Hot Summer Nights with Kristine Grayson (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Good Monday morning lovelies! I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Hot Summer Nights continues with author Kristine Grayson and a special post from the star (or so he thinks) of her new release, Thoroughly Kissed! 


Darnell’s Hot Summer NightsKristine Grayson
Author’s Note: Darnell isn’t one of the main characters in Thoroughly Kissed, although he thinks he is. Thoroughly Kissed is the story of Sleeping Beauty, who woke up in our time (as part of Utterly Charming) and ten years after that rude awakening, is now a history professor at the University of Wisconsin. She comes into her magic and discovers that she needs help using it. Because it’s out of control, she needs help traveling to her mentor. Her boss, Michael, helps her make the trip (partly because he finds her very attractive). Until Sleeping Beauty, whose real name is Emma by the way, meets Michael, the man in her life is her cat Darnell. Or, as he chooses to believe, the man in her life remains Darnell; he just tolerates this human guy because that guy makes Emma happy.
Hot summer nights. When you have piles of black fur, hot summer nights sound a bit uncomfortable. They’re not, not if your human (slave) has this magic air conditioning thing. Then you can stretch out (comfortably) in your favorite window, and watch other creatures suffer. Dogs, panting in the heat. Birds, wilting in the heat. It’s marvelous. Just marvelous.
The best thing about hot summer nights, however, is—of course!—the food. Grilled chicken, grilled steak, grilled fish, grilled chicken and steak—often left unattended on plates while the last of the grilling finishes up, perfect for a cat with quick and accurate technique. I’ve had many a grilled steak—prepared properly (the rarer the better)—and no one seems to bat an eye.
My beautiful human’s friends say I’m out of control.  Humans never see what’s in front of them. I’m in perfect control. I know exactly how to get the meal I want, the corner of the bed I want, the patch of sunlight I want, and the pats I want when I want them.
A few months ago, when my human had to travel to my old home of Oregon (by car!) and I had to tolerate her new friend Michael for the entire trip (I like him better now that he’s saved my life a few times), I briefly gained the ability to talk. It scared me. I don’t like it. I prefer to hunt grilled steak silently, to taunt those panting dogs with my eyes.  I don’t need to talk things to death like humans do.
Which reminds me: gotta go. The moon is rising. My favorite non-human female usually walks by shortly before my normal bed time. She’s a Maine Coon, with the prettiest fur. We’ve communed through the window. Tonight’s a full moon, so I should be able to see her beautiful green eyes. I know we’re meant for each other: she stays out there and meows at me, and I can watch her from in here—without sharing my grilled food and my lovely bed.
What more would you want out of life?Except, of course, a few more naps.

Kristine Grayson's bestselling fairy tale romances bring the classic stories into the present day, where fairy tale characters must grapple with the complexities of modern life as well as their own destinies. Emma (Sleeping Beauty) fell into a magical coma that lasted for a thousand years when a boy she didn't even liked kissed her. Now that Emma's awake, she's determined to be a normal girl...a normal girl who is deathly afraid of kissing. When she meets history professor Michael Found, Emma has to choose between her fear of kissing and her potential Prince Charming.

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~*GIVEAWAY*~Sourcebooks is giving away one copy of Thoroughly Kissed to one US or Canadian reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway