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Guest Post with Author Kerri Carpenter and Giveaway


Award-winning romance author Kerri Carpenter writes contemporary romances that are sweet, sexy, and sparkly. When she’s not writing, Kerri enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, taking Zumba classes, rooting for Pittsburgh sports teams, and anything sparkly. Kerri lives in Northern Virginia with her adorable (and mischievous) rescued poodle mix, Harry. Visit Kerri at her website, on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to her newsletter.


Awkward Encounters

In my new book, Tempting Mr. Wrong, Carly and Lance do not get off to the best of starts. First of all, they actually met years ago at Carly’s brother/Lance’s best friend’s wedding. They danced, they flirted, and then the brakes were put on.

When they meet up years later, Carly kind of, um, douses Lance with a bucket of water. But it was totally an accident. When they return to Carly’s house to dry off, Lance thinks Carly’s been robbed. Only, that’s not exactly the case either. Oops.

All of this awkwardness got me thinking about some of my past dating mishaps. I warn you – these are all real stories. Prepare yourself!

The Baby Book
I went out with a guy many years ago. We had a great dinner, great conversation, great everything. Until we went back to my place and the guy abruptly stops, makes up what was clearly some crazy excuse, and hightails it out of there. Confused, I look around until I spot the source of his retreat. I’m a writer. I have to come up with character names. What better way to do that than by keeping my large, pink baby name book right in the center of my coffee table. I mean, I might as well have been wearing a wedding dress.

The Calamari Crier
I went out with a really sweet guy. We’d been exchanging emails for quite some time and I really felt like this one was completely normal. And maybe he *usually* was…. When we were having dinner, he shared that he had been married and gotten divorced a couple years prior. I asked why and he immediately started crying all over our shared calamari. Crying. In. Our. Calamari.

The Goat Singer
I met a date at a bar. We had a fairly nice time with some wine, appetizers, and a couple rounds of bar trivia. After we parted ways, I went home and straight to bed. But when I woke up the next morning, I found about twenty or so text messages on my phone from said guy. All sent at different—and needless to say, inappropriate—times of the night. The very last text said… “I wrote a song about a goat.”
Riiiggghhhhttt!

At least Carly and Lance are in good company! Tell me in the comments about any of your awkward dating encounters. And when you need to stay home and grab a book because you just can’t handle one more bad date, I hope you all enjoy Tempting Mr. Wrong. Available now.



A little temptation never hurt anyone…

Lance Townsend craves freedom after years living a structured existence in the Army. But just as he’s about to start on his bucket list, Lance receives an unexpected request: check in on his goddaughter. The problem? The adorable little girl’s aunt is the one woman he’s never been able to forget.

Carly Quigley can’t believe her brother’s best friend, the man who jilted her years ago, is at her door. He claims her brother asked him to check in on her niece and their fixer-upper, but all either of them can focus on is their undeniable attraction. Carly knows Lance is counting down the hours to leave, which makes him the wrong man for her. Unfortunately, the wrong man has become oh-so-tempting.

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Carly started a pot of coffee. While it brewed, she meandered over to the window again. Thank God she wasn’t holding her coffee cup because it would have most definitely been dropped and splattered into a million pieces on the floor. Lance was working out in the backyard. But not just working out. Half-naked working out. And currently he was doing one-armed pushups as his rippling muscles quivered with the exertion.

Damn. She knew something else that was currently trembling, and she had to cross her legs to keep from losing it completely. Her mouth dropped open, and she knew that drool was soon to drip out of it. She knew Lance was built, but witnessing his naked top half working out really drove that point home.

Holy hell.

As if he felt her presence and knew she was standing there gawking at him, Lance looked up. No time to even pretend to be doing something else, she was totally busted. Taking it in stride, Carly winked and then strolled back to the kitchen and fixed her coffee. As Lance sauntered in the back door a few moments later, she took a long, deep gulp, the hot liquid scalding her throat. Not that she felt it because Lance still remained shirtless and her brain therefore remained inoperable.

Up For Grabs:
  • 1 $20 Amazon Gift Card

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Special thanks to Kerri Carpenter for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.
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28 comments :

Unknown said...

thank you for the chance to win :)

James Robert said...

Thank you for both the excerpt and giveaway, I appreciate this.

Marcy Meyer said...

I can't remember any awkward dating encounters. It has been a long time, since I've been married for 15 years. I did go out with a friend , before meeting my husband, and it felt strange all night. (especially at the end of the date) lol

Kerri said...

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for having me here today! I hope you enjoyed my dating disaster stories and good luck with the giveaway!

-Kerri

erin said...

congrats on the new release! Ummm.. I'm asian american, so sometimes dating can be... awkward... I once went out with a guy who was convinced for some reason, that even though I speak perfect English b/c I was practically born here, that he had to use the loud, slow, over-enunciating voice. Our waitress was embarrassed for me. In fact, weird long story short, she actually helped me escape :) Thanks for sharing!

Carol L. said...

I'm looking forward to reading your books Kerri. Your dating disasters are hilarious and certainly make good examples to put in your books. Thanks for sharing. I'm a grandma now so dating seems like another lifetime for me. :) But really didn't have any bad or uncomfortable experiences.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

Sue G. said...

This sounds adorable! Loved the excerpt!

Tri said...

My all time greatest dating disaster was a first date who I didn't know all that much about. It wasn't until he took it off and put it on the table in front of me that I knew he had a prosthetic hand. HE TOOK OFF HIS HAND! I am brilliant and think quickly on my feet, so said "Can I touch it." So yes, we held hands, but that's about as far as it got.

Love the book Kerri! Can't wait to read some more!!

Aimee F. said...

You're stories were HILARIOUS! Ok, this one is awkward and it was all my fault. I was casually dating this guy. We went out one night, took my car. We ended up a this local bar and we were having fun...and then we ran into my ex. An ex that I had never really gotten over. And we all knew each other, we had grown up pretty much together - same neighborhood, same schools. So the three of us hung out. Awkward. But my ex was being really sweet and flirting and I was just falling for it hook line and sinker. At the end of the night, my ex asked if he could ride back with us. I said sure. So I ended up driving to my date's house and stopped the car. And he turns to me and asks, "You're dropping me off first?" It was horrible! I felt horrible. But still I nodded yes, and let him get out of the car. Again, we weren't serious. I know I didn't break his heart but I am sure I bruised his ego a bit. I guess I just wanted time alone with my ex to talk and...moral of the story is, three's a crowd and you should at least end the night with the person you began the night with. My ex turned out to be a jerk anyway and my date is married now and a really super guy still. Gotta love the irony.

Janet W. said...

I enjoyed the excerpt! Can't wait to check this out!

kim hansen said...

Sounds like a good read.

JenM said...

I never dated much before I met my spouse so I don't have any awkward stories, but the ones that have been shared were pretty funny.

Kim said...

Thanks for the giveaway.

K Angeles said...

Great excerpt! Can't wait to read the rest.

Michele Hayes said...

It's been a long time since I dated and don't remember any awkwardness. Thanks for the chance to win.

Joanne B said...

Congrats on the new book and thanks for that funny, awkward moment between Carly and Lance. The book sounds fantastic and I can't wait to read it.

Jen B. said...

I wrote a song about a goat! Holy cow, that's funny. Thanks for the giveaway.

Lilypadchavez said...

Ummm I can't really remember any dating awkwardness as I have been married for close to 19 yrs already so um ya to long ago lol

Unknown said...

Since divorcing 8yrs ago, I've tried Match.com & eHarmony. Both were disasters! I met one or two guys on Match that I'm still friends with, but a majority of the guys wanted to "party" now that they're "free & single". I have a son who depends on me & being a party animal is NOT in the cards. I even had a guy try to scam me out of money claiming his daughter needed emergency surgery--while on vacation in a foreign country! Could I wire it to him because he LOVED me! Lol. I had never met or even been on a date with him! I turned him in. I found his picture listed with another name & residence in my "top picks" sent to me daily....still haven't found the one for me.

Glenda said...

Sounds like a fun book! Thanks!

Lilypadchavez said...

Ummm I can't really remember any dating awkwardness as I have been married for close to 19 yrs already so um ya to long ago lol

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the post and giveaway!

Mai T. said...

When you sat down to start this book, what was the biggest challenge you faced? What were you most excited about?

Kirsten said...

LOL, a song about a goat?! Too funny :D

Jess1 said...

My date had us leave before the end of a movie so that he could try to kiss me, which I didn't want to do. It was our first date too. Later in the early morning, he calls me and starts talking in a slurred voice. No repeat date.

LauraJJ said...

Oh sounds so good and humorous! I cannot wait to read and see what happens between Carly and Lance! The bucket of water sounds so funny....my mind is now wondering what happened at her house!

Bridgett Wilbur said...

This book sounds great and I would love to read it. ty

Unknown said...

sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.

rounder9834 @yahoo.com

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