Mona Lisas and Little White Lies by John Herrick ***Character Guest Post: Meet Ryder, the Commerical Artist -- Excerpt -- Giveaway***

Mona Lisas and Little White Lies

by John Herrick

GENRE: Romantic comedy

She’s America’s hottest new celebrity. But her identity remains a secret.

Lily Machara is a wisecracking auto mechanic. She’s never cared for glitz or drama. But when Ryder Flynn, a rising star in the world of commercial art, adopts Lily as his muse after a random sighting, Lily discovers herself painted into his hot new pieces … and becomes America’s newest — anonymous — celebrity.

The only problem: The woman Ryder imagines isn’t the true Lily.

Or is it?

Now, as Lily and Ryder give in to mutual curiosity and a budding romance, Lily’s life — secrets and all — fall victim to a pop culture with one question on its mind: Who is the woman in Ryder Flynn’s art?

In the spirit of Cyrano de Bergerac and Pretty Woman, MONA LISAS AND LITTLE WHITE LIES is a delightful new romantic comedy from John Herrick, bestselling author of Beautiful Mess.

John Herrick will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Character Guest Post

Ryder, the Commercial Artist 

by John Herrick

You wouldn’t believe the girl I met last night. Well, “met” is a technicality. She wouldn’t remember me. She’d had a little too much to drink, and I had to help her find her hotel room. But I’ll never forget her. To make sure, the first thing I did when I returned to my hotel room was sketch her on a sheet of paper. It’s the closest thing to a photo I have. 

Her first name is Lily. That’s all I know about her. That and, judging from the way she wept, someone must have broken her heart. 

The next day, she disappeared from my life. 

She was a bridesmaid. The reception took place at the hotel. She had beautiful red hair, styled so perfectly. She had gorgeous skin like porcelain. I wanted to hold her in my arms. One look at her and I knew I’d love her forever. 

Today, all I have is that sketch, that “photo” drawn by hand. I don’t know who she is, what she does for a living, or where she comes from. All I can do is imagine. 

And so I will. I’ll paint her into my art. And I’ll paint myself beside her. We’ll go to the theater together. We’ll sip wine somewhere in Napa Valley. We’ll eat dinner outside at a restaurant in a café. 

As breathtaking as she was, she must come from that type of background. So I’ll depict her the way she deserves. 

Little do I know, several years from now, my career will take off. My work will become well known. The public will see me painted into much of my own work—and they will notice, in each painting, I have the same woman in my arms. 

Nobody knows who she is. I don’t even know who she is. But the public will become obsessed with her. They will do anything to uncover her identity. 

And in the meantime, they will call her a modern Mona Lisa. 

Find out how Lily and Ryder’s worlds intersect—and the little white lies told along the way—in Mona Lisas and Little White Lies! Find out more about Mona Lisas and my other books at www.johnherrick.net – and while you’re there, send me a message!

Excerpt

By three in the morning, Ryder had left Lily with her relatives and parted ways with her. The thought of never seeing her again chafed his heart as he walked down the hotel’s ninth-floor hallway and stuck his key card into the electronic lock of his own room. As he walked inside, his eyes moved toward one side, where a table lamp kept everything aglow.

He wouldn’t sleep at all tonight. He couldn’t. The thought of Lily lingered in his mind and swayed within his soul. Even at her low point that evening, as dismal as she’d appeared, Ryder had seen an angel when he’d gazed into her eyes.

In his room, he plunged into a sea of plush cushions on the sofa and grabbed a tiny, five-dollar bottle of mineral water from the mini bar. As the carbonated liquid tickled his throat and settled into his belly, its bubbles danced and brought a grin to his face. An unexpected end to the evening. Ryder hadn’t stepped foot in his room since morning and noticed he’d left the curtains open. From his vantage point on the sofa, he gazed out the window at the Cleveland skyline, where he noticed lights glowing from a nearby office tower.

Something stirred in his soul, but he couldn’t identify its source. Invigoration, perhaps? No, on second thought, he felt…alive. Alive, fueled by the memory of her.

Something about her had created in him a longing.

The stirring wouldn’t cease. An artist’s vulnerability. An abstract impression that begged manifestation.

She had disappeared from his life. Dejected at the realization, Ryder sought to keep her memory alive.

With a beckoning in his heart, he moved to the writing desk. From his satchel, which he’d placed beside the desk when he’d arrived that morning, he retrieved a small sketchbook and his favorite pencil. After flipping through the book in a hurry, he found a crisp, white page and focused his attention. With soft, careful strokes, he sketched a figure on the paper.

Lily.

About the Author

John Herrick is best known as a chronicler of the human heart. His complex characters and earnest tone prompted Publishers Weekly to write, "Herrick will make waves." When he is not writing, he loves long drives on the interstate. He is a sucker for 1990s music. Herrick lives in St. Louis.

In addition to novels such as BEAUTIFUL MESS and FROM THE DEAD, he authored the nonfiction bestseller, 8 REASONS YOUR LIFE MATTERS.

Visit his website at www.johnherrick.net.

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