Cruising Toward Love With Christi Barth!!

Hey, Hey, Hey!! It's Wednesday!

If your week feels like it's slogging by, then it's time to set sail for "Romance, Passion, A Little Sassy Humor, and Happily Ever After" with CHRISTI BARTH!!

Leave your sun block and suit cases stowed away, because CRUISING TOWARD LOVE is an all inclusive trip guaranteed to keelhaul your post summer blues!

Put the world away for a minute and get comfy, because we're getting down to the good stuff!! Ahoy, Christi!!



1)If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

Christi spent years performing in musicals - mostly for the excuse to wear gorgeous costumes - giving people a guaranteed happy ending with every performance. After a stint as a wedding planner still didn't satisfy her addiction to romance, she turned to writing. Now she wallows in romance on a daily basis.

2)Using three words describe your voice.

Sassy, witty, sexy

3)In your book, ACT LIKE WE'RE IN LOVE, you use your knowledge of stage production to set the backdrop for the characters. Using the adage: Write what you know--How much verifying detail should a writer put into their story?

The more detail, the better. I firmly believe that every store requires world-building, no matter where or when it takes place. A reader may never have been to a lawyer's office in Chicago, a cozy kitchen in Iowa...or a castle in Middle Earth. So if you don't have factual details, you still need to build layer upon layer of fictional detail.

4)Do you have any advice for the novice writer on handling comments from contests and reviews?

Don't let them drive you to drink? My contest history in a nutshell is that I'd either win, or I'd get two perfect scores, and the third score would be completely abysmal. Which proves that contest judging can be all over the place. That said, read the comments with an open mind. Go back to your critique partners and see if they agree with any of them. The judges, ultimately, want you to succeed, and make all their comments in the spirit of truly helping, not hurting.

5)What was your defining moment, when you knew you could embrace the reins of being a romance writer?

When I sold my first book. Finishing it was exciting, and selling it was even more exciting. But it didn't feel real until I knew for a fact that random people out in the world were using their hard-earned money to read my words.

6)Novice writer to Multi-Pubbed author: How has your writing changed?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it has improved by leaps and bounds. Why? Because I've kept writing. There is a book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled Outliers that states in order to become truly successful, you must spend 10,000 hours doing it. I don't think I'm there yet, but I do know that by sitting down and writing every week, I've honed my craft, strengthened my voice, and deepened my plots.

7)What's up next for you? Any good news you'd like to share?

Cruising Toward Love only released a month ago, so I'm still deep in blog tours and promotion. I urge everyone to not only read this funny, sexy romp through the Caribbean, but write a review, and tell their friends about it! Over the summer I finished the first book in a wedding planning trilogy, and I recently began writing a paranormal rife with fallen angels and sex demons.

Want to end the summer with a funny, sexy romp through the Caribbean? Of course you do! So dive into the pages of Cruising Toward Love by Christi Barth. Sizzling Hot Book Reviews recommends it “-to anyone looking for a story that transports you”. Here’s a blurb to get you started.

Can an unexplained breakup and ten years of heartache be cured by the romance – and endless buffets – of a tropical cruise? When her sister is left at the altar, small town librarian Zoe Balis jumps at the chance to take the bride’s unused ticket for the honeymoon cruise. But she didn't count on sharing a cabin with the man who broke her heart ten years ago!

Army medic Nate Hyatt never told Zoe goodbye when he enlisted - or the real reason why he dumped her on prom night after a year as high school sweethearts. And he never stopped dreaming about the girl he left behind. Could this voyage be his chance to fix the worst mistake he ever made? After all, a Caribbean cruise should be romantic… if he can convince her to move past ten years of bitterness and hurt.

Once aboard the luxury liner, Zoe befriends a bored Internet mogul with more heart than tact. Nate vents his problems to a ship’s photographer battling PTSD. The four team up on an island hopping treasure hunt. The stakes grow higher with each of Zoe’s mysterious brushes with death. They race to discover why she's a target and who's behind it, while still competing in the treasure hunt. Zoe’s never gotten over her first love, and is tempted to let Nate back into her life. But she already lost him once. She’s not willing to risk loving a man whose career keeps him in a combat zone. Can Nate breach her defenses and suture her broken heart? Grab a deck chair and see if they survive the stormy relationship seas as they cruise toward love!

For more information and sales links, please visit http://www.christibarth.com/




Sounds like Zoe and Nate are going to put the Love Boat to shame! Where's the ticket line?! I'd like to thank Christi for letting me interview her. Best wishes for a wonderful blog tour and many sales!

THANK YOU, TLN'ers!! The weekend is nigh, so hang in there! See you soon!