Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Kiss Me By Moonlight by Michele Zurlo

Welcome to my stop on the Name Before the Masses Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Kiss Me By Moonlight by Michele Zurlo.  Please leave a comment or question for Michele to let her know you stopped by.  Michele will be awarding a choice of signed paperback copy of Wanting Wilder, Mina’s Heart, Kiss Me Goodnight, or Kiss Me ByMoonlight, and a $25 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. (US ONLY).  You can also follow the rest of her tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Balancing My Two Different Writing Styles by Michelle Zurlo

Since I’m primarily known for my BDSM stories, it came as a bit of a surprise to most of my regular readers that I would venture into mainstream romance. I’ve done it before, but always under a different pen name. This time I published my New Adult mainstream romances, Kiss Me Goodnight and Kiss Me By Moonlight, under the Michele Zurlo name. Why? Because they have sex in them, just not a lot. And it’s not kinky.

How do I balance such disparate genres? Well, it wasn’t difficult. When I write, I generally take on whatever project appeals to me at the time. It’s like choosing what to have for dinner. If the fish isn’t calling my name, I might go with a grilled cheese (aka—the perfect food). It’s difficult to write something I’m not invested in. When readers have asked for specific stories, I’ve tried to do it, and I wasn’t all that happy with the result.

When Lacey’s character came to me, I was compelled to write her story. The only slight problem I had was with the first book, Kiss Me Goodnight. My editors had me cut out three sex scenes because they felt they weren’t necessary. It was the first time I’d ever been asked to do that, so it was a little weird, but the second book ended up with just the right amount of tension and sex, so no cuts were required.

This series is also in the first person point of view. We see it unfold through Lacey’s eyes. That’s not so much a new style for me, as it marked a return to my preferred style. I only ever switched to writing from third person because my publisher at the time required it. When I get the rights back to Letting Go in 2015, I plan to re-release it in the original, first-person point of view.

Writing romance isn’t about balance—it’s about following your heart, and that’s my master plan.

Kiss Me By Moonlight

By Michele Zurlo

Kiss Me, Book 2

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Release Date: June 17, 2014

Genre: Mainstream Contemporary Romance

Length: 174 Pages

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About the book:

Hey there. It’s Lacey again. Falling in love and landing Dylan hasn’t been the panacea I thought it would be. For starters, he moved into my apartment without asking, and he continues to have no respect for my need to have things in sets of six. Pile that on top of my emotional upheaval after losing my stepfather, and you have a recipe for disaster no amount of German chocolate cake can cure.

Yes, Lacey Hallem’s life remains fraught with challenge, but you know she’s a fighter. Forming a talent management agency with her best friends has been the best career move she’s ever made—even if it’s the only thing currently working according to plan. Lacey’s OCD is getting the better of her, and this time her hands aren’t the only casualty. When her lies ruin her relationships with both Kiss Me Goodnight and Dylan, she’s forced to confront her demons in ways she’s never had to before. As she once again faces her past, can she learn once and for all to let love and friendship through the barriers she’s built?

Both harrowing and hilarious, this conclusion to the tale of Lacey and Dylan will leave you laughing, crying, and fanning yourself—sometimes all at once. Michele Zurlo triumphs again in this moving story about life’s quirks and what we all have to do to get by.

EXCERPT

He followed me into the apartment, hopefully noting the stiffness of my shoulders. I projected outrage as hard as I could. Lies to cover lies. I know what I’d done was wrong, and it wasn’t a little problem. I’d said it in front of the media. Not for the first time, I considered that I was a bad choice to manage his band. With my mouth, it was bound to get negative press.

I went into the bedroom and into the closet. It’s a large, walk-in number half full of his clothes. I went to my dress section and began evaluating them to figure out which one I would wear to see John’s grave. Though it had been chilly when we’d left this morning at an ungodly hour, the sun had come out for the return trip and warmed things up considerably. The ice in the parking lot was melting, and the early spring day promised to get even warmer. I selected a long-sleeved black velvet shirt and its matching full-length skirt.

Dylan stood in the door of the closet, deliberately blocking my path. He eyed the dress in my hand incredulously. “What the hell are you doing?”

I responded to him with a passively neutral expression. “Changing.”

This is my way of goading him. He has a temper, but it takes a lot to get him to explode. I have a hard time expressing anger, and I hate how Dylan gets eerily calm when he dealt with me, so this is my way of compelling him to force me to let it out. Fucked up, right?

He took the clothes from me and threw them on the floor littered with shoes. Then he gripped my chin in his cupped hand, making me face him. “No. We’re going to discuss whatever is eating you up.”

I tried to shake my head, but he didn’t let me move. “I’m fine.”

“Liar. You’re so not fine, it’s not even funny. I haven’t seen you this way in months.”

If I take a step back, he’ll let go of me and back off. I stared at him, wondering who is going to break first.

He studied me, searching my eyes for answers I didn’t have. “You weren’t calling me a name; you were lying.”

“It’s a fine line, isn’t it?” I spoke softly and kept my gaze locked to his. “And at the end of the day, it doesn’t actually matter.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I’m Michele Zurlo, author of over 20 romance novels. I write contemporary and paranormal, BDSM and mainstream—whatever it takes to give my characters the happy endings they deserve. I’m not half as interesting as my characters. My childhood dreams tended to stretch no further than the next book in my to-be-read pile, and I aspired to be a librarian so I could read all day. I ended up teaching middle school, so that fulfilled part of my dream. Some words of wisdom from an inspiring lady had me tapping out stories on my first laptop, so in the evenings, romantic tales flow from my fingertips. I’m pretty impulsive when it comes to big decisions, especially when it’s something I’ve never done before. Writing is just one in a long line of impulsive decisions that turned out to showcase my great instincts. Find out more at www.michelezurloauthor.com or @MZurloAuthor.

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