Michele Summers's Blog, page 2

Halloween Weekend Novel Giveaway

Check out Michele Summers' "Sweet Southern Bad Boy," which is the THIRD novel in herHarmony Homecomings Series!!ALSO --Be sure to check out the Gleam contest at the bottom of this post to be able to sign up for this blog tour's GIVEAWAY!![Promotion for this post and its Giveaway will run from October 28 - 31, 2016]"Sweet SouthernBad Boy" [Harmony Homecomings Series, Book 3] byMichele SummersAuthor's Book Description:Katie McKnight loves her job. Not really. But Katie works for her dad and this job means everything to him. Which is why she's scouting for the perfect house to film a mini-series…and that house happens to be in Harmony, NC. Now if only Katie can convince the grouchy, disheveled but totally hunky owner his home is perfect for the next teen craze, she’ll be in business.Bestselling author, Vance Kerner has lost his mind along with his loafers and the notes to his next novel, under all the dirty dishes in his kitchen. Since babysitting his brother’s three kids, one dog and a cat, Vance hasn’t found a moments peace. So when California Katie knocks on his door, Vance doesn’t stop to ask questions. He simply yanks her inside and puts her in charge.Katie agrees to babysit, if Vance allows her film crew access to his property. Vance agrees to Katie’s terms (sort of) because he'll agree to anything for the time and peace he needs to write. Almost.But having Katie underfoot is anything but peaceful. And Vance is finding less and less time to write and more and more time to watch Katie weave a lovely spell on all the Kerners...especially him.Can these two opposites find a common ground and the love they both deserve?This book is available to order on:Amazon (Kindle) USD|Amazon (Paperback) USD|Barnes & Noble (NOOK Book) USD|Barnes & Noble (Paperback) USD|Shop Your Indie/Local Bookstores (IndieBound - Paperback) USD** Be sure to add it to your TBR pile onGoodreads&LibraryThing! **Giveaway:Hosted byFrom Me to You ... Video, Photography & Book ReviewsandFrom Jess to You Services.

Release day is almost here!

Releasing a new book is like receiving an unexpected gift from a dear friend or even a bouquet of flowers from a secret admirer. IT NEVER GETS OLD! I'm giddy with excitement at the upcoming release of Sweet Southern Bad Boy on December 6. The story between Vance, a tortured best-selling author, and Katie, a lost location scout from California tugged at my heartstrings while writing it and continues to replay in my mind and make me smile. I hope it will do the same for you when you read it.

And nipping at its heel is Sweet Southern Trouble, releasing May 1, 2017. The story of a sassy, snack-size kindergarten teacher who takes on a bigger-than-life NFL football coach and tries to convince him to participate in her school's auction. Let the battle of the stubborn, thick-headed wills begin!

Both of these are up for pre-order. https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Southern... Hope you'll check them out and let me know how you like them.

Happy reading!

Slow burn to scorching: Why we love contemporaries

  The temperatures may be dropping, but contemporary romance lovers will have plenty of great books to keep them warm this winter. Whether they prefer a slow-burn romance or scorching passion, authors Kara Braden, Megan Mulry, Kristen Proby, Michele Summers, Catherine Bybee and Kathleen Brooks have you covered. We asked these authors to give us the skinny on writing and reading contemporary romance and why these books are so easy to love.   Q: What's your favorite part about writing contemporary

Slow burn to scorching: Why we love contemporaries

The temperatures may be dropping, but contemporary romance lovers will have plenty of great books to keep them warm this winter. Whether they prefer a slow-burn romance or scorching passion, authors Kara Braden, Megan Mulry, Kristen Proby, Michele Summers, Catherine Bybee and Kathleen Brooks have you covered. We asked these authors to give us the skinny on writing and reading contemporary romance and why these books are so easy to love.Q: What's your favorite part about writing contemporary romanceKara Braden, author of The Deepest Night:Setting a romance in the modern world means I can focus my attention on the characters' relationship rather than bringing the reader up to speed with a world set in the distant past or alternate future. I like my heroes and heroines to be realistic, relatable characters who could be our best friends, our co-workers or members of our families.Megan Mulry, author of Roulette: I love incorporating real-life details and experiences into my fictional world. For example, the town in Provence where Miki goes to visit her best friend is a place I've visited several times and I loved conjuring the land and food and essence of the region when I wrote that part of Roulette. The scent of lavender … the way the crickets saw at certain times of the day … little details like that make stories feel really rich to me. I also love observing the world around me — from police brutality to private jets — and figuring out how I am going to weave those things into my characters' experiences.Michele Summers, author of Find My Way Home:My favorite part about writing contemporary romance is creating a whole new world/town/village that either never existed or embellishing on some place that does. I enjoy taking the familiar and giving it a new twist. As a designer, creating a new world feeds my creative interiors spirit. And it's so much more fun when you can start with a blank canvas and let your imagination run wild. I particularly love designing my hero and heroine's homes because the theme of my stories revolves around home and either finding your way back or making a new one with someone you love. It's great fun tapping into my designing gene and inventing these fabulous spaces. And the best part … the client can't talk back. Those lime-green leopard pillows with the hot-pink trim? Done. They're stuck with them!"Forever With Me" by Kristen Proby. (Photo: Ampersand Publishing)Kristen Proby, author of Forever With Me: I'm such a sucker for a good love story. I think my favorite part is that early chemistry, when the characters are realizing that they're attracted to each other, and they can't wait to get their hands on each other.Catherine Bybee, author of Not Quite Forever:Being able to pull from everything and everyone around me for plot twists and inspiration.Kathleen Brooks, author of Built for Power: Getting lost in the story while writing. I love becoming part of the town and part of the characters' lives.Q: What's your favorite trope in contemporaries?Kara: I love friends-to-lovers, maybe because even though my husband and I met on an Internet dating site, where we were intentionally looking for more than just friendship, we started out as friends first, through our shared love of playing video games. Romance is all about the journey to falling in love — a relationship that builds one step at a time. Friendship provides a solid foundation for lasting love."Roulette" by Megan Mulry. (Photo: Montlake Romance)Megan: I love the I-know-you-are-totally-wrong-for-me-but-I-love-you-anyway trope. I think it goes back to when I was a little girl and first saw My Fair Lady andThe King and I on Broadway. Somehow these really autocratic men ended up being "saved" by these scrappy, self-sufficient women. Likewise, the heroines initially found the men to be ill-mannered and overbearing, so the reluctant-falling-in-love went both ways.Michele: OK … way too many to choose from, but I'll try and narrow it down. Love the fake engagement. Just love that pickle they find themselves in and how they try and squirm their way out without succeeding, of course! I also enjoy opposites attract because it makes for some great conflicting moments where nobody agrees and I'm always wondering how they're ever going to get it together. And one of my all-time favorites is the bait and switch where the hero or heroine pretends to be somebody else and they have to keep up the ruse. This trope always keeps me reading and thoroughly intrigued. I have a bait-and-switch story in me right now and it's gonna get written … I promise!Kristen: I love the alpha, billionaire heroes. Probably because doesn't every woman want to meet a successful, super rich man who knows what he wants, isn't afraid to go after it (her) and be a bit bossy, yet in the most loving and affectionate way possible? Where do I sign up for that guy?Catherine: Oh, that's hard. I love the "forbidden" romance, but can't say I've written one yet. I like a slow sizzling burn of a love story.Kathleen: The reformed player is my favorite trope. Usually there's some humor with the realization that they've found the one. And usually the one is a pretty awesome heroine and that makes the story for me!Q: What's your favorite type of heroine to write?Kara: People talk about a "strong" woman, but who can define what makes one woman "stronger" than another? Is a woman who joins the U.S. Marine Corpsand ends up in a combat zone, like the heroine of The Longest Night, stronger than my second book's heroine, who wants to run a bed and breakfast? I don't think so. I think a strong woman is one who has the wisdom to understand herself and the willpower to follow her dreams, without needing to depend on anyone else to feel capable or complete. When a strong woman falls in love, she does so with her eyes wide open and her whole heart.Megan: I want readers to feel like my heroines are going to be just fine with or without the hero — but you know, if she can end up as the Queen of Siam or living in a swanky townhouse in Mayfair with the man she loves, why wouldn't she?Michele: Sassy, smart, funny. My heroines have to have all three characteristics and yet don't see themselves that way at all. I enjoy writing heroines who tend to be vulnerable, but do a good job of hiding it behind their funny mask or sarcasm. My heroines are flawed in many ways, but in the end their strength of character and their love of family and home shine through.Kristen: I love a woman who isn't afraid to kick ass and doesn't take anyone's crap. So while my hero may be alpha and goes after what he wants, when he screws up (and he will, because he's human after all) the heroine isn't going to shy away from calling him out on his crap. She's also funny and sexy.Catherine: I like writing them all. I'm partial to confident sassy heroines. But it's nice to take a reserved heroine and help her come out of her confined skin.Kathleen: I love writing about strong, independent women. I joke that if my heroine ever twisted her ankle while running from the bad guy, that she'd roll over and kick him with the good leg!Q: Do your prefer a slow burn or scorching?Kara: I'm all about the slow burn. There's nothing I enjoy more than rising tension that builds page after page, from heated glances to furtive touches, from innuendos to outright declarations of desire and love. As a reader, I want to be seduced into believing in the relationship — and as a writer, I love to tease the reader into saying, "They're perfect for one another! Look at them! When will they admit they're in love and kiss already?"Megan: Both! I love scorching erotica with lots of sex on the page, and I love sex-free romances that just get me feeling all tingly without ever going behind the bedroom door. I guess what I always want to feel is a simmering tension. Whether it's actually depicted or only alluded to, I crave the snap-crackle-and-pop of protagonists interacting with one another in any setting. (But if they are, you know, interacting in bed, that's great too.)Michele: I think I write slow burn … slow to write it and I burn with indigestion! I mean, writing any level of heat is very, very difficult for me. I'm repressed and live with tons of Catholic guilt … it's not my fault. But I hope by the end of the day (or in my case it's usually a week) I've captured some heat that holds true emotion and a certain binding connection between my hero and heroine. And having just written that, I realize it's not the sexual act that's so difficult for me to write, but the emotion attached to it and making that real and believable because without the passion and love it becomes a laundry list of putting Tab A into slot B … for me anyway.Kristen: Can't we do both? Ha! I love those scorching, super-hot stories.Catherine: It can be slow on the burn, which makes the end all that more scorching. Sometimes an instant attraction with a slow heat to love is fun too.Kathleen: Both! It all depends on the characters. Sometimes they just can't keep their hands off of each other, but other couples need that time to get over an old feud, misconception, etc. The characters really are the ones that dictate if it's a slow burn or scorching book.Q: What's your go-to contemporary to cuddle up with?Kara: I'm going to break the rules here, because my go-to romance is Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series, which is a near-future sci-fi/paranormal romance. After a few bad brushes with bodice rippers in the '80s, I refused to go near romance again until I found A Slave to Sensation. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. Her world-building is spectacular, with a rich and intricate history, and I love how she's incorporated what we'd normally think of as magic — shapeshifters and psychics — into a world full of science.Megan: I love contemporaries with memorable characters, sharp dialogue and a hint of black humor, so I gravitate toward writers likeSusan Elizabeth Phillips, Maisey Yates and Mira Lyn Kelly.Michele: Seriously? How long do we have? Let's see … nowadays anything by Kristan Higgins or Tracy Brogan. But in the past I could be seen with all books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Jennifer Crusie, Jane Graves and Shannon Stacey. But the first contemporary romance I ever read was Open Season by Linda Howardlent to me by a friend. And at first, I turned my Regency-lovin' nose up and didn't think I'd like it. Boy, was I wrong. After that one book I was hooked!Kristen: I have a few: Jennifer Probst, Christina Lauren and Nora Roberts are my staples.Catherine: There are so many books on my TBR list that I don't often re-read a novel. If there is one constant in my world of go-to ... it would be a laptop. I'm always working on the next Bybee book.Kathleen: Christie Craig's Divorced and Desperate series. Sassy Southern heroines, sexy men and laugh-out-loud suspense.Find out more about these authors and their books at their websites:karabraden.commeganmulry.comwww.michelesummers.comwww.booksbykristenproby.comwww.cather...

When Life Gives You Lemons...Suck it!

I know...I should be more polite and say, "make lemonade." But I'm not feeling too nice these days. Being ill will do that to a person. Boy, do we ever take our health for granted. Stop doing that! (I'm lecturing myself...) Be grateful for everyday you breathe. 
So, I thought I'd start a list of the things I'm most grateful for. Some will be quite obvious like my kids...my wonderful, smart, funny, precious, talented son and daughter who make me smile everyday and make me so proud of their accomplishments, not just as students or athletes, but as good-hearted, moral persons/people (never know which one to use). They truly have a zest for life and love meeting new people and learning new things. Wish I was more like them!


The beach, the ocean, the sunset, sunrise...all of the above. I've always been a beach goer vs. a mountain hiker, because growing up as a family we'd take our summer vacations at the beach every year. Now, mind you, I'm not a fan of swimming with Jaws, but the shores of North Carolina don't seem to be riddled with sharks. But what I love most is the majesty of it all and I have written many a story in my head trolling for sand dollars on the shoreline early evening when everyone has headed inside to start dinner or drinks on the deck and the beach is deserted. Truly one of my most favorite times of day. So peaceful.






Gardens...I don't claim to be a gardener by any stretch of the imagination, but I love well-appointed gardens/lawns/settings and blooming flowers and pretty pots. I wish I had a green thumb, but since I manage to kill more than grow...I really appreciate those who do it well. 


The meal...prepared by someone else! Delicious, yummy, comforting, exotic...whatever. I appreciate a beautiful meal prepared with love and passion. And I love a graciously set table with candles and flowers and pretty crystal glasses. Or Mason Jars and wooden bowls. Pewter and horn. Wicker and plastic. As long as the food and the company are good and the conversation flows! 

Just a few examples of things I'm thankful for...will continue this list on later blog posts. 

In the meantime, remember to breathe and appreciate every day as a gift.

Testing

Whad up???

I NEED A WIFE!!!

This past week my BFF flew up from Miami to visit me and I couldn't have been happier. We drove to the mountains together to visit another great friend who likes to refer to us as Thelma and Louise or Lucy and Ethel, depending on what adventure or trouble we get into. I'd been looking forward to this trip for months. Great company, beautiful scenery, fun shopping, delicious food...the only problem...I haven't been feeling well and my energy was super low. Not sure what's causing my achy muscles and increased exhaustion, but it has hit me like a ton of bricks and I haven't quite recovered. (Doctors are running tests and hopefully will have diagnosis soon). But since I wasn't my usual energetic self, my BFF (or Louise) picked up the slack and really helped me out. 
When I returned from work, not only had she vacuumed and scrubbed my wood floors, but a hot dinner was waiting for me and my family. My first thought: I'd entered the wrong house! Imagine my surprise at not having to get a meal ready for my hungry kids. Instead, I was instructed to sit and put up my aching feet and relax. One word: Heaven! That's when it struck me...I need a WIFE! Really. Someone to split all the chores with. Like cloning yourself. When you're too tired or have to work overtime, your wife can pick up the slack and make sure you don't fall behind on the errands, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Brilliant!

As for my BFF, we've been friends for so long that we already know how we like things done. AND she's an interior designer too. Free design advice for me and help with my clients. Perfection. 
Who's with me? Come on... I know this is not an original idea. There are even books written on the subject. Sounds logical...right??



My BFF and I have made a pact: once our kids are gone and on their own, we're going to find a place together...like the Golden Girls!! Somewhere near the water, feet propped up with chilled drink in one hand and great book in the other! 

Thanks EW...you're the best! LOVE you!

GIVEAWAY! YAY!!!

I'm giving away $25 GIFT CARD from 
     Bed Bath & Beyond! 
Yep. Felt like celebrating the release of 
FIND MY WAY HOME. 
All you have to do is click on the BB&B's logo (left) and enter by either liking my fan page on Facebook, following me on Twitter, joining my newsletter or following my reviews on Goodreads. Easy-peasy!! And who doesn't like to win something? Especially from a great store like BB&B where you can find everything from kitchen necessities to dorm room must-haves. So, jump over and enter now...contest runs until the end of August. The winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter. (Sorry peeps, but I won't be the one picking the winner...)  Why peonies? Well, they happen to be one of my faves. And I'm trying to grow them in my garden (really my whiskey barrel pot sitting on my deck) with very little luck. Maybe next spring...hope springs eternal. But they also show up in FIND MY WAY HOME. Yes, Keith needing to beg forgiveness for being a total butthead brings them to Bertie. You'll have to read the book to find out what he did that warranted flowers as an apology. Anyway, I just love them. What's your favorite flower? Would you forgive someone if they brought you a bouquet? I'm thinking a big YES on that one.

My HORRIBLE Sweet Tooth...

I have a horrible, no good, very bad sweet tooth. I say this because it gets me in all kinds of trouble. Like when I crave something sweet and then forage through every cabinet, nook and cranny trying to find a stash of something...anything like Hershey's Kisses or sour gummy bears or old Halloween candy from 3 years ago, I know the minute I snarf the sweet down it's dancing straight to my hips and stomach and thighs and it ain't leaving. It will boogie there until the cows come home. Sad but true. 

So, you'd think I wouldn't give in to said craving, right? Wrong. Can't help myself. It's programmed into my DNA. And on that note, I thought I'd share this delicious looking Salted Caramel Layer Cake recipe with you from Javacupcake.com @javacupcake  I'm not much of a baker, but I could be convinced to try this one. Looks delish, doesn't it? Let me know if you give a try. Would love to hear how it turns out. (see recipe below). Or click on picture to go straight to link.

Ingredients

Caramel Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature1 cup sugar3/4 firmly packed dark brown sugar3 large eggs1 tsp vanilla2 cups flour, sifted1 cup buttermilk1 tsp baking soda1 Tbsp white vinegarSalted Caramel Sauce
2 cups sugar12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed & room temperature1 cup heavy cream, room temperature1 Tbsp fleur de sel (I used sea salt and crushed it down into smaller flakes)Caramel Frosting
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar5oz unsalted butter, room temperature, divided1/3 cup heavy cream8oz cream cheese, softened1/4 tsp salt2 cups powdered sugar, siftedInstructions

Caramel Cake
Prepare 3 8in cake pans by buttering, lining with parchment paper and flouring.Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 3 minutes.Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl often.Mix in the vanilla.Add the flour and buttermilk alternating until just combined.In a measuring glass, mix together the baking soda and vinegar then add to the batter. Mix just until incorporated. Do not overmix!Separate batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans.Bake about 20 minutes or until the top and edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.Salted Caramel Sauce
In a very large, heavy saucepan or pot over medium-high heat, pour the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Whisk until melted. The sugar will clump up but will eventually completely melt. This will take about 4-5 minutes.Once the sugar has melted, stop whisking and cook until the temperature reaches 350 F degrees or the sugar has turned into an amber color and has a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat.Add all the butter and whisk until combined. This mixture will bubble up, but keep whisking until all the butter has melted.Slowly pour the heavy cream into the mixture and whisk until incorporated.Stir in the fleur de sel.Cool for about 10-15 minutes before using.Store leftovers in a jar with a lid and reheat before using again. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.Caramel Frosting
In a medium, heavy pot, whisk together the brown sugar and 2oz of butter over medium heat until melted. Bring to a boil for no more than 10 seconds. Remove from heat immediately and pour in the heavy cream and whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature. NOTE: You can use an ice bath and whisk to cool quickly if you don’t have time to wait.In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the remaining 3oz of butter and cream cheese until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl several times during this process.Mix in the salt.Turn the mixer to low and pour in a slow, steady stream the brown sugar mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on medium speed until completely smooth and incorporated.Add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until smooth.The frosting will feel very soft – so refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes before frosting the cake.Assembly
Once the cakes cooled, use a large skewer to poke holes across the top of the cake. Spoon a layer of caramel sauce over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly.Allow the caramel sauce to soak into the cake.Repeat this process with a second layer of sauce.Once all the caramel has soaked into the cake, place one layer of the cake onto your serving platter.Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top of the layer – no more than 1/2 a cup of frosting.Place the second layer on top and spread another thin layer of frosting.Place the final layer of cake on top and frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting.Drizzle the top of the cake with caramel sauce. Using a spatula, in a back and forth pattern, spread the frosting and sauce together until just incorporated and it looks like the caramel is oozing thru the top of the cake.Using a disposable piping bag and a very small tip, fill the bag with caramel sauce. Pipe a layer of sauce around the top edge of the cake, stopping every inch or so to squeeze a little more so it drizzles down the side. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.Refrigerate until ready to eat – but remove 15 minutes before serving.Notes

For more detailed instructions on how to make the caramel sauce, visit Brown Eyed Baker . She’s got a great step-by-step tutorial with lots of pictures!

Cake and Frosting recipe originally from: Laura’s Sweet Spot


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@javacupcake On another SWEET note...FIND MY WAY HOME had a great release date on July 1st. And I'm beyond thrill that it's doing so well in the stores. If you haven't bought your copy yet, check out my buy buttons on my website:
www.michelesummers.com 

And let me know how you like it. Feel free to leave reviews or email me your comments. Would love to hear from you. And thank you so much for your support!

RELEASE DAY...FIND MY WAY HOME!

Release day is almost here...this Tuesday, July 1st! And I'm beyond excited. It's almost surreal because so much has gone into the writing and publishing of this book. I couldn't have done any of it without my fabulous publisher Sourcebooks and my amazing editor Deb Werksman. (I'm a much better shopper than she is, but she's a much, much better editor...as it should be!) And my agent Nicole Resciniti who held my hand with great patience and always wearing a smile.

But I really relied on my "street team" and that would be all my favorite peeps (Carol Lynn, Nancy, Elise, Jennifer...) and my great critique partner Laura Simcox! You guys kept me sane and talked me off the ledge more times than I can count!


So, Happy Fourth of July and happy release day to me! My debut does not compare to the celebration of the independence of this country, but for me...it feels like someone should strike up the band and light the fireworks, because I'm in a celebrating mood!!!

Hope you enjoy Find My Way Home. Check out the buy buttons on my website: www.michelesummers.com