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Guest blog and Street Team Book List excerpt - Allie Pleiter

Camy here: Here's another book I added to my Street Team book giveaway list! You can win this book by joining my Street Team--Click here for more info!

Falling for the Fireman
by
Allie Pleiter

There's something achingly familiar about the look in fire marshal Chad Owens's eyes. Widowed mom Jeannie Nelworth knows firsthand what it is: loss, hurt and yes—bitterness. Ever since the fire that changed their lives, Jeannie's young son has borne that same look, pushing everyone away. So she's grateful when Chad tries to get through to the boy with the help of his trusty fire station dog.

But the man who's all about safety and prevention keeps himself protected—from loving and losing again. Seems as if Jeannie will have to add his kind, guarded heart to her rebuilding efforts.

And now, here's Allie!

I’m not sure I buy into the concept of a universal consciousness, but every once in a while the world lines up in a way that makes you wonder if the Holy Spirit couldn’t easily pull it off.

I needed a positive fire experience. Something a little more exotic than roasting s’mores around a campfire, but nothing huge and inferno-like, either. After trolling around the internet for a few weeks, I came upon the Chinese lantern ceremony. It was perfect. Visually stunning, filled with spiritual metaphors, and extravagant enough to feel out of place in the small Illinois town I’d created as the setting for FALLING FOR THE FIREMAN. A romantic night backdrop for a pivotal turning point in Chad’s relationship with Jeannie.

Smiling smugly, I congratulated myself on having grafted a unique and somewhat exotic custom into my next novel.

Then, my nieces come to visit. For fun, we rent TANGLED--Disney’s surprisingly clever re-do of the Rapunzel. What’s crucial to the plot? Floating lanterns straight out of the Chinese lantern ceremony.

Some part of me wants to stand up and yell “I thought of it first!” but I didn’t. I just hadn’t seen the movie until months after it came out. And really, who am I to lay claim to a thousand-year-old oriental ceremony?

Nothing’s ever really “new.” The creative people on the planet just take old ideas and use them in new ways.

But really, I thought of it before Disney. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.


Excerpt of chapter one:

TEST

Print book:
Harlequin.com (Save an extra 10% with code SAVE10AFFO at checkout!)
LARGE PRINT Harlequin.com (Save an extra 10% with code SAVE10AFFO at checkout!)
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Amazon
Christianbook.com
BOOKSAMILLION.COM
LARGE PRINT BOOKSAMILLION.COM

Ebook:
Harlequin.com (Save an extra 10% with code SAVE10AFFO at checkout!)
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Comments

Camy Tang said…
Oops sorry I'll fix the excerpt tonight!
Wed Jan 18, 12:09:00 PM 2012
Anonymous said…
I know what you mean about having similar ideas. One of my working titles for "Letters on Balboa Island" was "Dear John." And then Nicholas Sparks had the nerve to not only publish a book with that same title but it also became a movie. How dare he steal my idea - lol! I guess we all live in the same world and we're bound to have similar ideas.
Tue Jan 31, 01:01:00 PM 2012
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