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An Interview for Crushing Blog Tour

The last week has been hectic to say the least.  It’s been so exciting and fun to launch the second book. I can’t believe it’s been six months already.  I haven’t been quite as nervous as last time but there is still so much to think about.  Crushing has gotten some good reviews since the launch.

I’m on several blogs this week for reviews, excerpts and spotlights.  Here is a link to an interview  I did for Laurie on her interview blog. It was fun to do and I liked the questions she asked.   I’m always worried I’m not goingto know what to say but this one worked out okay.

If you want to see where else I am on blog tour here is a link or just click on the blog tour button on the right.

I will be posting an interview this week with one of the Crushing characters so keep an eye out for it!  Happy Wednesday!

Posted by Elena Dillon | 1 Comment

It’s Crushing’s Release Day!

I know people say launching a book is like having a baby but to me it feels more like the day you drop your child off on the first day of kindergarten.   You’ve spent all this time getting them ready and trying to be sure they have everything they need and then you send them off to the great unknown.  What ‘s going to happen? Will they be okay? Will people like them and be nice to them? It’s nerve wracking.  I cried when I dropped my kids off at school for the first time. I’m not going to cry about launching the book but I am nervous.

Will people like it? Will they love the characters? Will it speak to them? Sigh. See a lot like kindergarten. I haven’t lost as much sleep because of Crushing as I did with Breathe so I guess that’s an improvement and I woke up this morning to the first review on Good Reads and Amazon. She gave it 5 stars. Somebody liked it. Somebody that wasn’t related to me or a friend.  Whew!

I can calm down now.  In the end, the people who like it will like it and the people who don’t, won’t. It will all be fine. This is why I have a party to get the whole thing started. It needs to be fun so I don’t spend the whole day worrying. And anybody who knows me knows I will use any excuse to throw a party! So come join me at noon today on Facebook here. There will be prizes! Good ones! I’m giving away Starbucks stuff, Gift cards from Amazon and Starbucks, a cool beach bag with beachy stuff in it and books so don’t miss out!

Posted by Elena Dillon | 2 Comments

Crushing Blog Tour!

The Crushing Blog Tour starts today! I’m pretty excited about it.  Promotional Book Tours is running doing all the organizing and planning and I couldn’t be happier.  If you click on the banner you will get the the blog tour page and you can enter another giveaway!  I’m so glad Crushing is coming out.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  Here is a blurb:

When I looked up from my menu to order, I saw him standing at the counter. Gage. Looking right at me. Well, not me exactly but at Dom’s arm lying on the back of my chair specifically. I saw his eyes narrow for a moment. He looked up into my eyes, and I froze to the chair. I couldn’t look away. What was he doing here? He was even hotter than I remembered.

The teenage hostess came rushing up smiling and fawning all over him. He finally turned to her and paid, smiling sweetly at her. She needed a bib for all the drool. I could relate.

When he grabbed his to-go bags, he looked at me one more time. He then smirked and walked out.

Why did I want to jump up and run after him? Why did I feel like I was doing something wrong right now?

“Who was that, Rory?” Dom looked confused. He had seen him too. “Do you know him?”

“That was Gage Maddox,” I said, looking down at the menu and trying to sound casual.

“Oh, that guy? My dad said he got into so much trouble at his last school they kicked him out,” Dominic said.

Holden mumbled something with his mouth full of the bread that they had set in front of us.

“Oh yeah. I heard that too.” Dominic nodded.

How did boys understand each other when their mouths were full?

“Th-th-the st-st-stutterer,” Holden said.

“Shut. Up. Holden.” I glared at him. Holden was the epitome of a spoiled rich kid. He had been a brat when we were kids and had teased Gage back in the day. He’d gotten better since elementary school. Most of that behavior had stopped, but sometimes he reverted back to that bully mentality, and I just wanted to kick him.

“That’s right. Didn’t you have a crush on him back in the day?” Holden looked at me and smirked.

I kicked him in the shin. Hard. “You’re just mad because he used to beat the crap out of you every week.” I glared at him.

“Ow, Rory.” He huffed and turned to talk to Veronica.

Dom turned in his chair to look me in the eye. “Do you know why he moved back?” He knew me really well, and I would need to tread carefully here.

“No.” I hedged. “I’ve seen him, but it’s not like I grilled him for information. I didn’t even know it was him.” I wasn’t exactly lying, but I didn’t want to tell the whole storm drain story now.

Laken looked over from where she was gazing into Walker’s eyes, obviously having something to contribute to the gossip. “I heard he went to a really expensive prep school that his rich uncle paid for. He got kicked out because he got caught with the dean’s daughter and got her pregnant.”

Veronica chimed in. “I heard he stole the dean’s car, and cheated on all his tests. And there was some kind of scandal with his parents a long time ago.”

“My uncle, the police chief, said he heard he was dealing meth,” Holden said. “He says they are going to be watching him real close.”

My heart sped up. That couldn’t all be true. Small-town gossip ran wild here. It could be any of that, none of it, or somewhere in between. And on top of it all Holden was a jackass. He always liked to stir up trouble. As if he didn’t get into plenty of his own trouble, his uncle or his rich parents had to consistently get him out of. I decided I wouldn’t believe any of the Gage rumors until I heard from a more reliable source.

“Yeah, well maybe we shouldn’t judge people before we know the truth.” I was getting even more irritated. “It sounds like Wynter gossip out of control to me.”

I was angry. Why couldn’t people mind their own business? Obviously no one had anything better to do than make up stories about him. Good grief. If he was moving here to get away from his reputation, I am pretty sure he picked the wrong place. Every time I thought about him or someone mentioned him I got a weird feeling in my stomach. Like a party was going on and the squirrels were leading a conga line in there. Not in a good way. All of a sudden I wasn’t hungry anymore.

Dom was looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. Everyone thought of him as this typical jock. Only interested in sports and working out, but then at the most inopportune moments he could be incredibly astute. It was inconvenient.

He looked concerned. “You okay, Ror?”

I just nodded. I couldn’t seem to get a handle on my feelings today. Any thoughts of Gage made my heart beat faster. My skin felt itchy, and I was having trouble concentrating on what everyone was saying.

I tried to focus and hoped I didn’t have my feelings all over my face. I wasn’t really good at hiding them. I was a pretty straightforward person. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want Dom to feel bad either. He was at the very least a great friend and at most someone I cared a lot about.

He didn’t talk much the rest of lunch, but his arm never did leave the back of my chair.

That’s it! Just a little blurb.  If you sign up on the right for my newsletter, you will get another excerpt in your inbox!

Posted by Elena Dillon | 8 Comments

Superheroes In The Family – Kitty Bucholtz

A few years ago, I got irritated with my husband John for not paying attention to me. Because I’m a writer, I made up a story in my head about a woman in a similar position who makes up her own hero in her head – and then he comes to life! It was silly and fun and friends said, “Write it!”

The story changed as I thought it through, and I asked John, “Can you help me do some research for a superhero story?”

He kind of scoffed at first. “Why would you want to write about superheroes?”

Well, then I had to tell him. Yes, despite nearly twenty years (since our second year of college) of me harping on him to stop spending so much money on comic books, I now wanted to read them.

After he rolled his eyes over the explanation of how I came up with my idea, John immediately became my comic books and superheroes teacher. He took me to a comic book store and started explaining everything. (Yes, I’m pretty sure he explained everything.) He bought me the graphic novel Kingdom Come – and as soon as I read it, I was hooked!

My story went through a few changes, but it stayed true to the one thing I really wanted for it: I wanted to write a story about after the wedding.

Love is wonderful, but marriage is hard. You’ve not only picked a roommate who is never, ever going to move out (and all the pros and cons associated with that), but you’ve also found someone to share your hopes and dreams and successes and failures with. Perhaps more than that, it’s someone who has agreed to stick by you through all of your ups and downs.

How do you preserve something so fragile, so precious? How do you keep hard times from destroying it, especially when the bloom is new?

That’s what I wanted to explore. But I also love love! So I wanted to write about a couple who is madly in love with each other. I wanted her to think he was her hero, but I wanted him to find strength in having her as his wife. What better arena to explore all this than a superhero world?

My new book, Unexpected Superhero, is a cross between romantic comedy and urban fantasy. It’s Mad About You becomes Mr & Mrs Smith. It’s about Tori – who finds out she has a super power upon returning from her honeymoon – and Joe, who hasn’t had the courage to tell his new wife he’s a superhero. It’s also about friends and family and finding a purpose for your life.

Here’s a taste to see if you like it:

Tori Lewis was out of M&Ms. None in her purse, none in the glove box. Even the emergency packet in her briefcase had been consumed during her pre-wedding jitters. After the job interview she’d just endured for Half TV, a local cable TV station, she needed a chocolate fix. Now.

“I know I’m supposed to go to you for comfort,” she muttered to God as she pulled into a parking spot, “but if you wouldn’t mind, a package of M&Ms would jumpstart the process.”

The bell tinkled over her head as the door of Ed & Eddie’s Corner Market closed behind her. Tori stamped the snow off her boots as her eyes adjusted from the deepening twilight outside to the bright fluorescent lights of the store. It took her a moment to notice everyone in the store staring at her. Including the guy with the gun.

Tori froze. She always assumed her love of the colorful chocolate candy might one day destroy her figure, but she never expected her addiction to end in gunfire.

The gunman swung toward her. His bulky open coat couldn’t hide the fact that the skinny boy was no man. A Detroit Tigers baseball cap covered most of his brown hair, but not his panicky eyes. “What do you want?” His voice came out higher at the end and he cleared his throat. “Well?” he asked, forcing the word out at a lower pitch.

“Uhh… M&Ms,” Tori said. It sounded like a question. Her brain was having a hard time getting up to speed in this unexpected situation. God, help me.

Her eyes darted around the small store. An older woman cried and held a nearly hysterical younger woman, shushing her to no avail. One of the men held a baby ensconced in a little pink snowsuit. Another nodded quietly at her as if to convey caution.

Situation confirmed. She was hip-deep in doo-doo. Where was her big, strong new husband when she needed him?

The armed boy-man cocked his head toward the candy aisle. Tori didn’t know if he meant for her to move out of the way or if he was just being unusually helpful by pointing her in the right direction. Erring on the side of caution, she forced a fleeting smile and mumbled “thanks” as she walked past him and down the middle aisle to stand in front of the M&Ms. Now what?

The gunman turned back to Eddie, the cashier and half-owner of Ed & Eddie’s. “Hurry up before someone else comes in!”

“Easy, dude, easy,” Eddie said, moving his hands slowly toward the cash register. Eddie wasn’t very old either, early 20s or so, but he was sadly experienced in the holdup category. Tori couldn’t remember the details, but she’d heard bits and pieces of stories. Come to think of it, why did she shop at a store with a record anyway? She remembered Eddie had played sports in high school. Something like baseball or wrestling or karate could come in handy right now. Hopefully his sport hadn’t been cross-country running.

Tori glanced at the M&Ms next to her. More than ever she needed to stress eat. Could she open a package now and pay Eddie later? Maybe two packages. Her hands started to shake. She shoved them in her pockets.

Today was only day ten of her new and fabulous married life. She hadn’t wanted to go out today anyway and now this. Only two days ago she and Joe had checked out of their Disney World hotel, blue skies and temperatures in the 70s, nothing on their minds but a long and blissful life together. Tori prayed now that she’d make it to day eleven of that life. They hadn’t been married long enough to do anything except have sex – which was awesome – but she’d hoped for more. After all, they figured they’d have the rest of their lives together. Neither of them thought the “death” part of “till death do us part” would happen until there was a lot more gray hair involved.

The sound of a crying baby registered. Tori glanced over at the well-dressed man in the expensive trench coat. He kept his back between the gunman and his child. A gesture Tori would normally find heartwarming. But today it was the action of a man who wasn’t going to get involved. Great. He wouldn’t be of any use. So this is where equal opportunity gets us. Tori considered offering to hold the baby so he could help the other men save the day. Her self-esteem would be fine with that. Maybe if she were comforting someone, she wouldn’t feel like crying herself.

Enough! Tori wiped at her eyes. She was not letting some stupid, scared boy dictate her life and death. She’d spent too much energy changing her life into just what she wanted to lose it now. She chewed on her lip. What could she do?

A movement from the corner of her eye. She saw one of the men – the one who’d nodded calmly at her – edging closer to the gunman. Yikes. Should she duck or help?

Kitty Bucholtz [http://kittybucholtz.com] is the author of the romantic comedy Little Miss Lovesick [http://amzn.to/18KpaZx] and the light urban fantasy Unexpected Superhero [http://amzn.to/146DwzL]. Though she grew up in Northern Michigan, the setting for many of her stories, she followed her husband to Australia twice. While he made a penguin named Mumble dance, she earned her MA in Creative Writing in Sydney. When she’s not unpacking or repacking, she’s working on her next book or chatting with readers on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/kittybucholtzauthor]

Posted by Elena Dillon | 4 Comments

Back To Work

Now that my son has graduated I can put aside my very large box of tissues and get back to work.  I will have the whole summer to enjoy him annoying me and telling me I drive like a T-Rex before he gets busy with college.  Aren’t kids adorable?

I’m not sure why I thought launching a book the week after my kid graduated was a good idea but I do that a lot.  Plan stuff when life is at its busiest and think “No problem”.  It is no problem of course, except that I have so much to do I’m literally chained to my computer trying to get it all done and finish book three by July.  What a dork. Good thing I love my job.

I’ve had so much good news this week. Besids the graduation,  Breathe got nominated for the Rhone Awards for InD’tale Magazine and I received the proof copy for the print version of Crushing. Theblog tour and my Release Day Party are all next week! So excited.  See what I mean? A lot going on.

If you want to keep up with it all be sure to sign up for my newsletter in the little box on the right! And don’t forget to sign up for my Rafflecopter Beach Basket Giveaway too!  I’ll be posting pictures of the goodies in the next day or so!

P.S. I know this picture seems weird for this post but he looks how I feel and my son loved Zaboomafoo so…

Posted by Elena Dillon | 3 Comments

Giveaway

Just a quick little post to remind you all to sign up for the Rafflecopter Giveaway for the launch of Crushing!  I’m giving away a really cool basket of Beach goodies!  Gift cards, books and other stuff. I will be posting pictures later in the week so sign up . It’s in the box on the right!

Posted by Elena Dillon | 4 Comments

The Last Day

I was supposed to be working on book three today and I found myself staring at the screen with no thoughts in my head about the story and an overwhelming amount of emotion I couldn’t put a finger on.  I realized the reason when my son called.  It was his last day of school.  Ever.  As far as High School goes anyway.

I should say right off that he’s my youngest. It’s strange that all of my kids will be out of high school now. First of all, how did I get this old? But really I’m thrilled for him.  I’m thrilled for me too. You see he’s not a huge fan of school. He’d rather be working with his hands. Sitting in a classroom, even at seventeen, is torture.

I’ve been in a bit of a fog all week. Melancholy, happy, excited, worried and relieved but mostly I’m ridiculously proud of him. There are many reasons why I’m proud but suffice it to say it has been a long road getting here and he has accomplished much in this one moment.

This is the child who spent the majority of his first few years of schooling hanging upside down in his chair or standing in the corner. Did I mention I homeschooled? Yeah. You’re getting me now, right? There were many reasons why I homeschooled this kid for part of elementary school but mainly I didn’t want to get the phone calls home.  It was better for everyone that way.

Now he’s decided what he wants to do with his future.  It’s all he’s wanted to do since he could walk.  What is it? He wants to work on cars or semi-trucks or anything with a motor. When he was little I could entertain him endlessly with anything with wheels.  He never met a toy he didn’t destroy by taking the innards out and leaving them strewn across the house just so he could see how it worked.

The only time he stood still when he was a toddler was when I took him to the tire store. He stood in awe while watching the guys change everyone’s tires with those really cool air guns that made that fabulous whizzing sound. He was two.

If there were big tractors, lawn mowers, motorcycles, or racecars he was in.  He was fascinated.  When we need something put together?  We just hand it to him.  From the age of eight he was putting together parts washers and tool carts in my husband’s garage. Without directions.  He’s the only one in the family that is allowed to attempt to fix anything. So I know he will be amazing at his chosen profession.

He’s already decided which technical college he wants to go to and he’s beyond excited about it.  I told him that for the first time in his life I will be demanding straight A’s.  I deserve them after the last thirteen years of torture we have both been through.  He agreed.

As a mom it’s amazing to see him grow into the man he’s going to be. He’s a sweet, loyal, caring and generous person. He’s also hilarious. He makes fun of me relentlessly but loves me more than I deserve.   I couldn’t have asked for a better son. He’s going to be an amazing man. I am humbled at the Lord’s gift.

Earlier today I couldn’t figure out how I felt exactly. Now I realize what it is. I feel blessed. God’s grace has rained down on my life.  I don’t know why because I don’t deserve it but I’m grateful today for the blessing that is my son.  Congratulations dude. You did it. I love you.

Mom