Blog Tour: Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis

I mentioned a while back that I love airport bookstores because the limited selection often forces me to try books I might have otherwise missed. Well, the same can be said for the book aisles in grocery stores.

A few years ago I was stuck out at a house that I rent waiting for someone to come and turn the gas back on so the new tenant could move in. In the grand tradition of such things, this was going to happen sometime in a four hour window.

I was stuck in a house devoid of furniture, television or computers. I had yet to succumb to the lure of the smart phone. And, horror of horrors, I was without a book. It had been one of those days. I'd been twenty minutes into the hour and a half drive to the house before realizing that I'd forgotten the house keys and had to go back and start all over. It wasn't overly surprising that I'd also managed to leave my book on the bedside table.

So, to the local grocery store I went, for a much needed jolt of Dr. Pepper and literary balm for my diminishing sanity. I grabbed the first book that seemed interesting and beat a path back to the house in case the gentleman from the gas company arrived on the early end of the spectrum.

He didn't.

And I didn't care.

Sitting on the floor of the unheated living room, with my coat securely fastened against the December chill, I was first introduced to Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor. Between my Dr. Pepper IV and Maddie & Tara's stories, the three and a half hours I spent waiting seemed like nothing. By the time I was on the road home again, I knew that I had made a whole new group of literary friends and also had a new location to add to my list of fictional places I'd like to reside. I've happily gone back to visit with every new addition to the series and am always anxious to return again.

Which is why I was super excited Once In A Lifetime was released on Tuesday. I couldn't wait to get to know Aubrey and Ben better. Particularly after receiving this from Ms. Shalvis:

Top 5 Favorite Quotes from ONCE IN A LIFETIME

1. He was in jeans, wearing a tool belt slung low on his hips, his T-shirt clinging to him. He seemed a little irritated, a little sweaty, and just looking at him Aubrey got a whole lot hot and bothered in places that had no business being hot and bothered by this man at all.

2.  He was back in his tool belt, which was made of leather and crinkled all male-like when he moved. Plus, it forced his jeans a little low on his hips. She couldn’t stop staring, because there was something about the way he wore his clothes that suggested he’d look even better without them.

3.  She had no idea how long they kissed—and kissed—but she didn’t think about stopping until she ran out of air. Breathing hard, she slowly opened her eyes and stared directly into his.

      They’d heated. Darkened. And something else. He wasn’t looking so relaxed now. In fact, he was looking the opposite of relaxed. He looked…feral.

      And she was his prey.

4. “You’d better say it again,” he said very quietly.

     “What?”

     “That you don’t want me.” He gave a slow shake of his head. “Because you’re looking at me like I’m dinner and you haven’t eaten all day.”

5.  His mouth should be illegal in all fifty states, but she bet he could do things with it. Things she wanted.

      Bad.



So, I decided to read just the first few chapters last night before bed. You know, a nice way to unwind. (This is how I've been tricking myself into reading later than I should for the last twenty odd years. I fall for it every time.)

Naturally, I read the whole thing. And today, as I suffer from chronic yawnies, I can't even find it in me to be annoyed at Past Kelly. Because, if I were in her shoes right now...I'd probably make the same decision.

It would totally be worth it.

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Once in a Lifetime

ONCE IN A LIFETIME by Jill Shalvis (February 18, 2014; Grand Central Publishing Mass Market; $6.00)

SOMETIMES WRONG IS OH-SO-RIGHT
After a wrenching loss, Ben McDaniel tried to escape his grief by working in dangerous, war-torn places like Africa and the Middle East. Now he's back in his hometown and face-to-face with Aubrey Wellington, the hot-as-hell woman who is trouble with a capital T. Family and friends insist she's not the one to ease his pain, but Aubrey sparks an intense desire that gives Ben hope for the future.

Determined to right the wrongs of her past, Aubrey is working hard to make amends. But by far, the toughest challenge to her plan is sexy, brooding Ben - even though he has absolutely no idea what she's done . . .

Can this unlikely couple defy the odds and win over the little town of Lucky Harbor?

About the author:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill's bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Social Media Links:

Website

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Twitter

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon

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My Mind - Crowded, Noisy, But It's Home

By Ardfern (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons
Only not really. I'm kind of full up here. 

You know what is buckets of fun? When I see an old idea and suddenly it seems brand new.

A little over a year ago, I was working on a story. I loved the characters, the world, the plot. All the pieces made me happy. Unfortunately, they just weren't quite coming together right. I knew something was off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. Frustrations galore.

I went the route of tough love. Moved those characters to a special room in the back of my mind - told them to work it out and get back to me when they had.

Let me tell you, they took their sweet time. At first I was annoyed with their playing hard-to-get, then I was grateful. Some new characters were asking for attention and I was happy not to have them battling it out in my brain pan.

So, I focused on the new guys. They were much more forthcoming with their tale. So much so that I finished the MS right before celebrating the coming of the new year. I really love these folks and am happily drafting the next segment of their story. But the other night, just as I was drifting off to sleep, there was a little knock on that door at the end of my mind hallway.

Before I could even open it, they all started talking at once. They knew how to fix the story. I'll be honest with you, their timing could have been better. I was looking forward to the whole sleep thing and suddenly I was completely wide awake. They insisted upon it, seeing as I haven't figured out how to take notes in slumber yet (I'm working on it). The only thing that kept me from a sleep deprived fury storm was that they had really good ideas. Maybe even great ones.

And it all started with the main character saying, Yeah, I don't think I'm as old as you think I am.

For the last three days, it's been pretty much an avalanche. All the aspects that I couldn't quite connect the first time around are suddenly making sense as a whole. Major, all consuming rewrites need to be done on the work that I started way back when and a whole bag of new inserts must be crafted. The amount of work to get this all done will be massive. And big time exciting.

How about all of you? Any visitors in your mind motel making noise lately?

The Vomit Test

My nephew has recently started understanding that certain things are funny. As a result, he's big into laughing now. Last night, we really had him going. Something about bringing our heads really close, really fast without smashing them together just does it for him. He handled his mirth well - laughing as hard as he could until the only possible next move was completely emptying the contents of his stomach all over me. 

He handled it with panache. Quick, quiet expulsion and then he was back to laughing. Honestly, it took me a second to process what happened. 

But what I'm sure was my comical expression of horror as the realization dawned is not the point of this retelling. The point is laughing not only until you vomit, but through the vomiting itself. 

I mean, that is a high level of merriment. We've all laughed until our faces hurt. Or our stomachs cramped. Or maybe even until our bladders weakened. But throwing up and smiling about it? I don't know about you, but I haven't hit that tier of excitement yet. 

I have, however, decided that I'd like to see every fictional character have a moment like this. Okay, it doesn't have to actually involve vomit, but I'd like to see a character so overjoyed by something that in that moment no adverse thing spewed at them is enough to make them stop smiling. That would tell us a lot about the character. What passes his or her vomit test? What is it that can make him or her that completely happy? 

And then, because I'm mean, I'd like to take it away from them. Because if something can make you smile through vomiting, I'm willing to bet you'd do a lot to get if back. 

And that's a story in which I could really get invested. 

A PitchWars Reflection

This past month, I was lucky enough to take part in PitchWars. For those of you who don't know of it, it's a contest created and facilitated by the amazing Brenda Drake. 

First things first, I got to work with the incomparable Cora Carmack. 

*If I could insert a subliminal message here it would be: READ HER STUFF! IT'S ALL SORTS OF AWESOME.* 

It was so incredibly helpful getting feedback on my story from Cora. I think of all the suggestions she gave me the one I enjoyed most was to write a creation story for my world. I had general societal background already, but I hadn't really thought about how this world originated or what deities these people believed in. If you write fantasy, I highly recommend doing this when you're thinking about world building. 

My origin story ended up being around eight pages. I'd say 85% of what I came up with did not make it into the book itself, but just having the information in the back of mind made such a huge difference in the way certain characters interacted and how particular events unfolded. It also has made the drafting for the sequel exponentially easier.  

In conclusion, do this. It's worth every second. 

Now, back for a second, to Brenda Drake. If you're a writer and not following Ms. Drake on Twitter, you need to rectify this post haste. She is a prime example of everything that is awesome about the writer community. And, as was illustrated by my PitchWars experience, there is a lot awesome about the writer community. 

But one thing really stands out to me - writers care. 

They care about their own work, of course. But they care about the work of others as well. Twitter is an excellent showcase of this. As writers sat at their computers waiting to see agent responses to their pitches and entries - most likely biting their nails and engaging in some maniacal nervous laughter - they did more than just keep hitting refresh on their own pages. They consistently posted or retweeted links to the work of other writers taking part in the contest. When they weren't doing that, there were countless tweets of encouragement or gratitude.

Writing can sometimes feel very isolated. While having the opportunity to get my work in front of agents was definitely amazing, I think what I really took from this contest is that though writers don't necessarily have a shared water cooler or conjoined cubicles, we are definitely still working together. 

And now that PitchWars has come to a close and we're all returning to our querying/revisions/drafting/hobbit holes, it's nice to know that we have a huge cheering section out there. 

Snowed In

Greetings Snow Lads and Lassies!

I don't know if you're snowed in right now, but I can safely say there's enough snow outside to inspire me to hunker down next to the fireplace and do a little drafting. Not to mention I'm wearing fleeced lined leggings (which is basically like being hugged by angels) and have enough Dr. Pepper in the house to float a boat. Why in the world would I give any of that up to venture out into the tundra?

You know, unless someone wanted to have a snowball fight. Then I'm there. And armed. I mean, I have terrible aim, so I'm probably not going to hit you. But I'm extremely enthusiastic in my throwing of misshapen wads of snow in every direction, which is confusing enough that you're probably not going to hit me.

Any takers?

No?

Fire, fleece and Dr. Pepper it is. Along with some writing and frequent checking of today's PitchWars updates. (If you have some free moments, you should definitely check that out as well. Some really amazing stuff going on there. And in the alternate showcases. I'm over here!)

Also, at some point in between all this and my constant humming of the Frozen soundtrack there will be a movie break. After all, every day should have one of those, but snow days must.

In that vein, I offer my five of my top movies for snowy days:


Anastasia

I'm a sucker for cartoon musicals. And who doesn't like to pretend to be trekking through the Russian winter to see if you might be royalty? Or maybe just to hang out with Bartok?


The Shop Around the Corner

A precursor to You've Got Mail. Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and a Budapest winter. Apparently the snow sends my mind on international wanderings. (And yes, that is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.)


The Mighty Ducks

Been watching this one on snowy days for over two decades now. Can't watch this first meeting without feeling a bit nostalgic for blanket tents and buckets of Legos.


Empire Strikes Back

Because I pretty much always want to watch this. Plus, if I'm inside watching this, it means I'm not freezing outside and in need of slicing open a tauntaun. Watching this movies saves (tauntaun) lives.


The Long Hot Summer

Because sometimes I like a nice contrast.


How about you? Snowed in and watching anything good? And if you say last night's Mindy Project for the second (or maybe third) time, I'll totally understand. We have to wait until April? What the what??

Dispensing Good (but Mostly Non) Fortune

I had a lovely evening recently of researching fortune tellers and eating Chinese food. Once I had fully consumed my fortune cookie (as I was told I must), I was again struck by how much the "fortunes" aren't fortunes. 

1. Order. 2. Order. 3. Observation. 

In reference to #3...stop watching me cookie makers!

I was also very aware that I don't care about that at all. I love these silly things. They're rather like the Dove Miniatures' affirmations, only with slightly fewer references to chocolate.

Long ago, for some reason that I can no longer remember, I decided that I would never throw the fortunes away. However, I have no plans on appearing on Hoarders: Fortune Cookie Edition. Thus was born my containment method.

If I happen upon a "fortune" that I really enjoy, I keep it, but hide it from myself. Stick it in a pocket or a purse or a book - somewhere I'm likely to forget about and find again down the road. And then try to remember why the hell I thought this particular one was worth saving.

Now if the "fortune" doesn't resonate with me, that's when the real fun begins. I neither trash them nor keep them. Instead they become the property of unwitting family, friends, coworker and occasional strangers. No, not any of the people reading this, of course. I would never do that to you. The random fortunes you've found in your belongings came from another Fortune Dispenser. 

Obviously.

Stop looking at me, already.

Okay, you know what, we should really talk about one of your quirks now. Mostly because I need something to distract the person next to me so I can slip this fortune in her pocket.

Top 13 for 2013

13 had always been my favorite number and I can safely say that 2013 did not disappoint. I would like to present my top thirteen favorite things that happened in my life this year:

13. Learned how to make Peanut Butter Pie. (Absolutely delicious and probably will be the death of me.)  

12. Managed to pack up my whole apartment and move it to a storage unit without setting anything on fire in a fit of rage.

11. Got to read just a whole of ton of amazing books.

10. Completed the A to Z Challenge here on the blog!

9. Had the pleasure of hosting 9 fantastic authors in the airing of their Not-So-Guilty Pleasures. (Check out the side menu!)

8. Saw a wombat for the first time. Life changing.

7. Tried a bunch of new things (such as going into Manhattan to audition for the Disney cruise line on a whim. Cause, why not? I had a free Tuesday.)

6. Finished my manuscript!!! (The fact that this is coming in at number 6 is just proof of how awesome this year has been.)

5. Got to work with the lovely and talented Cora Carmack on my manuscript (thanks to Pitch Wars.)

4. Did a lot of travel both internationally and domestically.

3. Got to celebrate a bunch of engagements of friends and family (plus one wedding, so far!)

2. Helped raise a bunch of money for RAINN (final total - $11,610! People just kept donating. It was amazing!)

1. My beautiful nephew decided to grace the world with his presence.

I hope that 2013 was just a wonderful for all of you and I look forward to seeing you here next year. Because I have some high hopes for 2014. 

Happy New Year's Eve!

2013 Reads

I can not believe 2013 is almost over. It’s been a crazy year. So many excellent things happened, but more on that tomorrow.

Today let’s focus on books, because we haven’t done that in far too long. I wanted to share some of favorites of the year. As my WIP is YA Fantasy, I will admit that my list is going to be very YA heavy. I’ve been in the zone.

Here they are (in order of release date):

Shrapnel (Stephanie Lawton)

Always been interested in ghosts and the Civil War so this YA paranormal was right up my alley. It was interesting getting to be in the heads of each of the three teens dealing with their psychic abilities in this haunted house. Every time I’d get annoyed at one, I’d find out what they were going through. Also really liked the idea that these teens were brought together by a reality show about psychics.

Asunder (Jodi Meadows)

Absolutely fantastic follow up to Incarnate. Wasn’t sure I could love these characters more, but apparently I could. Go figure.

Hooked (Liz Fichera)

There was so much about this story I enjoyed. Loved getting two different perspectives on the action and was particularly enamored with Fred’s voice. Also, as I don’t have much of a golfing background, I was very interested in that aspect of the story.

Man in the Empty Suit (Sean Ferrell)

A time-traveling murder mystery in which a man tries to solve his own murder despite the only suspects being himself at other ages? Yes, please.

The Nightmare Affair (Mindee Arnett)

Absolutely fell in love with the idea of nightmares as creatures rather than just bad dreams. Throw in a special school for magic folk and a murder mystery and my attention is pretty much guaranteed.

Jilted (Kelly Jamieson)

Bolted (Megan Benjamin)

Busted (Sydney Somers)

Hitched (Erin Nicholas)

These are the four books of the Promise Harbor Wedding series. What originally drew me to this was the idea of four authors writing books about the same event, each from the perspective of a different couple. It ended up being a ton of fun to read and I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

The Best Man (Kristan Higgins)

Fun contemporary romance. It was a great start to a new series. Really liked Faith and Levi and am looking forward to seeing how things for the rest of the quirky Holland family turn out.

OCD Love Story (Corey Ann Haydu) 

So compelling, not to mention beautifully written. It was extremely hard to put this one down, though at times I found I had no choice as I was getting so anxious for the characters. But I could never take too long a break before picking it back up.

Rumor Has It (Jill Shalvis) 

I’ve really loved all of the Animal Magnetism series and Kate and Grif’s story was no exception. Not only were the two of them great, but it’s always nice to catch up with the other characters. Feels like chatting with old friends.

All right, now I want to hear some of yours! Also, what books are you looking forward to in 2014? I'm always looking to add to my TBR list.

Holiday Ho, Ho, Horror

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of made-for-TV Christmas movies (See: this insanity). That being said, even with my blinding love of this genre, I can’t help but notice that if it wasn’t for everyone realizing the true meaning of Christmas by the end of them, some of these movies would be straight up horror flicks.

So, today, I offer you a smattering of synopses and you get to guess whether they belong to one of my beloved holiday movies or to one of my hated horror films. Answers are at the bottom. NO PEEKING.

1. Woman kidnaps man at gunpoint and proceeds to drag him blindfolded to her family’s cabin where they will be completely cut off from any technology. 

2. Man gets in car accident and wakes up in cabin, cut off from the world, with a woman who has no intention of letting him leave.

3. On the way to their holiday destination a man and his family take a short cut and pick up a young woman and her baby, a decision which changes their lives forever.

4. Man tracks woman down through letter that she sent to soldiers for the holidays. He does not tell her of his intentions, but instead slowly ingratiates himself with her family while undermining her romantic relationship.

5. With her husband away for military duty, a mother learns more about her daughter and herself than she ever expected.

6. Older man keeps tabs on younger woman, luring her into an employment opportunity before revealing the startling information he has on her.

7. Single mother and her aging uncle invite a strange man into their home and soon find that he is insinuating himself into every aspect of their lives.

8. A young couple searching for the woman’s sister find themselves at a strange motel with an even stranger proprietor.

So, how are we feeling? Jolly or jumpy?

ANSWERS:

1. Christmas: Holiday in Handcuffs
2. Horror: Misery
3. Horror: Dead End
4. Christmas: The Christmas Card
5. Horror: The Bad Seed
6. Christmas: Crazy for Christmas
7. Christmas: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
8. Horror: Psycho

Not-So-Guilty Pleasures: Megan Just

And the hits just keep on coming! We have another Not-So-Guilty Pleasures!

Today, I'm happy to introduce Megan Just, one of my PitchWars sisters (Go Team Cora!). Here are some of things she unabashedly loves: 


Not-So-Guilty Pleasures

Newspaper

I subscribe my community’s paper newspaper.  The environmentalist in me screams in protest, but there’s just something I love about a good, old-fashioned newspaper.  Besides, trees are a renewable resource, right?  And I bring the newspaper to work to share with my co-workers.

Coffee Shop at Work

My employer operates an amazing on-site coffee shop.  It’s better than Starbucks, but half the price.  And boy do I indulge!  I did a calculation last week and despite it being cheap, I spend 1/50^th of my salary on coffee shop drinks at work.  Yipes!

 

Christmas Cards

Another dilemma for the forest, but in the end, I like snail mail too much to give up on traditional Christmas cards.  A mail box full of photo-cards from friends and family is one of my favorite things about the holidays, and therefore I send them, too.

 

 

Junky Holiday Candy

Fancy truffles, éclairs, gourmet dark chocolate bars…I could take them or leave them.  But put a bag of Halloween candy corn in front of me and you’ll bring me to my knees.  Same goes for chocolate-covered marshmallow santas—or even better, yellow sugar-covered marshmallow chicks.  I feel no guilt while binging on any one of these items. They only come around once a year, after all.

Spoilers

I’m the girl who hides under a blanket during a horror movie incessantly asking, “What’s going on now?”  Thanks to online spoilers, husband can enjoy his scary movies in peace.  It’s not just scary movies, though.  I search Twitter when TV shows air on the east coast first.  I flip ahead in books.  I even read book reviews just to find out what happens next in a series.

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Megan Just recently finished editing her second novel (new adult genre) and is on the hunt for a literary agent.  She lives in California with her husband and toddler.  Twitter: @meganjust