Mela is giving away one ecopy of “Like You Read About” at each stop of the tour. Be sure your readers know to leave their email. Easy Peasy! Good luck!
Here is a special note from Mela that I would appreciate you including into your blog post:
I’ve decided that during the blog tour, and then again at the book signing a portion of what I earn on the books will be donated to a charity that is dear to me and was very helpful to my friend K while she was alive. The group is called the Young Survival Coalition, and the support young women with breast cancer (generally those diagnosed before the age of 35). They are an amazing group who do amazing work http://www.youngsurvival.org/.
Thanks so much!
Book Title:
Like You Read About
Book Blurb
What if your soul mate has been sitting across from you at a conference room table for the last two years?
Cora O’Malley is a shy accountant for a small pharmaceutical company in the Boston area. After years of being single, struggling with her self image and self confidence she finds out that the IT guy she’s been crushing on is single and also looking for possibilities.
Cora decides to take life by the email and see if she and Daniel Santagata, the IT man have anything in common, if there really are sparks between them…
Witty email banter, fumbling new relationships, bossy best friends, New England weather… how can anything but mayhem ensue?
Release Date
April 21 2013
Author Interview:
Tell us about your current projects.
I am currently working on Dominion, a BDSM community based series . I’ve got the first four books sketched out and I’m about 75% done with the first and about 10% into the second. Each book will revolve around a main character, a women, book 1 in Jane, book 2 is Anya. These women are at a crossroads in their lives and are looking for what’s missing. They find love, fulfillment, and even themselves through their involvement in the lifestyle.
They are a range of ages and looks in my heroines, I don’t want each of these women to be a “bondage Barbie”. My first heroine Jane is a widow in her early 40s, certainly not someone you would think of as the main character in an erotic novel. I want to explore the spectrum of every day women with everyday lives. Not everyone is going to find a millionaire, a biker, a rock star, insert trope hottie of the week, when looking for their HEA. I just want something that feels real. Something I hope readers can connect with. Harlie here: Amen sister.
Describe your writing style in 140 characters or less.
Outline based stream of consciousness often eyes closed typing, interrupted by cats, my hubs, stops for Diet Dr. Pepper & Haribo Gummi Colas
Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?
Well in my fist book my main character was me, so making her real was easy. I the books I’m working on right now I looked at women in my life, friends, co-workers, people I know and have met from some great book groups on Facebook and took pieces of each and put them together to create a woman I might know and want to hang out with.
Picking names is much more of a random process. For my first book I wanted something that sounded Irish and Cora is a family name, in that book I actually used a lot of family names, when I talk about my first kiss that is the guy who was my first kiss in real life, I have no idea where he is today.
When I started the second book I wanted a real woman, a “plain Jane’ kind of woman, and the name stuck. Anya is from my deep and abiding love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Picking names is sometimes a challenge it’s like naming your own kid, does he look like a Sam? How does being named Sam shape who he is? It’s kind of weird, creating people, but I love it.
What’s your favorite type of hero/heroine and why?
I love a heroine who is realistic, who makes actual life choices a person in everyday life would make. Don’t get me wrong, I also love the wild, out there plots that would never in a million years happen in real life, I mean really, a 22 year old virginal college grad meets and falls in love with a über rich, ultra kinky hot dude and although drama ensues they find happily ever after. I ate that up with a spoon and then read it all over again. I’m also a sucker for a series, if it’s even halfway good I’ll read every damn book, I hate leaving my characters when I get to the last page.
Do you have an addiction to reading as well as writing? If so, what are you currently reading?
Addicted makes it seem like I have a problem, nope, don’t have a problem… ok I read 396 books last year, and am well over 200 already this year. So I’m addicted, but ain’t no way you or anyone can make me quit. J
Currently open on my Kindle is Cheeky Blonde by Liz Crowe. Harlie here…Liz never disappoints. 🙂
Thanks so much for having me, your questions were great and made me really think about how I write, I had a lot of fun answering them!
Review
This book is my life. Truly…Cora mirrors the whole body image thing that I had with myself for years. I remember counting points, gym workouts and sicko guys, too. Too depressing for me but Cora didn’t let it bother her too much. After a 100 lb weight loss, she, with a little pushing, decided to go for it with Daniel. I can relate to both Cora and Daniel on so many levels. Their story was heartwarming and grown up. Yes, grown up. No major angst, scheming ex’s or family fights. Just a beautifully written love story about two people that I had basically given up.
Oh Daniel, he was almost too perfect but he had his flaws, too. A true romantic at heart, he was also a little shy. Being burned by an office romance early in his career would make you skittish. His little gestures towards Cora were truly heartwarming. I have a charm bracelet, too and my husband adds to it. 🙂
What really sealed it for me in the book was Daniel and Cora truly getting to know each other through email. I know it sounds corny and maybe at bit out of touch but people are more apt to “talk” in an email than face to face. Remember that Cora and Daniel were extremely shy when it came to get know each other at first. Neither one of them one wanted to get hurt and email seemed safe enough in the beginning. Once the email phase was over…it was a full on court press.
*sigh* The snowbound scenes were great. They were also the precursor for the rest of their relationship. While I thought they would end up with their HEA, life gets in the way, too. Work, family and even friends can be a pain. While there was conflict in the relationship in the end, I felt like it should have been addressed a bit earlier. But then again, I read it again…it made better sense because we already knew about Daniel. Just needed Cora to come out and say it herself. 🙂
One of the biggest joys for Harlie in the book was that the Cora and Daniel were older and set in their ways. No set in bad ways but they had experience under the belt. Plus, when it came to opening up to each other, they weren’t afraid to come out and say it. Which by the way…I had tears running down my face in some scenes. Whether it was Daniel, Cora, TinkerBarbie or whatever Daniel calls her… or anyone else…it was spot on and at time hilarious. These characters didn’t pull any punches with each other and I loved it.
I can’t wait to read more of Mela Remington. And to think this is her debut novel. I look forward to reading more from her in the future. I hear the heroines are going to be older, too. 🙂
Buy Links
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mela.remington?fref=ts
Website: http://www.melaremington.com
Tour Schedule
7/8 Le’BookSquirrel
7/9 We Love Kink
7/10 Harlie’s Books
7/11 Storm Goddess Reviews
7/12 Book Reviews and More by Kathy
7/15 Simply Ali
7/16 Dawn’s Reading Nook
7/17 SnifferWalk Books
7/18 From the TBR Pile
7/19 Erzabet’s Enchantments
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY! calicolady60@hotmail.com
Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. It sounds really good.
Put this book on my wish list! Great giveaway and love that the author is donating to a charity close to my heart as well!