Meet Elizabeth Michels, author of Desperately Seeking Suzanna.
Elizabeth Michels grew up on a Christmas tree farm in rural South Carolina. After tip-toeing her way through school with her focus on ballet steps and her nose in a book, she met a boy and followed him a thousand miles away from home to Kansas City, Missouri, before settling down in North Carolina. She attended Park University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Interior Design. Elizabeth is a lover of happily-ever-afters; she invites you to read her stories, get lost, and enjoy. For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethmichels.com/.
Find Elizabeth at:
It happened over coffee…
Thank you for hosting me today! I’m excited to be back on Ramblings From This Chick to celebrate the release of the second book in the Tricks of the Ton series! Desperately Seeking Suzanna takes place at the same time as Must Love Dukes, so I suppose it’s only fitting that these first 2 books released so close together. There are even a few scenes that cross over between books as we watch Holden and Sue’s story unfold. The funny part about this is that I didn’t write them at the same time. The inspiration for Desperately Seeking Suzanna came much before I ever sat down to write it, but it remained there on my mind with the main characters walking in and out of the plot of book 1. So, I’m excited to finally be able to tell you about this book today.
Since I began writing this story, I’ve always called it my Evil Mother Book. I’m not sure how all of these conniving women ended up in this book, but they did. So, you would think the inspiration would have come from an evil mother, but my mom was a wonderful person who passed away far too soon. Really! She wasn’t even a little bit evil! With my mom off the hook of being evil inspiration, I was still concerned that my mother-in-law would take offense at the villainous mothers, so much so that I dedicated the book to her.
If real life evil mothers weren’t the inspiration for Desperately Seeking Suzanna, what was?
It all began with a conversation I had with a friend a few years ago. We were chatting over a cup of coffee when she mentioned her concern about her marriage. She’d been married for almost a year and yet she’d never been to visit her husband’s childhood home. His family had come to see them in their new home, but her husband was against taking her to visit his parents. It later became clear he was ashamed of his simple upbringing, but I began to wonder...
What if he had been hiding something terrible, even scandalous? What if the secret he kept, if revealed, could destroy his carefully crafted life? And even worse, what if it was bad enough to endanger the lives of those close to him? And that was when Holden Ellis, Lord Steelings began to take shape. He seems like a charming rake, but nothing with Holden is as it seems. Of course, nothing with Sue Green is as it seems either. From the moment she dons a masquerade mask and sneaks into a ball, uninvited, she sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever. From that moment on Holden is desperately seeking Suzanna, but when he finds her will it be too late?
…Oh, you want to know what inspired Sue Green? She simply walked into a ballroom one fine day and started talking far too much to ignore.
I hope you enjoy Desperately Seeking Suzanna! What is your favorite place to catch up with friends? (Even if those friends don’t give you book ideas.*grins*)
Her Cinderella Moment…
Sue Green just wanted one night to be the pretty one. But a few glasses of champagne and one wild disguise later, she's in some serious trouble. Who knew the devastatingly handsome face of Lord Holden Ellis would get in the way of her foot? And how exactly did all that high-kick dancing start in the first place? At least she blamed it on her new persona—Suzanna—so Society's most eligible bachelor will never find out the truth.
All Holden wants is the truth. Who was that vixen who seduced him so thoroughly, then disappeared? The only one who seems to have any answers about Suzanna is Miss Sue Green. She's promised to help him find his mystery woman, but she's not being all that helpful. And the more time Holden spends with Sue—witty, pretty, and disarmingly honest—the more he realizes he may have found exactly what he's been looking for all along...
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Check out what's up for grabs.
- 1 copy of Desperately Seeking Suzanna
To Enter:
- Please answer Elizabeth's question: What is your favorite place to catch up with friends?
- US/Canada shipping ONLY.
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Good Luck!
Special thanks to Sourcebooks sponsoring this giveaway.
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girls' night out at dinner, or just hanging at home--girls only!
ReplyDeleteI love catching up with friends over dinner too! Girls nights out are the best! Thanks for commenting! :)
DeleteI catch up with my friends either by telephone or Skype. The majority of them live in England.
ReplyDeleteDiane, isn't skype great? I love it! And, you have a great excuse to go on vacation to England if you want to visit. It sounds like the perfect friendship to me! :)
DeleteCatch up is done on the phone or online....
ReplyDeleteWhat did we do before email and social media? I think I'm in better contact with my friends now than ever simply because of Facebook. Thanks for commenting! :)
DeleteElizabeth, my fave place to catch up with friends is a different restaurant in or near our neighborhood every month. We meet the second Monday of every month for a lunch and two-hour catch-up chat with lots of laughter, tears and love. I am so fortunate I was, as a new neighbor in the 'hood, invited by someone to join their group. There have been health issues which have prevented one or another of us from meeting in the past few years, but still, those of us who can, still meet. We are considering inviting a couple of new neighbors to join our group. Plus, we are active members in our neighborhood watch group, where we are always looking out for one another during vacations, while some are at work or ill, etc. We have a good time together through it all. Thanks for asking! jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteP.S. I like your Twitter handle, Elizabeth (southerntart indeed)!
DeleteHaha! Thanks, Janice! I think I would love your neighborhood! My husband and I moved across town 5 months ago and I still haven't met most of my new neighbors...I'm hoping that's because it's been so cold though. Your dinners with neighborly friends sounds fun! Maybe this spring I can start something like that in my quiet little neighborhood. :)
DeleteI tend to have coffee at Starbucks or dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. My friends & I don't get to see each other much anymore, so when we do, we like to talk.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks get-togethers are great! I met up with 2 friends there just last Saturday and we ended up talking for 4 hours straight. It was awesome! ...and when there's coffee involved, you can't really go wrong. ;)
DeleteI have a good friend that I meet for a walk & lunch in sort of a health food place with great wraps. I only see her once every few months, but we have a great time. Oh, and there is a used book store in the town. ;)
ReplyDeleteBooks, a walk on a sunny afternoon and yummy food? That sounds amazing, Sharlene! What a perfect way to catch up with a friend!
DeleteFace-to-face visits have become fewer and farther between with the advent of social media and smartphones. I now value connecting in person more than ever and love catching up with my BFFs during a day or evening out, starting with bargain hunting at the local shops, dishing over a sit-down meal at a nice restaurant, and ending with cocktails. If that's not possible, I'll settle for noshing and sipping on wine at one of our homes. In either case, no kids, no dudes, and NO constant checking of phones.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Katherine! I text and tweet with my friends every day, but it seems like it's so hard to get everyone together in person! Your perfect day with friends sounds awesome! And I agree with the no kids, no dudes and no phones rule. You can't dish with a girlfriend when the kids are there wanting attention. And we need that time away to appreciate our kids, dudes and phones. :)
DeleteGirls night out at a favorite sushi restaurant :) Thanks for sharing and congrats to Elizabeth on the new release!
ReplyDeleteYuuuuuum! That sounds awesome, Erin! Thanks for the congrats! :)
Deletewe always try to get together once a month and go have dinner and talk for a few hours.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to slip away from life and catch up with a friend, isn't it? Thanks for commenting, Sheryl!
DeleteI catch up with friends at school especially if they go to college with me and when we are not at school, then by text or FB. With my friends that goes to college at home (I went away for college), I FB them or I text them. We don't video chat because we are too busy for that.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your newest release!
Thanks, Sandy! I think text messaging is the best thing ever invented...next to air conditioning and maybe the hair dryer. But, it's awesome nonetheless. :)
DeleteLunch anywhere or maybe at a coffee place (more often than not Starbucks since the competitor closed down).
ReplyDeletemostly over a meal where we can take our time and have time to chat.
ReplyDeleteGirls night out once or twice a month somewhere where the food is good and it's not so noisy you can't hear yourselves talk.
ReplyDeleteGoing out to eat or getting coffee.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win!