The Spy Who Kissed Me by Pauline Baird Jones is a Fall Into These Great Reads pick #romcom #giveaway
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    • Sep 25, 2023
    • 6 min read

The Spy Who Kissed Me by Pauline Baird Jones is a Fall Into These Great Reads pick #romcom #giveaway



Title: The Spy Who Kissed Me


Author: Pauline Baird Jones


Genre: Romantic Comedy Suspense


Book Blurb:


Romantic Comedy Suspense from USA Today Bestselling Author Pauline Baird Jones


Jump into an exhilarating adventure of spies, suburban life, and unexpected romance with The Spy Who Kissed Me. Penned by award-winning author Pauline Baird Jones, this entertaining romantic suspense novel seamlessly blends high-stakes action, hilarious escapades, and a charming tale of opposites attracting.


Isabel "Stan" Stanley, an aspiring romance writer living in the DC suburbs, yearns for a thrilling muse to kick-start her creativity. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true as a dashing spy hurtles through her sunroof, turning her world upside down.


Kelvin Kapone, an international CIA agent, doesn't have the luxury of making friends in his line of work. But when his latest mission lands him amidst the puzzling tranquility of suburbia, he finds an unlikely ally in Stan. As he uncovers a bone-chilling terrorist plot, he reluctantly realizes he may need the help of this intriguing suburbanite.


Despite her attempts to disentangle herself from the dangerous mission, Stan finds herself drawn deeper into the world of international espionage. While being in close proximity to a sexy spy provides fantastic material for her novel, she knows it's all for naught if they don't survive to tell the tale.


If you delight in action-packed narratives, laugh-out-loud moments, and stories that highlight the enchanting dance of opposites attracting, you'll love The Spy Who Kissed Me.


Purchase The Spy Who Kissed Me now for a fun, flirty escape into a world where danger and romance intertwine!


Excerpt:


I downed the last of my chocolate, because it’s a Commandment—or should be—not to waste chocolate, and watched them leave. The combined heat of their cute and my hot chocolate surged through my body like the rising tide. I think my eyebrows were steaming. I was on my way to being my own weather system as the heat spread out, seeking those parts of my body encased in thermal and wool. I needed to remove some layers, but stripping in a church was the fast track to hell. I was all about the slow track.


I headed for the door but got cut off at the pass by Reverend Hilliard. I was dripping with sweat and he looked like he couldn’t sweat and never would. His blinding smile featured two rows of gleaming, reverential teeth. He looked like he’d been born with the clerical collar around his neck. I fought back a sudden urge to confess something. It wasn’t a lack of material, you understand, but fear of bursting into flames. Didn’t seem like a good plan to incinerate a man of God.


“I can’t thank you enough for helping us out, Miss Stanley. I pray it didn’t inconvenience you too much?”


He probably had prayed. So glad he was keeping God updated on my movements.


“It wasn’t a problem. I’m glad to help out the kids.” I didn’t think he was interested me—because I’d seen me in the mirror—but it didn’t hurt to be honest. Just in case God was listening in. He smiled again, upping my guilt level by a factor of something times something else. I taught English, not math before I quit to write roaches. I added before he could pile on more guilt, “I really have to be going. I have Rosemary’s car and she likes it home by ten.”


He looked at me like I’d kicked a puppy but he forgave me because that’s just the kind of preacher guy he was. I fled because that’s the kind of girl I was.


Outside the cold air sizzled against my hot cheeks. Just prior to spontaneous combustion, I stripped off the jacket, hat, and gloves, and tossed them into the back seat. I’d have taken off the thermals, too, but I didn’t want to get arrested in the church parking lot. I slid behind the wheel and started the motor. The heater blew cold. Before it could change its mind, I switched it to cold vent and opened the sunroof, welcoming the combined rush of frigid air across my steaming face and neck. As I kicked it into gear, cold began a slow seep into the thermal covered areas.


Earlier, snow had mixed with rain. Clouds still obscured the stars, but the air was now dry and devoid of flakes. In the fitful light of the street lamps, the road gleamed slick and empty. I drove with caution—because it wasn’t my car—enjoying the feel of fresh air, sweet solitude—a rare commodity in our over-stocked household—and a great car. Pleasantly tired and full of chocolate, I drove on auto-pilot, my thoughts drifting to my current romance novel with its impending love scene that I still didn’t know how to write.


“Get a better imagination or a lover, Stan,” my agent had advised, the one time I’d let her read a draft.


“Maybe I should get a new agent,” I muttered. About then I saw the stop sign and hit the brakes. Across the intersection, an unfamiliar street retreated into murk, lit only by the faint glow of the street lamps.


“Great.” I’d taken a wrong turn again. I crossed the intersection, straining to read the signs. The one I managed to pick out was sort of familiar, but I couldn’t place myself relative to home—


To my right, several firecrackers went off, one right after the other.


Then a man burst through the bay window of a house.


Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):


Author Store eBook: https://payhip.com/b/lRJt


Author audiobook: https://payhip.com/b/GdWh











What’s your favorite thing about autumn:


I love that is cools off, but it’s not cold yet—just crisp and energizing. And all the beautiful fall colors just take over. I am not a hot weather person, so autumn makes my heart happy.


What inspired you to write this story:


The first Gulf War began on August 2, 1990. Yes, there was a first Gulf War. I was there, well, I wasn’t there, but I saw it on television.


I think it was the first time news organizations embedded reporters with the troops. So you could turn on the tv and see the war. The actual war.


It was the first war in quite a while, if I am remembering correctly, and the technology had been updated a LOT. And it was there to see. We could see the rockets fire from one end and see them hit.


It was kind of crazy when I think about it now.


Everyone watched the war, or that’s how it felt. We’d talk about the war while waiting in the grocery store line. We’d talk at dinner. My dad used to call me up to talk about the war. He’d been in WWII and Korea and I think he had…weapons envy.


I found myself watching all that and thinking…what if…


Now at the same time, well, in between war watching, I was watching Scarecrow and Mrs. King episodes. It caught my imagination, too, and somehow the war and the show began to stir inside my head. I remember thinking if I had a character accidentally get mixed up with a cute spy…


But I started researching and realized the reason Scarecrow belonged to a made-up spy agency. It was against the law for the CIA to operate within the US borders. But that didn’t stop my “what if-ing.” If anything, it made it worse. Lol


All the pieces jostled and shifted inside my head and then…


…my cute spy dove through the sunroof of my heroine’s borrowed car and The Spy Who Kissed Me (originally called Pig in a Park), took off. And when I say it took off, I mean, I typed until the tips of my fingers were numb. It flowed out of me in this rush of words and story. I wrote 500 typed pages in two months. It was the first novel I wrote from start to finish.


Giveaway –


One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card



Open internationally.


Runs September 1 – 30


Drawing will be held on October 2.



Author Biography:


USA Today Bestselling Author, Pauline never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance.


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