Spotlight & Giveaway: Lost Years by MK Schilller

Posted September 16th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 49 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author MK Schilller to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi MK Schilller and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Lost Years!

 
Hiya, HJ Followers!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Lost Years is a cross between the Butterfly Effect and the Time Time Traveler’s Wife.
If you felt you were living the wrong life would you risk everything to set things right?

It all starts with dreams so real they feel like memories.

Jason Flynn has had those dreams since he was a kid. Each one of a beautiful girl, who is his best friend and soulmate. But the harsh reality is that he’s a twenty-year-old, Manhattan bred, manwhore, who uses his fists to solve his problems. Just when things look the darkest, he spots a picture of a scenic island surrounded by the bluest water. The island he’s been dreaming about.
If the island exists then so must the girl, right?
So he heads to Serenity, Texas to find the girl and make some sense out of the chaos that is his life.
Be warned – you are invited tag along, but this journey comes with a steep warning — dreams can turn into nightmares in the blink of an eye.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

The doctors said my heartbeat was normal so I figured I must have superhero hearing. As I lay in her arms, the restlessness in my body stopped.
My heart finally had a rhythm.
My serenity.
— Jason Flynn/Lost Years

We both lay on our backs staring at the hundreds of lit up stars on her ceiling. Did she look at them with a sense of adventure? Or did she see the blank space between them and concentrate on those missing pieces like me?
– Jason Flynn/Lost Years

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • I wrote this book very early in my career, but the story was so different from anything I’d ever done that I squirreled it away for years before I found the perfect timing and publisher to help me shape the story.
  • Lost Years is what scientists refer to as the turtle migration years. They aren’t sure what turtled do during those years so they call them Lost Years. Much like all the cold, dark years that Jason has spent without Scarlett
  • There are almost 50 islands off the coast of Texas. Some aren’t even inhabited.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Jason meets Scarlett in a very unconventional way. He dreams of her since he was ten years old. He dreams about growing up with her and doing all those childhood things like playing catch, going to dances, and learning each other’s secrets. But the boy in the dreams is nothing like the man who has them.
When he finds clues that lead him to real-life Scarlette, he wonders if his dreams have literally come true or if this is a nightmare in disguise.

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I actually laughed during their first meeting. Jason has been building up this meeting in his head since he was a kid. It’s almost too much pressure and intensity. Luckily, Scarlett defuses the situation with the perfect dose of humor.

“Who’s you’re friend, Russ?”
“Jury’s still out if he’s my friend. But his name’s Jason Flynn. He’s Rose’s
nephew.”
I took her hand, holding it tighter and longer than made sense. I could feel her pulse as my thumb slid across her wrist.
“Scarlett Jones.”
I finally had a name. Scarlett––that sounded right as I repeated it. What would I
say to her in this crucial moment where flesh met fate?
“Scarlett Jones, I’m glad to finally meet you. I’ve been dreaming about you most
of my life.”
A slow blush spreading across her creamy skin, making the freckles dotted across her cheek disappear for a quick beat. She laughed, a nervous high, jittery sound as her fingers slipped out of mine. Taking a step back, she placed her hand against her clavicle.
“Hope you changed the sheets after.”
Russell laugh boomed over the music.

 

Readers should read this book….

Because it’s intense and different. Here are some of the initial reviews which can sum it up better than me.

“I’m not sure where to begin. This is by far one of the most unique and intense love stories I have ever read. Riddled with mystery, overloaded with love and completely jaw-dropping moments I was not prepared for how powerful Lost Years is.”
NetGalley reviewer
“Omg, omg, OMG!!! This book tore me apart, only to put my heart back together again! 5 Unforgettable, unique, heart-stealing STARS!!!”
NetGalley reviewer
“Totally not what I expected. WOW! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like Lost Years and I probably will never see a story like this again. MK Schiller you know how to throw someone off with your story, put them on an emotional rollercoaster, and then put the pieces back together again.”
NetGalley Reviewer

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’ve re-released a self-published book, Girl By Any Other Name. Sign up for my newsletter or join my FB reader group to be in the know!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 
 

Giveaway: E-copy of Lost Years and $10 gift card giveaway

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you could go back in time to right a wrong, would you?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Lost Years:

“You have talent.”
“Are you a fan of country music?”
“I’m a fan of yours, Scarlett.”
She smiled. “That’s a little smoother.”
”I’m learning.” “I take it country is your favorite kind of music?” I asked
“I love all kinds of music, but country is in my soul.” She placed a finger against her bottom lip. “Plus, whatever comes out of this mouth just sounds country.”
I smirked. “I bet country tastes delicious.”
She laughed, pointing a finger at me. “You’re dangerous. You flirt like this with
all the ladies?”
I wish I could tell her no, but she deserved an honest answer. “Yes.” I wanted to take it back when her smile tightened. All those years of trading warm bodies to still my constant loneliness made me sad. She was what I’d been missing all along. “Would it
make me sound more like a douche bag if I said I never meant it like I do now?”
“There isn’t enough honest in the world. Watch your step.”
“What? Too forward?”
“No, I mean stop.” She held up her arm in front of me. She took a few steps and bent down to pick something up. “Stupid tourists,” she said, throwing a plastic bucket.
Then she lifted the creature underneath it and held it out to me.
“Did you know he’d be under there?” I asked, staring at the tiny turtle she held in her hands with no fear. “Sometimes the kids think it’s funny to trap them. The mama’s lay their eggs here. When the little ones hatch, they start their journey from right here until it’s time for them to come back in a few years and lay their own eggs.
“Let me introduce you to a real-life sea turtle.”
I waved at the animal, unsure if she expected me to offer a handshake or pet its shell. She walked over to the waves, holding it up against the moonlight, like the scene from the Lion King. I would have laughed if I wasn’t in awe. “Have a safe journey, little one, and a good lost year.” She set it in the water. She rinsed her hands and stood. We watched it drift away, the waves carrying him at first until he moved with them.
“I hope he survives.” The breeze picked up strands of her hair. They circled her head like a crown…not more like a halo.
Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I step closer to her. “Did you say lost year?”
“The first year of the sea turtle migration is called the lost year because no one
knows what they actually do, despite all the technology we have to track them, but I
have my theories.”
“What is your theory?”
Commented [CH10]: This doesn’t make sense.
Her eyes grew wistful as she looked out into the turbulent waves. Was she praying? “I think they might be searching for what’s missing. Maybe they are looking the parents, who abandoned them, or the turtle they’re supposed to make babies with.
Even if they find what’s lost, they never make up the time they spent searching.”
I put my hand on the small of her back. “Maybe they’re just partying it up,
having epic sex, and drinking all the time.”
She cracked a smile. “Yeah, maybe so, Jason.”
“My friends call me Flynn.”
She started walking again. “I’ll let you know when we’re friends, New York.” I
winced at her statement, but I understood her need to be guarded––her emotions probably conflicting with basic logic. I’d had the same argument many times myself tonight.
None of this made sense. It was like I’d lived a lifetime with her, but we’d never met.
It was messing with my head but being on the beach with her––it was worth all the crazy.
“I look forward to that moment.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Ever had a dream so real it feels like a memory?

I’ve had those kinds of dreams since I was a kid. Each one of a beautiful girl, who is my best friend. We grow up together on a sunny island surrounded by water that’s as blue as her eyes. We share all our hopes and fears until we realize we belong to each other in every way one person claim another. She is my own personal serenity. Sweet story, eh?

Well forget about it.

The cold, harsh reality is that I’m a twenty-year-old, Manhattan bred, manwhore, who uses his fists to solve his problems. The only comfort I find is inside a bottle… and the dreams. But the dreams are my illness not my cure. Just when things look the darkest, the sun slaps me square in the jaw. I spot a picture of a scenic island surrounded by the bluest water – my island.

If the island exists then so must the girl, right?

So I’m headed to Serenity, Texas to find my girl and make some sense out of the chaos that is my life. Feel free to tag along, but this journey comes with a steep warning — dreams can turn into nightmares in the blink of an eye.

My name is Jason Flynn and this is our story.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Not knowing a word of English, MK Schiller came to America at the age of four from India. Since then, all she’s done is collect words. After receiving the best gift ever from her parents–her very own library card–she began reading everything she could get her greedy hands on. At sixteen, a friend asked her to make up a story featuring the popular bad boy at school. This wasn’t fan fiction…it was friend fiction. From that day on, she’s known she wanted to be a writer. With the goal of making her readers both laugh and cry, MK Schiller has penned more than a dozen books, each one filled with misfit characters overcoming obstacles and finding true love.

Want more news on MK’s giveaways, sales, and new releases?
Sign up at http://www.mkschillerauthor.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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49 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Lost Years by MK Schilller”

  1. Evelyn

    I don’t think so. I would be too scared that it could adversely affect the present/future.

  5. Jennifer Shiflett

    No, because chances are it would change something in my present.

  7. Amy Donahue

    Probably not because I would be afraid I would inadvertently mess something else up.

  9. Laurie Gommermann

    No, I wouldn’t go back to change any wrong thing I did in the past. I believe in the adage that things happen for a reason. I don’t feel that anything I’ve done was bad enough to require a do over. Plus, if you change one thing think of all the ramifications that one change would have and all the people and situations it would effect.

  11. Didi

    Tough question; I might want to right some wrong but don’t think I’m ready for the consequences.

  15. D Kory

    I believe that everything happens for a reason. However, if I had a chance to go back in time, I might grab it.

  17. Sonia

    No because it would have an impact in other choices and in the person one becomes.

  19. Angela Smith

    probably not..dont want to do something to mess up the present..besides i dont think i’ve really done anything wrong that needs fixing

  20. Amy R

    I don’t think so as it would mess with to much stuff but it’s a nice thought

  24. Marisela Zuniga

    No, I wouldn’t want to change anything. Everything happens for a reason

  28. Mood Reader

    Not really to right a wrong but I’d like to go back to see loved ones I’ve lost… To be able to say goodbye & I love you one last time! <3

  31. Patricia B.

    What a fascinating blurb for the story. Thank you for the excerpt. It would be tempting to go back. You think a do over would make things better, but you never know what the effect will be on future events and what would be changed.

  33. Anita H.

    Yes, I think I would like to go back and right a wrong from the past. There were a couple of situations where I could have done things differently

  38. Terrill R.

    Maybe, but it would depend on what else it could affect over time. There are many “wrongs” that have managed to create a lot of the “rights” in the world.

  39. Jennifer Beyer

    No. The risk of altering stuff that shouldn’t change is just too big.

  40. Jeanna Massman

    No, because that would affect the way other things in life unfold.

  41. Jenny Ham

    For sure.. I would love to go back and fix many things where I was wrong.

  43. Jessie Redding

    Initially I want to say YES but, who knows what else it would alter so I guess it would really depend on the wrong.

  44. Tina W

    Yes. Thinking specifically where I made a stupid offhand comment that REALLY hurt someone’s feelings, and I never got a chance to apologize.

  45. Kelsey vinson

    Absolutely not! Every decision I’ve made brings me to where I am.