Dance the Tide by Cat Andrews - Blog Tour, Deleted Scene and Ebook Giveaway

Today I am happy to be welcoming Cat Andrews back to the blog with her latest book, a Pride & Prejudice-inspired modern called Dance the Tide. Those of you who read stories on the forums may well recognise the title, as I know this was a popular one, and now you get the chance to own it!

Cat joins us with a deleted scene from Dance the Tide and an ebook giveaway. I’ll share the blurb with you and then hand over to Cat to introduce the deleted scene. 

Book Description

FROM THE BACK COVER:

The higher the wall around your heart, the harder you fall when someone knocks it down.

Wealthy businessman Will Darcy is fiercely protective of his privacy and his family. When his sister is the victim of a violent crime, he takes her away from Boston to their Cape Cod beach house, where he hopes she can heal in peace—and he can restore his equilibrium.

Ecohydrologist Elizabeth Bennet is happily residing in the seaside town where she grew up. Her career, friends, and family keep her busy, allowing her to avoid any romantic entanglements—as those only lead to heartbreak.

A brief encounter on the beach between Elizabeth and Will leads to misunderstandings and lousy first impressions. They go their separate ways, confident they’ll never see each other again. But fate has other plans when Will turns out to be the best friend of her sister’s boyfriend.

When they meet again under more favorable circumstances, Will soon realizes his initial impressions of Elizabeth were unfounded—and really, her eyes are magnificent. And with some dedicated effort, Elizabeth begins to see a different man—the real Will—buried beneath his arrogant, reticent façade.

Romance blossoms as Elizabeth struggles to conquer her insecurities and Will works to overcome his distrust. But every relationship occasionally finds itself in rough waters, and greater forces can tug a couple under the waves. For their love to triumph, Will and Elizabeth will need to have faith in one another, move beyond their fears…and dare to dance the tide.

This novel is a contemporary, non-Canon variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It contains adult content and is meant for mature readers. Miscarriages and a sexual assault occur off-page, but are discussed during the course of the story.

PUBLISHER: Nine Beaches Press

Excerpt from Dance the Tide, Introduced by Cat Andrews

Happy Wednesday! I’m happy to be visiting Ceri once again at Babblings of a Bookworm, this time with my new contemporary Pride and Prejudice variation, called Dance the Tide. Thank you for having me back, Ceri, and for being a part of the blog tour!

Today, I’m including a deleted scene for your reading pleasure. While Dance the Tide has its share of angst, it does have a happy ending (of course – that’s no spoiler!). Honestly, I think that having strife and problems to work through makes our favorite couple stronger in the end, and I think they (and we, as readers) value the softer, romantic moments that come after the angst that much more, when we finally get to them! And because Dance the Tide is the first story I wrote, it was ripe with romantic, fluffy moments, many of which didn’t make it into the final manuscript. But I guess that’s what happens when you write a story that’s nearly 525,000 words! Lots of scenes have to go, and this is one of them.

This takes place toward the end of the book, when Will and Elizabeth are working on their HEA, hoping the past will remain where it belongs, and looking forward to building more memories and planning a life together. They’ve just decided to take a big step together—I’m sure you’ll be able to deduce what that step is. I hope you enjoy it! 

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Deleted Scene from Dance the Tide

Will and Elizabeth finished their preparations for bed, then walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He slowly pulled her towel away, using it to dry her body before sitting her down on the edge of the bed and gently toweling her hair. When he was finished, he gently pushed her back onto the pillows and pulled the sheets up and over her, then dried himself before walking back into the bathroom to deposit the damp towels and blow out the candles. When he came back into the bedroom, he climbed into bed next to her and immediately pulled her close, laying over her so he could look down into her eyes. 

He thought she would be sleepy, but her eyes were bright and she was smiling. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and her hands slowly traveled up and down his back. He couldn't pull his eyes from hers; they were so full of love and happiness, all he could do was smile back silently, until the words of a song popped unbidden into his head. Before he knew it he was softly singing the first few lines to her.

The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful

Stop me and steal my breath

Her eyes filled, and he bent to place a kiss on each eyelid. “Shh, no tears.”

She shook her head and wiped them away. “Happy tears.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He sat up and opened the drawer of his nightstand, removing a small, flat white box tied with a green bow. Closing the drawer, he settled himself over her again, propping himself up on his elbows. “This is for you.”

“I don't need presents.”

“You need this one. It's nothing big, I promise. Open it up.”

She took the box from his hand, untied the bow, and lifted the lid, smiling widely when she saw what was inside. “Is this my house key?”

“Yes. You need one, right?”

She nodded and lifted it from the box, just then noticing its heart-shaped keychain. “You’re such a sap.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? You bring it out of me.”

She softly kissed him and pressed her hand to his cheek. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

They stayed up late, talking about the house—mostly because he kept prodding her, asking her to think about things she wanted to change. But she’d insisted, repeatedly, that she loved the house the way it was.

“I just want you to make it yours, too,” he said. “I want you to put your stamp on this place. I want anyone who walks in to know that this is no longer just my home, but that I share it with someone. That I share it with you.”

That deserved a kiss, of course, and after a little time spent indulging, he gazed at her seriously.  

“Should we hire a cleaning service, or should we just clean together?”

“We should do all the cleaning.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I reserve the right to change my answer at any given point in the future.”

He laughed. “What day of the week should we do the grocery shopping?”

“Does it really have to be the same day every week?”

He shrugged. “Cotton sheets or flannel sheets?”

“Flannel in winter, cotton in summer.”

“Should we get you a desk so we can share the office?”

She beamed. “Oh, yes. I would love that.”

“Do you want to get a dog?”

“I like cats.”

His eyes widened. “You like cats?”

“Yes. Cats rule, dogs drool.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you have enough room in the closet?”

“Are you serious?”

The back-and-forth went on for a long while, until the silence between questions grew longer. By now, he’d curled onto his side, spooning her close to him. He could hear her breathing starting to slow, and knew she was falling asleep.

Moving his lips to her ear, he whispered, “I can't believe you like cats.”

Her body shook with quiet laughter, and he joined in. He kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

She lifted up and turned her head back toward him, silently asking for and receiving a kiss. “I love you too.”

It was quiet again for a few moments.

“Lizzy?”

“Hmm?” came her sleepy reply.

“Welcome home.”

***

Song is I’ll Be by Edwin McCain

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Aww! A lovely angst-free deleted scene for you there! Although scenes have been deleted, those of you who like a longer read are in for a treat with this book. According to Amazon the paperback is nearly 600 pages long! 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cat Andrews has always been an avid reader, but didn’t discover Jane Austen until her love of a certain British actor led her to the BBC’s 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice, because she just had to know—why all the fuss over this Darcy guy? What followed her viewing of that glorious miniseries was an inhalation of and immediate fixation on all of Austen’s novels, though Pride and Prejudice remains her favorite. 

Her discovery of Jane Austen Fan Fiction opened up a whole new world, and thus began her addiction, and months and months of sleep deprivation, as she immersed herself in JAFF. After reading a modern Pride and Prejudice variation that she fell in love with, she was inspired to begin a cautious but earnest foray into the world of writing.

In real life, Cat has spent thirty-plus years working in healthcare. She enjoys life on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and more often than not, you can find her at the beach with a book in her hand and her toes in the sand.

Dance the Tide is her third novel.

Connect with Cat: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Goodreads 

Buy Links 

Dance the Tide is available to buy now in Paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

• Universal Buy Link • Add to Goodreads shelf

Giveaway Time!

Cat is very kindly offering a giveaway of an ebook of Dance the Tide. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post by the end of the day worldwide on 21 June 2022. If you are unable to add your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

Please note that the ebook will be gifted from Amazon.com, so you will need to be able to accept ebook gifts from the US store in order for you to receive the prize.

Blog Tour Schedule

Check out the other stops on Cat’s blog tour!

June 13 – author’s blog – www.catandrews.com

June 15 – Babblings of a Bookworm

June 17 – From Pemberley to Milton

June 20 – Austenesque Reviews

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