Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Carmen Falcone and Giveaway

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Guest Post with Author Carmen Falcone and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC author, Carmen Falcone. Carmen is celebrating the recent release of her book Heating Up Hawaii and has stopped by to chat. Please give Carmen a warm welcome.

Carmen Falcone learned at an early age that fantasizing about fictional characters and places beat doing Math homework any day. She traveled the world, achieved a B.A. in Tourism in her hometown in Brazil and was soon invited to work in the USA, where she met her Swiss husband. She’d always dreamed of becoming a published writer, and after her daughter was born, she revisited that dream of writing – this time, unwilling to give it up. She lives in Austin and enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family and three high energy pugs.

Places to find Carmen:

Office Romances: Why They Remain So Popular

Polished, dark oak desks. Credenzas. Cold, hard-as-steel door handles. Not exactly red roses on a big bed with silky sheets or a candlelight dinner, is it? Yet office romances have stood the test of time. Growing up, I read stores in which an assistant (usually the heroine) used a typesetter and sometimes marched into the hero’s office with a notepad to take notes. No iPad, no internet, not even dialup those days. Gosh, how did things ever get done? ;)

Not only the technology factor has evolved. Nowadays, the heroines aren’t just assistants; they are CEOs, VPs, directors and managers, and they can hold their own in and out of a boardroom. They are successful, resourceful, smart.

I always love to read a book where the hero and heroine have professional goals and perhaps their sizzling attraction and crackling tension might jeopardize those goals. The stakes are higher when they both have much to lose, wouldn’t you say?

I had a lot of fun writing Heating Up Hawaii, my latest release. It’s a sexy contemporary novella where Luc and Penny, who shared an office romance in the past, are reunited. This time, the stakes are higher as she needs to succeed in representing his hotel in order to open her own PR firm and he needs to reopen a troubled property in Maui. Will they be able to dodge the strong pull to each other?

What is your favorite romance trope? Leave a comment below and enter to win a $15 Amazon gift card.

After a long separation, will Penny and Luc's sizzling attraction be enough to surpass their startling secrets?

There is just one person standing between Penny Ashbrook's dream of opening her own PR business or being stuck at her job: the formidable Luc Leoni - her first lover, and the man who lets nothing and no-one get in his way. Seeing him after so long brings all the hidden emotions after a life altering break-up to surface. Pain, denial...and lust.

Luc has made many sacrifices for his career, including Penny Ashbrook, the woman who set his aspirations back a year. But now she has returned and is more alluring than ever. After all these years, he thought a self-made billionaire like himself could master everything, but to resist the strong pull toward the one woman he can't have is an impossible task.

When this unlikely pair is reunited they will have to face the many challenges set in their way, especially an attraction that has only heightened with time and a deadline quickly approaching. Can their new bond surpass old—and new—fears?

Purchase: | Amazon | Breathless Press |

He gave her back the clipping he held, and when the thin piece of paper switched hands, an electric jolt snaked up his arm. She must have felt the same, because he didn't miss the slight jump of her hand or the temporary surprise in her eyes. A thrill of hope belted through him.

Hmmm… Encouraged by her physical response, Luc observed her in silence. Her hair cascaded in soft waves around her beautiful face, in which her high cheeks still blushed from the contact. The way her chest began to heave and how she tried to make it better with a sharp intake of breath amused him.

Her round, hazel eyes watched him, as if they lightened from within.

A stir tugged at his groin.

She shifted in her seat. "I can come back later to talk to Brad."

"Tell me what it is. I'll take care of it," he said, pleased at the cool confidence in his voice.

"It's more of a manager's job, but if you want to know…" she sighed, and hid both hands in her lap. He leaned his head forward a bit, and noticed how she tried to conceal her fidgety fingers from view.

"I want to know everything." He cleared his throat.

"Have you been to the spa area recently?"

The spa had been fairly affected by the flood, due to its proximity to the beach. He shook his head. "Not since they've done the repair work. Why do you ask?"

"I've been thinking of offering some massages to our VIP guests who are coming to the opening party. But there's still one massage room out of order, according to maintenance," she started, as she went through her notes. "And also, I wanted to suggest that the manager hire male masseuses. Almost every masseuse is a woman."

"And?"

"It wouldn't reflect well on this property, not being an equal opportunity employer."

He frowned, not liking any bit of it. "Noted. I'll tell Brad."

"Also, since this is an adult-only resort, some women might want to get massages from men."

"True. Did you enjoy your massage?" He'd given her full access to all of the resort's facilities, including the spa, like all of the top managers. No doubt, there was no better encouragement to keep full occupancy than employees who knew what they were talking about and selling.

"I haven't had time to schedule it yet."

"Not a fan of female masseuses?" He meant to tease, but his voice dropped an octave regardless. "Would you have felt more comfortable with a male masseuse?"

She frowned, and a small nervous laugh escaped her lips. "God no."

"Isn't that sexist of you? To think women are better masseuses than men?" He crossed his arms, stretched his legs, and pushed his chair against the wall.

He enjoyed when she came close to losing her composure. She shrugged her shoulders, which gave the annoying black jacket a slight opening once she squared her shoulders again. Her chest heaved.

Mon Dieu, she’s beautiful.

"No. I think you should hire both genders, based on their talent and not on their physical assets. And in my case it's different. I'm more… particular about certain things." She averted her eyes to stare down at her hands.

"Like having your body touched by a man." He jerked forward before propping his elbows on the dark wood desk. The squeak of the chair made her eyes return to his. This time, he pinned her with his stare. He could have kicked himself for his stupidity. The last thing he wanted was to picture any man touching her—a masseuse, her ex, or anyone who might have filled her bed during the time they’d been apart.

Only the present mattered, and nothing else. Not even the future.

She looked away. Again. "Yes. I mean, no." Her eyes returned to his. "Luc, this isn't about me," she said with calm confidence, perhaps trying to downplay the pulsating vein in her neck.

She rose from her seat as if propelled by the same force that pulled him to stand up and close the short gap between them.

"I should go." With an unsteady breath, she took a step back.

"Don't." He swallowed the lump of sexual frustration in his throat. He could see it in her eyes, which melted into two pools of rich caramel, that she wanted him.