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Tuesday 29 December 2009

PREVIEW: "Hot Chocolate Kiss" by Gianna Bruno


On Thursday, January 7, Gianna Bruno’s short story "Hot Chocolate Kiss" will be released by Eternal Press.

Extreme weather, three witches, two skiers fighting their own demons--and each other…who wins?

Keela Branford’s passion for extreme winter sports, fueled by anger at a cheating soon to be ex-husband, drives her to brave sub-zero wind chills and break a lot of rules--including the one to never ski alone. There are just some battles that have to be fought despite the risks.

Keela doesn't think much of Rick Marston, a ski lift attendant who is brazen enough to question Keela's judgment. And she thinks even less of his invitation for a drink when she comes down from the summit. She's sworn off controlling jocks like her ex, and is determined to exorcise the demon of self-doubt inside her. Will Keela win the battle against The Witches waiting for her on the ski slopes? And will the heat between Keela and the man who gets in the middle rout them for good?


Gianna certainly knows her stuff when it comes to both plotting a story and telling it, and she uses her skills to good effect in this debut novelette. Gianna knows the New England skiing scene well, and her skiing experiences provide a confident background to the piece.

Readers will immediately indentify with Keela, who is a skilful mix of vulnerability and willpower. I shared in Keela’s determination to beat the elements as she battled the witches; I willed her to make the right decision when deliberating over Rick’s interest. In short, I couldn’t help wanting Keela to succeed.

Most of all, though, I sat back and enjoyed the narrative. 'Hot Chocolate Kiss' pulls you along almost like the moods of a river - sometimes fast and furious, at other times more gentle, but always taking you with its flow.

The story is both erotic and romantic, and I finished it wanting to read more about Rick and Keela. I know Gianna has hinted that 'Hot Chocolate Kiss' might be the first of a series, and I for one am looking forward to meeting the characters again.


Hot Chocolate Kiss’s web site at Eternal Press is here: http://www.eternalpress.ca/hotchocolatekiss.html

Readers can connect with Gianna at:

http://giannabruno.com/
http://giannabruno.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/Gianna_Bruno
gianna_bruno@yahoogroups.com

Subscribe to Gianna's webpage forums for Rick and Keela’s upcoming character blogs: http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3559210654/

In addition to hanging around on the Eternal Press Readers Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EternalPressReaders/ every day to answer readers' questions, Gianna will be the guest at a live chat on the Eternal Press website http://eternalpress.ca/ on January 7. Please drop in for a trivia contest about New England and skiing, and a chance to win a PDF of Hot Chocolate Kiss. She’ll announce the time on Twitter and her blog.

2 comments:

  1. Good morning and Happy New Year, Andrew! I woke up to find notice of the preview in my inbox. Thanks.

    Six more days until Hot Chocolate Kiss is released! I can't wait. Stay tuned for excerpts, plus confirmation of the time slot for the live chat and giveaways on January 7th.

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  2. Congratulations to Gianna on her forthcoming release. Judging by the preview, it looks like a great read!

    Maggie
    www.maggiedove.net

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