Spring Into Romance: Down and Dirty by Christine Bell (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Thanks so much for joining us during a spring event! We hope that you're enjoying the warm weather and hot romance here as I know a lot of you are stuck in the cold and snow right now! If you really want to get into the mood though, put together your own little picnic in front of the fire with a book boyfriend. Our guest today has a hero that would be a great contender for that spot!

Thanks to the ladies at Reading Between the Wines for having me! I’m in the midst of a super fun blog tour for the second book in my Dare Me series called Down and Dirty and I am OBSESSED with lists lately! Reason being is that my heroine, Cat Thomas, lives her life based on her bucket list. She’s a wild child dare devil who will do just about anything once (and yes, Meatloaf, I’m looking at you. She will even do THAT). So along those lines, I had Cat whip up a top five list of what she would bring on a romantic picnic for two (which I’m hoping that, by the end of the book, she’ll be willing to share with my dreamy hero and her older brother’s best friend, Shane, who has spent the past ten years waiting for her to grow up and mellow out enough to see what’s been right in front of her the whole time).

Cat: But Shane’s not coming, right? This is just hypothetical, yes? Because he’s such a killjoy.

Christine: *sigh* Yep. Hypothetically speaking.If you had a man that you were taking on a picnic.

Cat: Who wasn’t Shane.

Christine: *eyeroll* Right. Who wasn’t Shane.

Cat: Easy! Top five things you should take on a picnic:

#1. Music. I’d make a playlist on my iPad. Actually, I’d make two. One in case things were going well (so lots of slow R&B songs by Ne-Yo, and some smooth jazz) and then a back-up list, in case the guys was a dud (total moodkillers. Think Bjork, or maybe some REM) . Hey, don’t judge. *shrug* Girls gotta think ahead.

#2. Blanket. I’d make sure I had a really soft, snuggly blanket so we could snuggle up if it got chilly.

#3. Wine.Red.White. Blush. I’m not a fancy wine person, but I feel like a picnic without wine is like a vacation without sky-diving. Like, why even bother, am I right?

#4. Bug Spray. I don’t think this needs an explanation, but I WILL fill you in on my level of hatred for critters of the buggy variety. Mosquitoes, ants, ticks, spiders, basically ANYthing that finds you in the woods and may or may not try to suck out your blood are my enemies. I know there’s some nature-girl out there about to tell me how spiders are good and blah blahblah and to you I say, please, take my share if you like them so much. I bequeath unto you my share of spiders in the world.

#5. Grub. *rubs hands together* I love good food. And by good, I don’t always mean fancy, although I like a good lobster as much as the next girl. For a picnic, I’ve got to go with classics. Creamy, salty potato salad, cold fried chicken, golden honey biscuits, fresh green salad with gorgonzola dressing, and a fat slice of chocolate cake for dessert.

Christine: So there you have it, readers! Cat’s idea of a great picnic isn’t so far off from my own, although I prefer an icy cold beer and would probably also bring along a Frisbee or something the play. I love games and they’re a great ice breaker. What about you all? What’s your picnic necessity?

Down and Dirty (Dare Me #2)by Christine BellebookPublished February 23rd 2013 by Entangled Publishing (Brazen)ISBN132940016374659He was a dare she’d never been able to resist…Cat Thomas has never been the kind of girl to stick. A self-professed infatuation junky, she latches on the newest, hottest guy on the block, then finds a reason—real or imagined—to dump him. When she accepts a dare to rekindle her high school flame and jump in bed with her brother’s best friend, Shane Decker, she knows she’s in trouble. She can’t resist the man, even after all these years apart, and that just won’t do.Shane has come back to town for a couple reasons. The biggest one? He’s tired of living away from those he loves, including Cat. But now she’s spooked and will do anything to drive a wedge between them, including trying to fix him up with other women through an online dating service.What does he have to do to make her see that settling down doesn’t mean settling, and he’s ready to spend a lifetime proving it?

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Christine Bell is a romance author and also writes erotic romance as Chloe Cole. She and her handsome hubby currently reside in Pennsylvania with a four-pack of teenage boys. If she gets time off from her duties as maid, chef, chauffeur, or therapist, she can be found reading just about anything she can get her hands on, from Young Adult novels to books on poker theory. She doesn’t like root beer, clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but lurrves chocolate, going to the movies, the New York Giants and playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she would be a pirate…or, like, a ninja maybe. Christine loves to hear from readers, so please contact her through her website. 

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~*GIVEAWAY*~

Christine is giving away one digital copy of Down for the Count, the first book in the series, from either BN or Amazon, to one reader! To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering her question and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Good luck!

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~*TOUR-WIDE GIVEAWAY*~

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