Kat Halstead

Romance is so many different things from the grand gestures and magical moments we dream about to the little everyday things.

One of the things I love so much when I’m reading a romance novel is getting that feeling of falling in love, the start of a new relationship floods through you as you join these two characters on the journey.

Sometimes it’s a first love, sometimes it’s a rekindled love, a passionate love, or one that simmers below the surface for years before finally becoming more.

So for this awesome hop I’ve giving away a digital copy of Hello Again, here’s an excerpt:

The air outside was colder than it had been. The sun wasn’t as bright as they had gotten used to and it felt like it could snow at any moment.

“Places!” Clyde called out.

Lexie found her spot on the steps, along with her prop mug which was thankfully full of warm coffee.

David found his mark at the end of the walkway. He took a deep breath as he waited for action, waited for this scene. A scene he a few days before had been so nervous about, he was still nervous.

“Action!”

Lexie took a sip from the mug, stopping as David came up the path. “Trey.”

“Rosie.” He sighed taking her in.

Lexie put the mug down as she rose and took a step down. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you, one last, final time.” He stuffed his hands in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie as he took a few steps closer to her.

“You and Lucy are getting married tonight. You should be thinking about that, about her.”

“I don’t love Lucy, it’s you Rosie. It’s always been you.” He took his hands from his pockets and reached out for her.

“I’m married.” She backed away slightly.

“To a man that slept with Lucy.”

“You’ve slept with her, that’s why you and I are not together now. Isn’t it?”

“Rosie, it was always you, it’s always been you for me. Every time I close my eyes, every time the moon shines and the sun rises. Every time my heart beats, it’s all for you. I love you Rosie, I have always loved you. I always will. I made a mistake years ago. I wish I could fix it in the blink of an eye but I can’t. I don’t want to be married to Lucy. I want to be with you. I want us to have a life, together.”

She was crying, real tears as she shook her head, “We can’t be. I love my husband. We have a wonderful life together.”

“Let me prove to you I deserve to be with you.” He had her hands now. “I love you. You make me smile when I’m sad, and the thought of you being in pain makes me hurt. What do I have to do to get through to you?”

“Nothing you say can make me change my mind.” Her eyes focused on his, butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

“What about this?” David paused for a moment, looking into her eyes. It was David looking at Lexie, not Trey at Ambrosia. He kissed her with every bit of pent up desire, lust, love and confusion that had been building inside of him for a very long time.

Lexie kissed him back as Lexie, not as her character. Her toes were trying to curl in the uncomfortable boots. She felt his arms around her waist and then her feet her off the ground. She was eager and desperate for this moment to never end. If she could live in just one moment for the rest of her life, this was it. This was the moment that Lexie wanted. This was the moment she had dreamed of. She didn’t want it to end. She didn’t want to find out that what she was feeling wasn’t real. She needed this to just be.

“Cut!” Was called out but they were still kissing.

It wasn’t like with Jeff for Lexie, she had no desire to tear his clothes off and get down to the nitty-gritty. For David it wasn’t like with Jasmine, where he felt that moving quickly was the perfect solution. This was different, this was real.

“Guys, cut.” Evan came between them.

Lexie pulled away, stunned slightly. “Sorry, that was awkward.”

“It was perfect.” Evan nodded, “We’re done. Get out of here. I’ve got work to do and you folks have flights out tomorrow.”

“Awesome!” David felt his stomach in knots but tried to hide it as he went back into the house.

Lexie was behind him most of the way up the stairs. David was peeling his hoodie off, and she could see his muscular stomach tease her with an appearance. “I think we should talk.”

Now all you have to do to enter is leave your e-mail address in the comments and you’ll not only be entered to win a copy of Hello Again, but also the following Grand Prizes.

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Large Swag Pack

And of course, it also means you’ve got to go and enter at all the other stops along the way and enter to win some other awesome items and gain MORE entries for the 3 Grand Prizes.

So I decided that when I got to 275 twitter followers I would do another giveaway. I wanted to do something different this time.

Well summer is about to start, so why not kick off summer with a giveaway! Super simple and fun, right?

So below  you will find a rafflecopter, I’ve never used it before so I figured let’s give it a try this time.

I’ll be giving away ONE Digital Copy of Hello Again and ONE Digital Copy of Secret Fantasy. That means TWO winners.

If you’ve recently started to follow me then you now know one of my great loves, soap operas. Everyday you can find me live tweeting General Hospital. In the summer however, I get sucked into the reality show Big Brother. I started watching during the second season and have been addicted ever since. I’ll probably be live tweeting my reaction during live shows, maybe the live feeds, we’ll see how things go.

My new book Stranger in my Bed, which will be released in late June takes place during the summer months in Durango, CO. It’s the second book in the Hello Again series, and picked up where we left off with David and Lexie, along with all the others. If you’ve never had the chance to experience Durango in the summer, its amazing.

The town comes alive and is full of energy like nothing else I’ve experienced. The locals are out and about having fun, the tourists are exploring the historic downtown, riding the train, rafting and enjoying the sunshine.

I’ll post more about SimB next week though.

So now, here is your chance to enter to win one of my books.

Only two are mandatory, the rest are extra entries if you want.

Have fun, layer on the sunscreen and enjoy it while it lasts because summer will be over before we realize it.

CONTEST CLOSED WINNER NOTIFIED!

(Source: kathalstead.com)

Welcome to this little stop on the Spring Fling Blog Hop. I bet you’re exhausted! I know I’m like number 79 on the list so yay that you took the time to get this far!

This contest is open to US residents only.

So have I got a stellar prize package for you, or what?

The major prize will be mailed to the winner and it includes:

·         A signed paperback copy of Secret Fantasy.

·         4 pairs of earrings.

·         2 book thongs.

·         A Hello Again magnet.

·         A Secret Fantasy keychain.

Then I’ll also be giving away 2 PDF copies of Hello Again.

Here’s a rundown of Secret Fantasy:

Britney O’Leary and her best friend Jason Evans spend Graduation night together not knowing at the time but that one night will forever connect them.

Here’s a scene from Secret Fantasy

Britney was shocked as she watched Connie and Alec kissing, it was obvious it wasn’t the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last time. She could still feel the bit of beer she’d spilled on her feet when she dropped her cup. She immediately went back into the party, hoping to find Jason, find out if he knew.

“Britney!” He called out over the Monica and Brandy song.

She turned to him, she didn’t say anything, figuring she had nothing to lose, well she had one thing to loose and she had a plan for tonight, and she was going through with it.

Jason stared at her, “What’s wrong? You look confused.”

“I was, but I’m not anymore.” She pulled his face towards her and kissed him. “I want you.”

“You’ve got me. I’m your best friend.” Jason took her hand, leading her out into the fresh air. “What’s gotten into you?”

She didn’t say anything at first as she listened to the music, the faint sounds of insects, “Alec and Connie are having sex.”

“So you decided to hit on me?”

“Not exactly.” She turned to look at him, the way the porch light glowed around him, “How come you never hit on me?”

Jason hadn’t been ready for this, though he never thought it would matter. “We’re going in different directions. You’ll still be here; I’ll be in New York. It wouldn’t work. The heartbreak it would lead to would be outweigh the short good time.”

“Oh, well then I leave you with one tidbit of information.” She got close to his body, pressing hers against his, “We will forever be intertwined Mr. Evans, you and me”

“You’re right, we will be” He looked into her green eyes, wishing he could believe what he was saying.

“Kiss me” She sounded confident, but she was nothing but nerves.

Jason held her for a moment, before he pulled away, “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Britney nodded, “Goodbye Jason.”

“Britney!” Jason called out as she walked down the porch steps into the dark night.

 

Now to enter, all you have to do is fill out the form below.

I do have chances for extra entries by following my social media sites; Facebook, Twitter, mailing list, and google+.

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

For more amazing contests please check out: 

Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, we’ve got rain instead of snow, and trees are blooming. It’s a wonderful time of year, don’t you think?

It is also a great time to catch up on some reading, I know I have an hour free now that One Tree Hill has ended. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. This weekend I’m giving away a paperback copy of Hello Again, along with a Hello Again magnet.

How do you enter? I’ll put the information below, under this little sample of the book.

Also, don’t forget to follow me on twitter, like my facebook page, or subscribe to my mailing list at kathalstead.com.

—-

The sky was black, the yellow light of the street lamps glowed against the postcard perfect view of downtown. Lexie was in her bed, listening to the sounds of the hotel. Trying to relax and fall asleep. She had a major scene to film in the morning after all. Yet something was keeping her awake. Something was brewing inside of her.

It was different, something she couldn’t put her finger on. Her heart was racing, her toes were wiggling. She could feel a pit in her stomach. She wished that David would knock on her door. That something would pull them together. That something would begin.

She was trying to wish for something to happen, when she suddenly felt a chill wash over her. She sat up in the bed; sure she’d just felt something touch her. Something felt unsettling. Something felt as though it had just happened. Her stomach knotted even more as she grabbed for her key and her hoodie. She quickly made her way into the hallway and found herself outside of David’s door, knocking like a mad woman.

He opened the door, his eyes heavy with the start of sleep as he saw her, looking at him, as if begging him for help without any words. “This is going to sound silly, but I think my room is haunted.”

David studied at her for a moment before opening the door wider, “Come on in, it doesn’t sound crazy at all.”

“It doesn’t?” Lexie was surprised, “Why?”

He showed her the screen on his laptop, where he’d been reading about the hotel and the reports of ghosts. “See.”

“Whoa, that’s just, yikes.” She felt a chill ripple through her body; she wished he would wrap his arms around her.

David sat in the chair and looked at her, “You can take my bed, and I can sleep on the floor.”

“I can’t put you out.” She was sitting on the bed, thinking of how soft if felt, how easy it would be to fall into it. “We could share the bed; Joey and Dawson did it all the time on Dawson’s Creek.”

David couldn’t believe she made that reference. “If you’re okay with it so am I.”

Lexie wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to fall asleep but maybe if she did it could be the best night’s sleep of her life.

David stood on the other side of the bed, pulling down the blankets, as he mirrored Lexie’s movements. It was a moment that felt oddly comfortable as they both got into bed.

Lexie turned on her side, looking at David. Thinking of how silly it was to be nervous about lying next to him. Thinking of how easy it would be right now to give in to temptation and kiss him. Wondering if it was possible for him to kiss her back, for them to make love, for whatever she was feeling to be felt by him as well.

David couldn’t believe how amazing Lexie looked, even though she was in pajama pants and a hoodie. She was beautiful. Part of him wanted to pull her closer, to kiss her. To remove each layer of clothing and explore her body the way he’d been thinking about a lot lately.

But he knew he couldn’t; well that he shouldn’t. It would be a terrible thing if he tried, even fathomed doing so. “Sleep tight.”

“You too,” They both rolled to their other sides, their backs to each other as they tried to fall asleep, even though they both had the same dreams, desires and fantasies. Neither could bring themselves to ruin the friendship in the still of the night.

—-

To enter all you have to do is fill out this form below.

Good Luck!

I will post the winner Monday the 9th.

For more information on Hello Again check out kathalstead.com

CONTEST NOW CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE CONTACTED MONDAY.

Now that you’ve entered, go check out all the other amazing giveaways for the Hoppy Easter Blog Hop.