Beach Kisses, Sunset Wishes by Nora LeDuc

Please welcome Nora LeDuc author of Beach Kisses, Sunset Wishes

Nora LeDuc will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Beach Kisses, Sunset Wishes

by Nora LeDuc

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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NOTE: This book is part of a multibook box set.

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INTERVIEW:

What or who inspired you to start writing?

There are times in our lives when work occupies our every second. This happened to me several years ago. Since I didn’t have to leave home except to travel where my imagination took me, I binged on all the famous authors at Annie’s Bookstore. I soon became a huge fan of romance. I’d often imagined parts of stories but never enough to make me think I could write a book. However, when I read an ad that told me I could become a Romance Author, it resonated with me. I simply sat down and started writing. I was married with two children, my three part-time jobs, and a class, but that never stopped me.

How did you come up with ideas for your books? Most of my ideas come from something I’ve read or seen and thought was entertaining or different. I admit to being a TV addict, so I watch a lot of stories. In my short story, Beach Kisses and Sunset Wishes, I modeled the beach homes and scenery after the ones I’d seen in Bermuda and Florida. The drum ceremony was one I happened upon when I stayed at a hotel in Florida one evening. The scene where the hero and heroine are hosed by her grandmother came from a news video of a woman hosing people who motored past her dock. Apparently she wrongly thought she owned the surrounding water.

As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I’m always planning my next book and think my current one is my best. In October, I will release Christmas at the Easy Breezy. The setting is the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The story centers on a young woman finding love and family in an unexpected place. Our hero is the gruff, handsome owner of the local diner stuck in the past until the night a pretty, bubbly woman crashes into a snowbank and into his life. I will also be working on the next adventure in the Love & Lies In Paradise series. They take place in Florida. Although the heroine is a minor character from Trail of Secrets, it’s a stand-alone novel. The heroine has a less than sterling reputation and is discovered at the scene of a murder in the opening. The hero, an old friend and private investigator, isn’t sure how innocent she is, or if he wants to take her case. She has a lot of growing up to do. She must find not only a killer, but her true self and her hidden heart.

If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?

I’d love to be the heroine in my book, Sweet Dreams, Baby. Harper comes from a well-off family but she has made many mistakes in her life. However, she’s determined to make a great life for her daughter who she loves deeply. I like her grit, yet, she’s not an in-your-face character. Also, she hires and falls for handsome private investigator Finn O’Rourke, who is her complete opposite. He lives hand to mouth, in a trailer, and often has trouble controlling his temper. But he has a dad he loves and visits daily while Harper is alone, searching for her father’s killer. Of course, they are a perfect match in work and romance. Oh, and Finn loves kids.

Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing? 

I’ve belonged to many critique groups through the years. First, I traded stories through the mail with two other women. I had no idea what to say to them. I could tell if I liked their writing or not, but little else. We did not stay together long. They both went into different fields of work.

Soon,I was critiquing in person with a large group from my romance chapter, twice a month. This was fun. We enjoyed sharing. However, since we read our stories out loud at our sessions, it was more a first-impression feedback meeting. This lasted for a couple of years before that suited their work better.

I wrote for a while alone. Then, I joined with two other ladies from my chapter to assess our writing. This has been a super combination. We seemed to have strengths that complimented each other. Our sharing turned into a friendship Now one of them has relocated, and with Covid-19, we have been using only email to communicate.

I would recommend critique partners, but I admit it’s tough to find the right mesh or mix. If you’re not happy with your partner or group, keep looking.

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

Once I decided to write, the goal was always to get that draft shiny and published. I started in the olden days of traditional press when you usually only had one shot per story. I took lots of care writing, rewriting, and entering contests for helpful comments.

Now that I self-publish, I worry more about my manuscript being ready for the world to read. Although I have  content and copy editors, but they’re not the gatekeepers for deciding if my what is or isn’t publishable. They give me advice from their knowledge, and I can revise or not. To help me make this threshold decision, I’ve used more beta readers. I truly find this a difficult judgment and will revise and revise. I’m still working on when to let go.

What is the best and worst advice—

The best pieces of advice I’ve received:

-Be prepared to rewrite your story many times.

-Real writing is rewriting.

-Don’t be afraid to share your story but don’t put it out until it’s ready for the public.

-Get feedback.

-If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Writing isn’t like solving a math equation where you have one answer and that’s it. There are many genres of romance and many styles. Yours is there.

Worst Advice

-You will only be successful if you can plan out your whole book before you write––This has never worked for me. I work in chunks as the story comes to me. Many people plan not at all and are successful.

-When you’re thinking up ideas for your book, don’t use the first ones––Hey, sometimes inspiration strikes immediately. There is no time clock on which ideas are the best.

-Only write the book of your heart–– If that were true, a lot of writers would not be working. Trends come and go. You might only love vampires, but the readers need a break. As they say, you’re not a one trick pony, I guarantee.

Do you outline or just start writing?

I’ve tried outlining many times.I can do vague outlines, but composing an entire detailed framework is not how my mind works. As my hero and heroine take shape and the story progresses, I have other ideas emerge that I hadn’t imagined. Sometimes, what I thought would work, just sounds boring on my screen. So now I loosely plan my beginning, midpoint, and ending. After I’ve written one chapter, I think ahead to the next and figure out the next. Often I imagine an exciting or painful moment for my characters and can’t wait to get there!

Have you started your next project-share a little?

As I mentioned, my holiday book will be coming out in Oct. Christmas at the Easy Breezy. The heroine’s world changes after her uncle, who raised her, surprises everyone and marries. He spends all his times with his new wife and her kids and grandkids. Now the heroine reassess her life and decides she wants more. She’s determined to find her deceased mother’s family that she never knew. She does this in the modern way by joining an online program similar to Ancestry.com. There she discovers a cousin and immediately plans a trip to visit him, despite knowing little about him. This sets up a series of unexpected events and a lesson in what is family.

On her trip, she meets the hero. He has trouble accepting change in his personal life and in his father’s business that he inherited. His dad passed away several years ago at Christmas. The hero has a large family, who he wishes would butt out of his life, especially since they love to give him advice on his love life. It’s a fun read with of course with an uplifting ending.

Who is your favorite actor and actress?

I’m a big fan of the English actor Freddie Highmore. I watched him in the Bates Motel and was intrigued by his interpretation of the character of Norman Bates. At times, he managed to make me feel sympathy and other scenes stirred my loathing and fear, depending on the episode. I became enthusiastic about the show although I knew it had a tragic ending. Now he’s the lead in The Good Doctor. Shaun Murphy, a young autistic surgeon who has savant syndrome. He can have a brilliant future if he can fit into the social world of medicine. Once again, Freddie displays a wide range of acting abilities.

My favorite actress is Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson in Law & Order Special Victims. Her character has to demonstrate an understanding and a gentle approach with the wounded while keeping a hardline with the perps she has to put away. She’s a heroine who’s grown over the years. Olivia’s no longer just her partner’s other half. She’s now a police chief in charge of her unit and exhibits leadership skills she previously didn’t utilize.

BLURB:

LAST CHANCE BEACHis the island paradise where dreams go to live again and wishes may come true. It’s Summer’s Endon the island, and the cottages, condos, hotels, and bungalows are filled to capacity.

There’s still plenty of time to find summer fun and summer love, new romances and second chances; hot alpha males and heartwarming heroes, beach bunnies, dudes, and romance popping up when you least expect it.

Throw a log on the beach bonfire tonight and celebrate LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End, a special collection of 14 short stories from bestselling authors—all new, never published before—that will thrill the hopeful romantic in you. Some stories are sweet; some are sizzling hot. All will touch your heart and make you want to book a vacation to LAST CHANCE BEACH!

Authors and Titles:

Hot August Night by Joan Reeves, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Can a chef and a hot dog loving cop resist desire when they’re forced to share the same overbooked beach cottage?

Something New by Liz Flaherty, USA Today Bestselling Author

Their lives are all planned out–until they’re not.

I Do…Again by Nancy Fraser, Amazon Top 100 Author

Can they re-ignite what they once had and take a last chance on love?

The Man in Gull Cottage by Caroline Clemmons, Amazon Top 100 Author

Will the solution to her dilemma drive them apart or into one another’s arms?

That One Summer by Maddie James, Amazon Top 100 Author

He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who couldn’t commit.

Romancing the Spouse by Jan Scarbrough, Amazon Bestselling Author

Can she turn back the clock to save her marriage?

Blue Sky Summer by Kathleen Lawless, Amazon Bestselling Author

Of all the beaches on the coast, who does she see again? Him!

Hangover Husband by Bonnie Edwards, Amazon Bestselling Author

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there

One Last Shot by Marcia King-Gamble,National Bestselling Author

She can run, but can she hide?  Will love still find her?

Secondhand Hearts by Kathryn Hills, Award Winning Author

Life takes you down many winding paths. Will theirs lead to love on Last Chance Beach?

ParadisePerfume by Connie Vines, Award Winning Author

Fragrance and love cannot be hidden.

Dreams of the Pastby Laura Hunsaker, Award Winning Author

Can dreams of the future erase her nightmares of the past?

Beach Kisses & Sunset Wishesby Nora LeDuc

She wants someone interested in a fling. He wants someone interested in a ring.

Frankie McKinley’s last three relationships went up in flames. Her best bud insists she needs to relax, have a fling. But Frankie’s not into casual hookups. She vows to resist the lure of romantic Last Chance Beach and take a break from men. She’ll concentrate on her dream, opening a gift shop. Or so she’d promised herself until the morning her gaze locks with the handsome Sean Thomas-Michael’s sea-blue eyes.

Can’t Buy Me Love by Hannah Rowan

Things aren’t always what they seem.

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EXCERPT:

“Waste of time looking here,” Frankie mumbled. The popular Which Way, Hemingway, Café was full of the regulars. Here, they could catch the rolling rustle of the waves and inhale the briny sea salt. Colorful hibiscus bloomed around the pink open-air cook building. Their flowers perfumed the air. Who could resist this picture-perfect island with pastel painted buildings, lush green scenery, and friendly inhabitants who greeted everybody?

She could identify the frequent visitors and where they sat. On the end of the dining piazza, the mother’s group tried to keep their toddlers corralled and busy with crayons and small toys. The Save the Turtles folks were holding their monthly meeting by the sidewalk as though they might lure in a volunteer walking past. And the book club was debating the merits of the Oxford comma in another corner. Finally, there were the odds and ends like Frankie, Tikki, and the retired folk who filled the rest of the twelve tables on the sand.

“My. My. Who is that?” Her friend stretched her five-foot frame upright for a better

view. “I’ve never seen him before. Hmm. He’s interesting. Obviously a tourist. He’s wearing sandals.”

Frankie’s attention shot up to high while she dug her toes into the cool grains of sand.

She resisted the urge to say, “Forget it.” She’d humor her friend. Swiveling around, she spotted him across the patio.

He sat alone, wearing khaki shorts and a pale blue shirt, open at the collar. Dense black hair spilled over his forehead, and a bearded shadow darkened his strong jaw. He looked to be in his early thirties. Back-framed sunglasses were perched on his straight nose as he read something on his phone resting beside his plate of eggs and hash browns. He took off his shades, rubbed his chin, and raised his gaze. Their glances collided.

His brows shot up with interest. His lips parted slightly. Blue eyes that matched the sea drew Frankie to him and caused a sensation of dizziness to dance in her mind. She was aware she was staring, but she couldn’t stop.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Nora grew up in rural New England where she currently lives with her family. She enjoys visiting and spending time with her friends, the Winettes, in Florida, where she continues to write. Her current book, Beach Kisses, Sunset Wishes is her seventeenth. In October, Christmas at the Easy Breezy will be released. You can find Nora on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook and her website: Noraleduc.com. She also contributes to the Romance Gems’ Blog every month.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Nora LeDuc will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3469