Spotlight & Giveaway: Their Hot Hawaiian Fling by Traci Douglass

Posted May 7th, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 53 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Traci Douglass to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Traci and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Their Hot Hawaiian Fling!

 
Hi there! Thanks so much for having me on the blog today!
 

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

An emotional, fun, passionate rivals-to-lovers story between two damaged people who find their way back to life and love again.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“SIR, CAN YOU tell me your name?” Dr. Leilani Kim asked as she shone a penlight to check her newest patient’s eyes. “Pupils equal and reactive. Sir, do you remember what happened? Can you tell me where you are?”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • The setting for this story is Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • I based the resort that the heroine’s parents own off several real-life hotels on the island.
  • The heroine has a pet African Grey parrot named U’i who can cuss in three languages.
  • My hunky inspiration for Dr. Holden Ross may or may not have been George Clooney’s Doug Ross from the 90s TV show ER (Okay, it TOTALLY was…;) )
  • The fire dance scene where the hero and heroine share their first kiss was the result of watching endless hours of YouTube videos of traditional Hawaiian ceremonies performed live on the island, since I’ve never actually been to Hawaii (it’s on my bucket list though!)

 

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

I’m always a sucker for the strong, silent, wounded warrior types and in this case, both my hero and heroine are carrying scars from their pasts (both real and imagined). Figuring out a way to get these two people who are so deserving of love, yet so scared of it, was a challenge and an honor. Hopefully, I did them both justice!
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Hot, Funny, Fiesty, Healing, Hopeful.
 

The First Kiss…

“Feeling both brave and terrified at the same time, she stepped closer and forced herself to continue.

She didn’t do this, didn’t run after men, didn’t pursue her feelings. But tonight, with Holden, she couldn’t stop herself. She wanted him and she’d have him, if he wanted her too. “I lied, earlier.” She fumbled for her words. “I mean not about long-term things. I don’t do those either. Not after the accident. But I do want you. I mean I want to be with you.”

Damn. This was harder than she’d imagined. She took a deep breath and forced the rest out before she couldn’t say it at all, grateful the darkness hid her flaming cheeks. “Do you want to have an affair with me?”

Yikes. Way to be blunt, girl.

Holden blinked at her a minute, unmoving, looking a bit stunned. She couldn’t really blame him. Her statement had been about as romantic as a foot fungus. But then he moved closer, tossing his shoes aside along with his cane, to cup her cheeks in his hands. His expression was unreadable in the shadows, but the catch in his breath made her own heart trip.

Then he bent and brushed his lips over hers, featherlight, before capturing her mouth in a kiss that rocked her to her very soul. Forget romantic. This was mind-blowing, astounding, too much yet not enough. Would never be enough.

Oh man, I’m in trouble here.

He broke the kiss first, the crash of the waves against the shore mixing with their ragged breaths and the far-off crooning of the Don Ho singer belting out Tiny Bubbles. For the first time in a long time, Leilani felt more than just a sense of duty, more than pressure to succeed, more than the low-grade sadness of loss and grief.

She felt needed and wanted, and it made her head spin with joy.

Before she could think better of it, she slid her arms around Holden’s neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

 

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

There’s a scene near the beginning of the story where Holden, my hero, tries to rescue Leilani, my heroine, from a combative patient, but he ends up getting hurt and she saves his butt instead and it kind of sets the whole mood for things to come, so I’d have to pick that scene. Here’s a snippet:

“The patient straightened, heading straight for Dr. Kim. The cops moved closer.
Her tone hardened. “I’d advise you to stay where you are for your own safety, sir.”
“My safety?” The patient sneered. “You threatening me?”
“Not a threat.” Leilani squared her shoulders. “Touching me would not be wise.”
“Wise?” The guy snorted, his expression lascivious. “C’mon and gimme some sugar.”
The cops placed their hands on their Tasers, saying in unison, “Stand down, sir.”
Holden rushed toward the room, his cane creaking under the strain. He couldn’t let this happen again, not on his watch. He couldn’t fail, wouldn’t fail.
Just as Holden shoved between the officers, the patient turned at the sudden commotion and swung. His fist collided hard with Holden’s jaw and pain surged through his teeth. He stumbled backward. The cops pulled their Tasers as the patient grabbed Dr. Kim’s ponytail. Fast as lightning, she swiveled to face Mr. Chambers, slamming her heel down on his instep until his grip on her hair loosened. Then, as he bent over and cursed, she kneed him twice in the groin. The guy crumbled to the ground and the cops took him into custody.
Over. It’s over.
Holden “slumped against the wall as time sped back to normal.
While the cops handcuffed Mr. Chambers and read him his rights, Leilani rushed to Holden’s side. “You’re bleeding.”
Confused, he glanced down at his scrub shirt and saw a large splotch of scarlet. Then the ache in his jaw and teeth intensified, along with the taste of copper and salt in his mouth.
Damn.
“Here.” Leilani snatched a few gauze pads from a canister on the counter and handed them to him. “Looks like there’s a pretty deep gash on your lip and chin.” She leaned past him to call out into the hall. “Pam, can you set up an open room for suturing, please?”

 

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

The waterfall scene, definitely. It’s the turning point where both characters finally open up to each other about their pasts. Here’s a snippet:

They crested a short hill and reached the falls. One hundred and fifty feet tall, the water cascaded down the granite walls behind it, shimmering with rainbows in the sun. She looked over at him, her pulse tripping a bit at his strong profile, his firm lips, so handsome, so kissable. He was almost as dazzling as the falls themselves. To distract herself she asked the most mundane thing she could think of. “Why’d you go into emergency medicine?”
Holden shrugged. “I always loved science as a kid and wanted to know how things worked, especially things inside the body. I’m a natural problem solver and detail oriented. But I’m also restless and a bit hyperactive, so I needed to choose a specialty that took that into consideration. Trauma surgery ticked all the boxes for me.” He smiled, his teeth white and even in the slight shadows from the trees around them, and the barriers around her heart crumbled a bit more. “What about you?”
“Well,” she said, moving her ponytail aside to reveal the scar on her neck. “See this?”
He leaned in closer, his warm breath tickling her skin. She suppressed another shiver, this one having nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with the man beside her. “Wow. Is that from the accident?”
“It is.” Leilani took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly before diving in. “We were on our way to the outlet mall, of all places. It was a sunny day and hot. The sky was blue and cloudless. Weird how I remember that, right?”
“Nah.” Holden took her arm to pull her aside to let another couple pass them on the trail. “I remember all the details about the shooting. What people wore, what the room smelled like, how the floor felt sticky under my cheek. It’s what trauma does to people’s memories.”
She nodded, then continued down the trail once the other people had passed. “Anyway, our car was an older model. When the other driver T-boned us, it sent us through the guardrail and down into a ravine. Car flipped over three times before landing on the roof, from what the police report says.” She blinked hard against the tears that threatened to fall. “My brother and parents died instantly.” They stopped under a natural canopy of tree trunks entwined over the trail, and Leilani rested back against their solid weight for support. “I was the only one left alive.”

 

Readers should read this book …

…if you’re looking for a fun, passionate weekend-escape read in paradise that’s full of emotions and brimming with hope and love. And honestly, right now, who doesn’t need that?

 

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

I’m working on book 2 in my Point Beacon sweet, small-town romance series for Entangled Bliss, and will be starting a new Medicals book soon. This one will be part of a duet featuring adopted brothers who are both docs living in Key West, Florida.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: A digital copy of Their Hot Hawaiian Fling and a $10 Amazon Gift Card

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you ever been to Hawaii? If so, what’s your favorite spot? If not, would you like to go?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Their Hot Hawaiian Fling:

“He left his room and headed down to the lobby, where he was supposed to meet Leilani. Dinner was served at sunset, she’d said, but there were plenty of other things to see before then. It was going on seven now and the sun was just nearing the horizon. People milled about the lobby, most heading out toward the beach behind the hotel where the luau would take place. He’d chosen his outfit well, considering lots of other guys were wearing similar things. The ladies mainly had on casual dresses or skirts and a few had tropical flowers pinned in their hair. From somewhere outside the strains of ukulele music drifted through the air, and the general mood of the place was festive and fun.
Being taller than most people at six foot four did have its advantages, and over the tops of the people’s heads, he spotted Leilani waiting for him against the wall near the exit to the beach. He started that way, only to find his path blocked by one of the hotel staff, a pretty Polynesian girl dressed in a traditional hula outfit.
“Aloha,” she said, giving him a friendly, dimpled smile. She reached up and hung a lei made of black shiny shells around his neck, then kissed his cheek. “Põmakia’i.”
Blessings. He’d managed to pick up a few native words during his stay in Honolulu and he smiled down at the woman. Lord knew Holden and Leilani could use all the good fortune they could get.
“Põmakia’I,” he said in return.
He stepped around the woman and continued on toward the far wall, stopping short as he got his first full look at Leilani tonight.
Seeing her earlier today in shorts and a tank top or as she was usually dressed at work in scrubs was one thing. Seeing her tonight in a short, colorful sarong-style dress made of native tropical print purple and white fabric was, well… Stunning. Her sleek black hair was loose, streaming down her back like shimmering ink, and that strapless dress hugged her curves in all the right places, ending above her knee and revealing just enough of her tanned legs to give a guy all kinds of wicked fantasies.“She looked over and spotted him, then smiled, waving him over. He blinked hard, trying to clear his head of images of them hugging near the waterfall, of him pulling her closer, kissing her, holding her, unwinding that dress of hers and covering her naked body with his and driving her wild with passion until she was begging him for more…
Whoa, Nelly.
He ran a finger under his collar, wondering when the temperatures had gotten so warm. His pulse pounded and his blood thrummed with need, and man, oh, man—he was in serious trouble here.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

All’s fair in love and war…

…when passion explodes in paradise!

Having survived a horrific car accident as a teen, Dr. Leilani Kim has dedicated her life to saving others. Now her dream job as head of Emergency Medicine is finally in sight…but she has competition! In the form of scarred yet sexy trauma surgeon Dr. Holden Ross. And when their rivalry stirs a desire they can’t escape, Leilani and Holden will have to decide: Business…or pleasure?
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Traci is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Contemporary and Paranormal Romance. Her stories feature sizzling heroes full of dark humor, quick wits and major attitudes and heroines who are smart, tenacious and always give as good as they get. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and she loves animals, chocolate, coffee, hot UK actors, and sarcasm–not necessarily in that order.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | | Instagram |

 
 
 

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53 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Their Hot Hawaiian Fling by Traci Douglass”

  3. Mary Preston

    I have not been to Hawaii. Looks like that’s not happening any time soon.

  4. Onyinye Elochukwu

    I have never been to Hawaii and would definitely want to go

  6. Jennifer Shiflett

    I haven’t been to Hawaii, but I would absolutely love to go.

  9. dbranigan

    The only time I have been in Hawaii was during a layover stop at the airport on my way to Guam. I would love to visit.

  12. hartfiction

    I’ve been to 4 of the major islands of Hawaii (Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Kuai) and they each have their own distinct flavor! Overall, I enjoy Oahu the best, but my trip to Maui might be most memorable due to my first sighting of whales. So exciting.

  13. Karina Angeles

    I would love to go to Hawaii! I want to swim in the water and enjoy the scenery.

  14. SusieQ

    I go to Hawai’i every year. Each of the islands has their own is great (I’ve been to all but Molokai). I think I love Kauai’s laid back beauty best.

  17. Rita Wray

    When I flew from San Francisco to Australia we stopped in Hawaii. So I’ve only been at the airport.

  18. Kelly D

    I have never been to Hawaii but I would like to. The weather and scenery look beautiful.

  20. Celeste Herrin

    I have never been to Hawaii. Maybe one day. It’s nice to travel there through books though!

  23. Amy R

    Have you ever been to Hawaii? No
    If not, would you like to go? I’d go but it’s not on my bucketlist

  28. Pammie R.

    No, I have never been to Hawaii. I have always wanted to go. Something that’s on my bucket list along with Ireland and climbing Devils Tower.

  30. Courtney Kinder

    No I have not been to Hawaii. It is on my bucket list of places to visit.

  34. BookLady

    I have been to Hawaii and loved it, especially the beautiful beaches.

  38. KV

    I haven’t been to Hawaii yet, but it looks like a great place to go on vacation.

  42. Nina Lewis

    No! And I would love to go. It is actually my Mom’s dream vacation & we are thinking of taking her there for her 60th birthday next year! 🙂

  46. Diana Hardt

    Yes, I have been once to Hawaii. I went to Oahu. I liked visiting Diamond Head and Waikiki.