Lion Dancing for Love

by Laura Boon

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GENRE: Contemporary romance, small town romance, novella

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BLURB:

Licking her wounds after a bad relationship, San Diego accountant Caitlyn Summers travels to Willow Springs to help her friend gear up for the annual Maple Sugar Ball. She isn’t planning on staying long, but one encounter with the delicious Corey Duncan has her re-evaluating her plans.

Corey swore off love when his wife Annie died from breast cancer. Caitlyn is too young, too citified, and vibrates with a passion and energy that will upend the safe, comfortable rhythm of his life. Corey has to choose between playing it safe and taking a risk on love. Caitlyn needs to find the patience to let Corey lead. If not, the Maple Sugar Ball might end in a sticky mess, instead of a slow dance with the man who has captured her heart.

Will their fire burn hot enough to erase doubts and past hurts?

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Excerpt:

“You don’t have to be good at it. You have to be able to follow and count to three.”

She put her hands on her hips. It was his turn to raise a brow. “I can follow—if I choose to.”

He chuckled. “Such sass. Prove it.”

He held out his left hand, and she moved forward and placed her right inside it. He twined their fingers and pulled her into position. A heady combination of scents rose from her, vanilla and pheromones and something uniquely Caitlin. Her skin was slick against his. “Rest your head against my chest,” he murmured.

“I don’t recall that as an official position.”

“It’s the one I favor. Stand on my feet. That’s it.” He adjusted her arm, so she had a good hold around his neck and drew her even closer. “Step with your right foot first…back across, together. Forward, across, together. Back, across, together. Forward, across, together.”

Halfway through the song, he let her feet slip to the ground. At the end he kept a firm grip on her waist while he hit replay, then led her through a series of fast twirls, their bodies so close they were almost one. When the song ended, they collapsed in a heap against the wall. She was giggling.

“What?”

“I get why it was considered scandalous when it was first introduced.”

He smiled and tipped her chin toward him with a finger. “It’s only scandalous if you do it properly.”

He brushed his lips softly across hers, then claimed her mouth as she breathed into him.

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Guest Post with Laura Boon:

The Rules of Attraction

“Opposites attract” is a popular saying. On a surface level, it is true for Corey and Caitlin, the hero and heroine of my new novella Lion Dancing for Love. However, we can all admire a beautiful frame without being tempted to buy, so what is it that really sparks attraction? In my experience, it’s more accurate to say that the engagement between couples happens below the surface, so it only seems like opposites attract. We’re drawn to people who “get us” or who can show us the way forward in life, either through personal experience or through understanding and empathy. Often, the ability to do that is based in prior experience, so we have similar experiences and compatible skills that make lock and key fit.

So, opposites… Corey is a third generation business owner in Willow Springs, Vermont. He likes small town life and can’t imagine living elsewhere. He is a young-ish widower who has sworn he will never risk love again. His wife died too young from cancer and part of him died with her.

Caitlin is an accountant from San Diego, California. She’s of Chinese American descent and moves easily between the two cultures. She loves city life and her biological clock is ticking loudly. She’s frantic to find love in time to start a family, but she’s stuck in a mire of self-loathing over the mistake she made in her last relationship.

Now, similarities… they’re close to family and friends and find value in work. At heart, they’re loyal, generous and kind. They share a sense of humor. They enjoy dancing and laughing but right now need to be reminded to enjoy life. They can both be stubborn and bossy, which sparks fireworks from time to time. They’re wildly attracted to each other, but they have each been scarred by love in the past and are afraid of letting love in again. Corey has given up on it; Caitlin is scared it is out of reach. Neither one wants to be the first to risk love.

To reach their HEA, they each need a healthy dose of self-compassion, courage, and a willingness to change direction when needed. All things I find difficult, especially self-compassion. What about you? Which of these three characteristics – self-compassion, courage and flexibility – are you good at and which one do you struggle with?

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About Laura

Laura Boon stole her first romance from her father’s bookshelves as a teenager, The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss, and was immediately captivated. After holding a variety of positions in publishing, from bookseller to sales rep and publicist, she eventually found the courage to write her own stories. She was born in Zambia, grew up in South Africa, and went to university in America. She now lives in Australia with her husband and their adorable dogs Beau and Arro. When she is not reading or writing, she enjoys sleuthing for artisan chocolate and beautiful stationery, watching tennis, and walking alongside Sydney’s beautiful harbor.

Social Media Links

You can find Laura online at:

Web: https://lauraboon.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraBoonAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LollyRussell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraboonrussell66/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18376534.Laura_Boon 

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laura-boon

Lion Dancing for Love Buy Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Dancing-Love-Deerbourne-Inn-ebook/dp/B07NQ6VGD7

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lion-Dancing-Love-Deerbourne-Inn-ebook/dp/B07NQ6VGD7

Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Lion-Dancing-Love-Deerbourne-Inn-ebook/dp/B07NQ6VGD7

The Wild Rose Press (publisher): https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/6584-lion-dancing-for-love.html

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/lion-dancing-for-love/id1453327736?mt=11

https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/lion-dancing-for-love

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Laura_Boon_Lion_Dancing_for_Love?id=kGGNDwAAQBAJ

https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/274-deerbourne-inn

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GIVEAWAY

Laura Boon will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour!