*** Mature Content; Strong Language; Strong Sexual Content***
“Life is like an easy little lick, a signature flourish of my drumsticks to make a song my own. Something I can do in my sleep. Effortless and smooth. No drama… until I met her.”
Cody Driscoll cruises through life with a constant, steady beat. Mechanic by day, he’s the drummer for the Bangin’ Mofos at the Copperline Bar by night. Tearing it up on the drums provides an outlet, a release that soothes the stress of the world around him.
But when the withdrawn and reticent Ilsa starts working at the Copperline, Cody catches a glimpse of something nobody else seems to see – a beautiful, tenuous heart. Someone to shelter and shield. Her loneliness strikes a chord that resonates through his soul, no matter how much she tries to push him away.
As her past comes to light, the promise of their love unravels. Cody realizes the extent of her tangled and tumultuous fear. Her secrets test his conscience, and he stumbles, unsure how to make sense of his stubborn honor in a world that isn’t always black and white.
The pulse of life can shift in the blink of an eye, and ugly fallout can bring a man to his knees. But can the lies that break him make him stronger?
Sibylla Matilde grew up in the mountain valleys of Southwest Montana exploring the dusty Old West gold country on the back of a horse. She attended a two-room schoolhouse beginning in 1st grade & had the same teacher until she changed schools after 7th. Beginning at about age 12, Sibylla discovered historical romance, feeding off of work of Jude Deveraux & Lisa Kleypas. She loves a book that can make the reader run the gamut of emotions, from the sweet glow of new love to gut-wrenching heartache. She is a true romantic & always has stories floating around in her head, living in a fantasyland until she writes them down to free them.
Music is her emotional trigger. Growing up with a Wagnarian-loving mother, Sibylla was raised to treasure music that digs deep into the psyche, drawing out elation, sorrow, grief, desire. The soundtrack to her life includes many genres spanning centuries. She looooooooves Thirty Seconds to Mars (rather obsessively, actually… but, really, how can you NOT be crazy about this guy!? Jared Leto. Shhh. ) & pimps them out to all her friends through Spotify. She also delights in Met Opera HD broadcasts at her local movie theater & hopes (listening Met?) to someday see Diana Damrau reprise her role as Mozart’s Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. Sibylla lives with her husband and hero who saved her from her own calamitous, young-adult self. He makes her laugh daily, even when things are tough. He’s proved to her that love really can heal a shattered soul. In 18 years, they have never had a fight, although argue regularly with their two teenage kids who have, unfortunately, inherited their father’s quick wit (unfortunate as it is a quick wit that Sibylla, herself, definitely does not possess – there is a reason she is a writer & not a stand-up comedian). They live a quiet life with their two weird little rescued Chiweenies. Wait… teenagers & little yap-dogs? OK, maybe not so quiet.
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