Posts Tagged ‘Blind Date Bride’
Saturday again? Now that I don’t have a day job, the days are all running together.
Lucky for you—or maybe for me, I got an email reminder to sign up for My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme? Love on the road … I think.
This week, show us the characters who who love each other so much that it doesn’t matter where they are, who they are, what they have or don’t have. Show us that these characters are going to stick with each other through thick and thin. These are the ones who just want to be with each other, love each other and always be together, no matter how long or short the time.
I’m sharing a snippet from TROUBLE IN PARADISE, a work-in-progress. This companion to BLIND DATE BRIDE, my June indie release, tells the story of Bethany and Cody, the friends that got Kari and Damien into the winners’ circle. They met the day of Kari and Damien’s bogus wedding…and ended up getting more wedding night action than the bride and groom, as Kari pointed out.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE picks up where BDB leaves off. Bethany, concerned that Cody is losing interest, convinces him to audition for the network’s new show, “Invitation to Sin,” a “Survivor” meets “Temptation Island” reality show she thinks will test his love for her. A reluctant Cody agrees, figuring Romance TV lightning won’t strike twice. But it does, and the couple flies to Bora Bora for a month to shoot the show. Little does Beth know she’s the one who’ll be failing all the network-manufactured tests.
Here, they’re strolling on a moonlit beach, away from the cameras, as they have a heart-to-heart about the day’s events.
****
When she tipped her head up this time, he saw laughter in her eyes. “You said we’re the sum of all our experiences, right?”
“I did.”
Her fingers hovered over the knot at her waist. “There’s an experience I’ve never had and I want to share it with you.”
Cody’s mouth went dry when she scrambled to untie her sarong. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
The cover-up pooled in the sand at her feet, quickly followed by her bikini top and bottom. She stood before him, her milky skin glowing in the moonlight. “Guess.”
Cody gulped. “Skinny-dipping?”
“In the ocean under a full moon.”
TROUBLE IN PARADISE … coming soon to e-bookstores everywhere.
RWA14 was a blast—not that I doubted it would be. For me, it was a true road trip. Two of my chapter mates and I carpooled from Flagstaff to San Antonio (more on that soon). I caught up with friends old and new, and learned so much from the workshop sessions I attended. I went to so many marketing/social media sessions that my head threatened to explode.
One of the key points emphasized in many of them? You need a blog.
Umm … Does it count if I have a blog but post sporadically?
The experts’ answer, of course, is a big, fat “NO.”
So now that I’m back in Flagstaff, trying to resettle into what passes for a normal routine, I’m going to aim to blog more regularly. (How is it possible that my last post was in mid-June?) Blogging is heaped on top of all the Twitter/FB/Pinteresting things I should be doing—and none of them are as important as actually writing the next book.
Anyway …
It occurred to me that My Sexy Saturday is a great way to guarantee I post something fresh on my blog every week.
A quick refresher on the rules:
Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words ONLY. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!
Here’s a snippet from my June release, BLIND DATE BRIDE. Who needs “Married at First Sight” when you have Kari and Damien?
***
Damien leaned across the table, and for a second, Kari thought he’d kiss her again. Her lips parted in anticipation. However, he merely turned her hand over, palm up, and ran his thumb over the skin at the base of her fingers. She watched it move back and forth, fast then slow, fascinated by the friction-generated heat.
His eyes never left hers, so she saw the instant his desire flickered back to life. Her thighs clenched as her body answered Damien’s call.
The dampness she felt provided a rude wake-up call. She clamped her knees together as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, ruthlessly reminding herself how badly her last run-in with lust at first sight had ended.
Seemingly undeterred, he grinned. “You ready to head to my place?”
“Y-your place?” Surely he wasn’t a mind reader.
“Or yours, I suppose.”
“My place?” This time, Kari’s voice came out in a panicked squeak.
Blind Date Bride is available now as an e-book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.
Complete strangers getting married the first time they meet?
Sounds crazy, right? There’s no way it would happen in real life.
Umm … think again. Turns out the premise of BLIND DATE BRIDE isn’t so far-fetched after all. It was just years ahead of its time.
When I came up with the idea of two losers at love finally winning the “Get a Love Life” contest they never entered (way back in 1990-something), it might have been out there. Not so today, when reality TV show premises get nuttier and nuttier.
One of the latest? “Married at First Sight,” an A&E networks presentation.
Married, an adaptation of a hit Danish format, will also include four specialists who will create what they believe are three perfect couples based on scientific matchmaking. The first meeting for these couples, each comprised of people who’ve had no prior luck in the love department, will be as they walk down the aisle.
(Emphasis is mine.) Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it?
Of course, my Kari and Damien don’t win the contest’s grand prize based on scientific matchmaking. They’re merely the folks with the worst love lives in America, as selected by a panel of experts that includes Dr. Drew and Danielle Steel. And they marry and live together to get the prize money, of which there appears to be none in the A&E show.
“Married at First Sight” premieres on A&E’s FYI network (formerly BIO) on July 8. Find more info here.
As a romance writer, I sincerely hope they succeed. Realistically, I know they probably won’t.
Luckily, my BLIND DATE BRIDE can satisfy your need for happily-ever-after. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.
I’m celebrating the release of BLIND DATE BRIDE with a Goodreads giveaway.
Three print copies of the book are up for grabs. The giveaway ends July 10 and is open to readers in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. (Expanding my reach this time around …)
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Blind Date Bride
by Arlene Hittle
Giveaway ends July 10, 2014.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
If you don’t want to wait that long to read Kari and Damien’s brush with reality TV stardom, you can snag a copy from your favorite e-bookstore.
One reviewer on Amazon gave BLIND DATE BRIDE a 5-star review and said:
“Ms. Hittle’s books are sassy, sexy and easy reads, perfect for the summer, the beach, a cabin, or just about anywhere.”
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