Friday, October 7, 2011

Guest Blog Post: Carolyn Hughey


I’d like to thank Jennifer for inviting me.  As an author of Avalon Books and an Indie author under the pen name of K. T. Roberts, I’m honored to be here with all of you today. 

What’s hotter than a summer in New York City?  Two sexy Italian Chefs fighting over you, of course!
Hopeless romantic, Ellana Licari, has her sights set on the tall, dark and handsome, Nick Soranno. With the help of the two meddling Mamas, she’s determined to show him she’s The One - not that scrawny redhead who’s rapidly becoming more than his casual ‘flavor of the month’.
Convincing Nick to stop thinking of her like his sister won’t be easy, but Ellana’s about to up the ante to break up the relationship and leave this new one in a cloud of dust.

But is it working?  Not as well as she’d expected.  But that’s okay because now Ellana’s canoodling with the Italian stallion, Giovanni Cavallini, to make Nick jealous.  Of course, Giovanni’s only too happy to oblige—he’s got his own agenda, but now that she has Nick’s attention, is it too late?
With the matchmaking Mamas doing their best to interfere, Ellana’s stuck in a quandary . . . which one of these tempting chefs will she choose?

I’m often asked what made me decide to write lighthearted contemporary romance.  My response is simple.  I’m a person who finds humor in life.  That’s not to say that I’m always upbeat, but it isn’t often that you’ll find me down.
Life is about making the most of any given situation and trying to see it as a glass half full instead of half empty.  While they both mean the same thing, it’s choosing to see things in a different light.   Of course this post isn’t intended to be about inciting positive thinking into your minds, it’s just what I do to interject some of the things that have happened to me, or people I know, into my stories in a humorous way.

 Shut Up and Kiss Me is set in present time in New York City.   It’s about Ellana Licari and Nicky Soranno who have been friends since the day they were born when their mothers met in the hospital.  And that’s just how long Ellana has been in love with Nicky—or at least that’s what the mamas told her.  In the scene below, Ellana has just given up her apartment and job in New Jersey and moving back to New York because her Mama has called to tell her Nicky is getting married to someone else.  Mama’s been trying to get her back in her grips for two years—this time it worked.  In this scene Ellana is having a flashback of her childhood and how the mamas used brainwashing attempts to keep their dream alive:
My mind drifted to Nicky and me as kids, and the Cupid Mongers’ brainwashing techniques. I did have to admit thinking about us back then did give me a warm fuzzy and made me smile.

The memory of Mom using Bobbi pins to attach the top of a sheer white curtain to my head as a bridal veil, made me laugh out loud. Those two goofy mothers had decided right from the beginning they weren’t going to risk the event not happening. I could almost smell the tiny bouquet of wild flowers Mom would shove in my hand every afternoon. Then, as Nicky and I walked down the path towards Aunt Nan, who posed as the priest, Mom would hum the wedding march until we were pronounced husband and wife.

     At the time, Nicky and I enjoyed “the game” but that was only because we weren’t aware of the mothers’ devious ways yet. Nicky just groans about it now, and me, well, I guess I’m still holding on to the dream. The thought of being Mrs. Nicholas Soranno has always given me comfort, but it’s never going to happen unless I’m able to change my status as his surrogate sister. 
Both of these things happened in real life, I just enhanced the truth a tad.
If you want a good laugh, read Shut Up and Kiss Me available now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  And while you’re at it, check out my reviews of which I’m very proud. 

So what am I doing now?  I’m writing the second book in a three-part series about romance and food that includes 32 recipes—one after each chapter that I’ve incorporated into the story.  I have three more books to pitch to my publisher to keep the series going, because doesn’t everyone like recipes?

As a professional chef, I’ve always wanted to have my own cookbook, so when Avalon asked me to write this series, I jumped at the chance.  The series is entitled Romancing the Chef’s Toque, and the first book, Dishing Up Romance will be out in February 2012. The other two books entitled One Menu at a Time, and Catering to Love will be released in June and October, respectively.  I’m having a great time writing these books!

If you’d like to win a free copy of Shut Up and Kiss Me, leave me a comment on this blog and I’ll do a random pick and contact the commenter for details.

Find out more about me at www.carolynhughey.com . 
You might also want to check out my blog at www.blogging.carolynhughey.com.
You can also follow me on Twitter under ScriBLINGDIVAS or
Facebook under Carolyn Esposito Hughey.

3 comments:

Carolyn Brown said...

Love the blog! That cover on your book should have it jumping off the shelves! Wonderful reviews and good luck with the next proposals!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Carolyn. You're my angel.

Marlene Kenlein said...

Enjoyed the blog and loved the book. Can't wait for the next one to come with much anticipated recipes. Good luck!!