Series: New
Amsterdam
Titles Included: Tess, Julia,
and Darby
Author: Ashley
Pullo
Release Date: Fall
2015
Find on Goodreads
Inspired by the captivating stories from
Humans of New York, and the narrative structure of a
television mini-series, Ashley Pullo lends her unique voice to a new series releasing
this fall. Combining her unmistakable wit and distinct writing style, New
Amsterdam will feature a trio of petite novels chronicling the lives of three
women as they define love in
NYC.
Tess - Thessaly
Sinclair is an artisanal shop owner in the historic Seaport district of Lower
Manhattan. She’s savvy and charming, and appears to have it all, but
a romantic hang-up is holding her back from experiencing true
love.
Inspired by the captivating stories from
Humans of New York, and the narrative structure of a
television mini-series, Ashley Pullo lends her unique voice to a new series
releasing this fall. Combining her unmistakable wit and distinct writing style,
New Amsterdam will feature a trio of petite novels chronicling the lives of
three women as they define love in
NYC.
Julia - Julia Pierce
is a popular wedding columnist for a large NYC newspaper. She creates modern fairy
tales by penning editorials about average couples. Cynical and cautious, Julia
must define love by writing her own
story.
Inspired by the captivating stories from
Humans of New York, and the narrative structure of a television
mini-series, Ashley Pullo lends her unique voice to a new series releasing this
fall. Combining her unmistakable wit and distinct writing style, New Amsterdam
will feature a trio of petite novels chronicling the lives of three women as
they define love in NYC.
Darby - Darby Wallace
is an anthropologist reporting human interest stories for a trendy online
magazine. She watches people, studies their habits, and then gives them an
interesting narrative - but her own life is a spiraling disaster of bad
decisions. Selfish and careless, Darby must seek the help of a mysterious
stranger in order to understand the power of human
connection.
Thessaly and Levi walk along the crowded sidewalk
as a couple completely in sync. It’s a comfortable gait for both,
moving to the sounds of the City while dissolving into the blanket of humidity.
At the next block, Levi pulls Thessaly in the direction of a shaved ice truck
and laughs.
“What
would happen if we ask for every flavor of
syrup?”
“Other than it probably being brown in
color? We would experience the tastiest shaved ice on the planet!”
she chirps.
Joining the long line, Thessaly shifts her weight
every few minutes, smiling through the pain of blisters forming from her
unforgiving pumps. “We’re next,” she says in
relief.
“Do you like shuffleboard?”
Levi asks randomly.
Moving to the counter to order, Thessaly glances at
Levi’s profile – watching as he tightens his lips and rubs
his chin. “Sure,” she
replies.
Ringing a bell, the young man in the shaved ice
truck asks, “What’ll you
have?”
Levi places his arm on the counter of the truck and
replies, “You have quite the creative menu. Although, the oatmeal
chai surprise sounds a little scary.” Tapping the stainless steel
counter, Levi demands, “Here’s what we want –
orange, strawberry, lemon, peach, pineapple, and
cherry.”
“So you want all the flavors?
That’s our
clusterfuck.”
“Right, but what if we don’t
want the blue raspberry?” Levi leans into Thessaly and whispers,
“If the shaved ice ends up being the color of your dress, then you
have to kiss me.”
Laughing,
Thessaly agrees. “Can we add cream? And gummi
worms?”
“Now you’re livin’,
Tess.” Slapping the counter to the beat of the churning ice machine,
Levi beckons, “Dude, add some cream. And gummi worms. And two
umbrella straws.”
The young man in the food truck shakes his head and
rolls his eyes, clearly at his daily limit with the random demands of the
Seaport yuccies (young urban creatives.) Before buying a used food truck, Kirk
Diamond was a bartender. Not a very good one – often dropping bottles
of top shelf tequila while performing the iconic scene from Cocktail.
When he stumbled upon a funky truck at a decent price, he cashed in his savings
and set up seasonal rotations in the Seaport. Summer is Kirk’s
biggest season, followed by the hard cider frozen treats during the fall.
As Kirk packs the massive mound of delicate ice
into a Chinese food container, people in line start to clap –
prompting him to do a few tricks. He drizzles every hue of red, orange, and
yellow syrup over the ice while busting a few dance moves from the nineties.
The addition of the cream comes last – the grand finale. Kirk cups
his hand to his ear, begging for more applause. Once he’s satisfied
with the gratitude, he flips the plastic bottle of cream syrup in the air,
spins around in a full rotation, and then catches the bottle behind his
back.
The line forming at the truck goes wild and demands
more. Kirk simply smiles and places a huge tip jar on the counter. Returning to
the icy clusterfuck, Kirk adds the final garnishes – a wedge of
pineapple, two gummi worms, two umbrellas, one straw, and one spoon.
“Ten bucks,” Kirk
announces.
With a cocky smile and the expression of a victor,
Levi takes the carton and passes it to Thessaly. He gives Kirk a ten, and then
drops a five in the jar of singles. “Thanks,
man.”
As Levi and Thessaly walk off in the other
direction, Levi grabs her waist and spins her in front of him. “Lemme
see,” he demands.
“See what?” she
asks.
Using the plastic spoon, Thessaly scoops the
delicate yellow-orange ice into a small bite. She slowly brings the spoon
toward Levi, watching as he licks his lips and opens his mouth. Levi leans
forward and eats from the spoon, allowing the ice to melt on his tongue while
the drops of orange sugar dissolve inside his mouth. “I’d
say the color is your perfect match,” Levi
whispers.
“Oh really?” Thessaly teases,
parting her lips for a kiss.
Raising his eyebrows, Levi leans in and kisses
Thessaly’s cheek. He takes the carton of ice and moves ahead of
Thessaly, dangling a gummi worm above his mouth before ripping it from his
fingers.
Trailing behind
him with an annoyed grin, Thessaly shouts, “Hey, Jones, I
don’t normally like to follow!”
Slowing his pace with his elbows out and his chest
puffed, Levi smirks. “Oh?” He stops abruptly and pulls
Thessaly close to him, one hand on her waist and the other hand holding the
carton of shaved ice above her
head.
She smiles and asks, “Can I have
some?”
Nodding his head, Levi lowers the carton to feed
Thessaly the wedge of fresh pineapple. He places the yellow tip between her
parted lips, quietly groaning as her red mouth pinches the fruity flesh.
Staring into each other’s eyes while crowds of people move around
them, they smile – a secret smile dedicated to the sensual foreplay
of sweet, juicy fruit.
As they continue their stroll along Front Street,
the conversation spans from a television series on Netflix, to the recipe of
Ikea Swedish meatballs. There’s no stammering or awkward silence
– the dialogue seems to flow as if it were written just for them.
Thunder rumbles over the river, and the humidity spikes uncomfortably, but the
two are so engaged in each other that they fail to realize the scene is
changing. Because Thessaly and Levi are simply characters within the bigger
story – passing figures on crowded streets, assimilated residents of
a vibrant city, and specks of color on a gray
canvas.
Join
Ashley along with some of your favorite authors to celebrate the
upcoming release of New Amsterdam! Find more info and join the fun here!
**Residing in New York with her husband
and two children, Ashley Pullo is an author, an entertainment blogger, and an
advocate for cultural literacy.**
Hey y'all!
NYC is an amazing place to find inspiration - the random and
the ordinary that make up reality. My writing showcases inspired ideas, as well
as my love for dichotomy, authenticity, pop-culture, and humor.
Dreams need
chasers.
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