Me Tarzan – You Jane {+ Giveaway}

It’s a pleasure to be participating in the Blog Tour for ME TARZAN – YOU JANE by Camelia Miron Skiba through Xpresso Book Tours.

As part of the tour, Camelia is sharing the ‘Top 10 Books Would Not Read to Her Four-Year-Old Daughter.’ In addition, you can enter the tour-wide giveaway to win 1 (one) 7″ Fire Tablet (U.S only) or a $50 Amazon Gift Card (international entry). Please see the end of the post for more details on the giveaway.

◊ Me Tarzan — You Jane
◊ by Camelia Miron Skiba
◊ Publication date: December 6^th, 2014
◊ Genres: New Adult, Romance

◊ 2015 DREAMS Awards Finalist
◊ 2015 RONE Award Finalist

Moving on doesn’t always have to mean goodbye.

          Widowed makeup artist Jane Sullivan is more comfortable keeping her husband’s memory alive than dating a pool full of sharks. Ella, her 4-year-old daughter, is her whole world.

          When Jane meets Lucas Oliver, famous cover model, it’s hate at first sight. His playboy persona rubs her the wrong way.

          Accustomed to every woman fawning over him, Lucas is drawn to the shy, uncompromising single mom and completely melts at the sight of Ella. He is determined to convince Jane that sometimes a second chance can mend a broken heart.

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Now please join me in giving a warm welcome to Camelia as she shares her Top 10 list. Welcome, Camelia.

Dear Mason,

Thank you so much for hosting my virtual book tour for my latest novel Me Tarzan—You Jane. I loved the request for a top 10 books Jane would read to her four-year-old daughter, Ella, but instead of approved books, what if we talk about what Jane would not read to her? Why change the list? Well, allow me to explain:

For anyone who read Me Tarzan—You Jane they’d know that Jane is extremely protective of her daughter and tries to instill in her high morals and values, same ways she was raised. Her protectiveness is higher than usual and it stems from the fact that Ella became an orphan even before she was born; there was no way Jane would add unnecessary heartache.

There were also stories Jane heard as a child that marked her childhood in a negative way, therefore she didn’t want Ella to experience the same. For instance, there was no way she could explain to Ella why a huntsman would want to kill a princess. Or why a stepmother would hate her stepdaughter, demanding she spent her days cleaning on her knees. Why beautiful girls are locked in a tower. Or allow Ella to grow in fear of the woods because of witches living in houses made of cotton candy or human-eating wolves. Or send Ella to a sleepover where she’d jump from one bed to another and eat from people’s plates. Or tolerate her lie or steal or treat people disrespectfully. Or accept her turning the house upside down. You see the pattern here?

Sure, the final message in those stories is similar (good beats evil / love conquers all / truth always comes out / some villains redeem themselves, etc.). But the characters in these stories go through life-altering and tragic events, which is what Jane tries to exclude from her daughter’s life, even if it means avoiding certain classic stories.

So, without much further ado here the stories Jane would not read to Ella:

1.      Beauty and the Beast

2.     Goldilocks and the Three Bears

3.     Hansel and Gretel

4.    Little Red Riding Hood 

5.     Pinocchio

6.    Pippi Longstocking

7.     Rapunzel

8.    Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves.

9.    The Three Little Pigs

10. The Ugly Duckling

Thank you for having me over!

Camelia, thanks for stopping by today and sharing Jane’s ‘would not’ read list. I understand why these books aren’t on Jane’s list to read to her daughter. Some classic tales are tragic.

Ever since I began writing and publishing books I’ve been on the run, always trying to write the next page, the next chapter, the next book. Every story was another journey, another discovery of what I could do and another evolution. All these years my motto was it doesn’t matter who I am or where I come from, but what I leave behind is. I thought I have it all figured out.

Socrates, one of the biggest philosophers to ever grace humanity once said, “I am talking a crock of s***.” I had no idea this expression dated hundreds of years ago and belongs to him, but who am I to argue with him? Needless to say, after some soul searching I realized my motto was a . . . pot of smelly stuff. I had a meltdown because, if you think about it, why would what I leave behind matter more than who I am here and now in this very moment? How will I ever know if what I left behind mattered with no way of seeing it? How am I gonna enjoy it? Think Socrates; does he know how much he touched humankind? Does he know people still remember him centuries later? And if he knows, does it make a difference?

I’m not sure. Frankly I doubt with all my heart it makes any difference to him. He’s gone, like I’ll be gone one day and instead of beating myself up to leave something behind me, I’m going to learn how to live here, now and totally enjoy it. No more worrying about tomorrow, but live today. No more five-year plans, but rather let the sun soak my skin, the air fill my lungs and the grass touch my feet. After all, I only live once.

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This tour-wide giveaway is for 1 (one) 7″ Fire Tablet (U.S only) or a $50 Amazon gift card (international entry). To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient.

Thanks for dropping by today during Camelia’s visit. What are your thoughts on her Top 10 wouldn’t read list? Do you have a Top 1 book you wouldn’t read to your child?

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