Sexy & Sweet Release Day Goodness of Outside The Lines

Today is the release of a sexy and sweet contemporary that looks terrific (can't wait to pick up my own copy!). But this book is the third (albeit stand-alone) in a series, so if you haven't already gobbled up the first two books in Kimberly Kincaid's Line series, go do so immediately! 

As an ivy-league ER doctor who eats double shifts for breakfast (and lunch…and dinner), Blake Fisher has little appetite for anything other than work. Being on the staff at Brenstville Hospital means taking care of people, a need Blake understands all too well from losing his brother to cystic fibrosis eight years ago. When he’s asked to coordinate a carnival fundraiser for the cause, he jumps at the chance to help others with the disease…until it lands him side by side with the one woman he never thought he’d see again: his ex-fiancée.

Streetwise and rough around the edges, Jules Shaw is no stranger to earning a living through hard work. But when her job as the restaurant manager of Mac’s Diner puts her shoulder to really broad shoulder with Blake Fisher, she nearly balks. She’d rather dodge and deflect than admit the real reason she broke things off, but the catering contract for the carnival means big business for Mac’s, and feeding people is Jules’s lifeblood.

As Blake and Jules join reluctant forces, they quickly rediscover the spark between them. But the possibility of a future together hinges on coming clean about the past, with potentially devastating consequences. Can Blake and Jules overcome their drastically different backgrounds and learn to love again, or will they always be outside the lines?

Link to Follow the Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/06/now-booking-release-day-tasty-book.html

Purchase at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Lines-Line-ebook/dp/B00E82DQKW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375137119&sr=1-1&keywords=kimberly+kincaid+outside+the+lines

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18070953-outside-the-lines

 

Author Info

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. She has written two digital novellas, Love On The Line and Drawing The Line, about hot cops and sexy chefs, with a third novella, Outside The Lines, due this summer. She is also thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Kimberly’s first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014. She resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Visit her any time at www.kimberlykincaid.com or come check her out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kimberly.kincaid1) and Twitter (@kimberlykincaid).

 

Author Links

www.kimberlykincaid.com

www.facebook.com/kimberly.kincaid1

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938229.Kimberly_Kincaid

 

Breaking The Boundaries: Unusual Aphrodisiacs and Why They Work

I'm thrilled today to introduce you to a fellow Washington Romance Writers chapter mate and a fellow foodie. Kimberly Kincaid's Pine Mountain romance series doesn't come out until next year, but you can have an amuse bouche of her writing with her just released novella, Love On the Line. Here's a peek - and then keep reading for her take on aphrodisiacs!

 

Violet Morgan puts the personal in personal chef, catering to clients who want the full cooking experience rather than a culinary drop-and-dash. But when her brother’s police detective partner is injured in the line of duty and needs help during recovery, she makes an exception. Violet lost her father to the job seven years ago, and worries for her brother’s safety every day. The last thing she wants is to get up-close with her brother’s career-cop partner…again.

For Noah Blackwell, being a detective isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s a legacy. So when he’s forced to take mandatory leave and deal with the trauma amnesia keeping him from identifying his shooter, it’s a literal case of adding insult to injury— and now he’s got to deal with an unwanted culinary caregiver on top of it. Never mind that he and Violet shared a steamy, secret kiss last New Year’s Eve. She rejects everything related to the job, and Noah’s not about to be distracted from recovering his memory and getting back to what he does best. No matter how pretty Violet is.

Despite their differences, Violet and Noah share a surprising bond in the kitchen that grows into something neither of them expect. But as Noah heals and their feelings for each other extend from the kitchen to the bedroom, Violet knows she must make an impossible choice. She may wear her heart on her sleeve when it comes to food, but can she risk it all to put love on the line?

Purchase on Amazon, or learn more at her website or follow Kimberly on Facebook

Okay, so as a foodie author, I have a lot of vested interest in whether or not the effects of aphrodisiacs are fact or fiction. But there’s something about certain dishes that make them inherently sexy, and I’m not just talking about the standard oysters of the half shell and chocolate-dipped strawberries. What is it about food that offers such potential to take things from the kitchen to the bedroom? The answers may be simpler (and sexier!) than you think.

Food incorporates all five senses naturally. Food is one of those lovely catch-alls that allows us to weave in every one of the five senses with ease. Of course there’s taste, but dig even deeper. Before any dish hits the plate, we can see it, smell it, feel it and even hear it, especially if we’re cooking. For writers, it’s a great place to slide in a few colorful and unique comparisons. In the opening scene of Love On The Line, my heroine Violet compares the ingredients in Spanish paella to a the threads in a tapestry. We hear the sizzle of the ingredients on the stove, the smoky scent of Chorizo and paprika, and are shown the deep yellow saffron-colored rice. It all comes together to put the reader in the spot, and what’s more, it uses the five senses to do it. Evocative? Yes. Effective? You bet!

Food can have emotional and sensual connotations. Let’s be honest. Most food isn’t inherently sexy on its own. But if you link it to the right scenario, if you give it a story to go with it, that food takes on not just a lot of emotional connection, but it can also translate into some pretty sexy stuff. In Love On The Line, Noah makes Violet a spaghetti dinner. Not really steamy in its own right, as spaghetti is a fairly common, potentially ho-hum meal. But why Noah does it (and that he does it at all) makes all the difference, and it leads to the most provocative scene in the book. The food becomes sensual as a part of the experience. It’s more than just dinner.

Food is indulgent and personal. Lastly, food is just yummy (yes, that’s the technical term!) It’s indulgent. It makes us feel good. Characters in books (or people in real life) can cook for each other as a method of comfort and caring, can feed each other as a provocative experience (we’ve all seen 9 ½ Weeks, right?!), and can use food to find that next level. What we choose, what is indulgent and sexy to each of us, is as unique as a fingerprint. But discovering it alongside someone we love can truly make it all the more incredible.
 
So tell me, reader-friends! What are some foods you find inherently sexy or indulgent? Do you think aphrodisiacs are science, or sensual? And for you writers, how can you work these themes into your work to put some shake in your bake? Tell all!

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. She is thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Her first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014. Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters. Visit her any time at www.kimberlykincaid.com or come check her out on Facebook and Twitter.

Could I Be The Next Big Thing?

Everybody wants their fifteen minutes of fame. Writers want theirs every single time they've got a book release. So with book 2 in my Aisle Bound series releasing on March 11, I'm really hoping I could become The Next Big thing. Can't do it alone, though. We authors all help each other promote because we so deeply care about supporting each other, and the wonderful world of books. So thanks to Misty Waters for thinking of me for this blog hop! Now, onto my questions:

1. What is your working title of your next book (or story)?

The title is A Fine Romance, which also happens to be the name of the romance store featured in the story. So glad my publisher let me keep it!

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

When I lived in Chicago and saw the vibrant downtown neighborhoods open with every sort of retail day and night, I got the idea for a romance store. I was a wedding planner at the time, and thought it would be terrific to have a place people could duck into to grab a picnic basket full of treats, a card, and a heart shaped blanket to turn a ho-hum Wednesday into a special date night. Creating the store in my book required a lot less start-up capital than creating it for real.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary romance, with a strong bent toward romantic comedy.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

How did you know that I can't start writing until I've got physical models? My hero Sam is the darkly brooding and gorgeous Dylan McDermott, who I've lusted after ever since I saw his sexy chest in The Practice. My heroine Mira is based on Olivia Wilde.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Will she turn her back on a life of wealth for a sexy chocolatier – when she doesn’t even like chocolate? 

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This book was part of a 6 book deal I executed with Carina Press prior to signing with my wonderful agent, Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

See the above question - when I signed that deal, I only had one completed book, and went into massive panic mode about the contracted deadlines looming in front of me. This book was nothing more than a one sentence idea at the time. So I gave myself five months to write it, but finished in a little less than four.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It has the humor of Victoria Dahl, the Chicago setting of Julie James, and the overall feel of Christie Ridgway and Louisa Edwards. I think. Or, those are just authors in my genre that I'd be thrilled to be mentioned in the same sentence as.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Um, the aforementioned contract? No, the honest answer is that I am a sucker for romance. I'll do anything to squeeze a little more of it out into the world, because I honestly believe it makes life better.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Mouth-watering descriptions of bakery treats and gourmet chocolate truffles. The feel of a whirlwind vacation to Chicago. A group of friends that make you laugh and want to join their tight circle. Oh, and truly awesome (if I do say so myself) sex with drizzled chocolate sauce.....
 

Here's the part where I tag five other talented, awesome authors who might just be The Next Big Thing:

Joya Fields writes edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense and spooky, sexy contemporar romances with a ghost-ly twist. Hereafter, the 2nd in her Hauntings at Inner Harbor series, recently released, and is a must-read!  Follow her on Twitter @JoyaFields

Amanda Usen (oh yes, another author in my genre I'd love to be compared to!) writes fabulously sexy foodie romances. You might as well scoop up both Luscious and Scrumptious at the same time, because I guarantee you'll want to read them both.  Follow her on Tiwtter @AmandaUsen

Stephanie Draven (hang on, I have to fan myself just thinking about this book) just released her 1920s erotica collection It Stings So Sweet. Seriously, the hottest book I've read in years. You'll want to download immediately to your e-reader, AND buy the paperback to keep next to your bed. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieDraven

Kimberly Kincaid's novella  Love on the Line releases next month. It puts a whole different meaning on 'heat in the kitchen', and I can't wait to read it! Follow her on Twitter @KimberlyKincaid

Natalie Damschroder is a fellow Carina Press author who writes strong heroines with even stronger heroes in her romantic adventures. If you need a little adrenaline surge to get you through these long, last days of winter, check out Behind the Scenes. Follow her on Twitter @NJDamschroder