Monday, December 30, 2013

Book Tour: The Billionaire's Best Friend by Christina Tetreault Interview & Giveaway



BLURB:
Despite a wonderful family, a career she loves, and great friends, a void has existed in Lauren McDonald's life ever since her best friend Callie married billionaire Dylan Talbot. Although they have remained close, Lauren and Callie now lead very different lives, that is until Lauren meets wealthy CEO Kevin Walsh. Lauren believes he could be the man who will help make her life whole again.  That is until the night Nathaniel Callahan, her high school sweetheart and the one man she has always loved, shows up.

Although Nate ended things with Lauren before heading off to The Naval Academy and his life with the Marines, he never stopped loving her. Now 15 years later he is back to correct the mistake he made all those years ago.

With Nate back in town, Lauren must decide between the man who promises her the world and the man who has the power to crush her heart again.


Some short Teasers:
1) The one man she never stopped loving is back in town.  Now Lauren McDonald must decide between the man who promises her the world and the man who has the power to crush her heart again.

2) Lauren McDonald never stopped loving Nathaniel Callahan even though when he left it nearly destroyed her.  Now with him back in town, she must choose between playing it safe or risking her heart again.

3) After graduation Nate Callahan left Lauren McDonald behind when he entered The Naval Academy and his life with the Marines. Now fifteen years later he's returned with one goal, to win back the woman he never stopped loving and failure is not an option.

EXCERPT:
All messages between her brain and muscles stopped. For that brief moment she could only relish the feel of his firm lips once again against hers after all this time. Then the paralysis wore off, and she placed both hands on his chest and shoved him hard. "That didn't happen."
           
Nate folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, Lauren it did."
           
Her eyes traveled down his face to his arms where his biceps strained against his shirtsleeves. Back in high school he’d been fit and muscular, but the years since then had taken his unrefined body and sculpted it to perfection.
           
Don't get distracted. "I'm seeing Kevin."
           
He took a step closer. Despite the warning bells in her head, a flash of heat and excitement burst through her body.
           
"Simple. Stop seeing him."
           
Nate's rich timber voice washed over her, triggering both desire and annoyance at the same time. Lauren latched onto the annoyance. "Kevin makes me happy." It's not a lie. He may not set her on fire, but they had fun together, and she felt safe with him. "Just because you're back changes nothing. I have a life, Nate. I didn't just sit around while you did your part saving the world."
           
Nate unfolded his arms then reached for her hand. "Lauren, give me a chance to explain. I—"
           
Rough calluses rubbed against her hand, a reminder of the different lives they had led since high school. "Nate, I'm glad you're home safe, but our relationship ended a long time ago. Maybe we can be friends again. That's it, though." Her last sentence came out almost as a whisper. If he'd come back into her life years ago, maybe her response would've been different. Now, though, too much time had passed.
           
Nate's jaw clenched, the only outward sign he felt anything. No big surprise there. Even as children he had been great at hiding his emotions. "I need some air.”
           
He disappeared out the front door onto the porch without his jacket. Ah, the wonderful Nathaniel Callahan avoidance. How many times had she seen that over the years? Oh well, at least it brought an end to their conversation.

INTERVIEW:
-      Where did you get the idea for the novel?
            I knew after I completed book 1 in my series that at some point I wanted Lauren, who appeared in that book, to have her own story.  Since her best friend in book 1 married a billionaire, I wanted to make Lauren’s book partially about making a decision.  Should she follow her heart and give her high school sweetheart another chance or marry for money and find herself living a life much like her best friend’s. 

2. Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?
       For this book as well as the second and third in the series, I let the readers help me pick a title.  I came up with four or five possible titles and then I set up a survey and asked my readers to vote on which title they liked the best.  The title The Billionaire’s Best Friend won, although to be honest it was not the title I liked the best.


3. Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?
I picked this genre for a couple of reasons, the first being because I enjoy reading contemporary romance.  I also picked this genre because as much as I love historical romance, I know that at this point in my life I do not have the time needed to properly conduct research.  I believe that once all my children are in school full time I will be able to do research and hopefully write a historical.  I also enjoy writing about people I can imagine being friends with.  I think a lot of people, including myself, like to read about people they can connect with.

4. Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
      Since becoming a writer I think the most exciting thing to happen to me is when a reader asked to meet me.  It has actually happened twice now, and it was exciting to meet people who enjoyed my books so much.

5. What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?
            Currently, I am reading Honor’s Splendor by Julie Garwood.  I have read the book many times. When I picked it up this time I wanted something I knew from the start that I would enjoy because the previous two books I read were by authors that were new to me, and I did not enjoy either of them.

-   What is your writing process?
Before I start writing a new book, I do a character outline.  This outline includes such things as their physical characteristics, their family background, and their personalities.  Then I just start to write.  I do not do long outlines for my books.

7.  At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say? 
I have never done a book signing.

8.  What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
People may be surprised to know that I am a certified scuba diver and have been rock climbing in the White Mountains.

9.  How do you react to a bad review?
When I get bad reviews, I tend to get down.  Often I have trouble writing anything that day. 

10.  How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
Honestly, I did not do anything special that day.  I knew it was only the beginning.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I wrote my first story with characters similar to those in the Sweet Valley Twins books at the age of 10 on my grandmother's manual typewriter. As I got older my stories and characters became more mature. During my freshman year at UMass Dartmouth, I read my first romance novel and fell in love with the genre. I have been writing contemporary romance ever since.

Today I live with my husband, three beautiful daughters and two dogs in Massachusetts. Whenever I have a free moment you'll find me either reading a romance novel or working on my most current story.

Author Links:



Twitter: @cgricci


Buy Links:


GIVEAWAY:
Encourage your readers to follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting! Readers, don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance at a $25 Amazon/BC Gift Card!!

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  2. This sounds like a really fascinating story line. I guess I will have to read it to find out who she chooses.

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  3. Oooh I can see I would have some moments ftrue anger treading this book! Great review and excerpt. Thanks forvthe giveaway!

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  4. I enjoyed reading your interview. I am a big fan of historical romances and read them almost exclusively. You mentioned you would one day like to write a historical romance. Do you have any ideas floating around such as: what time period and what place would you like to set your story?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. If I did write one, it would most likely be set in Regency, England but no I do not have any ideas yet.

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  5. Great interview, I enjoyed learning more about you.
    Happy New Year!

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  6. Sound like a great book. Thanks for sharing the excerpt and giveaway. Happy New Year! evamillien at gmail dot com

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  7. Sounds like a good book. I liked finding out that the author let her readers help her pick the titles of her books. How cool!

    I enjoy romances because I like to see how the love story turns out. :)

    Thanks for the great interview and giveaway.
    ~Jess

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  8. Absolutely loved this book and the whole Sherbrook series - one of the best series I have ever read!!! Thanks for highlighting one of my favorite authors!!!!

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  9. You've never done a book signing?! As a librarian, I've been fortunate to attend a lot of book signings, especially at library conferences. When you do have a book signing, and I'm sure you will, make a note. Come up with an easy tag line/phrase/word that you can write. I've always enjoyed those the best.

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  10. for the HEA

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  11. I do enjoy the escape. Great interview.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  12. Good interview. I enjoy reading about the obstacles the characters have to go through to achieve their goals, including romance.

    queendsheena(at)hotmail(dot)com

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