Teen Shiver Tabs

October 14, 2011

First Kisses and Other Scary Memories

***WINNERS! WINNERS!***

Thanks to everyone for joining me for my first Teen Shiver blog post. I had a blast. Now, to announce the three winners of a copy of Awake at Dawn:

Tabetha
JenniferJ
Cyndi Tefft

Congrats!! To claim your prize, send me your snail mail address so I can pass it along to my publisher. My email is CC (at) CCHunterBooks (dot) com. (Just remove the spaces and change the (at) and (dot) to the appropriate symbols.) You can also use the contact form at my website, if that's easier - CC Hunter Books.

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Hi Guys!

C.C. Hunter here. I’m new to Teen Shiver and I want to say thanks to all the Teen-Shiver authors for inviting me to join them. When I started to write this blog, I went blank, completely blank. In my house, my husband and my son would have called this a brain fart. But they’re crude guys, so what else can you expect from them?

However, call it what you want, it happens to a lot with writers. We use all our mental energy on our fiction, creating settings, brainstorming plots and creating characters, which includes hot guys and you know much energy that takes. Then when we have to come up with something snappy, there’s nothing in the brain but mental cobwebs. So, with my brain … cobweb handicap, I decided to answer some frequently asked questions I get by readers. And to add a little zing to the post, I’m offering a contest. (I’m also hosting a pet photo contest over at my own blog, http://cchunterbooks.com/blog/ Pop over to the blog to see the contest rules.)

So about the contest I’m hosting here. All you have to do to enter is post a comment. And what’s the prize? St. Martin’s is giving away three copies of my most recent release, Awake at Dawn.

And now for those three questions.

1. What made you want to write YA?

Well, my story is a little different than some authors. I wasn’t writing or planning on writing YA. One could call it luck, but I think it’s more about synchronicity.

I had finaled in a contest years before I had sold and I’d gotten my book in front of an editor at St. Martin’s Press. She liked my writing, but didn’t buy the book. Later, my agent sent this same editor a proposal for a humorous paranormal romance. The editor loved it, but the senior editor didn’t.

However, the editor who loved my voice kept an eye on my career as I started to publish in the romance genre. Then, when they were looking for writers for their new YA program, she contacted my agent and asked if I would be interested in writing a YA. I almost said no, because I didn’t have a clue if my voice would work in the YA market. When I shared my concerns with this editor, she claimed the reason she’d thought of me for this was because of my voice. She said I was a smarta$$ and teens liked that. Who would have guessed that being a smarta$$ would have gotten me somewhere in life? Especially when my mama told me it wouldn’t. LOL.

2. Where did the idea for the series come from and what is your series really about?

When the editor came to me, she had a two-word pitch. Paranormal camp. But for me, a story doesn’t come alive until I have my characters and the internal issues that my characters will face. I came up with a story about a sixteen-year-old girl struggling to figure out who she is, only to discover that she doesn’t know what she is. Imagine being sixteen and told you weren’t human. Especially when you didn’t even know that non-humans existed.

Kylie thinks she’s being sent to Shadow Falls Camp because she got into a bit of trouble. But nope. She’s there to discover some truths about herself. But before she can do that, she has to see through a lie her parents have told her all her life. The story’s main theme is about an identity crisis. It’s something I think teens and, heck, women of all ages, face as we move from one stage of our lives to the other.

Of course, there are also other threads running through the story, like friendship and romance. Kylie meets some crazy people at the camp, vampires, werewolves, witches, faes and shape-shifters, people she isn’t so sure she can trust. Ahh, but in time she not only learns to trust them, she realizes that for the first time in her life she fits in. The title of the series is Shadow Falls, and Awake at Dawn is the second book in the series and it just released Oct. 11th. The first book, Born at Midnight was released March 29th. And the third, Taken at Dusk will follow in April 2012. Right now, we’re planning on completing the series with books four and five.

3. What was your first kiss like? (Can you believe people really ask me this? Can you believe I’m actually going to answer it? I guess I do kiss and tell.)

I was thirteen and spending the night at my grandparents. My uncle, only two years older than me, also had a friend staying the night. My uncle’s friend was so hot and he was an older boy. Probably fourteen. After everyone had gone to bed, I heard someone say my name at the door. He wondered if I wanted to talk. We’d shared a bit of dialogue earlier and a few long, lingering stares.

After I crawled out of bed, and got dressed—No way, was I letting him see me in my Cinderella nightshirt—we sought out a place to chat. My grandparent’s house was big, but it only had one bathroom. We sat on a sofa, in the room connected to the bathroom. It was the only room away from all the bedrooms.

We chatted for a while, then he leaned in, slowly, and his mouth touched mine. I opened my mouth ever so slightly, because that’s what I’d heard I was supposed to do, and that’s when it happened. A hiccup exploded from my lips. Not a cute noise, either. It was loud. There I was, getting my first kiss and I got the nervous hiccups. Thank goodness, he was sweet and said it wasn’t a problem.

After a few minutes of chatting (he did most of the talking, I was too scared to open my mouth for fear of another hiccup slipping out) he leaned in to kiss me again. His mouth drew closer until his lips touched mine. It was magic for about a second. Then another noise exploded in the room. It wasn’t my hiccup this time. It was my granddad clearing his throat. My granddad who was only wearing his underwear.

We just sat there and stared at my half-naked grandfather staring at us. I opened my mouth to say we were just talking, or something else equally unconvincing since he’d just witnessed the beginning of a kiss, but all that came out was another LOUD hiccup. Cute, older boy, shot up from the sofa and ran back to his bed, and I did the same.

Yup, my first-kiss memory could have been a tad better. Thank goodness I managed to snag a few better kisses later on.

So what about you guys. Any kissing stories to tell? What books are you reading now? Come on, share a little. You might win a copy of my book.

40 comments:

  1. I just love responding to these post! So awesome.

    My first kiss was in 7th grade with this guy I fell head over heels for. He kissed me at a local carnival that I happen to run into him at. He asked me to take a walk with him so I did. We walk around the carnival for a while talking and before I knew it, we were walking behind the rides instead in front of them. He scared me by stepping forward quickly, making me stepped back quickly, where my back hit the back of a concession stand. He stared at me for a while, and I was going to ask "What's wrong?" But instead he smiled lean in and kissed me. I was so surprised by it, that my instincts kicked in and I pushed him away! He looked hurt. I was embarrassed and felt stupid that I did that. Not wanting to make the situation worst,I immediately started babbling apologizing over and over again. He laughed and he shut me up by kissing me again. After the second kiss, he said c'mon and walked back to the carnival leaving me standing in awe. And right then and there I knew I was in trouble. Because I had just fell in love with the bad boy.

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  2. Hi Savannah!

    I love this. I love your first reaction to being kissed. He was a surprise kisser, huh? Thanks for sharing. Now, I'm not the only one kissing and telling. LOL.

    CC

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  3. Savannah--I swear, girl, you need ro be writing. You not only have great real stories but you're such a gifted storyteller. That can't be taught.

    You reminded me of the first time a guy frenched me. He got the shove but no sweet apologies after.

    Great post, CC. EVERY DETAIL IS PRICELESS! I can totally see it...and feel your utter mortification too. Hiccups & old grandads. Ha! I downloaded your latest on my kindle today. Can't wait to get started.

    Currently I'm reading TRISHA WOLFE's novella UNVEILED. It's wetting my whistle for her debut book to come out in 2012. Come in, 2012.

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  4. Hi Jordan!!

    So good to see you here. Thanks for snagging a copy of Awake at Dawn. I hope you enjoy it. I can't wait until your next release! So you gave a kisser a shove, too, huh? All I gave my guy was a loud hiccup. LOL.

    CC

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  5. Love the post and can't WAIT to read the second book! :)

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  6. Hi Tori!

    Thanks for stopping in. I'm about to start book four. I got the email yesterday wanting title suggestions. That's always interesting.

    Oh...I love your website.

    CC

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  7. It's been 4 days, and I still haven't found a copy of Awake at Dawn :( I've been on a mad hunt, but none of my stores have any copies. I'm considering downloading but I like the feel of the book in my hand. I'm super excited for this series. Yay!! <3 Tabetha
    trlabrecque25@yahoo.com

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  8. Hi Tabetha!

    Grrr!! I'm so sorry you can't find a copy. I'm hearing a lot of stores are already out. I think St. Martins is having to take it back to press again. It's a good problem to have, but I'm sorry it delays my readers from picking up a copy.

    Thanks so much for stopping in!

    CC

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  9. My husband and I meed at work, and I needed a ride home so he offered. When we get to my dad's house he asked me for a kiss and I gave him one. The next day we went on our first date and we haven't been apart since! We have been together 5 years on Nov 3 and married 3 years on May 3 with 2 beautiful daughters and a son due in less than a month!

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  10. Ahh, Khelsey!

    I love stories like that. While those bad boys snatch kisses without asking, and are exciting. There's something about a guy who asks, a good guy, that just melts my heart. Congrats on the two beautiful girls and on the boy about to arrive. Get ready for some defensive diapering. See if you can figure that one out. LOL.

    CC

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  11. LOL! I love your first kiss story! A hiccup. :) I guess it made for an indelible memory, anyway. ;) This is a great contest! Tweeting it...

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  12. Hi Anita!

    So good to meet you. And thanks so much for tweeting it.

    CC

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  13. Loved your first book of this series CC!! Now as for my first kiss I am so ashamed but it was a nightmare! I was only maybe 10 years old and at Vacation Bible School. After church services I was running around with my friends playing tag and this boy who was a few years older happened to be "it" and he caught me literally between a rock and a hard place as I tripped over a rock as he was chasing me and he tumbled over on top of me and next thing I know he had quickly kissed me on the lips and then yelled your IT but I was so horrified I broke out in tears and my mom and friends came running asking if I was hurt and all I could say is NO, I'm pregnant! To this day I am still teased about that! lol

    My current read is Intertwined by Gena Showalter.

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  14. Ahaha! That's a cute way to have your first kiss! I hope my kiss would be cute too, LOL, I still haven't had my first kiss. I'm quite the shy gal. But as for what I'm reading currently, it would be Tigerheart by Peter David.

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  15. Awesome post! And I have the E-book of both books But I'd love to get them In Book form. As I have a love for both e-books and reg. books! Though I only get my favorites in book form! :-) and I am in need to get these in book form lol

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  16. hmm.. my first kiss...let's see..
    I haven't had it yet but I want it to be romantic and amazing.
    Right now I just finished Petals On The Wind, and I'm going to reading The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer.
    An by the way I totally enjoyed your first book CC HUNTER!!!

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  17. ok, so first, THAT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I was giggling so loud my co-workers came check on me, then read it and all went crazy laughing too! Also, sorry we got such humor out of your embarrassment, but that's what teenage years are all about! And I would have died--horribly- if my grandpa walked in on me in his underwear!!! I can actually say, I had one of those fairytale first kisses! I was 13 also, almost 14, and my family went to the beach for vacation and I took my best friend with me... We met a group of guys one night on the beach, hung out at a bonfire, with a full moon and beautiful waves at the shore right at midnight! And right after this quite attractive guy gives me my first kiss, his best friend high fives me and loudly scream "nice a$$" hahaha, yeah so I got both good and bad out of it! *sigh* unfortunately he's from a completely different state, but I still have a picture of us from that night :) one a ps note I LOVE THIS SERIES!!! It's a big favorite of mine, so please please, keep 'em coming!!! and thanks for this great reminiscent moment!

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  18. That's such a cute first kiss story! :) I still can't believe Awake at Dawn has finally been released! Born at Midnight was one of my top paranormal reads this summer, and I'm eager to hear more of Kylie's story (mostly because I want to see the return of Lucas, teehee).

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  19. I'm reading The Gathering by Kelly Armstrong. It is such a good book so far. I can't wait to read Awake at Dawn. The first book was AMAZING.


    gomezrose61@yahoo.com

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  20. Ooh, I love first kiss stories! I'd totally read a compilation of them.

    And grandpa in the underwear- priceless! LOL

    I received my first kiss was when I was 16. A cute boy I worked with at A&W (who did not go to my school) agreed to go to a dance with me. I was over the moon. After the dance, we went for a drive (I was driving- ha, should have been my first clue). He lived out in the boondocks and I thought I was taking him home. Turns out I was taking him into the woods where he'd scoped out a very private spot.

    I turned off the ignition, my heart pounding in my chest, and he leaned in. The touch of his hand on my knee flipped all the electrical switches in my brain, but I resisted the urge to squirm.

    It was a good kiss, but the whole time I kept thinking, "OMG! This is it!" I looked into his cocoa brown eyes afterward and told him it was my first.

    His face fell and he replied, "So I guess that means we're not gonna have sex in the backseat, huh?"

    True story!

    cynditefft @ gmail.com

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  21. I'm reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin!

    My first kiss was just a few years ago (I am in high school) in 7th grade. Let's see it was with my then boyfriend Kristopher. He walked me home everyday. So one day we were just standing on my porch. It was November so it was very cold. It was hurried to go inside,so I said "bye" and turned away. As I turned he leaned forward and practically licked my ear. I did one of those girly screams because is wet tongue was touching my ear. That wasn't a good day to put my hair in a ponytail. After I calmed down a little we went inside and did homework. He kissed me when I asked him what 210 divided by 3 was. True story!

    -Sky
    flexigirl678@gmail.com

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  22. Jennifer,

    I loved your story. I remember thinking kissing could get you in lots of trouble. Especially if there was tongue involved. LOL.

    Thanks for sharing.

    CC

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  23. Wendy,

    I hope your first kiss is the best ever. Ahh, but if it's not, just remember you can share with other people and they will enjoy laughing with you.

    Thanks for stopping in.

    CC

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  24. S.Brentson,

    Thanks so much girl. I'm just now reading books on my kindle, but I sort of love having the book, too. The world is changing.

    CC

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  25. Hi Zubia,

    Thank you so much. And I hope your first kiss is amazing. I just bought Vanish, but I haven't read it yet.

    CC

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  26. Maghon,

    I'm glad you and your co-workers enjoyed it. Oh, boy, those teen years can be rough. It's amazing we survive. But they are also filled with so much wonderful.

    Thanks so much for stopping in.

    CC

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  27. DJL,

    Ahh, I'll bet you are Lucas fan. LOL. I admit it, he's a great guy. Thanks so much for stopping in.

    CC

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  28. FallenAngel,

    Kelly Armstrong is an amazing writer. Thanks for stopping in.

    CC

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  29. Love this post! Currently reading Fateful by Claudia Gray. My first kiss was on vacation in FL. I'd have to say that the guy was a little weird, but the kiss was great!!!

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  30. Cyndi,

    Oh my! What a story. I think it beats granddads in their underwear.

    I hope you had some kisses that ended on a better not.

    CC

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  31. Sky,

    That's a great story. And it must have been pretty great if you remembered exactly what you asked him when he kissed you. Hmm... Did he ever answer you math question? LOL.

    CC

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  32. Dina,

    Those vacation kisses are very memorable. Thanks for stopping in.

    CC

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  33. C.C I Loved Your Book It Hooked Me In The First Couple Of Pages! I Need New Books To Read!! That Are Good Like Your :)

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  34. Keke W.

    Thank you so much. I recommend any of these ladies on this blog. Pick them up! I just picked up a few myself yesterday and I can't wait to start reading.

    CC

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  35. Congratulations on the release of your book, C.C! My love for paranormals began with YA books so I am looking forward to this book. It's ironic that Kylie feels like she belongs among extraordinary creatures, but also understandable. That's what I really like about paranormals, a different and non normal world.

    Cambonified [at] yahoo [dot] com

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  36. Hi, Na,

    Thanks so much -- both for the congrats and for dropping by the Teen Shivers blog. I hope you enjoy Awake at Dawn.

    CC

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  37. Thanks so much, guys, for sharing your thoughts on YA paranormals and first kisses. I've had a blast! I'm posting the winners' names on the post.

    CC

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  38. Hi C.C.!

    I haven't kissed before, haha. I think it's the conservative Asian culture here, but I think my friends haven't too. (I'm 16 this year)

    I'm currently reading Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson and A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day. One YA and one adult fiction.:)

    I've been waiting for 2 weeks already for my copy of Awake at Dawn to arrive..But it's just not arriving!!!! I wanna read it so bad.. Lol.

    CYP

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  39. I still have yet to kiss anyone :o But I am currently Shifting by Bethany Wiggins and Crosed by Ally Condie and loving both! edysicecreamlover18@gmailDOTcom

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