Blog Tour: 6 Seconds of Life

6 Seconds of Life
By Tonya Fitzharris
Release Date: September 1st, 2012

Goodreads Summary: Maura has just jumped.

Now she has precisely six seconds until she hits the water below her--just six more seconds until she is finally freed from her mundane and aimless existence. Freed of all of the regrets and disappointments that have haunted her throughout her nineteen years.

She just needs to be free.

But as she falls, the most pivotal points of her life start to replay like a movie in her head: her family falling apart, her first love, her first heartbreak, and her first betrayal. As she remembers these moments that brought her to this point, will she feel a sense of peace? Or will her death be her greatest regret?

"6 Seconds of Life" is a new adult novel that not only explores the ups and downs of college life, but the ups and downs of life as we know it.

Today, we have the awesome author, Tonya Fitzharris's amazing guest post! Thank you being here on my blog today!

The Real-Life Inspiration for "6 Seconds of Life"

During my junior year of college, a twenty-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping off the the dorm right next door to where I was taking my mid-term exam.  Our classroom was silent, but we were all jolted out of our concentration when we heard the horrific screams from the onlookers.  It was right around lunchtime, by far the busiest time of day on my college's campus.  Hundreds of people witnessed this girl plummet ten stories to her death.  Everyone in my classroom stopped focusing their eyes on their test paper and instead let their feelings of fear wash across their faces.  This couldn't really be happening.  A few minutes later, we heard the ambulances come.  But when they left, they didn't have their sirens on anymore.

"That means she's really dead," said one girl in my class.  Of course we all probably guessed this.  But knowing that someone took their only life just steps away from where we sat was the most unsettling feeling most of us had felt in our young lives.  Hearing it outloud just cemented that fact forever.

The next day, I couldn't stop myself from walking by the front steps of the dorm where she killed herself.  I lived in that very dorm just a few months earlier.  I could have been one of those students that watched her fall past their window.  I stood back and watched as her friends wept next to the plot of grass where her body made contact with the earth and her life abruptly ended.  Flowers and candles and letters littered the grass.  My heart was unbearably heavy, and I just couldn't shake the haunting air of her life that seemed to surround me.  I didn't know her.  But I knew people that did.  They talked of the very difficult months she had leading up to her death, and how they didn't realize it at the time--but she had been planning her demise for a while now.

I never forgot about her.  I never forgot about how sad and how lost she must have been to bring her to that final decision.  And I just couldn't shake the thought of what it must have been like during those last few seconds of her life.  What did she think about while she was falling?  Did she instantly regret it?  Did she feel at peace?

I always knew that her story would be a part of me.  I knew that I wanted to do something to bring her story to light, and maybe help someone else who was feeling the same way she was.  This girl that I never knew changed me.  And now I want to change someone else in a more positive way.  Because her story is a much too popular story.

"6 Seconds of Life" was written for her.

Cindy's Summary: There are such things as captivating covers and captivating teasers. And I must say, in this case, the teaser really captivated me. I mean, I knew I had to read this book, and luckily, it was on book tour, so I got to read it, thanks to Tonya Fitzharris. :) 

That six seconds is like a very important part of her life. The last six seconds she, Maura, have left to live. In those few precious seconds, Maura had basically relived though her recent part of her life. That part that took her by the hair and angrily shook her up and down. That part led her to do bad things. To break out into the world. To do what she's doing right now. Suicide. 

I literally cried through this book, imagining how hard it would be on me, if I was Maura. Like this pain, isn't really something a teenager like Maura should feel. And one pain led to another, leaving her broken like someone breaking glass into pieces, then using a hammer, hammering it to bits. But even though Maura had suffered so much, had she really wanted to die? 


Exerpt 1:
I think deep down, I’ve always known it was going to end this way. I was never meant to live a long life. I accepted this fate a long time ago. I was just waiting for the right moment.

I wanted to fall in love first. I wanted to experience what it was like to have a real family first. I wanted to know what it was like to be sincerely happy, even if it was short-lived. I got all of those firsts.

And now I’m ready to move forward.

I inch my feet closer to the open sky. And closer. Until my naked toes are peeking over the edge. The water cracks violently below me, begging for me to join in on all of the fun. Just a few more seconds before it’s all over.

Until I’m free.

I’m totally relaxed. This moment, it’s all mine. No one can take it away from me. I close my eyes. The sounds of high heels clicking on the walkway and cameras snapping and preserving memories and street musicians begging for spare change surround me. I breathe in their music and let it be the soundtrack to the closing credits of my life.

I raise my arms up to my side, reaching for the skies that surround me. And I step into the air.

I’m flying now.

Excerpt 2:

“I guess I’ll just know it when that time finally comes along,” he whispers. His lips graze my cheek and we stop waltzing. His hand comes up and brushes my flyaway bangs behind my ear, the tips of his fingers running along the back of my earlobe. An overpowering wave of desire and anticipation wells up from my stomach, causing my internal hurricane to erupt into a monsoon. I let his eyes lock with mine, restraining me like a pair of handcuffs. They inspect me, almost like they’re looking right through my skin and into everything that’s underneath, begging to learn anything and everything about me. I don’t move. Maybe if I can manage to stay totally still, this moment might last forever.

His face moves closer. My chest is caving in on itself.

Is this it?

About the Author: 

http://www.tonyafitzharris.com/p/about.html#.UIDNLMXR7mM

So like, this is a  link to her blog that talks about herself. She has this amazing page book thing that shows her basic life, story. So have fun reading it!

Links: 
Barnes and Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/6-seconds-of-life-tonya-fitzharris/1112764333

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/6-Seconds-Life-Tonya-Fitzharris/dp/1479273074/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350777579&sr=8-2&keywords=6+Seconds+of+Life

Tonya Fitzharris's Website: http://www.tonyafitzharris.com/

Tonya's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyafitzharris