Share your bad date story, win a signed copy of Frisky Business!

Holy cow, you guys! We're a week away from the release date for Frisky Business, my new romantic comedy from Sourcebooks. Anyone want to join me in doing a happy dance on the table wearing nothing but undies and a party hat?

Next week I'll be kicking off a blog tour centered around bad dates. We’ve all had them, right? In Frisky Business, my heroine endures more than her share. After vowing not to date any more wealthy men, Marley embarks on a quest to date only blue collar guys. While the plan makes it easier for her keep her distance from Will—the quirky, unlikely millionaire she desperately doesn’t want to fall for—it sends Marley down a path of truly terrible dates.

I'll be sharing several of my own during the blog tour, but how about we get a head start on this now? While the bad date stories I'm sharing during the tour are fairly detailed, there are a few abbreviated ones worth mentioning. Among the highlights:

• Age 16: The guy who turned to me during the first five minutes of our date and asked, "do you like to get down?" I replied by detailing my musical preferences and limited experience with dancing at school functions. He gave me an exasperated look. "No," he snapped. "I mean do you like to f**k." Suffice it to say, he never found out.
• Age 23: The guy who spent much of the date ogling a woman on the other side of the bar. When I said his name to draw his attention back to our conversation, he turned his head and speared his nostril with his straw. (Note: You'll see a slight variation of this incident in Frisky Business).
• Age 37: The time my date texted me something flirtatiously filthy from across the table at the precise moment I handed my phone to his ex-wife (you can read more of that story here).

I'll be sharing a number of lengthier stories during the blog tour, so go here to scope out the dates and topics. There will be tons of exclusive excerpts and cool prize giveaways, too, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, how about we kick things off with our own prize giveaway? In the comments (or in an email message sent to tawnafenske at yahoo dot com if Blogger decides to be a dick and eat comments again) please share your own bad date story. It can be as short or as detailed as you like.

I'll pick a winner on Monday, May 5 – the day before release day for Frisky Business – and that person will receive a signed copy of the book.

Not in the mood to share or to wait? I've heard through the grapevine the book is already appearing in bookstores around the country, and many folks who pre-ordered  have already received theirs. Here's a roundup of buy links:

• Buy the book from Amazon

• Buy the book from Barnes & Noble

• Buy the book from iBookstore

• Buy the book from Kobo

So what's YOUR best bad date story? Please take off the party hat, get down from the table, put your clothes back on, and share!

Win it before you can buy it! I'm giving away 5 free ARCs for Frisky Business (my May 2014 romantic comedy)

There are a few things in my book contracts that baffle me.

Okay, that's a lie. Pretty much everything besides my name and the line that says "sign here" is a mystery to me, which is why I'm grateful to have an agent who makes sure I never scrawl my signature on a form pledging to donate my boobs to medical science upon the sale of Turkish rights for my first two novels.

Incidentally, in case you've ever wondered what the Turkish versions of Making Waves and Believe it or Not look like (and who hasn't?) here you go.

But this is actually not the point of this blog post. Wait, what was the point?

Right. The fact that I don't understand my book contracts. For instance, I know it says somewhere in there that they'll send me a whole big bunch (I think that's the correct terminology) of advance reading copies (ARCs, if you want to sound cool) for each of my books. Even so, I'm always a little mystified when they show up.

In case you've never seen an ARC, they pretty much look like real books. However, if you look closely, you'll see lingo that specifies they're not for resale and that they're intended for review purposes. If you look even more closely, you'll see typos scattered throughout the manuscript because I have the tendency not to notice things like that until the eleventh hour. It's something my editor finds utterly charming about me, and by "charming," I mean there's a strong possibility she'd like to punch me in the throat.

Nevertheless, I have a bunch of ARCs for my newest romantic comedy Frisky Business. They are currently covering up a hole I made in the desk when I knocked over a big penis-shaped candle. Now I haven't read my contract closely, but I suspect that's not how I'm supposed to use my ARCs. I should probably give them away, don't you think?

I have to tell you, I'm kind of excited about this book, which is releasing May 6 from Sourcebooks. Yesterday, Kirkus Reviews (one of the most reputable review publications in the book biz) posted a killer write-up on Frisky Business. Lookie here:

Kirkus Reviews

Swearing off rich men after a demoralizing breakup, Marley Cartman moves to Bend, Ore., for a brand-new start and immediately meets Will: jeans-clad, seemingly unemployed and...horrifyingly wealthy.

 The second Marley meets the scruffy animal shelter volunteer, it’s clear there’s an attraction, and when they wind up sharing a scorching kiss, she thinks there might be something worth pursuing…until the next day, when she discovers that "Will" is William Barclay V, a wealthy town benefactor and chairman of the board of the wildlife sanctuary where’s she’s just started working and which has a very strict policy against staff fraternizing with supervisors and board members. Besides, Will has major trust issues thanks to a disastrous marriage, and Marley has a few secrets that she knows will push his buttons. Forsaking the man who makes her toes curl, she embarks on a plan to date normal men with average bank accounts—with highly amusing results—until the moment Will’s and Marley's pasts collide to devastating effect. In this quirky comedy, up-and-coming romance author Fenske sets up impeccable internal and external conflict and sizzling sexual tension for a poignant love story between two engaging characters, then infuses it with witty dialogue and lively humor.

An appealing blend of lighthearted fun and emotional tenderness.

Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart? It warms mine, and I'm not even entirely sure where my cockles are.

Here's what I do know though: having a bunch of reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble can make or break a book for an author. It's particularly important to get those reviews up on release day or immediately thereafter (though not before, since those sites won't allow you to review a book that doesn't exist yet. Go figure).

Anyway, here's what I want to do: I've got five extra ARCs for Frisky Business. If you're willing to leave a review on Amazon or B&N on release day, tell me so in the comments. Bonus points if you're willing to do both. I'll draw five names on Monday, April 14, and will mail them out to you the next day.

Oh, and if you're too busy to hassle with all that but you still want the book, Frisky Business is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Probably some other places, too. I should check my contract, huh?

P.S. Sometimes Blogger decides to be an asshole and eat comments (particularly from people using smartphones). If that happens to you, feel free to email me at tawnafenske at yahoo dot com and I'll still count your entry.