Spotlight & Giveaway: A Cruise Fling by Laura Brown

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Laura Brown to HJ!

Hi Laura and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Cruise Fling!

 
Hello! Thank you for having me.
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

Mackenzie Laurel’s life might be in the dumpster, but thanks to her BFF she’s got a cruise to look forward to. A fling is absolutely not on the menu, until she meets Cole. Maybe a fling is exactly what she needs.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

When life hands you lemons, don’t wait for them to rot.

The boat swayed beneath Mackenzie Laurel’s feet as she walked along the outdoor promenade of the luxury cruise ship, the warm sun melting her troubles away. Or trying to. She squashed those pesky burdens down into the depths of the ocean surrounding the ship, determined to make the most out of this last-minute impromptu getaway. And when
she returned home…

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Mac is hard of hearing and wears two hearing aids.
• Cole is an amputee and survivor of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
• I’ve been on more than a dozen cruises and used some true to life experiences to help shape this novel!
• Mac has a thing for lemons.
• Cole is visiting a friend who works onboard, they’ve known each other a long time and have great banter!

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Lust! My characters meet due to a luggage mixup and it’s instant attraction! From there, they get to know each other and insist all they want is a fling.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Whirlwind, spicy, understanding, meant-to-be, heartfelt.
 

The First Kiss…

Alone in the cabin together!
 

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

Oh, there are so many that are my favorite! One is when Mac gets a call from her former boss/boyfriend, the one who dumped her and fired her before the start of the book. She’s growing stronger in herself, and there Cole is to help prop her up:

“I want you back.”

This time she nearly dropped her phone instead of throwing it. “What?”

“I want you back. I made a mistake, and I want you back.”

As she struggled to process this, a soft thud and movement caught her attention. She turned and saw Cole standing in the doorway. He leaned against the slider on his right leg, stump unadorned. She didn’t focus on the stump, not when the morning light hit the hard planes of his naked body; any shadows only increased the drool-worthy image. His brow wrinkled in concern. Leave Cole for Chad? Never in a million years. She held up a finger to him and turned
back around.

“You don’t tell me you cheated, move my stuff out, and fire me and seriously expect me back. You don’t. I was a mistake all along. Not your fault, that one’s on me for even agreeing to date you in the first place. But right now I’m hundreds of miles away, and after today you won’t be able
to reach me until next week. Stop calling, stop emailing, and move on. Oh, and Chad? Stop dating people you work with.”

“But Mac, you were damn good at your job. I need you back.”

“You’re right, I was damn good at my job. And you’ll find someone else. But do me and everyone else a favor? Keep your dick out of this one and maybe you’ll keep her. Goodbye, Chad.”

She disconnected the call and stared out at the island before her. Half of her wanted to crumble; the other half felt as alive as the blue sky dotting the horizon. Cole reached out and pulled her back into his sturdy figure.

“The ex?” he asked.

She nodded, and dammit, tears filled her eyes. She blinked them back.

“You worked for him?”

She turned in his arms, and the sincerity on his face did her in. “Yeah, I worked for him.” She managed a small smile. “I lived with him, too. I’ve got no job, no home, and am on a cruise ship. See, Cole, bad decisions.”

He pulled her close, and she placed her head on his shoulder. “This may have been the best decision you’ve had. It allowed me to meet you.”

“Don’t go there,” she whispered, “please.” She couldn’t have her fling be better for her than her ex, and nothing in this moment felt like a fling.

He angled his back to the wall and held her close, one hand running a lazy path up and down her spine. He cleared his throat. “As you wish.”

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

Mac’s BFF happens to be Cole’s employee, but neither are aware of the connection at first. A must have scene would be when they put the puzzle pieces together and realize this!

Mac stopped in her tracks, and Cole bumped into her.

She turned and stared at him with wide eyes. “What is it that you do?”

Something on her face caused his pulse to kick. This isn’t a small world, this isn’t a small world, this isn’t a damn Disney ride. “Travel agent.”

Mac put the paperweight down on a stack of T-shirts and walked straight out of the store. Cole followed. Outside the air turned from cool air conditioning to humid heat. Cars drove past on the street, bumper to bumper down a narrow road. Mac stood near the edge of the sidewalk, pacing on two feet of empty cement, hands on her hips. She paused when he entered her space. “Dani Martin works for you.”

The ball dropped. He grabbed her elbow and spun her to face him. “Yeah. She sold you your trip?”

Mac laughed without humor. “She’s sold me all my trips. She’s my BFF. Most of those items on her desk are from me.”

Dani’s desk was a shrine to bad souvenirs. He had no idea where she kept all her paperwork. He let go of Mac’s arm and plowed a hand through his hair. “She all but threatened me to stay away from you.”

Mac rubbed below her throat, a tension to her he hadn’t seen before. “Why?”

“I don’t commit.”

“I’m not looking for commitment.”

“She’s protective of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, she is.” Mac stared at him as they both let this new piece of information sink in. Then her eyes slid down to his leg. She didn’t say anything but clamped a hand over her mouth as she met his gaze head on.

Well, there went his secret.

Mac turned in a circle. “This just got real. Not that this morning was any different.”

He pulled her close, sinking his lips into hers, not giving a damn who saw them. She pushed him back, gasping in a breath. “This got real the moment you knocked on my door with my luggage.” He’d been fighting it, but he couldn’t deny the statement held truth.

She stared up at him, her blue eyes swirling with so much emotion. He couldn’t name a damn one but felt them just the same.

Readers should read this book …

If you like vacations, especially cruises, and need a chance to escape from it all for a moment! There are a lot of laughs to be found, but also a great deal of heart!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently working on a holiday romance with lots of family fun!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $5 Amazon gift card and an ebook of A Cruise Fling

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you ever been on a cruise?

 
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Excerpt from A Cruise Fling:

The panic threatened to return, and he searched the area for something to ground him away from this hell. He found it. Orange and yellow, his personal marigold. Mac. A long red dress adorned her body, a slit up one side teasing him with a glimpse of her knee as she moved. The lingering memories and fears fled, her presence a beacon in his storm, shifting his thoughts to this afternoon, with her under him. His body stirred and images of how he could remove that dress, and what she’d be wearing underneath, were fast making him dizzy from loss of blood.

Not the kind that escaped his body.

He finally found something able to calm him faster than the lackluster breathing exercises. Maybe her image would help him long after they parted ways.

Her hair was swept up off her face, a shine picked up by the chandelier. His mouth went dry. She was beautiful, and he bet she didn’t even know it.

“How was dinner?” he said when she got close, then cleared his throat. Had he really been having a panic attack moments ago? He might need to revisit that to cut down the
wood in his pants.

The light caught her ruby lips. “Not bad.”

“What’s the plan for tonight? We could grab some drinks and see where the night takes us.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek, needing her in a way that contradicted their afternoon activity.

Her cheeks rose in a tempting grin. “Sounds good to me.” She paused, hesitating for a moment. “But can we find a quieter bar, so I don’t have to guess what you’re saying?”

“The lady’s request shall be granted.”

They headed back to the bar where they first played trivia with Trent, grabbing a seat by the window. The moon cast a glow on the water, choppy with the ship traveling to the next port. Mac leaned back, eyes trained out the window, and sighed. “It doesn’t get much better than this.”

Considering the way he watched her, he had to agree.

“Vacation, bar, or the cruise itself?” Cole asked.

Mac faced him, tucking her bottom lip under her teeth, and he nearly leaned across the table to kiss her. “A little bit of all three?”

He scooted forward, unable to resist her pull. “But not me?”

She grinned, lip freed, eyes shining. He’d follow her over the edge of the ship if she asked. “But would that be you, specifically, or the many wonders of a fling?”

Cole laughed and forced himself upright. “I’d say the many wonders of a fling, but then I’d have to share. So I’d go with the many wonders of Cole instead.”

Mac guffawed. “Makes you sound like an amusement park ride.”

He shifted until he was close enough their noses could touch. “I can promise you a good time, though decidedly not meant for those under eighteen.”

The waiter chose that moment to stop by their table. Mac’s cheeks sported a nice red tint, but she managed to place her order, as did Cole.

“You are a menace,” Mac said once the waiter left. Her eyes held his, and desire shined there.

“I think you like me that way.”

“I’m afraid I do.”

“Good, because I’m not done with you yet.”

Mac licked her lips, and Cole had half a mind to screw the drinks and bring her back to one of their cabins. Until loud voices stole his attention.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

CRUISE /kro͞oz/ verb

1. To sail in an area, especially for pleasure
2. To look for someone…definitely for pleasure

Mackenzie Laurel is done with rotten lemons. Especially the guy kind. With no relationship, no job, and nowhere to live, Mac’s leaving reality behind to go on a luxury cruise. Sun. Sand. Ocean breezes. Heaven. Of course, a little fun in the sun wouldn’t hurt. And a certain green-eyed passenger might just be the thirst-quenching lemonade she needs…

Cole Matterhorn isn’t a relationship guy. Hell, he can barely commit to leftovers. Yet the second he meets Mac, there’s sparks—the kind that could mean some delicious distraction. Distraction that Cole desperately needs to escape from his work problems and the event that imploded any chance of his having a normal life.

Mac and Cole have more in common than just chemistry. She’s hard of hearing and knows a little something about not always fitting in—and that his prosthetic does not define him. For 9 days they’re both having the time of their lives, whether it’s their failed trivia attempts, heating things up on a Caribbean beach, or even a sexy karaoke serenade.

Now it’s only a matter of time before they hit the shore—and reality.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

After spending her childhood coming up with new episodes to her favorite sitcoms instead of sleeping, Laura Brown decided to try her hand at writing and never looked back. A hopeless romantic, she’s been drawn to love stories since a young age. She lives in Massachusetts with her family, and yes, that includes feline members! Laura’s been hard of hearing her entire life but didn’t start learning ASL until college, when her disability morphed from an inconvenience to a positive part of her identity. It’s important to her to create strong, competent characters with disabilities, as she didn’t have that growing up. At home the closed captioning is always on, lights flash with the doorbell, and hearing aids are sometimes optional.
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