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GIVEAWAY!! Spotlight: Fashioning a Romance by Libby Mercer with a guest post by the author
Fashioning a Romance
written by Libby Mercer
published by Musa Publishing
find it here: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads
About the book – from Goodreads: Dedicated American fashion girl, Caitlyn Taylor, can’t stand players, and has successfully dodged them like enemy fire all her life. And then she meets fun-loving British CEO, John Harrington. Not only is he her boss’s brother, he’s the charismatic kind of womanizer that nightmares are made of. Worse still: he’s exactly Caitlyn’s type. As if his being the Superman of sex appeal isn’t enough, he’s also got that quirky something-something that she adores. Not that she’s even considering falling prey to his methods. No way.
John can’t fathom how Caitlyn can be impervious to his charms, given the extraordinary chemistry between them. The more she resists, the more determined he is to break down the walls she’s built up to keep him out. Forced to get creative, he orchestrates a “surprise” weekend in Paris for the two of them. Game on!
Every Free Chance is pleased to welcome Libby Mercer, author of Fashioning a Romance, to the blog today! She has written the following guest post and included the blurb for her upcoming release, Unmasking Maya.
In life, as well as in fiction, the items we choose to clothe ourselves in sends a message to the world. An individual’s ensemble makes a fashion statement, if you will.
Caitlyn, the heroine of my debut novel, Fashioning a Romance, ponders this very concept when she’s shopping for a dress to wear for a night out with John – the guy who she’s determined not to fall for. Here’s an excerpt:
“The Dress was designed for the hour-glassy figure; the bodice was structured, the waist nipped in, and the skirt molded itself beautifully to Caitlyn’s hips. The mossy green fabric was sand-brushed silk: a fabulous silk with a suede-like texture, and it was cut on the bias, allowing for plenty of movement.
The neckline was the only thing that gave her a moment’s pause. Not exactly the kind of dress she’d wear to hang out with her grandma, it was pretty low-cut and offered a fairly impressive display of cleavage. Normally Caitlyn didn’t mind showing off her assets, but she was worried about the message she’d be sending John by wearing this particular dress. And she, no doubt, would be sending a message – Caitlyn’s “Fashion as Communication” senior dissertation had been a labor of love, the highlights of which were melded into her mind.
Hm. By wearing The Dress, would she be conveying to John that she was interested? But what was the alternative? Show up in some shapeless number like she’d just stepped off the bus from Frumpsville?
Oh, who cared about the message to John? Caitlyn was too in love with The Dress to possibly resist buying it. Anyway, she could always wear her cardigan too. Course that would kind of spoil the effect; it would be like eating caviar with a plastic spoon. Oh, whatever.”
I just love writing about fashion. And I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it for a living. Before I became an author, I spent several years as a freelance fashion journalist, working for a variety of trade and online publications. Granted, most of the work involved plodding around massive trade shows and conducting interviews with designers over the phone, but I did attend the runway shows in New York a few times, and once the London ones. How exciting it was to write the descriptions of the fresh, exciting new fashions I’d seen!
Both Caitlyn and Maya, the heroine of my upcoming novel, Unmasking Maya, previously worked in the design departments of big name fashion designers. Caitlyn, as we learn early on, lost her job thanks to the rotten economy and later found work as the personal dressmaker for a London semi-socialite. Maya’s termination happened as a result of a scandal! I don’t want to give anything away here, so that’s all I will say on the matter. When the story begins, she’s working on building a new career as a fine artist. Her medium is cloth on canvas. Basically what she does is uses fabrics, beads, sequins and whatnot to create abstract images you can hang on your wall. I had so much fun describing her artwork!
Here’s the blurb from Unmasking Maya, scheduled to be released on December 15th:
Defamed, disgraced and displaced…
Fresh from a career-killing scandal, New York fashion girl, Maya Kirkwood, arrives in San Francisco to reinvent herself as a fine artist. She’s offered the opportunity to create an installation at the Silicon Valley headquarters of a hot new tech company. Fabulous, right?
Not so much.
She can’t stand Derek Whitley – wunderkind software genius and CEO of the company. Hot as he may be on the outside, inside the man is a cold, unemotional, robotic type. Way too left-brained for her right-brained self.
As Maya and Derek get to know each other, however, their facades begin to crack. She catches her first glimpse of the man behind the superhuman tech prodigy, and he starts to see her as the woman she used to be. But is this a good thing? Once that last secret is revealed, will it bring them closer together or will it tear them apart?
I hope you enjoyed reading my musings about fashion and fiction. Thank you so much, Chrissy, for having me here today!!
About the author: Born and raised in the Midwest, Libby Mercer’s adventurous spirit kicked in after graduating from high school, and she’s since lived in Boston, NYC and London. San Francisco is the city that she currently calls home. For several years, Libby worked in fashion – first as a journalist and then as a shopkeeper. She also dabbled in design for a while. Even through the crazy fashion years, Libby never let go of her dream of being a published author, and has since developed her signature writing style, crafting quirky chick lit/romance hybrids. Fashioning a Romance was her first published novel, and Unmasking Maya will be her second. Libby has a third novel, The Karmic Connection, scheduled for release in 2013.
Find Ms. Mercer here: blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads
And now for the GIVEAWAY!! Ms. Mercer is offering an eBook copy of Fashioning a Romance to one lucky winner!! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win.
Happy reading wherever you are and whenever you get a free chance!!!
16 Comments
by Danielle
This sounds like a great story, and very amusing.
Thanks for the giveaway!
drcopeland(at)hotmail(dot)com
by The Every Free Chance Reader
I’m looking forward to reading it as well! Thank you for stopping by and entering the giveaway!
by Libby Mercer
Aw, thank you. And you’re welcome! Best of luck on the giveaway!
by Susan Buchanan
Fashioning A Romance sounds fab and great guest post. Good luck! Sooz
by Libby Mercer
Thanks, Susan! Good luck with the giveaway!
by The Every Free Chance Reader
Thanks for stopping by the blog and entering, Susan! Good luck!
by Samantha Stroh Bailey
Great guest post, Libby! I can’t wait to read Fashioning a Romance, and your former career sounds very glamorous to me. Love your author pic!
by The Every Free Chance Reader
Thanks for stopping by and checking out Libby’s guest post!
by Libby Mercer
Thanks Samantha! LOL. At times it was glamorous, for sure – was SO much fun to get decked out for the shows – but most of the time was spent sitting in front of the computer in a tee shirt and yoga pants. Like now. 🙂 Good luck with the giveaway!
by Libby Mercer
This comment has been removed by the author.
by Alu
Thx for the G.A.!
by The Every Free Chance Reader
You’re welcome! Good luck and thanks for entering!
by Libby Mercer
Ditto! Best of luck!
by brifor789
Loved the new book – would love to go back and read this one too 🙂
by The Every Free Chance Reader
I’m looking forward to reading Libby’s new book. Good luck and thanks for entering the giveaway!
by Libby Mercer
Oh my gosh, thank you! Best of luck with the contest!! 🙂