Swear on This Life

Emiline hesitantly reads the best-selling first book written by the enigmatic J. Colby, which turns out to be the year's literary hit. Emiline, an adjunct writing teacher at UC San Diego, isn't happy to celebrate the achievements of a young, talented writer since she has her own stalled literary career and a rocky relationship.

Emiline, however, is enthralled by Emerson and Jackson's tale from the first page forward. These two childhood best friends fall in love and desire for a better life beyond the lengthy dirt road that passes through their destitute Ohioan town.

This is because Emiline's own difficult and hopeless upbringing serves as the basis for the work, meaning that "J. Colby" must be Jase—her closest friend and first love—whom she hasn't seen in over ten years. Emiline is incensed that he appropriated her traumatic background and made some dramatic artistic licence with the resolution, rather than being impressed that he wrote the book from her point of view.

Finding and confronting "J. Colby" is the only way she can find peace of mind, but is she ready to discover the reality hidden beneath the fiction?