Showing posts with label small towns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small towns. Show all posts

Jul 12, 2015

Sunday Smooch with Stefanie London

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from Stefanie London but first 

                           ... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Sasha

Can you please contact jstgeorge (at) gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from A Kiss in Kite Harbor...



Blurb:
Twelve years ago they shared a life-changing kiss…

Now she’s coming back for more…

When successful plus size model, Shelby Jenkins, is forced to return to her hometown of Kite Harbor, Maine, she must face her past demons. But asking for help doesn’t come naturally and it’s doubly hard when she needs it from the boy who broke her heart. Now he’s all grown up and is more tempting than a double fudge sundae with a cherry on top.

Nate Ritter loves being a teacher in the small town where he grew up. When the woman who stole his teenage heart returns, he’ll do anything to prove he’s no longer the insecure boy who betrayed her.  As long as he makes sure he doesn’t fall for Shelby since she has a big, exciting life waiting for her back in the city.

Can his shot at redemption be enough to convince her to stay?

Smooch set up: Nate and Shelby are at their old high school, the place where he now works as a teacher. He wants her to see that school is just bricks and mortar, not this place that she's turned into a monster in her head.


"It never bothers me at home, people post mean things on the internet all the time. Fat girls aren’t real models,” she mimicked. “And I don’t care. But coming back here makes me feel fifteen again.”
“You don’t look fifteen.”
“What are you trying to say?” Her eyes glinted with mischief.
“I’m saying you don’t have anything to worry about.” They were still holding hands and he tugged her to him. “It doesn’t matter what people do, we both know you’re the one who’s gorgeous…inside and out.”
“You don’t know me, Nate.” She stiffened as his hand snaked around her waist, drawing her closer, but she didn’t push him away.
Her full breasts pressed against his chest, her thighs lined up with his. He wouldn’t have to dip his head far to kiss her, she was right there. Tempting. Tantalizing. Lush lips parted as her breath rasped in and out, the blacks of her pupils expanding.
“Bullshit. I know you’re the same girl I fell for back then.” His forehead pressed against hers, the sweetness of perfume and perspiration on her skin setting off fireworks in his brain. “I know you’re sexy as hell and I’d be a damn fool not to kiss you right now.”
“You’ve done foolish things before,” she whispered.
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Shel, you know what I said. If I could take it back…”
For a moment he was sure she’d push him away. And why shouldn’t she? He had nothing to offer her—how could he compete with her exciting life in the city? History told him you couldn’t hold people back from that. But he wanted that kiss, wanted to reinvigorate the memory of having her in his arms even if for only a moment.
Of all the women who could have made him realize he didn’t want to be alone anymore…why did it have to be her?
“I’ve changed, I want you to know that. I’m not perfect, lord knows, but I’ve done what I can to be a good person.”
“I know.”
He swallowed. “You do?”
“I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t see it for myself.” Her lips curved into a gentle smile and her hands smoothed up his arms. “I can’t forget it, but I will let you kiss me.”
He needed no more invitation. Sliding his hands up her back, he lowered his mouth to hers. Soft lips met him, open and willing. The tentative slide of her tongue jacked his pulse up and sent blood rushing in his ears.

It was everything he’d wanted then and he wanted it even more now. 
Her fists gripped his t-shirt, holding him close as she breathed into him. He roamed her, mapped the highs and lows of her body. His hands found delight in her rounded hips, sliding around until he allowed himself to go lower, cupping her full behind.
All the blood in his body rushed south as she arched against him. If she had doubts about his attraction to her, she would know for certain now. 


A Kiss in Kite Harbor is out exclusively in the Small Town Summer box set!  From perfectly sweet to sultry heat, this set contains nine romantic beach reads from best selling and rising star authors.

 For your chance to win an ebook copy of the entire box set, leave a comment below answering this question:

 "Have you ever gone back to your old high school? How did it make you feel?" 

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and another smooch will be posted!

May 18, 2015

For the love of curves

Coming soon!
I’m working on a new project which is a whole lot of firsts. It’s my first time writing a small town romance, it’s my first attempt at self-publishing and it’s my first book with a plus size heroine.

Talk about jumping in with two feet!

Given that I’ve had my share of body image issues over the years, I really wanted to write a heroine who’d had those experiences. The teasing, the ‘why the hell are skinny jeans back in fashion??’ moment, the toxic relationship with food…

 Writing Shelby’s character was tough, yet in a w
ay it was also cathartic. She's is a plus-sized model who struggles with the way larger models are used in the modelling industry and what it means to be considered a vessel for someone else’s message.

Just to be extra mean (‘cause we authors are a nasty lot when it comes to our characters) I forced her to go back to the hometown where she was bullied until she escaped at the age of sixteen. Coming home feels like a regression to Shelby, all the confidence she’s worked so hard to build evaporates the second she bumps into someone from her past. Her journey isn’t about her appearance so much as it is about forgiveness—forgiving herself for leaving and forgiving the people in her past.

It’s important to me, as a writer, to create strong female characters who overcome real problems. This is probably the main reason I love reading romance as well as writing it—we have a genre that is leaps and bounds ahead of others in representing real women conquering their demons and finding love, not only with the hero but with themselves.
I have to give a shout out to two books that inspired me to tackle Shelby’s story. Firstly, Driving her Crazy by fellow Lovecat Amy Andrews which features a heroine with deeply rooted body image issues on a road trip across outback Australia with a sexy, brooding photographer. Secondly, The V Sot by Wendy S Marcus a super spicy novella featuring a plus size nurse, a "Voyeur Motel” and a hunky wrestling hero.

Both of these books had vibrant heroines that were strong and take-charge despite their issues, exactly the kind of women I love to read about. If you have checked either of these books out do yourself a favour and read them NOW!


Tell me, have you read any great romances with plus size heroines lately? I’d love your recommendations. If not, let me know what you love about the romance genre. 

May 15, 2015

Small Town V Big City....

I've just submitted my eighth book for Harlequin Special Edition to my editor and although this next series is set across the ditch in South Dakota, I am still writing about small town's and close-knit communities. As I dive into book number nine I've been wondering what readers prefer - the small town setting, or the big city.


I must admit I like reading both, but when I write a book I always tend to sway towards small towns. Obviously that has a lot to do with the type of book I write, as Special Edition generally do have a real home and family theme running through them. And this seems to reflect on the TV I watch too - as I'm probably more Gilmore Girls than Sex In The City...more Picket Fences than Law & Order...more Longmire than The Good Wife.



So, do your reading and TV tastes match?

Do you like both?

And I've added a picture of a cowboy here because...well...I just love cowboys....