Hiya peeps, we have Amy Lane popping in for a visit today with the tour for her new release Freckles, we have a fantastic guest post from Amy, she lets us have a peek at an excerpt, she’s also got a brilliant giveaway and we have Aerin’s review, so enjoy the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Freckles

Amy Lane

Carter Embree has always hoped to be rescued from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help.

Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who helps ease Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes that Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse into the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be Super-Pet Owner—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says good-bye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds that there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive, he can be a hero, he can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

And I’d Like to Thank My Local Banfield…

By Amy Lane

Minor characters come in all shapes and sizes.

Sometimes, they end up taking over your storyline and sleeping with your principle hero/heroine without your consent. (Bracken? Aylan? I am totally looking at you, you bastards. Look what you made me do.)  Sometimes, you summon them out of air to serve a purpose, and they end up with books of their own, which surprises you all!  And some of them just sort of fade back into the background after providing some good advice or a laugh or even a tear or two.

And some of them are real.

When I decided to write a story about a dog—a dog much like my dog—I included some of the people who had made my dog possible.  These are the people who explained the health plan to me (it’s not really like insurance, but it feels a lot like insurance) and who held my hand when we had to put Chiquita (link to No Wrong Way to Get a Dog Here) down and who were so, so kind when Geoffie had her massive, potentially deadly infection.

Melissa, Cedar, and Doc Marty are real people—I see them at least once a month. They know the names of my animals and what kind of pet owner I am and that they can be gently critical of me when it’s needed. Doc Marty (who’s real name is Doctor Saunders, but I changed it for the story because it was too much like Sandy) once told me, “We really love Steve. We love seeing Steve. In particular, we’d like to see less of Steve. Have you tried a lo-cal pet food?”

Steve is still amazingly fat, but I do love Dr. Saunders for trying.

And I loved putting these people in my story and letting them gently guide (and sometimes hinder) Sandy in his quest to get to know Carter better.

Excerpt

Carter blinked. “There’s something wrong with being a grown-up?”

 “No!” Sandy laughed. “Not even a little. It’s just . . . there’s more to being a grown-up than being boring. Once you’re past thirty, you figure your body will chill you out eventually anyway. I mean, it’s already starting with me and onions. I can’t even eat them—it’s like I’ve been betrayed by pizza. But . . . I mean, your heart, you know? You sort of see that you’re not going to be young forever—isn’t it time to take a chance on someone, maybe vote for them to be in it for the long haul? I wasn’t asking for a mortgage and two kids—I was asking for maybe joint health insurance and a shared checking account for bills.”

Okay, it would be a lie to say Sandy never told this much of his personal life to anybody, but usually it was his coworkers, friends, or family. But after Rick, he really had figured out a few things about what he wanted from life. And Carter looked like he might fit that bill—but Sandy had to make sure.

 “Could be worse,” Carter said almost absently. Sandy glanced over his shoulder and realized that Cedar was coming out with Freckles. C’mon, Carter—tell me how it could be worse.

“Yeah?”

Carter smiled at him, but this looked like a professional smile, or an absentminded smile, or—even worse—a bitter smile. “You could promise someone the whole world, and then get so caught up working for the whole world that they’ve moved on by the time you get home for dinner.” Oh, ouch!

“Hello, Mr. Embree!” Cedar sang joyfully. “Here, Freckles—is that your daddy? Is that your daddy? Say hello to your daddy!”

“Freckles!” Carter said, the warmth in his voice hitting Sandy right in the stomach. “Oh, baby—how’re you doing?”

 Sandy watched as Doc Marty went over the list of things for Freckles to avoid, and the regimen for giving her prednisone.

 “Oh hell,” Carter muttered, looking at the directions. He nodded at Sandy like he was conceding a point. “Do you have that dog walker’s number?” He sounded a little defeated. “And will she give meds if I ask her to?”

Oh, easy! “Yeah! Now, in the interest of fairness, I should tell you she’s my niece, but I swear I don’t get kickbacks. That okay?”

 Carter nodded, looking bemused, so Sandy kept going.

 “Excellent. When she comes over, just give her the directions. She’s totally responsible that way.”

About paying her bills or keeping a boyfriend? No, Alexis was not what he’d term responsible. But as an animal caretaker? Yes. Sandy had taught her from the time she was very small. She never let fear rule her, and she took her oath of pet ownership very seriously.

Sandy would just refrain from telling Carter about how the last boyfriend’s aura had changed from royal blue to sort of a charcoal brown, and it had creeped her out, so she’d bailed in the middle of the night, stealing their cats as she left. Yeah. Nobody needed to know about that unless Alexis told them.

Since she had the same lack of filter that Sandy had, he imagined that would be within ten minutes of acquaintance.

“Okay, so, uh, write down her number for me,” Carter said, and then turned back to Dr. Martin, who looked amused with the byplay. “Yes, I can give her prednisone for the rest of the week.”

“Good. I think that’s all—be sure to call us if you have any questions and we’ll call you tomorrow to check up on you, okay?”

 “Yes, ma’am,” he said deferentially. Then, shyly, “And thank you, Melissa. I was such a mess this morning.”

Melissa smiled and waved at him, and he went for the grand good-bye.

“You all have been very patient with me.”

 “You’re welcome, Mr. Embree. You have a nice evening.”

And damn it! Doc Marty had betrayed Sandy in the worst of ways by doing the social closure thing so he had no choice but to wave weakly. He couldn’t think of a single reason to keep Carter there any longer, but damn if he didn’t want to keep talking.

So when Cedar elbowed Sandy sharply in the ribs, he got brave and blurted, “And don’t forget, you have my number— here, wait.” He pulled one of the Banfield cards from the dish and rashly wrote down his personal number. “And here—feel free to text me anytime.” He thrust the card into Carter’s hand and grinned manically at his confusion.

“Uh, thank you, Sandy.” And then, oh yes, the real smile that Sandy had been waiting for. “You’ve been a real help today. Thank you.”

With a gentle little head bob, he left, while a tired but ecstatic Freckles licked his face.

“Subtle, Corrigan,” Doc Marty said when Carter was out of earshot. “Too bad we didn’t have any condom packages— you could have written your number on one of those too.”

 With that, she turned around and made her way efficiently to the back of the office with the animals, while Cedar and Melissa broke into giggles. Sandy looked at them through narrowed eyes. “You guys laugh, but did you see that? He smiled. That was a real smile. I’m in!”

About Amy

Amy Lane exists happily with her noisy family in a crumbling suburban crapmansion, and equally happily with the surprisingly demanding voices who live in her head.

She loves cats, movies, yarn, pretty colors, pretty men, shiny things, and Twu Wuv, and despises house cleaning, low fat granola bars, and vainglorious prickweenies.

She can be found at her computer, dodging housework, or simultaneously reading, watching television, and knitting, because she likes to freak people out by proving it can be done.

Connect with Amy:

• Website: greenshill.com
• Blog: writerslane.blogspot.com
• Twitter: @amymaclane
• Facebook group: Amy Lane Anonymous
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/amymaclane

Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of Freckles, one lucky winner will receive Freckles in ebook and another ebook of their choice from Amy’s backlist! 

Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review

Title: Freckles

Series: 2016 Holiday Charity Bundle

Author: Amy Lane

Genre: Contemporary, Holiday

Length: Novella (170 pages)

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (November 14th 2016)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 hearts

Blurb: Carter Embree has always hoped to be rescued from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help.

Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who helps ease Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes that Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse into the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be Super-Pet Owner—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says good-bye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds that there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive, he can be a hero, he can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

ISBN: 9781626495036

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/freckles

Reviewer: Aerin

Review: If you ever doubted the fact that Amy Lane can write pure fluff, then Freckles is your proof and you have to read it just to convince yourself. This book is full of fluffy feeling, doggy kisses, and heartfelt puppy love! It should be perfect, right? It wasn’t, but I still liked this book for the lack of drama and for Freckles.

Carter is an attorney in his early 30’s who loves his job but hates his place of employment and his ethically impaired boss. His boring and workaholic life is suddenly turned upside down when a flea-infested fluff ball is thrown in his arms. Carter has never imagined raising a puppy and he has basically no knowledge about it, but Freckles is exactly what he needed. A trip to the local vet clinic gives Carter some peace of mind and puts Sandy in Carter’s path.

Sandy is a 33 years old vet tech who’s going to college to become a veterinarian. Sandy is mostly happy and has a great family, but he yearns for someone to love and share his life with. Sandy’s first impressions of Carter is that he’s a bit of a nut, but Carter’s obvious worry and love for Freckles makes Sandy see him in a different light.

And here starts the cute story of raising a puppy when you have no clue what you’re doing. I love dogs and I’m a proud dog parent myself, but Freckles’s habit of pooping and peeing everywhere kinda cast a shadow on the slow developing feelings between Carter and Sandy. The whole story is so drama free, cute, and tame, that I expected Carter and Sandy to burn the sheets… this girl right here needs some excitement in her books. While there were plenty of moments full of feels and cuddles, the steamy scenes barely made an appearance. I guess I prefer Amy Lane’s angsty books, the ones that rip my heart out and put baseball-sized lumps in my throat. I like books that make me FEEL and the only thing his book made me feel is cuteness overload.

The ending is a tentative HEA which was definitely sweet and our guys deserved it. Freckles is a super-cute holiday read and I definitely recommend it to those who are not fans of Amy Lane’s special brand of angst.

Check out the other blogs on the tour