Blog Tour: Always You by Shilpa Mudiganti - Excerpt + Guest Post

Hey guys!

Welcome to my stop of Always You by Shilpa Mudiganti. Always You is a short contemporary romance about forgiveness and love. It shows how love can overcome everything. In a few days time, the 6th of March, there will be a release day party spread across many different blogs for Always You. There will be a book giveaway too, so look out for it!

Always You by Shilpa Mudiganti

Lyla has to move on. She’s been stuck in a rut since her heart was broken five years ago. Trying to decide about life with her fiancé, Nick, she resolves to finish one last project before moving to Spain and starting a new life. That is until she is face to face with the one man who broke her heart all those years ago, Alexander Knight.

Five years ago, when Alex and Lyla meet at his friend, Andrew's grave, they fall deeply in love. But, Alex is hiding a secret that will destroy his relationship with Lyla and does. What Lyla doesn’t realize is that Alex has changed since their break-up, because of her love, only she still has hate in her heart towards him.

But now, fate has brought them together in such a way that they have no option but to remain dangerously close - dangerous enough for Lyla to fall in love with him again. How can she? Not after what she knows about Alex and what he did to Andrew.
It’s true that love can change people for the better. But is it enough? What will happen when two broken people with a past come together? Can they forgive and heal?

Shilpa Mudiganti

Shilpa Mudiganti grew up creating stories in her head. She thought her career would be as an author until she completed her technical degree. The security of an IT job lured her into leaving her stories to brew in her head. Yet, she fell in step with what fate had planned for her and penned her first romance novella, Always You. There has been no looking back since then. Always You is now being published by Inkspell Publishing in March, 2012.

Juggling her day job as an IT geek, she tries to put all her corporate learning into Inkspell. When she has time to breathe, she spends time blogging, connecting with her readers and spending time with her loving husband. She lives at Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.

Check out her Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Time for a short excerpt!

After the hour-long meeting, Alex sat alone in the conference room, long after his team had left for their coffee break. Today he’d touched Lyla again…his Lyla. He’d casually glanced up from his laptop when she walked unannounced into the room. To say he was stunned was an understatement. It had been five years, two months and sixteen days since he last saw her, and she looked as desirable as always, perhaps a bit more, considering how long he had waited impatiently for the day he’d see her again.

In her white blouse with puffy sleeves and that black skirt hugging her figure intimately, she looked lovely and vulnerable. He didn’t miss the grimace on her face the moment she laid eyes on him but the look of recognition in her deep green eyes made him alive in a way he felt nowhere else.

What he wanted to do was take her in his arms, and kiss her soft, velvety lips, but he knew how impossible that would have been. Neither the surroundings nor their past would allow that.

He had lost her five years ago and failed to win her back. None of his calls and letters were ever answered. After a year of relentless pursuit, he gave up and quietly acknowledged that Lyla would be the one woman he could never have...

It was not his nature to share how difficult it was to lose her. No one expected him to ever lose. After all, he was Alexander Knights, the man who could have any woman he wanted. But he terribly missed her each day and his body ached for her closeness each night. Yet she wouldn’t come back to him because of one mistake, the guilt of which he could never forget.

He knew it was a huge mistake, but first she had to forgive him. He didn’t think it would take so long. However, he tried to move ahead and thought he had safely tucked her into a hidden corner of his heart. Seeing her today proved that wouldn’t work, not when she stood across the room from him, her dark lush hair brushing her soft cheeks?

His stomach muscles clenched as he replayed the image of her shaking hands with everyone in the room, and how hesitantly she had shook his. As their hands connected, he had felt a tremor pass through her. Had she felt it too? Was it longing, pain, or love? Maybe she had. Maybe there was a chance for them yet.

And now, let's welcome Shilpa to the blog for a short guest post! *applause*

I started my reading journey with a Mills & Boons novel at the tender age of 11. Yes, I had a wide range to select from my then teenage aunt's bookshelf and I would pick a book with the most handsome executive clothed man on it, especially with a heroine is in his arms, as if being rescued. I loved the whole maiden in distress act and the books never disappointed me. Almost 25 years on, I never thought I would write a romantic story. That's because I moved on from Mills & Boons even before I hit my teens, thanks to Sidney Sheldon. I thought mystery would be my forte!

But here I am with my debut novel, Always You.

The story has a hero, Alex and yes you guessed it right, he is a pretty handsome corporate executive. A heroine, Lyla, who is NOT a damsel in distress. Well, with changing times, I think women need not be in distress at all times. We can take care of ourselves! But she was in pain. Emotionally because of the betrayal she met at the hands of Alex. She thought she had moved on and well, five years should be enough to get over someone. Yet it wasn't. She wasn't ready to accept it and was hoping to find an escape through Nick when Alex barges in to her life. Determined to right the wrongs, Alex chases her with a passion that was enough to undo every defenses that Lyla had built to stop him. But would she survive? Turns out Lyla had more prejudices than she would care to admit and Alex? Well, he had a secret that he wasn't willing to reveal to Lyla, even if it meant he would lose her forever.

It was an emotional rollercoaster ride for me. I laughed, and cried with Alex and Lyla which helped because both are quite stubborn and headstrong. They needed someone to guide them to their happily ever after and I feel privileged to be the one accompanying them on their journey. They would love some more company (rumors are they are bored of me!) and invite you to join them. They are chatty though and promise to keep you entertained!

Thank you Victoria for having me here today. I appreciate it a lot. I hope you enjoyed Alex and Lyla's company! :)

I did! Alex is hot:P

So yep, that's about it for today! Go here to check out the other tour stops! You'll find loads of awesome stuff on the other tour sites too! :D Oh yes, and you can buy the ebook on Amazon!