Spotlight & Giveaway: Their Midnight Mistletoe Kiss by Michele Renae

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Michele Renae to HJ!

Hi Michele and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Their Midnight Mistletoe Kiss!

 
Hi, Everybody!
 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

This is actually part of a duet called A White Christmas In Whistler. Cara Colter has the first book, The Billionaire’s Festive Reunion, which features a sexy widow who reunites with his high school sweetheart. My story is Cara’s hero’s daughter. She is mourning her mother’s death but is also trying to find her way forward and honor her mother this Christmas. In the process she falls for an ex ski pro who has arrived at the family resort as a guest teacher. Both stories are set at Cobalt Lake Resort in Whistler Canada. In the winter! A fun, snowy time!
 

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

The hero has a tendency to quote from his favorite Christmas movies so you will read some references to Home Alone and The Little Drummer Boy throughout. “Keep the change, ya filthy animal!”

What inspired this book?

Well, snow, for one. I live in Minnesota, so it wasn’t a stretch to write a story in the frozen Canadian winter. But also, my hero for a former Olympian who crashed during his once chance at gold. I wanted to explore what that was like for him and how he’s moving through life now that he’s not the ‘golden boy’ anymore who was on every sports’ magazine cover, in all the interviews, and sought by all the big brands.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

I’m a visual person, so I need photos when I’m writing. I always create Pinterest pages for every set of hero and heroines I have for my stories. Once I start gathering pictures and mulling scenes, it all kind of comes together. Like the white cat. That critter surprised me, as well as surprising my characters. You can find all my books’ ‘inspiration boards’ at http://pinterest.com/toastfaery
Scroll down and you find them listed in alphabetical order by hero’s name.

What was your favorite scene to write?

The snowball fight! I always enjoy the lighter romantic moments between hero and heroine.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

Getting my hero to break down in front of the hero and tell him how she feels lost after her mother’s death. The hero also lost his parental figures (his grandparents) so they have some shared grief. It sounds very depressing, but the story is actually quite light thanks to the hero.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

It’s my usual style. Though, I wrote a lot of paranormals as Michele Hauf. I’m currently writing contemporaries (with not a paranormal critter in sight) as Michele Renae. I think Renae actually is a little lighter and more emotional.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

Love comes to you when you least expect. And we all need to ask for help when we need it.

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

Well, the month before this book I have Two Week Temptation in Paradise, which features a woman on the verge of her 50th birthday, freshly divorced, and trying to figure out how to start over. She’s alone on a tropical island until…the sexy younger hero arrives.

I’ve just finished the first of a 3-book series, Art of Being a Billionaire, which will feature art brokers based in London.
And…I have another duet with Cara Colter that I’m also working on which at the moment I’m titling Cinderella’s Pregnant Pause. (I know that title will change!) That features two women who turn an old castle into a BnB and event center and both find the men of their dreams.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Ebook copies of THEIR MIDNIGHT MISTLETOE KISS and an older title by Michele Renae, LUST AND CHOCOLATE to 3 winners (Kindle epub format)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Did you have a high school crush? Have you seen that person since high school? Would you want to?

 
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Excerpt from Their Midnight Mistletoe Kiss:

CASSANDRA DANIELS SNAPPED photographs of the massive floral display in the Cobalt Lake Resort lobby. It had been delivered an hour earlier and it had taken two delivery men to carry in the heavy vase overflowing with white and red poinsettia, deep red roses, sprays of glittered baby’s breath, and sprigs of wispy greens. A plush red velvet ribbon wove in and around the bouquet.
“MARVELOUS.” She studied the few shots and then color-adjusted her favorite to post on the resort’s social media feed. “Mom would be pleased.”
In fact, her mother, Cynthia Daniels, would only employ her approving “marvelous” when something was worthy of praise. Be it decorations around the resort, a chef’s special dinner or even the sound of boots crunching fresh-fallen snow on a peaceful Christmas morning.
With a heavy sigh, Cassandra’s shoulders dropped. It had been two years since her mother’s death. An avalanche while she was out skiing had taken her from this world much too early. Grief still teased at Cassandra and seemed to attack at the most unexpected moments. Tears in front of the guests? Never. She could hold them back until she retreated to her apartment. Yet the invisible emotional tears in her heart seemed never-ending.
Christmas had been her mom’s favorite season. As the resort manager, Cynthia Daniels had taken seriously the task of decorating for Christmas. Each year she employed a crew of temporary workers for a week to make it all come together. From the guest rooms to the lobby, the spa, the exterior and all through the outer areas, including the cozy wooden walkway that curled around the lake. Not a patch of property remained untouched by the festive spirit.
Last year Cassandra hadn’t been able to summon the spirit necessary to put up more than some interior garlands and ribbons. Her heart had felt the lack of her mother’s presence in those missing decorations. This year she was determined to pull herself up from the grief, rediscover her own joy and create a Christmas that would make her mother declare, “Marvelous.”
The outdoor decorating had been completed by a local crew. The trees were kept strung with lights throughout the year, as well as the lake walk. Inside the resort everything sparkled, glimmered and danced with sugarplums, tidy presents, tiny snowmen and snow-sprinkled figurines, poinsettias, holly and the requisite mistletoe. The spicy aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg greeted guests in the lobby. Each guest room was subtly touched with Christmas. And the last of the ornaments were currently being placed on the twenty-eight-foot blue spruce that greeted guests as they entered the lobby.
Cassandra heard someone call her name. One of the night maids had begged to help with decorations because Christmas was her jam, and she’d stayed on this morning to help.
“It’s finished,” Kay announced with a gleeful clap and a Vanna White–like splay of her hand toward the massive tree.
“It looks amazing,” Cassandra enthused.
She strolled toward the tree, her eyes moving up, down and around to take it in. She’d given exact instructions on how the decorations should be hung. The ribbons strung evenly, yet artfully. Tinsel used sparely. No two similar ornaments close together. The red glass ornaments hung equal distances apart…
Yes, she was aware of her need for perfection. But Cassandra never asked for more than was possible. And if she did notice something out of place she’d never call out an employee for what wasn’t a mistake but rather a misplacement. Her dad had once let her in on the backroom talk that the employees thought she could be demanding but they didn’t mind because she countered it with kindness and respect.
Kindness was never difficult. It should be a person’s normal mode; that’s what her mom had taught her. And if you put out a warm welcoming vibe, it would return to you in greater amounts.
With a touch to a handblown glass sleigh that she remembered her dad giving her a few Christmases earlier, she then trailed her fingers over the shimmery silver tinsel. Astringent pine filled her nostrils. The ever-present scent of burning cedar emanated from the fireplace opposite the tree. Nearby a trio of peppermint candles sweetened the air. Cap that with the cinnamon sticks hung here and there within the pine boughs. The delicious perfume epitomized Christmas.
Cassandra stood back, hands on her hips. The tree looked Instagram-worthy. More photos were necessary! Could this mean she was almost finished with decorating? Save a few smaller tasks she had on her list—
“Wait.” Her eyes darted over the tree hung with ornaments the Daniels family had collected over the twenty-eight years her parents had been married. She didn’t see it. The one ornament she’d requested Kay take special care in hanging front and center. “Kay?”
“Yes, Miss Daniels?”
She loved Kay like an aunt who tended to smile at her and then sneak up close to tuck in a stray tag or remove a bit of lint from her sweater. Just as fussy about some things as Cassandra could be.
“Where is the ornament I told you about? It was my mom’s favorite ornament. I made it for her when I was eight.”
“I didn’t see the ornament you described. A wood star?”
“Yes, a star made from twigs I collected in the forest. I glued them together. In the center was a photo of me and my mom. It gets front and center placement every year. It had to have been with the other ornaments. Did you check?”
“The bins are over there.” Kay pointed to a rolling cart stacked neatly with clear plastic storage bins. All of them empty. “The boys brought in all the bins labeled for Christmas yesterday evening. Should I send them back to the storage room to check for more?”
“Of course. Or no, I’ll do it.” They’d done their part. Besides, she was the best person to recognize the missing item.
“This is not right. It’s… It can’t be Christmas,” she said, her voice wavering. The courage she’d summoned to step away from the grief over the loss of her mother began to falter. Her stomach clenched. “Not without that ornament.”
She noticed someone near the wall behind the tree bend down. “No!”
The employee who held the light switch box connected to the tree froze, half bent over. He flicked Cassandra a wondering look.
“No light! Not until it’s perfect,” she said, a bit too loudly. She sucked in her lower lip.
“But shouldn’t we check to see that they work?” the startled man asked of her.
Cassandra shook her head adamantly. “Not until the ornament is in place. I’ll look for it. You can clean up and return the bins to the storage room. But no one turns on the lights until you get the go-ahead from me. Understand?”
The half dozen employees standing around muttered their agreement.
Cassandra gave her sweater hem a commanding tug and nodded. Christmas simply would not happen until that ornament held the place of honor on the tree.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

An unforgettable midnight kiss under the mistletoe forges an unlikely match in this White Christmas in Whistler story.

A HOLIDAY THEY’LL NEVER FORGET!

Former competitive skier Rayce and no-nonsense ski resort manager Cassandra are polar opposites. So when they’re unexpectedly forced to work together, sparks are sure to fly. Especially since neither has forgotten their almost kiss ten years ago. And try as they might, they can’t deny their growing desire. But while Rayce is recovering from a career-ending accident and Cassandra’s still reeling from her mom’s death, they can’t fathom anything remotely romance related. Until a sizzling midnight moment under the mistletoe changes everything…

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Meet the Author:

Michele Hauf is an author of over 100 stories in the fantasy, action/adventure, historical and paranormal romance genres, and also writes light-hearted sexy stories as Michele Renae.
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