Blog Tour: Mail-Order Groom by Cindy Flores Martinez

Welcome to the Mail-Order Groom blog tour!

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Title: Mail-Order Groom

Author: Cindy Florez Martinez

Release date: February, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour: Irresistible Reads Book Tours 

Lisa is about to marry the love of her life and have the wedding of her dreams, but her world is shattered when she finds her fiancé, Jeff, in the arms of another woman. When he calls the wedding off and struts around town with his new love, Lisa is heartbroken, and she wants revenge. She gets it by marrying a total stranger from Poland who she found on Mail-Order-Grooms.Com. He needs a green card to stay in America, and he’s willing to pay money for it. Lisa thinks he’s the perfect answer. It won’t be a real marriage, and her best friend Daphne insists she won’t even have to live with him. Lisa races to the altar with her stand-in groom and says “I do”, but she soon discovers that revenge isn’t as sweet or as simple as she thought it would be. Will she find love in the end? 

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Excerpt:

A hardcover book with a picturesque jacket caught my attention among Krzys’s belongings. I stopped and read the author’s name aloud, “Jan Kochanowski?”

Krzys repeated the name with the Polish pronunciation, which sounded almost nothing like it was spelled. “He’s a famous writer. It’s poetry.”

“Oh, I love poetry.” I reached for the book.

“You do?”

“Absolutely. When I was in college, my major was journalism, but my minor was English literature. I studied a lot of great poets and authors and their works.” I turned the book over and scanned the back cover. “I still have some of my old textbooks in my bookcase.” Why did I bother explaining that to him? He had probably already looked at them. He didn’t exactly act surprised when I told him. “I’ve read so many recent works as well.”

“The Kochanowski book is one of my favorites. The writings are from the 1500’s.”

“You’re kidding. The 1500’s?”

Krzys nodded. “I love to read old writings. It fascinates me how alike we are to people who lived long ago. Our lives today are so different than theirs, but we have the same thoughts and feelings and desires and heartaches as they did. The world goes through changes through the years, but people stay the same.”

I watched him, unblinking. I was taken aback by Krzys. He hadn’t been very talkative since we met, but he had a lot to say, and his words were meaningful. I understood why so many people liked him, but I wondered if anyone ever truly saw him. I turned my attention back to the book. I flipped through the pages, which were written in Polish. “I wish I could read what it says.”

“I have an English copy. It’s here somewhere.” He knelt down and rummaged through his belongings.

I set the book on the table, and a black leather journal caught my attention beside it. I instantly recognized it. I had seen one like it at April’s Bookstore. I had thought about buying one for Jeff on his birthday, but I settled for cologne. I mean, what would Jeff have done with a journal?

I reached for it and leafed through the pages. They were filled with what seemed like poetry and other writings, all handwritten in English and Polish. I stopped on a poem that was written in English.

I watch you standing in front of me, like a flower glistening with dew,
The sun shines lightly all around beautiful you.
Your smile is like magic, it makes me feel brand new,
I have known nothing better, beautiful you.
I feel you in my heart, a feeling that’s deep and true,
It’s here for no one else, beautiful you.

“I found it.” Krzys turned and held the Kochanowski book out, but he dropped it when he saw what I was doing. He snatched the journal away from me so fast that it took a moment for me to realize what had happened.

“What’s wrong?”

“You weren’t supposed to read that.” He slammed it shut.

“Did you write that poem?”

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. His reaction told me that he had.

“Yes,” he admitted after a long pause.

I exhaled. “I didn’t know you wrote poetry.” I clutched my forehead. “Wait. Your ad on the internet said you did, but I didn’t think it was real. I thought it was a pick-up line. That poem was beautiful, Krzys.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I mean it. It was very touching. Can I read more?” I reached out for the journal.

“No.” He hid it behind his back. “My poems aren’t very good, and I don’t know how to write in English very well yet. I’m still practicing.”

“That’s not true. Your writing is very good.”

He didn’t seem convinced. He pulled his duffel bag out from underneath the coffee table and slipped the journal inside of it.

“What are you going to do with all of those poems?”

“Nothing.” He zipped up his bag.

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “I used to want to be a writer, but everyone always told me I was a dreamer. They said things like that don’t happen to people like me. I knew they were right.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you? You’re not just a dreamer because you want to be a writer.”

He glanced up. “You don’t think so?”

“No. Your writing is a talent, Krzys. Talents are meant to be shared with the world. You can’t keep it locked away inside of you. You have to do something with those poems.”

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About the Author:

My name is Cindy Flores Martinez. I was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles. I have an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. I have been a screenwriting instructor, screenplay consultant, script reader, and screenplay collaborator. My debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, which was inspired by my own Polish ancestry, started out as a screenplay and movie project. I spent years shopping it around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world and had two well-known actors, one of them Academy Award nominated, interested in portraying the lead character’s parents. After not finding the success I wanted, I officially canceled my film production company in November of 2009 and embarked on the journey of turning my screenplay into a novel.