Chance for Rain by Tricia Downing - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Tricia Downing and her new book, “Chance for Rain”!  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 Tricia and to increase your chances of winning!

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

Chance for Rain

by Tricia Downing

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GENRE: Chick Lit/Romance

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BLURB:

Elite athlete Rainey Abbott is an intense competitor on the outside, but inside, she feels a daunting apprehension about her chances of finding true love. Her life as a downhill skier and race car driver keeps her on the edge, but her love life is stuck in neutral. A tragedy from her past has left her feeling insecure and unlovable.

Now that she’s in her thirties, Rainey’s best friend Natalie insists she take a leap and try online dating. Rainey connects with brian85 and becomes cautiously hopeful as a natural attraction grows between them. Fearful a face to face meeting could ruin the magic, Rainey enlists Natalie to scheme up an encounter between the two where Brian is unaware he is meeting his online mystery woman. Rainey is left feeling both guilty about the deception and disappointed by something Brian says.

When they finally meet in earnest, Rainey’s insecurities threaten to derail the blossoming romance. As she struggles with self-acceptance, she reveals the risks we all must take to have a chance for love.

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EXCERPT TWO:

“Sometimes going shopping is work,” Natalie announces as we head back to her house after a morning at the mall. “You can’t be creative when you’ve been jammed up in an office for five hours. You have to get out for new ideas to come to you.”

“I love how you can rationalize almost any of life’s indulgences,” I say. Nat turns and winks in response to my playful smirk.

“Life is too short to deny yourself all self-indulgent behavior.” The words hang in the air slightly, as we both know it was an off-handed comment, but our minds go immediately back to the event that reinforces her words.

“Yes, life is short.” I say this in a way that reassures her that her comment was taken in the spirit it was said, rather than meant to dredge up bad memories. Though I can’t help but elaborate on the subject. “Do you realize I’m only six years shy of my mom’s age at the time of the accident?”

“Yep,” Nat answers a bit too quickly. “I do. And I also realize something else. Your mom was thirty-eight, married to the love of her life and had two charming young girls.” I quickly realize I have given her the perfect segue into a lecture that has been constructed, rehearsed, and delivered to me many times in many different iterations over the past ten years. Now, as if she is attempting an intervention while we drive down Colorado Boulevard, Natalie blurts out, “Rainey, it’s about time we found you a man.”

       

“Why? Are you getting tired of hanging out with me?”

“It’s not that,” she says. “It’s just. That. It’s time,” the words spit out of her mouth. It’s obvious she wants to punctuate her points. “You can’t keep running away from it. You’re an incredible catch—beautiful and charming to be around. Athletic. Everything most girls would die to be.”

I know she is keenly aware of my resistance, but I get the feeling she isn’t going to fall for it today. But I also can’t ignore my feelings or my truth.

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GUEST POST:

Create a playlist of your favorite music that you like to listen to while you write or create a playlist of songs that inspired your latest book:

I am a sap to my very core. Give me a good love story and I will fawn over it all day long. Forget the chocolate, the roses or grand gestures. I thrive on experiencing all the feels!

Thanks to Spotify for being my go-to for listening tunes to get me in the headspace to dream up scenes and to create my best version of a love affair. While I’m writing, I generally need silence as I am crafting the actual story itself, but when you need to be whisked off to a beach or ski mountain far away, the best way to get there is music.

I have compiled a playlist of my favorites that I use to prepare for writing or to fall asleep at night as my husband is snoring (gently) beside me.

Because I believe that songs can be so great at setting the mood, telling a story or sending secret messages to the one you love, my characters create the original soundtrack of their relationship. Brian57 (his screen name) and Rainey meet through an online dating website: mfeo.com (Made For Each Other). Rainey chooses this method of finding her Mr. Right because she has a secret, she fears, that makes her unlovable. But online she feels open and honest. Over the weeks, they come to share many things, among them, their favorite tunes.

As for my favorite music, or the songs I listened to, to personify the feelings behind Rainey and Brian’s romance, here are a few from my “Summer Love” titled playlist: 

When You’re Gone ~ Avril Lavigne

Speechless ~ Dan + Shay

Never Gonna Let You Down ~ Colbie Caillat

We Belong Together ~ Mariah Carey

Can’t We Try ~ Dan Hill, Vonda Shepard

Wanna Be That Song ~ Brett Eldredge

If Ever You’re in My Arms Again ~ Peabo Bryson

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AUTHOR BIO:

Paralympian, Speaker, Author, Disability Advocate

On September 17, 2000, Tricia Downing went from being a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic requiring a wheelchair for mobility. Her life was changed forever, but Tricia’s competitive spirit and zest for life continued on. Making the transition from able-bodied cyclist to an athlete with a disability, Tricia has completed over 100 races, including marathons and triathlons, since her accident. She was the first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon and qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championship twice. Additionally, she was a member of Team USA at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Tricia’s professional life has been immersed in sports as she earned a master’s degree in Sport Management in 1995 and worked at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was the press officer for the USA Table Tennis team at the 1996 Olympic Games.

She has received many sports accolades, including the USA Triathlon Physically Challenged Athlete of the Year (2003), Sportswomen of Colorado—Inspiration (’03), Triathlon (’05), Hall of Fame (’12) Awards, the 2006 Most Inspirational Athlete from the Challenged Athletes Foundation and the 2008 Courage Award from the Tempe Sports Authority.

As a community leader and disability advocate, she was a member of the 2013 class of the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction. She also received the 2019 Inspiration Award from Craig Hospital for outstanding community contribution from a Craig Hospital “graduate.” (Craig is a world-renowned spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital) Tricia has truly excelled despite her life-altering injury.

In addition to her sports pursuits, Tricia has taken an active leadership role in her community as a peer mentor to others experiencing spinal cord injuries, she founded Camp Discovery (and subsequently The Cycle of Hope non-profit) dedicating 10 years to helping female wheelchair users gain confidence and self-esteem through a yearly sports and fitness retreat. Additionally, she serves on the board of USA Shooting, which is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of shooting.

Tricia published her memoir: Cycle of Hope—A Journey from Paralysis to Possibility in June 2010, with the second edition released in January 2017. In August of 2018, she published her first fiction novel Chance for Rain.

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CONNECT WITH TRICIA:

Website:

https://www.triciadowning.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RedefiningAble

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/redefiningable

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/redefiningable

Instagram:

https://instagram.com/redefiningable

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RedefiningAble

LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/triciadowning

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tricia-downing

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/chance-for-rain-a-novel-by-tricia-downing

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4117803.TRICIA_DOWNING

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41046994-chance-for-rain

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2JrJW7Y

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/2BZyRH7

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2MPJ7Ys

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chance-for-rain-tricia-downing/1129236522

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Chance-for-Rain-Tricia-Downing/9780998430232

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/product/A15556966606

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Tricia will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N 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 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.