Excerpt!
Excerpted from Runaways by Rachel Sawden
copyright 2018. Reprinted by permission of Rachel Sawden.
copyright 2018. Reprinted by permission of Rachel Sawden.
The girls decided that food would do me good, so I pulled myself together and followed them through the field, across the bridge and back into town. The street lamps flickered as we wandered around wondering if we should go to the restaurant with the hung-over backpackers splayed out watching reruns of The Simpsons, or the restaurant with the hungover backpackers splayed out watching reruns of Family Guy when someone called out, “Hey, Canada!”
Turning back towards the river, we saw three guys who were part of our musical uprising on the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong. Lana called back, “Hawaii!”
Chad, Kelly and Felix were fresh off a bus from Luang Prabang and also in search of sustenance. As we stood debating food options, Chad’s brown eyes raked over Lana, who had taken the time to brush her hair and slap a bit of makeup on. “Lana, are you Lana Brooks, the TV weathergirl?”
“Former weathergirl,” she said, batting her thick eyelashes.
“I thought it was you!” he said, stepping closer. “Guys, remember when I showed you that Chive article of the world’s hottest weather girls? This is the one from Canada.”
I smiled as Lana basked in the attention the guys were giving her. Some people collected souvenirs along their travels, but Lana collected admirers. Felix’s green cat-like eyes glittered as he realized he was standing in the presence of a Chive-worthy hottie.
“Dude,” Kelly said, smoothing his shaggy, dirty-blond hair before shaking her hand. “It is a privilege and an honour to make your acquaintance.” “Alright, alright, can we please choose somewhere to eat, please?” Jade huffed crossing her arms.
And, with that the boys led us to a restaurant perched over the waters of the river that featured neither animated sitcoms nor hung-over backpackers and began our first night out in Vang Vieng.
Harper Rodrigues’ five-year plan was on track. She’d worked hard to secure her graduate marketing job, her boyfriend Adam was set to propose any day, and she was learning to process the death of her sister. She’d been through some dark times, but there was light at the end of the tunnel.
At least, that’s how it had seemed until the day she was fired in the morning and dumped by nightfall.
Now, with her life plans in ruins, Harper turns to her best friends who are going on the trip of a lifetime – five-months traveling across Asia and Oceania. Determined to see the silver lining in her unraveled plans, she decides to book a plane ticket to join them and resurrect her dreams of becoming a travel photographer.
But Harper’s travels aren’t all sunshine and cocktails. With Adam begging for her forgiveness and proposing on the eve of her departure, Harper knows she must be on her best behavior. But when she meets Xavier, an enigmatic poet on the beaches of Goa, that may just be easier said than done.
Runaways is the empowering and racy tale of one woman’s voyage of self-discovery. A must-read for fans of travelogues and romance alike.
At least, that’s how it had seemed until the day she was fired in the morning and dumped by nightfall.
Now, with her life plans in ruins, Harper turns to her best friends who are going on the trip of a lifetime – five-months traveling across Asia and Oceania. Determined to see the silver lining in her unraveled plans, she decides to book a plane ticket to join them and resurrect her dreams of becoming a travel photographer.
But Harper’s travels aren’t all sunshine and cocktails. With Adam begging for her forgiveness and proposing on the eve of her departure, Harper knows she must be on her best behavior. But when she meets Xavier, an enigmatic poet on the beaches of Goa, that may just be easier said than done.
Runaways is the empowering and racy tale of one woman’s voyage of self-discovery. A must-read for fans of travelogues and romance alike.
Writer, traveler, content creator, master of random jobs, avoider of the 9-5. In 2010, Rachel Sawden set off on a trip around the world hoping to be given a sign of what to do with her life. That sign never appeared. It turned out the entire trip was the sign. When she returned to her home in Bermuda, she began to write about the countries she traveled to because she was still obsessed with them and had run out of people to listen to her drone on about her trip. She turned a life-long personal challenge of ‘write a book’ into Runaways, her debut novel. She has continued to travel, take photos, and write ever since.
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