#BookBlast Summertime Dream by Babette James

Babette James writes sweetly scorching contemporary romance and loves reading nail-biting tales with a satisfying happily ever after. When not dreaming up stories, she enjoys playing with new bread recipes and dabbling with paints. A teacher, she loves encouraging new readers and writers as they discover their growing abilities. Her class cheers when it’s time for their spelling test! Born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, she’s had a life-long love of the desert and going down the shore. Babette now lives in New Jersey with her wonderfully patient husband and extremely spoiled cats.

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 Babette will award a $10 Amazon GC to two (2) randomly drawn commenters during the tour.

Blurb:

The Fourth of July is over, but for these summer lovers the fireworks have just begun.

An unexpected inheritance brings business consultant Christopher Gordon from Los Angeles to quaint Falk’s Bend. He’s carved a week from his demanding schedule to list his great-grandparents’ house for sale and explore his roots. However, disturbing family secrets and the sweet temptation of writer Margie Olsson derail his plans, challenging him to seize the elusive dream missing from his hectic life — love.

A recent brush with death shook Margie’s life, but not her dreams and she’s ready to move forward. Only, standing up to her loving, over-protective family isn’t easy. Helping Christopher explore the derelict mansion and unravel his grandmother’s mysterious past should be a harmless fun taste of independence. But when her experimental summer fling ignites into unexpected love, how can her small town dreams work with his big city life?

 

Excerpt:

She tippy-toed after him up the side porch steps, careful to avoid putting the high heels of her sandals through the old wood. “We’re not wearing the best exploring clothes.” She smoothed her hands over the skirt of her dress. Both of them were dressed more for church or a dinner date.

He regarded her from beside the boarded front door, his steady gaze pausing on her mouth before flinching upward. “You look great. Really pretty in that peach color.” A flush rose in his cheeks, and he focused on sorting through the neatly labeled ring of keys.

Her own cheeks burned. Was he also remembering those kisses yesterday? “Thanks.”

Christopher removed the padlock and swung open both panels, revealing the screen doors and the original ornamented and leaded glass double entry doors, both curving into a graceful peaked arch like a church door.

“Oh, all the glass is safe. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Christopher nodded as he fit an old-fashioned key into the ornate brass lock. He gripped the doorknob and took a deep breath. “Ready?”

The hinges whined and creaked as he pushed the door inward. Daylight wedged into the short entry vestibule, revealing another doorway formed by elegant leaded glass sidelights and transom, and faded across the hardwood floor into the gloomy grand entry hall. Disturbed dust floated through the sunlight.

Christopher flicked on the flashlight and stepped into the once-majestic hall. Margie followed, nose wrinkling at the musty stale air. He swung the light upward, revealing an elaborate lamp fixture hanging from a plaster medallion, the crystal pendants festooned with spider webs. “Our very own haunted house, huh?”

Summertime Dream on Amazon.com Kindle

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How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Not necessarily the Tiny Toons cartoon, which was excellent, but how I'd like to spend my summer. If I didn't spend all my time working then writing that is.

Kayaking (have never been)
Hiking Great Smoky Mountains (have never been but have been hiking)
Canoeing with the family. We used to go when I was young but I haven't been in ages.
Horseback riding. Other than the 20 minute planned route. Maybe an actual lesson.
Get to the beach. I live so close and yet have I made it there once this summer? No, if you couldn't guess that.
Drive-in movies.

What about you? What do you want to do this summer?

Summer

One week before the Summer Solstice. Any plans?

I know, what an odd question. But it's the longest day of the year. One day I'd love to go to the beach (on the west coast) and just watch the sun set past 8pm. Or climb a decently high mountain and see the sunset on the longest day of the year.

There are all sorts of beliefs involved with Summer Solstice. There's the summer aspect. The religious aspect. And even the let's enjoy it aspect.

June goals

Busy, busy, busy! And that doesn't even begin to describe what June is like for me. That's without adding in writing time. Plus there's the new Cars movie I absolutely must see. But every little writing minute counts, right?!

Picture from the Simon Dexter Blog, found from a google images search using the term 'busy'.

Summer time

And the livin' is easy...I love that song.

In my world, summer is a time of outdoors, beach, family trips, and gardening. This year I've planted peas, green beans, cucumbers (though I seemed to have lost that plant. I swear I put it in the ground!) corn, and tomatoes. I don't love gardening, I think weeds are greenery too and look just fine there what a pain to yank them out. But I like the end product!

I don't have a favorite part to summer, save maybe the heat. I hate the cold! Much rather heat, even with humidity. What's your favorite part of summer?

Fall vs Summer

Brr, the weather has changed! I miss summer's warmth, and while fall is pretty and all, this weather is not.

Five things I love about summer in no particular order:

□ Beach. I love and adore the ocean and would live there if I could. One day!
□ Traveling to places where I don’t need to bundle up to see anything.
□ Museums, they always seem to have the best stuff on display during the summer.
□ Sitting outside and enjoying my yard. This summer’s atrocious heat wave aside, it’s great to sit out there in the morning/evening and just relax
□ Longer days. Ben Franklin’s idea of daylight savings is all well and good when it works in your favor, but I don’t think he had no idea how hard it is to get up for work when it’s still pitch-black outside!

OK, and a #6…the warmth. Yeah, yeah this year’s atrocious heat wave aside, who likes being cold, all bundled up against the frigid winter, head down , not looking left or right or up, but down so your nose doesn’t fall off, with 7 feet of snow and blistering cold winds? NO ONE!!

What about you, what season do you like best and why?

Sticky days of summer

July and August. The hot sticky days of summer. There’s something magical about them. Lazily dipping your fingers along the water's surface, running on the hot sand after an errant ball, exploring some new or ancient city on foreign soil. There’s nothing like hot summer days.

As a northeasterner, I believe I appreciate summer in the unique way only a northeasterner can. Basking in the summer sun after a long long winter and too short spring, then cursing the heat as we reach the depth of the summer months and spouting the old saying, “you can fry an egg on that sidewalk.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that!

What I truly love about summer is the romance. Sure, it's hard to best Paris in the springtime, but try New York at 102 degrees when your AC is kaput...never is a soft kiss and a cool breeze so welcomed.

Story settings are often dictated by the kind of mood the author wishes to set. A big city like New York sets a fast paced, gritty tone, while a small town setting like Madison County has that laid back, simple life tone. The time of year you set a story in can also be a character: like say summer.

I'm a big movie buff, so let me pose the question: would the movie Body Heat have been as effective if it was set in the depth of winter or even during the cool, oft times chilly breezes of spring or fall? Of course not. The summer heat was just as pivotal a character as Kathleen Turner. The heat was part of the mix that drove the characters mad with lust.

Oftentimes writers use the heat of summer as an irritant to their characters or a catalyst to emotion. Think Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. The sweltering heat in that movie affected each character in a different way. Maggie is horny, Big Daddy’s health is affected, Brick was irritated, then that escalated to anger. The title itself is a symbolism for summer; how the cat is scorched with the intense heat. The characters are scorched as well, fighting the heat of the summer as well as the conflicting personalities of the family.

Weaving that environmental aspect through a story and around your characters, and retaining its effect throughout, can make for a rich, erotic, and realistic tale.