Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: That April in Santa Monica (Love is a Beach #1) by Melody Deblois

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for That April in Santa Monica by Melody DeBlois. This tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt for you as well as a guest post on the most romantic place on Earth. There's also a tour wide giveaway to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more excerpts, guest posts, reviews, interviews, and more. Enjoy!

--

Title: That April in Santa Monica
Series: Love is a Beach #1
Author: Melody DeBlois
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: October 23rd 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance

~

Madison receives acclaim for running a talent agency for people with disabilities, but she doesn't know how to take care of herself. When her altruism becomes life-threatening—a matter of either develop healthy habits or die—she joins a reality TV show that pairs her with hot, raven-haired Brandon. He is witty, sexy, and her teacher. That makes him off limits.

After a successful run on a soap opera, Brandon stepped away from empty fame and now focuses on his work as TV's most noted health teacher. He has one fast rule—never fall for a student. But when he meets Madison, their chemistry is combustible. There's no hiding their conflict or their attraction, especially when it's all caught on film.

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble 

---

EXCERPT:

“Okay,” he said, stretching forward on his mat and lying on his six-pack of a belly.

She lay opposite him, turned her face, and rested it on her mat, shutting her eyes. “Maybe I’ll just chill for a spell.”

“Not so fast. Now lift the upper part of your body in cobra position.”

“Say what? You want me to impersonate the national snake of India?”

He was opposite her on his mat so that they were facing one another. A little too close. Her heartbeat? So not at ease. He began to demonstrate, the show off with his spectacular pecs and deltoids oiled and coconut-scented. If someone snapped his picture, they could put it in a how-to book. A perfect pose, no less.

“You can do this, Madison.”

There it was, all that confidence he had in her—much more than she had in herself. She edged forward off the mat and groaned as she lifted her upper body.

He gave her instructions. “Weave the spine back and forth. Straighten your arms. Breathe. Widen your chest. Breathe. Raise your collar bones and look at the sky. Breeeaaathe. That’s it!” Was he staring at her cleavage? “You’re getting the hang of it.”

She didn’t have the strength and collapsed; her face buried in the beach. She came up spitting pebbles from her mouth. “Laugh at me, and I’ll make you pay.”

He brushed the sand from her cheeks with the balls of his fingers. “I wouldn’t think of it.”

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in California, award winning author, Melody DeBlois follows the sun. When she isn’t swimming laps, she’s writing sweet and sassy romances. Her heroines are self-reliant and smart and her heroes are kind by nature and love dogs. She lives in California during the summer and spends winters in Arizona with her husband. She has plotted her novels while hiking the beach or trekking across the desert. Her most treasured possession is family.

Website * Amazon * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter

---

GUEST POST:

Shangri-La By the Sea

by Melody DeBlois

“I have to write about the place I consider the most romantic on Earth,” I told my husband. “No need tell me,” he said with a nostalgic smile.

For anyone who hasn’t been there, Depoe Bay sits straddled between two Oregon Coast hotspots—Lincoln City to the north and Newport to the south. I never pictured myself visiting this part of the country, and I never pictured myself loving it so much either. Depoe Bay is rugged coastlines, ancient lava beds, white caps on dark, choppy waters, and grey whales breaching in the glow of the setting sun.

I remember driving there for the first time with the man I would still be with fourteen years later. He had just bought an oceanfront condo with a southwest view. He was expectant and a little nervous with the hope I would find the place as enthralling as he did. My breath caught when I saw the view from the top of the stairs. Two maritime chairs sat before the window as if waiting for us.

I’d never seen anything as spectacular as those moody waters and sky. “The seascape is forever changing, never the same,” the lady who owned the rare bookshop would later tell me. And it’s true. From the beginning, we sat for hours without moving. A person would be crazy to watch TV, not with the continue dance of the sea. How could anyone miss a mother whale and her calf as they feed and frolic in what’s known as the “Whaling Capital of the Oregon Coast?”

I’d soon learned Depoe Bay was an old fishing village named for Siletz Indian Charles "Charley” Depot who was originally allotted the land in 1894. The family was later known as “DePoe”, which explains today’s spelling. Many landmarks proclaim the name, such as The Depoe Bay Harbor, known as the “World’s Smallest Harbor.” And talk about atmospheric. Hollywood has come calling more than once to shoot a scene in the picturesque local. One, called “The Burning Plain” was filmed in the Tidal Raves, a restaurant we frequented with its panoramic view of the pounding surf.

We experienced an instant kinship with the proprietors who ran the gift shops, fish shacks, and art galleries. And as in so many small towns, it didn’t take long to get involved in politics. Still, we spent our days walking the beach and exploring the estuaries tucked between the rocks. We’d cross the bridge that spans the channel and is reminiscent of the bridges along California’s Big Sur coast. Often, we’d find ourselves nestled inside the woods of The South Depoe Bay Nature Trail. Subdued, dark, yet achingly romantic, it seemed we were the only two people left on earth. And in Autumn, with the sunlight dazzling through the flame-colored leaves, it was lovely beyond belief.

Another thrill in October was the annual Indian-style Salmon Bake. Before sunrise, an 80-foot fire line was ignited with six cords of fir and three cords of alder. Thousands of pounds of salmon fillets were positioned on the alder wood stakes over the fire line. The result? The richest, most mouth-watering salmon I’ve ever tasted.

Sadly, eleven years later, we sold the condo. Now I look back on those days and sigh. So many of the friends we made have moved. But I’m missing the way it was then when our love was new. Oh, I have plenty of treasures tucked away or displayed in the open. Hand-blown glass and a clock and the airplane books I discovered inside a closet of space in a bookshop. What I regret, though, are those two maritime chairs we did not take. But then, maybe, just maybe, they are still there waiting for our return.

---

GIVEAWAY:

Melody DeBlois will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter after the tour. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment on a different blog stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway