Monday, January 26, 2015

Author Babette James




About Babette James:

Babette James writes sweetly scorching contemporary romance and loves reading nail-biting tales with a satisfying happily ever after. When not dreaming up stories, she enjoys playing with new bread recipes and dabbling with paints. As a teacher, she loves encouraging new readers and writers as they discover their growing abilities. Her class cheers when it’s time for their spelling test! Babette lives in New Jersey with her wonderfully patient husband and extremely spoiled cats.

You can find Babette at:





Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.com/e/B007KDJWV8









I Love the Shore by Babette James
I love the shore. Winter, spring, fall, or summer, I love the ocean breezes and the cry of the gulls and the peace of walking over the sand, summer thunderstorms barreling over the bay, and winter nor-easters leaving snow drifts in the dunes.




The original spark of an idea for my His Girl Next Door series was inspired by many summers spent at the shore in Lavallette, New Jersey. My brother met his wife there, his own "girl next door." I adore writing friends-to-lover stories and I thought it would be fun to write a romance series where my heroes discover love is just around the corner, literally. I set the stories in four New Jersey shore towns and four different seasons and I've had a wonderful time exploring some favorite and sentimental memories while writing these romances.

The first book in my series, Kissing Katie, is set in the summer at Lavallette, a quieter, more family-oriented small town just north of the busier and more famous Seaside Heights. In Convincing Cami, I move on to autumn and up along the coast to Point Pleasant Beach, a town I loved living in and visiting. Life in a shore town has a different pace in the off-season. The heavy crowds and traffic are gone. The boardwalk and beach are still there to visit, but the vacation mindset inspired by summer sun is over and work and weather keep you home more and focused on family life. As the temperature dips through autumn toward winter, curling up indoors with a warm and loving significant other after a long day at work is much more tempting than a chilly stroll on the beach. J

What’s your favorite shore town or vacation spot? What do you love best about it and when is your favorite season to visit it? I’ll give one commenter an e-book copy of Kissing Katie (His Girl Next Door – Book 1)


CONVINCING CAMI (His Girl Next Door – Book 2)

Blurb:

Sometimes love is just around the corner.

When Cami Alexander moves next door, it’s time for Jack O’Malley to concede the sweet and sexy fellow teacher is more than a long-time friend—she’s the one he’s been looking for in all the wrong places. He’s ready to put his footloose bachelor days behind him, but between his past, Cami’s doubts, her overprotective family, and well-meaning blind date offers from friends, convincing Cami they’re meant to be together is going to get complicated. Good thing Jack likes a challenge.
Cami's always had a little crush on the dashing, blue-eyed Jack, but when the heat in a spontaneous kiss surprises them both, she’s afraid to risk their friendship over mere desire. Passion proves irresistible, and one explosive night ups the ante on their dilemmas. Jack vows his love and to stand by her through every trouble, but she’s been burned by promises before, and this time more than her heart’s at stake.

Excerpt :

The old wooden ladder creaked and rocked with loose joints as Cami climbed. The thing must be as old as the house. She stretched, screwing in the first bulb. The step under her feet creaked, cracked—
And gave way. She shrieked, dropping the light bulb, but grabbed only air. Oh, this was going to hurt—
“Cami!” Jack shouted. Strong arms clamped around her. “I got you.”
Shaken from the close call, she melted into him. “Thanks. That was too close.”
“I knew I should’ve brought my ladders over. You okay?”
“Yes. Just a scare.”
He let her slide to the floor, but held her snug against his body. He would release her, any second now. She should step away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She shivered, this time less from the scare and more from realizing just how close he held her. How he’d never actually touched her before beyond a social hug or handshake.
Her quiet little crush speared into a hot rush of want. How warm and sturdy he was. How perfectly they fit together.
She caught her breath and looked up to find Jack studying her with a puzzled, serious expression that she’d never seen on his face before. The twilight added a deceptive privacy to the dim room and made Jack’s eyes appear dark and deep with—
Desire?
“This is a really bad idea,” Jack muttered. Tightening his arms, he crushed his mouth down on hers.
She gasped, and he seized full advantage of her mouth opening under his in the hungry, demanding kiss.
Oh, Jack was right, this was a really bad idea, but the surprising kiss was far too amazing to rally any effort to break away. With the curiosity of six years pressing her, Cami recklessly surrendered to the pleasure, not caring he had a girlfriend, not caring they’d just careened over the friendship line . . . and his warm body was hard against hers.
What a kiss! Far from a perfect kiss—too hot and rushed—but wonderful, wonderful, fierce, and toe-curling.
Curiosity killed the cat, remember.
Well, she wasn’t a cat, and this was just a kiss.
Right?

Come fall in love at the shore
CONVINCING CAMI is out on January 13, 2014 and Available for Pre-Order at:

GIVE AWAY ALERT!! Babette will be giving away an e-copy of KISSING KATIE, the first book in the series, His Girl Next Door--book 1 to a lucky commenter.

7 comments:

Sarah J. McNeal said...

Loved the excerpt. Jack is my favorite hero name. I simple love the name.
Right now the idea of a vacation on the beach is so alluring. Life seems to slow down and the sound of the ocean waves rippling against the sand brings such peace.
My favorite place is Wilmington, North Carolina. Just up the beach from there is a charming fishing village, Topsail Beach, where I often stay. I live in the perfect place to go to the mountains or the beach on a whim.
It was so lovely to have you post on the Romance Room blog this week, Babette. I wish you all the very best.

Babette James said...

Hi Sarah - Thanks for letting me visit and share a little peek at my new series. A little beach weather would be nice on this snowy day!

Ashantay said...

I enjoyed your post! I also love the ocean, but my favorite vacation was to the mountain region of Costa Rica. Venice also touched my heart.

Charmaine Gordon said...

I do love the beach and the Jersey shore has special meaning for me. Happy memories, kids asleep so we could make love behind the dunes. Now I write mature Romance and there I am with the shore in one story, St. Augustine Beach in a couple of others. Thanks for a delicious well written excerpt. Best wishes to you.

Babette James said...

Hi Ashantay - Thanks for stopping by! I've always wanted to visit Costa Rica and Venice would be fascinating.

Hi Charmaine - Fun memories! So glad you enjoyed the excerpt. I hope to see St. Augustine the next time I'm in Florida.

Babette James said...

The winner of a copy of Kissing Katie (His Girl Next Door – Book 1) is Ashantay!

Sarah J. McNeal said...

Congratulations, Ashantay!