Woven (Charm City Threads Book) Romantic Suspense by Stephania Thompson ➱ New Release Tour with Giveaway
Woven
Charm City Threads Book 1
by Stephania Thompson
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Bound by a devastating secret, childhood friends David, Josh, and Kate take on home renovation as a means of healing from a dark, shared past.
Their only promise? Friendship first—no hookups.
Only several months after moving into their Baltimore fixer, the aptly nicknamed Canton Catastrophe, walls are crumbling, sparks are flying, and promises are getting ignored.
Josh, a paramedic, is plagued with panic attacks, haunted by the past, and sharing a room with David, who he is definitely not attracted to. And then there's Kate. She's having a job crisis, popping pills, and pretending she doesn’t notice how distant the boys have grown. And David? The eternally calm, blue-eyed beauty’s health is deteriorating and he’s mysteriously blacking out.
But when they learn someone may have discovered their darkest secret and is now stalking them--and blackmailing Josh's father, a conservative media personality with secrets of his own, renovation and relationship woes take a back seat. Suddenly, their past is unraveling, and the shocking truths unearthed will have them questioning everything from family ties and friendships to love, loss, and the lengths they’re willing to go for each other.
Amazon * Orange Blossom Books * Author's Site
Our bedroom wall rattles to life, and I peel one eye open.
I love how the pipes clang so loud that I don’t need an alarm in the morning, and I hate everything else about plumbing. And home improvement in general. One day I’m going to live in a pre-furnished fully decorated condo and pay exorbitant homeowner fees, so I don’t have to lift a finger.
I tunnel under the covers and indulge this fantasy while listening to Josh in the shower. It was his idea to buy this place. A project, he’d said. Something for us to work on together.
Once Josh gets an idea in his head, there’s no persuading him against it. Kate and I eventually agreed—we needed somewhere to live after all. Maybe it would be fun?
And it has been.
A disastrous, chaotic sort of fun. We’ve learned a lot about each other, which really says something because we already knew a lot about each other. Like the fact that Josh is a perfectionist, I’m a procrastinator, and Kate’s indecisive. This translates into Josh dictating everything, and Kate and I struggling to complete the few tasks he delegates.
Or, as is often the case, us hiding in the bathroom.
Not that you can hide in this house. We tried in the beginning to maintain a pretense of privacy, but then the three of us got sick from Kate’s cooking. One bathroom, paper-thin walls. Need I say more?
Anyway, Josh and I share a room for now. It’s a bit small. But that’s typical for a turn of the century Baltimore row home. Every room feels like a glorified closet. We’ve been here four months now, and there’ve been some hurdles. Remember that old Tom Hanks movie, The Money Pit? Picture that. Kate refers to our little city fixer as The Canton Catastrophe. Josh and I just call it The Shit Box.
But back to our bedroom situation. I don’t mind sharing with Josh. Over the years, he and I have spent more nights together than apart. We’re about as close as two humans can be. Which sounds like a good thing—and it is. I love Josh.
I love Kate, too.
Our situation is a little…complicated.
She tiptoes in, all stealth-like.
“Stop staring,” I say, without opening my eyes.
She slides beneath the blanket. “How do you always know?”
“Extrasensory perception,” I say, pulling her close. She’s damp from the shower and smells of Sea Island Cotton-scented body wash. We all use the same soap. Is that weird? I’m pretty sure body wash is for girls, but Josh and I are addicted to it.
I sort of love how we all smell the same.
Kate doesn’t talk for a few minutes. This has become our morning routine. She showers first, then snuggles with me. Josh used to hold that coveted position, but he got bumped—from the shower, I mean. He and I snuggle all the time.
Here’s something about Josh—he takes absurdly long showers. It doesn’t take a crime scene investigator to figure out what’s going on in there. But really, should it take that long? Kate didn’t think so. After a month of freezing-cold-post-Josh-shower taking, she put her foot down. The order now stands Kate first, then Josh, then David. I haven’t had a warm shower in months.
But it’s fine. I’ll sacrifice for them. I’d do anything for the two of them.
Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?
A few fun facts I put together about Woven/the writing of Woven:
My own modern day money pit
While I am very thankful for our cozy crumbling castle, my husband and I live in a modern-day money pit. Pick any home repair issue, we’ve had it. Peeling paint, clanging pipes, mold, plumbing leaks, the list goes on. One bonus? It didn’t require much research to write about David, Josh, and Kate’s renovation woes.
Josh and Kate, twins, but not twins?
I am an only child. During many of my formative years my father was sick with cancer, and then my parents separated and later divorced. Books for me were more than stories, they were companions. I was especially drawn to twin characters because I imagined having a twin meant never feeling alone. An immature view, I realize, but it stuck. Couple that with my fascination with V.C. Andrews’ Dollanganger series, and an obsession with love triangles, and Josh, Kate, and David’s rather complicated relationship was formed.
The real-life fracture that inspired David’s unexplained blackouts
David’s injuries and bizarre blackout spells were inspired by my son who sustained a compound fracture in his arm which indirectly led me to write Woven. We believe his injury triggered a condition known as POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. After the fracture, he experienced unexplained blackouts and a host of other debilitating issues. POTS is difficult to diagnose, and we struggled for years to understand what was happening to his body. During this time I explored hundreds of medical conditions which helped in my research for David.
Birthdays and Birthplaces
David, Josh, and Kate share the same birthday, July 13th. This is also my father’s birthday. He passed away in 2012. Using his birthday was my way of including him in the book David and his twin sister Abigail were born at Holy Cross Hospital in Maryland. This hospital holds many significant memories for me and my family—it felt like putting a slice of myself in the book by including it.
Fuddruckers, need I say more?
David’s epic Fuddruckers vomit-splosion was inspired by my son who drank a little too much Fruit Punch and Sprite one night and literally desecrated the very clean, very white carpet in our master bedroom on his way to the toilet. We’d been at Fuddruckers eating dinner and killing time while our house, which was on the market at the time, was being shown. Needless to say, we had to cancel the next day’s showings. And the pop rocks? Those were Josh’s idea; I can’t take credit.
Affection, affection, and more affection
One of my goals with Woven was to normalize affection in relationships. Especially male relationships, be they sexual or platonic. We all crave human touch and physical companionship. There’s comfort in holding someone’s hand, lying beside them, snuggling on a couch or a bed. Josh and David’s unabashed affection for one another is one of my favorite things about their relationship.
Speaking of sex, let’s talk about sexuality
Or not. I purposely didn’t address it in the novel. Nowhere do any of the characters make a declaration regarding orientation. Why? Well, Josh explains it best when he quotes Emily Dickinson…the heart wants what the heart wants… I wanted a book where love was based on attraction at a heart/soul level, regardless of orientation. In my experience, those lines of love and friendship often get blurred. We fall in love with a person, not because of their gender or sexual identity, but because our soul recognizes, on a base level, its desire and need for another.
Oh, the Gala
I attended a gala for the arts while writing Woven, and like Kate, completely missed the mark on attire. Creative cocktail is basically another way of saying, anything goes. Who knew? Despite my less than stellar ensemble, it was a fabulous evening. And when a delightful man with a beard, platform heels, and two horns poking out of his head offered me hors d’oeuvres? I knew without a doubt he had to be in the novel.
April Fools!
Kate’s prank on the boys would have been epic, had Josh not ruined it. How do I know? I pulled the same prank on my kids and their reaction was priceless.
David, Josh, and Kate play coed Softball in Baltimore City’s Patterson Park…so did I!
My husband and I, before we were married and after, played on coed sports teams for several years in Patterson Park (softball, football, volleyball, etc). Many of our friends were living in Federal Hill and Canton at the time, renovating their own row homes. Canton holds a special place in my heart, which is why David, Josh, and Kate decided to move there.
Brought to Light
I may be stating the obvious but Brought to Light was modeled after the popular news magazine series, To Catch a Predator. My son mentioned, quite off-handedly one day, that he’d been watching old episodes on YouTube. I was familiar with the show, but did my own search, nonetheless. I ended up finding some amateur videos of people running their own To Catch a Predator style sting operations. It got me thinking…what if the host was corrupt? What if he exploited men for money rather than expose them? If he had a partner in crime, or worse yet, children he could use as decoys without getting caught? And from this line of thinking, Nick, Ian, and the Brought to Light scandal was formed.
Stephania
Thompson is the author of Woven (Orange Blossom Publishing 2022). As
a poet and multi-genre author, her work has appeared in a variety of
online publications as well as several print anthologies.
Formerly
a CPA in the corporate world, Stephania now writes from the comfort
of a modern day crumbling castle alongside her very own knight in
shining armor. Together they have four valiant offspring, a brave
aussiedoodle, and one not-so-fire-breathing dragon.
When
not writing, working, or waiting in a carpool line, she can be found
running local trails and escaping in a book at her favorite café,
iced latte in hand. She is a sucker for quirky romance, is addicted
to audiobooks, and finds herself hopelessly drawn to flawed
characters, raw honesty, and life’s cringiest moments.
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