We’ll choose the winners on August 31, 2016.
Synopsis
Thalia’s life is perfect. She has her dream house on the edge of Lake Cumberland in Nancy, Kentucky. She has a thriving sex therapy practice. Her sister has just moved nearby and is running the daily business of her practice.
She has a tight group of friends who keep her entertained and honest and a seemingly endless supply of ladies to meet her more basic human needs. Thalia has no regrets she’s without a life partner.
Or does she?
A rough break-up five years ago left Thalia’s heart in pieces. Thanks to friends and family her heart healed and she was able to find peace and happiness again. But not without scars that have left her unwilling to be vulnerable and exposed again.
When Amara walks into Thalia’s practice seeking help for her friend, something ancient and terrifying stirs inside her.
Will Thalia be able to keep their interaction professional or will the allure of “one who will be forever beautiful,” as her name suggests, be too much for Thalia and her fragile heart to resist?
Excerpt
AMARA AND THALIA return from their horseback ride, change out of their riding clothes and join the guests who’ve arrived for the barbecue.
The ride had been nice. Amara took Thalia up to a clearing that overlooked the farm. She gave Thalia the history of the farm, pointing to buildings and telling her when they were built and their purpose, what was no longer there, and what she had planned for the future. She spoke with such pride. It’s clear the farm is indeed her most cherished love.
Amara introduces Thalia to several more people and thus far, the subject of her profession hasn’t come up. She wonders if she’ll make it through the entire event dodging that bullet. And just as the thought finishes in her head, she turns to find Amara’s aunt standing next to her.
“Dear, I understand you’re a sex therapist.” She lowers her voice to a whisper and moves in closer to Thalia. “I have a little problem I’d like to discuss with you.” She searches Thalia’s eyes, seeming to ask for permission to continue. Thalia isn’t exactly sure if she gave permission or not. But she continues, nonetheless. “Whenever I’m at the grocery store and pass through the produce aisle, something happens to me when I pass the zucchini.”
Thalia glances over at Amara, who is talking to some people whose names she’s already forgotten, and shoots her a pleading look. Amara just snickers and turns back to her guests.
Thalia coughs. “Umm… can you describe it?”
“First, I feel my face flush. And then I get so… moist… you know… down there,” she says pointing to her crotch. “And then I feel a… squeezing that gets stronger until I can hardly stand it. And then it goes away. Afterward, I have the strangest craving for a cigarette. And I’ve never even smoked! It started happening about six months ago, and now I’m making up excuses to go to the grocery store. But I don’t dare buy any zucchini. I don’t think I could stand having it in the house.”
Thalia is doing her very best to maintain her composure with this poor distressed woman. “It sounds like you may be having a spontaneous orgasm. It isn’t a rare condition, but it’s not too common either. You should tell your gynecologist about it.”
“Oh my, dear. An orgasm? That’s what an orgasm feels like?” Her voice has now risen to the point where others nearby are starting to stare. “No wonder people want to have sex. If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll leave well enough alone.”
Thalia chokes and sputters, “Yes, ma’am. But if it gets to be too much, promise me you’ll see your doctor.”
“I will, dear.” She pats Thalia’s hand and then walks away, leaving Thalia to recover from the encounter alone.
Darla Baker Bio
From the time Darla entered high school she dreamed of being a therapist. She took the only psychology class offered by the school and worked as a volunteer hotline counselor for Suicide Prevention.
Following high school, she attended Georgetown College and Wright State University pursuing a BA in Psychology preparing for a career in Pastoral Counseling.
As often happens, her life went in a different direction. So after graduating from Wright State University, she spent the next thirty years practicing therapy skills on unsuspecting software and systems engineers.
Following a failed attempt at straight marriage, she has spent the last twenty years with her soul mate, Carol. Along with their two beautiful pit bulls, they split their time between Dayton, Ohio and Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.
As her career in technology comes to a close, she’s now counseling fictional people as a fictional sex therapist in the Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist series.
Darla craves hearing from her readers. You may reach her via any of the following channels:
http://stonesoupcommunity.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15204196.Darla_Baker
http://www.amazon.com/Darla-Baker/e/B01ERQ8G5I
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DarlaBaker
https://www.youtube.com/c/DarlaBaker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/DarlaBaker
