Meadows Shore Series by Eva Charles - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Eva Charles and her new book series, “Meadows Shore Series”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $75 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card.  Also, come back daily to interact with Eva and to increase your chances of winning! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this exciting giveaway!

 

Meadows Shore Series

by Eva Charles

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

Prepare to fall in love with the Claytons and Harringtons and their rich Portuguese heritage. A Wedding at Meadows Shore is the first book in the series. In it, you’ll meet the family and visit their beloved Meadows Shore nestled along the moody Atlantic in the charming seaside town of Fair Harbor.

It all begins with Sophie’s story, where she discards the past and learns to trust herself and others. The series follows the lives of her sisters and cousins while they, too, sort through their baggage and fall in love. Travel with them on their romantic journeys, stopping in rural Minnesota, New Orleans, and other enchanted places along the way.

They are wealthy and powerful, but suffer pain and loss much like the rest of us. Even great privilege can't shield them from those experiences. But despite their wealth and power, I think you'll find them approachable and down-to-earth—or as Cole Harrington would say: “We put our pants on one leg at a time, same as everybody else.”

There's an old Portuguese adage, "the rooster crows loudly, but it’s the hen who’s in charge.” And so it is with the Claytons and Harringtons: strong women, alpha males, and of course, Avó Angelina, the family matriarch who keeps them all on their best behavior.

Bem vindo à família, Welcome to the family!

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EXCERPT ONE:

A Wedding at Meadows Shore:

His voice took on a husky, seductive quality. “The women I date aren’t interested in my body, Sophie. What interests them is how I pleasure their bodies.”

She stared deep into his icy blue eyes and snickered.

Max never missed even the smallest of details. They were often the difference between success and getting your hat handed to you. Tonight, he noticed Sophie’s eyes betray her, even as she mocked him. Her pupils were dilated, the rich, whiskey-colored irises nearly overtaken by black. I have her attention.

Embolden by her body’s reaction, he took a step closer. He was so close that if she’d been breathing, her breath would’ve warmed his skin. “I can bring much more to your bed than my father does. So…much…more…” He drew out the words, emphasizing each in a voice that oozed sex. “And though I’m not an easy man to impress, I’m sure you’d have no trouble persuading me to finance your agency. None at all,” he drawled.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, maybe two. The air was charged. The silence dangled between them like a ripe peach, fragrant and swollen, tempting the weakest among them to reach for it first.

“What do you think?” he asked softly, ending the silence.

While waiting for her response, a calculated kind of wait, he resisted the urge to lift his hand and run his fingers through the strands of hair that’d come loose, softly framing her face.

“I think you really are an ass.”

With that, she turned and walked away. Leaving him to gape at her magnificent back.     

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GUEST POST:

Romancing the Writer: How to Make Readers Fall in Love With Your Characters

A thin plot, too many flowery adjectives, even a misplaced comma or two, readers are often willing to look past flaws in a novel if they fall in love with the characters. But how does an author create loveable, believable characters?

I write contemporary romance with a hero and a heroine, and while there is always a central love story, family, friends, and co-workers play an important role in all my books, too. There are some who would prefer me to spend more of my words on the main characters and their budding relationship, and fewer on the supporting cast. And maybe I should, but I can’t seem to.

Just as in real life, supporting characters help create multi-dimensional heroes and heroines, adding layers of yummy filling and nuance to their stories. They also allow us a glimpse of how a main character behaves out in the world, which is often a bit different than how they behave in private with their newfound love. This broad perspective, I believe, brings characters to life and sows the seeds for an intimate relationship with readers.

Think of how uninspired your own life story would be if you were perfect, and spent all your time hidden away with only your equally perfect significant-other for company. Yes, it’s Aunt Martha, reminding you yet again, that you need to stop being so picky about the men you date, and your sister who never gets off her butt when there’s work to do, that make your life richer. Try to keep this tidbit in mind if you spend the holidays with family, it’ll save you from refilling your wine glass too often.

In the novel I’m currently writing, the hero, Gabe, not only has family and friends to help us get to know him better, but he also has a dog. Gabe does a very, very bad thing in the story—so bad, that he might be the top contender this year for the Men Behaving Badly annual award. About a third of the way through the novel, I suspect readers will suddenly hate him (no, he doesn’t cheat on the heroine)—though I don’t want them to hate with a vengeance. What I want is for readers to see him as he is, as we all are, flawed, but with many redeeming qualities.

To accomplish this precarious balance, I spent the first third of the novel making him a likable character, and I gave him an adorable rescue dog that he cares a lot about. Gabe’s relationship with his dog, Virgil, puts his humanity on full display. It lets us see a complex man, one who’s a nurturer, unselfish, and loving. I hope that this is enough for readers to eventually forgive him.

Because I’m more of a pantser than a plotter, I allow my characters a great deal of freedom, and I never know exactly where they’re going to take the story. Sometimes they behave predictably, following familiar patterns, and at other times, they surprise me. But as long as they show me who they really are, warts and all, I fall in love with them over and over, and I hope you will too.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Eva Charles is the author of the multi-titled Meadows Shore Series chronicling the lives and loves of the Clayton-Harrington family. She invites you to visit their beloved Meadows Shore, nestled in the charming seaside town of Fair Harbor, where you’ll enjoy love, laughter, loyalty, and an abundance of mouth-watering food, Portuguese style.

After being a confirmed city-girl for more than thirty-five years, Eva moved to beautiful western Massachusetts in 2014. There, she found herself living in the woods with no job, no friends (unless you count the turkeys, deer, and coyotes roaming the backyard), and no children underfoot, wondering what on earth she’d been thinking. But as it turned out, it was the perfect setting to take all those yarns spinning in her head and weave them into a romantic tale.

When she’s not writing, trying to squeeze information out of her tight-lipped sons or playing with the two cutest dogs you’ve ever seen, Eva’s creating chapters in her own love story.

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CONNECT WITH EVA:

Website:

https://www.evacharles.com

Amazon Author Page: 

https://www.amazon.com/Eva-Charles/e/B0140FZ442

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/evacharlesauthor/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14223913.Eva_Charles

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AMAZON BUY LINKS:

A Wedding at Meadows Shore: Sophie’s Story 
(Meadows Shore Book 1):

http://amzn.to/2cXKJzM

My Sweetest Sasha: Cole’s Story 
(Meadows Shore Book 2):

http://amzn.to/2czuabq

Petite Madeleine: Drew’s Story 
(Meadows Shore Book 3):

http://amzn.to/2d0F1t0

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Eva Charles will be awarding a $75 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.