Holiday Hearts
Her Wish Before Christmas
by Kimberly Quinton
Her heart never forgot him…
Genny Ridgeway left Laurel Cove with a broken heart. Returning awakens old feelings, old longings, and the desire for long kisses beneath the mistletoe with the man who broke her heart.
The only thing missing is her…
Connor O’Rourke and his son finally have the home they’ve always wanted. Now, he’ll do anything for a second chance at love with the woman he let get away.
It’s Christmas time in Laurel Cove….
Surrounded by the spirit of the season and with a little posthumous help from her gypsy grandmother, can Connor prove he is the man Genny has always wanted to grant her wish before Christmas?
Her Wish Before Christmas
Holiday Hearts
Release Date: November 12, 2013
All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookstrand | Decadent Publishing
About the Author:
Whether she’s writing contemporary or paranormal romance, Kimberly Quinton is a romantic at heart who strives to tell stories about the power of true love.
Since a teen, she’s loved romances and believes we can all live our happily-ever-after. Always a people watcher, it wasn’t until Kimberly shucked her Accounting major for Anthropology that her interest in people and cultures was nurtured. Kimberly has combined her natural curiosity (nosiness) with her love of romance for the sake of bringing the movies in her head to life on the page.
A wife and mother of two, Kimberly spends her days chasing chores, wrangling active kids, and writing. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, great wine and sharing a laugh with friends and family.
You can usually find her on Facebook or Twitter. Stop by for a chat.
Contact Details:
Website: http://kimberlyquinton.com/about-kimberly/
Email: kim@kimberlyquinton.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyQuintonAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimquinton
Welcome Kimberly! Please start off by telling us a little about yourself.
Hi! Thanks for having me today! I’ll try not to rehash my bio so, the important bits. I love romance. I would rather read a book than do just about anything else. I decided to take writing seriously about five years ago and joined a local writers group and RWA and my journey of craft education started. I write paranormal and contemporary and Her Wish Before Christmas is a little of both. I’m married and have two young sons that keep me busy but they are both in school now so I get to write full time during the day. Yay! Christmas is my favorite holiday—I love everything about it. The weather, the food, the music, the cozy feel of a decorated home, the family time and the giddy excitement of my kids on Christmas Eve. They’re still in the Santa phase and I’m milking it for all I can!
Is Her Wish Before Christmas a single title, or part of a series? It’s the first in my Holiday Hearts series, which centers around four cousins looking for the Mr. Right their gypsy grandmother foretold they’d find one day.
What were your inspirations for the story? Did I mention I love Christmas? Kinda obsessed but not in a bad way. J I wanted to write a sweet series of short stories. Genny’s story knocked around in my brain for a while and the others just fell in place. The next story, Cupid’s Secret, is a Valentine’s tale and is Lena’s story and will be out Early 2014.
Please share your setting for Her Wish Before Christmas. Have you ever lived or visited there? If so, what did you like most? My brother-in-law lives in Boston and my husband and I have visited several times. I fell in love with New England—it’s charming towns, rich history and gorgeous countryside is so different from Texas, where I live now. Everything is so green!
When did the writing bug first bite? I’ve always been someone who daydreamed a lot! Especially in school. I loved reading and would make up great stories in my head to escape to. One day, when I was feeling really sick of the job I had and trying to figure out just what in the heck I actually wanted to do with my life, the idea of being a writer like the one’s I loved seemed like such a dream. It took a few years for me to get up the nerve to actually try writing anything but from then I was hooked. I only had fifty pages written for years, but I held onto that story until I finally joined a writers group and got serious.
Who are you favorite authors, book/series? I have so many and the top spots shift. But right now, I’m catching up on Nalini Singh and can’t believe what awesomeness I’ve been missing. Heather Long is writing my favorite historical western paranormal series- Fevered Hearts. I’m in love! I also still have a special place in my heart for the authors that got me to read romance in the first place-Johanna Lindsey, Julie Garwood, Heather Graham to name a few. (I’m dating myself there.) Recently I’ve started reading Kristan Higgins and Jill Shalvis and am really enjoying their books! I have so many more… And that’s just romance. I also read a lot of horror/thrillers and mystery.
If you could have an author roundtable discussion with any authors, who would you invite?
For pure romance and fun, I would love to talk with Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, Nora Roberts and Debbie Macomber. What a fun group of ladies that would be! For paranormal romance I’d say H.P Lovecraft, Nalini Singh, Mary Shelley, and Sherrilyn Kenyon (Cause I was just at a conference with her and she’s so cool). The stories they could tell…
Do you have any hobbies or special things you like to do in your spare time? Not sure why, but I keep trying to learn how to knit and crochet. I’ve picked each up several times over the years and will get about half way through a project and then stop and not think about it again for months. I do love to cook. It relaxes me and I collect cookbooks. I can spend hours thinking about menus and watching cooking shows.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve heard or seen? Hmmm.. Well, one person’s strange is another person’s normal, so I’m not sure. I’ve had surreal experiences- I travelled to Kenya in 1998 as an anthropology student and it turned into a month of surreal and strange experiences. From getting caught in a riot in Nairobi because the power went out at the University during the World Cup, to picking up a (rather dubious looking) police type person with a large weapon and having him escort us through an area that was rumored to have bandits robbing tourists. The seven of us in a van squeezed in to make space and it was a tense, quiet ride. Also, I returned home a few weeks before the bombing of the Embassy and knowing that I had just been there, registering and talking with the nice Embassy worker who took the four females in the group aside and gave us a friendly chat about Kenyan men was surreal. Strange is having to go to work in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and picking your way through drunks, puke, and naked passed out homeless people to get into your building. Ahhh, fond memories.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Her Wish Before Christmas:
“Are you the one leaving bloody footprints in the store? Your grandmother’s going to have a heart attack.” The man stared down at her, holding the door open with one arm, the lamp base in the other. He rested the plastic appendage against the doorframe and took a step closer, his face clear in the light of the workroom.
“Connor?”
“Let me have a look.” He knelt and grabbed her foot and held on tight when she tried to tug it back.
“Ouch.” She pulled her foot away from his prodding.
“Sorry. Cut’s not too deep. A Band-Aid and some Neosporin is all you need.”
Connor O’Rourke? The Connor O’Rourke? Twelve years hadn’t changed him much. Except he turned into a man. And one fine man at that.
Jesus, did he grow after college? His arms and chest sure had.
Heat blazed a fire across her cheeks when her roaming gaze met his. Same cocky grin. Embarrassment couldn’t stop her from comparing this Connor with the then Connor. His hair was cut shorter, but the rich chestnut color hadn’t dulled. No hint of gray at the temples, no balding either. So that night of drunken cursing for him to grow fat and ugly didn’t take. Figures. What’s the use of gypsy blood if my curses don’t work?
“I didn’t know you were in town,” she asked, proud she had kept the hysterical out of her voice.
“I wasn’t until this week. I’m setting up a practice at the new clinic down the street.” He stood and helped her up from the floor.
Connor F’ing O’Rourke back in town and looking too delicious by half. She licked her lips and swallowed at the sudden dryness in her mouth. The hurt and anger returned with a swift jab to her heart rivaling the sting of glass in her foot. The feelings so fresh, like she was eighteen again and waiting for the proposal that never came. Don’t go there. You’re over him.
