aggression.” He smirked and took a sip of his beer.



“Oh, you are such a pig, you know that? You are the same arrogant ‘I’m so in love with myself’ jock you were back in school! Well, reality check. Despite the fact you may have never grown up, most women have. So your good looks, perfect body, and smooth talking will no longer work.” He chuckled loudly. “What’s so funny?”



“I think you just admitted you thought I was good-looking and had a perfect body.”



“No. That’s not what –” He had me feeling so flustered. “I meant MEN, in general!”



“Whatever you say, princess.”



“My name is Melanie! Oh, wait. Maybe you’ll remember Smellanie better!”



His grin widened. “Ahhhh, now I remember you! You were that cute little blonde girl who used to sit in front of me in French class. You were the little goody two-shoes who always knew exactly how to respond in perfect French to the teacher, while the rest of us struggled to maintain a D average. You know you really didn’t smell, right? That was just a nickname for you.”



“I know I never smelled, thank you very much!”



“Well, Smellanie, can I say that you are just as cute now as you were back then?”



“No, you may not!”


Carrie's story

Gia's story


Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen - or in today's world a touch of the keyboard. I am the author of The Exception To The Rule, An Unplanned Lesson and Drowning In Love (releasing July 2013) I am currently working on a sequel to An Unplanned Lesson....stay tuned!

My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? I was born and have lived in New Jersey my whole life. I'm a mom of twin teenage boys, a teenage stepson, a crazy Border Collie and a cat with an identity crisis! I guess you can say writing is my form of Calgon! I am married to a wonderful guy - but we'll keep that between us, I don't want him getting a big head! 

Thanks for taking the time to learn about my books and me! If you decide to read them (and I hope you do!) please be sure to go on and review it for me - yes, even if you don't like it!

You May Also Like

0 comments