Congratulations to Anna Taylor Sweringen, who is the winner of the copy of Timeless Keepsakes raffle!
Can a hot summer fling bring the potential for more?
I’m jumping with joy to announce the debut of my contemporary romance, Untangle My Heart, is now available for Kindle exclusive pre-release!! And soon it will also be available in print.
For my post today, I’m sharing my Top 10 Reasons for reading Untangle My Heart.
- Kate DiFrancesco. My heroine is a fiery-tempered Italian with a lot of emotional baggage. She’s loyal to her family and willing to do anything to help them out. She hides her painful past behind smart-ass comments but her bark is harsher than her bite.
- Edward Weston. My reformed British playboy hero with a somewhat disreputable past. He’s six-feet of lean, sexy male who looks equally good wearing an Armani suit or jeans and a sweater. He sees right through Kate’s tough girl façade and is determined to help her despite her own stubbornness. He is equally frustrated and enthralled by her.
- Second Chances. I’m a sucker for a reunion trope. Lovers who are pulled apart and must overcome various obstacles before they realize they’re meant to be together.
- Holiday read. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Take a break over the holidays with a riveting read that will give you the feeling of hope.
- Crazy family dynamics. Kate’s from a family of loud-talking, hand-gesturing Italians. A family where everyone gets hugged and kissed. Where food is a guest at every family gathering and where there’s always at least two or more simultaneous conversations. Pay close attention to Kate’s relationship with her sister, Vicky. Sparks fly frequently between these siblings. Vicky is the focus of the next book in my series.
- Friendship. You’ll meet Kate’s two BFFs, Meghan and Karen. These friends helped Kate through a tough period in her life and are her soul-sisters.
- The Food. Learn about the traditional Italian Christmas Eve celebration, Vigilia di Natale or Vigil of the Nativity. Otherwise known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes.
- Lucas Black. He’s the orphan Kate befriends and is the cutest boy ever. One of my favorite scenes in the book is the Christmas cookie baking scene with Kate. There are elements of baking cookies with my own son in this scene.
- Stalking. Although it’s the holiday season, danger from Kate’s past lurks. She’ll need to untangle herself from the past in order to break the hardened shell around her heart.
- Nick DiFrancesco. Once you read Untangle My Heart hopefully you’ll understand why. I know Joanna will. He’s the oldest DiFrancesco son and positively yummy. Writing Nick’s story is my 2014 goal!
Hopefully I’ve enticed you to want to read Untangle My Heart.
To celebrate my Kindle release, I’m running a special Rafflecopter contest through December 25th. Please visit the contest page of my website at http://mariakalexander.com and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Untangle My Heart.
Maria
“Privacy is a hard thing to find around here, so you may want to lock the door. Especially when you’re wearing only a towel and my sister is on the prowl.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Edward said, taking a step toward her. “I knew she was smitten, but didn’t think she would be waiting in the room after my shower. I was struggling with a tactful way of getting her out.”
“I’m sure you’re not accustomed to asking a woman to leave your room.”
He gave her an unapologetic grin. “No, usually not.”
“I guess it’s partly my fault. I told her I don’t have any claims to you. Apparently she took that to mean it was open season to pursue you.”
“Yet you stopped by. Why?”
“I wanted to thank you again for your help today. You dropped everything to come and help my family and that means a lot to me.”
He took another step toward her until he stood directly in front of her. “You mean a lot to me. I’d do anything I could to help you.”
She nodded in acknowledgement, not sure she could trust her voice to speak with him all but touching her.
“And you’re wrong about not having a claim on me.”
His hands found their way to her waist. Her heart thumped and she knew she should pull back, wanted to pull back. But his blue-gray eyes held her in a hypnotic state and she couldn’t move.
Nicole
/ November 25, 2013CONGRATS!! I’m so thrilled for you. I just started reading it last night. The Italian tradition theme and food (for sure there’s gotta be food) are near and dear to my heart. Enjoy your moment!
Nicole
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 25, 2013Hi Nicole. Yes, food is very important both in my book and in real life! Thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy Untangled!
Joanna Shupe
/ November 25, 2013Congratulations, Maria! Best of luck with this release. I know readers are going to love it.
And yes, I am partial to Nick. Excited to see what you do with his story. Enjoy the day!
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 25, 2013Thanks, Joanna. I will be picking your brain when I start plotting out Nick’s story!
RoseAnn DeFranco
/ November 25, 2013GAH!!!! I’m a believer! Yes…you have more than enticed me to read Untangle my heart! The excerpt is yummy. I’m also a sucker for the reunion trope. Downloaded it onto my kindle and I’m ready to roll. Best of luck to you with this release.
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 25, 2013Thanks, RoseAnn. Kate and Edward have been so close to my heart for so long. It feels sort of weird to be sharing them with everyone. But a good kind of weird.
Diana Quincy
/ November 25, 2013I just bought this and can’t wait to read it. Aside from the romance, I’m looking forward to learning more about Italian holiday traditions. Congrats on your debut!
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 25, 2013Hi Diana. It was fun getting to share some of my Italian holiday traditions and heritage with folks. I hope you enjoy Kate and Edward’s story.
RoseAnn DeFranco
/ November 26, 2013I’m also interested to see how your traditions are the same or different than mine…considering that whole Gravy vs. Sauce debate!
Mia
/ November 25, 2013Untangle My Heart’s cover is beautiful I can’t wait to read the pages. Happy release day Maria, and best of luck on the sales. I’ll try not to bother you too much on twitter.
Mia
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 25, 2013Hi Mia. You are NEVER a bother. I’m glad you like the cover. I hope you enjoy the story!
Tina Gabrielle
/ November 26, 2013Congrats Maria! Can’t wait to read it. Love the sexy cover!
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 26, 2013Thanks, Tina. I do love my cover. I worried whether they would capture the look I wanted and they completely did. Hope you enjoy it!
Jaye Marie Rome
/ November 27, 2013Yea! I am so happy for you, Maria! This book was such a labor of love, I know it’s going to be hard for you to cut the umbilical chord and give Nick’s book your full creative attention. You can do it. If ever there was a queen of multitasking, it is you! I’ve got Untangle on my kindle, in the queue for reading. Wishing you lots of sales!
Hugs,
Jaye
Maria K. Alexander
/ November 28, 2013Hi Jaye. Untangle was absolutely a labor of love. I felt much more connected to Kate. Maybe because of her Italian background? I’m really not sure but I do know the story and the writing flowed very easy. I hope you enjoy it!