EVIE'S KNIGHT Book Bomb! And NYAFT Blog Tour!

I'm so excited for my friends today! Kim Krey is having a book bomb for her debut novel, EVIE'S KNIGHT, and Chantele Sedgwick is kicking off a blog tour for her debut novel, NOT YOUR AVERAGE FAIRY TALE.

Let's start with Kim's book:

In Evie's Knight, love doesn't simply hurt ... it kills.

EVIE always thought college life would be magical, but so far it's not what she hoped for. Her best friend has gone wild, her love life is void, and she misses her mom more than ever. But life for Evie is about to change. CALVIN KNIGHT, the very object of her fascination, is about to fall madly in love with her. Just one problem: Their love conjures a murderous woman from beyond the grave who wants Evie dead. The same demon who has haunted the Knight men for over four generations.

Soon Calvin is forced to choose: Set Evie free and hope to evade the wrath of The Raven-haired Ghost, or use his newly gifted strengths to fight against her. If he chooses to fight and wins, Calvin will free the Knight men of this demonic witch. If he loses, Evie will become her next victim.

Now, I haven't read it yet but Kim read me an awesome kissy part (in her naturally sultry voice) and I've been thinking of it ever since (the book, not her voice. Although I am jealous of that voice, Kim.) I bought it on Kindle for $2.99 this morning. It's also available in paperback. Check it out here.

Also happening today is the kickoff for Chantele's blog tour! I have read NOT YOUR AVERAGE FAIRY TALE and it was awesome! You can buy it on Amazon here. Here's the blurb:

Armed with wings and a blue wand, being a fairy godmother should be easy. Unless your name is Ash, and you're a dude.

Ash Summerland has it all–good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. When he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings. A.K.A. the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after". But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, Kendall doesn't want anything to do with him. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings.

 

 

Ash. I'm a big fan. *thinks creepy thoughts*

ANYWAY. Chantele's blog tour is going on October 1st-19th and there will be prizes, including a Kindle! So go check it out!

Congratulations, ladies!

I've Been Writing. Just Not Here.

When putting the new button for Julie's Oh, The Early Work blogfest/giveaway (now extended to October 28th!) on my sidebar, I noticed my blog archives, and the sorry amount of posts I've written for September and October. (Don't look. Seriously.)

It's just that, after months of feeling like this:

O_o

about my WIP, I suddenly feel more like this:

Which is creepy, but exciting, right?

So, with my newly sprouted mini-hands, I've been writing about this:

 and including some of this:

set someplace like this:

Not forgetting some of this:

And for dessert, THIS:

Because seriously. Good. Heavens. YES.

BUT!!!!

On Friday, Bilbo and I have an announcement!

 Come back and find out more about my Eleventy-First Follower Giveaway Extraordinasticganza! It will be all sorts of awesome and preciousssss....

Until then, I will be staring at that kissing picture WRITING!!

Lists! Kissing Edition!

*If you missed my Villains list, check it out here

emo love by Jett Meredith (age 4)

 

When I was in college, I had some friends (actually, it was more like I knew some girls who were way cool and I admired them from afar and called them my "friends" in my journal.)  (Kind of the way I make "friends" with other bloggers today.  *cough*) who made a kissing movie.  This was back in the VHS days, so they had recorded the kissing part of a bunch of different movies and dubbed music over the top of it.

It was so awesome.

Imagine, ten minutes of Hollywood's finest, going at it.  My friends had watched it so many times that they offered commentary, too.  The one I remember best was "Ever After":  "She tastes it, she likes it, she goes back in for more."

Making a kissing movie has been on my to-do list since that fateful day.  In that vein, here is my top ten kisses list!

1. Percy and Annabeth (in The Last Olympian) This kiss is long awaited.  And underwater in a giant bubble, which sounds ridiculously fun to me.
2. Harry and Ginny (in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows) I have to give full credit to Ginny for both kisses.  She is a go-get-em type of girl.  I love the fact that she rushes Harry at the Quidditch celebratory party AND that she ambushes him on his birthday.
3. Ron and Hermione (in Deathly Hallows) This was also a long awaited kiss and I had to read it a few times to make sure it really happened.  Really?  Hermione just jumped Ron??  Awesome. I love Harry's annoyed reaction, too.
4. Max and Fang (in Max: The Protectors) Flying bird kids in love=kissing whilst flying.  That puts it in the same category as kissing underwater in a giant bubble.  In other words, it's on my bucket list of impossibility.
5. Ronnie and Will (in The Last Song) Admittedly, I'm not a huge Miley Cyrus fan.  Maybe that's part of the appeal of this kiss to me.  They're arguing, he's annoyed, so he shuts her up with a kiss.  Good call, Will.  Good. call.  (Here's a link if you want to check it out yourself.)
6. Anne and Gilbert (in Anne of Green Gables) Uh, do I really need to explain this one?  "I don't want sunbursts and marble halls.  I just want you!"  Ahhhhh.  Totally worth the six hour wait.
7. Frederic and Mabel (in Pirates of Penzance) He has to leave his beloved for 63 years, so what's a man to do?  Sing to her, waltz with her, dip her and plant a nice one full on her lips.  That'll hold her for half a dozen decades.
8. Squints Palledorous and Wendy Peffercorn (in The Sandlot) Not a particularly romantic kiss, but surrounded by so many good lines that I couldn't resist.  "She doesn't know what she's doing."  "Yeah, she does.  She knows exactly what she's doing."  "Oiling. Lotioning.  Lotioning. Oiling.  I can't take it no more! Move!" "He had kissed a woman.  And he had kissed her long and good."  I could go on and on.  Plus, he gets the girl in the end, so it all works out.
9. Lend and Evie (in Paranormalcy) I love the idea portrayed in this one; she can see him, literally, in a way no one else can.  That makes for a super sweet kiss.
10. Catcher and Gabry (in Dead-Tossed Waves) The intensity of the feelings surrounding this moment, the exhilaration of summer romance juxtaposed with a fear of zombie attack, made my tummy whirl.  Quite pleasantly.  

So there you have it.  Apparently, I like ambushes, unusual locales, and sweetness.

What kisses do you love?

Confessions I should probably keep to myself #1

I need Amanda Hugnkiss.  (hahaha!  Funniest prank name EVER!  Okay, fine, I'll leave the middle school slumber party and come back to my mature life.  *sigh*)

Seriously, though, I do.  

Not a girl named Amanda.  Or a man to hug and kiss.  Because I already have one of those (hubba hubba!).

But this is the thing:  I write most of my romance-y stuff late at night.  Reason #1- late at night is when brilliance starts sprouting from my brain uninhibited.  Reason #2- late at night I'm not constantly bombarded with "Mommommommommommomcrackercrackercrackertattletattletattletattlepoopoopoopoo!!!"  (Because those four words make up kids and their needs in a nutshell, you know.) 

Reason #3- I blush like a maniac when I write mushy stuff.  If you know me personally, you'll understand that the blushing thing isn't that extraordinary.  I'm a career blusher.  I turn red even for the sake of other people's embarrassments. My nickname in junior high was The Devil.  Yeah.

So one night, Rex was doing homework on the couch and I was typing away and he happened to look up at me and was like, "What are you writing?"  

And I was like, "Huh, what?" *blinking in a foggy haze of romance*  Then I had to admit that I was writing a kissing part, which is no big deal, right?  Because people kiss.  And it was just kissing, not even lusty kissing, really really sweet kissing actually, but I was bright red anyway.

Rex gave me his supportive you weirdo look and went on with life.  I save my mushy stuff for when he's not around, though.

Now, it should be pointed out that the romance in my stories is not racy by any stretch of the imagination.  It focuses mostly on the romantic tension leading up to The First Kiss, and here is where my struggle comes.

Rex is in bed.  The house is quiet.  And I'm trying to write about two people sitting next to each other, and I need to know if their hands would even actually be able to brush if they're sitting the way they're sitting, or I need to see how an entire sequence would play out and if it would come across as romantic or creepy and awkward. 

What's a girl to do?  The way I picture it in my mind isn't enough!  I want to see it at work!  I need proximity!  So, I use my throw pillow.  I prop it up next to me on the couch, let it's arm casually bump against mine.  I let it come 90% and wait as I slowly inch closer...and closer...and closer...

For the record, I've never actually kissed the pillow.  Because it's allll about what happens just before, remember?  But still, yes, I'm hitting on a pillow.  And letting it bust a move on me.

So, I'm curious.  What lengths do you go to in making sure your scenes are realistic?