The Big Love Letter Event + Giveaway: Kasie West + Tiffany Schmidt

Today marks week two of The Big Love Letter Event, a joint month-long feature hosted by Danny from Bewitched Bookworms and myself, and I hope you guys are having as much fun with these letters as we are. If you didn't get a chance, be sure and check out last week's love song from Kaidan Rowe and Wendy Higgins!

First of all, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! Valentine's Day is a bit of a polarizing holiday, with some people expressing enthusiasm for a day celebrating love in all its various forms and others not feeling it so much, but for me any holiday that encourages the consumption of large quantities of chocolate is epic and earns my wholehearted approval. I'm looking at you too, Halloween ;-)

As a result of the aforementioned polarizing effect Valentine's Day has on the masses, I thought it might be fun to acknowledge the myriad of emotional reactions to this holiday with not just one love letter today, but two. The first is from Kasie West, an author who rocketed onto my radar with last year's Pivot Point (I LOVE YOU TREVOR!) and has continued to impress me with her extraordinary sense of humor and her engaging, witty characters. She was nice enough to share a letter from Caymen from The Distance Between Us to her boyfriend Xander, giving all of us a sweet look at their relationship.

• • • • • CAYMEN'S LOVE LETTER • • • • •

Dearest Dollface,

This being our very first Valentine’s Day together, I expect a big gift. Maybe a small jet or a tropical island. See, doesn’t it sound ridiculous when you read it? So please don’t buy me a gift that you know I can’t come anywhere close to reciprocating. I’m thinking something like a pre-sipped beverage or a movie in your fancy theater room will be perfect. As for my gift to you, I was thinking of buying you a porcelain doll. I know how much you love them. I found one that looks a lot like you, well, I might have to add a pinky ring, but then it will be spot on.
 
But in all seriousness (because I can hear you saying, ‘now your real answer’), I adore you, Xander. The last few months have been the best of my life. It’s been amazing touring some of your hotels with you and I can’t wait to see more. Mainly because I like hanging out with you, not necessarily because your hotels are all that interesting. And thank you for pretending that hanging out in my tiny apartment is the highlight of your day. It makes my mom feel good. Okay, it makes me happy too.
 
Don’t ever leave me or I’ll have to kill you. And I don’t want to dig your grave alone. It would be very very shallow. Oh wait…they have machines for that. Never mind. I love you, babe. Happy Valentine’s Day. Now look up from this letter, give me one of your heart-stopping smiles, and kiss me.

- Caymen 

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US

(Available Now)

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Find Kasie

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • JONAH'S ANTI-LOVE LETTER • • • • •

The second letter today is a bit of an anti-love letter written by Jonah from Tiffany Schmidt's upcoming contemporary young adult release, Bright Before Sunrise. In her email to me, Tiffany wrote "...my characters don't like each other that much early in the book"; a statement that had me pre-ordering it immediately because I'm a MASSIVE sucker for antagonistic relationships. Yes, please and thank you! I thought it was the perfect addition to this event and today's post in particular, so I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did!

From Tiffany:

This letter is written from Jonah’s point of view and takes place during chapter five (“How Do You Say ’50 Minutes of Torture’ in Spanish”) of BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE. If anyone wants to read those chapters (and a few beyond) they’re available on Wattpad.

Brighton-

I slash her name across the top of the back of an extra worksheet then glance around and fold that part under. I know what I’m doing is ridiculous, and it’s not like I’d ever actually give this to her, but maybe if I write it out, I’ll be a little less pissed.

And the only other thing I have to do until the bell rings is check my phone under my desk and wonder why Carly’s not texting back.
 
Get a clue. The fact that you’re hot doesn’t mean you get whatever you want. And I guess I’m a minority of one, because I don’t want you.
 
Not that I think you want me. I’d probably have to go through a 50-step background check before I was allowed to kiss you. And I’d never pass.
 
But I need you to leave me alone. I don’t want to volunteer on any of your stupid projects. I don’t want you to fix my locker. I don’t want you to say hi to me in the hallway and flash me that smile. The one that—for just a second—makes me forget why I hate you.
    
Everyone else ignores me. Why can’t you?

- Jonah

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE

(releases February 18th from Walker Children's

When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything else about her new life—with a new husband, new home and a new baby—is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged—and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah’s girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real... until she breaks up with him.

For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she’s relied on one coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance.

Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3 a.m.?

One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.

Find Tiffany

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Danny and I have an amazing giveaway to share with you all, one that will have 14 winners in total!

• Winners 1 and 2: Each will get a book of their choice from one of the authors featured during the event (open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to you!)
• Winner 3 : Signed Copy of Crash Into You by Katie McGarry (open US/CAN only) – Prize is provided by the author – A huge thank you to Katie!
• Winners 4- 14: Sweet Trilogy swag packs from Wendy Higgins (open internationally) - Prize is provided by the author – Thank you so much Wendy!

The giveaway will run until March 7th and you can enter via the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check back both here and at Bewitched Bookworms every Friday in February for more letters and a whole lot more love from these fantastic authors:

•      Wendy Higgins (Sweet Reckoning)

•      Katie McGarry (Crash Into You)

•      Kasie West (Split Second)

•      Sara B. Larson (Defy)

•      A.C. Gaughen (Lady Thief)

•      Tiffany Schmidt (Bright Before Sunrise)

•      Gena Showalter (The Queen of Zombie Hearts)

•      Nichole Chase (Recklessly Royal)

•      Lorraine Heath (When the Duke Was Wicked)

•      Lynne Matson (Nil)