Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Michelle
Garren Flye and her new book, “Becoming Magic”!
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 Michelle
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Becoming Magic
by Michelle Garren Flye
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
Carole
Barnes once believed she would make her own way in Hollywood, but those days
are long gone, leaving behind only a dark, slimy secret that Carole has never
shared with anyone. Now she hides in the bright sunshine of the Crystal Coast
of North Carolina. As far away as she can get from Hollywood. But what to do
when Hollywood comes knocking in the form of a sexy movie star?
Connor
Wallace has everything going for him—looks, talent, a successful career—but
what he really wants is to perform magic on stage. His love of magic leads him
back to his mentor Walt Bryson. At first, he’s pleased when Walt suggests his
assistant Carole produce a documentary of his transformation from movie star to
magician. He’s worked with Carole before—but the ambitious girl who had a crush
on him is gone now, leaving a beautiful, withdrawn woman.
It’s
the perfect arrangement. Carole knows she can make a success of the movie and
Connor wants to work with her. But as they grow closer, Connor determines to
find out her secret. Can love overcome the boundaries of fear? Or will Carole’s
past return to plague them both?
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EXCERPT TWO:
Connor
pulled the linking rings back out of their velvet bag and began practicing with
the engagement ring on them. “I may need your help, too.”
“With
the trick?” She raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure I’m the one—”
“Nonsense.
You know how it works. You just have to catch it correctly.” He tossed the ring
to her. She caught it neatly, but the engagement ring went flying.
“Damn.”
She cursed softly. “I thought I could do that.”
“No,
you weren’t sure. You said so.” He found the engagement ring and replaced it on
the linking ring. He fixed her with a stern look. “Be certain.”
“Okay.”
She shrugged, but she knew what he was talking about. Every movement in
magic—or any showmanship, really—had to be done with certainty. No rethinking
yourself or doubts allowed. The audience should never be aware that you might
not know what you’re doing. And so she banished any doubts and looked at him
expectantly.
“And
don’t look at me like that.” He twirled the rings in the air, absently
connecting and disconnecting them. She knew how it was done, but he’d gotten so
good at it, she couldn’t catch him.
She
laughed. “Why not?”
He
paused in the act of juggling the rings, caught them and displayed them all
connected with the engagement ring dangling at the bottom. “Because you make it
hard for me to be certain.”
She
tilted her head, wondering what he meant…
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GUEST POST:
Evolution of a Writer
Being
a writer is something you are. I don’t believe you become a writer. If you
start writing later in life, you probably always were a writer, you just didn’t
practice. And writing is definitely something that requires practice and
develops over time.
What
writer hasn’t heard at some point in the past that the more you write, the
better you’ll be at it? It’s actually true, although some writers have a higher
baseline than others. I’ve read some stuff written by beginning writers that I
would love to be able to write now—and I’ve been writing since I was seven!
Still, those writers will grow and be better and find better things to say the
more they write.
Because
they will evolve.
I
have evolved over the years with help from peers and coaches and editors. I no
longer tag every line of dialogue. I no longer feel that I have to describe
every single action of every character. I am better at incorporating
description into the story instead of stopping the action to describe a
character or setting. I am better at a lot of the technical aspects than I was
when I began.
Recently,
my evolution has turned a different way. I’m more concerned these days with
themes within my stories and the romance genre at large. I’ve noticed a trend
among romance writers to push the envelope a little too far with their sex
scenes. What once would have been relegated to a top shelf and labeled “adults
only” is now readily available, and I don’t see that as a healthy thing. So
I’ve closely examined my own writing for themes that shouldn’t be romanticized
and worked to eliminate them.
I
call this “a new kind of romance”, and I began it with Becoming Magic.
Don’t
get me wrong. There are sex scenes in my books. Once upon a time, these scenes
would have been considered “spicy” or even “hot”, but in today’s romance genre,
they’re more often given a heat level of “sweet”. What you won’t find in my
books is an alpha male hero making demands of a submissive heroine. You might,
however, find a heroine standing up for her right not to be touched until she’s
good and ready—and a hero who’s willing to wait.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Michelle Garren Flye is an
award-winning romance author of eleven novels and counting. Her short stories
have been published by the romance anthology Foreign Affairs, Opium.com,
SmokelongQuarterly.com and Flashquake.com, among others. She has served on the
editorial staffs of Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet and Tattered Souls.
Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Library
and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
She is the mother of three and lives in North Carolina.
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CONNECT WITH MICHELLE:
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Michelle’s very pretty kitty, Calliope
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
The Book Depository:
BAM! Books-A-Million:
Smashwords:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Michelle 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 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.
