Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Heather Thurmeier and Giveaway

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Guest Post with Author Heather Thurmeier and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC author Heather Thurmeier. Heather is celebrating the release of her newest book Stuck on You, and has stopped by to chat. Please give Heather a warm welcome.

Heather Thurmeier is a lover of strawberry margaritas, a hater of spiders, and a reality TV junkie. Her passion is contemporary romance—writing stories filled with laugh out loud moments, uber-hunky heroes, feisty heroines, and always a happily ever after. You can find out more about Heather's books by visiting her blog: heatherthurmeier.com

Places to find Heather:

Thank you so much for having me here today! I’m thrilled to be here chatting about books, reality TV and anything else the wind blows our way. Speaking of wind, now that it’s January, we’ve had a few less windy, cold days around here, and I’m suddenly longing for nice days to go outside. The sun is coming out more and more and the days are growing longer. And every time I look outside and see the sunshine, I forget that it’s still chilly and get the overwhelming urge to head outdoors and do some hiking. Not that I can’t do it when it’s chilly out, but I’m a suck and I like warm better than cold, so I’d rather wait it out. LOL

It’s not just the hiking I’m already longing for, but also the geocaching I do with my family in the warm months of the year.

What’s geocaching (geo-cash-ing) you ask? Only one of the best ways I know to get my family out of the house and into nature! Using a handheld GPS unit, you enter in different cache points either by their longitude and latitude coordinates or by logging on to the main geocaching.com website and downloading them to your GPS unit. For those of us with iphones, there’s even a super handy app for that! You can find, save and log your caches all on your phone. Sweet!

So what’s the point of finding the cache? Well, if you ask my kids, they call it treasure hunting because the caches (boxes ranging in size from pill bottle to ammo case) we find usually have little treasures inside like toys or erasers or trinkets. The kids are welcome to take something from the cache and you can also leave something behind for others if you want too! It’s great fun and very satisfying when you find your first cache!

In Stuck on You, the contestants of an Amazing Race style show have to use handheld GPS units to find caches hidden in the New York Hudson Valley area. In the caches, they find points that will help them win the show as well as some great prizes like cars, money, and trips! It sounds like so much fun!! I would totally go on this show!!

But of course, it’s not all fun and games for my teams…what fun would that be for my readers?! I’ve made sure there is also lots of strategy, alliances, and competition to keep the game interesting. Add into that mix a dose of sizzling chemistry, witty dialogue and steamy love scenes that will have you flipping pages with lightning speed and hopefully you have a book you can’t put down! I hope you’ll check out Stuck on You and find out how my teams make out… I mean, whether or not they win. ;)

But before you run off to pick up your copy of Stuck on You, tell me, have you ever geocached?

If being forced to team up with reality TV’s favorite bad girl wasn’t enough, falling for her brother might just make this reality show a real nightmare.

Paige Anderson agrees to be on a new reality show called Treasure Trekkers, a show where contestants use handheld GPS units to find hidden caches filled with prizes, with her good friend Cassidy. But when Cassidy is unable to compete, Chip Cormack, the show’s producer, steps in with a last-minute replacement to be Paige’s partner—Zoe Oliver, reality TV’s favorite bad girl.

Jack Miles (aka Miles) is a mountain climber with the body to prove it. Miles convinced his climbing partner Ben to come on the show with him for one reason—to prove to Ben that they can still hike together, regardless of the fact that Ben lost his foot in a tragic accident. Miles isn’t about to let anything get in his way of winning—not even beautiful Paige.

But when Miles and Paige are thrown into an alliance with their teammates, working closely together leads to more than just good strategy. Can Paige steal Miles’ heart while surviving Zoe long enough to win the game?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Crimson Romance |

“Welcome, everyone, to the first season of Treasure Trekkers, the show that will have you racing for treasures in caches hidden around the New York metropolitan area as well as the lower Hudson Valley.” He paused to smile for the camera a moment before continuing on. “You never know what surprise you’ll find in the next cache. Perhaps you’ll find money, or a fantastic trip for two. Maybe you’ll even find the keys to a new car!”

The contestants cheered. Even Paige who was normally pretty quiet and reserved cheered at the idea of being able to win really awesome prizes along the way without having to win the whole show. Even with Cassidy as her teammate, the chances of winning the adventure show were pretty slim for two girls who weren’t exactly athletic or outdoorsy. Winning a few prizes could go a long way to making Paige more comfortable in life. Her salary as a freelance graphic artist covered the bills, but little else. But at least she could take time off whenever she wanted.

“Speaking of surprises, we’re starting off the show with a big one.” Spencer motioned for Cassidy to come and stand beside him instead of off to the side where she had been next to Chip. “I’m sure most of you have already noticed that one of our teams of two is currently a team of one. But not for long.”

Paige felt her insecurity creeping up into her cheeks. She hated being the center of attention. Why had she ever agreed to come on this new show? Was a free trip, an interesting experience, and time spent with her good friend really worth all this?

Spencer gestured to her. “Paige has been patiently waiting for her teammate to show up and here she is with me. Cassidy, why don’t you tell everyone why you’re here with me instead of over there with your teammate.”

Cassidy glanced around the small gathering, smiling as she found the spot where Evan stood filming. Then her eyes met Paige’s quickly before settling back on Spencer.

“Well, um, there’s been a little change of plans.”

What change of plans? No one spoke to me about any changes and I’ve been here all day.
“I was supposed to run the race with Paige.” Cassidy caught Paige’s gaze again, her expression clearly apologetic for what she was about to say. “But I’m sorry. I can’t run the race with you.”

Can’t run the race? I can’t run it alone.

“And why is that?” Spencer asked even though he absolutely had to already know the answer. But America didn’t and neither did Paige.

How? Why? What could possibly make it okay for Cassidy to think she could abandon Paige at the last minute like this? Her chest tightened at the thought of having to run it alone. Or drop out before they even started.

Damn. Getting voted out in the third round on The One was bad enough, but now she was about to be kicked off in the first episode of a show where everyone was supposed to compete until the end. This wasn’t fair.

Cassidy looked away from Paige and back to Evan, a smile coming to her lips. “Because…

Check out the Reality TV Romance series: