Thursday, September 18, 2008

LATTE 1 - KELLY PARRA



Check it out! Kelly Parra is in the house! Kelly is the author of Graffiti Girl and the MTV Books October 2008 release Invisible Touch. Now listen to this... Kelly will be hosting the Secret Fates Extravaganza in just a few weeks to celebrate the launch, so be sure to watch the Secret Fates blog secretfates.blogspot.com. The Extravaganza will run throughout the entire month of October.

Thanks to Linda for letting me be apart of her latest cyber launch for Death by Latte! Please leave a comment below to win a copy of my October release, Invisible Touch. :)

In the acknowledgments in my latest novel INVISIBLE TOUCH, you might read a small note at the end that goes something like...

"I'm sorry for the dent in the Chevelle. It was accident, I swear."

Some readers might wander what the heck I'm talking about and many won't care, but it all started with a lie...a with holding of the truth so to speak.

It’s high school and I’m 16. I’m one of those girls who has more guy friends than girl friends. I grew up with a brother and a bunch of boy cousins and this is the way it worked for me. One of my friends drives this really cool 1976 Chevelle. Black paint, black interior, and a big block engine. Being the cool guy that he is, he picks us up from school, takes us to lunch, and just hangs out.

One thing you should know is that this Chevelle is his prize possession. He's even been known to street race a time or two and win. (shhhh.) One day at a friend's house, I have to get something out of my backpack that’s in the backseat. I lean in over the open passenger window and my little knee pushes into the passenger door and dents it. Seriously dents it right smack in the middle!

I gasp.

My gut clenches.

I'm totally speechless.

He's going to kill me! Okay, not literally, but yikes, I'm scared big time. He LOVES this car! Oh man. What do I do?

I walk back into the house, nervous, wondering how I'm going to break the news. I really don't know what to do. I always have to think things through before I make a decision. So I don't say anything, but time passes and a group of us heads back outside.

One of the guys says, "Look at your car, man!" And EVERYONE rushes over to see this huge dent in the passenger door! Holy crap! I'm too scared to speak. He is so ticked off! Right away they start asking questions and making comments:

Was it there earlier? Who could of done it? We're gonna kick his *ss.

*gulp*

The next day, he gets it fixed. He has to take the inside panel off and pop it back out, but no damage. *whew*

Still, this guy isn’t exactly sweet and I'm still too scared to tell him. Time passes and it’s never brought up. Forgotten even. Not by me, of course, and he lays low for a while.

Years pass—yes, years!—and after graduation, I start hanging out with the Chevelle guy again. The Chevelle is history. He's got a sporty Camaro now, and things start to spark between us. I start dating him. Soon we're together, and I guess I decide I trust him and I confess the lie.

I tell him, I was the one who dented the Chevelle a few years ago.

He is shocked and I'm laughing with embarrassment, but my conscience is finally clear. The secret is revealed.

Years later, we’re married and he still holds it over my head. Who could blame him really?

So I did the ultimate. I wrote his prized Chevelle into Invisible Touch as my character Anthony Garcia's ride. And I apologized one final time in the acknowledgments so the world would know just how sorry I am for keeping that secret for so long. *sigh*

Do you think he finally forgave me? :)

To learn more about Kelly and her secrets visit www.KellyParra.com and the Secret Fates blog secretfates.blogspot.com.