Out Now! Pretty Average: Finding Love in an Existential Crisis by Arini Vlotman (@AriniVlot @PublishConquest)

Blurb:

Society should agree that growing up was a scam. One giant experiment that failed..

Esha More is celebrating her 35th birthday and her quick fix of hair dye and champagne only leaves her with a hangover and more problems. When she asks for excitement, getting thrown in the deep end of a corporate scandal is not what she meant.

Kane Mittal has been called in as a consultant to manage yet another crisis. Kane has enough women making demands, but after Esha tumbles into his life he can't stop thinking about her.

On a mission to save Esha's career and Kane's family business, together they navigate an inept flock of managers while faced with a mounting deadline, their powerful attraction, and a pandora's box of secrets.

Join Esha and Kane in their adventurous meet-cute, a workplace romance filled with laughter, and a hefty dose of intrigue.

Available from:

Ingram: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?m85tyNocZB4qMFqcFJvarH8nEUFJByquPCQkx6iwmLJ

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Average-Arini-Vlotman/dp/1962739023/

TakeAlot: https://www.takealot.com/pretty-average/PLID95437049

Smashwords: https://books2read.com/u/boMEva

Excerpt:

The root of all evil was age. There was no way around it. Everyone said you should know what you’re doing, but there’s a little voice in your head, always there, always whispering, ‘Are you sure?’.

Society should agree growing up was a scam. One giant experiment that failed.

That sounded right.

Esha picked up her cell phone and recited the words into her Deathbed app, nodding to herself in satisfaction. The invention was her special project in the making. An app designed to prepare for one’s death; it was genius. One day her family and friends would read those words at her funeral and lament at her wisdom.

That’ll show them.

Of course, she’d be dead and wouldn’t be around to witness that profound moment. But she could remind them it was predicted before her death. She typed out a quick note on her phone, Add deathbed reminders from predeath musings.

The sound of a child’s high-pitched shout outside her car window brought her back to the present. With her phone tucked into her handbag, she took one last look at her fluffy curls in the rear-view mirror. Satisfied, she slid out of her beat-up Toyota and tapped the steering wheel for good luck. She’d read that finding a grounding symbol kept you, well... grounded. So, she tried to find as many symbols as she could.

Out from the stifling heat of the car, her arms and shoulders tingled from the warmth of the summer sun, the scent of freshly cut grass tickling her nose. She needed to add antihistamines to her next pharmacy run, the pollen was heavy enough to taste. The familiar sound of the golfing wannabe's hitting their balls in the driving range, laughter from a family getting out of their massive SUVs, and the hollers of fans cheering to a rugby match in the bar made her smile. Filled with a reviving energy that added a bounce to her step, a buzz of excitement ran through her, shaking her from her birthday funk.

While meeting her friends at the local drinking dive for celebratory birthday drinks was a steadfast tradition, she had felt less than enthusiastic this year. Death was one year closer, what was there to celebrate? The only reason she looked forward to the day was the thought of spending it with her two best friends. Getting together for a few hours was becoming harder and far between, so she cherished every moment with them.

“Oi! Ash! Stop staring at the paving and get over here.”

Esha saw her friend Amy who hollered over the cars and sounds drifting from the restaurant, making a beeline in that direction.

Amy had a set of lungs to be reckoned with, being a mum of three kids, and Esha always marvelled at her friend’s contradictory nature. A full head shorter than Esha, Amy was petite in a Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory kind of way. Like her favourite character, Amy was also a firecracker. While Esha was all thighs, hips, and bum; Amy was all boobs, chin, and smiles.

Picking up her pace, Esha dove at her friend for a hug.

“Girl, you did it!” Amy tilted Esha’s head left and right while running her fingers through her hair. “Was it worth it?”

“Hell yeah! It was torture. Six hours in that chair was a pain, but I finally got a change, like a real, noticeable change.”

Esha grinned, swinging her head like a shampoo ad model, and giving herself a surge of confidence. The week leading up to her 35^th birthday was a whirlwind of activity. All the updating of wills and policies tired her out. A few days of soul-searching combined with lack of sleep gave her the perfect solution: change. A change was as good as a holiday, right? After adding turquoise streaks to her long, normal brown hair and buying a new shade of pink lip gloss that clashed with her brown skin tone, she felt not a single day younger. So, more change next time. Or a different change.

“Short of cutting the whole lot off, this is about as noticeable as it gets.”

Always adventurous with her hair, Amy sported a pixie cut with detailed etching behind her ears.

Esha caught sight of her reflection in Amy’s sunglasses, admiring the sight of the myriad of blue shades that shone back at her. The shiny strands were highlighted by the early afternoon sunlight, creating a pleasing cascade along her shoulders. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. Too bad her hair was all going to fall out one day. Bad genes.

About the Author:

A romance fanatic, book worm, book hoarder, and writer, Arini Vlotman is a people’s person and a wordy nerd. She finds comfort in almost any space, but there is nothing quite like being with her husband, son, and fur babies. Where writers are her superheroes and readers are her tribe, Johannesburg, South Africa is where Arini calls home.

One of Arini's favourite hobbies is Fangirling (is that a thing?), musicians, books, movies, and obscure characters. When Arini finds something she loves, she delves into it like Harry Potter dives into the Whomping Willow.

Catch Arini on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok so you can share your journeys together. Arini's debut novel, Pretty Average, hits shelves March 2024.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arinialwaysbeyou

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriniVlot

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arini_author

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@arinivlotman

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