Sept 2
Day One – AGAINST THE ROPES RELEASE PARTY
Sarah Castille is celebrating the
release of AGAINST THE ROPES with a SEVEN day party. SEVEN great
giveaways, SEVEN different posts. Stop by all the amazing blogs
participating in the party to increase your chances to win!!! Each blog will
post a special AGAINST THE ROPES post all seven days (no weekend posts)
Against
the Ropes Release Blitz
Sarah
Castille
DAY
ONE
Blurb
and Kick off post about inspiration to write Against the Ropes
Post
That
day when you get lost in your own city and try to navigate your way home using
a GPS purchased five years prior in a foreign country.
Yes, that was the day I was inspired to write
Against the Ropes. And no, it wasn’t because I was overwhelmed with the urge to
pummel Claire (pronounced ‘cleh’), the English-accented denizen of the GPS,
who, instead of showing me the way home, charted a path from a garbage strewn
alley in a nameless Canadian city to London, England…across the Pacific Ocean.
That said, I am no longer troubled the directionally
impaired “cleh.” But that is a story for another day (PG-13 Contains Violence).
The fateful day, after choosing to forgo the
opportunity to test the structural integrity of my vehicle on an ocean voyage,
and having forgotten to charge my phone, as you do when planning to get lost, I
drove aimlessly through the streets until I found myself in a commercial
district at the far edge of the city. Despite the late hour, lights shone
through the windows of one of the many unremarkable, shoebox-shaped buildings
that littered the area. Low on fuel, Diet Coke and gummy bears, I pulled into
the dimly-lit parking lot and pulled out my bear spray.
In Canada, one never knows when one might meet a
bear.
Heart pounding, I made way to a black metal door
with the letters MMA spray painted on the front. Then, pulse racing, bear spray
in hand, I tugged on the door handle.
Oh, the suspense.
I found myself in a large reception area. There may
have been carpet on the floor. It may have been green. It could be there were
chalkboards on one wall and MMA event posters on the other. The cloying stench
of stale sweat may have almost knocked me off my feet. If I was writing a book,
I would give you the details—color, texture, scent, even taste. Unfortunately,
all I can remember are glistening pecs, hard abs, taut bottoms (as “cleh” would say) in tight shorts and the biggest
collection of man candy I had ever seen. I do remember licking my lips and they
tasted sah weet.
“Um…hi.” I spoke with the eloquence of an author who
has mastered dialogue technique and the thin voice of a fourteen-year-old in
the presence of her middle school crush.
Six shaved heads jerked up. Six tatted and ripped bodies
turned in my direction. Twelve eyes (most in pairs) studied me from beneath the
fringes of lashes.
“You here to fight?” The man with the eye patch
snickered.
You
keep snickering and you’ll get a fight, I wished I’d said. In
fact, I answered with a cowardly, “Um…no.”
“You lookin’ for your man?” Baby Blue Eyes with the
lickable chest gave me a wink and I almost keeled over.
I’m
lookin’ for a man and you’ll do just fine, sugar,” I didn’t say. Instead, I shook my head and gave
a pathetic sigh.
“I’m lost.”
And just like that, I was sucked into the vortex of
a protective alpha-male testosterone frenzy.
Woman.
Alone. Lost. Dark. Needs. Help. Can’t. Resist. Must. Protect. Save. Woman.
Questions were fired at me like bullets. How did I
get to the gym? Was my car working? Did I have gas? Why didn’t I charge my
phone before I left the house? Why didn’t I fuel up before I started my
journey? Why didn’t I have an updated Canadian GPS? Why did I have wires
hanging out of my purse? Was I single?
Who
said that?
Maps were drawn, fuel was siphoned, vending machines
were raided, a phone charger was procured. While I waited for my phone to show
the necessary two bars of power that had been deemed a requirement for my
release, I was treated (and I do mean treated)
to a tour of what I then knew to be an MMA gym and training facility.
Yes,
there is a Santa Claus.
For the next hour, I watched sweaty, muscular men
roll around on the floor, trade punches in the ring, and throw spinning back
kicks across the mats. Baby Blue Eyes explained the basics of MMA fighting, the
different martial arts and fighting skills involved, and the sheer athleticism
necessary for a fighter to hold his own in the ring.
By the time my phone was charged, I had a story in
my head. It was about a naïve, slightly awkward girl (hmmm) who found herself in an MMA club, and the fighter who
wouldn’t let her go.
Finally, it was time to leave. Baby Blue Eyes walked
me to my car. Then he asked for my number. But that’s another story (Rated R)
Blurb
He scared me. He thrilled
me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more…
Makayla
never thought she’d set foot in an underground mixed-martial arts club. But if
anyone needs a medic on hand, it’s these guys. Trouble is, at her first sight
of the club’s owner she’s the one feeling breathless.
The man they call Torment is all sleek muscle and
restrained power. Whether it’s in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly
when a soft touch is required and when to launch a full-on assault. He always
knows just how far he can push. And he’s about to tempt Makayla in ways she
never imagined…
Contact
Information
Author Bio
Recovering lawyer, karate practitioner, and caffeine addict, Sarah Castille
worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a
handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. Her steamy,
contemporary romantic tales feature blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women
who tame them.
Buy Links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Against-the-Ropes-ebook/dp/B00DDWIT3M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
***************************
PRIZES:
Against the Ropes water bottle
E-Copy of Legal Heat
Kindle copy of Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Keep Calm and Fight On T-shirt
Gold plated boxing glove key chain
AGAINST THE ROPES bracelet
Partcipating Blogs
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