Spotlight & Giveaway: The Mistletoe Effect by Melissa Cutler

Posted October 30th, 2014 by in Blog / 60 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome romance author Melissa Cutler to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Melissa and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Mistletoe Effect!

Thank you so much for having me on the blog! It’s great to be here.

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

TMEAs I mentioned above, The Mistletoe Effect is like Dirty Dancing crossed with the movie The Wedding Planner,–with a hot cowboy hero. To expand on that, here’s the back cover blurb: It’ll be a Christmas to remember when hotel heiress Carina Briscoe is roped into pretend marriage with cowboy James Decker, the bad boy stable manager of her family’s Texas resort. The marriage might be a sham but the sparks between them are anything but. Still, with a little help from the heroine’s interfering family, they might end up with the greatest Christmas gift of all—true love…

Please share the opening line of this book:

Carina blinked a tear from her eye, but not because of the high emotions involved in watching her only sister get married in the same chapel that their parents and grandparents had, located in the heart of the resort her family owned. It was a beautiful event by anyone’s measure, but the real cause of Carina’s tears was the overwhelming cloud of frankincense and myrrh floating over the bridal party.

Please share a few Random facts about this book…

1. One thing that sets The Mistletoe Effect apart from other “marriage of convenience” romances is that neither the hero and heroine are commitment-phebes. The’re bothreally turned on by the idea of being fake-married to each other and aroused by marriage role-playing, which was a fun twist to write.
2. I was really disappointed in the poor selection of holiday-themed sex toys and adult products on the market while I was researching items to include in the “Naughty Newlyweds Basket” featured in the book.
3. My favorite secondary character in the book is Granny June, who’s superstitious to a fault, addicted to her smart phone and taking selfies, and is a terrible golf-cart driver.
4. I pitched the book to my agent and editor as “Dirty Dancing meets The Wedding Planner, set in Texas”, and I was really excited to find a way in the book to reference Dirty Dancing, which is one of my favorite movies.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

The heroine of The Mistletoe Effect is Carina Briscoe, a workaholic hotel heiress who’s not crazy about Christmas, mostly because she has to work so hard during the holiday season at her family’s resort. As a private rebellion, she spends the season wearing Halloween underwear, which was an element of her personality that surprised me. I didn’t know she was wearing that until she turned ass-over-tea-kettle trying to catch a bridal bouquet and flashed the entire chapel with the neon orange jack-o-lantern underwear she was wearing under her “Mrs. Claus” bridesmaid’s dress.

The hero of The Mistletoe Effect is James Decker, and he goes by Decker for a very important reason that’s close to his heart. The first thing that really surprised me about Decker happened when he and Carina decided to ditch the wedding reception early in order to consummate their fake marriage. I had no idea he was going to be so, um, vigorous and unromantic …

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I had the pleasure to visit Texas Hill Country, northwest of San Antonio, and research the exact area where I located my fictional resort. That was tons of fun and really informative for the setting of the story.

The First kiss…

Oh man, that first kiss. Decker decided he was going to wait for Carina to kiss him first, so he spends the better part of their first night together enticing her to do just that. As a result, their kiss is so hot an explosive, it just might melt your e-reading device. And Decker’s first words after the kiss ends makes my toes curl.

Did any scene have you crying or laughing while writing it?

Granny June made me laugh every time I wrote a scene with her. Here’s one snippet:

A few feet from where Carina and Decker were dancing, Granny elbowed the professional photographer out of the way and held up her phone. “Okay, now, you lovebirds. Stop moving. Cheeks together and big ol’ smiles in three, two . . .” Flash.

“I’m taking plenty of pictures of them, ma’am,” the photographer said. “You should go enjoy yourself.”

Granny gave him a wide smile. “Well, bless your heart, but unless that highfalutin camera can upload those photos onto Facebook tonight, then you’re no help to me at all.” Then she held up her smartphone and snapped a picture of the photographer.

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

The Midnight Tree Stealing Scene!

She put her finger over Decker’s lips, silencing him. “Let’s go get a tree right now. I’ve got a plan.”

“Now? Where are we going to get a tree at this time of night?”

“The winter wonderland garden. You have a saw around here, right?”

He stood, helping her find her footing as they rose. “Let me get this straight. You want to ride across the resort in the dead of night, saw down one of the Christmas trees in the resort’s winter wonderland garden, and bring it back here to use as our tree?”

“Exactly.” A thrill zinged through her—the giddy, wicked kind usually reserved for when she watched Haylie stand up to their parents or when she spotted Decker from across a crowded room.

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

To Carina, I’d say: don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself and what you want.

To Decker, I’d say: Love is more important that anything else, and don’t ever lose sight of that.

What are you currently working on? What other releases so you have planned for 2014?

I am currently working on a Harlequin Romantic Suspense book that’s slated to release in July of 2015, titled COLTON’S COWBOY CODE. And I have one more release in 2014, on November 18th: UNDEFEATED, which is the second book in my Bomb Squad Hockey series. It’s angsty and super-sexy and I’m still head-over-heals in love with that book’s hero, Liam. If you love reading romances about damaged, brooding alpha heroes, then UNDEFEATED is the book for you!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Today, to celebrate the release of THE MISTLETOE EFFECT, I’m giving away a print or digital copy of any one of my cowboy books from my backlist (excluding The Mistletoe Effect), including: The Trouble with Cowboys, Cowboy Justice, and How to Rope a Real Man. Print copies limited to US residents due to shipping restrictions.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Who would you most like to find yourself next to while standing under the mistletoe this season?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt

And, to whet your appetite for The Mistletoe Effect, here’s a scene from the fake newlyweds’ wedding reception for you to enjoy…

His breath stuttered out of him, fanning over her neck and shoulder. His swaying faltered. Then he stopped pretending to dance altogether and searched her face with hungry eyes. When those eyes settled on her lips, she rose up, angling her head, her eyes closing, ready for that kiss he’d almost given her earlier, before they’d been interrupted.

His hands stroked her back and hips. His lips teased her cheek and nose. “You are a beautiful woman,” he said quietly. Beautiful wasn’t a word she often heard directed at her. Hearing it from James Decker’s lips sent a full-body tingle rippling through her. “And sexy. So damn sexy.”

He brushed a hand along her temple, cradling the side of her head in a way that told her that kiss she’d been longing for was on its way. “But it doesn’t matter how beautiful or sexy you are,” he said in a husky voice, his lips so close to hers she could sense their movement. “I’m still going to smash cake on your face during the cake-cutting ceremony.”

So much for that kiss. The closing notes of the dance sounded as her eyes flew open. She gave him a push along with her most chastising glare. “You would not.”

He chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to, but I figure that when I get married for real, my wife won’t allow me that honor. This is my one and only chance.”

It was sound logic. Juvenile, but sound.

With each wedding Carina had planned, the dreaded possibility of cake smashing hung around her neck like a yoke because, besides an unlimited host bar, that was the number one predictor of a reception devolving into chaos and destruction. Because who did that kind of thing, truly? Who was the kind of person to smash a messy dessert into the face of their beloved on the most important day of their lives? A troublemaker, that’s who.

And there was her answer, because Decker was all kinds of trouble, always had been, even if he’d been a gentleman tonight.

They were ushered to the cake table by the DJ, who handed Carina the knife. Decker reached out as though to set his hand over hers as she gripped the handle, but she figured since she was presently armed and dangerous, a mild threat was in order.

She brandished the blade at him. “Don’t you dare smash cake on me.”

Decker eyed the blade and held up his hands as though in surrender. “How are you going to stop me? With that dull knife?”

She gave it a swish. “Maybe.”

“I think stabbing the groom would be considered a Mistletoe Effect jinx, isn’t that right, Granny June?”

Granny snapped a photo of him with his arms raised. “You got that right, honey. Jinx prevention is serious business.”

Decker placed a hand over his heart in a show of sincerity. “Here that, Wife? I don’t want all your sacrifices tonight to be for naught.”

Carina narrowed her eyes at him. If she couldn’t get him to stand down, then it was time to fight fire with fire…

Book Info:

His one chance to get close to the woman who’s off-limits in every way…
It’ll be a Christmas to remember when hotel heiress Carina Briscoe is roped into pretend marriage with cowboy James Decker, the bad boy stable manager of her family’s Texas resort. The marriage might be a sham but the sparks between them are anything but. Still, with a little help from the heroine’s interfering family, they might end up with the greatest Christmas gift of all—true love.
Book Links:

Meet the Author:

Melissa-Cutler-PhotoMelissa Cutler knows she has the best job in the world writing sexy contemporary romances and romantic suspense. She was struck at an early age by an unrelenting travel bug and is probably planning her next vacation as you read this. When she’s not globetrotting, she’s enjoying Southern California’s flip-flop wearing weather and wrangling two rambunctious kids. She loves hearing from readers at [email protected], or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MelissaCutlerBooks ) and Twitter (@m_cutler). Visit www.melissacutler.net to learn more about Melissa and her books and don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter: http://bit.ly/16mkpCs
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60 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: The Mistletoe Effect by Melissa Cutler”

    • Dianna

      Who would I like to be under the mistletoe with? Well, if it could not be my husband (the best kisser in the world by the way) then I would say Sean Connery…yeah. 🙂 🙂 🙂

  9. mrsmac19

    My husband would be my first choice, but Ryan Reynolds & Chris Evans could stand in should he be unavailable! 😉

  10. Laurie G

    I’d like to be under the mistletoe with my husband. I just realized that we’ve never kissed under the mistletoe in 30 years of knowing each other.

  15. Mary Preston

    Iron Man aka Robert Downey Jr. – love how he’s got his act together.

  18. belindaegreen

    You asked: Who would you most like to find yourself next to while standing under the mistletoe this season?

    Joe Mangelnello,(sp?) hands down! The man wouldn’t know what hit him after I planted one on him! He just looks so yummy! He’s also such a nice, thoughtful, down to earth guy in real live. Sigh….a wonderful experience would be had by all. 🙂

    Thanks for the opportunity to share.

    Belinda G

    • Terri Shortell

      I would love to be under the mistletoe with him too Belinda. Lol

  21. Joan V.

    David Gandy – he’s great looking model and nice man, too. I would love a print copy of The Trouble With Cowboys.

  22. Terri Shortell

    I want to be under the mistletoe with a sexy, funny, single man. I’m not being too picky am I? Lol

  25. erinf1

    Someone single, smart, compassionate and with a great sense of humor! Thanks for sharing!

  41. laurieg72

    I’d have to go with my husband of 37 years. He’s my one true love and best friend.

  44. Melissa Cutler

    Thank you all for stopping by and checking out The Mistletoe Effect! Y’all are giving some great answers. Like most of you, I’d choose to be under the mistletoe with my sweet husband of 13 years. BUT, if somehow I found myself there with Stephen Amell (from Arrow) or Jamie Fraser or Chris Pratt, I’d plant a kiss on their cheeks for sure!

  48. Cathy P

    I would like to be beneath the mistletoe with my deceased husband, but since that isn’t possible, a nice compassionate single man who loves dogs and has a since of honor and humor.

  54. nicholskathy

    My hubby of course now if this was a fantasy it would be Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Sean Connery or any of a dozen or so other men – lol!!! Thx for this opportunity!