Spotlight & Giveaway: Mistletoe Magic in Tahiti by Kandy Shepherd

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kandy Shepherd to HJ!

Hi Kandy and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Mistletoe Magic in Tahiti!

 
Thank you so much for having me here! I’m delighted to be able to chat about my new book with readers.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Mistletoe Magic in Tahiti is the first book in a linked trilogy, The Christmas Pact. Three sisters decide to spend Christmas by themselves in a surprise destination chosen for them by their sisters. Each sister doesn’t discover where she’s going until she gets to the airport! My sister, Sienna, finds herself on the island paradise of Bora Bora. Only it’s a honeymoon destination, and recently divorced Sienna is all on her own. Not for long. She soon meets gorgeous Kai, a water sports billionaire. Sienna thinks all her Christmases have come at once! The chemistry between them sizzles. But Sienna’s interior design business is in London, and Kai has a baby daughter to consider. Can it ever be more than a festive fling?
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Their eyes met and it was like that strange sensation he’d felt earlier when he’d been caught in her gaze. Long ago he’d learned to trust his instincts; they’d always steered him in the right direction. Right now, somewhere deep in his gut, was a feeling this woman—impossible as it might seem—could be someone memorable and important in his life.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I so enjoyed liaising with the authors of the next two books–Sienna’s sisters’ books- in this series.
• I sneak in some of the things I love to do on a tropical island, like snorkelling. The whole time I was writing those scenes, I was wishing I was there!
• Kai helps Sienna check off items from her bucket list she was unable to achieve in her repressive marriage.
• Raw, marinated fish is a favored meal in Bora Bora, but I know I couldn’t eat it myself!
• My son-in-law is an expert surfer and he helped me get Sienna’s surfing lessons from Kai right.
• Family is very important to both Sienna and Kai. Kai’s grandma, Heiani, is one of my favorite secondary characters in the book.
• My working title for the book made it all the way through to publication!

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

Not just their good looks but also their sense of fun and adventure. There’s also a surreal sense of inevitability which puzzles both of them. Are they somehow meant to be together?
Sienna’s first attraction to Kai: “As he came more into Sienna’s sight, she caught her breath. He was hot. Really hot. So hot she couldn’t stop staring at him. Tall, strong, with muscles defined by a short-sleeved black wetsuit, dark hair wet against his head, smooth brown skin, a smile that showed perfect white teeth and that made her want to smile back, even though he wasn’t looking anywhere near her.”
Kai’s initial attraction to Sienna: “It was more than that. More than her being beautiful. He liked her. Really liked her. He’d felt totally at ease with her from the get-go. She was open. Friendly. The first to laugh and make fun of her mistakes in that self-effacing way British people sometimes did.”

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

[Sienna’s horrid ex-husband denied her a baby–and, divorced at age 32, she thinks she might have lost her chance. I felt quite teary for her when I wrote this scene when she first meets Kai’s toddler daughter.]

She kissed the precious little girl lightly on each cheek in the French way, la bise, as she had seen Kai do, and breathed in her sweet baby scent, like apples and honey. She wasn’t prepared for the rush to her heart when Kinny put her little arms around her neck and kissed her back.
• ‘Thank you, Kinny,’ she said, her voice a little choked. Was it possible for her womb to actually ache with longing for a baby of her own? A baby just like this one?
• Kinny kissed her again and then giggled—surely one of the most delightful sounds it was possible to hear. Then the little girl let it be known she wanted to get down. Sienna’s arms felt empty without her and she had to close her eyes against a sudden sense of loss.

Readers should read this book….

Because it’s a warm, feel-good, sensuous love story between two interesting and complex characters, set on an exotic island with all the fun of Christmas. (And some of the family dramas that come with Christmas too!)

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I am currently working on a Christmas story for 2024. Yes, I write that far ahead! My next release for Harlequin Romance is Cinderella and the Tycoon Next Door, to be published in May 2024. It’s part of a four-book, author-led linked series, One Year to Wed, and was the most tremendous fun to write. I hope readers will love it—and the other three books—as much as I loved writing it.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print copy of Mistletoe Magic in Tahiti, to be sent internationally.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What’s your dream destination for a Christmas getaway?

 
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Excerpt from Mistletoe Magic in Tahiti:

Sienna is wearing only a Tahitian pareo/sarong, so is Kai. They are alone in the evening on his private island, a few days before Christmas.)
‘I want to talk about gift wrapping,’ he said.
‘Gift wrapping?’
‘Gift unwrapping, more to the point.’
Kai smiled at her puzzled expression. He put his hands behind her neck to where she’d tied the ends of the pareo in a knot. ‘All evening you’ve been tantalising me with something—someone—I want very much, all wrapped up in this pareo, like a beautiful gift.’ He undid the knot and the pareo slid to the top of her breasts.
She smiled, a slow smile as she looked directly into his eyes. ‘I like being unwrapped, the feel of your hands on my skin, the fabric sliding off my shoulders.’ She narrowed her eyes in sensual bliss, which sent his arousal levels rocketing. He kissed her and she kissed him back for a long time until kissing was no longer enough.
He broke away from the kiss. ‘Every time you’ve taken a step this evening, the fabric has slid open to reveal your thighs, leading me to wonder if you’re wearing panties.’
‘Has it?’ Her voice was low and husky. ‘Perhaps you need to find out. Isn’t the whole point of gift wrapping for it to be removed to reveal the gift beneath?’
‘Half the fun is in the unwrapping,’ he said hoarsely. Who knew she could be such a sexy tease?

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Healed by a mistletoe kiss? After a bitter divorce, Sienna is spending Christmas on a Tahitian beach! First stop on her “new me” journey? Surf lessons with blazing-hot water-sports magnate Kai—and quickly adding fling to her itinerary! But Sienna hadn’t factored in falling headfirst for the cautious single dad and his adorable daughter. She knows she can’t stay, but will she walk away from a magical future—together?
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kandy Shepherd is a best-selling, award-winning author of contemporary romance. Her heartfelt, passionate stories are set in exciting locations around the world and are published in multiple languages. Kandy believes in love-at-first-sight and real-life romance—she and her husband of many years decided to spend their lives together after three days! She loves it when readers tell her that her books make them laugh and make them cry. Kandy lives near Sydney, Australia with her husband and numerous four-legged friends.
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