Summer Fire Publication Anniversary, New Snip, and England Photos Part 3 of 4
appy anniversary!Today's the third anniversary of the publication of Summer Fire!
Here's how I celebrated back in 2017:
oday is publication day!
Look out for my blog post on the Carina Press blog, featuring photos from the Istanbul that Ayse and Hakan know... And here's a lovely shot of Heybeliada, one of the Princes Islands, which features in part of the story. Ayse and Hakan have also just made a cameo appearance in the current writers houseparty on the Forum -- read it now before the Forum is taken permanently offline in two weeks!
I've also got a playlist for the story!
For this year's anniversary, I've got a snip from the sequel! It's not really a sequel, but a story in the same vein, a new holiday romance called Summer Blaze. Here's the opening scene:
I've also got more photos from previous England trips! This is Holmfirth and New Mill in summer 2019:
oday is publication day!
The Dirty Bits from Carina Press "give you what you want, when you want it. Designed to be read in an hour or two," these "microromances are guaranteed to pack a punch and deliver a happily-ever-after."
Summer Fire, on sale now!
"'You know how it is with Canadians. We come alive in the summer.'
Ayse had resigned herself to an interesting—but in the end unromantic—trip visiting family in Istanbul. Great-aunts, touristy sites and endless meals…until she meets fellow doctor Hakan.
All tanned skin and defined muscle under his polo shirt, his kisses cut off her breath, making her dizzy. His every touch is a thrill.
Ayse wants all of Hakan at once. His sweet mouth, the heat of his body against hers, their heartbeats slowing together.
A holiday romance might give her some blazing memories come the lonely winter, but maybe, just maybe, the fire between them doesn’t have to be as fleeting as the summer.
For those times when size does matter. The Dirty Bits from Carina Press: quick and dirty, just the way we like it.
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!"
Look out for my blog post on the Carina Press blog, featuring photos from the Istanbul that Ayse and Hakan know... And here's a lovely shot of Heybeliada, one of the Princes Islands, which features in part of the story. Ayse and Hakan have also just made a cameo appearance in the current writers houseparty on the Forum -- read it now before the Forum is taken permanently offline in two weeks!
I've also got a playlist for the story!
Summer Fire playlist, featuring
Whisky Trench Riders, Idlewild, Yaşar, Blue Rodeo, Sezen Aksu, Mes Aieux, Duman, and the Divine Comedy!
Book links:
If you read it, please consider leaving a review!
Thank you to every one of you in the blogging community, it's a treat to share this moment with you!
For this year's anniversary, I've got a snip from the sequel! It's not really a sequel, but a story in the same vein, a new holiday romance called Summer Blaze. Here's the opening scene:
This trì nìthean gun iarraidh: an t-eagal, an t-eudach, ‘s an gaol / These three come unbidden: the fear, the jealousy, the love.
When Amelie asked if I wanted to join her and a few of her friends on holiday in Turkey, I was all for it.
The starting year of uni was tough. I was proud to be the first in my family to go to university away from home, and really proud that I’d got into Oxford. But the work was difficult, my English wasn’t always good enough– especially to understand the older tutors, who mumbled their way through lectures and assumed we knew everything already – and the Portuguese-speaking community was really small.
None of them were my type, either. And no one else from Brazil in my programme.
Then, in my second year, I met Amelie at a bossa nova class, and my social life improved rapidly. She was friends with everyone!
And the Turkey trip was going to be excellent.
Then I found out that her boyfriend was coming along.
He’s a great guy, Angus. Or bloke, as they say around here. He came down from Scotland once this past term for a long weekend, and I hung out with them most of the time. In the beginning, his accent was hard to make out. But he was real friendly, and told funny stories, and I got used to it fast. He’s not like any of the caras back home. Not all into cars and designer jeans and showing off. He has got a motorbike. On the Sunday, a big group of us went out to a riverside pub at a place called Godstow. I was in the car with everyone else, and could see Amelie on the bike up ahead, her arms around Angus’ waist. The ends of his longish hair stuck out from under his helmet and fluttered in the wind of the bike’s speed.
And now we’ve arrived at our hotel in Turkey, a tiny place in a village called Ladies Beach, outside the town of Kuşadası. Their room is down one floor and across from mine, and if I sit by the balcony railing I can pretend to watch the sun set into the water, as the beach and the sea are just ten steps down the road. I can also see down onto their balcony, where Angus is hanging their towels over the railings, dressed in nothing but shorts. Amelie comes out and wraps her arms about his shoulders from behind, rises on her toes, and kisses his cheek. He hugs her back, and they watch the sunset with their heads together. The sky is an intense, glorious pink and orange, the sun is a red ball sliding into the deep blue of the sea. I’ve never seen a sunset on the water before, only into the mountains. The rhythmic clatter of cicadas is all around us in the tall pines, and there’s a constant shifting of chairs and clinking of cutlery as the waiters at the seafront restaurants prepare for the dinner service.
But my eyes are always drawn back to the tableau on the balcony. Except I’m not sure what I’m longing for. Is it Angus himself that I’m attracted to, or simply wanting the touch of someone? Someone for me, and me alone.
I slip inside to get dressed for dinner and tell my roommate Gwyn that she’s missing out on a romantic sunset. Gwyn smiles knowingly; she’s only got one aim on this trip, given that we’re travelling with three couples, and that’s to have a wild affair – with anyone, whether a Turkish waiter, expat bartender, or fellow tourist.
What do I want?
I've also got more photos from previous England trips! This is Holmfirth and New Mill in summer 2019:
Ploughman's lunch!
Books in the wild! We found this book hidden under a bench in the park, then hid it in a new location. Sponsored by Read Holmfirth bookshop!
Sid's Cafe from Last of the Summer Wine
You can take the lad out of Yorkshire but you can't take the Yorkshire out of the lad
Wee plaque showing the height of the flood in 1944
On top of a double decker!
The home of Austin Cunnick, my character from The Face of A Lion and other stories...
Holmfirth Vineyard! The Sheveling Estate
The White Horse in Jackson, which featured often on Last of the Summer Wine
Longley's mint chocolate chunk. The best ice cream ever!
The cake from Elliot Bakes A Cake!
Served with Jersey cream and Longley's ice cream, plus brownies, as a birthday treat!
Bell ringing at New Mill church!
Rainbows, sunrises, sunsets...
What personal milestones are you celebrating this month?
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