Blogging with The Romance Dish

In lieu of a blog this week, I'll be blogging tomorrow, January 22 (Lord Byron's birthday if anyone is up on their trivia) at The Romance Dish, doing a book review of THE ROSIE PROJECT. Right now the Kindle version is $1.99...so if you want to take my word on it and snap it up, please do and we can chat about the book tomorrow. If you prefer to wait, well, you'll just be a day late in reading behind the others--don't say I didn't warn you.

Makeovers: Yay or Nae?

Thank you to Hellie for letting me bring the Belated Blog Tour for UP TO THE CHALLENGE over to her Ramblings blog. I've had lots of fun discussing all sorts of topics during this tour, and today we're chatting about makeovers.

With only a few books under my belt, I've yet to do something high concept like re-writing a fairy tale for modern day readers. But, there is a little ode to Cinderella included in the story of Sid  Navarro, the heroine of Anchor Island book 2, UP TO THE CHALLENGE.

The makeover of sorts starts in the first book, MEANT TO BE. Sid and Beth (the heroine of book 1) are having a girls night out, and Beth helps Sid get ready. Now, Sid is a foul-mouthed boat mechanic whose every day wardrobe is loose cargo pants, work boots, and a shirt with a saying on it that is most-likely PG-13.

A Cinderella only covered in motor oil instead of cinder ash.

Beth gets Sid in a killer dress, has her hair blown out and gets some makeup on her. Voila, she's ready for the ball.

Now, the man that Sid wants, Lucas Dempsey, is an ambitious lawyer who wears Polo shirts in his down time and his normal work attire is a well-cut suit. He's busting his ass to become a partner in the law firm where he works in Richmond, VA. This requires a lot of schmoozing.

Dinner parties with the bosses and their wives.

Needless to say, Sid is not the type of girl you take to a dinner party. Or anywhere near the bosses' wives. The question became, how could this ever work out. I had no desire to turn Sid into the Stepford wife Lucas believed he wanted. With that one sticking point, I had my answer.

I had to convince Lucas that what he wants and what he needs are two very different women.

Sid does have a soft, mushy side. Just don't ever tell her so and you'll stay healthy. But she is who she is. Profane, rough around the edges, covered in motor oil. This Cinderella didn't need a fairy godmother (though she kind of has one, you'll have to read the book to catch that part.) She just needed to be herself and let Lucas get to know her.

The question is, does Lucas change his mind once he does?

So my question to you. Do you like re-tellings of Fairy Tales? Think they're done to death? Do you like when a character gets a makeover for love, or prefer that they be loved for who they are without having to change to please anyone?

One lucky commenter will win a Kindle version of UP TO THE CHALLENGE! And if you want a chance to win my Belated Blog Tour grand prize of a brand new Kindle and Amazon gift card to get you started, hop over to my website (after leaving a comment!) and enter now. (Grand prize contest ends Jan 20.)

UP TO THE CHALLENGE by Terri Osburn
Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 1477809686
October 22, 2013

Blurb:

Opposites attract in a sexy tale of unexpected love

When the Dempsey patriarch suffers a heart attack, Lucas Dempsey steps up to keep the doors of the family restaurant open. The proverbial prodigal son returns home to Anchor Island—putting family first and his quest to make partner at his high-powered law firm on hold. Sporting a bruised ego after losing his fiancée to his older brother, Lucas would rather walk on glass thanspend six weeks within spitting distance of the happy couple. But family duty calls. And thatduty includes working side-by-side with a tantalizing spitfire intent on driving him mad.

Tough-as-nails boat mechanic Sid Navarro is happy to trade her tools for an apron to help the Dempseys in their time of need. That is, until she realizes she’ll be working alongside Lucas, the man she’s loved from afar since she first laid eyes on him in high school. Lucas could charm the paint off a schooner, but Sid knows she doesn’t fit his girl-next-door type. To show her true feelings would mean certain heartbreak, but the temptation of Lucas in her bed might be more than she can resist.

After a rocky start punctuated by verbal barbs and exasperating arguments, things heat up between them—big-time—but their steamy affair turns more than casual in a matter of weeks. Sid’s life has become the dream she’s always wanted, and Lucas has fallen hard for the last woman he ever expected to love.

But this affair has an end-date, as Lucas must return to his life and career in the big city, a place where Sid would never fit in. When the end comes earlier than expected, walking away turns out to be a challenge neither of them wants to win.

Up to the Challenge is a sexy, fast-paced, romantic story of family, island life, and finding love in unexpected places.

Buy Links:

Kindle > http://amzn.to/12TzHez

Print > http://www.amazon.com/Up-Challenge-Anchor-Island-Novel/dp/1477809686/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Website > http://www.terriosburn.com

Facebook Page > https://www.facebook.com/TerriOsburnAuthor?fref=ts

Twitter > @TerriOsburn

You Might As Well Be Reading

Because it's as cold as *$(% outside.

Okay, maybe not according to Alaska, but I already think you've gotta be nuts to live there. I live in the dead middle of the US, so middle-road. I'd like some middle-road temperatures. But much like the government, Missouri weather doesn't understand the term "moderate" and has to run from one extreme to another. Still, I don't think I'll be missing the -30 wind chill temps in July, even if it is 110 outside.

Sorry I've been off. December got a little busy--and hope it was for you as well, in all the good ways, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and all that.

So I have a couple recommends today. Of course, I'm in a mood, so the regular romances that usually litter my weeks aren't cutting it right now. (I'll be back on soon, I promise.)

If you're in the mood for some speculative historical fiction, I can recommend BRIGID OF KILDARE. I've been doing some research on the saint--and yes, I'm looking a little forward to February 2, which is her feast day, because that's when lambing season begins, and where there are lambs, there is spring...so aren't we all looking forward to spring? Exactly. Anyway, because she was a woman in the dark ages, and the Church was trying to suppress women from being the powerful, kickass beings they are, they had their work cut out for them in Brigid. There's a bit of contemporary story as well entwined...and it works out very satisfactory.

If you're in the mood for a memoir, I stayed up all last night to finish reading BOOTSTRAPPER (Mardi Jo Link), which was a very compelling read, but at times, you do have to question her sanity. Okay, not her sanity...the needless pride at some aspects, because we get to three-quarters of the book before the woman files for reduced-free lunches for her kids--and they were not once swimming in food during this book. Are you kidding me? And she didn't want to because she didn't want to admit she was broke. I'm glad it all worked out for her, and her kids are like fairy-tale myths, in my opinion, because they were very good about living on a farm with nothing. And all helpful and stuff. Still, I wish she had come to some realizations a little sooner to make her life a little easier. Still, there are aspects that are "OMG, who goes through that?" and other aspects where you'll be laughing and in the end, you feel like you bootstrapped along with her. Well worth staying up for.

What are you reading?

Oh! Terri Osburn will be blogging with me on January 16th for her blog tour, talking about her third Anchor Island book, HOME TO STAY.