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Does Size Matter?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5398672.Andrea_Laurence
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Posted in Excerpts, Giveaway, Guest Blogger, September 2014 on September 30, 2014| 5 Comments »
They used to call her the Bon-Bon Heiress…Tiffany Bonander (of Bon-Bon Chocolates) grew up in New York with a silver spoon, a heart of gold, and a lifelong supply of sweets. But now her life is falling apart. Recent changes in cocoa supply are threatening the quality of the family’s chocolate and sales are down. Add to that Tiff’s penchant for falling in love quickly and breaking engagements at the last minute…Now they call her the Bon-Voyage Bride. Can this socialite turn around a cocoa plantation in South America?
Jackson Hardaway is trekking through the Andes in Ecuador as a tribute to a fallen comrade. This wounded warrior didn’t expect to meet a beautiful damsel in distress and her three fairy godmothers…er, trio of meddlesome nuns…on his journey. But everything in Ecuador is bigger – the trees, the snakes, the attraction. Is this love? Or just another case made to label Tiff a runaway bride? Find out in The Wedding Promise (part Runaway Bride/part Romancing the Stone).
Excerpt:
It was raining. Again.
Tiffany Bonander tried humming a few bars of White Christmas. It was, after all, December 23. Cheer was called for.
But the incessant beat of fat raindrops on the tangled foliage of the Ecuadorian rainforest and on her pink rain slicker, drowned out her cheer.
Or maybe she was just drowning under the pressure of heavy responsibilities.
Ankle-deep water rushed down the steep, muddy road toward Tiff and her precious cargo–thirty pounds of cocoa beans. She couldn’t lose the beans. They were the answer to all her troubles.
Thunder boomed. And boomed again. The downpour increased to a deluge.
Tightening her grip on the wheelbarrow handles, Tiff tried to find purchase with her rain boots, tried to make it to the next rise before the road turned into a river. Tried…and failed. Somewhere above her the river had risen high enough to crest a bank. Water surged toward her.
Tiff’s father claimed they’d abandoned this cocoa plantation years ago for drainage reasons. He should have used the F-word: flood.
Tiff stumbled to her knees, and water rushed into her boots–cute, pink-flowered plastic ones which quickly filled with water and felt as heavy as cement shoes. If not for her grip on the wheelbarrow, she might have been swept downhill. Just last week, she’d heard about a woman who’d been carried away by the cresting river and smashed into a tree. Smashed as in: to pieces. Dead.
That would be worse than being broke and the laughing-stock of the civilized world.
This was karma, plain and simple. She shouldn’t have jilted Chad at their engagement party or left Malcolm at the altar.
Bio/Release Info:
Melinda Curtis is an award winning, USA Today recommended, Amazon best selling author. She writes the Harmony Valley series of sweet and emotional romances for the Harlequin Heartwarming line (book 4 coming 3/2015). Brenda Novak says: “Season of Change has found a place on my keeper shelf”. Melinda also writes independently published, steamy and fun romances as Mel Curtis (a new novella out 10/22). Jayne Ann Krentz says of Blue Rules: “Sharp, sassy, modern version of a screwball comedy from Hollywood’s Golden Age except a lot hotter.”
The Christmas Promise is available in the Sweet Christmas Kisses anthology (14 sweet holiday stories for 99¢ available now!).
Buy Links for Sweet Christmas Kisses:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/Zd6FuJ
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1lVUtc2
Kobo: http://bit.ly/ZgZ2mZ
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1nbyOgR
Special Offers/Freebies:
Join the authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses for a Facebook release party with prizes, freebies, and fun on 9/30. Guest authors include RaeAnn Thayne, Brenda Novak, and Jayne Ann Krentz. Join the party at 3pm Eastern: https://www.facebook.com/SweetRomanceReads
Readers of The Romance Reader @ Heart blog will be emailed a FREE fun, sweet novella set within the Hollywood Rules world by signing up for Melinda’s book release email newsletter. Link: http://www.melindacurtis.net/join-melinda-s-mailing-list
Website: http://www.MelindaCurtis.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelindaCurtisAuthor
Twitter: @MelCurtisAuthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melcurtisauthor/
Posted in Giveaway, Guest Blogger, July 2014 on July 17, 2014| 3 Comments »
Rebecca Jordan’s life is simple, disciplined and uncomplicated, at least on the surface. Then she meets a handsome stranger/secret admirer named Michael Vale one fateful late night at a bookstore café. As a focused but struggling photographer with a passion for art, her outwardly happy world is turned upside down during this life-changing encounter when she quickly realizes she has met her soul mate. The undeniable attraction between them and their intense, immediate connection seem picture perfect as they discuss the shop’s local artwork, until Rebecca abruptly ends the chance meeting with no explanation.
Betraying Brett, her loyal, loving boyfriend is something she can never bring herself to do. Driven by a strong moral code and molded by divorced parents and a tumultuous childhood, she struggles to stay away from Michael, but fate and circumstance intervene, bringing them back together time and time again. As much as she resists, there is no denying her true feelings for him and the simple fact that Michael understands her in a way Brett never has. Michael proves to be everything she’s ever wanted, but remains just out of her reach.
Behind the Glass tells the story of Michael and Rebecca’s extraordinary love and the many unconventional stages their relationship must go through. Their morals and their faith in true love and in each other will be put to the test as they learn that meeting one’s soul mate does not come without obstacles.
When I began writing Behind the Glass, I did it for me. Plain and simple. With those first taps on the keyboard, I set out to write a love story that I wanted to read. I didn’t worry about what anyone else thought, only that I, as a reader, was satisfied with the end result. I had the general story outlined and knew exactly who my characters were, but it wasn’t until each chapter slowly evolved that I really understood what I wanted to say.
Like many people, I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of love at first sight. Is it real? Can it happen in real life? And if it does, do people really live happily ever after? It was definitely the main theme for the story, but as a lover of romance novels, that would have been way too easy. So, what if two people met, fell in love, and were without a doubt, meant to be with each other, but had all the odds constantly stacked against them? If it truly is love at first sight, then in the end, it has to be a love worth fighting for.
I love stories that torture you a little bit and make you really root for the main characters throughout the course of the story. Characters with depth and complexity have always appealed to me as a reader and I wanted to bring that complexity to this story as a writer. Life is not simple, and neither is love. Rebecca and Michael’s story is the culmination of a lot of themes I’ve always been fascinated with as a reader and as this book evolved, it became more about the unbreakable connection between two people and taking chances together, no matter what the odds.
About the Author
Kristen Morgen, an up and coming new adult contemporary romance author, can’t remember a time in her life when she didn’t crave designing, creating, discovering, and using her imagination in some way. Educated and trained as a licensed architect and working at her own architectural firm for many years, her true passion has always been writing. An avid reader from a very early age, the romance genre is admittedly her favorite guilty pleasure – a hopeless romantic to the end.
Kristen loves the art of shaping words and sentences into relatable stories while creating rich characters for her readers to connect with. She enjoys exploring relationships and discovering the little reasons people fall in love with each other while uncovering deeper truths. Honing her craft in her free time and choosing exactly the type of story she wanted to tell, Kristen presents Behind the Glass as her debut novel.
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, she currently resides in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters. Never one to let her creative mind sit idle for very long, in her free time she is currently hard at work on her next novel and reads almost anything she can get her hands on.
Kristen’s Social Media Accounts:
Website: http://www.kristenmorgen.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristenMorgen
Facebook: Kristen Morgen Facebook
Goodreads: Kristen Morgen Goodreads
Where to find Behind the Glass:
Amazon: Behind the Glass Amazon
Goodreads: Behind the Glass Goodreads
E-BOOK GIVEAWAY:
For the chance to win a digital copy (mobi or epub format) of Behind the Glass by Kristen Morgen, just leave a comment below. Two winners will be drawn. Good luck!