I should yank away but part of me warns that sudden movements would be bad. He gently takes my arm and backs up, pulling me past the ladies waiting but doesn’t release me. “I’m fine.” I can’t bring myself to ricochet the same pleasantry his way. I can’t pass because he and the ladies’ bathroom line combined block my path.

I don’t want him to think a repeat of THE KISS is likely to happen, ever.

He’s very tall and close enough that I can smell the beer on his breath. After I’ve stalled long enough and no one has pounded on the door urging me to hurry up, I exit. I take my time placing three layers of toilet paper on the seat before using it. Who cares, other than that the hygienic conditions are worse than the ladies’ bathroom. It’s a single-toilet bathroom with a lock. Of course there’s no line for the men’s room. I'm very much looking forward to my visit to your space.Louder Than Words Excerpt - “Tacos, Toilets and Douchebags”Ī line three women deep greets me. Thank you, Veronika, for your lovely comment (so thrilled you enjoyed Louder) and question and for hosting me on my tour. Readers can really see how their experiences change them. That's what I love most about writing YA/NA-the characters are more wide-eyed and malleable than adult characters. I almost wish I'd given her more airtime in Louder.but that's part of the fun of giving her her own story-starting with a character I sort of know, one that's pretty flawed, and digging deeper to see what makes her tick and looking for those life lessons she needs to learn to make her a better person. Now that I'm deep into Rubies, though, I'm loving it and hope readers will too! Lizzy is quickly becoming a favorite character of mine. To be honest, I didn't start off planning to write more stories about the Louder gang until my publisher mentioned it. It's not contracted yet, so realistically, it would be sometime next year at the earliest. I'd say I'm nearing the halfway mark for the first draft. It's not contracted yet, so realist …more I'm busy, busy working on Lizzy's story as I write this. Clair I'm busy, busy working on Lizzy's story as I write this.

Louder Than Words by Iris St. Clair