Christa Simpson's Blog, page 25
February 12, 2014
Tour: Finding Destiny by Christa Simpson
Sign up for the Finding Destiny Blog Tour!!!
Originally posted on Irresistible Reads Tours:
Finding Destiny by Christa Simpson
Publication Date: February 13th, 2014
Genre: Steamy Contemporary Romance
February 11, 2014
Finding Destiny is LIVE!!!
You must read this steamy Valentine’s day novella!! It’s only $0.99 for a limited time!!
AVAILABLE NOW!!
| AMAZON | SMASHWORDS | GOODREADS |
What readers are saying about Finding Destiny…
Review by: Shana Vernon 
Incredible read! I am Destiny in a nutshell; with the exception of the job loss, fantastic spa retreat, and slutty friend. Oh, and I’ve been stranded in the snow, but hot guys on snowmobiles did not come to my rescue lol. All that aside, I definitely connected with a girl lonely on Valentines day, who gave up on love, and just wanted to relax with her girls and find direction. If that’s ever been you then this book is a must read. Or if you’re looking for a new book boyfriend Skylar is grade A prime choice angus steak! 
Review by: Sarah Sheehan
Absolutely amazing. I loved it! I can’t wait for your next book, Christa. You are such a talented writer!
If you’d like to read more, please visit my book page.
http://christasimpson.com/finding-destiny
Poem from the Vault: If This Was My Last Day
No one said being an author would be easy. Emotionally ugly? You be the judge… and don’t miss Charles’ giveaway to celebrate the one year anniversary of his debut release!
Giveaway: https://www.facebook.com/CharlesYallowitz?sk=app_228910107186452
Originally posted on Legends of Windemere:
Long before I stepped onto WordPress, I did a personal challenge on Tumblr. One poem a day for an entire year. I’ve put some of them up throughout my time here, but I think I’m going to toss up more. The downside is that I did this challenge when I was having a terrible year, so many of them are emotionally ugly and deal with hating where my life was at the time. I had yet to hear about Amazon Kindle publishing as a viable option. Still, I feel like putting some of them back into the world.
Yahoo Image Search
If this day
Was my last day
What scar would I leave
Upon the world
Or would I fade
Into a set of photos
Collecting dust
In tear stained albums
Packed into a box
Would my stories live
Beyond my notes
Finding life
When I am gone
Or would they remain
Trapped
Within their tombs
Of lined paper and cheap binding
Crumbling on a shelf
February 4, 2014
Papi Talk!… With Christa Simpson
Papi Talk!… With Christa Simpson. Papi Z dared me to take a seat on his couch; so I did. Check it out!
February 1, 2014
Movie Review: This Means War (2012)
I finally buckled down and bought Netflix and boy was I pleasantly surprised to find this movie.
Here are three reasons why you might like it too (or maybe not).
A. CIA is hot;
B. Tom Hardy is hot;
3. Chris Pine is hot (especially when he’s hugging it out with Tom Hardy).
My Review:
This movie had action, comedy and romance; a perfect combination. If you’re wondering where the war part comes in, it has to do with the love triangle. Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) has a best friend who thinks she needs to lighten up and date more often, so she posts her raunchy college photos on an online dating site. Lauren gets lots of hits, but refuses to use the site. As she goes to shut the laptop down, one guy catches her attention. The sexy CIA agent, Tuck (Tom Hardy), who claims to be a boring travel agent, goes for coffee with her. His best buddy, FDR (Chris Pine), who is also CIA, hangs out nearby to save him if it doesn’t go well. After getting the go ahead to leave, since everything is going just great, FDR scopes out the ladies at the movie store around the corner. Little does he know that Tuck’s girl has headed straight there after their coffee date.
Lauren meets FDR there and gets his angle immediately. She basically tells him off, which only intrigues him more. It turns into a game that he sets out to win – her heart. The short of it is, both CIA operatives fall head over heels for the girl and it isn’t long before they learn that they are both swooning over the same girl. They decide to make a gentleman’s agreement and shake on it. They leave it up to fate, bring out their A game and let the girl choose who she likes (without telling her that they know each other). Of course Lauren’s married friend, who is living vicariously through her, encourages her to try out both men. Lauren ends up liking each of them equally.
I must say, I loved Tom Hardy. He is hot, as I told you above, but he’s also sweet and has an accent to die for. I was seriously swooning the entire movie, just ask my hubby. Then there was Chris, the guy you love to hate. I didn’t want Lauren to like him, but he was like the bad boy that you just can’t resist. And he’s not-so-bad looking himself.
The comedy comes into play when the two men enlist the resources of the CIA to learn everything about the girl, in an attempt to one-up each other. It really gets ridiculously stupid and I loved it. My favourite part, though, had to be when they were bugging her house and listened in on her chat with her married friend. The guys learned things that she did and didn’t like about them. Since Tuck hears that she thinks he’s a little too “safe”, he decides to take her paintballing to show her how dangerous he can be. Being that he is secretly CIA, he ends up shooting down every kid and adult in the place, acting like it was a serious takedown. The rest of the kids were hiding from him and start screaming in terror when he finds them in a wooden hideout. Lol. When Tuck was all stealthy like that, it was really hot. Just saying.
All the while the men are in the middle of a covert operation, and end up killing someone important, so the dead guy’s brother is out to settle the score, which means both of their lives are at risk. In the end, after a hit of action, I must warn you that she actually chooses a man. I was finding it difficult to see how she could split the guys up by ripping out one of their hearts, but she does. And she didn’t pick my guy. L They do all end up getting their own happing ending of the sort, so I couldn’t stay too upset.
The comedy continues right through to the credits and that was great. For all of the above reasons I am giving it FIVE STARS!!! Loved this movie… even if it was a little slutty, it was entertaining and surprised me with the constant twists. If you think you might enjoy a romantic comedy with a hit of action, you should definitely give it a watch.
January 31, 2014
Cover Reveal: Finding Destiny
A Valentine’s Romance
Expected Release: February 14, 2014
Add it to your Goodreads shelves now!!
Synopsis:
Skylar has rules. He has never strayed from those rules. And yet Destiny has him breaking every last one of them.
Destiny was looking forward to a bit of solitude in the north. She figured surrounding herself with her two besties at an expensive spa retreat would beat away the winter blues. That was the plan. Destiny liked plans. But plans don’t always work out the way you want them to.
-
Skylar never expected to find three ladies trudging through the snow. But after finding them stranded, in the middle of nowhere, during the biggest snow storm of the year, he’s forced to invite Destiny and her friends back to his cabin. Though he tried to ignore what was subtly unravelling between them, he couldn’t discount their attraction. The way Destiny could read into his thoughts and the way his jealousy raged at the thought of his brother taking her to his bed, he knew he had better stake his claim.
-
But when tragedy strikes, torn from her arms at lightning speed, Skylar’s left to wonder whether he would ever find his destiny.
Excerpt:
Matty took a swig from his open beer, polishing off the bottle. After tossing it into a nearby snowbank, he turned back to Destiny. “Our cabin is close. You’d better hold on tight, sweetheart. I like to drive fast.” His smirk told Destiny that she had better get a grip.
It was then when Destiny realized what a sweetheart Skylar was. She had already thought it was pretty adorable when he offered her his helmet, but now that she realized it was to protect her from Matty’s maniac driving, she appreciated it that much more. She pulled on the helmet and was instantly flooded with the most sensual scent that had to be Skylar. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent like it was an erotic elixir, and linked her arms back around Matty’s waist.
When Matty took off, she let out a squeal and squeezed onto him a little tighter.
“That’s more like it,” he hollered back to her.
All of his comments seemed to be playful and had a lewd intention tacked onto them. For some reason that didn’t even bother her. Matty appeared to be the fun, edgy one in the bunch. He didn’t mind getting into a little trouble and it seemed like he did his best to do just that.
Destiny held on tight, as they flew past Skylar and sped alongside a deep, snow-covered ditch. Without warning, Matty dipped into the ditch and raced up the other side, nearly losing her off the back. He had done that before. Destiny knew Matty was only trying to show off but, when they were the first ones to slide up to the cabin, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her frozen face.
The ride was exhilarating and when Matty said he was going to drive fast, he wasn’t lying. He noticed her smile when she tore off Skylar’s helmet.
“You think that ride was fun, just imagine how much fun we could have in the bedroom.”
When he waggled his eyebrows, Destiny couldn’t help but giggle. He made her laugh, and he was a good-looking man, but it was Skylar who caught her eye the second he pulled up with Natalie in tote. His hair was all wayward and sprinkled with snowflakes, but it was sexy.
Natalie appeared to have a good, tight hold on him. Destiny wondered why that bothered her, as she shook out her long blonde hair behind her and propped Skylar’s helmet onto her hip. Destiny continued to watch Skylar, as he helped her friend to her feet. He looked like the boy next door, but he exuded a mysterious sex appeal. She wanted to call him your average nice guy, but those whisky colored eyes couldn’t be categorized with average.
She imagined what it would be like to run her fingers through that messy, brown hair and to see that smile appear on his face because of something she said. She imagined what it would feel like to have those big hands smooth over any part of her body. She wondered why she found herself drooling over this man who she hadn’t even said a single word to.
Destiny tried to focus. She distinctly remembered her goal for this weekend, which excluded men and all of the outlandish antics associated with Valentine’s Day. And yet here she was mingling with three good-looking guys she didn’t even know, with one striking her interest way beyond any of the men she had considered dating lately.
When Skylar stepped toward her, she noticed how his eyes slipped down her body and landed on his helmet braced firmly on her hip. She held her breath, thrilled by the sensual scrutiny, only to realize that she had a death lock on his equipment. What an overreaction. The man just wanted his helmet back.
He looked up, and into her eyes, then reached out to her. She gasped, thinking he was going for her hand, but then he only slapped his visor down. “That might have helped you out a bit,” he said, with a wink. He scooped the helmet out of her hand. “Fun, right?”
Destiny nodded slowly, trying to pull herself back together. But that scent was making it difficult to breathe. And those eyes. “Thank you. For the helmet. For letting me borrow it, I mean.” She couldn’t even form a complete sentence, a suddenly shy smile gracing her lips.
Though her knees were weak, she managed to keep her feet steady. She was stunned and appalled by her body’s reaction to being close to this man, but those eyes… damn. Her breaths had quickened and she felt the way he made her heart start to thump like a bass drum. There was just something about this man that had her all scatterbrained.
She struggled with her conscience, trying to determine what was most important to her. He probably has a girlfriend. That thought alone gave her the answer she was looking for.
She had not been looking for a man. And she was most certainly not looking for this man, who drank beer, lazed around cabins and took off for weekends with the boys. He was probably an uneducated, unemployed bum, who still absorbed off his parents. But he seemed so nice (and sexy). And she couldn’t help but notice the way he looked at her. It sent tingles down her spine.
That man managed to pull off a nonchalant charm that called out to every inch of her inner woman. She smiled at him, when she realized that he had caught her staring. Can you say awkward? She quickly turned her eyes away, being uncomfortable with how he made her feel with something as simple as a glance.
Then she set off for the front door of the quaint log cabin, carefully stepping in the large boot prints pressed deep into the snow by Matty. She let herself in the small front room, where Matty had already kicked off his snow boots.
“Ladies first,” Matty said, once she pulled off her own.
She reached for the door handle and twisted the cold knob. When she entered the cabin, heat washed over her, stinging her nose and cheeks. She was surprised when she had found the door unlocked, but after a quick survey of the room, she noted that they really had nothing much of value for the taking. She also recalled the fact that they hadn’t passed another human in hours, apart from the three of them, which might have had something to do with their lax habits.
Destiny unzipped her jacket and pulled off her hat, gloves and scarf. After hanging her things up on an old wooden coat rack, she quickly smoothed her hands over her hair to right herself. With another glance around the small room, she was relieved to find that the sparse furniture was at least clean.
The whole place was tidy, actually, and charming, but it lacked a woman’s touch. Though it looked plain, and country, it felt safe and it was quite warm inside.
Matty walked up next to her, with an arm-full of logs, having already ridden himself of his snow clothes. “Have a seat. Stay a while.”
As if there was anywhere else for her to go.
She watched Matty toss a couple of logs onto the floor, then he carefully added the others to the fireplace. She felt her legs start to prickle, from the extended bout of walking in the snow. Deciding to take Matty up on his offer, she started toward the limited seating. But before she could settle down onto the sofa, she realized that Skylar had already torn off his boots, peeled off his snowsuit, and took a seat right where she was heading.
Her heart began to patter erratically in her chest, when she saw that he was a lot better built than he had appeared in his snow gear. Without showing him how much that attracted her, she casually took a seat next to him and took a deep breath. She really wanted to have a peek at him, but she knew she shouldn’t when he was sitting that close to her.
Defying her own promise to herself, she stole another glance. That’s when Skylar smiled at her. And oh, that smile was going to stick with her for a while. COPYRIGHT 2014 Christa Simpson
Interested in winning an ARC of Finding Destiny? Join my release day event on Facebook!
Thanks for reading.
January 29, 2014
Cover Reveal: What He Desires by Violet Haze
GENRE: Erotic Romance & Paranormal
EXPECTED RELEASE: Feb 14th, 2014
-
ADD on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20579400-what-he-desires
-
BLURB:
A complex proposal…
His offer could save everything I’ve worked for. In exchange, he wants me in every way possible.
An inescapable passion…
His determination to win me over is undeniable. My desire to resist may not be enough to protect my heart.
A connection that is more than it seems…
He knows something I don’t. And when the dreams come, I’m left wondering if I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“For The Night (Luna, #1)” is available for only 99 cents on Amazon, B&N, Kobo and more!
For The Night (Luna, #1) Official Cover
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Kobo |
~*~*~*~*~*~
BIO:
Violet Haze is a pseudonym of contemporary romance author C.S. Janey, who simply desired to keep her erotic romance stories separate.
She hopes you enjoy the glimpse into the naughtier parts of her mind.
AUTHOR LINKS:
| Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |
January 24, 2014
Finding Destiny is coming soon!
Join me on Facebook for a cover reveal and release party to celebrate my upcoming release, FINDING DESTINY.
www.facebook.com/events/566022803492439
There will be games, giveaways and more!! Check out the pinned post for your chance to win an ARC of Finding Destiny and add it to your Goodreads shelves today!! www.goodreads.com/book/show/20629838-finding-destiny
Hope to see you there!
January 9, 2014
Endearments: How do you draw the line between cutesy and creepy?
How do you feel about them being used in a romance novel? Do you use them on a regular basis without even realizing it? I admit I call my girls names like: hon; sweetie; babe or baby-doll – just to name a few. But when is it appropriate to use them on adults, and how do you draw the line between cutesy and creepy?
While researching endearments for my latest Valentine’s romance, Finding Destiny, I came across a lot that I already knew and a few new ones that gave me a good laugh. I thought I’d collect a list of my favs, including the absolutely ridiculous ones that I couldn’t bear to leave behind.
Here are the ones that made the cut:
angel;
babe;
baby;
baby-cakes;
beautiful;
buttercup;
chicka – my high school French teacher used to call me this all the time;
cupcake;
cutie patootie;
cutie pie;
dahlin’ – yes, I have a thing for Pitbull;
darling – I still prefer that one ^^^;
dear – the only reason I kept this one in is because I will never forget the time my dad was cutting down cornstalks for Halloween one year and my mother yelled: “Dear, there’s a deer!” My dad had no clue what she was saying and the deer ran right past him, without him knowing it. Lol. (Sorry, fun childhood memory);
dearie;
doll;
gorgeous;
gum-drop;
hon;
honey-bun;
hot stuff;
kitten;
love;
lover boy;
lover;
lovely;
munchkin;
old lady – I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my hubby’s called me this a time or two;
peaches;
precious – Lord of the Rings - hee hee;
princess;
pumpkin;
pussy-cat – I had to;
snookums;
snuggle bunny;
spunky;
stunner;
sugar;
sunshine – you make me happy when skies are grey;
sweet-cheeks – my hubby likes to call me this too;
sweetheart;
sweet pea;
sweet-thing;
sweetie;
sweetie-pie;
sweets – I’ve always liked this one for some reason.
There. Did any of those make you cringe? Lol. This should make the ladies feel a little better. 
How would you like Skylar Knight to call you sweetheart? He’s my M/C in the Valentine’s romance I’m wrapping up right now. 
Finding Destiny by Christa Simpson. COMING SOON!!
How about these ones… the ones that didn’t make the cut:
Big daddy yum yum – Seriously???? Who came up with this one??
Cuddle-bear – I don’t know. This one just sounds awkward to me;
Duck – can someone please explain this one to me, cuz I don’t get it;
Fruitcake – I’m sorry, but if someone called me a fruitcake I’d probably have to shoot them the finger behind their back;
Honey toast? Really? People actually use these?
Poopsy – I know I’ve heard this one before, but it doesn’t mean I like it;
Rag-beggar – No, I’m not making this shit up;
Rumpy-diddle – no comment;
Sugar-booger – just eww;
Last… and maybe even least: winky dink.
There you have it. Have I inspired you? Bahahaha. Maybe you’ve coined your own endearment. Or maybe I’ve missed one that you think should have made it on my list. The comment box is your friend. Don’t be shy. Let me hear em.
December 24, 2013
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!
Isn’t my daughter adorable? That’s her Christmas Eve note to Santa. She expects Albie, our elf on the shelf, to bring her message to Santa tonight. Let’s hope he pulls through for her!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!
