Cover Reveal: Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae

I'm very excited to be one of the blogs participating in this cover reveal! Wish You Were Italian is fun, flirty, and best of all, set in Italy! And now, without further ado, I present WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN by Kristin Rae.



Pippa always wanted to go to Italy, but not by herself. And not to sit in a classroom the summer before senior year learning about paintings by dead guys. Tempted by the romance of Rome and the chance to photograph ancient ruins, Pippa ditches the program and sets her own list of goals—get my picture taken at the Colosseum; get a makeover; fall in love with an Italian.

She befriends a local girl whose gorgeous cousin may be just the Italian Pippa’s looking for, but the road to amore gets detoured when she keeps running into a cute American student. And she can’t forget that her summer abroad is only temporary. As she explores the famous cities of Rome and Pompeii, Pippa must sort out her feelings before her parents figure out where she really is.



Want to know more about the story and its background? Check out these pictures and descriptions below!



They say it helps to write what you know, so I gave Pippa the same love of photography that I have. When I traveled to Italy in 2009, I took pictures of even the most obscure details, knowing I’d want to set a story there one day. I’m thankful I was so thorough because once this story idea came to me in April 2011, my memory of the trip wasn’t as fresh. I was able to sift through my photos and build Pippa’s summer with them, tossing in some of my own experiences. I’m actually jealous that Pippa spent so much more time in Italy than I did. She got to take so many more pictures!



It’s a dream come true for Pippa to photograph ancient ruins and historic monuments like the Colosseum, but quite a lot of the story takes place in a coastal region called Cinque Terre (“five lands” – pronounced CHING-kway TAY-ray). The views have to be seen to be believed, the food is the best I’ve ever eaten (it’s the birthplace of pesto!), and it’s ROMANTIC! You can even walk on a path between all five villages along the coast, shopping and sampling food in each. I think about going back there EVERY DAY.

About Kristin Rae

Kristin Rae was born and raised in Texas though her accent would suggest otherwise. She’s addicted to books, music, movies, crafty things, and chocolate. A former figure skating coach, LEGO merchandiser, and photographer, she’s now happy to create stories while pretending to ignore the carton of gelato in the freezer. Kristin lives in Houston with her husband and their two boxers.

Find Kristin Rae online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Book Trailer Reveal: Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

FOREPLAY
BY: Sophie Jordan
Published By: William Morrow
Release Date: Nov. 5, 2013

Goodreads Summary: Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs.

Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.

Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…



I'm very excited to be one of the blogs featuring this new book trailer! I'm sure this book will be fantastic (and hot!), and I can't wait to read it. Enjoy this excerpt from FOREPLAY below!

“There he is.” Emerson shook her head. “I can’t believe I gave him to you. He’s so damn hot.” She nudged me encouragingly and waggled one of her finely arched eyebrows. “You better climb all over that or I’m going to punch you. No backing down.”

I stood several yards back from the bar, tucked half behind Emerson as I scoped out the bartender undetected. Her words didn’t faze me. “You know the small matter of his interest in me, or lack of interest, might come into play.”

She looked back at me. “You’re kidding, right? You look good tonight. Better than most of these overdone peahens prancing around in here shaking their tail feathers his way. You’ve got something they don’t.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yes. You’ve got …” She paused, searching for the word. “… a freshness to you.”

I winced, feeling rather as if she'd just called me a "nice girl." I couldn’t seem to escape that moniker.

The bartender (I really needed to learn his name) wore another Mulvaney’s T-shirt. This one a soft-looking gray cotton with blue script across the chest. I had a flash of myself wearing that shirt and nothing else, wrapped up in his scent. Wrapped up in him. Sucking in a breath, I shook off the wicked image. Probably every girl who walked up to him entertained that fantasy—along with a few choice others that I probably didn’t need to visualize. That thought made me feel decidedly un-special. I had to somehow stand out from the rest of them, and I wasn’t convinced my freshness would do the trick.

He looked as good as ever if my memory served. Better. A body made for sin and a face that was too masculine to be beautiful, but the sight of it did something to me. Made me feel boneless and trembly all over.

“No backing down,” I echoed, my resolve still there, burning hot inside me, keeping me from turning and running out of the building.

It was just the two of us tonight. Georgia was off with Harris.

“Okay,” Em announced. “I think we’ve reconned long enough. Let’s move in.”

Her words sent a wave of panic washing through me. “It’s crowded …”

“It’s crowded every night. Unless you want to come stalk him on a Monday. Assuming he’s even working then.”

I shook my head. No. No more delays.

“Let’s go then. You should feel good. You look great.”

I glanced down. The jeans I wore belonged to Georgia. They were too tight, but Emerson said that was the whole point. You’ve got the perfect curves. Show them off. The blouse was Georgia’s, too. Various shades of orange and yellow. Very bohemian in style and flouncy. Emerson vowed that it went great with my hair. It was wide-necked, and every time I pulled it up over one shoulder, it slipped down the other one. Again, the whole point, according to Emerson.

As we inched toward the bar, Emerson shoved me in front of her. There were only three people working the counter, and we made certain to approach the side he was working.

I watched as he poured beer into a pitcher, admiring the flex of his bicep. His gaze lifted and scanned the bar, the way I’d noticed him do last night. Surveying, assessing the crowd. Maybe for trouble? Those pale blue eyes passed over me for a split second before jerking back.

He smiled crookedly. “Hey, it’s Nice Girl. How’s it going?”

“Nice girl?” Emerson hissed in my ear. “Okay, clearly you did not tell me everything about last night if he’s already given you a nickname!”

I elbowed her, unsure how to respond to his greeting. I smiled. “Hi.”

He handed off the pitcher, collected the money, and turned to me. “What can I get you?”

I ordered two longnecks. He glanced at Emerson. “ID?”

I watched her as she dug in her purse and pulled out her fake ID. When I looked back up it was to catch him looking at me. He looked away, giving her ID a cursory scan before moving to fetch our drinks.

“So hot,” Emerson muttered near my ear as he bent to grab them from the back chest. “And he was eyeing you. Did you see that?”

I shook my head, unconvinced, but my heart beat a hard rhythm in my chest.

“Slip him your number.”

My gaze swung to her. “What? Just like that?”

“Well, you’ll know if he’s interested by his reaction. Maybe he’ll call. Or he won’t. Either way, you can get this thing off the ground or move on to someone more receptive.”

I bit my lip, contemplating. The only problem was that I had decided it would be him. He would be my test subject. If he wasn’t receptive I didn’t feel like moving on—I didn’t want to. And where did that leave me?

Sighing, Emerson dug around in her purse.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, looking in his direction and confirming he was heading back our way.

Shaking her head, she pulled out an eyeliner pencil and snatched a thin square napkin off the stack sitting on the bar. Lightening fast, she scrawled my name and number.

I felt my eyes bulge. “Stop! No!” My hand dove for her arm, but she angled herself away from me, standing on her tiptoes and stretching out her arm.

“Here you go,” she called just as my fingers clamped down on her wrist.

“Em, no!”

Too late. I watched as long, masculine fingers took the napkin from her. My gaze followed that hand up to the bartender as he set our drinks down single-handedly. Bile rose up my throat.

I heard Emerson’s voice beside me as though from far away. “This is her number.”

Her. Me. The girl with the face as red as a tomato.

His gaze moved from the napkin to me. Those silvery blue eyes fixed on me. He flicked the napkin in my direction. “You want me to have this?”

He waited, his expression blank. The ball was in my court. Without giving me the slightest indication of whether he even wanted my number, he was asking me what I wanted.

I stammered out the words. "Uh, n-yes. Well, sure. Whatever.”

Lame. I felt like a thirteen-year-old girl. My face burned.

“She wants you to have it,” Emerson insisted from beside me.

If possible my face grew hotter. He leaned forward, setting his elbows on the bar, his gaze fastened on me with searing intensity. “Are you giving me this?”

Apparently whatever wasn’t going to work for him.

The air ceased to flow in and out of my lungs. I felt myself nod dumbly. Emerson elbowed me discreetly. “Yes,” finally spilled from my lips.

He straightened. Without another word, he slipped the napkin into his pocket, took the money that Emerson handed him for our drinks, and turned away to another customer.

With one hand on my arm, Emerson dragged me away. I risked another look back at the bar, searching for him among the multitude of heads bobbing up to the front of the counter for their drink order. I spotted him. He was pouring more beer, holding the lever down. But he wasn’t looking at what he was doing. He was looking at me.



And now the moment you have been waiting for: the book trailer!





~ GIVEAWAY ~

Sophie is hosting a FOREPLAY Extravaganza Giveaway! You can find more details about that HERE.

Blog Tour: Reclaimed by Sarah Guillory

RECLAIMED
By: Sarah Guillory Release Date: Oct. 15, 2013 Published By: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Goodreads Summary: Jenna Oliver doesn’t have time to get involved with one boy, let alone two.

All Jenna wants is to escape her evaporating small town and her alcoholic mother. She's determined she'll go to college and find a life that is wholly hers—one that isn't tainted by her family's past. But when the McAlister twins move to town and Jenna gets involved with both of them, she learns the life she planned may not be the one she gets.

Ian McAlister doesn't want to start over; he wants to remember.

Ian can’t recall a single thing from the last three months—and he seems to be losing more memories every day. His family knows the truth, but no one will tell him what really happened before he lost his memory. When he meets Jenna, Ian believes that he can be normal again because she makes not remembering something he can handle.

The secret Ian can’t remember is the one Luke McAlister can’t forget.

Luke has always lived in the shadow of his twin brother until Jenna stumbles into his life. She sees past who he’s supposed to be, and her kiss brings back the spark that life stole. Even though Luke feels like his brother deserves her more, Luke can’t resist Jenna—which is the trigger that makes Ian's memory return.

Jenna, Ian, & Luke are about to learn there are only so many secrets you can keep before the truth comes to reclaim you.



~ GUEST POST ~

I'm very excited to have Sarah Guillory here today, talking about her fabulous book Reclaimed. If contemporary books are your thing, or even if they aren't, this is one book you don't want to miss. Please take a few minutes to read what Sarah had to say about finding ideas for her books!

Where Do Ideas Come From?

Sometimes, when mommies and daddies really love each other – oops, wrong explanation.

Ahem.

That’s the very first question anyone ever asks me when they find out I have a book coming out. Okay, I’m lying. The very first question anyone asks me is if I’m going to quit teaching. (Ah, non-publishing people who think that penning a book is equivalent to winning the lottery. Bless their hearts.)

So I guess it’s usually the second question, but everyone always wants to know where I get my ideas. I don’t blame them. I wondered the same thing before I started writing regularly. But as most writers know, it’s not getting ideas that’s the problem. It’s shutting them off.

The idea for Reclaimed came from two separate dreams months apart. I know – how cliché. But it really is true. Several years ago I dreamt I was kissing my husband when another man (in my dream it was his twin brother and my fiancé, though in real life my husband has only sisters) walked in. It was at this point that I realized I was with the wrong brother.

And an idea was born.

I didn’t know what to do with this idea. I put it aside but never far away, dreamed up a million crappy ways to tell it, then moved on. Finally, I had another dream, and this was when I knew how to write Reclaimed. (No, I won’t tell you that dream. Spoilers.)

Except when I first envisioned my story, my characters were in college. And it was only told from the boys’ POV. My girl character was a plot device, and I hated that version. Luckily, I only ever started working it out in my head. When Jenna finally came to me, I knew I had the story I wanted to tell.

I have a notebook of stories I want to tell. I just finished revisions on the first of a trilogy. I’m outlining a secret project that I started working on over a year ago. I have the first paragraph of a novel I tried to write three years ago but wasn’t ready to just yet. I have enough ideas to not ever have another one (God forbid) and still keep me busy for the next ten years.

If you follow my blog, you know just how often I compare writing and running. They are both things I do daily, and there are so very many similarities between the two. I’ve run six marathons, and let me tell you, you won’t ever run a marathon if you don’t start running. You can sit around and dream of crossing that finish line, but until you lace up your shoes and actually get out on the road, it will remain only a wish. The same is true for writing. Ideas are a process too, and unless you are writing, those ideas won’t come. So write about anything and nothing. Let your brain wander. Start a scene with a giraffe and let the words meander along until you have turned it into a space opera. Just write. If you do that, I promise you, the ideas will come.

And then you’ll just have to figure out how to find the time to write them all.

Find Sarah Guillory Online:
Author Website | Author Blog | Goodreads | Twitter



Don't miss a single stop on the Reclaimed blog tour!

October 1 - Book Review - Jenuine Cupcake Blogspot
October 2 - Book Review - WhoRuBlog
October 3 - Author Interview - Queen Ella Bee
October 4 - Book Review - K-Books
October 5 - Guest Post - A Dream Within A Dream
October 6 - Guest Post - Wastepaper Prose
October 7 - Guest Post - Supernatural Snark
October 8 - Author Interview - A Book and a Latte
October 9 - Book Review - Fiction Fare
October 10 - Author Interview - Met In Eleven
October 11 - Guest Post - Book Savvy
October 12 - Guest Post - Reading Lark
October 13 - Guest Post - Portrait of a Book
October 14 - Character Interview & Review - Swoony Boys Podcast