“Where you are is home…”At age fourteen, Zelda Rossi witnessed the unthinkable, and has spent the last ten years hardening her heart against the guilt and grief. She channels her pain into her art: a dystopian graphic novel where vigilantes travel back in time to stop heinous crimes—like child abduction—before they happen. Zelda pitches her graphic novel to several big-time comic book publishers in New York City, only to have her hopes crash and burn. Circumstances leave her stranded in an unfamiliar city, and in an embarrassing moment of weakness, she meets a guarded young man with a past he’d do anything to change…
Beckett Copeland spent two years in prison for armed robbery, and is now struggling to keep his head above water. A bike messenger by day, he speeds around New York City, riding fast and hard but going nowhere, his criminal record holding him back almost as much as the guilt of his crime.
Zelda and Beckett form a grudging alliance of survival, and in between their stubborn clash of wills, they slowly begin to provide each other with the warmth of forgiveness, healing, and maybe even love. But when Zelda and Beckett come face to face with their pasts, they must choose to hold on to the guilt and regret that bind them, or let go and open their hearts for a shot at happiness.
The Butterfly Project is a novel that reveals the power of forgiveness, and how even the smallest decisions of the heart can—like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings—create currents that strengthen into gale winds, altering the course of a life forever.
Holy wow – I need this book like right now!
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
Dear Zelda,
Right now, you are sleeping in my bed, oblivious while I sit five feet from you, wondering why I am writing this now. Maybe it’s because I have to, at long last, be honest and confess all the weird thoughts I’d been having about you. And me. Us…whatever that is. Just having you in my space; it has changed everything—you have changed everything, Zelda. And I need to tell you that, no matter how different we might be tomorrow morning.
I’m glad you’re here, Zelda. Not in my bed—although I really don’t mind that either. But here. In this apartment.
I’m not watching you sleep. I’m trying not to anyway. But it’s difficult. You don’t know how beautiful you are.
I love that about you.
And I love how your beauty has spilled out of you and over this tiny place. The white lights you strung up mute the night’s darkness with their soft glow. The potted and hanging plants make the sparseness of my shitty furniture look richer, somehow, and the throw rug makes the cold, ugly floor that much easier to look at.
I’ve never considered this a home, Zelda. It’s just a place to live. Sometimes, when the money gets tight, I’m sure I’ll get evicted. And that would suck for obvious reasons, but an attachment to this crappy little apartment wouldn’t be one of them. But now…this crappy little apartment? It feels like a home. And it’s not just the stuff you’ve added…your lights or the plants.
It’s you, Zelda. Your light.
This place feels like home because you’re in it.
Thank you for that.
Love,
Beckett
I write romances with flawed characters, characters with artistic hearts: builders, poets, and writers of various makes and models. I love to write book lovers; those who have found refuge, companionship, and escape in books, much as we do in real life. I like realism, honesty, authenticity in storytelling. I love to write about enduring love, soul-deep love, in as real a setting as I can make, but with big smooshy HEAs. I believe in diversity, open-mindedness, and inclusion. I like sweetness mixed with steam, love conquering all, and above all, hope. Love always wins.
Shannon Mummey says
Ever Montgomery from J.A Derouen’s Over Duet!