The Touched Series
by Elsa Winckler
GENRE: Contemporary romance
BLURB:
When
it comes to men, if physiotherapist Caitlin Sutherland didn't have bad luck, she
would have no luck at all. To help cope, Caitlin starts blogging in her spare
time, about the types of men she meets and the bad dates she goes on.
While on duty during
the annual Wines to Whales bicycle race, a gorgeous, sweaty cyclist walks in
and sets her hormones dancing. But he is Don Cavallo; one of the four Cavallo
brothers — hotel tycoons, famous as much for their business skills as for the
number of beauties regularly seen on their arms.
Don Cavallo has his
own issues with the other sex. He has yet to find one who is interested in him
and not in his money or hotels. But when this sexy physio puts her hands on his
back she not only touches his body, but also his heart.
They've both been
burned before, but neither of them can stop themselves from playing with fire.
EXCERPT:
Touched to the Heart
‘Where’s your girlfriend?’ Was the
first thing that popped out of her mouth. Caitlin nearly groaned out load. She
looked away and unlocked her car. ‘Sorry, none of my business,’ she mumbled and
opened the door.
‘She’s just a friend.’
‘Did you enjoy your date?’ she
asked.
He shook his head. ‘I was watching
you the whole night.’
Stunned, she swallowed.
‘And you? Did you have a nice time?’
he asked.
‘I…’ At a complete loss for words,
she frantically tried to think of a word, any word. Nothing came to mind. She
shook her head. He’d been watching her all night?
He stepped around so that the car
door was between them. Her hands were resting lightly on the door.
‘Thought so.’ His smile was
devastating. ‘I’d like to take you out, Caitlin.’
‘As in a date?’ she asked, still stunned.
‘Yes, Caitlin, as in a date.’ He
touched her cheek. ‘There is something here,’ he said and motioned with his
hand between them.
She didn’t move, just stared at him.
Was he really asking her out on a date?
‘I don’t know what it is, but it’s
keeping me awake at night. Let’s try a date and see how we like it. Friday
around seven?’ he asked. ‘I’ll pick you up and we’ll have dinner.’
Caitlin stared at him for another
minute before she was sure she could string a few words together. ‘Don,
you…me…’ She shook her head and grimaced. ‘We live in two completely different
worlds, we have nothing in common. You are…you, the papers are full of your
businesses. I’m a physiotherapist from Hermanus. I don’t think —’
‘Then don’t. Think, that is.’ He
smiled. ‘You do know that you can’t believe everything you read in the papers.
And I happen to like this physiotherapist from Hermanus.’
She looked at him a moment longer.
This was so not what she should be doing. Hannah’s warning and her own
misgivings about him swirled around in her head.
His eyes never left hers.
She was a big girl. And if she
prepared herself for the worst, then surely she’d be fine.
‘Where? I’ll meet you —’
‘I’ll pick you up,’ he said and
lowered his head.
‘You don’t know where I live and I
always drive myself,’ she managed just before his lips touched hers lightly.
Touched
Series:
Touched to the Heart (Escape Press 1 July 2014)
Buy
links:
Touched to the Soul (Etopia Press 6 August 2015)
Buy
links:
Touched
to the Core (Etopia 4 Nov 2015)
Buy
links:
Touched
to the Depths (Etopia 3 Dec 2015)
Buy
links:
GUEST
POST:
What is your writing process? For
instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?
I start with an idea that swirls around in my
head for weeks, sometimes months. I write it down because if I don’t pen it
down somewhere, I forget!
The next step is usually to think about the
characters and I’ve found that if I spend enough time with this step, the rest
of the process will fall into place. I sometimes even use the Myers-Briggs Type
indicator to analyse the characters but then again, they may refuse to be put
into any kind of box. In such instances, I have to go with the flow and do what
they ‘tell’ me to do J
I have a vague outline, but I don’t plot in
detail. The characters decide what happens when and I try not to get in the way
but to tell their story.
In Touched
to the heart, the first story in the series, I had this idea about a
physiotherapist and a cyclist. I didn’t set out to write a series about four
sisters and four brothers but once I had Don and Caitlin’s background set up,
these other characters kept intruding. So although the idea of four sisters
falling for four brothers is probably far-fetched, I had no choice but to tell
all their stories.
In all the stories I’ve written so far, there
is a magical moment (usually towards the end) when all the pieces fall into
place. Then I know – this will work. If this doesn’t happen, I have to go back
because then something isn’t right.
I write Mondays to Fridays and try to do
between 2000 and 5000 words a day. I start everyday by reading the previous day’s
words and making changes where I need to. I know most writers will tell you not
to do this, but to finish the story as quickly as possible. I’ve tried this,
but find I get a better sense of the mood when I read through the previous
day’s words.
My husband reads through the story when it’s
about half-way. He has a very good sense whether a story is working or not.
When he read the first few chapters of Touched
to the heart, he had a problem with the direction the story was going. I
was very irritated and fed-up but grudgingly
had to concede he was right. I was struggling with the story and
couldn’t figure out why. It took me a few days to get back to the exact moment
where I steered in the wrong direction but once I had that figured out, the
problem was solved and the story flowed.
After I’ve finished a story, I try to leave
it for at least a week before I start reading it from the beginning. There
isn’t always time for this, but when I’ve had a break it’s easier to pick up
mistakes.
When I’m finally happy with the story, I send
it off to the publisher and then the waiting begins …
AUTHOR BIO:
I
have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’
the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë
sisters, etc. during my studies, I was hooked for life.
I
married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 39 years, 3 beautiful
children and 3 grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are
fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty's Bay,
South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind
us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always
been an exciting and interesting one!
I
like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and
headstrong. And the heroes must be
strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also
gorgeous! My stories typically
incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where
they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.
Social Media
links:
Giveaway:
A copy of one of the ebooks
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better
your chances of winning.
1 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting the series! Appreciate your time!
Post a Comment