Welcome to FAB Lovelies!

A Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from fashion to beauty; fitness to weight loss; recipes to coupons; books to movies; travels to entertainment; and everything in between.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

The Perfect Lap by Sedona Hutton - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hey, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Sedona Hutton and her new book, “The Perfect Lap”!  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 $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Sedona and to increase your chances of winning!

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


The Perfect Lap
by Sedona Hutton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

His job is to drive fast. Hers is to put the brakes on him. When sparks fly, will love cross the finish line?

AJ Ryan is a publicity nightmare. After a questionable photo surfaces and his biggest sponsor threatens to pull out, the NASCAR champion admits it might be time to hit the brakes. Thankfully, his new no-nonsense image consultant knows just where to start… too bad she revs his engine so loudly he can barely think straight.

Ella Fisher’s career is a welcome distraction from her poor taste in men. Fresh off another easily avoidable heartbreak, rehabbing AJ’s career is just the diversion she needs. But when the pulse-pounding client actually listens to her advice, Ella wonders if there’s more to the man behind the hot mess.

When Ella is granted guardianship of three boisterous children under the misconception that she and AJ are a couple, AJ surprises her by going along with the charade. Before long they find themselves in a make-shift family that feels more real than pretend.

As their professional relationship takes a hard turn for the personal, a single overheard conversation could make it all go up in flames. Will Ella and AJ’s romance hit the wall, or will love take the checkered flag?

The Perfect Lap is the second standalone novel in the Racing Hearts of Serenity romance series. If you like bad boys with a heart of gold, strong women, and love stories with a new age twist, then you’ll adore Sedona Hutton’s fun, sexy tale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

“I bet you have a beautiful smile,” he drawled, then lowered his mouth to hers.

She should have pulled away—she didn’t know this man from Adam. But everything inside her protested. After gazing into each other’s eyes, she felt like she knew him intimately.

His lips were warm and tingly, his kiss pure perfection…and he drew back way too quickly. He blinked those deep blue eyes and gave her a lazy grin. “I knew it.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. “Beautiful.”

That’s when she realized she was smiling.

He rose, and she gave him a quick once over, taking in the sexy stubble on his face, the taut muscles of his chest, his lean physique. As good old-fashioned lust rolled through her like a quick-moving thunderstorm, she silently bemoaned her situation. This was a hell of a time to have a newly implemented man-ban.

“Keep smiling.” Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he winked at her. “It suits you,” he added in that low, sexy drawl. Then he sauntered off.

Her breath caught as she spun around to gape at him. He’d just kissed her and now he was leaving? She contemplated calling him back, then reconsidered. She had other fish to fry.

Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from tracking his every move as he swaggered toward the party, his backside looking every bit as fine as the rest of him. Pressing a hand to her chest, she let out a slow exhale. Even though she was one-hundred percent committed to her man-ban, she could admit—at least to herself—that the sexy, charming stranger had intrigued her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

Traditional Romance Blended with New Age Spirituality

Looking for a romance novel or a spiritual book—why not try a blend of both?

I love reading spiritual books that offer personal inspiration and transformation. The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire by Deepak Chopra, The Ten Commitments by David Simon, and Ask And It is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks are among my favorites.

While I enjoy these books, it takes me a long time to finish reading them because I need to process the outlined ideas and ponder how I might integrate what I learned in my life. Years ago, while contemplating this, an inspiration formed. I could write fictional stories about real characters with real issues and imbed spiritual concepts to show how they might work in real-life situations.

These days, I doing just that! I’m blending traditional romance and women’s fiction with new age spirituality. In a recent guest blog post, Laurie Sander’s described my blended genre as follows:

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the inspirational romance category. Some of you probably read it and maybe even write it. I enjoy inspirational romance and count authors like Karen Witemeyer and Autumn Macarthur among my favorites. And have I blogged about Karen’s book The Short Straw Bride over here.

But what Sedona Hutton is doing is different from the inspirational romance that we know and love. Sedona is blazing new trails by blending traditional romance with new age spirituality. What’s emerging is a unique blend of romance and spirituality with themes like The Law of Attraction – being present – being in the now – that I’m really enjoying. The books are spiritually uplifting with fully developed romance plots and enough heat between the sheets to keep you turning the pages.

Focus on the Now


47% of waking hours are spent thinking about what isn’t going on!
Focusing on the present moment is a key theme in my contemporary romance novel, NORA’S PROMISE.

It sounds simple, but for most of us, living in the now requires practice and ongoing awareness. A Harvard study found that people spend 47% of their waking hours thinking about what isn’t going on. It’s human nature to spend time dwelling in the past or worrying about the future. Unfortunately, this isn’t good for us. The Harvard study shows that this mind-wandering makes people unhappy.

“A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind,” says Killingsworth and Gilbert, professors of psychology at Harvard. “The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.”

“Mind-wandering is an excellent predictor of people’s happiness,” Killingsworth says. “In fact, how often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.”

Increased happiness is an excellent reason to focus on the now. According to spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, the only time we’re truly alive is in the present moment. Not in the past…not in the future…we live our lives in the now.

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”  ~ Eckhart Tolle

“When we live in the flow of that stream of energy, we remain centered and fulfilled even through the ups and downs of our day.”  ~ Deepak Chopra

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Living in the now allows us to savor the simple moments in life. It increases joy, reduces stress, and enhances our connection with others.

The greatest obstacle of presence is the mind. Mind-wandering is our brain’s default approach. Given this, we must be conscious of our thoughts and recognize when we’re not fully present. Once this acknowledgement takes place, there are many ways in which one can re-connect with the present moment. Several suggestions are provided below:

An age-old tip is to focus on your breathing. Bringing your attention to your breath reduces the number of thoughts running through your mind and opens space for awareness of what’s going on inside and around you.

Consciously move your body. Wiggle your toes, fist and release your hands. Roll your neck. It’s amazing how these simple movements return your attention to the now.

Ask yourself, “Am I present?” If not, redirect your focus. Ask this question many times throughout the day…and over time you’ll likely find an upward trend of, “Yes!” responses.

Focus on your immediate surroundings using your senses. Listen to the birds chirping. Gaze at the mountains. Feel the sun warming your skin. Breathe in the scent of pine. Cup your hands around a mug of tea; feel its warmth and draw in the delicious spices.

Now it’s your turn—what techniques do you use to refocus or to remain focused on the present moment?

Recommended Reading:

The Power of Now-A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle:

The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire
by Deepak Chopra:

The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now
by Thich Nhat Hanh:

The Ten Commitments
by Dr. David Simon:

Ask And It is Given
by Esther & Jerry Hicks:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:


Author Sedona Hutton finds inspiration in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and curly-coated retriever. In addition to writing, she’s a Reiki Master and a certified Chopra Center Meditation instructor. She enjoys reading, yoga, gardening, and experiencing the great outdoors on boats, motorcycles, and Jeeps. Sedona pens a “Peace, Love, & Joy” blog on her website. Visit her at www.SedonaHutton.com, Twitter @SedonaHutton, Facebook @SedonaHuttonAuthor, and Instagram @SedonaHutton.

Sedona’s debut novel, Cloud Whispers, was a Finalist in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Contest, an Official Selection in the 2018 Summer eBook Awards for New Apple Literary, and Shortlisted for the Books Go Social Best Book of 2018.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH SEDONA:

Website:

Blog:

Email:

Facebook:

Twitter:

Instagram:

BookBub Author Page:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

Amazon Paperback:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Sedona will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is 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.

11 comments:

  1. Hi James - thanks for stopping by the tour. I hope you're having a fabulous week! Sedona

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ally - Thank you so much for hosting this tour stop for THE PERFECT LAP and for my guest blog. I appreciate you including me on your amazing Fabulous & Brunette site! :) Sedona

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning everyone! Sedona here...I would love to answer any questions you may have about The Perfect Lap or related to my blog topics. Any thoughts or ideas on how to stay focused on the present moment? Sedona

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm looking forward to reading this one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What book do you wish you had written?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bernie - Great question! I would say The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, since that's one of my favorite books of all time, and I found it very thought-provoking. Otherwise, anything by Jill Shalvis. I love the writing style, humor, and romance in all of her stories. Thanks for stopping by the tour - Sedona

      Delete
  6. Thanks, Victoria. I hope you enjoy it! :) Sedona

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm definitely adding this book to my reading list.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This sounds soo good!! i love the cover

    ReplyDelete