Beautiful Imposter by Alex Shippe
Book Blurb:
Hardworking, devoted wife Jessica races home from her hectic corporate schedule to spend an unexpected take-five the boss gave her with none other than her loving husband Byron. But the gut-wrenching scene she finds on the bedroom floor knocks the wind out of her. Betrayed, angry, wounded, it’s all she can do not to drag Byron to the nearest lawyer and demand divorce. As the evening unfolds Jessica opens her heart to the man she thought she once knew, and takes a chance on love. Can they work through his infidelity? And if so, what will it take for her to forgive him? Time, it is said, can heal all wounds. Can it really . . . heal all wounds?
Beautiful Imposter is an adult contemporary short story with mature language and scenes.
Review of Beautiful Imposter.
I really love being a beta - reader :). I get to read all sorts of lovely books before they are published... Like this gem :)
Beautiful Imposter is a comterporary romance with a definite twist. Alex Shippe has written a beautiful, tragic, bitter sweet love story. Involving 3 characters, Jessica, Byron and David. How does someone get over infidelity and tragic loss? How would you cope? Could anyone ever over come both and love again? These were the questions going through my mind while reading Beautiful Imposter. Without giving too much of this story away. I can say honestly, that this was an amazing read. And for a short story, this book truly does stick with the reader.
I had a very brief Q & A with Alex Shippe (even book nerds get busy) about Beautiful Imposter.
1. What inspired you to write this short story?
Forgiveness.
Can a married couple ever truly come back together after a spouse commits the most unforgivable breech of trust?
I don’t know.
Most people would say: No. The person crossed the line. Period. Cheating is more than a sign of insecurity. Although it can be a sign of boredom or neglect, cheating is a sign that there is something preventing the person who has cheated—in this case him—from honoring his love for his wife. Obviously, Jessica finds out. Byron confesses. But, why couldn’t he have said something earlier? The lies, the betrayal, it all comes out.
So, as I started to write the story, I kept asking myself: How much time does it take to heal that kind of wound?
Infidelity strikes at the very heart of our humanity. It is the worst kind of rejection. Psychologists argue that a woman marries the kind of man who either most resembles her father or who least resembles him. I never explore this directly; I only knew that Jessica and Byron truly and deeply loved each other. They would do anything for each other.
So, what happened?
Where did all that love go?
That kind of love just doesn’t disappear. Presumably, that kind of love gets stronger. It becomes more secure, open to forgiveness, unbreakable. If their love was as strong as I had intended it to be, what challenged it? I explored this question throughout the whole story. And yet, even at the very end, when Jessica takes her first step into this new future, and takes her life back into her own hands, she still doesn’t know what she’s going to do. Byron was the love of her life. She was madly in love with him. So deeply in love with him she couldn’t see herself with another man. She’s lost her way.
It’s a tough story. At first it appears to be a simple story about infidelity but as the story unfolds there’s more to it than just the infidelity. There’s the chemistry between Jessica and her boss, David. There’s Jessica’s intern, Meredith. And there’s the twist, and the turn on the twist. Readers comments most on the initial bang, which is really only just the beginning of the story.
2. Without giving too much away Jessica and David have chemistry. Is there more for them?
Absolutely!
David has loved Jessica for a very long time, from the sidelines. He’s had plenty of opportunities to make a move but he respects her and her marriage not to do that. When he appears, David is a knight in shining, snowy white, armor. He’s a bit like Lancelot in that regard, except for all that secret love between them. Neither Jessica nor David acted on their feelings for each other. They could have, but David’s loss of his wife has sent him into a cave. He dives into work to drown his sorrow. It works, until his visit with Jessica. It’s then that they begin to heal.
The sequel to Beautiful Imposter story will be about how they grow together in love. There’s history so I’m not sure what’s going to happen yet.
I was originally going to release that story first, but there has been so much interest in a prequel story about how Jessica and Byron met that I decided to write that story first.
I may write a second sequel, about Byron, but I’m not quite sure yet. It will depend on how the prequel shakes out. That’s in the works. I’ve already started it.
And I have a title for it, which is always a good feeling.
Someone Like You takes them back to their college days, before they got married, before Jessica’s corporate job, before Byron’s flooring business, before the events of Beautiful Imposter. It focuses on her and her struggles, as well as Byron’s pressures; how they fell in love, and what they do for it, because true love is not without its struggles. If it’s true then that love has to be defended, no matter the consequences, no matter who gets in the way, whether that’s a jealous friend or the high hopes of family.
I’m targeting for a holiday release. This will be my first full-length novel. I’m very excited. That may not be coming across right now but so many people have really enjoyed Beautiful Imposter. I’ve gotten great reviews and great responses from readers who want more. It’s the highest compliment when people say don’t stop, keep writing, we want to revisit these characters again. I am truly grateful.
Alex Shippe's Bio
Here’s my bio. It’s cheeky in some areas. I couldn’t resist . . . Why not?
I'm a husband and father of three. My wife of 10 years has gone back to school while I’m at home trying to be . . . loads superhero theme music, stands akimbo, head turned—wait for it—Domestic Dad. By day I’m juggling kids, cooking, cleaning, errands, breathing, hitting the weights and general merriment while my wife is juggling school and her internship. By night, after I hang up the cape and cowl, I leap into a world of fantasies and heroes. I write supernatural, paranormal, adult contemporary and erotica. Needless to say, my life isn’t boring. It’s crazy. Now, if I could finish every story idea in my head that would be the ticket.
I enjoy traveling. Seeing new sights and sites. Eating new foods. Sometimes torturing myself with something that’s so heinous that I might regret it later, especially if there’s a record of it on someone’s cell phone. I enjoy reading a wide variety of books, from Kahlil Gibran to Hemingway to Tolkien to Gibson. I can handle just about any song. And on the not so rare occasion I’ll add it to my constantly growing music library.
I’ve been a graphic artist, art director, newspaper designer, and in the near future I’ll be starting a new career as a therapist. School first!
And,†I’m well hung. No, you filthy head. I have reproductions all over the house. I like art and cultural artifacts. Monet. Renoir. Remington. Behrens. Kumeyaay. Italian.
Beautiful Imposter is a lovely afternoon read and I am very eager to read the sequel... (Hint, hint, Alex)
Tea with the Book Nerd gives Beautiful Imposter an Iced Chai rating for being a refreshing twist to comtemporary romance :)
I hope you all will enjoy Beautiful Imposter as much as I did. As always, happy reading.
Love, The Book Nerd...
