The Shoe Diaries by Darby Baham - Book Tour - Book Review - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Darby Baham and her new book, “The Shoe Diaries,” here on FAB!!  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 Darby and to increase your chances of winning!!

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

The Shoe Diaries

The Friendship Chronicles

Book One

by Darby Baham

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

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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

BLURB:

It’s never too late to put your best foot forward.

From the outside, Reagan “Rae” Doucet has it all: a coveted career in Washington, DC, a tight circle of friends and a shoe closet to die for. When one of her crew falls ill, however, Rae is done playing it safe. The talented but unfulfilled writer makes a “risk list” to revamp her life. But forgiving her ex, Jake Saunders, might be one risk too many…

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

The Friendship Chronicles/Book 1: The Shoe Diaries

"Reminiscent of Sex and the City and the Shopaholic series in the best possible way. Her stories are a lot of fun and yet she still tugs at your heartstrings."

~ Gail Chasan, Special Edition Editor

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

EXCERPT TWO:

Love of Shoes

October 28, 2019

“It was barely 7:00 a.m. when I heard my alarm blasting the sounds of Nicki Minaj’s “Pound the Alarm.” “Not yet, Alexa.” Groggy and yearning for at least five more minutes of sleep, I stretched my arm over the length of my bed and pressed down on the snooze button with my eyes still closed. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get up, necessarily; it was just that the cocoon of my comforter in my queen-size bed felt so much better than whatever could have been waiting for me outside it. I pulled the cover over my head as an extra protection against the sun.

“Pound the alarm!”

“Agh!” I screamed out as it went off once more.  “Fine, fine. I’m up now.”

The music still blaring, I finally acquiesced and rolled myself out of bed, one leg coming free from my cover cocoon, then the next, and made my way to my closet for what had become my daily routine: pick out shoes for the day, figure out the outfit that goes best with them, take a shower and then, of course, post my #shoeoftheday photo to Instagram before heading to work. Conveniently, I passed right over the red pumps that spelled disaster for me the night before. “Hmm, now what do I feel like wearing today?” I questioned, dancing to my closet and scanning all the shoes I own with my eyes, from my flats to my heels, boots to sneakers, in every color one can imagine. They were all intricately displayed on the shelves—heels facing out to show the length and style of the pump, flats facing forward to make it easier for me to see if it was a peep toe, curved toe, pointed toe, or square. “Oooh, these!” Something about my deep red, almost maroon peep-toe heels from BCBG caught my eyes, and I knew they were the ones for the day. The shoes were adorned with a silver buckle on the side of each peep toe and would go perfectly with my red-and pink floral blouse, black pencil skirt and peplum blazer to match. It was amazing how the rest of an outfit could come together for me once I picked out the shoes, and today was no exception. These might even be the ones to help me finally convince my boss to let me do the article I’d been pitching to him for months. Excited about my choices, I laid them out on my bed and hopped in the shower, continuing my best rap impressions as my playlist toggled through my favorite female rappers.

*

It was 9:00 a.m. when I walked into work at Washington, D.C.’s premier political news online magazine, my heels clacking on the linoleum floors they must have purchased just to make it that much easier for women to alert everyone of their comings and goings in the office. Seated at her desk already was my always-early, no-holds-barred freckle twin, and the best IT specialist in the office, Rebecca, her reddish-blond hair pulled up into a loose bun and a smile on her face the size of a kid in a candy store. “So…” she said, dragging out her first word. “Tell me about last night.”

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

MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is a fun-loving, exciting, intriguing, sexy romance, filled with inspiring, complex characters, and amusing story lines, and I did mention the drool-worthy closet of shoes?!

This book screams Sex and the City similarities, and well yes, there are of course many parallels, the author was able to create her own unique spin on the story line.

Fabulous shoes, fast paced Washington D.C. backdrop, well-developed, likable characters, taking risks, overcoming obstacles, and second chance romances – what’s not to love about this book?!

This book follows the main character, Reagan, aka Rae, a talented online journalist who writes about political and social issues – so Washington D.C. right?!  While Rae dreams of wanting more to her life and her career, she is hesitant to go after it.  That is until her best friend, Christine, become ill, and Rae realizes there is so much more to life than staying on the safe side.  Is this the push Rae needs to finally take risks, go after her dreams, and follow her heart??  Can Rae finally get out of the safe zone and live the life she’s only fantasized about??  No spoilers here, but you will definitely want to read this book to find out what happens!!

I am a huge fan of Harlequin books, especially the Special Edition Series!!  So, when I saw this book was available for review, I jumped at the chance of reading it, and this book did not disappoint!!

This book is Book One, and a very promising start to a new book series, “The Friendship Chronicles.”

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!!  I think all contemporary romance readers and romance fans – especially Sex and the City lovers, will like this book too!!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

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

GUEST POST:

How you keep the sex fresh in your writing?

Have you ever been reading a book, and you get to a sex scene, and it is super cringe?

Maybe it’s a little too raunchy for the rest of the tone of the book, or it suddenly reads like a sex education textbook, or it just isn’t at all actually sexy. Instantly, you can feel that something went awry, and as a reader, that’s incredibly disappointing.

Well, here’s a dirty little secret. It’s also extremely frustrating as a writer… at least for me.

Truthfully, I have always found writing sex scenes to be difficult. I would start writing one and then get a vision of my grandma reading my book, her pearls completely clutched, and I’d shut down. Oh no, I’d also think, what if my pastor reads this and calls me to talk about that one specific part? And my dad? Oh goodness. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I would be far too in my head to write something meant to be exactly opposite of that. And I think many writers make the same mistake; they overthink an act that 10 out of 10 times, if you’re overthinking during it, won’t be good in real life. Of course, then, it won’t read well on the book pages either.

So, what ultimately helped me stop overthinking it?

For me, it was a combination of tricks. It took reading books I thought hit the sexy jackpot on the first swing (ahem, The Kiss Quotient), fully letting go with my partner and recalling those moments before I would write (nothing wrong with a good mental flashback!), or even watching porn that I could take inspiration from. I have also found that, for my books, it helps me to focus more on the feeling that the characters are having and less about what is technically happening.

A lot of times when authors write about sex, it’s about the actual act of sex. And depending on the premise of your book, that can be really important, but I like to write sex scenes that feel just a little bit vulnerable and force the reader to think about what these people are experiencing in the moment. Is someone coming to this moment a little scared because they are trying something new and don’t know how it will work out? Are they excited because they are finally giving into a lust that’s been building for a while? That’s the kind of stuff that gives those scenes some more flavor beyond the technical act of sex, and it’s what I hope ultimately distinguishes mine from others.

Although, to be clear, I kind of want you to clutch your pearls too, if you have them.

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

AUTHOR BIO:

Darby Baham (she/her) is a debut author with Harlequin Special Edition and a New Yorker of five years who sometimes desperately misses the sprawling shoe closet she had while living in Maryland. She’s had personal blog posts appear in The Washington Post’s relationship vertical and has worked in the communications industry for more than two decades. The New Orleans, LA native is also a lover of big laughs and books that swallow you into their world. Her first book, The Shoe Diaries, debuts in 2022.

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

CONNECT WITH DARBY:

Author Website:

https://www.DarbyBaham.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/darby.baham

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/darbybaham

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/darbybaham

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21688982.Darby_Baham

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58645204-the-shoe-diaries

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3EVGP1R

Linktree:

https://linktr.ee/darbybaham

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

ADDITIONAL WRITINGS FROM DARBY:

Check out Darby Baham’s Washington Post Bylines:

I had the perfect date dress. Why did it hang in my closet unworn for more than a year?

~ March 2016

When it comes to relationship advice, sometimes it’s best to ignore your friends.

~ February 2016

I’m the oldest sister in my family and I’m single. And that’s okay.

~ March 2016

I was afraid to say ‘I love you.’ Here’s how I found the courage.

~ April 2016

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

BONUS!!!:

Want to receive books specifically from Harlequin Special Edition???

Sign Up Below:

https://www.readerservice.com/content/series/harlequin-special-edition

Darby's book will be included in the January edition.

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

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/336sB0Z

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/32QM1XN

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Shoe-Diaries-Friendship-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B09BB989DT

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Shoe-Diaries-Darby-Baham/dp/1335408363

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shoe-diaries-darby-baham/1139911402?ean=9780369710604

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shoe-diaries-darby-baham/1139911402?ean=9781335408365

Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Shoe-Diaries-Darby-Baham/9781335408365

Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Shoe-Diaries/Darby-Baham/9781335408365

Google Play eBook:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Shoe_Diaries.html?id=bU06EAAAQBAJ

Harlequin Paperback:

https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335408365_the-shoe-diaries.html

IndieBound CA Paperback:

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335408365

Kobo US eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-shoe-diaries

Kobo CA eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-shoe-diaries

Target Paperback:

https://www.target.com/p/the-shoe-diaries-friendship-chronicles-by-darby-baham-paperback/-/A-84253284

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

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Darby will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) 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 fabulous community outreach projects and 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.