Favorite Movie Couples

I am a sucker for a great movie couple – Joan Wilder and Jack T. Colton (Romancing the Stone), Vivien and Edward (Pretty Woman), and Jack and Rose (Titanic) are all on my list. I like couples that banter, couples that laugh together, couples that are hot for each other…even if they’d lost a little of that sparkle. Here are a few of my favorite movie couples.

Phil & Claire (Date Night). First, I have to say that I adore Steve Carell and Tina Fey, I have yet to find a movie starring either of them that I don’t love. Putting them together, and as a married couple, no less? That was the icing on this movie lover’s cake! Phil & Claire have lost the spark in their marriage, and it takes their friends’ impending divorce to make them see it. The problem is that their romantic date night in the city has gone haywire because they’ve been mistaken for a couple on the run from mobsters. It’s delicious watching the two of them working together to save themselves, to see those little moments of jealousy, and when they finally save the day (and their marriage) you just have to cheer!

Tess & Finn (Fool’s Gold). Another couple on the rocks! There seems to be a theme to my list!! I adore a good treasure hunt movie, and I adore the chemistry between Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughy. Tess & Finn haven’t lost the spark in their relationship – they’re still hot for one another. The problem is that Tess has a vision of her life that isn’t lining up with Finn’s; things aren’t lining up because she’s so focused on what she wanted for her life pre-Finn that she can’t wrap her mind around what she wants once he’s in her life. Throw in a mean rapper, a cricket bat, and a lot of banter? And they not only find their way back to one another, but they both realize what they really want in their lives.

Margaret & Andrew (The Proposal). Finally, a movie that isn’t about breaking up – it’s about faking it! This is one of my favorite tropes in all of romanceland – a couple of people faking a relationship and falling for one another is such a sweet journey. . .and when you add in the angst of Sandra Bullock’s Margaret and the obliviousness of Ryan Reynolds’ Andrew? It’s even sweeter!

Those are my top three – tell me, who are your favorite movie couples?

Kristina Knight’s latest release is Breakup in a Small Town, the third book in her Slippery Rock series!

This isn't the man she married…

Jenny Buchanan never considered what "for better or for worse" meant when she married Adam Buchanan at nineteen. Six years and two little boys later, "for worse" arrives in the form of a tornado that ravages Slippery Rock and injures Adam. Now he's a stranger to his family…and love won't be enough to bring him back.

Only when Jenny asks him to move out does Adam become the husband she needs…but Adam isn't the only one who's changed. As their attraction sparks back to life, Jenny and Adam must learn what it is to grow up—and grow together—before this small-town breakup lasts forever.

Kristina Knight is a contemporary romance author, part-time swim-kid wrangler, and full-time Thin Mints enthusiast. You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

How Do You Research? @AuthorKristina Knight

I'm in the middle of revisions...so I'm bringing back a familiar question: When do you research?

My favorite time to research is when I'm stuck. Doesn't sound very smart, does it? What I mean is, I don't necessarily research the place I'm writing about, the profession, the weather, etc. before I start writing. The beginnings of stories, for me, are kind of like epiphanies. Some of my writer friends talk about 'seeing' a fully-drawn scene and writing it down. I'm like that, kind of. I see a character, maybe two, hear a bit of dialogue and I'm off. The more the character 'talks' the more I see - foliage, buildings, beaches. It kind of draws itself in my imagination. All because the character is talking to me.

So I let that character talk and talk and talk. Until they can't talk any more. Sometimes they stop talking because I've written them into a corner or because I need to know something they aren't telling me. In either case, from that point, the research starts. I look up websites with pictures of the place I'm writing about, research the professions of my main characters, what homes in that area are built like/from, what the decor is..you name it, I look it up. Google is my friend, although I try to look at at least three sites before making a decision on anything. I also ask my friends and CPs (Facebook and Twitter are my friends when questions come calling), but I also try to look through professional sites - journalism, investment banking...and, on sites like the one for pro surfers or rock stars, the eye candy isn't bad, either.

From that research I may - or may not - find pictures of my main characters, people who remind me of them or look like them in some way. I make a collage of the 'best' pictures I find that evoke the feeling of that book on Pinterest and I make a collage pic that I print off and put on my writing board. While I'm making the collages, I'll also make my WIP playlist. Sometimes this is fast - less than an afternoon. Sometimes it takes days and I write a little and research a little. It's a clunky process but it works for me.

How about you? What's your research process? 

Kristina Knight’s latest release is <a href=“http://a.co/0fWvqvP”>Breakup in a Small Town</a>, the third book in her <a href=“http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/slipperyrock.html”>Slippery Rock series</a>!

This isn't the man she married…

Jenny Buchanan never considered what "for better or for worse" meant when she married Adam Buchanan at nineteen. Six years and two little boys later, "for worse" arrives in the form of a tornado that ravages Slippery Rock and injures Adam. Now he's a stranger to his family…and love won't be enough to bring him back.

Only when Jenny asks him to move out does Adam become the husband she needs…but Adam isn't the only one who's changed. As their attraction sparks back to life, Jenny and Adam must learn what it is to grow up—and grow together—before this small-town breakup lasts forever.

Kristina Knight is a contemporary romance author, part-time swim-kid wrangler, and full-time Thin Mints enthusiast. You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

Famous in a Small Town by Kristina Knight

Home is where the heart is. I’ve seen about a million samplers, pillows, cross-stitch pieces, coffee mugs, mousepads…you name it, I’ve probably seen that phrase on it. I’ve always loved that phrase, but not because it brings up memories of the house where I grew up.

Because it brings up memories of my best friend and I cruising around our small town on Friday nights, just looking for something to do.

Because it brings up memories of a road trip taken with some college buddies, in which we got turned around and wound up in Arkansas instead of Oklahoma.

Because it brings up memories of singing Ricky Martin waaaaaaaaaaay off-key (and into the two-way radio unit) with my best friend while we were reporters at a small TV station in Nebraska.

Because it reminds me of RadioMan, and the cottage cheese a friend put in our wine glasses at our wedding (it’s an inside joke).

Of the first time we saw bebe – all tiny and wrinkled and smelling like a hospital and needing a bath.

Home can be a million different things to a million different people, but I think what it holds in common for all of us is a feeling of safety. Of belonging.

For the first seven years of her life, my heroine, Savannah, from Famous in a Small Town, didn’t have those feelings. It took most of her childhood and quite a bit of her new-adult-hood to get to the place where she felt worthy of both of those feelings. The struggles she faced are similar to the struggles faced by foster children all around the world, those adopted by families, and those who age out of the system. In many cases, they are so wounded by what happened before coming home, that they always wonder when home will be ripped away from them.

We’re (as in, me and my family) are doing something special with this release - a portion of the proceeds from the Slippery Rock series will go toward providing Sweet Cases from TogetherWeRise to foster children. Most children going in to foster care have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Sweet Cases are duffel bags given to children coming in to care, and once given, the bags remain with that child, giving them a sense of home and, hopefully, a sense that they aren't alone. Each duffel includes a warm blanket, a teddy bear, hygiene kit, and art supplies.

I’m also hosting a giveaway with lots of fun goodies, including some Mary Kay products, a Philosophy pouch, an autographed copy of my book, First Love Again, and more! You can enter here.

Kristina Knight's latest book, Famous in a Small Town, releases May 1 from Harlequin Superromance; it is the first book in her new Slippery Rock series. 

Lifestyles of the small-town famous 
Forced to leave Nashville after a scandal, Savannah Walters has come home to Slippery Rock, Missouri, with a bruised ego and her singing career in jeopardy. As if that isn't humiliating enough, on her way into town she's rescued by her swoon-worthy childhood crush, Collin Tyler. 

His hands are full running the family orchard and dealing with his delinquent teen sister, so Collin doesn't need to get involved with someone as fiery and unpredictable as Savannah. But the intense attraction between them can't be denied. And when disaster strikes, they'll both be surprised by who's still standing when the dust settles.

Buy Famous in a Small Town: Amazon  B&N

iBooks  KOBO

You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.