KD Williamson's Big Girl Pill is a joy to read, with intriguing main characters and secondary characters just as appealing. From warm family relationships to a cold, oppressive one, from humor and witty dialogue to solitary self-searching, this is a story of former friends Maya and Nina tentatively rebuilding what they once had, as well as much, much more.
The excerpt down below is from near the end, where Nina begins to clearly "see the light." But first, here's a guide to all the stops on this blog tour, and after the excerpt, a link to a Rafflecopter contest to win a copy of the book.
Schedule
Date
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Host
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URL
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Blog Post
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Q&A
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Excerpt
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Graphic
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Bio
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1/21
|
Dirt Road Books
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Intro/Schedule
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1
|
Y
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1/22
|
KD Williamson
|
Audio
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2
|
Y
| |||
1/23
|
Cheyenne Blue
|
Remember When
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3
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Y
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1/24
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RG Emanuelle
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1
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4
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Y
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1/27
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Andi Marquette
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One Reason
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5
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Y
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1/28
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Sacchi Green
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Seeing the Light
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2
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1
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Y
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1/29
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Women and Words
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Random Facts
|
Audio
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6
|
Y
| ||
1/30
|
Dirt Road Books
|
Conclusion
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5
|
Y
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Excerpt:
As if someone had slammed on her car’s brakes, Nina’s thoughts about Drew and their predicament came to a screeching halt as her mind turned to Maya. “Can I tell you something?” She took a quick glance at Rachel before looking back at the road to merge onto the interstate. “I’m not trying to change the subject or anything.”
“Okay,” Rachel drew the word out. “Something you couldn’t talk to Maya about?”
“Yeah, I, uh, didn’t want to get her hopes up, because things have been going so well between us.”
“Don’t just leave me like this. Spit it out.”
“Um, I had a reaction.” She cringed because she didn’t mean to sound so detached and clinical.
“To what? Gluten?”
“No. To two women kissing.”
“You watched porn?” Rachel’s voice went up.
“Christ, Rachel. No, I saw it in person.”
“What? They asked you to join in?”
Nina stared at her.
“What? You’re not being very clear.”
“I was at a restaurant and I saw them kissing and I felt something.”
“As in turned on?”
“It was getting there, yes.”
She snorted. “Oh, holy shit, that didn’t take long.”
“What didn’t take long?”
“For your va-jay-jay to get a clue.” She was practically crowing.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Let’s just say it knows where it’s wanted. Probably always did. The rest is on you.”
Her face heated. “It didn’t mean anything. Probably.” She didn’t even believe that.
“Uh-huh, that’s why you’ve been holding onto it for…?”
“Only a day,” she grumbled. God, only a day? Life was coming at her with the speed of an avalanche.
“That’s beside the point, but I have to say that I’m impressed. I leave for a few days and the whole world turns upside down.”
“Drew thinks you’re a bad influence.”
“Oh, I am, sweetie. I am.” She grinned.
Nina laughed, and it felt really good after everything that had happened. Then, she did the next thing that came to mind and called Maya via her car’s Bluetooth.
“Hey,” Maya answered on the third ring. Her voice was sleepy and warm. The bottom of Nina’s stomach tightened.
“It’s after twelve and your ass is still in bed?” Rachel asked.
Maya chuckled. “I’m a grown woman. I’ll sleep ’til three if I want to.”
“Then you’d miss out on a late lunch with us,” Nina said.
“Not Nine Mile, though, right?”
“No, not Nine Mile.”
“Where do you want to meet, then?” Maya asked.
Nina glanced at Rachel, who shrugged.
“I don’t know and Rachel is being decidedly unhelpful.
What are you in the mood for?”
“You choose. I’m easy.”
Nina’s smile widened. “Have you been to Blue Mountain Pizza since you’ve been back?”
Maya groaned. “You just said the magic words. I can be there in forty-five minutes.”
“We’ll see you then.” Nina hung up.
Rachel’s gaze was on her again, burning a hole in the side of her face.
“What?” she asked.
Rachel didn’t respond, and as Nina turned off at the next exit toward Weaverville, she looked over at her. Rachel was smiling, and her eyes were bright with amusement.
“What?” Nina asked again.
“Nothing.”
She didn’t believe her at all, but she wasn’t going to push. Besides, she had to prepare herself to tell Maya everything that had happened with Drew. She dreaded it a little, but for the most part, she was relieved.
After arriving at Blue Mountain Pizza, they exchanged pleasantries and got a table. They ordered appetizers and Nina took her time continuing to gather her thoughts until Rachel’s pointed stare goaded her to finally say something.
“So, something’s bothering me,” Nina said. Maya glanced at Rachel, then back at Nina.
“Okay. With the way you two were eyeing each other, I knew something was going on. Do you want to talk about it?”
“It has to do with Drew.”
Maya frowned. “Did something happen?”
“Kind of. But if it bothers you to talk about it, I won’t.”
Rachel rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Well, it’s bothering you and we’re supposed to be friends, so what’s going on?”
Nina poked at the garlic knot she’d been eating. She took a deep breath and detailed the argument she’d had with Drew. When she finished, Maya stared at her without saying a word. During the conversation, her expression had gone from shocked to annoyed and then, angry.
Rachel leaned forward and watched them both intently as she ate another garlic knot.
Nina returned her gaze to Maya, and found her expression darker than it had been a second ago. “I’m sorry. I know it might be hard for you to hear about him, but I figured this situation was different.”
Maya covered her hand and her expression shifted to concerned. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
“Exactly,” Rachel said.
“He does, though.” Maya frowned. “That was a shitty move and I wanna shove it right up his ass. If he can dish it out, he’d better be able to take it, too. And I’m not gonna apologize for saying that.”
Rachel chuckled.
The feeling she’d had earlier returned, stronger. Nina studied their linked hands and squeezed. Maya squeezed back.
“I’ve been trying so hard to be mature about this,” Maya continued. “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t say anything when you first told me Drew proposed. The other was because we were nowhere near as close as we used to be. It’s been two years, but I think I know you,
Nina. You thought you could deal with him being controlling, as long as his heart was in the right place.”
Maya was right. She held her gaze and as the seconds passed, Nina felt like she was being swallowed whole by those brown eyes. The intensity within them left her shaken but safe, and her heart beat so hard that all she could hear was the rush of blood to her head. Maya dragged her thumb slowly across the top of Nina’s hand. The resulting jolt of heat made Nina’s stomach flip, and the rest of her buzzed as if she’d jumped on top of a live wire, though it was just a simple touch. She stared down at their interlinked hands and another riot of sensation rivaled the first. This time, Nina uttered a barely audible gasp and she was both rattled and scared
by the pull between them. She let go of Maya’s hand and abruptly stood.“Bathroom,” she said, needing to get some equilibrium back. She forced herself not to run, and she didn’t dare turn around.
Nina had learned a whole lot about herself over the past few days, but realizing that she was attracted to her best friend definitely topped it all. To make it even more eventful, she had no idea what she was going to do about any of this.
Bio:
KD is a Southerner and a former nomad, taking up residence in the Mid-West, east coast, and New Orleans over the years. She was a Hurricane Katrina survivor displaced to the mountains of North Carolina but has since found her way back to Louisiana where she lives with her wife and the most horribly spoiled pets in history.
She enjoys all things geek from video games to super heroes. KD is a veteran in the mental health field where she works with children and their families. She discovered writing as a teenager with the help of her English teacher, whom she had a huge crush on. With her teacher’s help, KD wrote her first short story but afterward had a hard time finding inspiration. Years later, writing fanfic became her gateway into lesbian fiction.
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