Monday, July 27, 2015

It's a Strawberry Summer with Charlotte Copper



MUSE MONDAY
Please help me welcome Charlotte Copper to Muse Monday. Although Charlotte has two paranormal-romance novellas already published, this is her first journey into Young Adult.  With three daughters – now 18, 19 & 21 – she has read her share of YA books and loves the idea of strong, confident young heroines

First of all Brenda, I want to thank you for hosting me.  I love following your blog and your adventures on Tortuga Thursdays.

Today I want to talk about where I got my idea. STRAWBERRY SUMMER is completely different from my previous stories, not just because it is Young Adult Contemporary versus my usual Adult Paranormal-Romance, but because it is close to home. Literally!

My usual ideas come from television, movies or even another book, where I find a character or a situation and think “what if?”, and then it morphs into something entirely different that no one would ever recognize it for its origin.   The idea for STRAWBERRY SUMMER, however, comes from a real time and place.

I live in Stouffville, Ontario…just north-east of Toronto…and every July long weekend I volunteer, selling drink tickets, at our annual Strawberry Festival. They close Main Street Stouffville and there are rides and vendors, beer tents and bands, and of course fireworks for Canada’s birthday on July 1st. And like STRAWBERRY SUMMER, they also have a movie night and a dunk tank. 

Although my duties mean the people I work with are all over 18 (we must have our Smart Serve to be involved with alcohol), there are dozens of high school aged kids also volunteering.  Some are doing it to fulfill their volunteer hours required to graduate, but many come back year after year because it is a fun place to spend a few days each summer giving back to the community.
 
Although the character and events are all fictional, and Stouffville itself is never mentioned, our annual Strawberry Festival and a few of kids at The Daughter’s school, fueled the idea for STRAWBERRY SUMMER.

BLURB:
What could be better than working the dunk tank on a hot summer day with your best friend? How about catching the eye of the cute new boy?
Olivia is volunteering at this year’s Strawberry Festival when she meets tall, buff and curly, Aidan.  If the two are to stand a chance, they must look past their scars and overcome a few misunderstandings.

EXCERPT:
The three of them just got settled as the movie’s opening music began to play.
Olivia sat on the blanket, Aidan on one side and Cindy on the other. Her friend sat yoga style, folded up like a denim pretzel, while Olivia reclined, legs out, and leaned back on her arms, aware of Aidan’s body next to hers. Stretched out in similar fashion, his leg and broad shoulders occasionally brushing against her. Especially when he laughed.
She liked it when he laughed, and had trouble concentrating on some parts of the movie. Luckily, she’d seen it before.
“So, you weren’t a little jealous earlier, were you? When you thought I’d been kissing Dakota?” The bright festival lights reflected mischievously in his eyes.
“Uh…” Yes. “No,” answered Olivia, the heat of the truth rushed to her cheeks. She slurped the last remains of her pop. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” he said as the final credits rolled on the giant temporary screen. “Just hoping, I guess.”

Charlotte CopperSILVER BLADE and HEART SHIFTER available from Wild Rose Press and Amazon
website & blog:
http://charlottecopperauthor.com or  http://is.gd/cNnXmx
facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.copper.52 or  http://is.gd/C05P6o
BUY LINKS:



Friday, July 24, 2015

How's That For Fearless by Angela Hayes



FEARLESS FRIDAY
Please join me in welcoming my guest, Angela Hayes!
Something rash, life changing. These four little words haunted me as I tried to figure out how I was going to write this post.
            I didn’t think the words rash and life changing could be used to describe myself. I’m a leo and as I continue to age, I find myself pretty set in my ways. I like routine, the comfort of knowing each day what I’m going to do and the order I’m going to do it in. I have a high tendency to use the same phrases over and over and do my best to fly below the radar. Boring, right!
            But the more I thought about this, I came to realize that there was a time when I did something rash and life changing. I eloped! Surpise!!!
            Six months after I met a boy, while working at a fast food chain, we high tailed it to the courthouse and forty dollars later, voila, a married couple.
            Guess it’s working out though. Two kids and one battle with cancer later, we’re looking forward to celebrating our fourteenth wedding anniversary this September. Pretty rash and life changing if I say so myself. How’s that for fearless!


BLURB

Love Howard has more than a knack for matchmaking. Born from a forbidden passion and a twelve-hundred-year-old promise, she and her sisters can literally see true love. And while Love has no problem bringing other couples together, her own romantic life could use a little help.

Danton DeAngelo has always been well grounded in reality. So it throws him for no small loop when the woman he’s fallen for believes that she’s been reincarnated eleven times and can actually see true love.

Now Danton is faced with the biggest decision of his life. Accept Love for who she really is, or walk away from her forever.


EXCERPT

            “That was close,” I breathed when we were outside, an entire building between myself and the best man.
            “It’s about to get even closer.” Faith smiled, making me instantly wary. I knew what was coming. She’d seen it. They both had.
            “What do you mean?” I asked, playing dumb.
            “Look at him again, and you tell us,” Hope challenged.
            Dutifully I opened the door. Keeping to the shadows, I stepped inside, just enough to get another look at Danton DeAngelo. There he was laughing with his friends, what a beautiful sight. Male perfection bathed in the same powder blue light that all souls gave off when they were destined to be together. Blowing out a breath, I closed the door and faced my sisters.
            “He’s blue.”
            “He’s not the only one, honey.” Hope smiled, holding out a compact mirror she had pulled from her purse.
            Snatching it from her, I peered into the reflecting glass. There was my image, the one I’d spent twenty five years looking at, the one I saw mirrored in the face of my sisters. Except, unlike yesterday, I could now see a telltale blue glow around my face. Faint at first but growing stronger with every second. Closing the compact I could see the glow encompassing my hands. I looked down and around. Like a bad rash, it was all over me.
            “I’m blue!” I declared, pointing out the obvious.
            “True blue, true love. YOU are the future Mrs.Danton DeAngelo.” Hope gloated taking her compact back.
            “Ah damn!” I whined.
 
BUY LINKS:
Book Trailer:
http://youtu.be/t2_eJMzk9wA   or embedded you tube link   :

BIO:
A married mother of two, I split my time between bringing characters to life by computer, and yarn to life with needle and hook. You can find me at www.authorangelahayes.blogspot.com where I help connect readers and the authors they love.

Other places you can find me: