Showing posts with label Michele Summers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michele Summers. Show all posts

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Aloha to Michele Summers and NOT SO NEW IN TOWN


Kim's note:  One of my coworkers is named Michele Summers. But we call her Missy because the Director's name is Michele. The director's assistant is also named Michele but we call her Shelly.  

You can’t go back, and you can’t stand still…

Lucy Doolan is a marketing genius. She can sell rain to a frog and snow to a polar bear. Newly single and unemployed, she’s lured back to her hometown of Harmony, North Carolina to help out her pregnant evil stepsister…only to find former crush heartthrob Brogan Reese has returned too, to open a new business in town. To add insult to injury, he’s still hot.

If the thunder don’t get you, then the lightning will…

Brogan never noticed Lucy much when they were young, but seventeen people have recommended her to help him. She’s got his attention now. With her sweet personality, brilliant imagination, and penchant for doing the completely unpredictable, Brogan is finding a whole lot of excuses to spend his days—and nights—with Lucy.


Amazon
Apple 
BAM
B&N
Indiebound
Kobo



Michele Summers writes about small-town life with a Southern flair and has her own interior design business in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Miami, Florida. Both professions feed her creative appetite and provide a daily dose of humor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Sourcebooks offers an excerpt from NOT SO NEW IN TOWN

“Let’s dance”—Brogan shoved his chair back, grabbing Lucy’s hand—“and give these two some alone time.”

“I don’t want to dance.”

“Sure you do. They’re playing Trace Adkins.”

Wanda helped by pushing Lucy’s chair from the table with her foot. Brogan tugged Lucy around more dining tables to the middle of the sawdust-covered dance floor, where couples swayed to the band’s rendition of “Every Light in the House.” Slipping his right hand around the small of her back, he pressed her plush curves into his chest. Her smooth hair tickled his chin, and the smell of citrus filled his head. Lucy stood stiff as a telephone pole as he tried maneuvering to the slow beat of the music.

“You gonna dance like a robot all night, or just with me?” He cocked his head and peered into her face, where doubt disappeared and desire took over as her gaze softened. Brogan liked that look as he slightly bent his knees, pulling her closer. “I won’t bite unless you want me to,” he whispered next to her ear.

“Good to know.” She heaved a shaky sigh. “Well, I guess you’re better than Clancy Perry over there looking like he wants to cut in.” Looping her left arm around his neck, she rocked her hips to the beat. Brogan swallowed a groan. Right now nothing else mattered. All he cared about was luscious Lucy filling his arms.

“Let’s look like we mean it so Clancy or his brother, Clinton, won’t get any ideas.” He bent as if to kiss her.

“You don’t mind if I start singing, do you?” she said, smiling as she moved away from his lips.

Brogan’s head jerked back. “Oh, hell no. My ears haven’t recovered from this morning.”

“I know all the words.” Tossing him a saucy look, she started to hum…loudly.

“Shut up and dance.” Brogan tucked her back under his chin and shook with laughter.


18509640

Monday, August 11, 2014

Aloha to Michele Summers and FIND MY WAY HOME

18509640

I found my way home to Florida this summer to tour college campuses with my oldest teen.  I've posted pictures on my travel blog, ALOHA ON MY MIND, at this link, link, and link.

Michele Summers is hosting a special giveaway to celebrate her summer debut, FIND MY WAY HOME:

Everyone knows that money can't buy happiness. The promise of money is even worse. Especially for a small town designer with big dreams. Bertie Anderson is finding out anticipation only buys trouble. When the offer of $150,000 is dropped into her lap for designing one house, she dumps her dreams of leaving town and gets to work. If only she wasn't so distracted by her hubbalicious client. Why would an ex-pro tennis player move to tiny Harmony, NC?

Keith Morgan is wondering the same thing. Sure, he needs a safe place to raise his daughter, away from the party lifestyle of his past. But does it have to be in a crazy, little town where everyone knows his business? What's worse is his aunt has given him an ultimatum: get married in three months or risk losing his little girl. Finding a woman is no problem. Parades of them show up at his house like the paparazzi. The problem is he only has eyes for Bertie, his quirky, curvy, maddening designer. And he couldn't marry her, because this go round he needs to play it safe...and Bertie is anything but safe!


Amazon: link
BAM: link
B&N: link
iBooks: link
IndieBound: link
Indigo: link
Kobo: link
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Aloha to Michele Summers and FIND MY WAY HOME

18509640

Debut author Michele Summers joins me today for an interview that hits home for me.  From her bio,

Michele Summers writes funny romances set in small Southern towns with sassy heroines, witty heroes and wacky, small-town characters, along with a satisfying happily ever after. Michele started her fiction writing career after Hurricane Wilma hit Miami and she was without power for over a week. Bored to tears, she scrounged for a legal pad and pen, and with the help of a trusty flashlight, started writing. Thrilled to have found another creative outlet, she's been writing ever since, when she's not working as an interior designer, personal chef, playing tennis, or raising her two great kids. Presently,she resides in North Carolina where she grew up with her family, but she still misses sunny South Florida, swaying palm trees and wearing open-toed shoes...everyday! 


Image of Michele Summers

Kim:  I grew up in Coral Gables but moved to Clearwater for high school. What do you miss about "sunny South Florida", i.e., what is your favorite sight, sound, and smell from Miami Dade? 

Michele:  Awwww, you’re killing me! A girl after my own heart. I know most would imagine I’d say the beach, but that’s not what I miss the most. The Royal Palms that lined my street and the full moon right outside my front window. The blooming pink and purple bougainvillea’s and Poinciana trees with their red-orange flowers. I miss playing tennis almost daily. And wearing Havaianas, literally ninety percent of the time. I miss drinking Cuban coffee; even though I didn’t indulge every day…I liked knowing that pick-me-up was right around any corner. The sounds my kids would make swimming in the pool and my daily drive down historic Old Cutler Road. I could go on and on about the food, shopping, my friends…I’m sure you wished you’d never asked. ;-)

Kim:  How was your transition from big city Miami to small town North Carolina? 

Michele:  I’m originally from NC, but haven’t lived here for years so I’m still in transition. I like to drive fast and hate long stop lights. In Miami, a yellow light means, floor it! In NC…I’d likely rear end the person slowing down to stop in front of me. Winters are tough for me. Barren trees, gray skies, freezing cold, lots of snow…so not happy with that weather. But my daily rabbit-route takes less time and my kids love being with their cousins.

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

Michele:  Belonging to RWA and my two chapters in NC and S. Florida has provided the most useful information and support. There’s definitely a huge learning curve in this ever-changing business and having those groups to rely on for answers has been immeasurable. Also, my critique partner has been a rock and very helpful with all things publishing.

Kim:  What inspired FIND YOUR WAY HOME

Michele:  My love of interior design and my love of tennis for starters and then my experience with moving from a place I called home to one I wasn’t so sure about. Lots of angst, nail-biting and hair-pulling goes along with a big move and I’ve experienced my fair share.

Kim:  What's next for Michele Summers

Michele:  Not So New in Town will be coming out in January, 2015, the second book in the Harmony Homecomings series. Bertie’s good friend, Lucy Doolan returns home (unwillinging…imagine that!) to help out her demanding step-sister on bed rest. This one is chock full of love, laughs and small town fun.

And I’m presently writing the third in the series about Katie McKnight, a location scout from California, who discovers Harmony and spies the perfect house needed for the next teenage-horror-mini-series. Laughter and love bloom as kids and pets are wrestled and someone discovers a new home.

I hope you’ll check out my new series and visit me at michelesummers.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Facebook: link
Twitter: link
Goodreads: link
Pinterest: link

Your S. Florida partner in crime…

Michele Summers

Savage's Manor House - I wonder how it is decorated ...

Sourcebooks is giving away a print copy of FIND MY WAY HOME, Book 1 in the Harmony Homecoming series, to one randomly selected commenter:  

She's just the kind of drama 

Interior designer Bertie Anderson has big dreams for her career, and they don't include being stuck in her hometown of Harmony, North Carolina. One last client, and Bertie is packing up her high heels and heading for her dream job in Atlanta. But her plans are derailed by the gorgeous new owner of that big old Victorian she's always wanted to renovate...

He's vowed to avoid

For retired tennis pro Keith Morgan, Harmony is a far cry from fast-paced Miami-which is exactly the point. Keith is starting a new life for himself and his daughter Maddie, and he's left the bright lights and hot women far behind. Bertie's exactly the kind of curvaceous temptation he doesn't need, and Keith refuses to let their sizzling attraction distract him from his goals. Keith and Bertie both have to learn that there's more than one kind of escape, and it takes more than wallpaper to turn a house into a home ...


To enter the giveaway,

1.  How would you describe the decor in your home?  Mine is "round the world mish mash".

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, July 12, 10 pm.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 13.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Another historic house in Savage ... maybe colonial decor?