Thursday, August 1, 2013

[Book Tour] Love Request by Tara Chevrestt / What Hot Italian Men & Missing Fingertips Have to do with Finding Love on the Internet



Love Request
By: Tara Chevrestt


Blurb
When Ciara Littleton takes the plunge and finally joins Facebook to socialize without the limits that her hearing impairment gives her, on a whim, she looks up a childhood friend. In sending him that first message, she ignites the memories of a crush from twenty years ago. But can a simple friend request fix all that stands between them and lead to something more?

Hunter has a lot on his plate. A recent divorce, a pregnant sister, and now, he realizes he's in love with a woman who lives states away. Can he overcome the boundaries of Internet romance to make this desire turn into something real, or will adversity and distance be their undoing--adversity being in the form of his very own sister--the woman who bullied Ciara so mercilessly long ago? 



Buy Links
Digital Smashwords & Amazon & Amazon UK &  Nook
Print  
Amazon & Barnes & Noble

Author Info

Tara Chevrestt is a deaf woman, former aviation mechanic, writer, and an editor. She is most passionate about planes, motorcycles, dogs, and above all, reading. That led to her love of writing. Between her writing and her editing, which allows her to be home with her little canine kids, she believes she has the greatest job in the world. She is very happily married.
Her theme is Strong is Sexy. She shares a website with her naughty pen name: http://tarachevrestt.weebly.com/index.html and they have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Chevrestt-Sonia-Hightower/218383211513877


What Hot Italian Men & Missing Fingertips Have to do with Finding Love on the Internet

Finding love on the Internet...Um...hum. Now this is going to sound funny coming from me as I did pen Love Request and in it, Ciara and Hunter reconnect via Facebook, not having seen each other since they were eight or nine years old...
But while it makes a great story, I don’t recommend it, finding love through the net, or attempting to find love through the net...
Here’s why:
I’ve watched far too many episodes of Law & Order, both the SVU and the Criminal Intent.
Here’s the lowdown: You just may find true love online, or you may end meeting a sexy Italian man who after a few messages, suddenly begins to call you asking for money, claiming that he’s stuck in Saudi Arabia for his job and his paycheck takes a few days to come through, but he must see you now! Can you wire the funds? (This happened to someone I know.)
A Criminal Intent episode that shocks me every time I watch it: In it, a very sick girl named Erica sends a heart wrenching memoir chronicling a life of illness, abuse, and heartache to an editor with a big publisher. Erica has so many health problems, she can’t get out of bed most days, and can never see visitors. People only talk to this little girl on the phone and e-mail. Her voice is so sweet, her words so wise. Through e-mail, the editor edits her book and she published.
People love her story, they want to donate money to help her. One man buys her a fancy, expensive wheelchair and even jewelry. People speak to her in chat forums, after all, her health doesn’t allow her to go in public. Her medications are paid for. A benefactor shows up at the pharmacist and picks up...not the meds...but the money, with the pharmacist keeping a percentage.
You see, Erica never existed. It was really just a very greedy couple—the woman having a sweet voice.
They duped thousands of people. One man even died because he discovered Erica wasn’t really Erica.
SVU...so many women raped, murdered, and thrown in Dumpsters, some of them having connected with men online.
Frankly, Ciara is lucky. She knew Hunter long before, though really, so much time has passed, she doesn’t know him anymore, but she takes the smart route and communicates with him for weeks before agreeing to meet him in person, and when she does, it’s a public place.
I’m not saying NOT to find love online if it’s in the cards. If it happens, great...but be careful. Always remember you don’t really know who’s behind that avatar.
1. Do your research.
2. Never send them money.
3. Always meet in a public place.
4. If you’re ever uncomfortable, get away, stat. If driving, watch for headlights and be sure you’re not followed. Take an alternate route to your home.
5. Never give out your address until you’re sure.
6. Don’t hesitate to carry Mace.
7. Tell someone where you are going and set a time to report in with that person.
Not a very romantic post, but hey, remembering those few things beats being raped, murdered, and thrown in a Dumpster with your fingertips cut off to prevent identification. (That’s from SVU.)
So...I think we can all agree love is great, love is wonderful, love makes the world go round...but be safe as you search for it.


Giveaway
Tara is offering a Digital Copy at EACH STOP. Leave your name and email in the comments below! 

6 comments:

  1. Too freakin funny!! Love this post! Thank you for hosting today!

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    1. entered two - this one wasn't finished so deleted it

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  3. I knew a couple who met on the internet (she was from NY, he from OK). At the time we met them, they'd just gotten married in NY and were coming back to OK to doing a wedding ceremony for his family & friends, so I don't know the whole getting to know & date story. But they had 2 or 3 children and were probably married for a dozen years or so before divorcing. They still live in OK and are friends and share custody.
    BUT - yes, I think meeting on the internet and these date sites is really, really risky! And while a HEA in a novel is great (& I'm looking forward to reading LOVE REQUEST), I'm not sure it works out in real life.
    donna(dot)durnell(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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    1. It can go either way, Donna, you are right!! The same lady who had the problem with the Italian man ended up marrying and finding love that way, but that was scary for her and a learning lesson. I'm so glad your friends found happiness! Thank you for your interest in my book.

      Flirting, thanks for hosting me. Tasty, thank you. :)

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  4. I love the blurb and I'm totally adding it to my TBR list!
    pinklemonade793@gmail.com

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