Love Bytes is delighted to be part of this special blog tour for author Charlie Cochet her newest release “Forgive and Forget”as part of the Dreamspun Desires series.
Welcome Charlie 🙂
Hello all! Thank you so much for joining me here at Love Bytes for the second stop on the Forgive and Forget blog tour. Each stop has an exclusive giveaway which means more chances to win a nifty prize! We’re just a few days from the release of Forgive and Forget my category romance for Dreamspinner Press’s Dreamspun Desires line.
In Forgive and Forget, Joe Applin spends his days baking delicious pies for his customers. He puts his heart and soul into each of his pies, creating tasty treats that bring joy to others. For him, baking pies is an extension of himself, and he often loses himself in fond memories as he lovingly crafts each dish. As we humans tend to do, Joe associates certain flavors, textures, and scents with those fond memories of his childhood, and they feature in his recipes. Here’s a tender scene between Joe and Tom, one where Tom is tasting Joe’s apple pie for the first time.
***
Halfway through, Joe noticed Tom’s brows had drawn together, and he was staring down at his plate. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Dammit, maybe he should have made the guy some toast. Get a hold of yourself, Joe. It’s just pie. “Something wrong?”
“No, it’s just… it tastes… warm. I mean, not temperature-wise, but like… warmth.” Tom looked straight at him, the glow of his smile enough to light up the darkness outside.
“The smell of cinnamon, vanilla… it makes me think of the seaside. Almost like a distant memory, something so far away it’s out of reach, but the feeling from it is still very much alive, and so full of love.” He looked down at his plate with a frown. “Guess that sounds pretty crazy, huh?” When there was no answer, he looked up at Joe, his eyes going wide. Probably due to the stunned expression on Joe’s face. “Joe?”
“My parents used to work a lot when I was a kid,” Joe confessed quietly. “They were farmers, born and raised, so they didn’t really have many options when they moved to the city. They moved here because they wanted me to have a better life than the one they’d had.” Joe shifted awkwardly in his seat and turned his attention back to the window. “On Sundays when they should have been resting, they’d spend every moment of the day with me, taking me all over New York. We’d go to a park or to the beach, Coney Island. We always had picnics with the most amazing pies, cakes, and muffins. The seaside was always my favorite.” He met Tom’s gaze, and smiled wistfully. “We always had apple and cinnamon pie at the seaside. I wonder what my mother would think of the subtle little changes I made to her recipe.” Tom gaped at him, and Joe couldn’t help his shy laugh.
“You… you made this?” The awe in Tom’s voice sent a little shudder through Joe.
“It’s just pie,” Joe said feeling embarrassed.
“It’s not just pie, Joe. I won’t let you get away with that. You’re sharing a little piece of yourself with the world, and it’s… amazing. Something this good that makes you feel something? That’s a gift.”
***
It’s amazing how our brains never forget certain smells or tastes. The memories may fade, but the association, good or bad remain with us. For me, Frosted Flakes and sliced bananas will always be associated with preschool. I don’t remember much of those days other than nap time, Sesame Street, and Frosted Flakes with sliced bananas. It always gives me that nostalgic feeling. Sliced hot dogs and baked beans will always make me think of elementary school. I always brought my lunch to school, but a couple of times I had school lunch in the cafeteria, and I remember the hot dogs and baked beans. Soft serve ice cream with sprinkles reminds me of those summer days growing up when the ice cream truck came around. Oh, the choices. Slushie or cone? Snow cone or chocolate eclair?
Can you think of a taste or scent that you always associate with a fond memory?
ABOUT THE BOOK
Genre: Gay Contemporary Category Romance
Length: Novel, 194 Pages
Published: April 1st, 2016
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Ebook ISBN-13: 9781634770170
Paperback ISBN-13: 9781634770163
As the owner of Apple’n Pies, Joe Applin leads a quiet, uneventful life, content to spend his days serving customers who come from all over to eat his delicious homemade pies. Along with his motley crew—Bea, Elsie, and Donnie—Joe couldn’t be happier in his little kingdom of baked goods and java.
Experience has taught Joe that love is overrated—and at times dangerous. He has no intention of repeating past mistakes. But then he meets a mysterious, handsome man with amnesia, and Joe can’t deny something sweet is in the works. He isn’t one to take risks, not with his heart and certainly not with his life, but the more time he spends with the man he knows as Tom, the closer he is to losing both.
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PURCHASE LINKS
Dreamspinner Press eBook | Dreamspinner Press Paperback
Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble
OUT APRIL 1st
Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From Historical to Fantasy, Contemporary to Science Fiction, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!
Currently residing in South Florida, Charlie looks forward to migrating to a land where the weather includes seasons other than hot, hotter, and boy, it’s hot! When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
Website | THIRDS HQ | Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Instagram | Newsletter | DSP |Amazon |Goodreads
[Each tour stop has its own exclusive giveaway. That’s five chances to win a nifty prize! ]
March 28th – Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
March 29th – Love Bytes Book Reviews
March 30th – Prism Book Alliance
March 31st – Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance
April 1st – The Novel Approach
One of the smells that I love is hot custard. It always reminds me of being pregnant with my eldest and my husband bringing me a bowl of it at 2 in the morning just because I had a craving for it. Nothing shows how much a man loves you like making fresh custard in the middle of the night.
The scent of Lincolnshire sausages cooking they are a speciality sausage made by a local butcher (not the supermarket ones) they remind me of the long hot summers I spent with my family at my Aunt and Uncles house.
Just the smell of fried dough brings me back to childhood. When it wasn’t so readily available in stores, we would make our own from scratch.
the smell of red sauce always reminds me of my moms kitchen!
Fresh bread straight from the oven. This is the smell I remember from my childhood.
This stew pig feet and lily root dish my mother makes. It always makes me think of my mom and the Lunar New Year.
The smell of fried dough always reminds me of the county fair my family went to every year.
The smell of milk warming in the stove always reminds me of my mom making coffee in the morning. The smell of homemade sofrito hitting the pan while cooking always reminds me of her also, since she is the one that taught me how to make it and be very picky about not using store bought stuff.
the smell of fresh coffee always reminds me of my mom
There’s this sort of incense smell that bring the familiar and fond memories of my hometown. Never found it anywhere here in the cities… Now talking about it made me want to go home!
the smell of fresh mown grass always takes me back to my childhood (I live in a unit now – no grass)
There are just so many memory-invoking smells to pick from (which is similar to how many want-to-read books there are to pick from, of course)! But one I’ve been thinking of lately is how the smell of freshly-cut alfalfa makes me think of growing up on the family farm.
All the best with the new release, and thanks for the opportunity to win.
–K
Pine is a wonderful scent. I just got my book in the mail.
The smell of roses and chlorine make me think of summer. My mom had many rose bushes in our yard and you could smell them from the pool (where I spent most of my life in the summer as a kid).
Thanks for the fun tour!
charlie perfume. My grandmother who passed in 1983 comes alive for me again when I smell that.
I always think about my grandmother and holidays spent in the country when I smell potatoes and split peas soup… Yummy!
Thanks for the giveaway and I can’t wait to read more about Joe and “Tom”.
This is going to sound weird I’m sure, but the smell of Drakkar, the cologne for men, will always remind me of high school. My first real crush and eventual BF wore it, and I remember inhaling deeply, yet discretely, when we were at our lockers between classes. That was, ahem, a long time ago…
I love the plumeria and hibiscus because it reminds me of Hawaii!
The smell or fresh mint and steamed green beans reminds of Sunday lunch at my grandparents.