I'm so thrilled to host the gorgeous Cari Kamm on my blog today and celebrate the release of her new novel, For Internal Use Only.
Want to WIN A COPY??!!
Of course you do. When you get to the bottom of the post, leave your email in the comment section and a winner will be selected at random.
Here's a little bit about the book...
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Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s
most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular
dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal
life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak,
Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love
through their very different stories and experiences.
In Chloe’s emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest
love story ever told, she’ll learn that like her photography she must use the
negatives in life to develop and prove that she’s a strong woman who found her
way to love through light.
Cari has been generous enough to provide a peek into the book. In this excerpt, Chloe is anxiously awaiting for the
envelope to arrive that contains her destiny.
My
love for photography had led me down an unimaginable career path. Most
currently, it led me to anxiously sitting on a stoop outside the New York City
mid-rise building that contained my overpriced one-room apartment. I closed my
eyes, allowing the morning light to calm me while I took in the delightful bird
chirps and excruciating taxi beeps of the East Village, ignoring the slight
smell of urine that accosted my senses.
I started my afternoon again with
stalking. I eagerly awaited the mailman’s arrival between 1:06 and 1:13 p.m.,
while he transported paper fate, sporting his pale blue polyester trousers,
tucked in long-sleeve shirt pressed, and Converse sneakers.
We lived and loved through
technology, so I was frustrated that my fate was arriving via snail mail and
the timing matched every part of the description. Technology was the trusted
source of banking transactions, meeting your husband, ordering your groceries,
making restaurant reservations and even spying on your pets through a kennel
cam while sunburning on a beach. But today, this life-altering letter crawled
its way to me by a government official, a man I rarely saw, and never exchanged
words with. I was waiting to hear if my dream would come true, and dreading it
would never be.
“Good afternoon,” I said, with a smile, merely able to stare
at the navy stripe that lined his pant leg. The clock showed that it was 1:11
p.m. I made a wish.
“What a surprise,” he muttered,
while he manhandled the heavy stack wrapped with a thick, green rubber band and
passed by me. I studied him meticulously stocking the empty boxes, one by one,
approaching my slot.
“Do you mind if I just grab the
mail for three-C, please?” I interrupted.
“If that’s what it’ll take,” he
moaned.
Between my J. Crew catalogue and my electric bill was a
fancy rectangle of heavy stock ivory paper with gold trim. I squeezed the
four-by-six response card. Contained in this saliva-sealed envelope were the
words that would inevitably change my life. The weight of those words was heavy
in my fingers and I was hesitant to open it. Without the answer the card contained,
I still was able to hold onto hope.
My destiny was in my lap with the warmth of the sun
counteracting the fresh chill October presented while I flipped from sweating
to freezing like an on/off switch. I reassured myself it was only rejection. I had
my health and photography. Whether it was amateur or professional, it was still
my first love. Even if it was a two-letter response, I would remember my love
for art, and how every time I shot I searched for the immense beauty that
existed within the balance, tone, and temperature of my tiny frame. Having an
image worth a thousand words was never my intention. I wanted to capture one
word to describe each photograph. One word can define everything, love being a true example. There is
something compelling about visualizing a picture and capturing it. There is
nothing compelling about the words, We
regret to inform you.
My fingers trembled and taking a
couple photographs would be soothing. Photography to me was the perfect
cocktail: one part heart, one part head, a dose of imagination, with a splash
of patience.
The tearing of
the envelope felt like scratches on my heart. I proceeded with caution, hoping
this document wouldn’t be only a keepsake to remind me what if.
Inch by inch, I
slid out the card to reveal the twelve-point Apple Chancery font and held it to
the light, observing the maker’s name in the watermark. Rubbing my index finger
over the engraved symbol, I was impressed. The brand, Smythson of Bond Street
stationery, supplied paper to the British royal family. I was holding the same
stationery as the Queen.
________________________
Dear Miss Kassidy,
We write to inform you
of your acceptance into the exclusive Bruce Smith Gallery as part of our
exhibit for emerging artists, hosted by curator Grayson Gates. You will be
receiving your review and luncheon date via e-mail. Please be prepared to
present your theme for the Love Through Light exhibit within the deadline. You
will be required to exhibit three pieces.
Opening Night & Reception
Friday, February 7, 8:00 p.m.
Bruce Smith Gallery
504 West 22nd
Street
________________________
I read your acceptance at least ten times, intoxicated with excitement and
then Love Through Light offered a
swift sobering sense of reality. I began to panic. I couldn’t deny the exhibit
theme made me uncomfortable.
The Love Through Light exhibit was inspired by the word photography itself and its Greek
meaning, writing with light. As the
emerging artists in Grayson Gates’s exhibit, we were to create stories of love.
Instead of ink, we would be writing with our three photographs.
I composed a text to Stephanie, Kate, and Emma, my inner
circle. I’m in!
Our bonds from beginnings to
endings were unbendable. Each our own elements, but together our friendship
made a rare metal.
Cari Kamm has worked in the beauty industry for over a
decade, building brands, working behind the scenes, and even selling her own
skin care line. She has a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York
University. Kamm currently works in corporate social media management with
clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries. Living in New York
City with her mutt Schumtz, Kamm loves finding inspiration in the most
unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing her boyfriend that ordering
takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to cooking. More information
can be found on her website, CariKamm.com.
To check out the book trailer, click here: http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn.
Leave your email in the comments section on this post to enter to win a Kindle copy of this fabulous new book!
