Blog Tour: Down and Dirty by Christine Bell + Giveaway (ebook)

We're getting down and dirty with Christine Bell for her DOWN AND DIRTY Blog Tour. Today she's sharing her second book in the Dare Me series and asking for reading recommendations.

WELCOME TO THE BLOG CHRISTINE!!!

Meet Christine:
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, www.christine-bell.com.

Connect with Christine: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Jamie and Kati: Hi Christine! Welcome to Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance.

J&K: Share 5 fun facts about yourself.
Christine Bell: OOH, fun! Let’s see:

1. I’m deathly afraid of maggots. And sharks. Don’t even get me started on maggot-infested sharks
2. I’m obsessed with food shows. Chopped, Top Chef, Sweet Genius, Cupcakes Wars, I love them ALL.
3. I love to play poker
4. If you give me a word or topic, I can write a poem or a limerick about it in less than two minutes
5. My youngest stepson and I love to make cakes based on the themes of our favorite shows on TV 

Dragon eggs from Game of Thrones
photo credit: Christine Bell

J&K: Share a little bit about DOWN AND DIRTY[no copying blurb :)]
CB: Down and Dirty is the second book in the Dare Me series. It features commitment-phobe Cat Thomas and her brother’s best friend Shane Decker. Shane and Cat had a close call one night back in high school when Shane was tasked to keep an eye on her after her brother went away to college. He spent the year keeping wild Cat out of trouble and annoying her in the process by ruining her fun. Until one night he “rescues” her from skinny dipping but winds up in the water with her. He remembers his promise to her brother before things go too far, but neither of them has ever forgotten. Shane is a search and rescue expert and has been travelling for years, but decides to come back home and see if Cat is finally ready for a real relationship. Cat’s not having any of it. She decides to sneak into bed with him and finish what they started so that they can stop wondering about it, get the deed done and move on so they can be friends without all this weird tension. Instead, Shane blows her mind and, terrified, she runs away. Now she has to find someone else for Shane who DOES want a relationship because she sure as hell doesn’t. She’s got a bucket list to work through, and none of the things on it include a man cramping her wild child style. She gets Shane to join a dating website and tries to fix him up, only to find the thought of him with someone else is killing her.

J&K: What is it that makes your hero and heroine perfect for each other?
CB: They balance one another so well. She is impulsive, a little nutty and fearless in all ways but one. He’s methodical, structured, and very much ruled by his mind except when it comes to Cat.

J&K: For those not familiar with your books, which one would you recommend they start with?
CB: That depends on the reader. If a person prefers funny, light contemporary, and mildly-spicy, I would say Wife for Hire. If someone prefers their reading very steamy but still fun and humorous, I’d say Down for the Count.

J&K: Do you have any writing rituals? (blasting music, eating cookies, drinking wine...)
CB: I write so much (full time, around 8-10 books a year) if I ate cookies whenever I wrote I wouldn’t fit in my chair (But I LOVE me some cookies, so it’s not easy to pass them up!) I guess my only ritual is finding quiet. I can’t write with a lot of noise around me.

J&K: Which two authors would you write an anthology with and what would it be about?
CB: Oooh, this is a goodie. Let’s see, how about Gillian Flynn (thriller author of Gone Girl, and Sharp Objects) because I love her punchy concise style and want to be her when I grow up. We would write a psychological thriller about a lawyer who killed his wife with a spork and got away on a technicality, only now her sister is back for revenge and is suitably armed with far more nefarious utensils. It shall be called “Hide the Silver”. (Gillian, if you’re reading this and like what you see, have your people call my people…well, not “people” so much as “person”…you know what, forget it, just call my mom).

Second person would be J.K. Rowling and it would be called, “Harry Potter, the Golden Years.” We’d write about magical happenings in the old folks home.

J&K: What are you writing at the moment? Can you give us a sneak peek into your current WIP?
CB: I’m writing the third book in the Dare Me series. This one stars someone from book two (who shant be named!) but suffice it to say that this book will be a little more edgy than the others and has some light BDSM elements. I can’t wait for you guys to see!!!


Lightning Round:
Alpha or Beta? Alpha. Unless he’s a geek. Then beta.
Wallflower or Belle of the Ball? Both.
Debutante or Spinster? Neither. Both. Feh, I guess spinster.
Virgin widow or Secret baby? Ack, I guess virgin widow. Just NOT secret baby. Or an un-secret baby. No baby. I like my romance baby free.
Titled peer or Working man? Hmmm…depends, but my gut says working man.
Love at first sight or Second chances? THESE ARE SO HARD!!! It just depends on the story. If I have to pick, then second chances.
Naval officer or Swashbuckling pirate? It doesn’t matter what’s on the other side of the coin, once pirate is in the mix, it will always be pirate. Unless you have ninjas? No? Then pirates.
Vampires or Shifters? Shifters.
Western Historicals or Western Contemporaries? Contemp.
Writing or Reading? Arg…writing.
Paperbacks or e-books? I KNOW THIS ONE! E-BOOKS!
Plotter or Pantser? Semi-plotter. But it’s a loose outline and very fluid.
Author’s choice: I love to read new books, so I will use my one question to shamelessly beg for recs. Tell me, readers, what’s the best book you’ve read in the past six months?

J&K: Thanks for visiting us Christine!

He 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?

Get Your Own Copy: Kindle | Nook
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt
Other Books in Series:

Whoa! Check out this awesome giveaway from Christine. A $300 shopping spree? Where to we enter? Just follow the instructions on the rafflecopter form.
Leave a comment for Christine and answer her question: Tell me, readers, what’s the best book you’ve read in the past six months?

Thanks to Christine and Entangled!

a Rafflecopter giveaway