One Wet Summer by Ann Montclair -- Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

Today we're welcoming author Ann Monclair to the blog on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for her contemporary romance, "One Wet Summer".

Ann is giving away a $10 Musa Publishing GC to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour, so comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner over there on the left, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)!   Folks, I've read eBooks from Musa Publishing -- they're awesome!  So COMMENT!  And follow her tour.  The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a GC -- you want to win this if you love reading!

Ann was willing to answer my favorite question:  tell us five things about yourself we probably wouldn't guess.  I love the answers I get to this!  Ann... the blog is all yours. Take it away!

1. I always have fresh flowers in the house. Even when I did the mandatory “starving student” stint, I’d buy a bunch of carnations or a small potted mum every couple of weeks and place the blooms on my nightstand. I’d rather skip a meal than go without waking up to flowers. My grandpa gardened, and I think flowers are my way of staying close to his memory.


2. I’m terrified of spiders. Okay, most people are, but I am literally phobic. The only thing worse than seeing a spider is seeing it then NOT seeing it. I’ve kept hubby up half the night hunting a spider I saw scuttle across the floor. Once, I had a garden spider loose in my car. After nearly crashing my Prius, I pulled over, got out, and called for a ride. I didn’t drive the car again until hubby showed me the dead carcass.


3. I read wherever I go. Audio books in the car, paperbacks in my purse, a Kindle App on my iPhone, and a Kindle Fire next to my bed. I am never without a story. Never.


4. I never know what’s in my bank account. Suze Orman is once cool chick, but I can’t follow any of her tips. I spend until hubby says, “STOP!” I’m not extravagant or thrifty. I buy food, clothes, a little something for the house, and somehow it all works out that we have enough. I once read that the attitude of abundance creates abundance. I believe that with my whole heart. Whatever I have, it’s enough. And over the years, enough has become a little more than enough.


5. I once spent a summer following The Grateful Dead. Take from that what you will.

Maura Fields loves her uncomplicated, independent, single life, but things quickly change when a summer vacation opens the door to an unexpected world of passion and desire. Wealthy Savannah hotelier Ben Driscoll had his playboy lifestyle upended when his ex-wife died, entrusting him to care for their daughter—a child he sequesters and vows to protect from future heartache and disappointment. Can the wall Ben has built around his heart withstand the assault from the intriguing, beguiling Maura, or will it crumble, leaving him vulnerable to the undeniable attraction and unbridled need to make her his own?

Maura had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why not? What was she here for? Fun. And escape from the responsibilities of catering to children. This man looked like more fun than she had ever had, and Savannah was certainly an escape from the confines of her seventh grade classroom at Atlanta Mills Middle School. Ms. Fields was just Maura today, and damn, it felt good.

“My name is Maura Fields,” she said, and she giggled as his lips pursed—as if he were tasting her name and found he liked its flavor. “Maura Fields: single woman, no complications. Are you married, encumbered in any way? I hate to be so blunt, Ben, but I am a woman alone on vacation, and I don’t want to find myself taken advantage of, even by someone as beguiling as you.”

He looked taken aback as his blue eyes rounded and one eyebrow arched. “Ms. Fields, I am not married. Does that make you feel more at ease with my invitation?”

“Why, yes, it does!” she couldn’t help but exclaim.

“So, I will see you at four, ready to swim?” he inquired again, but this time it sounded like a statement, a predetermined actuality. Maura liked an assertive man, especially one so dapper. She nodded her head affirmatively, not trusting herself to make a dignified sound.

Ben bowed slightly and slowly raked his brilliant eyes over her body, toe to top. With an appreciative smile playing about his sexy mouth, he said, “Maura, you’re the best thing that has happened around this old place in a very long time.”

I was born in Los Angeles, California, where my parents and grown daughter now reside. I currently live in the Finger Lakes region of New York with my sexy hero, our handsome son, and a pile of lazy dogs and ferocious cats. I enjoy a plethora of hobbies including but not limited to attending concerts, hiking and cycling, cooking, and gardening. I love to dance, to dress up, and I'll go just about anywhere a good time can be had.

I've built a satisfying career as an English professor at a small, rural community college, and now I'm also writing and publishing romance. I've finished and sold a few contemporary titles, and I'm working on perfecting a Tudor historical, and penning a modern day romantic suspense.

I plan to spend the rest of my life reading and writing in my little cabin in the woods. My biggest wish is that each of my readers will be inspired to believe in and find their own happily-ever-after.

LINKS
Web site: http://www.annmontclair.com/
Blog: http://annmontclair.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnMontclairFanPage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AnnMontclair