Friday, July 22, 2016

Summer Treats Blog Hop! Authors, Books, Prizes, #Giveaways, Fun!



The entire next week is devoted to sweet and sizzling summer treats from the romance authors of The Wild Rose Press (including me) !! And there's a grand prize of a Kindle Fire so be sure to enter the Rafflecopter too! So make sure you follow the hop - the linky tool should be below.

I was going to talk about Cape Cod and fun things to do at the beach.... but this is a romance blog hop. We want romance-type treats! Which means... hot summer kisses, right?

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First kisses and summertime so often go hand-in-hand. The weather heats up, school's out of session, work slows down a notch, and suddenly the world seems full of endless possibilities.Even after you graduate from college, there's still something about summertime that heats things up. And I'm not just talking about the weather.

Do you remember your very first kiss? Or the first kiss you had that you knew - you just knew - would change your life? Sometimes first kisses are planned, strategized and fantasized with friends, and dreamed about long before they occur.

Sometimes they just happen, and it's like lightning out of the blue.

I remember my first kiss with that special guy who I ended up marrying... It was the beginning of summer, and my friends from college had talked me into going to an alumni night at a local bar in Boston. His friends had dragged him along as well. When he walked into the bar, the girl I was chatting with saw him and said, "See that guy over there? My mother always wanted me to marry him."

I turned to look. It was a guy I kinda knew from college, although he'd graduated a year ahead of me. We had a couple mutual friends. I knew he worked in Boston and had seen him at gatherings and parties, but never thought of him as "boyfriend material" before. I had to ask my friend, "Why? Why him?"

She shrugged. I definitely remember the shrug, although I don't remember her exact answer to my question. I decided to find out for myself. Before the night was over, we had that first kiss, and I knew I'd found something special. Someone special. Twenty four years and three kids later, I still love kissing him.

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I write romance set on Cape Cod, and writing about first kisses are some of my favorite scenes. In CRAZY ABOUT YOU, the characters share a first kiss that's one of those just-happen-out-of-the-blue kisses... that changes both of their worlds. Here's the excerpt:



A blinding smile lit her face, and she waved with enthusiasm. His heart skipped a few beats as his blood all went lower down.

She beelined to the table, calling his name. “Chase? Chase! It’s so good to see you again! Thanks so much for inviting me to lunch!”

He found himself rising to greet her for the second time inside an hour. Instead of sitting, she came to where he stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. She planted an exaggerated kiss on his cheek, like the one he’d envied Tony for the prior day, those soft red lips wet on his skin. His arms slipped around her waist and his stomach clenched hard, inappropriate thoughts racing through his head at breakneck speed, leaving him dazed. Staring down, he saw similar confusion mirrored in Emma’s eyes, as if she felt it too, that electric current running fast and furious between them at every point where their bodies connected. And she wasn’t letting go.

On impulse, he leaned in and captured those pouty lips in a real kiss, soft at first, testing, tasting iced coffee and minty toothpaste, her heart beating a fast staccato against his chest. He pulled her closer, the kiss going from searching to scorching in seconds. She slid one hand down his chest, twisting the fabric of his shirt in her hand to hold him tight, forgetting—or maybe not caring—that they were in the middle of a crowded sidewalk café making an absolute spectacle of themselves. Her legs pressed against his, the kiss deepening as his tongue swirled around hers. He’d never felt so aroused by a simple kiss—hell, he’d never felt this aroused in his entire life. This one, whispered a voice in his head. She’s the one for you.

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About the Book:

Climate scientist Chase Anderson races from one project to the next, unwilling to slow down in his quest to save the world’s oceans. He has no time for family or relationships until he crashes into an impetuous blonde with a quirky sense of humor. One sizzling kiss makes him seriously reevaluate his priorities. And his sanity.

Emma Maguire left her small Cape Cod hometown years ago, seeking the fast pace and anonymity of New York City. She’s not sure what she’s searching for, but when a family crisis brings her home to Provincetown she’s caught in a crazy tangle of half-truths and mistaken identity… and falls for the handsome stranger who broke her cell phone.

Will untangling the web of lies drive them crazy, or lead to something even crazier – like love?

Buy Links:


NOW, tell us about YOUR first kiss! Leave a comment on my blog to be entered to win your own ecopy of CRAZY ABOUT YOU. And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire! Happy Summer Reading!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out all the fabulous writers and their blogs
                          in the SUMMER BLOG HOP below!

1.
Sorchias Wild Rose Summer Treats Post | Visit blog

2.
RV Memory | Visit blog
3.
Tricia Schneider | Visit blog
4.
Anna Durands Spunk & Hunks | Visit blog
5.
Judy Ann Davis Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
6.
Spicy Summer Treats with Mia Downing | Visit blog
7.
Linda Nightingale. . . Wordsmith | Visit blog
8.
Jana Richards - Journeys with Jana | Visit blog
9.
Summer Memories of books well read @ Peggy jaeger. com | Visit blog
10.
Summer on Cape Cod ~ Kathryn Knight books | Visit blog
11.
Summer Fun at the Beach, with Katie OSullivan | Visit blog
12.
I Believe Ill Go Canoeing - C. B. Clark | Visit blog
13.
Summertime Love is Sweeter with. . . Frozen Mango? @ Kimberly Keyes blog | Visit blog
14.
Wild Rose Summer Treats Blog Hop @ Brendas Blog | Visit blog
15.
Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
16.
Midsummer Magic on the Isle of Skye! | Visit blog
17.
My Guilty Summer Treats from Lori Sizemore | Visit blog
18.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
19.
Hywela Lyns post for the WRP Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
20.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats & Reads | Visit blog
21.
Camping is a Recipe for Summer Treats and Reads | Visit blog
22.
The Snarkology | Visit blog
23.
Summer Survival Tips @ Nitty Gritty Romance | Visit blog
24.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
25.
Nell Castle - Summer of the Sweat Lodge | Visit blog
26.
Myth, Magic & Wonder Susan Edwards, Breathing Life into the Past | Visit blog
27.
Romance with Spice, Sydney St. Claire | Visit blog
28.
Author Kat de Falla | Visit blog
29.
Anni Fife. Exciting new author of Steamy Romance with Irresistible Heroes | Visit blog
30.
Summer Vacation, Victorian-Style, AND a Giveaway | Visit blog
31.
Wildfires, Monsoons, and Mojitos - Author Susabelle Kelmer shares how she keeps cool in a climate that is on fire! | Visit blog
32.
Casi McLeans recipe for Hot Reads and Cool Treats | Visit blog
33.
Cool Summer Reads: Jeannie Halls Romantic Suspense Blog - Where Hearts Tremble From More Than Attraction | Visit blog
34.
Summer treat - Adult Slushie | Visit blog
35.
How to Rediscover the Magic of Bicycling | Visit blog
36.
Charlottes Tips on How to Stay Cool in HOT New York City | Visit blog
37.
Caryn McGill | Visit blog
38.
Hywela Lyns Inrerplanetary Summer | Visit blog
 

37 comments:

  1. I like your own romantic story best Katie! M. S.

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    1. Thanks! It wasn't my first kiss, but the first kiss with the right guy :-)

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  2. Crazy about You sounds like a great read.Love your story to!My first kiss was in the 5th grade no biggy but I still remember it after all these years.

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    1. Fifth grade! Must be some story there if you still remember it!

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  3. I'm so old I can't remember my first kiss. I think is was around 1875, though. Or close to it!

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  4. I'm going to hammer my brain and dig deep for thoughts on my first kiss because I don't remember it. Ugh. However, I enjoyed the excerpt and blurb, and wish you the best with promotion and sales.

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    1. Thanks, Judy! Totally appreciate the good wishes!

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  5. I loved your post, hope I win. I honestly don't remember my first kiss, it was so long ago. I think it was with a neighbor boy playing spin the bottle.

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    Replies
    1. I think spin the bottle accounts for a lot of first kisses!

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  6. My first kiss with my hubbie was dismal. I drove away devastated. But he called and asked be to come back. Said he freaked out, botched it up and begged for a second go. I turned my car around and did just that. Needless to say, he did soooo much better. But maybe first kisses do count, because 13 years later, he became my ex hubbie! :(
    Loved your extract from Crazy About You. xx

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    1. Anni! I love this!! Thanks formatting me laugh out loud!! Too cute

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    2. I love this story too! And you actually went back :-)

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  7. Ah first kiss...what a great post! That took me back -mine with my husband was sooooo memorable I was a goner

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    1. When you know, you know! Thanks for stopping by, Charlotte!

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  8. Lovely post, evokes memories. My first kiss was, like Michele's, spin the bottle with a neighbor kid, not the one I wanted!

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    Replies
    1. I'm giggling. Didn't you hate those kids who could spin the bottle to just the boy they wanted?

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  9. I don't really remember the first ever kiss but I remember some pretty dismal kissers in high school. Maybe reading too many romance books set me up for disappointment, but I remember thinking that somebody should be giving lessons in kissing to improve the situation. Nice excerpt--Best of luck with the book.

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    Replies
    1. It's a fine line between setting a girl up for disappointment and helping her realize she doesn't have to settle. I'm going to come down on the "don't ever settle" side of things. Good kissers - and good guys - are out there if we look.

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  10. Oh Katie - I miss that book! I had withdrawal after I finished it - although I seriously told my husband YESTERDAY that he was "my kind of crazy" - my first kiss was gross. I was 14 and he was sloppy. I didn't ever want to be kissed again (until I met my husband of course - HE can't kiss me enough!)

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    Replies
    1. Withdrawal? Is that like a book hangover? If so, Yesss - I always wanted to cause one of those :-)

      Glad you found your kind of crazy - I know I'm glad I found mine!

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  11. Sure do remember my first *real* kiss. God, I loved that guy. But then...I was only 16. I still think of him with a bit of a butterfly factor. No other ex does that for me.
    And I am currently reading Crazy About You. Love it! I'll let you know when I'm ready to post the review. :-)
    Kimberly Keyes
    https://facebook.com/kimberly.keyes.romance

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  12. Love the excerpt. I think first kisses should be special. Sadly my first wasn't particularly. It was OK, but I was very young and he was the first boy I'd gone out with so we were both a bit shy and it didn't come to anything. Later kisses, with my future husband, were much more magical though!

    (By the way the Linky link to my post (#18) isn't working. it should be https://hywelalyn.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/interplanetary-summer-twrp-summer-reads.html ) Sorry.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by - and now the link is fixed on my blog and I'm hopping over to visit yours!

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  13. Reading about your first meeting with your future husband made your excerpt's first kiss even sweeter!

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  14. Oh no! My first kiss was dreadful! Neither of us had a clue at the tender age of 12. LOL!

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    Replies
    1. There's that line Drew Barrymore repeats ad infinitum in 50 First Dates - "You never forget your first kiss" - judging from these posts, that seems to ring true, even when the first kiss wasn't magical!

      Thanks for visiting and sharing!

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  15. Hello Katie, what a lovely story ♡ I agree with Sharon up above my first kiss was awful also, only 11 with a thirteen year old boy in a hallway. I was scared to death! lol Thank you

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    1. Ooh, much older man! LOL, I'm sure when you were older (and not scared!) you had a better "first kiss"

      Thanks for stopping by, Linda!

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  16. I honestly don't remember my first kiss - it must have been very forgettable! Loved your first kiss excerpt. Beautiful!

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    1. I remember my very first kiss, but I was older than a lot of the other women posting... already in high school. Sweet, but still different than the first kiss I shared with the man I ended up marrying.

      I think every first kiss is it's own story - I mean, obviously, in my novel this isn't Emma's first-ever kiss or Chases's first - but it's the first kiss of the rest of their lives. Magical.

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  17. Great post, Katie. I still remember my first kiss. And I love, love, love your books!

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    1. Thanks, Casi! That means a lot to me and I so appreciate your support, and the support you offer all your fellow authors.

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  18. Love your first kiss story, Katie, and your real HEA! 😃

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  19. Thank you all for sharing your stories of first kisses...

    The winner of the ebook as picked by Random.com is...
    Linda Romer!

    Linda, I will try to email you directly, but feel free to send me a note as well!

    Thank you all for visiting and participating in the Summer Treats Blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete

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