Friday, May 30, 2014

Today's Special - - Laura Moore


Laura Moore is what one might call a modern Renaissance woman.  With a M.A. in art history, she has filled her resume with positions as a museum lecturer, instructor of art, art history, English and French as well as novelist.  Add to that a love of horses and the ocean. She's competed in horse shows, worked in stables, is an accomplished scuba diver and open water swimmer. I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything she can't do! You can read more about Laura and her books at her website and connect with her online at Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.  

Welcome, Laura!





First Loves, Second Chances

First, good morning to everyone at The Romance Dish! Thank you so much for having me here!

So today I thought I’d talk about one of my favorite themes in romance: the fragile adolescent heart. I love writing about that first, perfect crush or that hopeless infatuation and how devastating it is when its shattered. One’s first heartbreak can be as difficult to forget as the first time one falls in love.

Did any of you fall in love during high school and have your heart trampled?

Well, that’s the dark cloud hanging over my hero and heroine in my new book, Once Tasted. Reid Knowles and Mia Bodell have known each practically all their lives. They don’t just live in the same town, they’re also next-door neighbors, and their families like each other. They even attended the same school. This makes it all the more striking that Mia and Reid do their utmost to pretend the other doesn’t exist.  The reason for the silent cold war they wage? A high school incident that mortified them both but shattered lonely Mia’s dream-filled heart.

I won’t go into too many details (I truly hate spoilers) of how things unfold between Mia and Reid on their road to a happy-ever-after but just know that an event several years later forces Mia and Reid to work as partners. Neither is happy at the prospect, but shirking their families’ expectations is out of the question. The forced proximity stirs up old feelings between Mia and Reid and sparks new ones. The challenge for both will be to put past hurts and insecurities aside and trust that the love growing between them is real.

Happy Reading!

~Laura

Thanks, Laura!  Second-chance love is one of my favorite romance tropes.  

Okay, readers, it's your turn. Do you also enjoy second-chance love stories?  Do you have a second-chance story of your own to share? Does your first love still hold a fond place in your heart or was he/she consigned to the "not going there" memory trash heap years ago?  Let's dish!

Laura has graciously offered a copy of Once Tasted to one randomly chosen person who leaves a comment on today's post.  


Here’s an excerpt from Once Tasted:

Oh, damn, he must be back.
Mia Bodell didn’t need to be a modern-day Sherlock Holmes to guess who’d put the dreamy expression on Tracy Crofta’s face at Spillin’ the Beans. The barista fairly floated over the wide-planked, unvarnished floors as she took Mia’s order, humming to the hissing of the steamer as she prepared her triple-shot latte.
There were other signs, too.
Tracy wasn’t the only blissed-out female in the coffee shop. Betty Shales, who was sixty if she was a day, wore a beatific smile. Stationed behind the cash register, she stopped patting her gray dreadlocks only long enough to take Mia’s money.
But in case Mia had suffered temporary blindness and missed the women’s joyous glow, she’d have had to be wearing earplugs to miss the trills of laughter and excited chatter when, latte in hand, she walked in to the post office—which also housed the local bank, general store, and luncheonette.
Not many towns could boast of having a post office where you could not only pick up your mail but also cash your checks, order a stack of buttermilk pancakes or a burger, pick up a loaf of bread and a bottle of Tide, and get your daily dose of the latest happenings in Acacia, too. The post office–general store–luncheonette wasn’t just Acacia’s hub. It was Gossip Central.
Mia wasn’t big on gossip. She’d been the butt of it too often. But as she inserted her key into the metal mail- box and retrieved the mail, dropping half of it into the recycling bin and tucking the rest of it—bills, bills, and more bills—under her arm, the air around her buzzed.
Reid Knowles’s name reverberated from all corners of the interior.
There was no escaping it.




About Once Tasted:
Everything has come easily to Reid Knowles, the middle son of a California ranching family. But his charmed life is suddenly complicated when his good friend and neighbor asks him to help run the winery next door. His neighbor’s niece, Mia Bodell, is in charge—and she has made it clear that she’d rather be roped to a steer than to Reid Knowles. Never one to back down from a challenge, Reid vows to win her trust.

            In a life marked by loss, Mia knows that nothing comes easily—love included. In high school, her heart was crushed by Reid, and even though years have passed, the hurt lingers. Mia is achingly aware that the teen heartthrob has matured into a devastatingly handsome playboy, and the budding winemaker refuses to let down her guard. But one taste of unbridled passion changes things. From Reid’s first intoxicating kiss to his unexpectedly tender seduction, Mia is swept into a passionate affair that could tear her heart to pieces . . . or give her everything she has ever wanted.





Buy links:

Amazon  




33 comments:

  1. I really like second chance stories because we get to see how each person has changed from where they were earlier.

    I think the title of this book is perfect because that cover is just yummy! ;)

    Marcy Shuler

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    1. Thank you, Marcy! I hope you enjoy Mia and Reid's second chance love.

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  2. I am most definitely not going there.

    I do enjoy second-chance stories. Always interesting to see why they broke up in the first place.

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  3. I enjoy second chance stories because what had been bad becomes really, really good.

    Sometimes I think about my first love and wonder what happened to him.

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    1. Thanks for sharing, Cathy. I think a lot of us women wonder about that first love.Hope you enjoy Mia and Reid's story!

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  4. Congratulations to Laura on her new book! I do enjoy second chance romances and this story sounds so intriguing since I am wondering what happened to the H/h in high school. I didn't have a great love interest in high school but I did have a friend who did and had the tragic break-up.

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    1. I hope you enjoy Once Tasted and Mia and Reid's love story, Maureen. Thanks so much for dropping by!

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  5. Best wishes, Laura on the new book. I have no 2nd chance stories personally but do love reading about them.

    patoct

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    1. Thank you so much! I hope you get a chance to read Once Tasted and end up rooting for Mia and Reid to have their second chance lead to a happily ever after!

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  6. Hi Laura! Thanks for visiting with us today. I'm having my car serviced this morning but will be back to play later.

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    1. PJ, thanks so much for having me today! I always love being here at The Romance Dish. Great site, wonderful readers!

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  7. One of my best friends from HS lost her husband to cancer when he was only 38 years old. She will be married in July to a wonderful guy on her 60th birthday, July 8th.

    My HS boyfriend of almost 2 years dumped me without telling me. I would never get back together with him. I have no idea where he is living.

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    1. Hi Laurie G. The story of your friend is so lovely. I hope very much that you get one too and find a man to love who loves you and treats you wonderfully. Best wishes for your own HEA. ~Laura

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  8. I'm afraid I'm no help since I married my first serious boyfriend but I do enjoy reading about them.

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    1. I love that kind of story, Catslady! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Second Chance love is on my fav TROPE list... But even though I like it, I have never had a lost love or anything of the sort come back to me.. Oh well that's life. My motto is if it was meant to be it was meant to be.

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoy stories about second chances, Kathleen! I hope you try Once Tasted. And please let me know what you think!

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  10. no personal second chance stories

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  11. I like second chance stories...Laura I am reading your new book now...met you at Spring Fling.. I am enjoying the book...


    Donna

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    1. Hi Donna! Glad to hear you're enjoying the book. It's going with me to the beach next month. :)

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  12. I love second chance stories. Yes my first love I still think about from time to time. Your book sounds fantastic.

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  13. Love second chance at love stories. Always interesting to see how they have changed and the way they adapt to the changes. Thanks for the chance to win!!

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    1. I find that interesting too, Trish. I enjoy seeing how they've each grown in the time apart.

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  14. I've read it and loved it. I'd be so happy to have a paperback copy!
    Tammy H

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  15. I love second chance stories! Sadly, never experienced it in real life but I do love reading about them :) The only Taylor Swift song I like and will probably put as my love life them song is that one that goes "we are never, never, never getting back together again" :) Congrats Laura on the new release!

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    1. I experienced it once. It was a lot like that Taylor Swift song. lol

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  16. don't have one to share

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  17. Thanks for visiting with us today, Laura. We wish you all the best with Once Tasted!

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  18. I love 2nd chance romance stories.

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  19. This sounds like it will be a good book. Both ONCE TEMPTED and ONCE TASTED would make good summer reads.

    No great loves , but a few crushes in my youth. A little disappointed when the crushes went nowhere, but no heartbreak. My husband was a friend in high school and is now my best friend. June 3 is our 42nd wedding anniversary, so the first "love of my life" was obviously the right one.

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