Kiss Me in Paris by Karpov Kinrade (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Please give a warm welcome to writing duo, Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov, joining us with their new adult romance - Kiss Me In Paris!

Writing a Romance Novel for Non-Romance Readers

Romance is one of the most popular and bestselling genres today, right next to mystery and thrillers. Some people criticize romance as 'mommy-porn' or 'fluff', but there's so much more to this genre. In real life, what do most people value and seek out above all? Love, family, relationships, being with someone who understands them and can stand by them through life. This is what makes romance novels a core part of our literary experience: because everyone wants to be loved and give love to someone. But there's more to life than just finding Mr. or Mrs. Right. There's managing family conflict and graduating from college and building a career and the everyday problems that pop up for us all. There's heartbreak and pain and demons from the past. There are big and small decisions and random life happenings. There's humor and embarrassment and trying to fit in. We wanted our book to have all of this—to be a romance, yes, but to also be a book about life and real people. We wanted readers to leave Kiss Me in Paris feeling like they'd just spent a summer in Paris with Cade and Winter and had rooted for them and cried with them and laughed with them. In order to appeal to a wide audience, we decided to infuse Kiss Me in Paris with qualities that most readers enjoy. These include:

• Humor (There's quite a bit of romantic comedy, some laugh out loud parts that we even laughed through while writing and editing them.)
• A fun setting (Paris. Because whether you've been or not, who doesn’t want to travel to the most romantic city in the world?)
• Mystery (Cade and Winter have their own secrets, but so do other characters in the book, and like life, these secrets aren't always revealed right away.)

We also wanted our characters to experience conflicts that our readers could relate to, real life issues that we all face at one point or another. These included:

• Family Issues (Cade must deal with his family dysfunction and a past that's keeping him from living his future.)
• Trying to achieve your dreams (Who hasn't dealt with this conflict? Both Cade and Winter have big dreams, but living those dreams requires them to change and grow in real ways.)
• Feeling accepted by others (Most people seek acceptance in life, and our characters are no different. It's what gets Winter into so much trouble!)

By including these elements, we made Kiss Me in Paris an extremely personal novel. While reading it, you really feel what the characters are going through, because likely, you've experienced it yourself, or at the very least, know someone who has. However, in order to actually make you care, we had to make sure Winter and Cade were likable. So we made sure they had qualities that people admire. Cade and Winter are both:

• Funny
• Loyal
• Determined
• Smart

Of course, Cade and Winter also have flaws that get in the way of their goals. We had to carefully balance their flaws along with their likable traits to create interesting and realistic characters. That turned out to be one of the hardest things about writing Kiss Me in Paris. But in the end, we are both proud of the book we created together. Our "book baby" as it is. It might not be for everyone. No book is. But we feel confident that while romance readers will enjoy it, it's not just for romance readers. We've seen fans who aren't avid romance fans have life-changing experiences reading this book. We can't promise that to everyone, and we were honestly shocked at how powerful some of the early reviews of Kiss Me in Paris were, but we do hope that you will find more than just a love story here. You'll find a story of life, love, family and drama. A story with humor, mystery, sadness and inspirational moments. A story that you can relate to, whoever you are. What do you look for in a great book? What characteristics make you fall in love with characters? We'd love to hear what you have to say, so leave a comment here and we'll pop over and respond! If you've read Kiss Me in Paris (which is on sale right now, by the way), then let us know what you think. Did we do what we'd hoped in creating these characters and this story? What stuck with you at the end?

About Kiss Me in Paris

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance 
Full length novel: 87, 000 words 
Kiss Me in Paris is a standalone novel in the Kiss Me Series. Travel the world with the Deveaux sisters as they find love, and trouble, in all the right places. Kiss Me in Paris is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo. Add it your Goodreads to-read shelf here!

No one knows my secret. Ever since high school, ever since I started living in fear, no one has known the true me. But then I met him, and I couldn't hide anymore. He became my hero, saving me from the villain of my past. He became my friend, his smile a blanket of warmth. And he scared me. Because he, this beautiful man, he might become more. Then he'd see the real me, and I couldn't let that happen. My name is Winter, and what I desire most I can't have. Flashes of the night I was drugged rush back to me. His strong arms carrying me through the streets of Paris. The feel of his heart beating as my head rested against his chest. The soft press of his lips against my forehead when he thought I was asleep. Oh shit. I'm falling for the cowboy. Cade. But we can't be anything more. He has his own secrets. His own darkness he keeps hidden, like the letter he keeps with him everywhere he goes. The letter he refuses to open. 

About Karpov Kinrade

Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife writing duo of bestselling, award-winning authors Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov. Together, they write fantasy, paranormal, mystery, contemporary and romance and hook readers into new and exciting worlds that will leave you laughing your ass off, crying your heart out and falling in love. Look for more from Karpov Kinrade in the Kiss Me series, Seduced Saga, the Forbidden Trilogy and more coming soon. They live with three little girls who think they’re ninja princesses with super powers and who are also showing a propensity for telling tall tales and using the written word to weave stories of wonder and magic. Become a member of the Street Team for Karpov Kinrade. Connect with Karpov Kinrade on Facebook. Connect with Kimberly online: Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Amazon, Goodreads. Connect with Dmytry online: Twitter, Google+, Amazon

TOUR-WIDE GIVEAWAY:
$50 Amazon gift card, an autographed paperback of the book, and an e-copy of the book

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