Giveaway Alert: Sing A New Song on Goodreads

If you found out you were dying, would you suddenly confess all your past sins?
When former chart-topper Tiffany Knightly learns that she's dying
from cancer, she leaves behind her plush California lifestyle to return
to Hempstead, New York, with Karlie, her reluctant teenaged daughter.
Her fans think she has simply gone home to die, but Tiffany has another
mission. She desperately wishes she could leave her past in the past,
but in order to secure her daughter's future, she must tear open past
wounds.


Life wasn't always easy for Tiffany. With a stepfather who abused her
and a mother who didn't believe her, she acted out by becoming
promiscuous. Fifteen years later, she's back to reveal to her ex-husband
that he might not be Karlie's biological father. In fact, there
are four men who could have fathered Karlie--four that she's willing to
acknowledge, anyway.


As Tiffany reveals her truth and searches for Karlie's father, she
reconnects with old friends and old lovers. Some reunions are happy, but
some innocent lives are torn apart, leaving Tiffany to wonder if she's
doing the right thing. Through it all, she will have to learn to rely on
the healing power of God's unfathomable love.

Chapter Excerpt: (Chapter Four)

“Never say never,” Tiffany chided herself bitterly. She tossed herself on the king-sized bed in the expansive guest quarters of Winona’s majestic Park Avenue apartment.

Tiffany held onto her head with both her hands. The demons of her past attacked and whipped her with guilt. Her mind raced about 100 miles per hour as she contemplated the magnitude of the task before her.

The past she had to revisit.

Tiffany mulled other alternatives for Karlie and her estate. Sadly, the truth twisted within her being, pushing her to belch it out. She needed to dig up ancient history because Karlie needed family.

Family.

There was always Tiffany’s mother—Merle Peterson.

***

Tiffany rented an Escalade equipped with GPS to drive to her mother’s home in Baldwin. She had dutifully purchased the home but had never paid a visit. She knew if she ever set foot in her mother’s house, she would regret it, but now she had to.

Merle was blood.

Tiffany hoped her mother would look beyond the past and see that. She purposely went alone because with Merle, well, one could never know what to expect and it could not be expected of Winona to remain cool when faced with Merle’s rancor.

Traffic was light and approximately forty-five minutes later, Tiffany pulled up to the curb outside her mother’s house. She sat in her car and studied the two-story structure for several minutes.

Tiffany dreaded this moment. Her palms felt sweaty as she gripped the steering wheel column. Exactly two weeks after learning about her imminent death, she was about to break the news to her mother. A woman who couldn’t care less if she ever rested eyes on her again. 

Her knuckles were taut and white.  Perspiration soaked her Armani blouse. She had not seen her mother face to face in over fifteen years.  Not that it would matter to Merle. Knowing her, Tiffany anticipated she would not be there long. Taking a deep breath, Tiffany whipped her sunglasses on her face, opened the door, and stepped out.  Her sleek high heels crunched on the gravel as she walked towards the sidewalk. 

The kids in the neighborhood stopped playing to stare at the lovely woman. Tiffany was not worried that they would not recognize her. She had been before their time.

Gathering her courage, Tiffany sped up the three steps and rang her mother’s doorbell.  Almost immediately, Merle opened the door and stood in the doorway. “What do you want?”

Tiffany’s demeanor changed with her mother’s abrupt question. “You haven’t seen me in almost sixteen years and this is how you greet me?” 

Merle did not answer.  She frowned and gave Tiffany the once over that left no doubt how she felt. 

Tiffany knew she was the last person her mother wanted to lay eyes on, but this was a matter of life and death. “May I come in?”  She pointedly asked since her mother had not made any motion to invite her into her home. The home she’d bought. Tiffany tried to swallow the bitter thought.

Merle reached into her pocket and took out a pack of gum. She opened the wrapper and stuck a piece in her mouth.  She stared Tiffany up and down once more, before she begrudgingly stepped aside. 

Tiffany bit her tongue to refrain from saying something nasty and entered her mother’s house. She walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the sofa. Painted a soft buttercup yellow with green trimmings, the living area was warm and inviting, opposite to her mother’s temperament. The sofa and loveseat were color coordinated and the décor impeccable.

Merle sat down and gave Tiffany a look of utter unconcealed disgust.

Tiffany took a deep breath before spitting out her news, “Mama, I thought it best to let you know in person that I am dying.” Tiffany nervously wiped her hands on her dark crimson jeans. She wore a thick black sweater with a matching jean jacket but the coldness in the room chilled her very core.

Merle remained unresponsive and her face mirrored no emotion. In fact, she gave no indication that Tiffany had even spoken.

Tiffany sat in suspense as she waited for her mother to cry, say something, or provide some sort of human feedback. Merle displayed none of those reactions. She remained stoic, unaffected as she popped her gum. Then she bit out, “So, what did you expect me to do about that?”
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