Kicking Sideways by Dina Keratsis ♥ Fun Facts, Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Contemporary Romance)

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Kicking Sideways by Dina Keratsis ♥ Fun Facts, Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Contemporary Romance)

Lucretia “Cree” Cabot spends her time saving everybody else to avoid facing her own haunted life. Between raising her younger brother and trying to open a women’s shelter, Cree has built an impenetrable wall around her heart. But when a tenant for Cliff Cottage appears at her door, he cracks her vigilantly controlled world, forcing her to look within to confront the emptiness inside.

Mike Sullivan, famous superhero artist, is searching for a peaceful summer break and a new perspective on life. A farm in sunny Santa Cruz seems like just the place. Looking to escape from his usual routine, he doesn’t count on falling for a woman who is as stubborn as the mule that lives in her barn. Yet beneath Cree’s prickly exterior, he finds a woman in pain—a woman with an immense capacity for love. Mike knows she is the only one for him, but will Cree find the courage to truly live and love before the best thing to walk into her life leaves her behind?

List-making is a compulsion of mine. So when Romance Novel Giveaways asked me for some fun facts behind Kicking Sideways, I made a list!

1) The hero, Mike Sullivan, is a minor character from my first book, Charlesgate.

2) The book is set in Santa Cruz because of my favorite teen movie. When my best friend took me to its Boardwalk, I had the same reaction as Mike Sullivan: “Yeah, well, ever since I saw The Lost Boys way back in high school, I’ve wanted to come out here... you know, in case the whole vampire thing and bat caves really existed. I admit I’m a little disappointed to find they don’t. Just a bunch of tourists.”

3) Same best friend was the model for Cree during the blindness scenes. Best friend was just as stubborn.

4) A major theme of the book is rescue. The dog in the book is my rescue Pointer, Logan.

5) Speaking of rescue, Madame Pauline (yes, that sort of Madame) is a real historical figure. Here’s a quote from her 1898 eulogy in the Santa Cruz Sentinel: “In a quiet way she did many charitable acts. No poor person ever came away from her empty handed. More then one poor family she has assisted, and the world was none the wiser.”

6) The song “What’l I Do?” meanders through the story. My mother used to sing that song to me. A haunting tune, Helen Gross’s 1920s version adds “spirit” to the book.

7) Ellen is the reincarnation of my grandmother’s friend, who lived far back in the woods and taught us ceramics followed by a bit of “civilizin’ tea.”

8) Cree has a Tasha Tudor version of Little Women that was a gift from her father. When I was a girl, my father’s friend, Mr. Gilmore, gave me this book for Christmas. I remember that he was kind and intelligent. Over time, our family lost touch with him and we later discovered he’d been found dead on a park bench. He was homeless. This book was born partly because of him. You matter, Mr. Gilmore.

As do all of you. Best to you in the new year!

She looked at him directly and the innate kindness in him disarmed her entirely. For the first time, she understood a strength that breached her defenses and she couldn’t stop the truths from spilling out.

“It says that it sees new life for women for whom fate has not been kind. It promises a comfortable home where happiness can grow.” She hesitated and he motioned for her to continue. “It claims to be a safe haven for old women who have nowhere to live out the rest of their years and promises a chance for them to find that they are still useful in this world.”

“All in a new coat of paint.” He regarded her for a moment, nodded. “I’ll remember that when I’m slathering stroke after boring stroke.”

She laughed at the misery on his face. “You’re the one who took the job.” She let the “I-never-wanted-you” hang in the air between them.

Mike grinned and it seemed as though he’d plucked the unspoken words from the air and tossed them over his left shoulder. She knew what was coming next even before he brought his hand around the back of her head and pulled her to him.

Dina Keratsis is an award-winning author of romance fiction in which all roads lead to illumination and magic is found in the mundane. A New England girl, she has a penchant for punk rock, Scottish tea rooms and a mad crush on Sirius Black. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children.