Only the Beginning
Daphne Dubois
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Daphne Dubois
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Date of Publication: 25 April 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5092-2034-2
ASIN: 978-1-5092-2035-9
Number of pages: 264
Word Count: 63,300
Tagline: Taking your best friend’s place on a blind date to let the guy down easy was the plan, taking him to bed wasn’t!
Failing restaurant entrepreneur, Craig Wheaton hasn’t been home since his mother’s tragic death. Now he’s back to confront his demons and stand beside his brother as best man. Dreading the reunion, he agrees to meet his avatar lover, but at the last moment he reconsiders the arrangement—until he lays eyes on her.
When Craig assumes Melissa is his online consort, she impulsively plays along, resulting in an afternoon of unexpected intimacy. But with Melissa using her friend’s identity and Craig dealing with a family fallout, is a future together impossible, or will they discover that love at first sight is Only the Beginning?
Top 11 Signs You're Living in a Romance Novel
First of all, no genre is cliché free.
And just because a plot is considered cliché, it doesn't mean no one wants to read it. On the contrary, commercial fiction is popular because the familiarity of the stories make them easy to digest. We tend to gravitate toward the cliché novels because we know we'll enjoy the story.
So please read the following list with a grain of salt, and tongue firmly placed in cheek.
And just because a plot is considered cliché, it doesn't mean no one wants to read it. On the contrary, commercial fiction is popular because the familiarity of the stories make them easy to digest. We tend to gravitate toward the cliché novels because we know we'll enjoy the story.
So please read the following list with a grain of salt, and tongue firmly placed in cheek.
Top 11 Signs You're Living in a Romance Novel
#1. The hot new guy in your office ignores your brilliant charisma and instead zeroes in on the shy girl with mousy brown hair who never wears make up and keeps breaking the photocopier.
#2. All of your roommates are either working late, running out the door to go clubbing, or are too sick to notice that the sexy neighbor who just moved in may or may not be a werewolf.
#1. The hot new guy in your office ignores your brilliant charisma and instead zeroes in on the shy girl with mousy brown hair who never wears make up and keeps breaking the photocopier.
#2. All of your roommates are either working late, running out the door to go clubbing, or are too sick to notice that the sexy neighbor who just moved in may or may not be a werewolf.
#3. Your best friend has been the same guy since grade one—even though no one ever stays best friends that long. Plus, you've secretly developed a crush on him.
#4. The most gorgeous girl in the office is also the meanest.
#5. Your best friend from #3 starts to date the girl from #4. You're upset, but not enough to tell him the truth because that would make NO SENSE AT ALL. Instead, you plan an elaborate ruse to win him over that blows up in your face the night of the Christmas office party.
#6. Your other best friend is a fashion diva, loves 80's music, and always has cookie dough in her fridge. Plus, she curses a lot.
#7. On vacation you have an impulsive yet mind blowing affair with a mysterious stranger, only to return to work to discover he's your new boss.
#4. The most gorgeous girl in the office is also the meanest.
#5. Your best friend from #3 starts to date the girl from #4. You're upset, but not enough to tell him the truth because that would make NO SENSE AT ALL. Instead, you plan an elaborate ruse to win him over that blows up in your face the night of the Christmas office party.
#6. Your other best friend is a fashion diva, loves 80's music, and always has cookie dough in her fridge. Plus, she curses a lot.
#7. On vacation you have an impulsive yet mind blowing affair with a mysterious stranger, only to return to work to discover he's your new boss.
8. The seductive, sex crazed trainer at your gym suddenly decides the nondescript girl from your local coffee shop is the one for him and turns into an overnight Romeo, swearing off sex to prove his true love to her.
#9. All it takes to make you over into a super model is a pair of contacts and a hair straightener—and of course the right dress borrowed from best friend from #6.
#10. You hate him and everything he stands for, but because you're broke (and secretly need to flee the country) you agree to marry your best friend's brother in order to comply with the stipulation of his late father's will.
#11. While on the ski trip your sister won through a singing contest, you get separated from her during a storm and end up stranded inside a remote cabin with a chiselled ski instructor with amazingly minty breath.
BONUS!!!! Every hot guy has amazing abs and green eyes, however statistically suspicious that may be.
I hope you enjoyed this quirky list!
Melissa blinked
a few times, trying to remember the dream. A sense of bliss made her smile into
the pillow. She was warm and the bed covers were tucked around her like a
cocoon. It must be Saturday, she thought.
There was a
shift in the bed behind her, followed by a low sigh.
She froze. In a
series of flashing images, it all came back.
The pub. Craig.
The intense stare of his eyes. The way he’d kissed her as he unzipped the back
of her skirt. He made her feel like she was the most desirable woman on the
planet, that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep touching her.
And she’d
reciprocated, opening up to him, losing all her inhibitions. She imagined this
was what Lovers’ Oasis was like. The anonymity combined with the fantasy
created a freedom Melissa had never experienced before, not ever.
But now reality
set in. She’d woken naked, next to a man she barely knew and the earlier
courage she’d felt—the reckless delirious abandonment that augmented her
physical enjoyment of the afternoon encounter—had morphed into terrified
embarrassment.
There was only
one choice—she had to leave before he woke. Slowly, she slipped one leg out,
her foot searching for the floor. Then she inched her way to the edge of the
bed, carefully making sure not to jostle the mattress.
She stood,
completely naked, looking down at Craig. He was on his back, one hand was on
his chest gently rising and falling as he slept. The sheets pooled at his
waist. His face was completely relaxed, his mouth opened slightly, lips parted.
A warmth began
to stir inside her, remembering how those lips felt. He’d memorized each of her
breasts with his tongue as his fingers slipped down her belly then nestled
between her thighs. She’d come for him, then. So quickly…so easily.
Her purse buzzed
from the floor making Melissa jump. It sounded like a marching band had
exploded through the door. She crouched down and lunged for the purse, grabbing
the phone and silencing it. Melissa waited, but there was no movement from the
bed. A quiet breath eased through her pursed lips. She read her phone; there
were multiple messages from Brooke. The last one was marked “urgent.”
—Where are you?—
Daphne Dubois writes contemporary romance and believes the right book at the right time can make all the difference. When she's not putting her characters in compromising positions (ahem), she works as a registered nurse. A member of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia, she lives in Eastern Canada, the most romantic place in the world.
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Sounds like an amazing read! I know I would love to get my eyes on this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering! Good luck. ~Daphne
ReplyDeleteSounds great
ReplyDelete