Release Blog Tour for Cin Wikkid
by Mary Hughes!
Like television’s Once Upon a Time, CIN WIKKID is a fairy tale updated for the twenty-first century. A Cinderella’s rags-to-riches meets He’s the Boss—with Mary Hughes’s trademark sizzling sex and a dash of humor. Readers of BEAUTY TOUCHED THE BEAST by Skye Warren or DOUBLE DARE by Jodi Redford will fall in love with Cinderella and her prince in this contemporary romance by Mary Hughes.
Cin Wikkid: April Fools For Love
Author: Mary Hughes
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 18, 2016
Publisher: 7th Octave Publishing
Length: 28,000 words
Format: Digital
Digital ISBN: 978-1-940958-07-1
Synopsis:
THE WRONGED DAUGHTER
Cinderella hungers to escape from under Widow Wikkid’s grinding thumb. But to snare a plum job at Prince Industries, Cin desperately needs her degree, and she can’t wrap her mind around tax accounting.
Then scarred but sexy Rafe Montoya ignites her imagination with his brilliant tutoring—and, as they work together in his cozy apartment, he sets her body on fire. So why is he pushing her to attend Gideon Prince’s marriage-mart ball?
THE HANDSOME PRINCE
Rafe is really Gideon Prince, head of Prince Industries. He must name his bride by his April first birthday or suffer the loss of his family fortune. Rumors say he’s still single because women love his money and looks, not him. Is he lonely or just another duplicitous tycoon?
THE GLASS SLIPPER TEST
Hopefuls flock to Prince’s birthday ball, but only one will emerge triumphant. Only the woman who’s kind, wise, and generous will win his heart. Is it Cin, or will her stepmother, as she always does, snatch the prize for her own daughters?
And on the night of the ball, when Cin discovers Rafe’s true identity, can she even accept his final test?
Warning: Rags-to-riches fairytale meets the texting generation. Stepsisters who are a blush-brush shy of a full makeup set, and a ball gown built like a tank. Contains material intended for mature audiences. Reader discretion advised.
Find out more at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Mary’s Website | Goodreads
Excerpt:
Rafe watched her over the rim of his coffee mug, cobalt eyes twinkling. He knew exactly how badly she’d needed that massage. Exactly how much she’d enjoyed it.
He’d known…even though she hadn’t.
Her heart beat faster. He knew things about her, important things, that even she hadn’t known.
Rafe wasn’t simply the nice boy-next-door tutor she’d thought of him as. He wasn’t well-meaning but bumbling…
He was dangerous.
A little thrill sang through her. She immediately squelched it. His observance would be wonderful if they became a couple. But it also meant that if she ever got on his bad side, he’d know exactly where to stab to hurt her the most.
Be brave, Cinderella.
Before any of that, if they were ever to have the possibility of a real relationship, she had to come clean about the mock-hearing. “Can I confess why I wanted to meet now?”
“Absolutely.”
Hesitantly, she told him. But as she explained, he didn’t seem to be hurt or angry or any of the things she thought he’d be.
Instead, he almost seemed to expect what she would say.
Somewhat confused, but with greater confidence, she ended with, “Is that something you can teach me?”
“Ye-es. Probably.” He frowned, thoughtfully. “How long do we have?”
“Until the beginning of April.”
“Then definitely yes. Though, it will take some pretty intense work one-on-one.” One black brow raised, a challenge. “Are you up for it?”
“I’m not afraid of hard work. Are you up for it?” Daringly, she raised both brows in return challenge.
The right corner of his mouth went up, on the scarred side, crinkling his skin and giving his grin a rakish, devil-may-care look. “Hours of intense work, one-on-one, with you? Oh, yeah. I’m up for it.”
The way he purred “up for it” implied things beyond study. Physical things. Cin’s stomach swooped and her heart pattered rapidly in response.
Then his eyes dropped to her mouth and heated.
Her whole body went boom.
She trembled, her heart pounding, her breath sawing in and out, on the cusp of bright truth. Her stepsiblings’ hatred had taught her to cover herself in bad makeup and baggy clothes and work, the contemporary version of sacks and ashes. But Rafe, looking at her like that…as if he not only was attracted to her but was on fire…God. She wanted to tear off her rags and shine.
Check out the other April Fools For Love books by Roxy Mews, S.L. Carpenter, Kayleigh Malcolm, and Jodi Redford on April Fools For Love!
About Mary Hughes:
As a girl, Mary Hughes spun romantic, happily-ever-after stories to get to sleep. A husband, family, two degrees and a blackbelt later, she’s delighted to spin them for readers.
She’s lived with love and loss, in bright times and dark, and learned we can all use a break from reality every now and then.
So join her for action, sparkling wit and red-hot love. Strong men. Stronger women.
Connect with Mary: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon
Thank you to Jacquie Biggar and It’s All About The Romance for having me here today!
Do you outline your books or wing it? Describe your process.
I start with a spark of inspiration, something that ignites my imagination. Say, a young cop on her first patrol, interrupting a mugging, managing to subdue the mugger only to be attacked by vampires—only to have the vampires attacked by a bigger, badder vampire. But then she tries to arrest the bigger, badder vampire.
If the story is part of a series, I’ll cast around for a goal that fits the heroine or hero that also complements where the series arc needs to go. Goal, motivation, and conflict for each of the hero and heroine (braided or in opposition if possible) give me a skeleton for the characters. I’ll create a symbol for the hero or heroine for a more concrete handle on their character. Sometimes I’ll have an idea of the theme at this point. Theme is usually something I’ve actively struggled with, to make it sing for the reader.
Hero, heroine, and romance all have the five big turning points of Catalyst, Big Event, Pinch, Crisis, and Climax. Mentally I play with possibilities for each of those fifteen events, trying to picture which will be most in character while creating the richest story. After I create preliminary scenes around those fifteen points, I’ll play with order to spark the most tension.
Then I start writing. This is the winging it part, lol.
Have you ever folded the flaps of a box together so they interlock? Sometimes I get it right first try, barely bending the corners. Sometimes I wrestle with it forever, breaking the corners and giving myself paper cuts. That is my writing process. Angling and sawing, lol. The characters firm up as I go. The plot points often change as I see better ways to make them resonate. Even after the draft is done, editing is another process almost as long as the writing. I make sure the story doesn’t get laggy or confused, the beginning and ending grab me, and the middle is a nice rise of tension. Then I go back and pull up the peaks and push down the troughs, making sure action and emotion deliver as much punch as possible.
How do you decide on setting?
That’s a good question. It’s often character-driven. The first half of Cin Wikkid: April Fools For Love is set in “the city”, simple, homey places like Cinderella herself—her little attic garret, a neighborhood park, a sandwich shop. This contrasts very nicely with Gideon Prince’s grand mansion where the Glass Slipper Ball is set. But I have a little town for my vampire romances called Meiers Corners, where everyone knows everyone, even the river is ruler straight, and the worst crime is jaywalking. It’s based on my befuddlement and awe moving from a big city to a small town and learning to understand the different mind-set.
What genre(s) do you write in? Why?
Published, I have two red-hot paranormal romance series, a hot SF/Fantasy, and several contemporary romantic comedies. I’ve written lots of other things, science fiction, dark contemporary romance, women’s fiction, erotic romance, and a paranormal saga, but in writing as in my music compositions, I tend to think of usefulness first. Readers respond really well to the red-hot paranormal, so I publish more of those.
What is your favorite part of writing?
All of it. Even promo has its moments, lol. I’m immensely grateful to be able to write, edit, publish, and interact with readers and industry professionals like It’s All About The Romance.
What is your least favorite part of writing?
Physically, the sitting, I think. I’m task-oriented—my husband teases me that I have engineering genes—but I tend to put my head down on a project and work until it’s done or I drop. Which means all the things that should get done while I work on a novel, like exercise, cleaning, even sitting straight, tend to get short shrift.
Emotionally, I’ve made so many friends as part of this gig, and interact with many on social media platforms. Seeing their suffering breaks my heart. But walking with them in their joys and successes is absolutely the best.
Follow the tour and enter to win great prizes!
5 grand prize winners will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
5 runner-ups will receive an eBook of choice from Mary’s backlist!
Visit all the blogs participating in the tour for reviews, excerpts, guest posts and more chances to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Also look for reviews from:
Jacquie Biggar-USA Today Best-selling author 
Thanks again for hosting my tour today, and the lovely interview questions!
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Happy to have you on the blog, Mary! Best of luck with the tour 🙂
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