Author Bio
While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her entire life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most parts of Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending time with her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early hours of the morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical IT field, so relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through writing. Her deep appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age, being taught to respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading honest and realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a lasting impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions from different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration from her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in her travels.
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The Book
Blurb
Every relationship changes you, some for the better, others can shatter your confidence and almost destroy you.
For the musically talented, twenty-four year old Tara O’Connell, her relationship with Stephen almost broke her, until Tara found the strength to leave.
Now she is on the road to discovering that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and follow your heart.
As Tara’s self-belief grows, she meets two men she is instantly drawn to who will change her life forever.
Corporal Riley Hammond is a soldier in the Australian Military Special Forces. With his smiling sapphire blue eyes, Tara falls for him instantly. He is thoughtful and caring, and gives her the support and love she needs.
While Cole Michaels is the overconfident singer in a popular local band. His charisma, emerald green eyes, tattoos and piercing, have girls falling at his feet. But while Cole pushes Tara’s buttons, he also pushes her to reach for the stars.
Both men couldn’t be more polar opposites, but both offer Tara different qualities that she needs to fulfil her destiny.
As Tara continues her journey, she will discover fate can offer you more than one path. Her fate is in her own hands, and the choices she makes, will shape her life forever.
Excerpt – Cole’s tattoos
I helped bus the tables as I was pretty useless at pulling beers. I had lost track of time when I felt my phone buzz in my skirt pocket. I raced into the back room and just managed to answer the call in time. It was Riley and my heart melted at the sound of his voice.
“Where are you?” he asked, obviously able to hear the band playing in the background.
I told him excitedly about catching up with Jay and lining up the band to meet Marcus, and how I was now bussing tables at the bar. For some reason I felt the need to avoid mentioning Cole. But Riley could hear him singing in the background and commented on his voice.
“Ah, yep he does have a great voice,” I said, feeling guilty when I hadn’t done anything to feel guilty about.
Then I changed the subject and asked Riley what he had been up to. We had only been speaking for about fifteen minutes when the band stopped for a break, and then the door opened and Cole was standing there.
He could see I was on the phone but didn’t seem to care, as he came in and pulled off his sweat soaked t-shirt, before rummaging in a bag and pulling out a clean one.
I looked at his shirtless body in awe. Not only did he have the full sleeve of tattoos up his left arm, but he had angel wings, or was that eagle wings across his shoulder blades.
He turned around to face me and saw me looking at him, so stood still and cockily held his arms out to the sides so I could get a good look, watching my expression.
I couldn’t help it, I exhaled loudly at the sight of his ripped body.
Finally, I managed to tear my eyes away from his amazing body and turn my back to him. I heard him chuckle softly. Then realising that the bar would be busy with people buying drinks now that the band was on a break, I reluctantly told Riley I would have to go.
“I’ll see you in a week,” Riley said as he was getting ready to hang up. “I miss you babe, I think about you all the time.”
“I miss you too,” I said quietly into the phone. “I love you. See you next week.”
“I love you too.” Then he was gone.
“Hmm, I take it that wasn’t your mum,” Cole said. “Boyfriend not around at the moment?” he asked with a smirk.
“He’s in the army, based in Sydney,” I replied as I headed for the door.
“Must get lonely,” he said with a glint in his eye as he pulled his clean shirt on over his head.
Excerpt – Boot Camp with Riley
We were heading back to the meeting point with only two hundred and fifty metres left to go, before having completed the full five kilometre circuit of the lake. Riley and I had been running together most of the way, I knew he had been taking it easy to stay with me and I appreciated the gesture.
“Come on I’ll race you, loser pays for dinner,” I called, taking off at a sprint.
Riley was like a freaking Olympian he was so fast, but I had longer legs so could take longer strides. I pushed as hard as I could to at least try to stay level with him, and I’m sure in the end he backed off to let me win.
I threw myself down on the grass under a shady tree and laid stretched out, hands over head trying to calm my breathing.
“Hot, sweaty and breathless really suits you,” Riley said with a cheeky grin as he lay down next to me, mimicking my position.
“Well I have you to thank for that, you were riding me pretty hard toward the end.” I blushed suddenly realising what I had just blurted out, but Riley just chuckled.
“Next time you can ride me, as hard as you like.”
I blushed an even deeper scarlet and shook my head to clear the tantalising image, I could always replay it later.
“Okay, pair up for stretches,” Mal instructed to the group.
Now stretches I could do, fifteen years of ballet had kept me very flexible. Riley knelt up over one of my legs while he held the ankle of the other.
“Let me know if it hurts,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“I can take it,” I said, biting my bottom lip.
He pushed my leg gently at first, then realising it was still going, pushed it all the way so my foot was beside my head and he was leaning right over me.
“Ah...that’s handy,” he said with raised eyebrows, a cheeky smile shining through his eyes again.
I diverted my eyes and looked down at his side. From the position he was in, I could now read the tattoo clearly, it said;
Give me Strength when I’m standing and Faith when I fall
I lightly ran my fingers down the tattoo as I read it, and he shivered but held still, watching my face intently.
“Was it just something you liked or does it have special significance for you?” I asked curiously.
“It has significance in various ways,” he said, sitting down next to me. “In the military we need strength when we’re standing toe to toe with the enemy, and faith that we can get back up in the face of defeat. But I think we need faith that we are doing the right thing and making the right decisions in life, even when the right thing is sometimes the hardest.”
He smiled down at me. “Do you have any tattoos hidden away?”
His eyes scanned my body. There wasn’t that much that was covered up under my little shorts and crop top.
I shook my head. “I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never found a verse or picture that I would want to wear for the rest of my life.” I shrugged. “Maybe one day.”
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Interview with Lisa
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with me! Your first novel, 'Songbird' was recently released and it sounds amazing! I cannot wait to read this one.
It must have been really exciting, and nerve wracking, to release your first book. How did you cope with the nerves?
I didn’t really have time to be nervous, which is probably a good thing! I had sent the manuscript out to a few publishers and had a few nibbles, before deciding to self-publish. By that stage it was late September and I decided to publish in November, so it was all systems go. I think I was running on pure adrenalin and coffee for 6 weeks.
How did you come up with the idea for the storyline of 'Songbird'?
It was an idea that had been kicking around in my head for about 15 years. I’d been in a toxic relationship like Tara’s and I’d always wanted to tell the story. It was great therapy to write it down, and hopefully it will help other girls in the same situation to have the courage to leave and start again.
Which character from the book can you most relate to, and why?
That would be Tara, but there’s a little bit of me in each. I can definitely relate to Tara in the beginning of the book, but unfortunately I’m not talented in music and I can’t sing (lol), that part is wishful thinking.
Are there any authors whose writing particularly inspires you?
There are a stack of authors that I love. S.C.Stephens, Colleen Hoover, Monica James, the list is endless.
What is your all time favorite book to read?
I absolutely love a book called Phantom by Susan Kay. I read it when I was a teenager and I’ve reread it about 5 or 6 times over the years. I’ve also read the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few times. I love the storytelling and complexity of them.
Were there any times where you found yourself having "writers block" and if so, what did you do to get yourself out of it?
Not so much writers block. I’d mapped out the storyline beforehand so knew where it was going. As it turned out, as I was writing, the story changed from what I’d originally thought, but I just went with it. In the initial concept, Cole wasn’t the third side of the love triangle, it was Marcus, but once Cole made his appearance, he demanded more attention.
What is your biggest Pet Peeve?
In life generally, bad manners really irk me. It doesn’t cost anything to be polite. Also dishonesty is a big one. My mum always used to say, ‘You can trust a thief, you can’t trust a liar.’
What is your favorite Genre to read?
I love the contemporary romance genre, but also have a soft spot for supernatural. I have a stack of vampire related novels. All the Sookie Stackhouse, Vampire Diaries and Twilight books are on my Kindle.
What is your favorite place you have traveled to and why?
I lived in England for a year which I loved, and was lucky enough to travel through most parts of Europe. I absolutely adore Paris. The sights, the food, the language – you can ask someone for directions to the train station and it sounds sexy.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Right now, I’d like a quiet, sunny island where I can start working on book 3 in the Songbird trilogy. I’d love to go back to England and Scotland, and a few places in Europe where I didn’t have enough time to fully immerse myself in the culture.
What is your favorite type of Book Boyfriend? (for example: bad boy, biker, rockstar, etc.)
I love the bad boy rockers who are sarcastic and full of themselves, who then meet a girl and turn to mush .You can see their wall coming down, and there’s quite often a good back story as to why they are like that.
What is one thing that us as readers, and fans, may not know about you?
Probably that I work in IT as a Data Manager. It’s the strictest, most regimented job you can have where there is absolutely no room for imagination. That’s probably why I love writing so much, it lets me use the other side of my brain and be creative.
What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future? Are you working on any more books?
Songbird is a trilogy so there’s another 2 books right there. Book 2 is finished, just at the final editing stage, book 3 is yet to be started. After that, who knows, I have a few ideas up my sleeve. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!
I would love to win
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