Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Melody
DeBlois and her new book, “That April in Santa Monica”! 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 Melody
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
That April in Santa Monica
by Melody DeBlois
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
Madison
receives acclaim for running a talent agency for people with disabilities, but
she doesn't know how to take care of herself. When her altruism becomes
life-threatening—a matter of either develop healthy habits or die—she joins a
reality TV show that pairs her with hot, raven-haired Brandon. He is witty,
sexy, and her teacher. That makes him off limits.
After
a successful run on a soap opera, Brandon stepped away from empty fame and now
focuses on his work as TV's most noted health teacher. He has one fast
rule—never fall for a student. But when he meets Madison, their chemistry is
combustible. There's no hiding their conflict or their attraction, especially
when it's all caught on film.
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EXCERPT TWO:
“Okay,”
he said, stretching forward on his mat and lying on his six-pack of a belly.
She
lay opposite him, turned her face, and rested it on her mat, shutting her eyes.
“Maybe I’ll just chill for a spell.”
“Not
so fast. Now lift the upper part of your body in cobra position.”
“Say
what? You want me to impersonate the national snake of India?”
He
was opposite her on his mat so that they were facing one another. A little too
close. Her heartbeat? So not at ease. He began to demonstrate, the show off
with his spectacular pecs and deltoids oiled and coconut-scented. If someone
snapped his picture, they could put it in a how-to book. A perfect pose, no
less.
“You
can do this, Madison.”
There
it was, all that confidence he had in her—much more than she had in herself.
She edged forward off the mat and groaned as she lifted her upper body.
He
gave her instructions. “Weave the spine back and forth. Straighten your arms.
Breathe. Widen your chest. Breathe. Raise your collar bones and look at the
sky. Breeeaaathe. That’s it!” Was he staring at her cleavage? “You’re getting
the hang of it.”
She
didn’t have the strength and collapsed; her face buried in the beach. She came
up spitting pebbles from her mouth. “Laugh at me, and I’ll make you pay.”
He
brushed the sand from her cheeks with the balls of his fingers. “I wouldn’t
think of it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Describe Your Book Cover and How It Came About:
They
say don’t judge a book by the cover, but we all do. That’s why when I first saw
the cover art for That April in Santa Monica I fell head over heels in
love with it. I knew it would attract attention. It’s the sort of book cover
that boasts, “Just try to take your eyes off me.”
The
funny thing is, when I approached the talented Diana Carlile with my initial
idea for a cover design, I wanted the hero and heroine sitting back to back in
lotus position on the beach. Soon, though, I came across her award-winning book
cover Six Geese for Monica by Brenda Gayle. It was part of the Twelve
Brides of Christmas series, and, to me, it was romance made visible. In a
swirl of blue and white, it draws you in to the sight of a woman, her wedding
gown billowing, as she chases a half a dozen geese. Thinking it picture
perfect, I changed my mind.
I
told Diana I wanted a book cover that did what Six Geese for Monica had
done. It exemplified love in all its beauty and enchantment. I sent her book
covers in shades of blues and whites. I told her I wished for an illustration
that brought to mind the great love stories like Somewhere in Time. If
she had listened to me, there would have been a man and a woman and a dog and
God knows what else on the cover. Maybe she saw through my mistakes to the
image of that single woman.
I
still don’t know if Diana read the book before picking up a paint brush, but
when I saw it, I gasped. The colors weren’t blue and white. The hero was MIA,
and so was the dog. In my heart, I realized this said That April in Santa
Monica better than anything else could. I grinned with joy and immediately
shot her email telling her how much I loved it, I absolutely did.
Granted,
it was a winner. The real kicker, though? When I was checking the final
galleys, I caught myself glancing back and saying, “Yep, there it is, the scene
Diana used.” This happened so many times, I lost count. Somehow, Diana had
captured the essence of what my story looks like.
We
all use an illustration on a cover to connect with the book. I like to think it
was serendipity that led to the creation of such a crowd-pleaser. Let’s face
it, though, a book cover is as good as the artist, and I am very thankful for
mine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Born
in California, award winning author, Melody DeBlois follows
the sun. When she isn’t swimming laps, she’s writing sweet and sassy romances.
Her heroines are self-reliant and smart and her heroes are kind by nature and
love dogs. She lives in California during the summer and spends winters in
Arizona with her husband. She has plotted her novels while hiking the beach or
trekking across the desert. Her most treasured possession is family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH MELODY:
Website:
Blog:
Email:
MelodyDebloisBooks@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Pinterest:
Instagram:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Melody 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.
Melody ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me today, and welcome to all of you readers. This is exciting! Your website is so pleasing to the eye and colorful--I love it!:)
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI love the peaceful and powerful cover and I am excited to read this book and learn the story of Madison!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tracie! I hope you enjoy the read like your best vacation!:)
DeleteThe book cover is gorgeous and the blurb and excerpt are intriguing. This sounds like a must read for me. Thank you for sharing your book and author details.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Bea. I am so happy you find the book cover and blub intriguing. I hope you enjoy the book!:)
DeleteThank you for taking the time to share your terrific book with us. I enjoyed reading about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, James! I'm glad you enjoyed reading about it.:)
DeleteAbsolutely love the cover and excerpt, Melody! Wishing you all the best with your new release!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your kind words, Mary!:)
DeleteI like the cover
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gwendolyn!:)
DeleteBeautiful cover, I love the colors!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria!:)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita!:)
DeleteThis book sounds like a fantastic read. Pretty cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbie. I hope you enjoy the read:)
DeleteGood luck with the release!
ReplyDelete--Trix
Thank you, Trix:)
DeleteHow long did it take to write your book?
ReplyDeleteI wrote the first draft during the NaNoWriMo. After that month in November, I had 55,000 words. It took me a year or more of layering and polishing. Thank you for asking, Bernie:)
ReplyDeleteAlly, thank you so very much for hosting me on your blog. I had a fabulous time checking in and finding new comments. I am in awe at how beautiful and well-designed your site is. Thanks again!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dale!:)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cali!:)
ReplyDeleteReading the excerpt has got me hungry for more... Can't wait to read your book in it's entirety!
ReplyDeleteI would love to read your book.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to read this book!
ReplyDeletepretty cover, I need to read this
ReplyDeleteSounds so good Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis gives the feel of a light, happy read and I'm hoping that's what it'll be :) CAn't wait for its release
ReplyDeleteHere's to super Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy FRI-YAY!
ReplyDelete