Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: A Summer Wedding at Cross Creek Inn (Cross Creek #1) by Cheryl Holt

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for A Summer Wedding at Cross Creek Inn by Cheryl Holt. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a guest post from the author. There's also a tour wide giveaway to win an autographed copy of the book. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: A Summer Wedding at Cross Creek Inn

Series: Cross Creek #1

Author: Cheryl Holt

Publication Date: February 15th 2021

Print Length: 331 pages

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction

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From New York Times bestselling author, Cheryl Holt, comes a sparkling, fast-paced novel about the complexity of family—and all the ways they can drive us crazy.

The lavish Layton-Benjamin wedding promises to be an event to remember, and the groom’s wealthy parents have spared no expense to impress their guests by hosting it at the exclusive Cross Creek Inn, a private mountain retreat tucked away in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. But the bride and groom are from completely different backgrounds, and they’ve only known each other for a few months, so it’s been a ‘hurry-up’ engagement that has everyone worried.

When the groom arrives late and tempers start to flare, it’s clear the wedding is a minefield that has to be carefully navigated. As parents and friends begin taking bets over whether the happy couple will make it to the altar, secrets are revealed, new loves emerge, and true happiness is finally found.

Book your visit to the Cross Creek Inn! A witty, fun summertime story about family, friendship, and finding out what matters most—that only Cheryl Holt could tell.

Goodreads * Amazon *

Barnes & Noble * Book Depository *

Books-A-Million * Half Price Books * IndieBound

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EXCERPT:

Sharon

The view out the window of her suite was spectacular, and Sharon was trying to enjoy it. She was surrounded by thick, verdant woods, and off in the distance, stark mountain peaks rose, seemingly to the stratosphere. Even though it was mid-July, they were dotted with snow. 

She’d never been what might be described as a mountain person. Being a typical Californian, one who’d been born and raised in Los Angeles, she’d had her auras read and her chakras aligned and her pores opened. She was a water person, and she lived on the beach in Malibu where she could stare out at the ocean.

Still though, the Colorado scenery was beautiful, and she had to remember that it was and focus on that fact. It was awfully quiet though, and the silence would take some getting used to. In Malibu, with its lone highway that was constantly clogged with cars, there was always a hum of traffic. It was a regular drone that never ended.

She wondered if the serenity and isolation might gradually drive her crazy, but then, she was staying in Colorado for four short days. She could endure any torment for four days. Couldn’t she?

On Sunday morning, after Eric and Jennifer departed on their honeymoon, she would head back to California, and the appalling weekend would be over. 

As the mother of the groom, she should have been more excited, but she couldn’t muster the necessary enthusiasm. Initially, she’d decided she wouldn’t attend, but friends had nagged until she’d changed her mind. So…here she was, but she wasn’t glad about it, and she had to alter her mood, bury her misgivings, and forge on with a positive attitude.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who has published over fifty novels. 

She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories. 

Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews. 

She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans.

Website * Amazon * Goodreads * Twitter

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GUEST POST:

My Writing Routine
by Cheryl Holt

I have been writing novels for twenty-five years. This year I will publish my 60th one! I’ve been a lucky writer, but I work really, really hard. With the release of my new book, A Summer Wedding at Cross Creek Inn, I wrote something different from my usual type of novel. Usually, I write historical romances, and I am a “master” of the romance genre. Most of my time and energy are directed toward my romance career. But when I finished writing my 2020 historical trilogy, I was mentally tired, so I wrote a contemporary women’s novel instead, to give my brain a rest.

I have a routine I’ve developed after many years of working. It’s hard to learn how to write a novel. Then it’s hard to learn how to write a good novel. Then it’s really hard to learn how to write a great novel. Most people never get to that spot in their careers. I’ve written a lot of really good novels, and I’ve written several great ones too, and when I manage to reach that high level, I always pat myself on the back.

For the past few years, I have been writing linked historical trilogies that I publish every summer. The link premise starts at the beginning of Book #1, and it concludes at the end of Book #3. Each of the three novels is a stand-alone novel, but they are joined together by a common plot thread, as well as the characters in the stories.

I release them together on the same day, so the reader can read through the whole saga without having to wait for the next installment. It’s a lot of exhausting work, and it takes enormous mental energy, as well as physical stamina to get it all accomplished.

Before I ever write a single word of the rough draft, I spend several weeks planning what the books will be about. By the time I begin writing, there’s very little I don’t know about how the characters will be drafted and how the story will come together. I begin with the link premise: What should it be? What sort of issue would bind three long books together? Is it interesting enough to bind three novels together? What kind of characters could fill the pages of such-and-such a story? I decide on the premise first, then I focus on the individual books.

With the premise settled, I decide on the characters for Book #1. I start with them first. I pick their names and titles (if they’re aristocrats). I pick place names and different settings where scenes will occur. I write personal histories for all of the characters. I develop physical descriptions for them, as well as personal descriptions as to their character traits and motivations.

Then I ponder a good story for them. I spend days, tossing out ideas, asking myself questions: Will this work? Will that work? Is that interesting? Would that idea have enough weight for a whole novel? Once I understand what the parameters will be, I write out the story in longhand. Then I type it into a Word document. With each repetition, I add layers to the plot and the characters. 

Once I understand the whole story, I break it into chapters and scenes. Then I start writing the rough draft. None of it is done by chance. By the time I reach this stage, I know what will happen in every chapter and in every scene and on every page. I just have to get the words down on paper. I write the rough draft from beginning to end, then I go back and start editing—chapter by chapter—also from beginning to the end. Because I’m much more experienced now, I only need to edit through the manuscript a time or two. Then I carefully proofread—twice—and call it finished.

I can have a novel completely finished in about three months.

The last night, before I begin to write the rough draft, I sit down with a calendar and I jot down a writing schedule, where I will know exactly how much work I have to do every day and every week so that I can get the book done on time. With my producing three novels per year, I can’t fall behind or get lazy!

I work and work and work, and I write and write and write. It’s fun, and it’s draining, and it’s been a wonderful career. But it’s never been easy!

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GIVEAWAY:

Cheryl Holt will be awarding an autographed copy of the book (US ONLY) to 10 randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway