Book Lovers Inc.
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Guest post by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez + Giveaway
Today we are happy to welcome back to Book Lovers Inc Melissa Bourbon Ramirez whose latest release is a sexy paranormal romance Deceiving the Witch Next Door, which debuted Entangled Publishing’s new Covet line! Melissa stops by today while surfing the blogosphere with her virtual blog tour, please give her a warm welcome and answer her question for a chance to win a copy of Deceiving the Witch Next Door!
Photo by Maylett
My husband and I are trying (desperately) to buy a 1900 Victorian home just off the square in a neighboring town. I don’t think the deal will go through, unfortunately, but I’m hopeful that it will. I’m hopeful that in a few short months, we’ll be patching up walls and cleaning hundred year old floors and sleeping in a creaky house with double hung windows. When I walk in that house, I feel the history and the lives that have bloomed there. It feels like so much more than just a house. And I can imagine myself sitting on the porch with my laptop, sipping from a cup of coffee, and writing my heart out because I’m filled with contentment.
All from a house.
Writing about small towns, the people who live there, and all the dramas that unfold. Writing about a world with a touch of magical realism or witchery. Writing. Just writing.
Somehow, I think I’ll be more productive if I am in that house. Is that really true? Probably not, but I’m a writer so my imagination runs away with me. It’s kind of funny, when I think about it, because my stories are all very contemporary. Latina PI in Sacramento (the Lola Cruz Mystery series), Deadly Legends trilogy (romantic suspense), Magical Dressmaking Mystery series (cozy mysteries in a small town), and the Bloomington Witches, the first of which is Deceiving the Witch Next Door.
But I feel as if they hold charm between the pages, and that being in that house will help me infuse that magic into every story I weave. Maybe it’s all in my head and I don’t need an historic home at all, but I sure want one because I know it will fill my soul with comfort and a sense of peace that I don’t feel where I’m at.
It’s the same feeling that I am always searching for in my characters. The magic in the story comes from the house, the people, the town… Storie Bell, for example, is a witch who doesn’t quite fit into her world. She’s searching for peace. For that place where she belongs. And she finds it in Bloomington, Texas. If only Reid Malone didn’t zap that peacefulness right out of her every time he wanders into her shop, The Storiebook Café.
But, of course, part of Storie fitting in has to do with Reid, their past, and the future neither one of them know they have with each other. It’s a fun read. It’s a light read. And for me, it holds just enough charm to make it magical.
Just like that old Victorian I’m trying to buy.
Tell me, what do you think of old houses, and is a 100 year old Victorian a place you’d want to live?
Deceiving the Witch Next Door by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
Storie Bell has a little secret—she’s a witch. But magic hasn’t exactly kept her life from being a complete mess—her love life is non-existent and the town thinks she’s a total nutter. Plus there’s her neighbor Reid Malone who runs hot one minute and cold the next.
Reid Malone can’t wait to escape Bloomington, Texas. Unfortunately, he’s stuck where he is unless he helps his father hide a very illegal secret. The only key to Reid’s freedom lies with the eccentric Storie…and he’ll do whatever it takes to get the information he needs from her.
But Reid’s holding something back. Something big. And if he’s not careful, he’ll find out exactly what happens when you try to deceive a witch…
Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas. She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.
She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox and two romantic suspense titles.
Visit Melissa at her website | Twitter Page | Facebook Home | Goodreads | and Books on the House, a website bringing books and readers together!
Also available from Melissa Bourbon Ramirez: Sacrifice of Passion, a romantic suspense with Entangled Publishing’s Dead Sexy line, and Bare Naked Lola a funny cozy mystery with Entangled Publishing.
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~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Entangled Publishing has generously offered an ebook copy of Deceiving the Witch Next Door by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez to a lucky commenter!
All you have to do is answer Melissa’s question: What do you think of old houses, and is a 100 year old Victorian a place you’d want to live?
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).
This giveaway is open to all!
Giveaway ends on Saturday, 22 September 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good luck!
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| 5 Stars: Perfect! I Love It! | |||||||||
| 4 Stars: Awesome Book! | |||||||||
| 3 Stars: I Liked It! | |||||||||
| 2 Stars: Not bad, but maybe not for me. | |||||||||
| 1 Star: Didn't like it! Did Not Finish it. | |||||||||
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I love old houses and we live in a house that is over 100 years old. They have so much beautiful woodwork, history and charm.
angiek@cfu.net
I grew up in a 200 year old house so I understand the quirks and the history they hold. I think if you have the time for the tlc they require, they are wonderful!
I love old houses but having lived in two now that were 100+ there is so much constant work to them I no longer want to live in one. They are beautiful but I’m kind of done with all the repair/up-keep.
I wish you all the best in obtaining the century home you’re trying to buy.
I like old houses, I think they have character, but you better be prepared to have to do a lot of maintenance. My own home is 80 years old now, and it is showing that. Tilting a bit, floors and walls are crooked.
I live in a fairly old farmhouse and I often find people stopping down the lonely stretch of country highway we live next to to take pics of it like they’ve never seen an old house before:) We’ve done alot of updates on the inside but the outside has great character, so I won’t touch it.
I think old houses are interesting, but wouldn’t want to live in one.
I love old houses. They have so much history and they are so different from the way homes are built today. I would love to live in a victoria home over 100 years old. So much history.
Old houses are great and as long as they are not fixer uppers I would be fine living in one 🙂
I LOVE old houses and would really love to live in a 100 year old house one day – if I’m lucky 🙂
I completely relate to Melissa’s house hunt hopes, there is a house I’ve been “stalking” for years locally because the first time I ever encountered it I knew I was meant to live in it. I still don’t but someday! I don’t think every old house is a gem because it really comes down to the people who’ve lived in it but the house pictured looks amazing, I’d be thrilled to have tea on the porch everyday there!
Melissa –
Older homes are the most fun to live in! When I was growing up the first home I lived in was in a traditional village neighborhood with lots of homes although it did have a quiet street where we could play kickball and not have to worry about the traffic!
My family then moved “across the bridge” to the city (although it was a small city) and we went from a “traditional” neighborhood to one that was rich with history.
Our home was just several block from the old “blockade area” where the fort was built to keep the Indians from attaching and when Schenectady, NY was considered the “western” part of the country! There was even a “widows walk” on the top of the house (which had a window I used to squeeze out of to get a sun tan while lying on the roof!
When we moved in my parents found the parts of an old marble fireplace surround and mantle from the early 1800’s and they had one of the old chimneys opened up and re-installed it.
The place I liked best was on the 3rd floor were the old “servants” quarters. Neither of my older sisters wanted a bedroom up there because the rooms were smaller and the rest of the floor was a cobweb filled attic! I LOVED IT! Plenty of room for myself and I actually had a small “area” with a sink to which I added a hot plate, a small table and two chairs so it was like having a mini-kitchen all to myself!
I even made up ghost stories to tell them to keep them from “visiting the haunted 3rd floor”.
I love old houses and would like to live in one. They are full of history and stories and love and laughter and family.