Tracie Banister has the "Hallmark" on romantic novels...plus a book giveaway

We're thrilled to have Tracie Banister back at CLC to launch her latest novel, Izzy As Is. Melissa A is currently enjoying this novel. She has read three of Tracie's previous four novels and loved them all. Izzy As Is follows a different character from In Need of Therapy. While it can be read as a stand-alone, there are some spoilers for In Need. And trust us, you will want to read that one anyway! (See Melissa A's review.) 

Tracie is here to talk about romance (and being a Hallmark movie aficionado, she has a lot to say on the subject). She also has one e-book of Izzy As Is to give away!

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her fourtth grade class performed an original holiday play she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.)

Tracie’s dreams of authorial success were put on the back burner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. She is the proud winner of the 2017 Independent Press Award (Romantic Comedy) and a Bronze Medal in the 2017 Readers’ Favorite Awards (Chick Lit). Visit Tracie at her blog, Twitter, and Instagram.

Synopsis:
The party is over for bikini model Izzy Alvarez. For six years she’s made a good living by flaunting her God-given assets on runways and in front of cameras, but now as she approaches the big 3-0, the bodacious Latina is shocked to learn she’s aged out of the profession that’s kept her in mojitos, mani/pedis, and designer thongs. What’s a girl with a taste for the finer things in life and no marketable skills to do?

Getting a regular job is too boring to even consider, so Izzy decides to follow in the footsteps of her newly-engaged frenemy and become a trophy wife. Although she’s desperate and too broke to get a chipped nail fixed, Izzy still has standards for her future husband, which means no uggos, no vertically-challenged guys, and no geezers who need to pop a blue pill to perform in the bedroom. Enlisting the aid of her computer whiz nephew and her closest pals, Izzy goes on the prowl for a rich, marriage-minded man, encountering likely candidates in a lot of unlikely places.

The high life she’s dreamed of may be within reach when Izzy meets a charming, successful man who’s not only hotter than a steamy summer night in Miami, but ready to settle down. Now all Izzy has to do is make sure her loud, crazy Cuban family doesn’t scare off el hombre perfecto—oh, yeah, and squelch those pesky, romantic feelings she keeps having for the sweet, cash-strapped guy she's known forever.

Will Izzy’s hunger for money win out, or will her fiery heart demand to be heard? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Best Hallmark movie you saw this past year?
Hallmark’s holiday movies are always my favorites, and there were several good ones this past Christmas. If I had to pick one, I’d say, Christmas Getaway starring Bridget Regan (a.k.a. Sin Rostro for all you Jane the Virgin fans) and Travis Van Winkle. The actors had great chemistry and there was a lot of humor mixed in with some really poignant moments. I liked that the movie poked a bit of fun at some typical Hallmark tropes like the interrupted kiss. When this happened for a second time in Christmas Getaway, the heroine not only expressed her irritation, she grabbed her love interest and planted one on him!

Romantic gesture of your dreams:
Being whisked away on a private jet to some faraway location and I don’t have to do anything except enjoy myself. No planning, no packing, just lots of fun surprises. (This happens to the heroine in my new release, Izzy As Is!)

Favorite romance novel (or author, if you can't pick just one book):
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen—I like humor and witty banter in my romance, so it doesn’t get any better than Darcy and Elizabeth’s story for me. I’m a fan of all the modern interpretations of this story as well.

TV show characters you are shipping:
Liza and Charles on Younger. I love that they connected on a cerebral level first, talking about books and writers and how their experiences with both shaped them. The way the two of them have fought their attraction, then given into it, then pulled back for various reasons and pined for each other is hot, hot, HOT! I am dying to know how Charles will react when he finds out that Liza has been lying to him about her age all this time and I can’t wait to see the backside of Charles’s ex-wife who recently guilted him into a reunion. Roll on, Season five!

Who is your book boyfriend?
Well, that changes on a pretty much weekly basis depending on what I’m reading. ;) The book boyfriend I’ve been hanging on to since I read An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne during the holidays is Mark Blakely. Rowr! First of all, his physical description in the book was drool-worthy, and he was a chef, which is the sexiest of professions in my eyes. And I loved the slow burn of his romance with his bestie, Kelly. Men who are loyal and devoted like Mark was are very appealing!

Do you consider yourself a romantic person?
I’d better be since I write about romantic relationships for a living! I’ve always been a sentimental, hearts and flowers kind of girl who swoons over big, romantic gestures in chick flicks and cries at weddings. Love makes the world go ‘round as far as I’m concerned!

Thanks to Tracie for spreading the love and for sharing her book with our readers!

How to win: Use Giveaway Tools to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Giveaway Tools on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends January 29th at midnight EST.