The Art of the Story: Evie's Knight by Kimberly Krey

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Evie's Knight by Kimberly Krey - Blog Tour Guest Post + Giveaway

Up For Grabs? $50 Amazon Gift card, book swag, and much more!

Evie’s Knight
by Kimberly Krey
Paperback, 391 pages
Published September 11th 2012 by Kimberly Krey

Premise:

When Evie falls in love with Calvin Knight, their young, virtuous romance conjures a truly wicked spell.

Evie always thought her eighteenth year would be magical, but so far it's not what she hoped for. Her best friend has gone wild, her love life is void, and she misses her mom more than ever. But life for Evie is about to change. Calvin Knight, the object of her fascination, is about to fall madly in love with her. Just one problem: Their love conjures a murderous woman from beyond the grave who wants Evie dead. The same demon who has haunted the Knight men for over four generations. Soon Calvin is forced to make a choice: Set Evie free and hope to evade the wrath of The Raven- haired Ghost, or use his newly gifted strengths to fight against her. If he chooses to fight and wins, Calvin will free the Knight men of this demonic witch. If he loses, Evie will become her next victim.

Clean Romance, Part One of Three

Excerpt from Evie’s Knight

I’m a big fan of romance in fiction, but I really prefer clean romance to anything else. Especially when it involves the youth. I think a lot can be lost in downplaying tender words, soft touches, and timid –or not so timid – first kisses. Not to mention the second and third kiss. That’s why I love writing, as I say, romance that’s clean without losing the steam.

In Evie’s Knight, nineteen-year-old Evie plans to remain a virgin until she’s married. Calvin is trying to respect her decision the best way he knows how - by rarely kissing or even touching her. (Of course, guilt over putting her at risk with the family curse plays a part as well, but she doesn't know anything about that.)

As you can imagine, Evie isn’t exactly feelin’ the love from him. So here, in Clean Romance, part one, Evie confronts Calvin about her need for a little more in the relationship. Because the excerpt was too long for one blog post, I split it in half. You’ll find the second part to this excerpt in Clean Romance, part two. In part three, we hear what reviewers thought of the clean romance in Evie’s Knight.

Now onto our excerpt:

“Nothing. It’s um…”

Calvin splashed the brushes around as a gold cloud of paint muddied the water. She watched as he pulled them out to dry, one at a time, wiping them back and forth against an old towel scrap. “Go ahead,” he encouraged.

“I just…” she broke off, licked her lips. “Can you come sit by me at least?” she asked, suddenly irritated.

“Sure.” He set the brushes down and opted for the chair, scooting it close to the edge of the bed where her legs dangled. Evie summoned a thread of courage, used it to speak. “First, I want to thank you … for always being,” she looked over the muscled contours of his bare chest, “respectful.” She forced out a short cough and looked down at her hands, spinning the ring on her thumb. “You’re always a gentleman, and just so there’s no confusion, I want you to know that I’m grateful for that.”

Calvin’s lips tightened, as if he was holding back an argument.

“Since we’ve been together, it’s been like, the best days of my life, seriously.”

“The same goes for me,” he said.

“Well, you have a way about you. I mean, never once have you made me feel like you were out of control, or wanting to compromise . . . my uh …” she looked away, too embarrassed to finish the sentence.

“Your virtue?” Calvin said in a low, sinister tone. He flashed her a mischievous grin that almost eased her nerves, but not quite.

“Thank you, yes. That…was the word I was looking for.” Her face warmed again. “You have some paint there, on your chest.” She motioned to the smudge.

He looked down at the gold smear just beneath his shoulder.

“And some there on your arm, too,” she added, leaving out the mark on his head.

Calvin shrugged. “That’s why I paint without a shirt. If you weren’t here my pants would be off, too.” He smiled at her, making no attempt to remove the paint. His eyes narrowed. “I’ll get it later.”

Evie gulped as she combed a few blonde strands of hair off her face. “I know that you love me,” she said. “Not only do you tell me, but you show me in so many ways. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt closer to another person before, so connected. But even still, I have times where–I admit–I’m just insecure and childish probably, but I still wonder if you’re…”

A flash of concern flared in his eyes. “What?”

“If you’re attracted to me. The way I am to you.” She wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand.

“Evie, are you kidding? How could you doubt that?” The booming sound of his voice silenced her, took her by surprise. “How could you ever think . . .” A grunt of frustration sounded in his throat. “You are exactly what I want. Exactly. Mentally, physically, you’re perfect. You’re beautiful.”

Evie raised her voice to match his. “Well this is what I struggle with. I’m starting to wonder if I’m just crazy, or spoiled, or what the hell’s wrong with me. Because what I want seems to conflict with our whole objective to … you know, wait. You’ll think that when I say I want more that I’ll want that, but I don’t. I just want something in between. Do you get it?” Hot tears streamed down her face. What a mess she’d made of that.

*****

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Author, Kimberly Krey:

Writing Romance That’s Clean Without Losing the Steam!

I’m a reader of good, clean romance, a lover of family time and Diet Coke, and the ultimate hater of laundry.

I’m not patient enough to enjoy a yoga class, or tall enough to be great at basketball, but I do love to run – anywhere but on a treadmill. I love the sound of a rainstorm when I have no place to go, the feel of Soft Lips chap Stick on my lips, and the first peek of blue water as we round the mountains toward our favorite getaway in Bear Lake.

Find & Follow Kimberly Krey:

Twitter

https://twitter.com/KimberlyKrey

Website

http://kimberlykrey.wix.com/kimberlykrey

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6527799.Kimberly_Krey

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Krey/e/B009A0350I/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Krey-Author-Page/106826456029568?ref=hl

Super Swag-a-licious Giveaway.

Grand Prize: $50 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

2^nd Prize: $25 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

3^rd Prize: $10 Amazon gift card, a signed paperback of Evie's Knight, SoftLips chapstick, recipe cards, E.K. calendar card, postcard of The Storm, and bookmark.

Five more winners will receive an ebook version of Evie’s Knight!

Paperback winners may choose between old cover (shown below) or the new cover, featuring Calvin Knight (shown above).

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on Colorimetry & Rafflecopter as well as emailed to winners who will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Laura, Burgandy Ice, @ www.burgandyice.blogspot.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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