Official Website of USA Today bestselling author Tawdra Kandle
Welcome to the 4th of July Summer of Reading Giveaway!
The authors below are offering up $150 Amazon Gift Card to you can get your read on!
Please check out the books below, some are Free, Free with KU, or Inexpensive.
Young Adult
New Adult
![LovesSecretTorment_Amazon[3]](https://i0.wp.com/www.promotionalbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/LovesSecretTorment_Amazon3-191x300.jpg?resize=191%2C300)
Sweet Romance
Contemporary Romance
Women’s Fiction
![a1424432-000b-4721-bedc-6ba0c81db2ea[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.promotionalbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/a1424432-000b-4721-bedc-6ba0c81db2ea1-194x300.jpg?resize=194%2C300)
Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
Science Fiction
Want to win a $150 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the authors in the rafflecopter below for a chance. Open WW 18+ Ends July 20, 2016 @ 11:59 PM EST
You’d think that this IS the theme of my summer–ahem, summer BEACH lovin’–I’d have talked about this song before now. But I was saving it.
I was a child of the ’70s and ’80s, and as such, Grease was a hugely defining movie for me. I remember when it came out. Since my parents played oldies all the time and talked about growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, and since we loved shows like Happy Days, I was really excited about to see Grease. Plus. . .John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John? How could it miss?
I’m pretty sure my parents saw it first. I was in middle school, so VCR’s had just become a thing. I don’t remember seeing Grease in the theater; I think my parents let us watch it on video–and they fast-forwarded through questionable parts. Didn’t matter though; I was totally in love with the music, the clothes, the characters. . .I related to Sandy, though I have to admit I was disappointed with her decision at the end. (Hey! I was only 13!)
But the music. . .it was perfect. Who can forget Hopelessly Devoted To You? (It became my theme song, played over and over, when my own heart was broken.) Or Beauty School Drop Out? But my favorite number of the whole movie had to be Summer Nights. It made me think of my own summers (which did *not* involve lovin’ of that kind!), and I loved the interplay and the lyrics.
I won’t go into detail about how much I also loved the much-less-appreciated Grease 2, or about how my sister and I both had Pink Ladies T-shirts. Instead, let’s sit back and listen to the memory of some summer nights.
Happy June! Are you ready for summer? When I was a kid, I lived for June. It meant the end of school (in the northeast, we didn’t finish until about mid-June)–and the best part of school, really, since we had half-days, movies and more fun than work. Plus, in my family it meant we returned to our trailer at the shore on weekends, going to the beach and the boardwalk. And two of my favorite holidays were Flag Day (June 14) and Independence Day (okay, that’s July, but so close to the end of June. . .)
Music was huge in the summer. We listened to tapes as we drove to the shore or hung out by the pool. And my parents, as always, shared their favorites with us, including cute stories about the memories the songs prompted.
I always think of my mother when I hear this one. She used to sing it to us, and then laugh as she shared how her siblings would say, “Here comes Jeannie in her polka dot bikini!”
Such a sweet, innocent song from 1960 . . . this poor little girl who was afraid to come out the locker room!
I hope your summer is filled with chances to wear bikinis–or enjoy the view of them. Oooh la la!
Today is the unofficial start of summer, and as such, it’s the official kick-off of the summer music season (I have deemed it so!).
Summer’s always been a time when we listen to more music than ever: driving to the beach, sitting in the sand, hanging out at the pool, barbecuing in the backyard . . . summertime fun and awesome tunes go together like hotdogs and mustard.
Since 2015 is the Summer of Beach Lovin’, each Monday of this summer I’ll be posting a different summer-themed song and talking about it. I’d love to hear YOUR favorite summer jam: which song absolutely means summer and beach to you? Comment here or on my Facebook page, and I’ll feature it in an upcoming post.
We’ll start with what is to me one of the most-often identified favorite summer songs: Surfin’ USA by the aptly-named Beach Boys (1963). I’ve loved this song since I was a kid–it named so many places in the US that were familiar to me, and my sister and I got a kick out of the lines:
You’d seem ’em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin’ U. S. A.
Because no matter where we all live, whether in the middle of Manhattan, a wheat field in Kansas or on the shores of Lake Michigan, during the summer, don’t we all want to be going on a surfin’ safari?
Happy Memorial Day! Bring on the summer.
This is going to be a summer of lovin’ . . . beach lovin’! And really, is there anything better?
I’m excited beyond the telling that the next two Crystal Cove books are coming out. Their release dates are June 29th and August 23rd.
AND The Posse, the book that started it all and made us everyone want to live in the Cove (or at least keep a summer house there!) will be included in a special beach-themed box set coming out June 28th. You heard it here first, folks. More info coming very soon, but here are some of the preorder links!
Last week, I revealed the gorgeous new cover for The Posse on my Facebook page. I’m including it here today . . . along with the brand-new, not-yet-seen-outside-the-Temptresses cover for The Plan. I adore these covers so freaking much–aren’t they amazing? (MUCHO love to Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon A Time covers!!)
So here’s The Posse‘s dreamy new look . . .
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000035_00020]](https://i0.wp.com/tawdrakandle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/The-Posse-wrap-new.jpg?resize=493%2C366)
And this is the cover for The Plan, releasing June 29th!
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000035_00020]](https://i0.wp.com/tawdrakandle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/The-Plan-Tawdra.jpg?resize=493%2C366)
Emmy Carter is a hard-working, no-nonsense woman. She’s focused only on supporting her family and growing her pie business. Working weekend nights at The RipTide is just something she does to help pay the bills. When it comes to men–or love–she’s not interested. Since the day her surfer-boy husband walked out the door to find bigger waves, Emmy’s been determined never to give another man power over her heart.
Cooper Davis agrees. He’s been married–and divorced–twice, and he’s got no desire to make it a trifecta. He has his carpentry business, which is his passion, and his teen-aged daughter to keep him busy. The posse, his best friends since boyhood, tease him about finding the right woman. But Cooper knows she doesn’t exist.
When Emmy and Cooper share a casual hook-up late one night, isn’t a big deal. It’s just a one-time thing. Until it isn’t. And although neither of them will admit to themselves or each other that they want more, each encounter only brings them closer to the happily-ever-after they never planned to have.
Like it or not. . .it’s all part of The Plan.