Guest Author Kathy Bosman and a giveaway!

Today I’m happy to welcome my dear friend Kathy Bosman to my blog. And let me just say, Dragonfly Moments is a must read!  Don’t forget to enter at the end of the post for a chance to win something awesome. Take it away Kathy…

In stop five of my blog tour today, I’m going to talk about a character’s vision or aim. Thank you, April, for hosting me in your blog.

Every main character in our book must have a life goal, something that they’re aiming to achieve or desperately need in their lives. Oftentimes, love either conflicts with that goal or is the goal but seems out of reach. Tessa’s goal is to get her art gallery going but deep inside, there’s something burning – a desire to start a family. She’s even stashed some paintings away of a mother and child, art that speaks of her all-consuming need and desire. If she can just have that family with a man and kids, she will be happy. She’s over thirty and wants to start yesterday and thinks she’s found the perfect father material in Mark, a steady, kind, but rather distant boyfriend. She’s just waiting for Mark to give her a marriage proposal.

On the day Tessa’s old crush, Ryan, visits her at her gallery, Tessa expects to get a proposal. It’s Valentine’s Day and Mark is taking her out for a fancy meal. The setting sounds perfect. They’ve been serious for about a year. She’s waited long enough. So, when she sees Ryan again, once at her gallery and again at the restaurant, she’s very uncomfortable with the feelings that resurface.

Ryan has come back into her life at the right time but Tessa thinks it’s the wrong time. Mark’s date turns out to be a disaster. Ryan stands by Tessa as her relationship begins to crumble but is his love strong enough for Tessa to give up her obsession with having a child? Especially when she falls in love with an orphaned baby …

Oftentimes, this all-consuming goal of the protagonist is masking some hidden pain or the real need they have. This is the case with Tessa.

I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and 5 swag bags (little bags of treats relating to my book or the setting of my book) so enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

Excerpt:

“You’re making a mistake, Ryan. Coming in here and trying to bring up the past. It’s too late now. I’m committed to Mark and have found a life for myself. You never wanted me then. You loved Annie.”

“I didn’t love her. I loved you. And you promised forever….”

His voice was resigned, and then he winked at her as if to dispel the tension. It did no such thing.

The letter at the back of the sketch had promised she would love him forever, hadn’t it? She had believed she would never love anyone as much as Ryan and that he showed her what true love was.

“You never loved me.” She dropped her gaze onto her lap. “We were just good friends.”

Pushing up her chin to pretend that her heart wasn’t zinging with emotion, she started to walk toward the one wall to adjust a painting. He grabbed her hand. She tried to pull away, but he firmly pulled her close.

Heat and energy radiated off him and his manly scent encompassed her. Even his breath was a sweetness she wanted to drink in. She took in the shape of his face, his mouth which drooped slightly to the left, his skewed jaw line and the prominent cheek bones. His eyebrows were dark and perfectly shaped, and he had such long eyelashes. Yanking her burning hand away, she made sure her back was facing him.

“I was blind to the true treasure. All the time when I was going out with Annie, I really wanted you, but I couldn’t do that to her—dump her for her best friend. I’ve loved you for years, Tess. I’ve been trying to find you. No other woman has measured up, and I’ve had several relationships. And you’ve become so beautiful.”

She faced him, her mouth partially open, devoid of words. He’d loved her? Why didn’t he tell her then before it was too late?

His gaze followed her from head to foot, and heat branded her face while a spark ignited her body.

“But I wasn’t then. You thought I was ugly. You must have because Annie was so beautiful and you never looked at me.”

“I did. Besides the kohl and black clothes, you were adorable, especially in your pajamas.”

Tessa wasn’t usually one to blush easily, but fire lapped up her whole face and neck. “But the way you used to look at Annie. She had the most stunning legs. Long and muscular.”

Ryan smiled. “You have better legs than Annie.”

She pulled back. For a moment, he had her in a trance. Maybe she should leave Mark and pursue this. Jump right in. No, of course not. Who was Ryan now, anyway? She hardly knew him. He could disappear again. Mark cared for her and he was the perfect match to build a family. That’s all she needed.

Author Bio

Kathy loved reading and writing from early childhood, but her dream to write books was put aside until her kids were small, and she had little mental stimulation. The writing became a passion as well as her love for romance. She hasn’t looked back since writing her first romance novel in 2007. She homeschools her three children so in between deciphering algebraic problems for her teenage son (with little success), conducting science experiments, and tackling piles of laundry and dishes, she miraculously finds time to write books and read many others for fun.

Buy Links

Decadent Publishing

Amazon US

Amazon UK

All Romance Ebooks

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Connect with Kathy Bosman online:

Website and blog

Facebook author page

Twitter

Enter to win here:

Rafflecopter 

Thank you, Kathy. Great having you over!