Aloha to Lauren Layne and FROM THIS DAY FORWARD (The Wedding Belles) - New Release Blitz

 

Reminder: I have a special giveaway to celebrate June at this link.

Coming June 6 from Pocket Star ...

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in this prequel to USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s The Wedding Belles series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.

Up-and-coming wedding photographer Leah McHale’s career is on the rise–thanks in no small part to the Wedding Belles, the elite New York wedding planning agency that always throws top-tier business Leah’s way. So when one of the Belles asks Leah to fill in at the former First Daughter's wedding, Leah is overjoyed to say yes–until she finds out who she’ll be working with.

Jason Rhodes is the one man who was able to capture Leah’s heart and, once he had it, promptly stepped all over it and left her broken. Now he’s working side-by-side with her at the biggest wedding of the season and Leah is determined to give him the cold shoulder. Despite his persistence, she is not going to fall for his charming, impish ways again. Not even if he still has that killer, irresistible smile...

Lauren lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian. 

Five years ago, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan.

She writes smart romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush, and in her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

When not bringing The Sexy, she likes to blog about her Instagram addiction, and why mean girls are the worst.

Learn more about Lauren and her books at laurenlayne.com.

Hawaiian wildflowers look like a bride's bouquet

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash.  To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about wedding bouquets - what is your favorite flower?

2. Comments are open through Saturday, June 11, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, June 12.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Lauren Layne and FRISK ME

 

After spending a week at RWA in NYC, I share the Big Apple with you via Lauren Layne's new release, FRISK ME, Book 1 in the New York's Finest series.  Lauren joins me for a cozy chat ...

A long-time romance reader, Lauren Layne thinks the only thing better than reading about happy endings is writing them. She now pursues a full-time career in Happily Ever After, a job she's naturally suited for after marrying her high school sweetheart. A bit of a nomad, Lauren's lived everywhere from Orange County to Manhattan, and currently lives in the Chicago area. Her hobbies include coffee by day, wine by night, and lots of writing in between. She's also a total website nerd and insists you check out laurenlayne.com!

Kim:  Chicago!  What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Windy City?

Lauren:  This is going to sound crazy, but my favorite thing has been the snow. Winter’s long been my favorite season, but coming from Seattle, we usually get snow maybe once or twice a year. Some years there’s no snow at all. Then we tried New York, and I thought *that* would be my winter fix, but we had two pretty mild NYC winters while we were there. But Chicago … Chicago knows how to do winter. Bitterly cold and piles of snow. Perfect :-)

Kim:  Who or what helped you along the path to publishing?

Lauren:  Probably a cliche answers here, but my husband, definitely. He was the one that gave me a little dose of tough love early on, telling me I had to stop talking about writing a book and actually do it. And once the book was done, he’s the one who didn’t even hesitate when I nervously asked if I could reduce our dual income household to a single-income household while I pursued the dream of becoming a full-time writer. That sort of unwavering confidence, that belief that the money stuff would work itself out because I was a good writer (note: we went into not insignificant debt, and then crawled back out of it) is a huge component of my success.

Kim:  What inspired your new series and your new title, FRISK ME?

Lauren:  Big shout out to my publishing team here, because it was them that initially had the idea, “Hey, what about a family of NYC cops …” The story is all mine, the characters are all mine, but the premise is what happens when you put a bunch of romance-loving people in a room and figure out what stories haven’t been told yet. There just aren’t a lot of cop books out there, which is strange, because a man in uniform is HOT. I think one thing that’s pretty unique with FRISK ME and the series in general is that it’s not suspense. Most books about law enforcement officers have a “danger” element to them, but while New York’s Finest isn’t without some real-life cop situations, the heart of the series is the romance and the family.

After a photograph of Luc Moretti saving a tourist hits social media, he instantly becomes New York's most famous and beloved cop. When a major network decides to run a special on the "American Hero," Luc's boss gives him no choice but to cooperate in the name of good exposure for the department. Luc doesn't mind the celebrity status-what he does mind is the gorgeous brunette journalist who's been assigned to follow his every move. Especially since she also happens to be the same knockout that rejected him rather publicly the week before.

Ava Sims is a woman who gets what she wants. And what she wants is to be CBC's lead anchor-but to get there, she'll need to nail the fluff piece on the playboy cop. Luc Moretti is everything Ava knows to stay away from: a stubborn charmer with a hero-complex. But the more Ava gets to know Luc and his oddball family, the more she realizes that beneath the swagger and the blue uniform is a complex man who makes her heart beat too fast. Soon, Ava's doing the unthinkable, and falling for the best of New York's finest …

Amazon
B&N
iTunes

Kobo
BAM!
Goodreads

Forever is hosting a giveaway at this link.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Coming soon from the New York's Finest series ...

Aloha to Lauren Layne and ONLY WITH YOU - Blog Tour

Lauren Layne joins us today to celebrate - Vegas style - the release of ONLY WITH YOU, Book 1 in The Best Mistake series:

Getting mistaken for a prostitute is not part of Sophie Dalton's life plan. Not that Sophie even has a life plan. She's perfectly happy being everyone's favorite party girl. But then a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry, and an uptight businessman gives Sophie a new label: hooker.

Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there. When the same jerk who mistook her for a prostitute shows up as Sophie's new boss and her perfect sister's new boyfriend, Sophie's carefree existence is turned upside down. Grayson Wyatt may have infiltrated family dinners and her professional world, but Sophie's not about to let a judgmental prude anywhere near her personal life.

As Gray's icy stares give way to quiet smiles, Sophie realizes that the one man she's been so desperate to get away from just might be the one she wants to keep around forever.

Amazon
B&N
iTunes
BAM!
Indiebound

I asked Lauren for the Top Five Things to do in Vegas for a Bachelorette Party ... 

First, it should be noted that I’m totally the type to be in bed by 10pm, even when in Vegas, so here’s MY version of a Vegas Bachelorette party:

(1) Go to Vesper Bar for a cocktail. These bartenders are magical. Tell them what you want, and they’ll whip up something customly amazing. No trashy shots here!

(2) Put on that skirt that’s just a TINY bit too short and go to one of the million fancy restaurants in Vegas.

(3) Skip the clubs; have a dance party in your fabulous hotel room instead!

(4) You MUST splurge on a show! Although I confess to not being a Cirque du Soleil fan, so I’m all about the musicals. Or since it’s a bachelor party, something with scantily clad me?

(5) Watch the Bellagio fountains at night. I mean … you just HAVE TO.

Image released to Public Domain (link)

Mahalo, Lauren, for giving us a taste of Sin City.

Lauren Layne writes contemporary romance for Grand Central Publishing (Forever) and Random House(Loveswept).

After dabbling in an e-commerce career in Seattle and Southern California, Lauren moved to New York City where she now writes full time.

Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University with B.S. in Political Science that she has yet to put to good use. She lives with her husband and plus-sized Pomeranian in a tiny Manhattan studio. 

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