Guest Post by Trish Doller: Author of WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE

Please give a warm welcome to our special guest today, Trish Doller. We are celebrating tomorrow's release of Where The Stars Still Shine, and Trish is here to tell us a little about...

Getting in the Mood

A guest post by  Trish Doller, author of Where the Stars Sill Shine.

            I don’t have really have an exact routine I follow. I think a lot of it depends on how I’m feeling that day. Sometimes I don’t mind noise, other times I want silence. Sometimes I can work in public without being distracted, other times I can’t. But one thing that’s common across the board, no matter what I’m working on, is music.

            I put a lot of time into coming up with playlists that capture the tone of the book, the characters’ personalities, the setting, and even particular scenes. I try to mix up the emotions, so if I need to be in a certain frame of mine, I have the right song on hand. For instance, when I was writing Something Like Normal, I listened to Savior by Rise Against on repeat all day long––and I’m not even kidding––because I was trying to tap into Travis’s anger for a specific scene.

            Aside from music, I usually prefer writing on one of my couches––either in the living room if it’s really hot or in the sun room if it’s cool––and I like to have Snyder’s honey mustard & onion pretzels and Coke as a snack. Neither are required, but when I set myself up with a cold Coke and a bowl of pretzels, I feel like I’m cheating if I don’t write. Finally, I usually have to turn off the internet. I use a blocker called SelfControl because, clearly, I have none. 

WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE
By: Trish Doller
Published By: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: September 24, 2013

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Find out more about Trish Doller

twitter • tumblr • facebook • blog • goodreads • pinterest​

REVIEW ~ Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O.

Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Each moan, spank, and–was that a meow?–punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O.

Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick…

In her third novel, Alice Clayton returns to dish her trademark mix of silly and steamy. Banter, barbs, and strutting pussycats, plus the sexiest apple pie ever made, are dunked in a hot tub and set against the gorgeous San Francisco skyline in this hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight.

Thump..
Thump thump...
Funniest, sultriest book EVER!! Totally irreplaceable story. You have to read it... if you are of appropriate age, being it's new adult. R E A D  I T- that is all!

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton was a sassy read that had me bellowing in laughter, mortification, and lust. I was like a damn buck up in a rut reading this! The mixed messages between the MC's had me grunting and stomping. Their presumptions of the other had me cracking up. Their fear of commitment had me in wonder. Their sexual tension had me swooning in my pants. Their connection was AWE-tastic! And then there was food porn, nom nom nom!!

That Caroline... she was completely adorable, snarky and witty. Caroline and I seem to share the same sarcasm and crudeness, but she was a rendition of one of my closest friends-- it's why I loved her so much. She was peeping fantastic! Her curiosity was brilliant. She was independent, confident and guarded. She could be a rapper with all that rhyme time! But O man, she had a disappointing issue going on there. If she would not focus so hard on the past and let confusion and panic rule her, then maybe the conCOCKtion of a love gun next door, would be a mighty fine cure.

I'm not a fan of cats, but if I were, I want Mr. Clive!! I'd hope I would be just as close to him as Caroline. Meow kitty, kitty!

Now, onto the 'Wallbanger Wondercock' -- Simon. Oh God, Oh God. He's quite scrumptious and oh so sexy charming. He was such a man, but not a tool. I mean, he knew how to work his screwdriver, but there was such a beautiful being behind it. He had feelings. He had a heart. He was supportive. He was hypnotic.  He was a pleaser. So caring. Strong. Smart. Simon.

My lips actually were sore during this entire read. Mostly stretched tight from smiling or laughing so much and at times, grimacing. I mean, Gawd, I freakin had so much adoration for every scene Caroline and Simon had together. Their introduction, the truce, their frustration, the tension, their connection, their verbosity and compatibility and honesty and... their , their everything! It was bliss! And then there was foreplay and finally, sex. Not just sex, but they made pure love. It was ecstasy. Bruno Mars 'Gorilla' style.

This book is definitely in my top 5 favorites of books I've ever read. I can't wait to read it again! It was anticipated romance at its finest. Not smut. Not overly graphic. Just perfection. Pure intimacy that led to pure adoration between two characters. A mighty fine story this was. Vibrant and comical. Alluring and romantic.

I don't even want to read another book for a few days. I want bask in the gloriousness of Wallbanger. And I for sure will support this author and read every book she has out and will have out!

Find Wallbanger, by Alice Clayton on Goodreads
PURCHASE Wallbanger by Alice Clayton on B&N, Amazon

You know what??!! I love this book so much... and I want you to love it. This calls for a GIVEAWAY to one lucky reader. So, all I ask is that you follow this blog. (U.S. only- sorry- BD doesn't have a copy of this yet.) And please, tweet about the giveaway or facebook it, which ever-- I want the word to get out about this book. Leave your email and link (if you tweeted or facebooked) in the comments. I'll draw a name on Friday.

Thanks,
Kimberly

Book Blitz: DISHING UP DESIRE (HUNGRY FOR LOVE) by Barbara DeLeo

Dishing Up Desire

by Barbara DeLeo

Release Date: 07/08/13

Entangled Indulgence

Summary from Goodreads:

Image consultant Blake Matthews is facing his toughest PR challenge yet: salvage the image of celebrity chef Kirin Hart. Once he does, he'll be able to acquire LA's most successful PR firm. But Kirin's no easy fix. She's stubborn about changing her comfortable homemaker image, and is being sued for sexual harassment by a junior staffer. She needs a PR lifeline fast. Only problem is Blake wants more than to make her over... Kirin doesn't need a makeover--her fans love her as she is. But she could lose everything if the sex scandal and reputation that has followed doesn't get quashed right away. Kirin agrees to let model-perfect Blake work his magic for two weeks, but things get complicated when she can't deny the way her body flares to life whenever he's near. 

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iBookstore

***Guest Post***

It’s so great to be here as part of the Hungry for Love book blitz!   I don’t know whether it’s my Irish genes, or the fact that I married a Greek winemaker who can cook a spinach and cheese pie like a God, but food is my life. Thinking about it, shopping for it, cooking it, consuming it – I had all those bases well and truly covered, but it wasn’t but until I wrote “Dishing up Desire”, my latest release that I got to combine my love of writing romance and food. In fact, celebrity chef Kirin Hart, my heroine in “Dishing up Desire”,  is a little like me in that she’s combined her passions into a job and lifestyle she loves.

The one BIG difference between Kirin and me is that I hardly seem to have time to cook anymore – four kids and a whole lot of books to read and write will do that to you – so I’m always looking for one pot recipes and never fail cakes.

One of my all time favorite recipes is my “No Bleepin’ Time to Bake a Cake Cake”. I make it at least once a month and people are always asking me for the recipe.  It’s lemony, it’s delicious and it looks and tastes like something you’d get in a fabulous restaurant. Best of all, everything gets thrown into a food processor so there’s nothing complicated and it comes out great every time. I like to think that all that time I save making things like this the more time I have for reading great books!

The No Bleepin Time Cake

(Lemon Curd Cake) 

1 Cup shredded coconut4 eggs½ cup sugar½ cup melted butter¾ cup ground almondsGrated zest 1 lemonGrated zest 1 orange½ cup lemon juice1/2cup orange juice1 cup milk or yoghurt1 cup self raising flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C
Butter 23cm spring-form pan.
Place all ingredients in food processor and process til well combined. Pour into tin. Bake approx one hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream or yoghurt.

Delicious Excerpt:

Setup: Here the book opens with Blake Matthews – drop dead gorgeous ex-model and now PR guru – looking for Kirin Hart, America’s “fallen angel” celebrity chef. Blake has some very fixed ideas about the woman whose image he’s come to overhaul, but when he sees her for the first time, cooking in her commercial kitchen, he’s taken aback by the woman he finds.

At the end of the corridor he stopped in an open doorway.Behind a long stainless steel counter strewn with cooking paraphernalia, a woman had her back to him as she stirred something on an enormous industrial stove. He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, the low roar of overhead fans sucking away steam and allowing him to watch her unnoticed. He made the most of the sight.A loose blond ponytail, falling from beneath a small black hat, rested between narrow shoulders. His gaze tracked lower to where the strings of a black chef’s apron fell down the back of a plain tan skirt hugging a perfectly rounded bottom. He took a step into the room but still she worked, backward and forward. Her movements were sexily hypnotic—stirring and shuffling implements, occasionally dusting a hand across the curve of her hip—oblivious to the fact he couldn’t pull his eyes away.Still unaware of him, she leaned to the back of the stove, dipped a spoon into one of the pans, and steadying a hand beneath, lifted it to her face and blew. As she opened her mouth and slowly slid the spoon between dusky lips, the secret intimacy of it caused his stomach muscles to clench, and on reflex he cleared his throat. When she spun around, the spoon clattered to the floor, her moist mouth forming a perfect O.“Can I help you?” She reached for a cloth to clean up the liquid splattered across the counter and all down her front. “You must be lost.”He took a step into the room and slung a hand in his pocket. “Not lost. I was looking for you. Don’t stop what you’re doing, I was enjoying it.” He moved forward. “Blake—”“How did you get in? This is a restricted area.” Her eyes flicked to her apron and back at him, the creamy skin at her jaw tightening as she furiously wiped away the mess.
“Through the door.” He tried a grin and pulled his hand back but she dropped her gaze.
“But I have security.” She frowned as her lips formed a line.
The chilly reception wasn’t surprising. Angela Jenkins, the original consultant on this job, had described Kirin Hart as defensive and difficult—and that was before Kirin had told her to get the hell out and never come back. “Might want to check on that security.” He stepped around a stack of cardboard cartons. “I told your doorman who I was and he let me come straight down.”Finally, sparking caramel eyes focused on him and she stopped still. A mask slipped across the irritation she’d shown a moment ago and she gave a half-smile. “What can I do for you?”He pulled up an industrial looking stool and sat. “If you’re not going to continue cooking, best turn the stoves off. This could take a while.”She laid both hands on the counter and hooked him with a “give me orders if you dare” look as her chest rose then fell. “The expansion might’ve fallen through but I still need these new stoves.” The mask was edged with hard-assed determination and was even more of a turn on than watching her cook. Her tongue peeped out and she moistened her lips. “I’ll downsize the chillers, though, so you can take the large one in the next room. It was the last you sent.”She began to remove the apron and her body was revealed. A cream blouse in soft fabric skimmed her breasts and sat lightly across a gently rounded stomach. It had a V-neck but must have had two dozen tiny pearl buttons all down the front and reminded him of a particularly sadistic Sunday school teacher he’d once had.At her throat, a thin gold chain lay against her milky skin with the letter K in a flourishing script. “We won’t be needing the new office furniture you delivered last month either. You can take that back.” She waved a delicate hand and thin gold bracelets tinkled on her wrist. “I’m too busy to discuss this right now, though.” She turned back to the stove. “Make an appointment with my P.A. and she’ll coordinate with you. I’m sure you’ll find your way out.”He raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her ball-breaking attitude and the fact they’d had an entire conversation without him saying a word. 

About the Author

Barbara DeLeo’s first book, co-written with her best friend, was a story about beauty queens in space. She was eleven, and the sole, handwritten copy was lost years ago, much to everyone’s relief. It’s some small miracle that she kept the faith and is now living her dream of writing sparkling contemporary romance with unforgettable characters.

After completing degrees in Psychology and English then travelling the world, Barbara married her winemaker hero and had two sets of twins.

She still loves telling stories about finding love in all the wrong places, with not a beauty queen or spaceship in sight.

Find Barbara and her books here:

Website│Amazon│B&N│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Pinterest│iBookstore

***GIVEAWAY***

Grand Prize: (US only)

1-Cajun Wine Charm

1-Apron

4-inch mini icing spatula (great for frosting cupcakes or spreading just about anything), mini apple-shaped cutting board, microfiber dishrag.

International Giveaway:

$15 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by: