It’s August, peak time for picking tomatoes, peaches and my new book, Flirting in Cars. Flirting in Cars is the first of my novels set outside of Manhattan, and it was as easy for me to write as moving out of the city was difficult. Like my heroine, I am a native of Manhattan, (unlike her, I have been driving since I was 21, and at no time did my instructor do anything erotic to my toes).

Navigating the transition from urbanista to garden gnome, I discovered that I had left a whole skill set behind, along with my Metrocard and favorite bagel shop. In this new setting, I was a pampered apartment dweller out of my element, and my cats were so competent it was a little frightening.

“Don’t worry,” was Neil Gaiman’s advice. “Worst comes to worst, you’ll get a book out of this.” What I got was a book that seemed to write itself, along with a new appreciation for country pleasures.

In any case, I’m celebrating the release of Flirting in Cars with a special rolling contest that will feature many winners. You can win one of my novels, along with one other great read selected from a bunch of fabulous authors including Susan Andersen, Carole Matthews, Rachel Gibson, Mary Castillo, and Cathy Yardley. And one grand prize winner at the end of the contest will receive Sex as a Second Language and a $25 gift card to Sephora.com. just in time to splurge on autumn colors. Luxury! Get all the details on my website.

All you have to do is read the online excerpt from Flirting in Cars and answer the question.

So have a great August, and check out one of my readings if you’re in the New York area. (I love to meet readers.) You can check out the details on my events calendar. Happy Flirting, in cars and out!

-- Alisa Kwitney