Cityglitter

Thanks to author Carla Caruso for stopping by the Cotton Patch on her tour and giving us this excerpt from her book Cityglitter and this great guest post.

Christelle is like any other 20-something living in Sydney, Australia – except for one huge secret. She enjoys cocktails with girlfriends, luxury brand launches, gossip and shopping. For an added touch of spice, there’s also the sizzling connection with her new boss, the gorgeous Jasper.
Then Christelle’s younger sister, the hapless and naïve Trixie Fifi Panache, arrives unannounced, and things begin to fall apart. Not only does Christelle have to deal with her sister’s exploits and embarrassing mistakes, but she also has to live with the fear that her escapades will reveal the truth: Christelle and Trixie are half fairy, half human, and hidden beneath their clothes are a pair of gorgeous wings. To make matters worse, Christelle has fallen for Jasper, but knows that taking the relationship any further threatens exposure. And no love could survive that, could it?
Cityglitter is a charming, magical romance that leaves in its wake a glitter of fairy dust. With inner-city fabulousness and sophistication, this fun celebration of love will add more than a touch of sparkle to your life.

About the Author
Carla Caruso grew up amid a boisterous extended Italian family in Australia – yet

somehow managed to become a bookworm...
Carla always wanted to be a novelist, annoying the kindergarten teachers by dictating long, detailed stories to them. It just took her a while to realize her childhood dream - journalism seemed a more practical course. Her media career has included stints as a newspaper and magazine journalist, government PR and fashion stylist. These days, she works as a freelance journalist and copywriter. She began seriously writing fiction three years ago when she went freelance full-time.
The romance genre appeals as she is a sucker for rom-coms (especially if Channing Tatum is in the mix) and likes to think her Italian ancestry means she lives with passion. Hobbies include watching trashy TV shows, fashion, astrology and running.
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Excerpt:
I look back at Mr Butterscotch Eyes, who looks a little bemused. Perhaps it’s my seven-second delay to his greeting. I think fast.
‘Hello again!’ I gush, like we’re long-lost friends, not virtual strangers.
Without thinking, I stand up on tippy-toe, leaning forward, intending to air kiss his cheek. Somehow, like a paperclip drawn to a magnet, I’m pulled askew, my lips brushing his.
The effect on my body is like switching on an electrical grid, as every pore starts to buzz. His lips, so soft, moist, kissable; his musky scent, spinning a web around me; my body, pinging like a microwave with his strong physique mere centimetres away.
Suddenly, though, the sensual warmth, the heavenly breath, has been pried away and my lips are cold, bare. I flutter my eyelids open, honing in on his gaze, detecting a flicker of something in those liquid gold-like orbs before it dies.
He clears his throat, playing with a tortoiseshell cufflink. ‘That’s certainly not the kind of greeting I’m used to – especially from someone I barely know.’

Cityglitter author Carla Caruso: On Indulging Your Girly Side
I have a confession to make. Okay, I have a few. I hang out for shows like Brynne: My Bedazzled Life, I remember all my old Barbie dolls’ names, and I pore over shots of It-girls holidaying in places like St Barth’s.
I’m a girly girl. There, I said it. What a relief. I’m the exact opposite of a writer friend who said his idea of high fashion is “choosing the Megadeth T-shirt with the fewest holes in the pit area”.
But ever since Sex and the City stopped putting out episodes and Bridget Jones ran off with Mark Darcy, there has been a certain “cringe” towards admitting any such girlish tendencies.
It’s been more so the done thing to have your nose stuck in books like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, tape CSI or sign up for boot camp.
Still, the tide is slowly turning. Celebs like Jennifer Hawkins have been dip-dying their locks pink, floral print pants and blazers are all the rage, and glitter eye shadow has made a comeback.
Adelaide stylist Lisa Cimmino told me: “Fashion for spring has strong influences from the ‘40s and ‘70s and an increase in pastels and floral prints, which allows us to be more girly with our choices. We are more confident in identifying who we are and how we want to be noticed, expressing to the world our inner ‘fairy chic-ness’!”
Aptly, my book, Cityglitter, features a posse of glam fairies, known as ‘cityglitters’, who are unabashedly girly. You can spot them in your midst because they can’t help from wearing a splash of pink amid their outfits, they look like Victoria’s Secret Angels but have actual wings (hidden from human eyes), and they naturally smell like perfume Mariah Carey would put her name to. Still, do the nasty on them and they’ll turn you into a toad…
Because, you see, being girly doesn’t have to mean being a doormat. For instance, I kept my maiden name, I share the bread-winning, and, well, I let my hubby do the cooking at our place! But I’m still girly and proud.
In September, I returned from reporting on a luxury jewellery event, About J, in another city that glitters (like the book’s name!) – Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Alps. After 30-odd hours of flying and stopovers, the thing that made me feel “sane” on the last leg of my trip home? A fashion magazine. I could devour its pages and forget all about the airport hotel room’s non-working loo and its trickling shower – and my lack of sleep. And there ain’t no shame in admitting that!
Cityglitter by Carla Caruso (Destiny Romance) is about a gorgeous fairy living a glam life in the big city, who does the one thing she promised herself she’d never do: fall in love with a human. www.destinyromance.com