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Good morning everyone! Please welcome author Christy McKee, who's sharing her newest book, Maybe Too Good To Be True. She's also got a great giveaway included, so read through for complete details.
Maybe Too Good To Be TrueGabrielle March is summoned to an oceanfront estate in Massachusetts by the matriarch of Atlantic-Hastings International where she is presented with a hefty block of shares as amends for a crime committed against her family. The stock—worth several million dollars—can give her the means to make her dream come true if only she can muster the courage to break free from her past and believe in her unique creative talent.
Pierce Hastings, son of Gabrielle’s benefactress, grudgingly agrees to take her under his wing and acclimate her to Atlantic-Hastings. Never one to mix business with pleasure, Pierce stuns himself when he ignores his own self imposed rule. Gabrielle’s complete lack of artifice, unvarnished honesty and quirky sense of humor are intoxicating to him―and he’s rapidly becoming addicted. He’s blindsided when Gabrielle confesses that, in spite of her growing feelings for him, she will never fit into his world of power and privilege and has no desire to try.
One of the things that makes romance so enjoyable for me is the growth arc that characters take from the opening pages to the end of the book. Christy is going to give us her take on how Pierce and Gabrielle grow, and just how their growth impacts their relationship. She's got some really insightful and complex things to reveal. Welcome, Christy!
Good morning, Claire. Thanks so much for having me today.
(You're most welcome, glad to have you!)
Make Me Laugh; Make Me Cry, or Scare the Stuffing out of Me, But Be Sure You Make Me Feel
Anger, fear, and betrayal are the most stringent emotions characters bring with them into a story. While the characters—at least in romance— ultimately seek love, trust, respect, desire, and commitment, the distressing emotions and their root causes must be dealt with over the course of the story and put to rest before they can achieve their happily ever after.
Gabrielle March, heroine in Maybe Too Good to Be True, had a difficult childhood, ruled by a dictatorial father. As a teenager, he constantly drummed into her that she was nothing special. He forced her to photograph high school events for his newspaper, like prom and homecoming, which opened Gabrielle up for ridicule and taunts from the less than kind “in” crowd at school. He harped that she should be content to report about people who accomplished great things, accepting she would never be one of them. When college approached, he forbade her to major in TV-Film at the university and refused to pay a cent of her tuition unless she committed to journalism and a career at his newspaper.
Finally fed up with being controlled and bullied, Gabrielle mustered the courage to stand up to him. Bravely, she announced that she was going to pursue a career in TV news and she wouldn’t be working at his newspaper. He’d refused to speak to her for over a year. It was a cruel blow since her dad was her only living relative. When Gabrielle graduated summa cum laude, she was bitterly disappointed when he didn’t show up. She has regrets about what her “standing up for herself” has cost her. She landed a job at ANN in Atlanta, and it was the first major accomplishment in her life. Her dad undermined her new job and called it “fluff.” In his last days of battling terminal cancer, he wangled a deathbed promise from Gabrielle that she would keep his newspaper alive. The albatross she’d evaded for several years, now sat squarely on her shoulders. The king of manipulators had won.
When the story begins Gabrielle has a change in circumstances which will allow her to pay off her dad’s debts, sell the newspaper and pursue her own dream. Unfortunately, she is stymied by guilt over breaking her promise to her father. Beyond that, to achieve her goal of having her own video production company, Gabrielle must believe in herself and realize she is a talented videographer. If she doesn’t accomplish this, she won’t have the courage to buy into New World Productions. When she falls for Pierce Hastings, she is plagued with doubts that she is not good enough to be a part of his rich and famous world.
Until two years ago, Pierce Hastings had it all—then the bottom fell out. Everything his wife had said she wanted was a lie. Unbeknownst to him, she’d always planned to go to law school, never planned to have his children, and only married him for his wealth, prestige, a free ride to law school, and his far reaching social connections. When she’d made partner in her firm, it was “adios” Pierce. The pain of her betrayal, his uncharacteristic anger and disbelief in his usually spot on judgment, tore him apart.
Taking this back story in mind, we see Pierce’s mindset and the starting point of his upward transformational arc. He is still a successful, confident man and knows his place in the world, but his lack of trust where women are concerned, assuming they all have ulterior motives, stand in his way of any long term romance. In Pierce’s first scene in Maybe Too Good to Be True, he immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion and assumes Gabrielle is out to bilk money from his late father’s estate. He doesn’t trust her from the beginning because the first time he sees her is in an eight by ten color photo bearing a red ink stamp on the back with the name of the investigation firm his company uses. Why in the hell would his mother have the young woman investigated? Pierce is going to have to get over his lack of trust. That’s a transformation that takes some time but he will do it. He must also realize he can’t control Gabrielle to force her to make the decisions he wants her to make. Known as the fixer in his family, Pierce will have to force himself to back off and stay rooted to the sidelines and wait patiently, while Gabrielle figures some things out on her own.
Do Gabrielle and Pierce have a difficult road ahead of them? Yes, they do. Their transformational arc will not be a smooth one. Pierce will surprise himself about how far he’s willing to go to support feisty, point-blank honest, Gabrielle. She may have more to prove to herself than to anyone else. If she does the work, hopefully when she comes out on the other side, she will be reborn— strong, fearless, confident, and ready to start a new life unencumbered by the past.
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I love angsty characters, and these two sound like they have a whole lot ahead of them. Sounds yummy, frankly, Christy. Let's take a peek at them in action!
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EXCERPT
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“You don’t kiss like you want to stop. I think what you really want is to be kissed and a whole lot more.” Pierce raised his large hand to run a finger slowly across her mouth. “I’m really going to enjoy educating you, Gabrielle.” His twinkling blue eyes roamed over her.
Was he talking about sex? This overly macho male thought he was going to teach her about sex? What did he think…she was like, sixteen? “Listen Bucko. I don’t need to learn about sex from you. I…”
His mouth quirked into a self-satisfied smile. “Good to know, Peaches, but I was talking about your indoctrination to Atlantic-Hastings. Mother put me in charge of you. We’re going to be spending lots of quality time together.”
Mercy. What was Elizabeth thinking?
“Hold on a second.” He looked down at her. “You’re looking a little shaky, Peaches. I don’t scare you, do I?”
The towering, six foot four, male irritated the hell out of her, but he didn’t frighten her one bit. Truth was her reaction to his searing kiss scared the stuffing out of her.
Mmm, yup -- yummy!
Don't miss out on the book, and don't miss out on Christy's giveaway! She's offering a digital copy of Maybe Too Good To Be True to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop on her blog tour, and a $30 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour--the more you comment, the better your chances of winning! Complete tour dates can be found here.
More About the Author
My addiction to reading emerged when I was ten and down with measles. My mother, trying to keep me entertained, brought home a stack of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew books. Within days, I’d consumed them all and asked for more. That’s when it truly began−the pleasure of reading which would eventually lead to my writing.
Keep in touch via: Christy's Website | Blog | Twitter
Was he talking about sex? This overly macho male thought he was going to teach her about sex? What did he think…she was like, sixteen? “Listen Bucko. I don’t need to learn about sex from you. I…”
His mouth quirked into a self-satisfied smile. “Good to know, Peaches, but I was talking about your indoctrination to Atlantic-Hastings. Mother put me in charge of you. We’re going to be spending lots of quality time together.”
Mercy. What was Elizabeth thinking?
“Hold on a second.” He looked down at her. “You’re looking a little shaky, Peaches. I don’t scare you, do I?”
The towering, six foot four, male irritated the hell out of her, but he didn’t frighten her one bit. Truth was her reaction to his searing kiss scared the stuffing out of her.
~~@~~
YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM MAYBE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
~~@~~
Mmm, yup -- yummy!
Don't miss out on the book, and don't miss out on Christy's giveaway! She's offering a digital copy of Maybe Too Good To Be True to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop on her blog tour, and a $30 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour--the more you comment, the better your chances of winning! Complete tour dates can be found here.
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| Blog Tour and Giveaway! Click for details. |
More About the Author
My addiction to reading emerged when I was ten and down with measles. My mother, trying to keep me entertained, brought home a stack of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew books. Within days, I’d consumed them all and asked for more. That’s when it truly began−the pleasure of reading which would eventually lead to my writing.
I can’t pin point precisely when I knew I was different from everyone else−at least from my tight group of hometown friends. Didn’t everyone have movies playing in their heads starring beautiful characters leading adventurous lives in exotic places? NO—they did not. Did that mean they were normal and I was the odd, slightly wacky duck? My answer to that conundrum came when I attended my first writer’s conference in Savannah. Nervous about being on my own at the crowded event, a kindly writer from Texas took me under her wing and introduced me to at least a dozen writers. Surrounded by so many writers who were so like me, I fit right in. I wasn’t an “odd” duck after all; I’d simply been in the wrong pond!
As a result of that conference, my desire and conviction to write blossomed. Still working a full time job at a Louisiana cancer center, I carved out time to write every night and on weekends. My first manuscript went through four incarnations, and a year under the bed, before success came knocking.
Today my family and our two Labs—Lambeau, the Green Bay Packers unofficial mascot and Gracie, who is just plain, sweet Amazing Grace—live in a picturesque little town in Ohio wrapped around a lovely town square with an intricately carved gazebo where weekly band concerts take place all summer long.
Keep in touch via: Christy's Website | Blog | Twitter
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
Posts
Oh, this sounds like a great book! I love sassy female characters. And Pierce sounds like a yummy hunk.
I only hope that the whole book is as good as the excerpt. It sounds really tense, but interesting.
The excerpt is "omg" good, so the book has the be great.
Can't wait to get my hands on a copy.
It's so nice when also get to know a little bit about the author, that was great. Thanks!!
Karen,
Gabrielle is sassy on the outside, but on the inside her confidence falters sometimes when she is forced to address certain issues.
Thanks for stopping by.
Christy
MomJane,
I'm putting a new excerpt on my blog today. Stop by and check it out.
http://christymckeewriter.blogspot.com
Chynarey,
I am so glad you liked the excerpt. Thanks for taking the time to come by and say hello.
Christy McKee
Claire,
What a fantastic blog experience today. So many friendly guests!Thank you again for the guest spot.
Christy McKee
I like to see strong character arcs--very interesting post!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Gabrielle sounds like someone I'd like. I wonder if the new-found wealth will change her for the better?
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Thanks for sharing more about the heroine.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Wonderfully great post! I'm looking forward to reading your book!
justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
I certainly want to FEEL what I am reading. Fabulous!!
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com