Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we've got the BOOK SPOTLIGHT shining a title currently on tour with Rachel's Random Resources. It's a book that has our main characters rethinking their stance on dating...anyone...as fate takes a stab at their previously charted plans. Sound good? I thought so too! So, here's what we'll do. You read the synopsis, take a gander through the SPECIAL AUTHOR GUEST POST all about writing rituals, AND THEN...check out the giveaway for a chance to win! Ready, set, let's read all about it...
Toni’s Blind Date
by
Rosie Dean
About the book...
Toni Spielman and Will Thomas have no plans to date -- anyone -- but when fate throws them together on a TV dating show, they have to smile, pretend, and rethink their plans.
---> GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY <---
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~~~ GUEST POST with Author Rosie Dean ~~
Fragrance Unlocks Imagination
Like a lot of authors, I’m often asked if I have a writing ritual. The answer is…Yes!
I must start with coffee
If it’s chilly, I like a hot water bottle in the small of my back
I like classical or mood music playing softly in the background
I must have a mood enhancing FRAGRANCE – so I light an incense stick or switch on my essential oil diffuser.
Fragrance is very important to me. I would be devastated if I lost my sense of smell. I have all manner of sources for stimulating whiffs to improve my environment. (I’m not a fan of cheap supermarket air-fresheners, though…) I’ve discovered that if I burn incense or diffuse essential oils, my brain recognizes it’s time to write and loosens up the creative juices.
Scientific studies have proven that scents/odours are stronger triggers than any other sensory cue for recalling personally meaningful memories. I only have to smell fresh bread and I’m transported back to my childhood; fresh mint and I’m seeing new potatoes covered in butter and chopped mint from the garden. And I daresay, if I caught a whiff of Brut aftershave, I would be looking around to see if my dad were in the room. If I catch the smell of vomit, I’m waiting for the school caretaker to appear with a bucket of sawdust… (Anyone else remember that?)
Some people have one signature scent. They wear it every day. Maybe they know exactly who they are and how they want to present themselves to the world. Maybe they just adore that fragrance and want it around them all the time.
Either I’m more fickle or perhaps I have multiple-personality disorder – there are sixteen different perfumes on my dressing table – but I choose my daily perfume based on how I feel or how I want to feel. I have fragrances which I think are wrong to wear in the day – usually heavy, heady fragrances, which I picture as burgundy in colour (like Prada Amber). Then there are sharp, bright (very lime green) perfumes which I reach for on a summer’s day (Ô de Lancôme).
A whole host of smells can remind me of Christmas, which I guess is the same for everyone. Why else would they promote pine/citrus/cinnamon fragranced pot-pourri? I even picked up some Winter Berry scented screen-wash in the supermarket, last week! Cigars aren’t very popular these days, but if I ever catch a whiff of one, I’m transported back to Christmas Days of my childhood, when cigars were shared by the men in my family. Coco by Chanel always makes me think of Christmas – thanks to a gift, years ago, from a boyfriend. If I could still find Avon’s Pretty Peach, that would probably evoke childhood Christmas memories too, and have me hunting for a Cadbury’s selection box.
My regular go-to fragrance is 24 Faubourg by Hermès (not to be confused with the courier company of the same name). It works day and night and I find it really special and comforting.
If I want my energy boosting, I reach for Ginger Essence by Origins. I take it with me on writing retreats because it peps me up and makes my eyes sparkle…okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration.
Oh, and I always like to wear the body lotion as well as the fragrance. Why? When I was an impressionable twenty-year old, I visited a well-known and exclusive London department store with a friend, who wanted to buy a new fragrance. The shop assistant did an excellent number on her, encouraging her to go for the body lotion, followed by a spritz of cologne and finally, a dash of high octane perfume on the pulse points. I can hear her now: ‘It’s so important to layer the fragrance for a lasting impression.’ Not to mention boosting her commission, I wanted to add. My friend couldn’t afford all versions – we were merely students at the time – but she did go for the body lotion and the cologne. I recall it was the original Opium by YSL. But the sales spiel stuck with me, and now I can afford it, I layer the fragrance.
So this week’s Rafflecopter prize is a copy of my romantic comedy,Toni’s Blind Date, and some Coco Mademoiselle body lotion by Chanel. It’s a lovely bright, youthful fragrance which I think works day or night.
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About the author...
Rosie writes romantic fiction with a sense of humour and, sometimes, a sense of the ridiculous; because we all know life and love aren't exactly how we'd like them to be.
She has won a Readers' Choice Award from Ancient City Romance Authors (part of Romance Writers of America) and been a finalist in the 2017 Maggie Awards for Excellence.
Before writing novels, Rosie wrote training courses and marketing copy for the corporate world - a far cry from teaching Art and Pottery, where her career began.
She lives on the Isle of Wight, within sight and sound of the sea, with her partner and her dog.
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YOUR CHANCE TO WIN...
...a paperback copy of Toni’s Blind Date...
...and a 200ML Coco Mademoiselle Body Lotion by Chanel!
(UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to author Rosie Dean for the great guest post. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
1 comment:
Thank you for being a part of the tour!
Love from Rosie
xx
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