Book Tour, Giveaway & Interview: Close Up Magic by Michelle Garren Flye

Close Up Magic

Close Up Magic
Michelle Garren Flye

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Date of Publication: May 17, 2013

Number of pages: 304

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     B&N

Do you believe in Magic?

Reporter Stacey Matthewson has made a living writing sensational stories that knock celebrities off their pedestals. Now she’s got a hot lead on an even hotter magician who’s mystifying Las Vegas with his new show–the problem is, she’s had a crush on him for years. How can she write a story that might ruin him, especially when he proves himself to be so much more than she’d ever dreamed?

Magician Andre Hawke has a knack for making things disappear, but when it comes to his brother’s drinking and gambling, he’s got a problem. Hiring the sexy reporter who threatens to blow away his carefully wrought illusion might be the answer to his problems…or she might bring on a whole new set of them.

Stacey’s never believed in magic, and Andre doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Can passion overcome their inhibitions, or will betrayal stem the tide of love?

Excerpt: 

Andre caught up to her, wheeled around and started walking backward in front of her. He was amazingly nimble on his feet, able to avoid oncoming traffic without even glancing over his shoulder. Stacey shook her head. “Don’t you think you need to watch where you’re going?”

“Why?” He shrugged. “I can never see it until it’s past anyway. Most people can’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “I had no idea kissing made you philosophical.”

He tsked. “Kissing makes me horny. Life makes me philosophical.”

He was starting to get on her nerves. “Get over it, Andre. So we made out. We got carried away, that’s all.”

“I think it was more than that…for at least one of us.” His words teased her, but she wouldn’t ask him which one of them he was talking about. He kept walking backward, and this time, he was heading directly toward another man--a very large one--walking toward them. Stacey opened her mouth to say something but before she could, he’d walked directly into the other man, almost as if he’d intended to do it. He laughed out loud, catching himself by putting his arms around her. He glanced over at the large man, breaking off his embrace of Stacey to turn and shake his hand. “Thank you! That was perfect. Sorry about that, I’m trying to make a point, though, and you just did it very effectively.”

He turned back to Stacey. “You say you never saw it coming. I say we never see things coming. I mean, look at this particular incident. I was walking backward, couldn’t possibly have seen him, right? But what’s his excuse?”

Author Interview: 

Tell us something about yourself that's not in your bio.

I was a sports reporter for a short time. It’s not in my bio because it’s not something I’m real proud of. I failed rather unspectacularly to write about football. No matter how much I watched or read about the game, I was totally lost! I did fine on baseball, faked my way through soccer and wrote a couple of really decent stories about basketball, but football was and is a mystery to me.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I’m a volunteer librarian at my kids’ school and it’s been wonderful. So a lot of the time when I’m not writing, you’ll find me there surrounded by books, cataloging and reading and organizing. It’s great fun for me!

How did you choose the genres you write in?

I used to write horror but decided after my second child was born that I was no good at it because my heart wasn’t in it. I sort of had an epiphany that I didn’t want to make the world uglier, I wanted to make it more beautiful, and love was the only thing I could think of that did that. So I chose to write about love.

Is there any particular author or book that has influenced you or your writing?

So many! Every romance author I read influences me in some way or other, usually making me aspire to write even better. But the books that really influence the way I write are the ones I read over and over when I was a kid: Little Women, Watership Down, Ann McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern, the Anne of Green Gables books. I’m sure in some way or other those books are present in what I write today.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

I’m not sure if it’s the toughest criticism, exactly, but it’s certainly hard to take when a reader doesn’t like the sex scenes. Sex scenes are tough to write, so I tend to put a little extra effort into them. I don’t want to write anything I’d be ashamed to have someone I know read, but I also know romance readers like a good sex scene! Plus, sex being a natural part of a couple’s relationship, it’s fairly important to the romantic plot. So it’s a balancing act between closing the door on the scene and going 50 shades of ick. On the flip side, my sex scenes have been called sweet, exquisite and beautifully done, which are definite compliments to my hard work!

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?

Samuel Clements. He’d be fun and I doubt I’d have to carry much of the conversation.

You are going to be stranded on a deserted island and bring 3 luxury items. What would they be?

Case of wine, Kindle loaded with the classics and a solar battery charger.

Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who are they and why?

Well, they’re not married or even old enough to be my parents, but Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson because I’m dorky enough to think it would be cool to be the kid of Iron Man and the Black Widow. But my last name would have to be Downey because I can’t ever spell Johansson right without looking it up. At least twice.

What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

Milk, cheese, wine, beer, salami, bread, eggs, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, grape juice…I could go on. I have kids, so my fridge is always fully stocked.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

The Open Door. I’ve always believed, like Alexander Graham Bell, that when one door closes another opens. And I’m always ready to take the open door when it presents itself.

Think Fast

Summer or Winter?

Summer

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee

Cake or Pie?

Cake

Car or Truck?

Truck

Print or Electronic?

Print

Thanks for the interview. Anything you would like to add?

Thank you for having me here! And yes, I’d just like to say that I wrote Close Up Magic out of my belief that magic exists. If you look around you, you can find it, but it’s probably not going to look like you expected it to.

Giveaway: 

Michelle will award a Magic Gift Basket, including a copy of "Magic for Dummies" by David Pogue to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US only). Plus one commenter at every stop will win a $5 Amazon GC.

So follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

Standard Tour:

June 03: Deal Sharing Aunt
June 04: The Dan O'Brien Project
June 05: Flirting With Romance
June 06: Musings and Ramblings
June 07: Books à la Mode
June 10: It's Raining Books
June 11: Brianna Lee Book Reviews
June 12: Read Your Writes Book Reviews
June 13: Books and Other Spells
June 14: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews & My Devotional Thoughts

Review Tour:

June 17: Shelley's Book Case
June 18: We Love Kink
June 19: All in One Place
June 20: Unabridged Andra & Long and Short Reviews
June 21: Harlie's Books

Author Bio:

Michelle Garren Flye is the award-winning romance author of five novels. Her most recent novel, Where the Heart Lies, has been described as an “engaging novel with charming and likable characters” and a story that “will make you believe in love and second chances.”

Michelle placed third in the Hyperink Romance Writing Contest for her short story “Life After”. Her short stories have been published by the romance anthology Foreign Affairs, Opium.com, SmokelongQuarterly.com and Flashquake.com. She has served on the editorial staffs of Horror Library Volume 1, Horror Library Volume 3, Butcher Shop Quartet, Butcher Shop Quartet II and Tattered Souls.

Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the mother of three and lives in North Carolina with her husband and their rapidly growing collection of pets.

To connect with the author online:

Website      Facebook      Twitter      Goodreads      Amazon Author Central