Forever Blog Tour: Interview with Christie Craig + Giveaway (US)

Today we have Christie Craig on the blog sharing her latest release, BLAME IT ON TEXAS. A triggered memory, a sexy PI and an attraction that can't be stopped. How's that for a fantastic read? Jamie discovered Christie when Kati sent her a link to a free download of Divorced, Desperate and Delicious and pretty much told Kati to shut up and read it. So when the chance to host Christie came up, we jumped at it.

WELCOME TO THE BLOG CHRISTIE!!!

Meet Christie:

Award-winning author Christie Craig grew up in Alabama, where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and regularly rescued potential princes, in the form of bullfrogs, from her brothers. Today, she's still fascinated with lightning bugs and mostly wears shoes, but focuses on rescuing mammals and hasn't kissed a frog in years. She now lives in Texas with her four rescued cats, one dog--who has a bad habit of eating furniture--a son, and a prince of a husband who swears he's not, and never was, a frog.

If Christie isn't writing, she's reading or just enjoying laughter with her friends and family. As a freelance writer, Christie also writes nonfiction books, including the humorous self-help/relationship book Wild, Wicked & Wanton: 101 Ways to Love Like You're in a Romance Novel, as well as paranormal young adult romances under the pen name C.C. Hunter.

Connect with Christie: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter

Jamie and Kati: Howdy Christie and welcome to the blog!
CC: Thanks so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

J&K: Who is Christie Craig? (author, mother, international woman of mystery...)
CC: Oooh . . . I like international women of mystery. But I guess you want the truth, huh? Actually, I’m a mother, a wife, a grandma, an author, a comedian, and a trouble maker. Yeah. I admit it. I go around causing trouble. But, hey, I don’t mean to do it. It just seems that trouble always finds me. And I'm talking about really crazy stuff, too. Like running into a mattress on a freeway and then getting that mattress stuck under the Ford Festiva rental car my Hubby had gotten for me.

And then there was the time I was mistaken for an illegal alien. Or hey, how about the time I was accused of robbing a pizza joint and found myself held at gunpoint by seven police officers who'd surrounded the building. Or getting sued by the state you live in. I mean, trouble just finds me.

J&K: Tell us a little bit about BLAME IT ON TEXAS [no copying blurb :)]
CC: Oh, I can’t cheat, huh? Blame it on Texas is a humorous, heart-felt romantic suspense and the second book in my Hotter in Texas trilogy. It will release on August 28th. The heroine Zoe has a major identity crisis, and Tyler, the hero, is committed to helping her solve that mystery. My whole identity crisis theme came to me when another crazy thing happened to me about ten years ago. I woke up from a dead sleep.
And for about five seconds, five very long terrifying seconds, I had amnesia. I didn’t have a clue who I was or where I was. And I sure as heck didn’t have a clue who the woman was that was in bed with me.

I remember with clarity those horrifying few seconds—panic swelling up inside me, staring at this strange woman, her red hair sticking out in different directions, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Who are you?”

She looked as frightened as I felt, but she forced a calm in her voice when she answered, “I’m your mama.”

It didn’t take a second after she said that for it all to come back. I was Christie Craig and Mom and I had gone on a mother/daughter trip and we were sleeping in a hotel room.

I remember all I said was, “Oh.” And I rolled over and went back to sleep. Or at least I tried.

Mama started laughing. “Do I look that bad without my makeup?” she asked.

Then I started laughing. I don’t think we slept very much after that.

As funny as it turned out to be—yes, Mom still kids me about it—those few terrifying seconds of feeling nothing but a vast of emptiness have stuck with me forever.

In my book, Blame it on Texas, the second book in my Hotter in Texas series, I used that Identity crisis theme. Imagine seeing a childhood picture of yourself splashed across the TV screen on an unsolved mystery show that claimed you were kidnapped from some highfalutin Texas millionaire family. Imagine learning that your corpse was supposedly discovered shortly after you were kidnapped. Imagine it, when all your life
you’ve had some strange memories that didn’t make sense. And again, like that night ten years ago, my heroine, Zoe Adams is not only trying to find out who she is, but who the woman is that pretended to be her mother all those years.

J&K: What makes Zoe and Tyler perfect for each other?
CC: You know, it’s crazy, but Zoe and Tyler are perfect for each other. From the first moment they laid eyes on each other, the chemistry between them sizzled and popped. In some books, this is hard to achieve right from the first meeting but not for these two. While it’s not apparent in the beginning, Zoe and Tyler have a lot in common. They are both super intelligent, and have always hidden their intelligence because it made them too different as children. Both are scared to fall in love, but both of them desperately need someone to believe in them.

J&K: We read on your site that you're a Texas transplant, what's the one thing visitors should see or do when they visit? (Perhaps try to find the famed Alamo basement?)
CC: Hmm, okay . . . I live in Houston and to experience it, you need to get stuck in business hour traffic on the freeway. LOL. Actually, the Houston Area has a lot to offer. NASA is a fun place to go for an out-of-this-world experience. We have all the museums and fine restaurants that other big cities have. Sorry, but our Tex-Mex food is the best  Mexican food there is. (Kati's mouth starts salivating...) But to experience Texas at its best, you need to get out of the city. Come in April with the bluebonnets are painting the landscapes. Go to all the small towns and attend a few street festivals where the food taste better, the music is louder and the people are the friendliest. Shop at the small specialty shops, and attend a rodeo. Step into some of some the small town museums where history comes alive. (Kati: Ooo...the obligatory bluebonnet family picture. I love Fredericksburg especially around December.)

J&K: What can readers expect from you next?
CC: Well, in addition to writing the Hotter in Texas series I also write a young adult paranormal series called Shadow Falls for St. Martin's/Griffin as C.C. Hunter. In October, Whispers at Moonrise, the forth book in my five book series, will be released. After that, I’m full speed ahead on writing the final book, Texas Hold ‘Em, in my Hotter in Texas series for Grand Central/Forever. And when I finish that, I’ll be brainstorming some new ideas for my publishers.

Thanks again for inviting me here to your blog. For a little taste of my Hotter in Texas series, watch the video below. I hope you enjoy!

###

BLAME IT ON TEXAS:

Genre: Contemporary
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Forever (August 28, 2012)

Zoe Adams has always been content with her quiet nights at home, watching TV alone-until her life turns into a real-life episode of Unsolved Mystery Hunters. The story of a kidnapped girl triggers unexplained memories, and Zoe is dead-set on figuring out why. Her search leads her to one of the Lone Star State's richest families-and to sexy PI Tyler Lopez.

Tyler has sworn off women, especially redheads with killer curves who poke their noses into his clients' private lives. Still, he can't deny the attraction any more than he can deny that some of Zoe's crazy story makes sense. But when she becomes a hit man's target, this cold case starts heating up. Suddenly, Tyler will do anything to protect Zoe-even risk his heart.

Get Your Own Copy: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook | Katy Budget Books | iBooks
Other Books in Series:

This series sounds like quite the read. The lovely people at Forever are giving away two(2) copies of BLAME IT ON TEXAS to two(2) lucky US readers. Here's how to enter:

• Leave a comment for Christie about her books, Texas or sexy men going undercover.
• Fill out the rafflecopter form below. You must leave a comment. All other entries are optional.
• Don't forget to follow Christie's tour here. You'll have a better chance of winning at one of the stops if you stop by and say hi!

A huge thank you to Christie for taking time to answer some questions and to the lovely people at Forever for providing the giveaway and review copies as well as forwarding correspondence between Christie and us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway