• Shop
My Account
  • Register
  • Login
Header Logo
You are here: Products Fall Again: Lost Boy by Donna Figueroa
Cover image of the book
Cover image of the book

Fall Again: Lost Boy by Donna Figueroa

In the first book, of the Fall Again series, Beginnings, Marc and Lauren meet in the optimistic New York of the late 1980’s. While there’s an obvious attraction, decorum dictates that their relationship remain in the realm of a platonic friendship. Over time, this becomes increasingly difficult as Marc and Lauren struggle to maintain the façade of friendship to their closest friends, and to each other. But then, Lauren leaves New York, permanently.

The second book, Fall Again: Lost Boy, is Marc’s story. Marc finds himself devastated and alone in New York City. He’ll be tested and makes choices that will spin his life in different directions. On occasion fate intervenes placing Marc at the right places at the right times, providing him with exciting opportunities. Over time Marc becomes a better artist, son, brother, friend and above all, a better man. With the support and encouragement of old and new friends, Marc unknowingly begins a personal odyssey to find himself; an arduous journey that will eventually lead Marc back to a woman whose memory refuses to leave him.

SKU: B017XF6ST6 Category: Contemporary
  • Description
  • Reviews (0)

Description

Find more from this author on:

Buy this book on Amazon
Amazon
Author's Website
Author Site
Find this book on Goodreads
GoodReads
Find this author on Facebook
Facebook
Find this author on Twitter
Twitter


About the author:

She lives in Hollywood with her husband writer/comedian Tony Figueroa, and their three neurotic cats.

What inspired you to write your book?

In January 2013, I reread my manuscript. I realized that I had a mediocre first draft. I also decided I had a pretty good beginning and end, but I had ignored the bulk of the story. I liked my characters and story too much to leave them stranded in a weak novel and decided to begin work on a second draft, and complete the story.

Here is a short sample from the book:

“What the hell were you thinking?” This was the icy greeting that Marc Guiro received from his father, Charles, as he entered his family home in Montreal Quebec, Canada. It was nine o’clock in the morning.
Marc had just returned from the home of Miriam Lebel, his longtime girlfriend or, depending on who you spoke to, Marc’s fiancée. But as of thirty-three minutes ago she was neither; Marc had just ended their relationship.
The romance of Marc and Miriam began when they were in high school. At one point they told their families that there would be a wedding in 1990 after both had completed their educations. But over the past several years the couple had grown apart. They were different people with different interests and had very little in common.
Marc had been sincere in his promise to marry Miriam, but that was years ago. He was older, wiser and at this point in his life he was having trouble seeing himself married to anyone. Unfortunately, Marc said nothing to indicate he was having second thoughts as 1990 loomed closer.
Miriam, on the other hand, was in the process of planning her huge springtime wedding despite the fact that there was no formal engagement-a minor detail that she hoped to remedy when Marc came home for Christmas.
She had hired a photographer to take engagement photographs, with one appearing beside the formal engagement announcement in the paper. They were to be the guests of honor at an intimate reception hosted by Miriam’s aunt and uncle as the wedding date was announced to the couple’s family and closest friends.
Most importantly, Miriam had selected a three-carat princess cut diamond ring in a platinum setting that she hoped to have sized and on her finger by the time Marc returned to New York.
But Marc had come home to Montreal with a different agenda. He had to break things off with Miriam, permanently. Many reasons factored into this decision, but only one mattered; Marc had fallen in love with someone else.
Marc knew that he would be unable to move forward with his life and new love while Miriam was still a part of his life. That’s why he was at the Lebel home at eight o’clock this morning: to end things.
While there is no good time to end a long-term relationship, a breakup during the Christmas holiday season is especially awkward, in part due to busy social calendars and family affairs. Marc decided he could not end things until after Christmas Day, thinking that the last thing he would want to do would be potentially ruining the holiday for those around him. Over the next few days there just never seemed to be a good time to sit down privately with Miriam without festive distractions.
But, on the evening of December 27, Miriam informed Marc that a photographer would be at her home at nine the next morning to take engagement photographs. She instructed him to wear a jacket and tie. She then told him that immediately afterwards they had a second appointment at a jewelers to take care of the pressing matter of her engagement ring.
Marc realized he could no longer postpone the inevitable.
On December 28, less than an hour before the photographer was to arrive, Marc ended their relationship.
Miriam was hysterical. “How could you do this to me? You promised! You said when we were both through with school we’d have our wedding! I finally finished in December so I just assumed we’d go forward with our wedding in the spring-just like we’d always planned! Most of the details are already in place.”
Marc observed that Miriam appeared to be more upset about the prospect of no wedding as opposed to no marriage. He struggled to keep calm. “When did we ever talk about a wedding, let alone a marriage? And how could you possibly start making plans without me?”
She tried using guilt to make him come around. “Remember when we had our scare? The pregnancy scare a very long time ago? “You promised to marry me! You swore you wanted me and didn’t care whether there was a baby or not! I’ve planned everything based on your promise.”
Marc tried to reason with her. “Miriam, do you even understand what’s involved in a marriage? That it’s more than a big party and an expensive white dress? There’s responsibility, compromising and fully committing yourself to another person. You’re demonstrating none of these things-and right now you’re acting like a child!”
This last remark caused Miriam to release a guttural scream before she quickly turned and stormed out of the room. The conversation was over.
As Marc left the Lebel home he walked past Miriam’s stunned parents who must have been listening to the entire heated discussion from just outside the room. They said nothing to Marc as he quickly made his way past them. Though he acknowledged them briefly with a nod of his head in a feeble gesture of civility, Marc would have given anything to have been invisible at that moment.
While Miriam Lebel was no longer Marc’s girlfriend or fiancée, she unfortunately was still the only child of his father’s business partner, Gerard Lebel. While Marc was driving home from the Lebel residence, his father had received an irate phone call from Gerard. This would explain Charles Guiro’s less than warm greeting to his son when he arrived home.
Marc had never seen his father this angry.
“How can you do this to our families? Am I supposed to admit to her father, my business partner that you’re a coward and you’ve reneged on promises that you made to his daughter and to his family? This is an embarrassment!
Charles Guiro stopped yelling long enough to take a long look at his son, who seemed to have no answers to his questions. His words took on a deeper intensity. “How do you think this will affect my business, Marc? Did you even think about that? And what about all of the money that the Lebels have already poured out for this extravaganza? They’ve already put down thousands of dollars in deposits for the church and the hotel ballroom for your reception. They’ve hired musicians and bought a greenhouse worth of flowers! And then there’s Miriam’s wedding gown, which is costing a small fortune on its own!”
Marc felt ill. “Miriam said that she had been planning…but I had no idea that things had actually been booked-and paid for!”
His father snapped. “Dammit, Marc! These things take a lot of time, energy and money to facilitate… especially something on a major scale like Gerard Lebel’s daughter’s wedding! That girl has expensive taste and her father will refuse her nothing!”
Charles noticed his son’s blank expression, which infuriated him even more. “You mean to tell me you knew nothing about the plans for your own wedding?”
There was no possible chance of Marc having a reasonable conversation with his father this morning. “Where’s Mother?”
His father grew angrier. “Idiot! I want you to stay away from your mother! Don’t you know how close she and Miriam have become over the years? We’ve both been thinking of her as family-as our daughter in-law! When I delivered this awful news to your mother she was so upset, she cried. You are a disgrace to this family! You’ve upset the Lebels, your own mother and me-and that poor girl! What are you going to do about this?”
Instead of answering his father Marc left the room knowing that any further discussion would be pointless. Marc had always regarded his father as cold and insensitive, with the sole purpose of his life being his business. Marc had often described himself as brooding; a characteristic he inherited from his father and a trait he did not care for despite the fact that it was imbedded into his personality.
Charles Guiro and his oldest son had always been at odds, rarely seeing eye to eye on anything. Charles was a shrewd businessman who saw life in terms of profit and loss, with money being the true measure of a man. He never understood how his eldest son chose the life of an artist instead of taking his place in the successful family business, as Charles had planned.
When Marc revealed his plans to stay in New York after his graduation from NYU, Charles had been incensed and cut him off financially, thinking Marc would return home within a year. Instead, Marc began working steadily as an actor with no plans to come home.
Thankfully Charles’s youngest son, Phillippe, seemed to have an aptitude for business. But his youngest son was still in high school, so Charles would have to wait a few more years before a son joined him in the business. And, as evidenced by Marc, a lot of things could happen to steer Phillippe away from the family business.
For Charles, the only thing that Marc had done right was to become romantically involved with his business partner’s daughter. Charles liked Miriam; she was a smart and determined girl who he assumed would finally bring Marc home to Montreal. But now it appeared that Marc had also ruined this opportunity.
Marc considered going against his father’s wishes and finding his mother to explain why he had to end things with Miriam. He was sure his mother would understand. He felt his mother, Paulette, would at least listen to his reasons for ending his relationship with Miriam, and possibly give him her support. He was sure she would understand that it would be wrong for him to marry a woman he didn’t love. But after careful reconsideration he decided it would be best to leave his mother alone. He loved and respected his mother too much to possibly upset her more and further enrage his father.
Normally, Paulette Guiro was warm and vivacious with a quick sharp wit. In Marc’s eyes she was exactly the opposite of his father, possessing warmth, kindness and generosity. Marc sometimes questioned how a wonderful woman like his mother ended up with his cold and driven father. But for whatever reason his parents adored each other.
The only family member that Marc could talk to that morning was his little sister, Marie-Christine. When he had quietly knocked on her door the twenty-two-year-old told her brother to come in. She had been aware of Marc’s breakup as soon as Miriam’s father called her father and the screaming and yelling began. Marie-Christine sat calmly in her plaid flannel pajamas as she listened to her older brother. She had never seen him this upset.
“I don’t understand how all of this happened! There was never an engagement-only a desperate promise made when we were teenagers. Chrissie, we were different people back then. I don’t even know Miriam anymore! Not this Miriam.”
Marie-Christine was hardly surprised at her brother’s realization. “Remember, Miriam is used to getting whatever she wants, and right now she wants a big expensive wedding. I know the type; a girl’s friends start to get married and then they want their own big party and princess dress. But mostly this type of girl wants the attention! That girl has always wanted to be at the center of everything.” Marie-Christine was making a great deal of sense.
“Why didn’t I see this before?” Marc was dumbfounded.
“Maybe you were blinded by her beauty or seduced by her charms. I’ve seen through her since we were children.” She thought for a moment before she continued. “She’s come to see Mother several times since she’s been home. She’s been talking as if she’s been in contact with you regularly… and that you’ve been onboard with all of her wedding plans. She told us the two of you had decided to start planning the wedding after she visited you in New York last spring.”
Now Marc was angry. “She’s lying! That visit was a disaster. She ended up leaving a day early!”
Marie-Christine seemed relieved. “Things are starting to make sense now. I knew you’d never give her carte blanche on handling all of the details of something so important. You know, when she got home a few weeks ago she wanted to put an engagement announcement in the paper and almost succeeded.”
Thankfully this had not happened. Marc was curious. “What stopped her?”
Marie-Christine smiled. “I stopped her. Miriam and her parents were here for dinner the day after she got back from Paris. She casually mentions that she was planning to send her announcement to the papers. I told her she couldn’t possibly expect to post anything that important without a photograph.”
Miriam had planned to have photographs taken this morning.
“Then I also reminded her she wasn’t wearing a ring and people might talk. I thought Papa was going to kill me, but Mother and her father agreed with me. I had a feeling you weren’t aware of certain details-or any details at all.” She noticed her brother’s bewildered expression. An alarming realization came over her. “Marc? You weren’t aware that she was even planning a wedding, were you?”
Marc shook his head as he tried to make sense of his shambled life. “Not to this extent. She told me she knew what she wanted, but I didn’t know she would take things to extremes and had actually starting making plans. Now everyone is angry. Mother is beside herself and is in tears… and Papa thinks I’m trying to sabotage his business! I can’t believe all of this is based on a promise I made when I was a naive kid. I went along with it then because it seemed like the right thing to do. You have to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially Miriam. But by trying to be a good dutiful son, I’ve managed to hurt everyone.”
Marc closed his eyes as he unexpectedly remembered the pain he caused Lauren just days ago. The memory of his last few horrible moments with Lauren stirred a new set of intense emotions within him. Suddenly nobody else mattered.
Marie-Christine looked at her brother as he became lost in thought. “Marc, what is it?”
Marc was concerned about Lauren back home in New York. He desperately needed to get back to her and make things right between them. “Chrissie, I don’t think I can do anything here now, other than creating more tension and anger. I need to let things calm down because right now nobody is thinking rationally, including me. I don’t know how I could have let things get so out of control. I don’t know what’s what anymore!”
Marie Christine gave her brother a big hug. “Marc, what can I do to help?
He knew exactly what he had to do. He began pacing and hoping the physical action would help him think more clearly. “Chrissie, I need to get back to New York! What are you doing right now?”
She saw a plan formulating. “I’m taking you to the airport. Marc I’m here for whatever you need.” Marie-Christine was more than happy to help her brother escape the hell Miriam had created. “I can be dressed and ready in less than ten minutes. How long do you need?”
Marc was already in motion. “I can be ready in fifteen.” Marc started to head back to his room but stopped as he took a deep breath. “I suppose I should talk to the folks.”
Marie-Christine thought this could only make a bad situation worse. “No Marc! Let me get you out of here. I’ll talk to Mother and Papa… later, after things have cooled down and I’m sure that you’re on your way back home.”
She looked at her brother and noticed how sad and tired he looked. Marie-Christine had always had a special connection with Marc. There was more going on than he was admitting.
“Marc… is there somebody else in your life?”
Marc leaned heavily into the door frame. “Would you think less of me if there was?” He hoped he still had his sister’s respect and understanding.
“No, of course not. I only want the best for you. And, to be honest, I don’t think Miriam has ever been good for you.” She hugged her brother. “Now hurry and get your things together so I can get you back to New York.”
Less than fifteen minutes later Marc and Marie-Christine were on their way to the airport.
It was shortly after nine-thirty in the morning and Marc’s day had already been very long. But this day was far from over and would only get longer.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Fall Again: Lost Boy by Donna Figueroa” Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related products

Prev Next
  • Cover image of the book

    Dream Lover by Té Russ

    0 out of 5

    Liz and John have been best friends for years. They’ve never thought about taking things past their platonic relationship. John was previous left at the altar, and Liz has relationship issues of her own stemming all the way back from childhood.

    But at some point things begin to change for John. Once he embraces the feelings he is developing for Liz, he makes it his mission to make her see whether she realizes it or not she feels the same way.

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Who Killed ‘Tom Jones’? by Gale Martin

    0 out of 5

    Ellie Overton is a 28-year-old rest home receptionist with a pussycat nose who also happens to be gaga for the pop singer Tom Jones. Regrettably single, she is desperate to have a white-hot love relationship, like those she’s read about in romance novels. Following an astrological hunch, she attends a Tom Jones Festival and meets an available young impersonator with more looks and personality than talent. Though he’s knocked out of the contest, he’s still in the running to become Ellie’s blue-eyed soul mate—until he’s accused of killing off the competition. It’s not unusual that the handsome police detective working the case is spending more time pursuing Ellie than collaring suspects. So, she enlists some wily and witty rest home residents to help find the real murderer. Will Ellie crack the case? Must she forfeit her best chance for lasting love to solve the crime?

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    What he did to her by S M Mala

    0 out of 5

    Conor’s life consists of drugs, drink and getting dirty with as many women as possibly. He doesn’t care about the size, shape or colour as long as they want uncomplicated fun then he’s happy. For him love and relationships come with dire consequences and that’s not how he wants to live his life.

    To Conor’s dismay, he finds his married boss Marcus, is having a fling with his very own sister Debs, and Conor has been asked to cover the trail by lying to the boss’s wife. The only problem is that he works with Neve and she’s no pushover.

    When everything comes out into the open, his loyalty to friends and family are put to the test as people he thought he knew well are not what they seem. And when an ex walks back into his life he is once again ruled by the snake in his pants knowing she’s more than a handful to deal with.

    Conor begins to find his simple hedonistic life being taken over by other people’s clouded judgement on their need for love, while he tries to avoid the same thing happening to him.

    Except ‘love’ is creeping up on him in an unexpected place that he would just about do anything to avoid. And temptation is going to lead him and his loved ones into trouble with serious consequences.

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Pushing over 40 by S M Mala

    0 out of 5

    Maya wants a baby but at forty two there’s one problem… she hasn’t got a man to help her get pregnant. She created and runs a website called ‘Pushing over 40’ to help women of a certain age trying to have a child. It’s a place where can they give each other advice, support and hope.

    And as she tries to find a man to help her with this small task, other than the sperm donation clinic regular taking her money, there are two people who could deliver the goods.

    Her brother’s new neighbour Tony or her sister in law’s brother, the wayward Adam. Both of whom she really likes but the pair aren’t your usual run of the mill suitors.

    But you have to be very careful for what you wish for as Maya then finds out the downside of getting pregnant and how it can really destroy your soul and diminish your hope if things go unexpectedly wrong.

    A heart wrenching story dedicated to all women who have loved and lost in the battle to become pregnant when they’re ‘Pushing over 40’… or not.

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Breathe for Me by Natalie Anderson

    0 out of 5

    The last thing Chelsea Greene wants is to be rescued, but that’s exactly what happens when she’s caught wearing nothing but her swimsuit during a midnight emergency evacuation drill. Turns out her ‘hero’ is a former lifeguard who has no hesitation in offering the kiss of life. So not happening, right?

    But for emotionally chastened Chelsea, one touch changes everything. She discovers a desire to satisfy this arrogant, demanding tease. Unable to express her own fantasies, she finds unspeakable pleasure in serving his.

    Xander Lawson exudes easy charm. He likes a woman unafraid to match his appetite for unfettered fun. He doesn’t do complicated or emotional. But the raw need emanating from fragile Chelsea compels him closer. He can’t resist spinning a sensual fantasy world around them.

    As passion spills outside their carefully selected boundaries, Xander learns Chelsea’s stronger than he first thought. But is she strong enough to handle the intensity he’s always kept hidden?

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    HUCKLEBERRY MILTON by Bradley J Milton @bradleyjmilton

    0 out of 5

    HUCKLEBERRY MILTON is a brand new rewrite of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, set in a time warp between Haight-Ashbury in the Summer of Love and today, right here on the social-media Internet. It’s like Austin Powers meets The Office with a mix of 80s technology and today’s Internet. The experimental literary cut-up techniques, the pop culture references and and the psychedelic touches make it a book that can be read forwards and back, to and from anywhere. Now who’s got the remote for that 400-channel Russian satellite dish?

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Fate Interrupted by Kaitlyn Cross @KaitlynCross6

    0 out of 5

    Dean Jacobs is one of Milwaukee’s hottest eligible bachelors and in no mood to settle down, until she comes along. Evy, however, is focused on opening a new dessert bar with her sister but Dean won’t take no for an answer. She finally gives in to the want in her gut and – much to her surprise – discovers he isn’t the player she thought he was. Just when things turn into a fairytale sent from above, Dean’s past comes back to haunt him. The only question is: will it make them stronger, or rip them apart?

    Read More
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    What’s Behind Your Belly Button? A Psychological Perspective of the Intelligence of Human Nature and Gut Instinct by Martha Char Love

    0 out of 5

    “What’s Behind Your Belly Button?” explains what your gut feelings are actually capable of telling you about your inner instinctive needs, how to listen to the voice of your gut, and how to use both of your brains—head and gut—to work together for your optimal health and well-being. Although numerous books and articles have recently talked about the gut instincts as valuable in giving us useful hunches in the decision-making process, “What’s Behind Your Belly Button?” goes much further and explains how gut feelings not only have a psychological intelligence of their own, but are also understandably rational in their functioning and reflect in their own voice how well the two instinctive human needs of acceptance and of control of one’s own responses in our lives are being met.

    Since Dr. Michael Gershon, M.D., published in 1999 his revolutionary medical findings that demonstrated that the gut has an intelligence of its own and called it the “Second Brain”, people have been examining their guts with growing interest in trying to understand their gut feelings. “What’s Behind YOur Belly Button?” answers the questions many people have of the second brain and the ENS in a new Gut Psychology, and explore how to use both your head and gut brains to work together for a healthy life. It is written in a narrative style that allows for the reader to understand the experience within themselves of having two brains and it makes thinking of the human being with these two brains become truly understandable for the first time.

    While the authors make this material easy to understand, the psychological explanations of gut intelligence and instincts in this book are comprehensive, well-researched, and based upon clinical studies with hundreds people by the two authors. Utilizing the research of Dr. Gershon, the work of Dr. Lise Eliot who charts the development of children from conception through the first five years of life, recent research of their own in the Psychology Department at Sonoma State University, and their vast clinical experience in career counseling and psychometry, the two authors of What’s Behind Your Belly Button have presented an interpretation of recent medical research into a new revolutionary understanding of gut instincts and a more accurate behavioral understanding of the Self and human nature than has previously been available.

    This book is recommended for anyone looking for a hopeful view of humankind and a method for getting in touch with gut instincts to reduce stress, cope with fear and anxiety, deal with health issues and make efforts to stay healthy, and to increase optimal problem-solving and life-decision making abilities. It is a book that would be useful for general audience readers as a self-help book, as well as for scholars of psychology, education, neurology, medicine, and business organizational leadership interested in the well-being of healthy decision-making and the human condition. It is also suggested for parents and teachers who would like to increase the intuitive intelligence of both themselves and their children .

    Read More
    Quick View

Book Categories

  • Collections & Anthologies
  • Contemporary
  • Erotica
  • Fantasy
  • Gothic
  • Historical Romance
  • Multicultural & Interracial
  • Mystery & Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Science Fiction
  • Time Travel
  • Westerns
  • Romance
  • Author Interviews
banner-01testtesttesttest
banner-01testtesttesttest
banner-01testtesttesttest

Top Rated Products

  • Bad at Love by Emeline Piaget
    5.00 out of 5
  • Captured by Conner Kincaid
    5.00 out of 5
  • Hidden Embers by Jane Burrelli
    5.00 out of 5
  • Driving the Billionaire Boss (An MFMM Menage) by Sienna Crane
    5.00 out of 5
  • Her Majesty's Harem by N.J. Adel
    5.00 out of 5

Author Marketing Club

WantonReads.com supports indie authors!

for Authors

  • Submit Your Book
  • Submit an Author Interview
  • Get Featured Placement

for Readers

  • Discover New Books
  • Meet the Authors
  • About WantonReads

Thanks for visiting!

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
© 2017 - WantonReads.com