At I Heart Lesfic, we believe the world could use a bit more kindness after one of the hardest and longest of years. Many authors have signed up to help IHL spread kindness in the world.

Today, the wonderful Thea Landen is here to share a story. Also, Thea is giving away 1 ecopy of Hunting Astrid. Below the guest post, you’ll find more details about the giveaway.

Take it away, Thea.

A NEAR-COMICAL RATIO OF CARS TO DRIVERS

2020 was a tough year for so many people and, like many others, my family did not escape it without a great loss. Shortly before lockdowns started, my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. After a brief, brutal fight, she passed away less than three months after the shocking diagnosis.

I won’t go into all the particulars here since, as I said, far too many people are familiar with not just the grieving process, but all the little details that sneak up on you. On the very long list of “stuff that needed to be dealt with,” there was one item I hadn’t given much consideration to beforehand: her car.

I have a car. My husband has a car. We have my old pre-kids car as a backup. My father had his car, a backup car, and wanted to replace his primary car with a new one. (An SUV, whereas my mother’s car was a small sedan.) We were approaching a near-comical ratio of cars to drivers. Seriously, that’s a lot of cars. We are also fortunate enough that any money made from potentially selling any of these cars wouldn’t really have an impact on our lives.

About a month after my mother died, a close friend of mine got into a car accident. No one was hurt, thankfully, but her car was totaled. She and her husband were hoping to buy a house soon; not only was money tight, they didn’t want to take on a new car loan at the exact same time as dealing with mortgage paperwork.

My parents had always known and liked this friend. I called my father and explained everything that had happened, ending with, “Do you think it would be possible for us to give her one of our extra cars that we’re not using?” My father has always been a notoriously kind and generous person, and didn’t even hesitate before giving his answer: “Sure!”

Finally, amidst all the terrible things happening in 2020, both on personal and global levels, I could give someone some good news. I called my friend, confirmed she still needed a car, and made my offer. She was thrilled, and after she asked a couple of obligatory questions, we had the following conversation:

“So, how much do you want for it?”

“Nothing. It’s an older car that nobody’s using.”

“…You can’t just give me a car.”

“Sure I can. Watch me.”

Getting all the paperwork in order took some time due to so much being shut down in our area, but I eventually got to hand over the keys and watch her drive away in her new-to-her car. I know my mother would have approved. Now that it’s 2021 and we’re rapidly approaching the one-year anniversary of her diagnosis, I hope I can continue spreading kindness and setting a good example for my own children, the way she would have wanted me to.

GIVEAWAY

HUNTING ASTRID

by Thea Landen

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Astrid has yet to find romance on the Zeta-16 space station. All that changes when Tabitha, a former soldier, applies for a job at her company. Since Astrid has been hurt before, she devises a plan: she suggests they enter the simulations used to test applicants and fight their way through, making herself the grand prize. Everything they want is within reach, but will Tabitha hunt her down?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Thea Landen lives in New York with her husband and children.

Though she’s dabbled in all romantic subgenres, she has a special love for sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure…anything that pushes the imagination beyond its usual limits.

When she’s not writing, she’s either knitting or crocheting, playing video games, or pretending to enjoy cardio and squats.

CONNECT WITH THEA LANDEN

Website / Mailing List / Twitter / Facebook / Amazon Author Page / BookBub

Thanks so much for stopping by today.