Bellevue Book Reviews: Book Blitz + Giveaway - Eyes Unveiled by Crystal Walton

Eyes Unveiled (Unveiled Series, Book 1)

Release Date: 02/01/15

259 pages

Summary from Goodreads

Twenty-one-year-old Emma Matthews lost the song in her heart the same night she lost her dad. With an unfulfilled promise and an ultimatum shadowing her junior year of college, maybe it’s better that way. You can’t hurt if you can’t feel.

But when the reflection she sees in musician Riley Preston’s eyes borders dangerously close to the one she’s spent the last five years searching for, Emma discovers her walls can’t guard her heart from its fiercest desire. Terrified of what she’s experiencing, and even more afraid of what she might lose, Emma grapples for the courage to hold on to one dream without abandoning the promise of another.

Contemporary New Adult Romance novel Eyes Unveiled lets you relive those heartfelt moments when you don’t know how you’d survive a day without your best friend, when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you’re supposed to do with your life, and when falling in love changes everything.

Music. Friendship. Self-discovery. Hope. Purpose. Identity. Within this inspirational love story, you'll find you have a song of your own to share.

Author Interview Q&A:

What inspired you to write Eyes Unveiled?

When I first contemplated writing fiction, three musts came to mind. (1) It had to include romance because that’s my favorite part of any story. (2) I wanted whatever I wrote to be relatable. (3) I didn’t want to write simply for the sake of entertainment.

As soon as I opened myself up to daydream, a scene fluttered into focus. A guy and girl, college age, sitting in the middle of a secluded field. The guy was playing an acoustic guitar, as much in love with music as he obviously was with the girl across from him. Every chord stoked her love for him the same way it fanned the craving in her heart to find where she belonged. Both fighting what they felt. Both wanting to make the other see what they saw. Physical and emotional tension flared in a palpable tug-of-war between hope and doubt, caution and desire, passion and responsibilities. And right then, I knew these characters had a story to tell—one I wanted to read as much as write. From there, I couldn’t stop the scenes from coming.

What made you choose New Adult?

I didn’t intentionally set out to write NA fiction. But the truth is, college was the best season of my life. I’d relive it in a second. There's something special about it. Sharing an extended sleepover with your best friends, stepping out on your own for the first time, discovering things like who you are & what friendship really looks like. It's when we fell in love like never before, and when we fell apart like never before. It shaped our lives. One of my favorite parts about Eyes Unveiled is that you get to relive those moments all over again. The laugh-until-you-snort moments. The heart-flutters-taking-flight moments. The on-the-floor-crying-your-heart-out moments. All of it. Doubt. Faith. Friendship. Love. NA is a dynamic genre to read and write.

What made you decide to go indie?

I started off on the traditional route, but the more I studied publishing, the more passionate I became about going indie. Along with the benefit of keeping the rights to my book, it’s a joy to partner with some amazingly talented contractors. I love getting to offer my books at a low price and still receive a fair royalty, so readers and I both win. And since traditional and self-published authors have to do the same amount of marketing on their own anyway, you might as well be compensated fairly for the investment. Overall, it simply made the most sense.

Why do you write what you do?

In a word? Passion. As an artist, I leave my heart on the page. Exposed. Vulnerable. Nothing withheld. It’s risky to bear your soul to the world, but that’s the cost of art. There might always be a part of me tempted to guard my heart. But there’s a much more compelling part that’ll never allow me to. Regardless of the outcome, I write what I do because my heart is spoken for.

What do you want readers to take away from your books?

My goal as an author has always been to craft novels that are relevant and encouraging. I love compelling fiction that draws you into characters’ lives to the point of feeling what they feel. The kind that you walk away from knowing the story just impacted your life. Beyond mere entertainment, they awaken dormant dreams, stir creative visions, and remind you that you have a story of your own to live. If you walk away with an emotional connection that touches and inspires you, then I know I’ve written the kind of story I’ve always wanted to.

Excerpt from Eyes Unveiled

I sat down before my knees buckled. Sunrays sifted through the clouds. “I haven’t done this in ages.”

“What, no cloud chasing in between aerobics classes?” Riley asked.

“Ha. It might be a better workout. You know how many times I ran in and out of my house to get my dad?” A burst of sunlight warmed my face but didn’t reach the ache inside that never really left. “The shapes were always gone by the time I rushed him out to the deck to show him. He said it was because the clouds had made that shape just for me. Like I was something special.” I knotted my fingers through the top of the grass on either side of me. “Sad part is, I believed him.”

“Some things are easier to see from the outside looking in.” Riley slipped his hand behind his head and studied me instead of the clouds.

Two dragonflies zipped past us, my pulse chasing after their erratic flight. I balled the hem of my shorts in my fists. If I could harness my nervous energy to my hands, maybe I could short circuit the electricity surging through me.

Not even close.

“Do you ever wish you could go back to that time in life when everything was so much less complicated?” he asked.

His arm brushed mine as he rolled onto his side. His torso cast a wide enough shadow to shield the sun’s glare from my eyes, but I bolted face forward.

“It’s ironic,” he said. “As kids, we couldn’t grow up fast enough. So sure some great thing was waiting for us.” Another note of sadness—or regret, maybe.

Summoning any molecule of courage I had left, I angled toward him.

He twisted a small twig between his fingers and tossed it onto the field. “But somewhere along the way, we stopped chasing the future and started wishing we could postpone it.”

I thought I was the only one who felt that way. It didn’t make sense. He was the last person I’d expect to understand. He’d already discovered what made him somebody.

The cool earth soaked into my skin through my T-shirt. I grabbed the backs of my legs, towed myself up, and settled my chin on top of my knees. “Guess we always want what we can’t have, wishing we were either in the past or future. It’s kind of sad, actually. Sometimes I wonder if we realize what we’re forfeiting by not living in the present.”

Riley sat up, his attention never leaving me. “Maybe we’ve just been waiting to find the right reason to live in the present.”

A damp breeze—and something far more penetrating—shivered down my arms.

Spotify Playlist:

Amanda Falk – Diamond
Galen Crew – Dream
Christina Perri – distance - feat. Jason Mraz [Bonus Track]
Nicole Serrano – What I Really Wanna Say
Cary Brothers – Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Jon Foreman – My Love Goes Free
A Boy and His Kite – Heartache Is A Cold Place
Nicole Serrano – The Runaway
Shawn McDonald – Have You Ever
JJ Heller – Love Can Make You New
Cameron Ernst – Deserts and Storms
Sleeping At Last – I'll Keep You Safe

Buy Links:
Amazon

The author is also doing a promotion on her site. If you order in February, email the receipt to promo@crystal-walton.com and you’ll be entered in a drawing for Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, signed books, and art pieces.

About the Author

Amidst multiple moves up and down the east coast, Crystal received her bachelor of arts from Messiah College in PA, married her exact opposite in upstate NY, and earned her master of arts from Regent University in VA, where she currently resides with her husband. Crystal writes contemporary new adult fiction fueled by venti green teas from Starbucks.

When not working her accounting day job, she's delving into the wonder of words, supporting her Starbucks habit, or laughing over movie quotes & singing eighties songs with her husband.

Author Links