Spotlight & Giveaway: The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author KJ Micciche to HJ!

Hi KJ Micciche and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Book Proposal!

 
Hi! Super excited to be here. Thanks for inviting me to come chat!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Gracie Landing is a down-on-her-luck romance author who’s suffering from writer’s block because she recently lost what she thought was going to be her own happily-ever-after when her fiance cheated on her with their wedding planner. So, she does what any normal girl would do: she gets crazy drunk and emails her unrequited high school crush, Colin Yarmouth. Which is all well and good… until he writes back. Turns out he, too, has been burned by love and has plenty of sordid stories to share with Gracie that might help to get her creative juices flowing. Only, neither one of them considers the consequences of airing Colin’s dirty laundry, a move that puts everything Gracie cares about – including her budding relationship with Colin – at risk.
 

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

This is just one of many sweet moments Colin and Gracie share:
He puts his arms around me and squeezes me in a hug. “I was having an awful day, and you just turned it completely upside down.”
“Really?”
“Mm hmm,” he says, burying his nose into my hair.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The Book Proposal was originally called The Yearbook.
• Using movie titles, I would describe The Book Proposal as Bridget Jones’ Diary meets You’ve Got Mail meets Bridesmaids.
• Two of the side characters (Ronald and Mrs. A) are 100% based on people from my real life.
• I set this story in Brooklyn and Queens so that I could highlight some of the fabulous food you can get there (including, but not limited to, bagels, pizza, Italian food, Greek food, and Eastern European food). Also, I was born and raised in Queens and lived in Brooklyn for a long time, so the settings are an homage to my youth.

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

Colin is attracted to Gracie because of her sense of humor – and Gracie is still hung up on how hot Colin was in high school.

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

Several scenes had me laughing to the point of tears, actually. But one of my favorites is when Colin surprises Gracie at her apartment and gives her about a half hour to get ready for his visit. She mistakenly thinks he’s coming over for an afternoon-delight booty call… and dresses accordingly. Here’s a peek at that scene:

Now, what the hell am I going to wear? I wonder. I’ve never gotten a “Hey, u up” email in the middle of the day. I’ve actually never had a booty call, ever. This is a real first for me. What do people wear in this kind of situation?
I empty my underwear drawer out on the bed. Goddamn it! Not a thong to be found! I have a few lacy bras, but let’s be real: am I really going to answer the door in a bra and underwear? No! I have dignity. Self-respect!
I dig through the mountain of undergarments until I find a sealed plastic Ziploc bag. Holy sweet Jesus. I forgot all about this. It’s a costume I bought for Scott for our first Halloween together. I only wore it once, and I remember it didn’t stay on for very long. I take out the getup. The black patent leather squeaks against itself as I remove the bustier from the bag. It’s accompanied by a pair of shiny, black thigh highs and what I remember referring to as “assless” spandex booty shorts, which bear a resemblance to a thong but actually have the butt cheeks cut out of the back of what otherwise would fit as a full-size panty. I remember the very first time I saw them, I thought it was a design flaw. But no. That was all intentional, courtesy of comeandgetmekitty.com, an online sex shop that I frequented one time only but have received spam from up to twelve times a day ever since.
I have black heels that would pair nicely with the thigh highs, and since my hair is drying wild all over the place, I might as well just leave it out and curly. I pump some mousse into my palm and rub it through my damp mane. Hopefully it won’t look too ridiculous. In the bathroom, I apply a few quick dabs of concealer and a layer of powder, and then go extra hard on black eyeliner, green eyeshadow, and black mascara. I purse my lips and paint them blood red, which makes my teeth look super white.
I squeeze my body into the outfit on the bed and opt to leave the pleather whip in the Ziploc. I wouldn’t want to give Colin the wrong idea. I dig a pair of black high heels out of the bottom of my closet and slide them on. Then, I hastily dump all the underwear back into the drawer and return it to the empty space in the dresser where it belongs. Finally, I take a look at myself in the full-length mirror.
Hmm.
It’s possible that I may have overdone it with the eye makeup. My face kind of looks like a cosmetology student’s dummy. Or maybe a vampire, thanks to my lips.
Easy fix! I quickly move through the house and turn off all the lights. The sun still beams in through the windows, but at least it’s a little bit better.
The buzzer alerts me that someone is in the downstairs lobby. I catch my breath. “Who is it?” I ask in my most sexy, nonchalant voice. It’s bad. I sound like an elderly smoker.
“It’s Colin,” he replies. “Should I come up, or do you want to come down?”
Come down? “Um, you should come up. Definitely.”
“Okay. Be right there,” he says. I buzz him in.
I pace back and forth. Why would he ask me if I wanted to come down? Is this not a midday mounting?
I’m all confused and nervous when the doorbell rings. Guess someone used the stairs—#MVP. I laugh.
I look through the peephole. He’s just standing there, looking all cute. Dressed in jeans and a hoodie, it looks like.
Shit. I think I read this situation wrong.
And this is when panic ensues.

Readers should read this book….

If they like to laugh – it’s a really silly book. It’s not intended for people who take themselves super seriously.

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

I have a book coming out next May set in the same world as The Book Proposal (but not a sequel). It’s supposed to come out May 14, 2024. Then, my third book (tentatively titled The Book Baby) should come out a year after that. Right now, I’m working on something totally different – a modern day retelling of Dirty Dancing, which has been a ton of fun to write.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One print copy of The Book Proposal (for ages 16+ only!) – open worldwide!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you could have dinner with your unrequited crush from high school – would you?

 
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Excerpt from The Book Proposal:

I smile, and we slip into more conversation about which outer borough has better desserts as the waitress returns with our tiramisu and the check. Colin pays without a word, and I don’t fight him about it, but I graciously thank him. We leave the restaurant and head back to his car, where he opens the door for me. We drive the few blocks back to my place, and, once we’re double parked outside, I say, “Would you like to come up?”
He looks at the time on the dashboard. It’s almost ten. “I want to, and thank you for the offer, but—”
“Right. Of course,” I say. “I’m sure you’re super, um, tired.”
He laughs. “You’re nuts, you know that?”
I look at him. “Why?”
“I want to come upstairs. But I know—and you know—what will happen if I do.”
I lower my chin. “And would that be so bad?” I ask quietly.
“Yes—because I have a meeting tomorrow morning. And that would mean I wouldn’t have time to cook you breakfast.”
“I can skip breakfast,” I whisper, as he places his left hand on my cheek.
He leans his face in closer. I smell the garlic on his breath, but I don’t care. I lick my lips, pushing away any concerns about what my mouth might taste like.
“But I make a killer eggs benedict,” Colin whispers, and I see his eyes close as he moves his face in to meet mine.
His kiss is transcendent. I am lifted out of my own body, floating in the air somewhere, completely weightless. His tongue is gentle but firm. He moves his hands slowly, reaching one across the center console of the car to hold my waist and running the fingers of the other one through my hair, lightly massaging the back of my scalp with his neatly trimmed nails. I feel exhilarated and exhausted all at once, like a runner who has reached the end of a marathon and finally crosses the finish line. I want so much more from him, but in this moment, in this vehicle, on this Thursday night, I am wholly satisfied.
“Mmm,” he says, slowly pulling away in order to take a breath.
I open my eyes. It’s real. He’s still here. This actually happened. It’s not cystic acne Ronald in front of me—it’s Colin Yarmouth, genuine flesh and bone. I don’t know what to say, but I feel my mouth form a smirk and before I know why, I begin to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
I shake my head.
“What? Do I taste bad?”
“Oh my God, no,” I say. “Not at all.”
“Then, what is it?”
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that for.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. “I used to daydream about kissing you.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh,” I say, sheepishly.
“And? How did the real thing measure up?”
“Good. Very good.”
He nods. “I’m glad. Can I call you when I get home, or will you be asleep?”
“You can call,” I say. “You should call. Definitely.”
“Okay,” he says, licking his lower lip. “Then I definitely will.”
“It’s probably a good thing you’re going,” I say.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I lied to you before.”
He looks at me, confused.
“I could never skip breakfast,” I say.
He kisses me again, says goodnight, and waits in the car until I am safely inside.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Broke up with, broke, and with a vicious case of writer’s block, romance writer Gracie Landing is a hot mess. She can hardly be blamed for drinking one (or a few) too many cocktails when out with her besties in an attempt to cheer herself up. Sometime in the foggy wee hours, she recklessly emails her unrequited high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth, who is now a successful attorney harboring regrets of his own. When she receives an intriguingly friendly (not to say flirty) response, her acute embarrassment is overcome only by her fervent curiosity―what would a hottie like Colin be like as a grown up? The two forge an unlikely friendship that’s unmistakably headed for more. Colin’s tales of his own woeful break-up become fodder for Gracie’s fertile imagination and her current work-in-progress takes off. With the deadline looming and her checking account dwindling, Gracie has no idea that borrowing Colin’s story could wreak havoc on her life, her career, and her own chance at happily-ever-after…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

K.J. Micciche is a novelist who writes (mostly) romantic comedy. She hails from Queens, New York, where she spent countless hours curled up under the covers, reading The Babysitters Club as a kid by flashlight way past her bedtime. Now all grown up, K.J. runs a non-profit organization that teaches kids with dyslexia how to read, and she pens her own stories as well. Proud mom of two little girls, she and her family live on Long Island and summer in Cape Cod.
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