Welcome to the final stop on Barbara Elsborg's Virtual Book Tour for The Princess and The Prepper. Please make sure to leave a comment or question below for Barbara to let her know you stopped by. You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter below.
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Guest Post by Barbara Elsborg
I wonder if there’s a name for people like me- those who like to imagine horrible things happening and then figure out what to do. For example, I spent one fretful evening imagining our house being submerged in water up to the roof line. What should I try and save? What should I do? A bit academic because if we were flooded, most of the UK would be underwater too. But I think my interest in writing came from this somewhat morbid curiosity about how to survive tricky situations.
When I write, I create characters with problems, the worse the better. Usually for both male and female leads, or both male leads. Whether they have issues in their background that they need to overcome, or situations that arise in the story that they have to survive or figure out, the whole point of a story for me, is that of conflict. In The Princess and the Prepper, Lili is stuck in a relationship that’s wrong for her and is misunderstood by her parents. In a desperate attempt to escape from a future she doesn’t want, she acts without thinking and ends up in trouble. Grant has a past that makes him want to cut himself off from everyone. He’s the prepper. He lives in a cabin stocked up with supplies. He rarely ventures to town and then he finds Lili on a snowy road and he’s not prepared for that at all.
What I was trying to do in the story is show that no matter how prepared you think you are, you can’t prepare for everything. Life is always throwing curve balls and experience shows you how to deal with them. Sometimes you succeed and other times you don’t, but you always learn. Well, I don’t always learn. I keep making the same mistakes but you know what I mean!
My characters (those who deserve it) always end up happy ever after. I wish life was like that. I sometimes think the worst thing I ever did with my kids was press the idea of being fair, because life isn’t fair. Those who most deserve fairness are often the ones who don’t get it. On the other hand, if the world was full of bullies who step over anything and anyone to get what they want, like my villain in The Princess and the Prepper, then we would all be the worse for it.
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by Barbara Elsborg Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Category(ies): Adventure, Comedy
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Release Date: December 22, 2012
Heat Level: Steamy
Word Count: 31,000
Buy Links
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BookStrand Decadent Publishing Smashwords
Blurb
Lili knows she shouldn’t accept a lift from a stranger, but as usual, she leaps from one disaster to another. The consequence is being stuck in the middle of a snowy nowhere wearing next to nothing, and this time, being unprepared looks likely to kill her.
Grant lives in an isolated cabin for a reason. He’s prepared for almost every eventuality. The last thing he wants is some needy person interfering with his ordered life. When he gets into bed with a woman he rescued from certain death—just to warm her up, of course—Grant discovers something else he’s not prepared for. His heart opening.
A match made in heaven, until secrets come knocking. Lili is not just a simple woman in need of shelter, and unless she can survive dealing with her background, it doesn’t seem possible the happiness that’s fallen out of a blizzard can heal Grant’s own past.
Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language which may be considered offensive to some readers.
Excerpt:
Grant Houston heard Shadow bark as he dropped down through the trees. As he stepped out onto the road, it took a moment to register what he saw wasn’t a hallucination. A half-naked woman limped toward him with Shadow padding behind. Grant had been carrying wood into the cabin when the wolf had tugged at his sleeve. He’d listened, heard a large vehicle, noted it had stopped with the engine running, and decided to come and check. He’d almost turned back when he heard it pull away. He clenched his jaw. Not hard to guess what had happened. The driver had dumped her. Bastard.
He stopped a few yards away, not wanting to alarm her, but she kept going, head down, until she collided with his chest. His arms came out instinctively to wrap around her and prevent her falling. She looked into his eyes and turned to Jell-O. He tightened his grip and groaned.
The thought of dropping her, going back to his place, and pretending he’d never seen her flittered through his head. As if. He had his cell phone but even if he wrapped her in his coat, she might die by the time the emergency services made it out there, and if he took off his coat, so might he. He wished he had a choice, but he didn’t. Supporting her with one hand, he pulled the hat from his head and stuck it on hers, then unbuttoned and unzipped his coat and picked her up so her legs settled on his hips. She was light as a feather.
“Put your arms around me.” His voice was gruff. He didn’t use it much. Resentment surged in his chest at the disruption to his life. By this act of human kindness, he’d have to allow people into his world.
He was relieved when she slid her fingers onto his back under his coat. Even with his shirt and sweater between her and his skin, he quickly felt her coldness. After a brief struggle he managed to pull the zipper over her back so they were wedged tight together. This was not the time to have an erection, but his cock wasn’t listening. Did it ever? Her lower legs were exposed but at least most of her was covered. He linked his arms under her backside, clasping his gloved hands together to support her weight, and began to walk.
The woman’s face was pale, and she shivered violently against him. The smell of her awakened memories he’d buried, the soft scent of coconut and vanilla reminding him of the last time he’d held a woman in his arms. The memory surged up his throat and choked him. His foot caught on a tree root, and he almost fell. Shadow growled.
“Okay, okay, I’m paying attention,” he muttered.
The woman he carried was tall and slender, too slender, though her breasts…. He increased his pace. The sooner he got her back to his cabin the better, even though the thought of her being there disturbed him. But stronger than that feeling was another, one he hardly recognized, a desire to protect her. Some fucking truck driver had dumped her and she’d have died if he hadn’t come along, if Shadow hadn’t alerted him. He could feel her heart beating against his chest, the gentle warmth of her ragged breathing hitting his throat, the wet chill of her body seeping through his clothes, and even as he desperately tried to keep his cock under control, it swelled further. There ought to be a prize for the time to have the most inappropriate erection.
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My Review
A modern day fairytale, The Princess and the Prepper by Barbara Elsborg deals with a runaway princess who's looking for Prince Charming in the frozen wilderness of Wyoming. With likable characters, good dialogue and just the right amount of sexual heat, Ms. Elsborg's tale grabbed my attention from the first page and never let go. While a part of the "Prepper Romance" series, this can easily be read as a standalone book.
Running away from the life she's being forced to live, Princess Liliane "Lili" Johanna Charlotte Helene zu Saxe-Melckenburghausen finds herself almost naked in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Knowing she'll die if she doesn't reach shelter, Lili is relieved to be rescued by a man and his wolf. Staying in a rustic cabin without servants isn't what she's used to, but it's the only place she discovers she wants to be.. Especially with the man who rescued her.
Successful author Grant Thomas Houston lives in a cabin in Wyoming for a reason - he wants to be alone. Having spent the last couple of years alone, Grant is a "Prepper", someone who knows what he needs to survive in the woods without being dependent on others. He never expected to rescue a woman while out walking in the forest with a wolf he's adopted as his own. Being attracted to her is out of his control, wanting her to stay is an unexpected surprise.
Full of subdued passion and physical attraction, the scenes between Lili and Grant are full of verbal give and take. Hiding who and what she is, Lili is finally free to act like a what she is - a woman who needs to be loved, while Grant slowly begins to let her into his heart. Ms. Elsborg does a good job developing the characters, they slowly reveal themselves and some of their issues to each other and to the reader as well. I was able to connect with Lili and her problems. I was also able to understand why Grant has hidden from the world for so long.
Will Lili and Grant be able to save her from the villain when he finally shows up? And will they have a chance to have a happy ever after? You'll have to read The Princess and the Prepper to find out. I enjoyed this rapidly paced romance and I think you will too.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.
After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.
Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they are to write.
Connect with Barbara Elsborg
Website: http://www.barbaraelsborg.com/
Blog: http://www.barbaraelsborg.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/barbara.elsborg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbaraElsborg
Thanks for having me!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat observation about fairness. Hopefully that's where karma eventually comes in and sets things right. I hope my karma includes reading more awesome stories like Princess and the Prepper. To anyone hovering over the buy link, go for it. You won't be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Arlene!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed all of your books! Chosen was a little out of my comfort zone. It was fabulous and I look forward to reading all your future books! Thanks for your your wonderful stories. Meg
Thank you, Meg! That's really nice of you!
ReplyDelete