Thanks for inviting me to share some time with your readers, Cynthia. I always enjoy connecting with new friends and fellow readers/writers. The topic of the day is flawed heroines. More specifically, what flaws would be considered over the top?

I, for one, love heroines who start out a mess. I don’t mean mousy and weak, or women who have such poor self-esteem that they can’t get out of their own way. I’m talking about main characters who have issues that need to be dealt with. When the story starts, I want to see a clear goal, motivation, and conflict. What do they want, why do they want it, and what stands in their way? If I see a spark of something redeemable in a female lead character, I am met with an immediate desire to witness their transformation. I can’t wait to see them overcome whatever is holding them back from becoming their best selves and finding their HEA. In other words, the bigger the obstacle, the bigger the pay-off!

Their flaws can be as simple as being clumsy, slightly self-deprecating, or that they are hopelessly addicted to Project Runway (although why anyone would see this as a flaw is beyond me). Perhaps their lack of social grace is more pronounced, and a past wound has made them a bit testy, snarky or downright unlikable. Of course we know they are only trying to protect their fragile hearts, so we can overlook a touchy disposition while we wait for our redeemable heroine to appear. But what if our main character has a fatal flaw that offends our sensibilities, or makes decisions that we are diametrically opposed to. Could you see her as redeemable if she had an affair, did drugs, had an abortion (if those are choices you would find reprehensible), or if she had a job that was less than reputable? Maybe she’s stripping to make ends meet during college, or she’s a teenager who smokes pot, as is the case in my contemporary YA romance, PIECES of LOVE? Would it change your opinion about her, or would you root for her all the more because you recognize how far she must travel on her journey to find her HEA?

Sixteen year-old Alexis Hartman wants nothing more than to play her guitar and get high, hoping to escape the pain of losing her sister. But when her second arrest for pot possession leads to her mother’s breakdown, Lexi is sent to stay with her grandmother for the summer. While embarking on a Mediterranean cruise hardly sounds like punishment, being forced to face her demons and falling for a guy she may never see again gives Lexi a chance to discover what it means to love someone—even when you have to let them go.

Lexi starts out as a grumpy, slightly underachieving, pot smoking teen who is struggling to get past the death of her older sister. She thinks because she doesn’t drink and doesn’t do “hard” drugs, she’s not hurting anyone or doing anything wrong. But when she meets Ethan Kaswell, the poster boy for good sons, she’s faced with making some hard choices about what she’s willing to give up for love. Lexi’s journey—and her transformation—hopefully give teen readers (and teens at heart) a chance to see that the things we think are holding us up are actually holding us back. What we see as flaws in our characters can be a mirror into our own lives. A chance to recognize a way through our problems and see that letting go of the past is the only way to move forward.

We can easily identify with most YA characters on some level since we’ve all been there. Those teen years were tumultuous for most of us, but also the most transformative time in our lives. Being able to identify with a character’s emotional journey is what makes us want to read on, even when the character deserves a slap to the head. I love writing/reading YA for this reason and wish I’d had books like these to read when I was a teenager and going through rough times. As teenagers, our flaws are not only glaring, but they are being repeatedly pointed out by our parents, our peers, and our teachers. When all we want is to be loved and accepted for who we are, all this judgment can be tough to take.

It isn’t until we are faced with losing something we truly value, that we are ready and willing to overcome whatever fatal flaw has kept us stuck in our little rut of self-destructive behavior—a fact that is still true into adulthood. The big dark moment that forces us to grow, change, become better, stronger, smarter, etc. is the moment when our flawed heroine becomes redeemable. So worth the wait, IMO.

What do you think? Are there flaws you just can’t get past? Or are you willing to read on and watch the unfolding? Do you have any favorite “flawed” heroines?

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KVRESLY

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pieces-of-love-pj-sharon/1119697117?ean=2940149272792

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446712

I-tunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pieces-of-love/id887052885?ls=1&mt=11

BIO
PJ Sharon is the award winning author of contemporary young adult novels, including PIECES of LOVE, HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES, ON THIN ICE, and SAVAGE CINDERELLA, winner of the 2013 HOLT Medallion Award and the 2013 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She is excitedly working on The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, a YA Dystopian trilogy. WANING MOON, Book One in the trilogy, was a finalist in both the 2013 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, and a HOLT Medallion Award of Merit recipient. Book Two, Western Desert released in June of 2013 and was a finalist in both the Winter Rose contest and Write Touch Readers contest. Watch for Book Three in the fall of 2014.

Writing young adult fiction since 2007 and following her destiny to write romantic and hopeful stories for teens, PJ is a member of Romance Writers of America, CTRWA, and YARWA. She is mother to two grown sons and lives with her husband in the Berkshire Hills of Western MA.

Website: http://www.pjsharon.com

Thanks for being here today Beverley.

Your Cover – Does It Sell Your Book?

(And I love Cynthia’s covers, by the way.) A great cover is so important in
selling your book. How do you get the perfect one? I don’t think it makes a lot
of difference if you’re traditionally published or indie, it still comes down to
your dream cover for your book. With traditional you have input but often don’t
make the final decision. With indie you have the control, but still, how do you
design it or explain to a cover artist your vision for that cover? I try to
visualize my dream cover. If it’s a series I try to find something that can be
repeated on each cover, a series brand. In Missing it’s the background of the
ranch. In my Holly Devine series it’s the target through a gun sight. Then I
have to decide do I want people, object, animals and tone of the cover. What
will catch the reader’s eye? And if it’s an e-book it’s usually quite small so
it can’t be too busy. Writing a great book is the most important thing, but
getting a great cover comes in second.

Book: MISSING – A MAINSTREAM WESTERN ROMANCE

Blurb:
A small Montana town doctor, Luke Hawkins, gets a New York City doctor, Allie
Parsons, to assist in his clinic temporarily. She can’t believe how remote the
town is and wants to get back to city life. , but the townspeople and the sexy
doctor are getting to her. When his daughter is kidnapped, he has to save her,
and convince the woman he loves that she really is a small town doctor at heart.

Excerpt
Allie pushed open the door to the clinic and stepped into the small, crowded waiting room. The slight scent of antiseptic tickled her nose. She stopped.
Silence crept across the room. One by one, heads turned toward the door.

It might be the novelty of a stranger, but more likely it was the novelty of a stranger in fancy city clothes with a run in her stocking. She threaded her way through the patients to the reception counter. Patients watched her. A few of them put down the magazines they were thumbing through.

She’d bet a month’s salary those magazines were three or four years old. The furniture in the waiting room had seen better days, but it was serviceable.

The men and women stared at her, probably wondering who the heck she was. Several patients smiled at her. She managed to return the smiles. At least no one laughed.

A man stood behind the counter, tall, broad-shouldered, and maybe thirtyish He had curly dark hair, a strong, square chin and he caught her attention right away. His cobalt blue eyes, under long dark lashes, latched on to her as she walked toward him. Even partially covered by his lab coat, his muscled chest strained against the white t-shirt.

If he was the doctor he was definitely not the old geezer she’d expected.

A few feet from the counter, she stopped. His electric blue eyes locked on her. She couldn’t look away. Sensuality oozed across the space between them. Her breath hitched into an irregular rhythm, kicking her pulse up a notch.

“Good, you finally got here. I thought Jean would send someone a little faster.” His rich, smooth voice rolled over her. “Look, we’re backed up. Patients’ files are over there and the appointment book is on the desk. Check them in, pull their file, and put the file in the slot by the examining room door.”

“Excuse me?” She stared up at the man snapping orders at her. She’d run away from one tyrant and had no intention of putting up with another overbearing one, even if he was knock-down gorgeous. His firm abs, linebacker-type shoulders and muscular body did not compensate for his attitude.

Who did this jerk think he was?

Her back stiffened. She assumed he was the doctor, but his manners confused her. If staff and working partners were expected to put up with this, no wonder they hadn’t been able to find another doctor.

“You’re not going to make me repeat all that are you? I have a room full of patients. When I asked Jean to send a temp over from the hospital, I thought she’d send someone with training and at least a vague idea of what they were doing.” A sigh slipped through his lips and he rolled his eyes. The look he gave her placed her one step above an idiot.

He pointed to a huge pile of folders. “The patients’ files are…”

Allie pulled her shoulders back, raised her chin and tightened her lips together. “Excuse me. I believe you’ve made a mistake. First of all, I’m not stupid. Second, I’m not your damn temp. I’m a doctor, Alexandra Parsons, M.D. I understood you were expecting me.”

“You’re the new doc? Shoot. I didn’t expect you today.” The heart-stopping man stared down at her. His full lips drooped in apparent disappointment.

The disappointment could be her or the fact he still didn’t have a temp. She couldn’t tell.

“I arrived early, so I could acquaint myself with the town and find a place to live. I dropped by to introduce myself.”

He focused on her, drawing his eyebrows into a frown. “You’re the new physician? I should have known by that fancy outfit, it screams big city.”

“Sorry. I’ve just arrived and haven’t had time to get my jeans and plaid shirt yet. I’ll move that to the top of my list, so I’ll fit in.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he controlled it, as he ran his fingers through the tangle of dark curls.

Buy links:
http://amzn.to/1mbfV6l
http://bit.ly/1tJsbEI
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/missing-67

Bio:
I’m a Canadian author and live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, BC.
It’s beautiful country with lots of large lakes, beautiful beaches, orchards of
apples, pears, peaches plus raspberries, blueberries and lots of other fresh
produce. And of course, it’s wine country. We have world class wines which I
feel is my obligation to taste.

Social links
Facebook Authorpage – http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverleyBateman?ref=hl
Twitter @kelownawriter
Blog http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/okwriter
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Beverley-Bateman/e/B008M01F5E
BLOG – http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/beverley.bateman.18
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7052567.Beverley_Bateman
Webpage http://www.beverleybateman.com

Enjoy this deleted scene from Victoria Adams latest work, A GUY AND A GIRL.

Chelsea’s mother smiled at her husband’s personal assistant. “Chelsea and Kendall around?”

“They were in Coach’s office.”

She walked across the office, pulled open the door and peeked inside. “Flown the coop. I probably should have started at the party. Two twenty-year-old females and a roomful of young hockey players. Richard’s going to get gray hairs over this.” Wandering into the party, she smiled at Doc Johnson and Marjorie Rivers. “Hello. Happy recruitment camp.”

“Same old, same old,” said Doc Johnson.

“Marjorie, have you seen your daughter or mine?”

“Not in here. And thank-you for driving Kendall home for me. Her car’s still at the body shop.”

“That’s what she gets for letting a garbage truck run over it,” said Doc Johnson.

“It only backed into her car. Thank heavens she wasn’t in it!”

Mrs. Henderson laughed. “Isn’t it strange? They grow up and want their freedom then one sprains her ankle and the other kills her car and who do these sophisticated independent women run to?

Their mothers. What would they do without us? I’ll go ask Richard if he has seen his daughter.”

“No, he hasn’t.” Coach Henderson kissed his wife on the cheek. “At least not since I threw them out of the meeting earlier. I suggest you try my office.”

“Try again.” She smiled.

“The locker room would be my next guess.”

Nodding, she said, “You’re probably right. Oh! Found a player of yours though.”

Coach Henderson frowned. “Who? Where?”
“Said his name’s Hunter. He was in the arena. Too much bullshitting at the party – his words not mine. He was checking out the sweet spots on the boards. What’s a sweet spot? You’d think I’d know the jargon by now.”
“A sweet spot, my dear, is the spot where the puck hits and deflects off into the direction you want.” He rubbed his chin. “You know I don’t like Chelsea and Kendall just wandering around here. I liked it a whole lot better when she didn’t have hormones and thought hockey was a total bore.”
“They all grow up sometime. If I still thought hockey was a total bore, I wouldn’t be married to you. Now excuse me or I’ll never get that girl out of here and away from your hockey players. Remember home by seven. We’re going to Blasko’s. Evie’s promised she’ll have her scrumptious chocolate mocha cheesecake.”

Tagline
Lies, deceits and secrets – not a good way to begin a relationship.

Blurb

After an ugly past forced Hunter Connolly to escape to Europe, the talented hockey player is back in North America and determined to land a position with a professional team. But he can’t hide from his past forever, especially when his beautiful classmate, Chelsea, forces him to reexamine his life. Soon, hockey is not his first priority anymore.

Chelsea Henderson is a bright co-ed working towards her dream of being a professional dancer. She forms a unique friendship with one of her father’s newest recruits and would love nothing more than to take it to the next level. However, there’s just one small problem. He doesn’t know she’s his coach’s daughter.

Amid the deceptions, danger lurks closer than they could ever imagine. Will fate contrive to rip the young lovers apart? Or will Hunter and Chelsea have their shot at love?

Buy link – Exclusively at – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L2GRD1U

For Free Read – Blog – http://victoriaadams.blogspot.com
WattPad – http://www.wattpad.com/user/VictoriaAdams

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Wanting for a little western summer romance? Needing a few quick and entertaining reads to add to your Kindle? I’m romance author Kaye Spencer, and I may have just the books you’re looking for.

Prairie Rose Publications has four western romance summer anthologies that are hot off the press: Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride, Lassoing a Bride, Lassoing a Groom, and Cowboy Cravings.

My contribution, A Permanent Woman, is one of the stories in the Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride anthology.

Here’s the mail-order bride teaser:

This collection has four wonderful novellas about women who find themselves in the odd circumstance of needing themselves a husband, and grooms who must have a bride–or else!

A woman would have to be loco to become a mail-order bride…wouldn’t she? Leaving everything behind and starting fresh in the untamed west is the answer to a prayer for these ladies! A beautiful socialite needs a husband fast—but her husband wants a bride for life. A pregnant young lady becomes desperate —almost as desperate as her soon-to-be husband, who just inherited his sister’s kids. A man is in love with a woman he can’t have—Or can he? A woman’s reputation is tarnished and professional career compromised. She runs, but she can’t hide. Will they all find love with strangers they’ve never met who are set on Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride?

These Rough Dreams — Cheryl Pierson
A pregnant mail order bride. A groom with three orphaned children. Some dreams get a rough start.

Her Hurry-Up Husband — Tanya Hanson
A beautiful socialite needs a husband fast—for just one month—but the rancher wants a wife for life!

The Big Uneasy — Kathleen Rice Adams
A man in love with a woman he can’t have. A woman engaged to a man she doesn’t love. A secret in common could destroy them all.

A Permanent Woman — Kaye Spencer
He needs a wife to get custody of his grandchildren. She needs a fresh start and a new reputation. Desperate men—and women—sometimes take desperate measures…but can she be A Permanent Woman?

Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride (along with Lassoing a Groom, Lassoing a Bride, and Cowboy Cravings) is available in print and digital format at these online booksellers:

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Lassoing-Mail-Order-Bride-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00KREGPI0/

B&N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lassoing-a-mail-order-bride-cheryl-pierson/1119681760

Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/445026

Until next time,

Kaye

Fall in love…faster, harder, deeper with Kaye Spencer romances

www.kayespencer.com

Twitter – @kayespencer

Please help me welcome Kristina Mathews to my blog today and don’t forget to enter the drawing for a $25 gift card at the end of the blog.

Writing a book is kind of like a baseball season. You want to start off with a bang, something to draw fans in and give them hope for an exciting finish. You have to have a great lineup, with players, I mean characters people feel good about rooting for. But it can’t be too easy along the way. There have to be ups and downs, thrilling victories and heartbreaking losses.

As a baseball fan, I’ve watched the San Francisco Giants start the 2014 season with high hopes for their third World Series this decade. There are a lot of reasons to be hopeful, with many of the players who brought them to victory in 2010 and 2012 still in the lineup. But with injuries to key players, a few replacements had to be made. They played well in April and May, going on an incredible run in May. They were playing so well, it was starting to look like nothing would stop them.

They came crashing down to earth in June, losing sixteen games and only winning ten. During that stretch, things couldn’t look any worse for the team who had pulled off so many exciting victories in previous years. Everything that could go wrong did. Starting pitching that had been so reliable for years wasn’t. The offense couldn’t get it going. The bullpen collapsed. Defensive mistakes were made. But it’s too early for the big black moment.

In a book, especially a romance, there has to be some uncertainty along the way. We all know there will be a happily ever after for the couple. But we wouldn’t keep turning the pages if there wasn’t at least some doubt. A couple can’t meet, go on a first date, never argue, and then say “I do.” It wouldn’t be a very satisfying story.

In Worth The Trade, Hunter Collins and Marco Santiago both want the same thing. They want to win the World Series. Hunter wants to prove to herself and the league that she can handle the pressures of being the only female owner in the league. Marco had been traded too many times, he wants to prove himself on the field in hopes a finding a long term deal.

It’s not an easy ride for either of them. Hunter is dealing with the loss of her father and the expectations of the league. Marco hits his worst slump at a time when he most wants to prove himself. There are twenty-four other guys counting on them both to get them to the ultimate victory.

They have some successes along the way. Bright spots in their relationship and the journey to the World Series. Even though Hunter presents herself as “one of the guys,” Marco sees her in a different light. He sees her as beautiful and feminine, and he shows this by buying her lingerie. Hunter has faith in her team, and especially in Marco.

Will they win it all?

BLURB

After inheriting majority ownership of the San Francisco Goliaths baseball team, Hunter Collins wants to prove to herself and the rest of the league that she’s got what it takes to build a champion. Her first move is to trade for a hot left-fielder. He’s got it all, speed, power, and a desire to win. Not to mention undeniable charm.

Marco Santiago is tired of being the new player in town. This is his fourth team in six years and he’s facing free agency at the end of the season. He wants nothing more than a long-term contract. Hitting on his new owner probably isn’t the best way to secure his future with the team.

They’ll both give anything to get their team to the World Series, even their hearts.

EXCERPT

As the last man off the bus, Marco was forced to watch his teammate fling himself into the arms of his awaiting bride. The woman who had been the force behind The Monk’s success this season.
Marco was almost able to brush away the envy. But standing next to Mrs. Scottsdale, was the one woman he was determined to forget. Hunter Collins.

What the hell was she doing here?

Other than the fact that it was her team, her bus, and her ballpark. Hell, for all he knew, she owned half the city. Including him.

Maybe he could slip past her. Get a cab back to the hotel and take the world’s longest, coldest shower.

“Marco.” Too late. She’d spotted him.

“Polo.” He tried to joke. To pretend her rejection hadn’t hurt. Hadn’t messed with his mind.

“Can I give you a ride to your hotel?” She smiled. A real, open and warm smile. Warning bells sounded in his head. He should run the other way. Catch a ride on the Muni. Walk. Take a cable car or hitchhike.

“Sure. Why not?” Damn. He wished he had his Mustang. Then he could drive his own sad self to the hotel. But it was still in St. Louis. Apparently along with his pride and his ability to hit a fastball.

“Great.” She smiled again. He wanted to go running to The Monk. To have the other man teach him the ways of the celibate competitor. But The Monk had his arms wrapped around his wife.
Marco shouldered his bag, following Hunter like a lemming going off to certain demise but unable to help himself.

She walked across the parking lot with determined steps. He supposed if she’d wanted him to get back on a plane to St. Louis, she would have met him at the airport. When she stopped in front of a red Mini Cooper convertible and disabled the alarm, he threw his head back and laughed.

“What?” She spun around so fast that a few strands of hair shook loose from her uptight hairdo.

“I just never would have matched you with this car.” It was red. And fast. And kind of sexy in an offbeat sort of way. “I would have pictured you as a BMW, Mercedes or… I don’t know, a Bentley kind of girl.”

“A Bentley?” She drew her brows together. She was cute. And far too sexy. “Seriously?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. Almost forgetting the vow he’d made to himself. The vow of forgetting her. “It seemed like a good guess. When you’re not riding around in a limo.”

“It’s fun to drive.” She didn’t really need to defend her vehicle choice, but she did anyway. “Easy to park, and on those really fabulous Northern California days, there’s nothing like driving a convertible up the coast.”

“But it’s red.” He swept his gaze over her gray pantsuit and ivory blouse and black shoes. Her outfit made the red car seem that much brighter.

Amazon: http://goo.gl/NnmWPr

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/4kMT7q

Kobo: http://goo.gl/mNNhZl

GooglePlay: http://goo.gl/013rwR

BIO

Kristina Mathews doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t have a book in her hand. Or in her head. But it wasn’t until she turned forty that she confessed the reason the laundry never made it out of the dryer was because she was busy writing.

While she resigned from teaching with the arrival of her second son, she’s remained an educator in some form. As a volunteer, parent club member or para educator, she finds the most satisfaction working with emergent and developing readers, helping foster confidence and a lifelong love of books.

Kristina lives in Northern California with her husband of more than twenty years, two sons and a black lab. A veteran road tripper, amateur renovator and sports fanatic. She hopes to one day travel all 3,073 miles of Highway 50 from Sacramento, CA to Ocean City, MD, replace her carpet with hardwood floors and serve as a “Ball Dudette” for the San Francisco Giants.

http://kristinamathews.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please help me welcome Virginia Kelly to my blog today. Virginia has a giveaway for you readers. One lucky reader will receive a copy of one of these books, AGAINST THE WIND or JUST ONE LOOK, for their Kindle. Just leave a comment to be entered into the drawing.

A lounger. A colorfully striped umbrella. The Gulf of Mexico’s emerald waters. Gently lapping waves. Sugar white beaches. An exotic drink. Ah! I love the beach. I live along the Florida Gulf Coast, home of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. Truly. Just google sugar white sand and you’ll see what I mean.

I love to read and I love to travel. Trips mean a book or books in hand. If I’m driving, it’s a book on CD. It’s now summer, time for vacations. I often hear the term “beach read.” But what is a beach read? To me it’s fun, not weighty. Escapist reading. It can be romance, action/adventure, thriller or mystery. Genre fiction, not literary fiction. Not non-fiction. Not a textbook (I remember college days when that was all I read, wherever I went.)

How about books set on the beach? These could give “beach read” another meaning.

I write romantic suspense with an emphasis on the romance. My beach books, AGAINST THE WIND and the stand-alone sequel JUST ONE LOOK, are set along “my” beach (though fictional names and descriptions are used), but what we see of the beach in each is different.

AGAINST THE WIND opens with a hurricane, when the hero and heroine meet again after six years. My inspiration came from the many hurricanes we’ve withstood. We live six miles from the beach, so my house has never had storm surge damage, but the wind can cause a good deal of destruction. Once, one of our large oaks just missed the house, but in the middle of the night, when the limbs blocked our view from two windows, I thought we were in the middle of a nightmare. Then, a few years ago, Hurricane Ivan’s slow movement blew out the gable end of the roof. If Ivan had taken any longer, we’d have lost the roof. And then there’s the debris. Ours has mainly been big branches, lots and lots of twigs, and leaves. I had no idea the wind could blow hard enough to crush leaves into green mush against the window screens.

JUST ONE LOOK portrays a much gentler beach scene. There’s a wedding where the hero and heroine meet, calm waters, sand dunes, a beautiful sunset. My inspiration came from those relaxing beach days, like the ones when my children enjoyed snorkeling, building sand castles and gathering sea shells. Or the day I watched a giant sea turtle crawl up onto the beach.

Each book provides danger and romance along with a taste of the beach. Escapist reading.

What do you think of when you think of a beach read? If you go to the beach, which beach is it? Are you going for the 4th?

Comment for a chance to win a copy of either Against the Wind or Just One Look (Kindle only), winner’s choice.

Excerpt from JUST ONE LOOK:

That’s when Drew saw her.
The knock-out, fiddling with the younger sister’s hair. Who could that be? He’d met everyone, hadn’t he? Both sisters, the endless cousins and assorted relatives. Who the hell was she?
She turned, and he knew instantly who she was.
The older sister. The prickly one with thick glasses. Mia, she’d said as she’d shaken his hand with ice-cold fingers and a businessman’s grip. Only she wasn’t wearing the thick glasses she’d worn at the rehearsal dinner, nor the prim business suit. She stood next to the younger sister… Izzy, that was it. Dizzy Izzy, he’d thought last night. She stood next to Izzy as calm and serene as a queen in a knee-length cream-colored dress that enhanced everything the business suit had hidden.
She wasn’t tall or blond, what he’d always considered his type. Prepared to dismiss her since he’d been fooled too many times by good looks, he nearly turned away. Then she smiled at something the flower girl, daughter of one of the cousins, said, and squatted to be eye level with the little girl.
And all the prim, all the regal, disappeared.
She was simply breathtaking.
He remembered watching one of the old Godfather movies and ridiculing how, based on a single look, the youngest Corleone son had gone bat-shit crazy over a girl.
His rational self argued that this sort of thing didn’t happen.
Still, he watched as she totally disregarded formality, hair, clothes, and hugged the flower girl. No cold fingers or businessman’s grip about her.
Warm and vital and gorgeous and classy…and so damn sexy.
Jesus. He’d counted on a few days of sun, sand and water. He hadn’t counted on her.
It felt like getting shot in the gut again.

Buy Links (Just One Look):
Amazon US: http://amzn.com/B00JMV997S
Amazon Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JMV997S
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JMV997S
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JMV997S

About the Author:
Virginia’s first story involved a mouse that hitched a ride with Paul Revere. She was eleven. A bit later dreams of romance (and the requisite happily ever after), adventure, and danger came together to produce her RWA Golden Heart nominated novel. Her books have been nominated for several awards including the Holt Medallion, the Golden Quill, the Aspen Gold and the National Readers Choice Awards. She writes about dangerous heroes (sexy, gorgeous ones, of course!) and the adventurous women willing to take a chance on them. An academic librarian, Virginia is a native of Peru and lives in Florida with her family.

Website: http://virginiakelly.net
Newsletter: http://virginiakelly.net/news.html
Facebook: http://facebook.com/virginiakellyauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3151712.Virginia_Kelly
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/virginiagkelly
Twitter: http://twitter.com/virginiagkelly