Hello! My name is Lori Garside and I am the sole owner and operator of The Chronic Romantic, and both LD Garside's Freelance Copy Editing and Garside’s Book Bets blogs. I am very proud to be the advocate for the angst ridden, but exceptionally lovable Lincoln Minzotto from Cursed Love by t.h. snyder!
Linc - as we affectionately call him - had a moment in his childhood that forever changed his life. He witnessed the murder of his best friend’s mother (he and Daulton were hiding in the closet). He left home after his high school graduation to escape the hell his life had become. He’d been gone for 9 years when his parents were killed in an accident:
“The day after graduation, Daulton and I packed up our cars and made our way to Birmingham, Alabama to start our new lives. We didn’t know anyone where we were going and that made it that much better. We were setting out on a journey with no idea what would happen when we got there. All we had was each other, the only thing we ever really had…we were okay with that.”
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“She (his sister Mimi) didn’t understand that one of the reasons I left was because I didn’t want other people making choices for me. I wasn’t like them; I didn’t want to be a politician or a lawyer. Even though both Shelton and Mimi chose the path of our parents, it didn’t mean that I had to as well.”
Linc is a strong man who left home at 18, met a man who became his mentor and father. A man who showed him how to turn his artistic talent into a lucrative career. He is tall, dark, tatted, and handsome as sin! Here is how his tenant and co-worker describes him in their first meeting:
“His dark brown hair is covered with a baseball hat and his dark eyes hold a secret mystery behind them. From his head to his toes, he’s wearing a blue t-shirt with Ominous written across the chest and faded jeans. His arms are covered in black designs filled in with colors of incredible ink. A chain hangs from his belt linking to his back pocket and he’s wearing a black pair of Chucks. I bring my eyes back to his to see that he’s studying me with the same intent look.
Extending my hand in front of me, I watch as he looks down at my arm. He’s covered in tattoos so I know he’s not judging me on my appearance. I mean, come on, I might have my own sleeves of ink and blue hair, but there’s no need to stare. He clears his throat and looks at me and then back down to my hand. What the hell? I’m just trying to be polite. What’s a girl got to do to get a handshake and a hello? Whatever. I might as well initiate our introductions. “Hi, I’m Gretchen, but just call me Etty.” His eyes glance from my hand to my eyes. I feel like he’s sucking me in with his soul. Those eyes are so dark, his demeanor so closed off…who the hell is this guy?”
Linc is emotionally closed off, but involved with Jo. To him, she’s just a ‘fuck buddy’, but she is in love with him.
“The sweat is falling from my forehead onto her back. I pull out and rip the condom off just as she turns around to wrap her arms around my neck. She pulls me into her and kisses me harder than ever before. She pulls away right before saying, ‘Linc, I love you.’”
And Linc, being the emotionally stunted man that he is, shuts down completely!
"Why the fuck does she love me? She’s ruined everything we’ve had by saying those three little words. I’ve always wanted to hear them, but I never did from the people who mattered the most.
Those words are poison to my ears…no, no, no!"
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“As I lie in bed next to the girl whose heart I’ve crushed, I think about what we could have had if I was the kind of guy that was able to give her what she needs. But I’m not that guy and it’s not something I can fix.
She’s better off without me. Jo is beautiful, smart, and funny as hell. She’ll find the man that’s right for her; she just needs to wait for him to notice her and fall in love with her. It’s what she deserves and I want nothing more than for her to be happy.
My body starts to relax and I can feel myself falling into a deep sleep. With Jo next to me, I know that the terrors of my dreams will fall to the side for at least one more night.”
Well, Jo leaves after that life and relationship altering night. And Linc is hurt and confused by her abandonment. He doesn’t understand why anyone would love HIM. But Etty teaches him to acknowledge and understand that he truly loves Jo. Etty shows him that he is NOT responsible for Daulton’s mother’s murder. That he had no control, as a child, over his family’s response to that horrible night, nor their treatment of him. That he is a good man, a loving man; and that he’s a man who deserves happiness, and to love and BE loved.
He matures into the man he was always destined to become:
“No, Jo, it’ll never be too late for us. I’ve missed you since you’ve been gone. You’re all that I’ve thought about for days. Maybe it was good to have some time apart, but one thing is for sure—I know now more than ever how important you really are to me. Etty has helped me see a whole new side of me that I’ve hidden from for far too long.”
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“I don’t want to run from you anymore, Linc. I want nothing else but to fall into your arms and have you tell me that we’re going to be okay.” “Come here, baby,” I say, extending both arms out to her. “Fall into me and I’ll be sure to always catch you.”
Lincoln Minzotto is the NA Book Crush Tourney’s man that I can not only love, but that I can respect. He is a strong man. A Proud Man. He is a lover, a teacher, a talented artist, and a loyal friend. He is a man afraid that he is incapable of love, but learns he is wrong. When you read his story in ‘Cursed Love’ you will see, too, why Linc should be your crush.
So, ‘get cursed’
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Join #TeamLinc!
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@thsnyder4 @Chronic_Romanti
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