Romance Novel Giveaways - Freebies and Giveaways of All Things Romance Romance Novel Giveaways: Renovation by Kim Loraine ♥ Fun Facts, Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Contemporary Romance)

Monday, April 18, 2016

Renovation by Kim Loraine ♥ Fun Facts, Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Contemporary Romance)




Valerie Peters is done with bad boys and ready to start living for herself. She’s determined to settle for nothing less than a romantic, sweeps-you-off-your-feet, nice-guy. So when a sexy firefighter with the hottest reputation in town saves her from near-drowning, there’s no doubt he’s everything she shouldn't want.

Donovan’s looks and image have kept his nights entertaining and his ring finger empty. One-night stands serve as a short-term distraction to the flashbacks of his past he increasingly struggles to ignore. But a chance encounter with his best friend’s sister makes him realize that one night is no longer enough.

Together they discover that bad can actually be the best and forever is worth everything.



How the Meet-Cute Created My Series
Kim Loraine

The birth of a book is an unusual thing. I remember vividly the moment I started writing the first book in what would become my Golden Beach series. I figured I’d finish Restoration, tell Grace and Drew’s story and then it would be buried under piles of rejection letters. I did get plenty of rejections, but then I got the “yes” I’d been waiting for. Funnily enough, I never planned on writing a series. I mean, one published book is an accomplishment in itself, and honestly, I knew I was lucky to get a contract for a single book. But, there I was, a few weeks after round one edits were complete on Restoration, and Valerie, Grace’s friend and assistant, wouldn’t stop yapping away in my head. She wanted her story to be told. My only problem was figuring out who she really was and what that story consisted of.
Connecting with Valerie wasn’t easy. Grace and I share similar traits, but I wrote Valerie as a sassy, fun-loving best friend. I’m not sassy. I am fun-loving, but cautious. Valerie and I weren’t connected. I spent hours writing in her point of view, trying to figure out what made her tick and where her demons lay hidden. Eventually, I realized what she needed—a good old fashioned bad boy with a heart of gold.
I’d been tossing around ideas for different leading men in Valerie’s story and striking out pretty much every time. I knew I wanted him to be a firefighter. Who doesn’t love a firefighter? But how was their meet-cute going to go? I pondered this one non-descript afternoon as I sat at the pool and watched my son have his swimming lesson. A group of US Marines were swimming laps and running rescue drills in the deep end. As my eyes drifted from the lesson I was supposed to be watching, to the lane filled with muscular, over-confident men, Donovan Miller was born and I knew exactly how he and Valerie were going to meet.

Here’s their meet-cute scene:
Donovan Miller braced his arms on the side of the pool as he pushed himself out of the water. His limbs trembled slightly from exertion. He reached for his towel and caught sight of the swimmer a few lanes away. She was tiny. Her body moved smoothly through the water, mesmerizing him as she rotated back and forth. He could tell she was an experienced swimmer by the consistency in her strokes. As he toweled off, he admired the curves of her body. Alarm bells rang in his head when he realized she was rapidly approaching the wall and showed no sign of slowing.
"Hey! Hey! Watch out!" he shouted as he ran toward her lane, hoping desperately to intercept her.
With a dim thud, her head hit the side of the pool. He watched as her eyes rolled back and she sank under the water.
"Shit! Shit!"
Jumping into the swimmer's lane, he pulled her to the surface, attempting to immobilize her neck as much as possible. He assessed her pulse and checked to make sure her airway wasn't compromised.
"Call an ambulance," he barked at the dumbstruck lifeguards headed in their direction.
She floated in his arms, eyes closed, bleeding. He took a moment to feel thankful he'd seen the effects of blood mixed with water before. Even a small amount of blood can look like a murder scene when water is added. He held her while they waited for the ambulance. He stroked her hair and checked her pulse again, disconcerted by the feeling of her soft skin under his fingers. Her eyes fluttered open, affording him a concerned glance before she winced in pain.
"What happened?" Her voice was thin and raspy.
"Shh, don't try to move, sweetheart. You slammed into that wall pretty hard."
"I . . . mmm . . . lost my count."
"It's gonna be okay."
She frowned, eyebrows pulling together. "Can I get up now?"
"There's an ambulance on the way. They'll be here in a minute. We need to wait to move you. I want to get you on a spine board and in a neck brace." He smiled and locked eyes with her. "What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Valerie. Valerie Peters." Her face pulled into an adorable frown again. "Don't call me sweetheart. I don't even know you."
The doors opened at the other end of the pool, flooding the room with flashing lights from the ambulance. Two firefighter-paramedics from Donovan's crew rushed in, pushing a gurney and waving their hands. Michael Oliver and Tommy Klipper were his buddies—great at their jobs, and men he'd trust with his own life. His chest loosened as he saw them approaching with a backboard. He didn't understand what made this situation so different from every other call he'd been on.
"Miller. Man, what's her story?"
"Female, looks around twenty-three. Probable concussion. She collided with the wall head-on. Lost consciousness for at least two minutes. There's a laceration to the scalp."
"All right, help us get her on this and we'll check her out."
They lowered the backboard into the water and he carefully held her still as a lifeguard secured the straps.
“I’m conscious, you know. You don’t have to talk over me. And I’m twenty-five, not twenty-three, but thanks for that.” Annoyance clouded her tone——a positive sign.
An involuntary smile turned up his lips. "You're feisty, aren't you, sweetheart?"
"Stop with the sweetheart crap."
Klipper laughed as they loaded her and the backboard onto the gurney. "Looks like she's got your number, man."
Donovan chuckled, embarrassed by this little slip of a woman handing him his ass. "Not yet, she doesn't."

After I wrote that scene, Renovation fell into place. Now I can’t imagine not writing their story. Donovan has quickly become one of my favorite characters and I’ve already got the beginnings of a novella featuring him in my head. Sometimes all you need is the meet-cute to get the characters to come to life.




Donovan Miller braced his arms on the side of the pool as he pushed himself out of the water. His limbs trembled slightly from exertion. He reached for his towel and caught sight of the swimmer a few lanes away. She was tiny. Her body moved smoothly through the water, mesmerizing him as she rotated back and forth. He could tell she was an experienced swimmer by the consistency in her strokes. As he toweled off, he admired the curves of her body. Alarm bells rang in his head when he realized she was rapidly approaching the wall and showed no sign of slowing.

"Hey! Hey! Watch out!" he shouted as he ran toward her lane, hoping desperately to intercept her.

With a dim thud, her head hit the side of the pool. He watched as her eyes rolled back and she sank under the water.

"Shit! Shit!"

Jumping into the swimmer's lane, he pulled her to the surface, attempting to immobilize her neck as much as possible. He assessed her pulse and checked to make sure her airway wasn't compromised.

"Call an ambulance," he barked at the dumbstruck lifeguards headed in their direction.

She floated in his arms, eyes closed, bleeding. He took a moment to feel thankful he'd seen the effects of blood mixed with water before. Even a small amount of blood can look like a murder scene when water is added. He held her while they waited for the ambulance. He stroked her hair and checked her pulse again, disconcerted by the feeling of her soft skin under his fingers. Her eyes fluttered open, affording him a concerned glance before she winced in pain.

"What happened?" Her voice was thin and raspy.

"Shh, don't try to move, sweetheart. You slammed into that wall pretty hard."

"I . . . mmm . . . lost my count."

"It's gonna be okay."

She frowned, eyebrows pulling together. "Can I get up now?"

"There's an ambulance on the way. They'll be here in a minute. We need to wait to move you. I want to get you on a spine board and in a neck brace." He smiled and locked eyes with her. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Valerie. Valerie Peters." Her face pulled into an adorable frown again. "Don't call me sweetheart. I don't even know you."

♥ Only 99¢ for a limited time ♥







Kim Loraine is the author of the “Golden Beach” series, including “Restoration” (2015) and “Renovation” (2015). She started writing at a young age, scribbling down song lyrics, short stories, and poems she was too afraid to share with anyone. Busy working as a music teacher in her Pacific Northwest hometown, it wasn’t until her family of four picked up everything and moved to beautiful Japan that she decided to finally take the plunge and send her characters out into the world.

The central theme in Kim’s books is self-discovery, whether that is found through taking risks, breaking down walls, or admitting mistakes. Kim likes to write characters that seem like someone you actually know, who find that life is a journey not without its challenges.

When not writing Kim spends her time with her husband, chasing around their crazy kids, exploring Japan, and binge-watching Doctor Who on Netflix.


     

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@KimLoraine2 @GoddessFish http://goo.gl/mwWIox

26 comments :

  1. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

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  2. thank you for the chance to win :)

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  3. Where is your favorite place to read?

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    Replies
    1. I love to read in the bath with a glass of wine and some music playing.

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  4. Congratulations Kim on the new release. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity

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  5. Great excerpt. I really enjoyed it.

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  6. Love the cover, it looks so romantic :)

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  7. This sounds like a great book, thanks for sharing the excerpt!!

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  8. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway

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  9. Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)

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  10. I really enjoyed reading the entire post today. This is a new author for me but I would love to learn more! Thank you for the reveal!

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  11. What is the best joke that you have heard recently? Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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  12. sounds like a fun one!

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  13. Nice guys have it hard enough without competing with firefighters!

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  14. Can anyone ever be done with bad boys? :) I guess, I need to read the book to find out.

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  15. I love this cover! It looks so dreamy and just makes me want to read it!

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  16. I enjoyed the excerpt. Sounds like a great read. Thanks for sharing. Blessings

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  17. I enjoy stories where there is already some history between the prospective couple. It makes it fun.

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