Laura MillerNational Bestselling Author
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Laura MillerNational Bestselling Author

The Life

7/23/2018

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The Life We Almost Had is my latest book, but you can read it first! All my books are standalones!

The Life We Almost Had is about first love and a second chanc
e in a small, Missouri town—inspired by the town I grew up in! AND main character Berlin Elliot has a pretty cool job, too, but I can’t say what it is!

​Find Iva & Berlin’s story and all my books on Amazon! 💛 

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: The Life We Almost Had

9/27/2017

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READING GROUP GUIDE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The Life We Almost Had

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  1. In the prologue, we get a description of Sweet Home. What is your first impression of the small town?
  2. When Berlin first sees Iva again after seven years, he’s nervous. Do you think it’s possible to still have the same feelings for someone after so many years?
  3. We don’t know that Iva is leaving for New Zealand when she stumbles upon Berlin again, but she does. Does this fact make her hesitations more reasonable? Would you have been hesitant to start anything with Berlin?
  4. Iva’s father isn’t too keen on Berlin. Can you see his side?
  5. When Berlin takes Iva to the lighthouse on the bluff in Channing, he says he likes to believe it’s Mr. Keeper’s lighthouse. Why do you think this is? Why do you think he has a sentimental connection to Sweet Home?
  6. When Berlin asks Iva to stay and make a life with him, Iva agrees. Would you have made the same decision? Would you have agreed so quickly?
  7. When Berlin proposes to Iva, he also tells Iva her mom’s story about her first love. How does Iva’s mother's life parallel Iva’s life?
  8. When Iva and Berlin tell Iva’s parents that she is planning on moving to Channing with Berlin, Iva says that her father was swayed by the fact that Berlin looks a different way now. What part does appearance play in Berlin and Iva’s father’s relationship? Do you think living in a small town affects her father’s perception of Berlin?
  9. Was Berlin trouble for Iva in his youth or was he just being young? 
  10. How does Iva cope with giving up/postponing her dream after she moves to Channing? How would you have dealt with it? Did she finally make the right decision in going to New Zealand?
  11. Did Iva and Berlin try hard enough to make their relationship work after Iva moved to New Zealand? Did Iva give up too fast? Did Berlin? And did they ever really give up? 
  12. When Iva sees Berlin at Natalie and Isaac’s engagement party, she questions Berlin about his tattoo. What is the meaning behind the inked word on his arm? What does this say about their relationship?
  13. What do you think it means that Iva chose the art pieces that she did to give to Berlin?
  14. We learn that Berlin had bought a ticket to New Zealand? Would you have done the same—knowing Iva was already engaged?
  15. When Berlin is looking at the painting that Iva gave him, he is thinking about not having to look back on the life he and Iva almost had. Do you think that our paths in life are that close—that one decision can change everything? Or do you believe (like Iva) that it all ends the way it was intended?
  16. Iva tells Berlin that she couldn’t marry Adam. What do you think changed her mind?
  17. Do you believe that second chances, when it comes to love, are all they’re cracked up to be?
  18. In the epilogue, Iva says that she is finally home. What do you think she means by this?
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Thank you!

9/19/2017

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Thank you all so much for your kind words and support and thoughtful reviews ALREADY today! AND THANK YOU for helping to make The Life We Almost Had an Amazon best-seller. It means the world to me! I hope you have a chance to pick up Iva and Berlin’s story, if you haven’t already. And more importantly, I hope you enjoy!
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You can find THE LIFE WE ALMOST HAD here:
Amazon e-book ➟ https://goo.gl/WpVU6U
Amazon paperback ➟ https://goo.gl/3jDBA5
iTunes: https ➟ //goo.gl/GaEtK8
Barnes and Noble ➟ https://goo.gl/XYGHRz
Kobo ➟ https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-life-we-almost-had

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╰☆╮IT'S LIVE! ╰☆╮

9/19/2017

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The Life We Almost Had is here!
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Cover: The Life We Almost Had

9/5/2017

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In case you were curious about what the full, final cover of The Life We Almost Had looks like, here it is! Berlin's story will be here September 19! And don't forget, you can pre-order the e-book at its special price now on Amazon, iTunes and Barnes and Noble!
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FIRST LOOK: The Life We Almost Had

8/22/2017

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We're getting so close! The Life We Almost Had will be here very soon! And today, I thought I'd share with you the prologue. Hope you enjoy! And remember, you can pre-order your e-book copy TODAY at its special price on Amazon, iTunes and Barnes and Noble!
♥Laura

Prologue

My mother always said that a memory can get you through the rest of your life. So, that’s why I don’t know where to begin. Do I start at the beginning of my life or at the memory—where I believe my life might have actually begun?

It’s been years, but I still think of him—just like I still think of that sleepy, little ghost town we both call home. But just like a memory, I guess, both that little town and that boy are now really more like a dream—one that disappears as soon as the morning sun comes slithering through the blinds. But true to a dream, I suppose, it always leaves something behind. And this dream always leaves behind a longing—for Sweet Home, but mostly, for him.

I grew up in Sweet Home, Missouri. I don’t know if I’d call it sweet, necessarily, but it is home, to me. Today, it looks different than it used to. Today, grass grows up out of the cracks in the brittle sidewalks that line Market Street. A short twelve years ago, I used to wheel a roller dog my grandpa gave me down those same concrete walks with ease. And it’s not just the sidewalks. Tall water hemp covers the bases on the baseball diamond in the park. And now, nearly all the storefront windows have plywood boards covering up dark and dusty, empty rooms. And if that’s not enough, where there once were people from birth to ninety-nine spilling out of the old United Church of Christ every Sunday morning, now there’s a no trespassing sign on God’s big, wooden door.

But back in its namesake years, Sweet Home was pretty sweet, I think. I’ve seen old pictures. And people lived in Sweet Home at one time. Happy people. Proud people. There were cars at the filling station and women buying yards of fabric in the general store. There were men along the street, laughing next to big cars and holding wide-eyed toddlers. Every little front yard had bright green grass that was meticulously cut. And all that green grass was fenced in with wrought iron, all the way down the street, each yard just like the last. And every little home along Market had an American flag that jutted out from some part of the house. And every other house had a rocking chair on a little front porch. And in every rocking chair on Sunday, just when the sun was sinking back into the earth, there would be an old man smoking a corncob pipe or a young woman rocking a baby.

But I’m not too familiar with the Sweet Home of then or the one of today, really. The Sweet Home I knew wasn’t booming, but it wasn’t abandoned quite yet, either. The Sweet Home I knew was about the size of a tire valve cap, and all the people who lived inside that cap could be counted on three sets of fingers and toes. But people were happy, and the buildings still held some life.

When I lived there, there was a bar and a post office and a fire station that we’d take cookies to every Christmas Eve. And there were still lights that lined the streets. Some perpetually flickered, but there were lights, all the same. Nearly every summer night we would dance on the asphalt under their light shows and pretend we were rich Hollywood stars.

There weren’t many babies or kids, though. And except for me and the girl who lived across the street, there was no one else my age. The girl’s parents owned the only watering hole in town. She was quiet, and she mostly kept to herself, but we got along just fine. Her name was Angel. And I always thought it was a funny name. Angels glowed and wore halos. Angel did neither. But then there came a day when I changed my mind about that. Angel really was an angel—sent straight down from heaven above to save me—not once, but twice.

The first time was around the year that we both turned eleven. Angel and I were playing hopscotch outside her parents’ bar, and a dirty old Nova pulled up to us and asked for directions to the nearest grocery store. Angel was her usual self and didn’t say a word, so I decided I’d have to tell him myself. He had long, scraggly hair and a crooked nose, but his eyes were kind. I told him how to get to the IGA, but he craned his neck and said he couldn’t hear a word I was saying. He said I’d have to come closer. So, I took a step toward his car, and that’s when Angel grabbed my arm and screamed louder than I’ve ever heard anybody scream before. I flinched, and my ears cracked. Angel had never spoken more than maybe ten soft words at a time in front of me, and here she was screaming loud enough to shatter that old bar’s glass windows. Within seconds, her momma came running out, and the car with the man in it sped away. And all that remained from that quick moment was the red imprint of Angel’s fingers on my forearm.

Two days later, we heard through the grapevine that a guy in a dirty old Nova had tried to pull a young girl into his car in the next town over. She had managed to slink out of his grip—just about the same time that the man had slipped into the grip of the girl’s daddy. And that’s where that story ended—although, there are quite a few rumors that circulated, none of which ended too well for the man ... or his Nova.

I never thanked Angel for saving me. I never really had the chance. The bar closed down the next day, and Angel and her family moved somewhere far away from Sweet Home.

And that was not too long before the rest of the town left, too. Some said it was just time—time for everybody to go. But most said it was because the old hat factory had closed in Holstein, just east of town. It employed most of the people who were left in Sweet Home—those who didn’t make a living plowing dirt, like my daddy did.
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As for me and my momma and daddy, we stayed, though. We stayed in our little ghost town, where daddy drove back and forth all day in the fields, planting money, as he called it. And momma kept working part-time collecting antiques and selling them in a little booth down the road.

And life was quiet—just like Angel had been—until the day that he showed up. And that’s actually the second time that Angel saved me. She moved out of that little house across the street, and he moved in. So, the way I see it, Angel gave me him.

From that day and for a while after that, you couldn’t hear the sound of the water dripping in the kitchen sink or the branches scraping across the tin roof above my room anymore. Those sounds were all drowned out by the crack of Clearly Canadian caps hitting the concrete and his laugh and the high-pitched hum of an engine, as his dirt bike made little circles in the bottom land.
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That was all I heard, anyway.

But eventually, he left, too. Everyone always left. And we—we just stayed. And in time, it got quiet again—just like Angel. But I still remember that little piece of moonlight he brought into my life. And that’s where I really feel as if my story begins. It begins with that boy I fell in love with, nearly seven years ago, back in Sweet Home, Missouri. 

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Playlist: The Life We Almost Had

7/25/2017

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These songs—​by Carly Pearce, Ella Henderson, LANCO—​remind me of The Life We Almost Had and are a taste of what you'll read in Berlin's story, come Sept. 19! I'm so excited for you to venture into the small town of Sweet Home, Missouri! Until then, I hope you enjoy the playlist!

1. Kelsea Ballerini - Legends
2. Chris Lane - Her Own Kind of Beautiful
3. Tori Kelly, ft. Ed Sheeran - I Was Made For Loving You 

​4. ​​​Ed Sheeran - Perfect
5. Chandler Stephens & Kane Brown - Can't Stop Love
6. Jamie Lawson - Don't Let Me Let You Go 

7. ​Jon Langston - Right Girl Wrong Time
8. Chris Lane - Back to Me
9. Kane Brown - Rockstars 

10. Carly Pearce - Every Little Thing

11. Old Dominion - Song for Another Time
12. Brett Young - In Case You Didn't Know
13. Thompson Square - Glass

14. Lady Antebellum - I Did With You
15. Ella Henderson - Yours
16. Alex & Sierra - You Will Find Me
17. LANCO - Greatest Love Story
18. Ryann Darling - I Choose You 

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Trailer: The Life We Almost Had

7/18/2017

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I can't express to you just how excited I am for this book to be in your hands! This is a story about young, wild love and second chances, but it's also about chasing your dreams. And the little town of Sweet Home reminds me a lot of a place that’s very real to me. So, I hope you guys will enjoy the short trailer below. And for a full trailer, visit my Facebook page! Also, don't forget, you can pre-order your copy on Amazon, iTunes and Barnes & Noble now! The Life We Almost Had will be here September 19!​
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First Look: The Life We Almost Had

7/14/2017

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In case you haven't heard, The Life We Almost Had will be here in a little more than two months! BUT you can pre-order the e-book now on Amazon and Barnes&Noble and have it delivered directly to your reading device Sept. 19!

I'm really excited about this one, and there are lot of reasons for that, but here are three!

 
One: This story shows glimpses into the past, so you not only get to see snapshots of just how these two fell in love, but you also get to grow up with these characters. They're happy. They're sad. They're embarrassed of their parents. They're embarrassed of themselves. They make the right decisions. They make the wrong decisions. But through it all, they love.

I look into his brown eyes, and I run my fingers through his long hair. He doesn’t fit in here; he never has. He doesn’t know anything about farming or small-town norms. He doesn’t know you don’t wear black everywhere you go. ...I think I love that about him best. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Daddy says. His voice is stern and kind of scary.
“Um, I was just returning the hammer, sir,” Berlin says, eyeing the hammer on the hall desk.
Daddy glances at the desk in the hall. “Then how come the hammer is there, and you’re upstairs?
Two: These characters grow up in a little ghost town that has a post office and a corner store and a restaurant called Victor's...and that's about it. But they make the most of it, and I especially love their little town because it reminds me of a place that's near and dear to my own heart.
And life was quiet...until the day that he showed up. ...From that day and for a while after that, you couldn’t hear the sound of the water dripping in the kitchen sink or the branches scraping across the tin roof above my room anymore. Those sounds were all drowned out by the crack of Clearly Canadian caps hitting the concrete and his laugh and the high-pitched hum of an engine, as his dirt bike made little circles in the bottom land.
Three:  Lastly, I can't really promise you anything with this story. But I can tell you that where there is heartbreak, there's also a second chance. Now, what these two choose to do with that second chance AND just how fair life chooses to be with them, you'll have to see. But through it all, their journey is all their own, and it's one I'm hoping you'll be glad you took.
I cried for me. I cried for the little girl and the little boy who loved with everything they had in a little town that nobody cared about but them. I cried because I felt as if no one else would cry for them. 
♥Laura

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Coming Soon! Cover Reveal!

7/10/2017

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I'm SO EXCITED to announce that my next book will be here September 19! 
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I CANNOT wait for you to read The Life We Almost Had!
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I really don't have favorites when it comes to characters, but if I did, these guys would be up there! They and the little town of Sweet Home, Missouri, stole my heart.


I don’t want to say too much, in fear that I’ll give too much away. But I will say that The Life We Almost Had means a lot to me. It’s about two of my favorite things: young, wild love—the kind that will remind you what it's like to be fifteen again, and of course, second chances.
 
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The book starts out in a little, ghost town that reminds me a lot of a place that is very real to me. And along with that, this might just be the most real story I’ve ever written.        

So, I do hope you enjoy their journey. 
And you don't have to wait until September to secure your copy, either! The pre-order for the e-book is up on Amazon right now! And it's at a special price!  So, hurry over there to get yours!

And without further ado, here's the back cover summary:

Back before everyone left the little town of Sweet Home to the ghosts, she was the girl next door. And he was the boy, who could never get on her father’s good side. But none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that her heart had picked him.
 
But that was years ago. And now, Berlin’s sister is praying for someone to show up to take her brother’s mind off the girl from his past. And surely enough, that someone does. But will this girl be able to cut the chains of his first love or will she just make him fall harder for that little girl he left behind in Sweet Home, Missouri? 
 

One week is all they have.

♥Laura​

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1 Comment
    laura miller
    Laura Miller
    I write about rain on tin roofs, gravel roads, old trucks with holes in the floorboards and small-town summer nights. I grew up on a farm in a little Midwestern town. Now, I live in Kansas City, Mo., with my weatherman husband.

    Follow Me!


     Laura Miller's first 
    contemporary romance novel, Butterfly Weeds, hit the Amazon Best-Seller's List and Top 100 in October 2012. The sequel to Butterfly Weeds, My Butterfly, released in June 2013. For All You Have Left, By Way of Accident, When Cicadas Cry and A Bird on a Windowsill followed. The Life We Almost Had debuted as a best-seller in 2018. Laura's latest small-town romance, The Dream, released in 2019 and is an Amazon #1 Best-seller. Also check out her book of poetry, entitled Love Story, and her children's book, Pay It Forward, available now!


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