Spotlight & Giveaway: Just For A Moment by Kate Carley

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kate Carley to HJ!

Hi Kate and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Just For A Moment!

 
Hi! Thank you for having me today.
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

J is for Juggling work and raising his daughter
U is for Unsure about her homecoming
S is for Sexy with a bit of steam
T is for Three little reasons

F is for Family ties
O is for Oak Bend, Michigan
R is for Return to Hometown

A is for Aircraft

M is for Mechanic
O is for One choice can change a life forever
M is for Mile-high club?
E is for Enjoying each other’s company
N is for New relationship–a little bit nice and a lot of naughty
T is for Tigercat

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“Find Beck. Cross the railroad tracks. Drive into town. Go to Granddad’s house.” Grace Holland repeated today’s agenda as she scanned the horizon, searching for the Hudson County Airfield.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Aaron Beckett–with his meticulous attention to detail–loves his job as an aircraft mechanic. But that doesn’t mean he’s all work and no play. He calls on his whimsical side to be an effective single dad. Unfortunately after his divorce, he’s found himself in a holding pattern–working and taking care of his daughter. Perhaps it’s because his ex-in-laws are a daily part of his life. Or maybe it’s because living in the small town of Oak Bend doesn’t allow for coloring outside the lines.

Grace Holland is a website designer with the luxury of being able to live and work anywhere in the world. After her granddad’s death, she inherits his home and decides to settle back into her hometown of Oak Bend, Michigan. The situation might make some question her motivation, especially given the conditions under which her family left town. It definitely takes strength of character, resilience, and a touch of bravery to endure the surreptitious glances and rude whispers.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Before starting this story, I knew absolutely nothing about aircrafts or aircraft mechanics, and while the story is a contemporary romance, my research took me into the past.

• The Grumman F7F Tigercat featured in Just For A Moment is an actual World War II heavy fighter aircraft.
• The Tigercat was produced in very limited quantity due to a design flaw that made it unsuitable for landing on an aircraft carrier.
• Initially the Grumman F7F was known as the Tomcat, but during the 1940s, that was considered too provocative and the name was changed to Tigercat.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

From a physical perspective, Aaron is attracted to Grace’s hair. He loves the way it flows around her shoulders. But he tries to keep in mind that his initial sexual attraction isn’t enough. Aaron has a preconceived notion about Grace and her long-term absence from Oak Bend. It isn’t until Grace lets her guard down that Aaron sees the vulnerability in her. That’s when he becomes attracted to her on a deeper level.

Grace’s good friend Madalyn describes Aaron Beckett as sex on a stick, but Grace insists she’s looking for more than a muscular bod and smokin’ hot sex. However, when Aaron unveils the work that he and Grace’s grandfather had started several years before his death, she begins to see Aaron’s heart and the way he cared for her grandfather. That’s when she falls head over heels for the sexy mechanic.

The First Kiss…

With every book I write, I try to capture that moment. You know the one? The thickness in the air? The way he glances at your lips and back up into your eyes as if asking permission without speaking a word?
You can hardly catch your breath, because his lips are hovering just a fraction from yours.
His hands cup your cheeks, and his thumb plays at your lower lip.
You’re certain you’ll explode before you get a simple taste of him.
If only you could bottle this moment and sip on it for the rest of your life.
Yes! Yes! Yes! That is the glorious feeling of a first kiss.
All kisses ought to feel like a first kiss!!! Don’t you agree?
Keep reading for more on Aaron & Grace’s first kiss.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

If Just For A Moment was optioned for a movie, I would definitely use the first kiss scene. I think there are sooooo many movies with a pretty decent plot and okay character development, but together the two main characters fall flat. Why? They just don’t have what it takes to make a believable connection.

To me, as an author and as a romance reader, when making my movie, I would ensure that my main characters had on-screen chemistry and fit well together. Nothing shows that connection quite as effectively as the first kiss.

“You’ve gotten really quiet, Beck.” Her voice, like a caress against his bare flesh, whispered though the muted tones of evening. She mirrored his position, standing just inches away from him.
“No. That’s just because we left Piper inside to go to bed. She’s a noisy one.”
Grace laughed, bumping her shoulder against his. “She was entertaining.”
“Always is.” He turned his head. “I almost kissed you earlier.”
“I wanted you to.” Her eyes fell to his lip, and she rubbed her own together as if imagining what it would feel like.
With hesitant fingers, he tipped her chin and caressed the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip.

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

I would tell Grace Holland to trust her heart.
Grace spent her teen and young-adult years hearing from her mother that the people in Oak Bend would never forgive the Holland family for what happened, so she approaches her new life in Oak Bend with extreme trepidation. Even her growing emotions for Aaron Beckett can’t keep her rooted in place when she is faced with a blast of unexpected hatred from the past.

Aaron doesn’t require me to tell him to trust his heart. The man is all in where Grace Holland is concerned! But what he does need to hear is that Grace is a strong and resilient woman.
Aaron Beckett is a protector. He wants to make sure he doesn’t hurt Grace with the truth. His intention is to shield her from the pain, but Grace wants and needs the truth. No matter how good his intentions are.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I have several things in the works, but no release dates are set.
I’m working on novel #7 in my Krysset series, stories from a small, resort town set in northern Minnesota.
I’m writing a travel trilogy set in the Mediterranean!
There is a coming of age story.
And there is also a paranormal series that is dying to see the light of day.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $10 Amazon gift card + backlist ebook title – winners choice

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Grace inherits her granddad’s house and all his worldly possessions. He’s a bit of a collector, particularly focusing on WWII memorabilia. Other than books–us readers love to collect books!–what types of things do you collect? For me, it’s tea cups. I’m not sure why because I drink coffee.

 
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Excerpt from Just For A Moment:

“Hi, Beck.”
Even though his back was to her, he recognized that voice. That sweet sound caressed his soul, and his entire body responded. Call him a fool, but he wanted to drag her against him and kiss that sassy mouth. He wanted to let her feel just how much she affected him, even as he wanted to push her away before she could hurt him.
Just like Mel had hurt him.
Confused by his thoughts, he gave her a courteous smile. “Hi, Gracie Jane.”
Shaking her head slightly, she laughed. “I’m back.”
She walked across the hangar floor toward him, and just like in his dreams, her hair flowed airily down her back. Something about her seemed lighter today, as if she’d shrugged the weight of the world from her shoulders.
“I’m here for that tour you suggested yesterday.”
Aaron raked his fingers through his hair, connecting with a tender spot. Probably from hitting his head moments before. “Can you give me five?”
When she nodded, he turned back to the aircraft. He needed to clear his mind and get his body under control. The Cessna was just a ruse. But all that remained to the oil change on this beauty was to replenish the oil and do his final check.
“Whatcha doing with the Cessna?” Grace dipped her head under the hatch and examined the engine like she was a trained mechanic.
But her nearness unnerved him. Inches separated her head from his. With little effort, he could kiss her. Would she taste like she had in his dream last night? He’d find out if she’d just look up. She, however, was intently staring at the wrench he’d been about to use to double check the bolt holding the air filter.
“Just an oil change,” he said.
“Is she yours?”
“No. This belongs to Steve McKinney.”
Aaron added the necessary oil and then went through the safety check, doing his best to ignore the woman beside him who had taken over his brain since he’d first met her. Finally, when he finished his task, he backed away.
“Okay. Take a step back,” he said, indicating that Grace should move, and she did. He closed the engine hatch. “Let me go grab the keys for Win’s hangar.”
Grace followed him to the service desk at the front of the shop, where he typed up a quick email to Steve, letting him know the Cessna was done.
“I didn’t know.” She leaned her elbows on the high top of the desk, standing as if she were a customer dropping off her plane for a tune-up. Aaron lifted his head and gazed at her face. There must have been a question in his eyes, because she added, “I didn’t know that Win had a hangar here.”
He pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t say the words that were begging to come out of his mouth—that if she’d cared an ounce, she would’ve known—and glanced at his monitor before hitting the send button.
With the keys in his hand, Aaron directed Grace out the side door of the hangar, and together they walked down the alleyway of metal buildings. Rutted dirt and grass, the narrow path—used for driving cars and trucks, not for taxiing to the runway—led to the back doors of each hangar. He glanced down and noted the practical hiking boots on Grace’s feet.
“So, you didn’t know?” he asked the redundant question, because he had to hear it from her again. He wanted to fully understand Win’s granddaughter.
“I had no idea. He talked about a project that he wasn’t done with yet. He kept promising me that when he was done, he’d tell me all about it. But he kept me in the dark.”
“Sounds like Win,” Aaron admitted as he stopped at the red and white striped hangar and keyed the door, opening it and letting Grace enter first. She barely cleared the threshold before coming to a dead stop, leaving only enough space for Aaron to squeeze through the door behind her.
“Which one is his?” She gestured to the three aircraft that took up space in Win’s oversized hangar.
“All three.” Aaron moved around her, so he could read her expression. Shock. Her jaw dropped, and her mouth gaped open. Then, she snapped her lips together and slowly shook her head.
“Why didn’t he tell me?” she asked the question but didn’t necessarily sound as if she expected a response, so Aaron remained quiet. “You think I’m a horrible person, don’t you?” Grace gazed at him, waiting for an answer.
He focused on her face and met her eyes. “Doesn’t matter what I think.” His voice was gruff, even to his own ears, so he looked away.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

From author Kate Carley comes a blue collar, return to hometown romance with heat, heart and a happily ever after.
For Grace Holland, coming home to Oak Bend isn’t easy. The journey stirs up old memories, including the heartbreaking reason her family left town. But now that she’s inherited both her granddad’s old Victorian home and a World War II aircraft that he’d been working desperately to restore, Grace is ready to face down the demons of her past—if the people in Oak Bend will let her.
Aaron Beckett’s life is a balancing act. His aircraft mechanic business is booming and being a single parent of a young daughter keeps him on his toes. But when Gracie Jane Holland, granddaughter of his late friend, steps into his aircraft hangar, Aaron’s well-managed life soars out of control, and every free thought begins and ends with that beautiful blonde.
Even with plenty of excuses to avoid each other, sparks fly while they work together to restore an old fighter plane. And just for a moment, it feels as if they’ve found a deeper, more sustainable connection—until well-meaning half-truths threaten to tear them apart.
When her past and present collide, nothing can prepare Grace for the storm of hatred that pours down on her. Ruthless words leave her questioning whether staying in Oak Bend and putting her heart on the line is worth the pain. Can this small town ever be home again?
Escape to Oak Bend, where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder, especially when it comes to landing their happily ever after.
Book Links: Amazon |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kate Carley broke onto the indie publishing scene in 2016 with her debut novel, Challenged, a 2017 RONE award winner. Since then, she has released ten additional titles that explore small town, family sagas in both the romantic suspense and contemporary romance genres.
Kate took a meandering path to get to the point of published author, including a short stint as a computer systems designer and an extraordinary journey as a home-schooling mom. After more than a dozen years of teaching her kids, Kate opened the front door, pointed the youngest in the direction of the local high school, and focused her attention on writing romance novels.
Now that her four children are off writing their own adventures, Kate is free to drift along in her fictional world, plotting the rise and fall of her characters. She has a passion for black coffee, dark chocolate, and red wine. Not necessarily in that order. Kate lives in the Midwest with her family.
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