Let’s give a warm
welcome to fellow Sourcebooks Casablanca author Kristine Grayson whose book Thoroughly Kissed is in stores this month!
"Charming
and engaging, the story moves quickly and fluidly. Emma is the right balance of
strong and vulnerable, and Michael complements her with his skepticism and
compassion. A sweet love story makes this a perfect beach read for hopeless
romantics."
—Publishers Weekly review of Thoroughly
Kissed
My
writing career has spanned decades—literally—and I have waited decades for a
review like that. I’ve always wanted to write a “beach read,” and now, it
seems, I have.
I
didn’t set out to write a beach read. I needed to write Emma’s story. Emma, for
those of you who haven’t read Utterly
Charming, is Sleeping Beauty. This fairy tale isn’t a modern retelling. She
actually is the Sleeping Beauty,
awakened after 1,000 years into our world, and boy, is she confused.
Or
she was when she woke up. Then she gathered herself, made some crucial
decisions, and ended up using her brains to survive. Thoroughly Kissed starts ten years after Utterly Charming, and in those ten years, Emma has become a
thoroughly modern woman. Kinda. She did assign herself a last
name—“Lost”—because that was how she felt when she woke up. But really, she’s
lost no longer. She found her way.
Of
all the heroines I’ve ever written, I admire Emma the most. I don’t think I
could survive what she’s lived through. Or rather, I don’t think I could have
survived as well as she has. And I
certainly don’t think I would have risked falling in love again. The first time
she did, she ended up losing 1,000 years of history. To even contemplate a
second time takes a lot of courage.
That’s
what I think of when I think of Emma Lost. Courage. She doesn’t fight dragons
or vampires or evil lords. She fights herself. She fights all of history. And
she wins.
And
then she falls in love.
Emma
deserves a happily-ever-after more than anyone I’ve ever written about. Thoroughly Kissed, which comes out this
week, shows how she gets it.
I
hope you end up liking Emma as much as I do, and I hope you enjoy the book. I
also hope you’re reading it on a beach, because that means you’re relaxing and
having fun.
Here’s
to summer and beaches and Thoroughly
Kissed.
Thanks very much to
Kristine for joining us today, and congrats on her latest release! To enter to
win 1 of 2 PRINT copies of Thoroughly Kissed, please
share in the comments your favorite book to read on the beach (or during the
summer). Be sure to leave an email
address so we can contact you if you’re chosen—US and Canada mailing addresses
only, please! Winners will be announced in the comments on Friday, June 8.
THOROUGHLY KISSED BY KRISTINE GRAYSON – IN STORES JUNE 2012
Sleeping Beauty has sworn off kissing...
Emma
awakens to an entirely different world than the one she lived in a thousand
years ago, and although she's the real Sleeping Beauty, her life is no fairy
tale. After parting ways with her supposed Prince Charming, she's determined to
be a normal girl—she hides her magic and swears off kissing strange men.
But her
gorgeous boss Michael knows there 's something unusual about Emma, and he
thinks she's as infuriating as she is beautiful. Now Emma needs to teach
Michael a lesson, which means mastering her magic. She knows she's flirting
with danger, but after one look at Michael's perfect lips, all she can think
is, "What's another thousand years ... ?"
Welcome
to the fractious fairy tale world of Kristine Grayson, where the bumpy road to
happily ever after is paved with surprises ...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Before
turning to romance writing, award-winning author Kristine Grayson edited the
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and ran Pulphouse Publishing (which
won her a World Fantasy Award). She has won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s
Choice Award and, under her real name, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the prestigious
Hugo award. She lives with her own Prince Charming, writer Dean Wesley Smith,
in Portland, Oregon. For more information, please visit http://www.kristinegrayson.com/ or
follow her on Twitter, @KristineRusch.
Honestly, it can be any book, but I personally love a good romance book. Something thats going to relax you. After all you are at the beach, you really don't want a stressful book with you when you are trying to relax.
ReplyDeletecountessofmar(at)yahoo(dot)com
What a marvelous premise, and congratulations on the launch! When I think of the distance between me and my mother, who has plenty of memories of the Great Depression, and me and my daughter, who thinks I'm nuts when I tell her in Grandpa's life time, women could not vote, then this idea of a woman being hit upside the head with extreme change resonates in more than a fictional sense.
ReplyDeleteI predict you've written more than beach read, too. The fairy tales are timeless because the themes are timeless, and this one sounds terrific.
Congratulations on the launch, Kristine! What a fabulous review from PW and after reading the blog can't wait to find out what happens, next.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine. Congrats on your new book. Sounds great. I love to read books set in tropical settings in the summer. :)
ReplyDeleteCrystal816[at]hotmail[dot]com
Congrats on the release. it sounds fabulous. Really interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I really don't change my reading which means I will read any book at any time. I guess the theory is when you are on vacation you want something that you don't have to really think about but I rarely put any book in that category lol.
ReplyDeleteoops I forgot to leave my catslady5(at)aol.com just in case lol.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release!! Any historical romance as I am addicted to them!! However, Defiant by Pamela Clare is due for release July 3, just in time to be a nice beach read!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the review and the publication of your beach read! Sounds like you are on your way to success! Great cover, too!
ReplyDeleteAmelia
Congrats on the new release and the great review! I like to read any type of contemporary romance for beach reads, typically of the small town variety since they're relaxing. Love your cover and can't wait to read about Sleeping Beauty!
ReplyDeletekliu107 (at) gmail (dot) com
I love your twists to fairytales. My favorite beach reads? Same as what I always read...whatever strikes my fancy.
ReplyDeletelittle lamb lst at yahoo dot com
Congratulations on the book! I'd like to read Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Congrats on the latest release, Kristine! Sounds like a good read and it has a great cover as well :)
ReplyDeleteAs for favourite beach reads, I would mostly choose a contemporary romance like the Lucky Harbor series.
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
These books sound so interesting... Would make a great beach read.. I think one of my favourite "beach reads" was Beach Girls by LuAnne Rice...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release!
ReplyDeleteAs for my favorite beach book, I'm not picky!
refhater2 at yahoo.com
My favorite book to read on the beach or in the summer is basically any book I happen to be reading at the time. If I were choosing a book in particular, I'd probably choose a funny contemporary romance or a light hearted historical romance to read on the beach. Congrats on the release of Throughly Kissed, it sounds like a fantastic book.
ReplyDeleteBarbed1951 at aol dot com
A beach book? For a hot swealtering summer day? I guess I would want to pick a steamy romance =) How bout one I just finished and would so read again, Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson. But I would whip through it so fast I better have a few others on hand to keep me going...I am going for bronzed beach babe right?
ReplyDeleteok ok, got carried away dreaming of my golden tan surrounded by books
ReplyDeleteeyesofblueice (at) gmail
Thanks to everyone who commented! Our winners are Meloday May and Kristy. I'll be emailing you both shortly.
ReplyDeleteDanielle