I’m so happy to be introducing my fellow Avon Impulse author
Cheryl Harper to you today. Cheryl’sCan’t Help Falling in
Love.
got an awesome, fun series in the works
based on an Elvis Presley-themed hotel where anything can happen. She’s here
today to talk about
Whether she's writing, reading, or
just checking the items off of her daily to-do list, Cheryl Harper loves her
romance mixed with a little laughter. When she's not working, you will find her
ignoring housework, cursing yard work, and spending way too much time with a
television remote in her hand.
CHERYL HARPER
Title: Can’t Help Falling in Love
Publisher: Avon Impulse
CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE
The staff of Cheryl Harper's
Elvis-themed Rock'n'Rolla Hotel are back with a funny, fresh romance that goes
undercover—under the covers!
As a former Marine, hotel manager
Tony Ortega has plenty of experience assessing threats, and the hotel's newest
guest, Randa Whitmore, is a code red. Tall, blonde, and with legs for miles,
she may look like his every fantasy, but he knows she's not really visiting for
the famed Elvis Week. Though dangerously drawn to his new guest, Tony will do
anything to protect his job . . . especially if it means sleeping with the
enemy.
Business strategist Randa Whitmore
never meant to be undercover in Memphis. In August. Sweating her expensive spa
treatments away. But snagging another perfect hotel location for her father's
empire means using all the tricks in her designer arsenal. And even though the
sexy, tattooed manager seems oblivious to her charms, Randa's prepared to bring
out the big guns—just so long as she can stay objective and out of Tony's
muscled arms. After all, it's just business, right?
EXCERPT (visit
Cheryl’s website to find more story exerpts!)
She
hadn’t slept well. First she’d had a nightmare about a homeless Misty who
wandered the busy Memphis streets because her hotel was gone. And then when
she’d started awake to see that it was only midnight, she’d fought the urge to
sneak out to the lobby to make sure Misty was safe and sound. Telling herself
it was crazy to worry about a dog that wasn’t even hers, she forced herself to
stretch out and think of something else.
After
she’d finished the hardcover she’d carried on the plane, she put it and her
drugstore reading glasses on the nightstand. Still too restless to sleep, she
had plenty of time left to think about Misty. And Tony. Misty would never be
homeless. Willodean would take her . . . somewhere. And
Tony would land on his feet in another job. Of course he would. Unless he was
related to Willodean Jackson somehow. Maybe he was manager here because he
couldn’t get a job anywhere else. Maybe he was on parole and lucky to have
family to call on, a situation that she was just about to put an end to,
possibly plunging him into despair and God knew what else and dooming him to
roaming the streets instead of Misty.
She’d
slapped her own forehead then and she repeated it now by the pool. She really
shouldn’t read in bed. Clearly it made her imagination run wild. He was a grown
man. He’d find another job.
Randa
was the one with a potentially bigger problem. Her runaway brain would have her
shooting herself in the acquisition foot if she didn’t watch it.
All
because of a dog. Or a man she didn’t even know and had no business worrying
over. She had plenty on her own plate to worry about.
“Was
that an a-ha moment or a mosquito?”
Randa
took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see Tony standing next to the lounger.
Then
she forgot every worry she’d ever had and most of everything she knew.
Because
if Tony lost his job running the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel, he had a future in
underwear modeling. His swim trunks rode low on his hips and even though she’d
seen swimsuits that showed a whole lot more of what a man was working with,
she’d never seen another man with a body like his.
In
her experience, handsome men were either gym rats or couch potatoes. She’d seen
a lot of manscaping in her time too: hairless chests, spray tans, and even hair
plugs once upon a time.
Out
of the Hawaiian shirt and khakis, Tony was perfectly imperfect. His olive skin
was lightly tan. Black ink swirled up his left arm. This close she could make
out the words “Semper Fi” and then what looked like names, all in a simple
script. She wanted to touch his tattoo, to trace her fingers up his arm. She
wanted to feel his skin. Black curls covered his pecs and trickled to a thin
line down his abdomen to disappear into . . .
God, help me. Randa felt
the need to fan her face or stick her tongue out to pant. August in Memphis
might camouflage her reaction, but she hadn’t known heat until Tony stood in
front of her with no shirt on.
CHERYL "TELLS ALL"!
LIZ: What’s the
first book you remember reading?
CHERYL: The first time I
remember getting lost in a story was with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books. I don’t remember how
old I was really, maybe 7 or 8, but I remember begging my mother to take me
back to the library for the next book in the series more than once. From those
books, I learned to love a series and how to hunt down everything an author
ever wrote. Plus, I met my first book boyfriend. Oh, Manly. He might have also
been my first television boyfriend.
LIZ: What are the
next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?
CHERYL: Jill Shalvis’s Always on My Mind, Lori Foster’s Getting Rowdy, Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Styxx, Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Lynsay
Sands’s One Lucky Vampire
LIZ: What’s your
favorite fairy tale?
CHERYL: Cinderella, I think,
but I like some of the retellings (like Ever
After) where Cinderella takes action. Plus, in that movie, if you can get
over Drew Barrymore’s weird accent, there is Prince Dougray Scott. Nice.
LIZ: What one thing
about your hero drives his heroine crazy? And what one thing about your heroine
drives her hero nuts?
CHERYL: I’ve got to admit that I really like Tony
Ortega, the hero of Can’t Help Falling in Love, but it would be hard to get to
know him. He’s the strong, silent type, and he’s too smart to be taken in by
the heroine, Randa Whitmore, and her usual tactics. That frustrates Randa who’s
in town with a job to do. Randa drives Tony nuts from the minute she walks into
the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel because she does not act like he expects her to. Instead
of the snooty rich girl, she’s a hard worker who has a mile-wide soft spot for
a floppy dog. He has no defense against that.
LIZ: Name three
things that are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse, satchel, reticule,
weapons belt or amulet bag (or whatever she carries)?
CHERYL: Cinnamon gum, credit
cards, and a calculator
LIZ: If you were
given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?
CHERYL: I love this
question, but I take it too seriously. If I can know everything I do now and go
back in my own life, I’d like to be twenty-six again…but just for maybe a day.
I’d like to say things I should have said to people I loved, and I’d like to
tell myself that no matter how hard things get, it’s all going to work out.
And…a better fun answer: I’ve always been fascinated by women who settled the
American West, how much strength and fearlessness it would take to head out
into the unknown. But I would also only want to stay for one day. I like
showers. And my Twitter addiction is pretty bad.
LIZ: What will
always make you smile, even on a bad day?
CHERYL: I have this dog. His
name is Jack. And he has a pretty goofy, sweet face, likes to cuddle, and gets
outrageously excited by a walk to the mailbox. He’s the best.
LIZ: What’s your
favorite movie of all time?
CHERYL: Only one? That’s
hard. I have to go with Pride and
Prejudice, the Colin Firth BBC version. And of course, I can recite large
chunks of most John Hughes movies so…
LIZ: What is your
biggest vice?
CHERYL: DIET COKE!! Specifically the Sonic Route 44 Diet Coke. I have such a bad
problem. I plan my days around half-price Happy Hour and I think that’s a sign
of a vice.
LIZ
HAS GOTTA ASK: How big an Elvis fan are you REALLY? And what led you to
use him as a theme for your series?
CHERYL HAS TO ANSWER: I know
so much more about Elvis now than I did when I started! And he’s not really
involved in the stories, but the hotel is a backdrop for stories about people
looking for a place to belong. This series started as a novella that I wrote to
answer an Avon open call for Valentine’s Day submissions. I needed an imaginary
hotel to strand co-workers somewhere between Atlanta and Dallas. Then my editor
called to see if I had more stories. And after a weekend, I did! I spent a lot
of quality time with YouTube watching Elvis videos and hunting up information,
trivia, best-selling records, and I found some songs I really love. “Stuck on
You” is one I didn’t know…until I had to have a title change for the first book
in the series. And now, I listen to it and have to snap my fingers!
CONTACT CHERYL:
Website: Http://CherylHarperBooks.com
Twitter: @CherylHarperBks
WHAT’S UP NEXT FOR YOU?
Santa, Bring My Baby
Back, the last of the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel books is coming December 17, 2013.
A bride abandoned at the altar . .
. just in time for Christmas? 'Tis the season for second chances at Cheryl
Harper's Elvis-themed Rock'n'Rolla Hotel.
After trying and failing at
acting, modeling, dog grooming, and a dozen other jobs, Grace Andersen thought
for sure she'd nail marrying a rich man. But dumped in a hotel chapel and
strapped for cash, Grace needs a miracle—and a job. If it were up to Charlie
McMinn, Grace would be a married lady by now. Officiating weddings in gold lamé
and a rock star pompadour may not have been his idea of getting into the
holiday spirit, but with a gorgeous bride asking for his help, Charlie doesn't
mind sticking around his mother's hotel a few more days. Especially if it means
getting Grace settled …
Grace isn't sure what to think of
sexy, rugged Charlie, except that she can't deny the attraction between them,
or how good it feels to finally fit in somewhere. Is she ready to give a
certain place—and a certain someone—a real chance? Or will she abandon a true
Christmas miracle?
CHERYL’S PREVIOUS RELEASES:
Kiss Me, “Love Me
Tender” novella (Rock’n’Rolla Hotel #1, February 2013)
Pucker up on the most romantic day
of the year with three debut contemporary authors and their tales of romance,
seduction, and . . . Elvis?
She's got a hot new makeover . . .
and a boss to seduce! For prim and proper Ryan Ashton, sexy has always been an
elusive quality. But with a little help from a new friend, she just might snag
the one man who can set her seductive side loose in Codi Gary's The Trouble
with Sexy.
Stuck in a king-size suite with a
sexy man . . . What more could a girl want? But for Julie Dillon, being snowed
in at an Elvis-themed Memphis hotel with Luke Pearce can't mean anything but
trouble. Too close for comfort gets close enough to taste in Cheryl Harper's
Love Me Tender.
Her best friend's brother is
shaking up her Valentine's Day! Katie Quinn just wanted to spend the day
watching Jurassic Park and eating chocolate. She certainly had no intention of
running into Logan Cross–or running for her life! Suddenly caught in the
crosshairs of danger, Katie and Logan must get together to find a way out in
Jaclyn Hatcher's Love, Guns, and Heart-Shaped Chocolate.
Stuck on You
(Rock’n’Rolla #2, April 2013)
Take a chance on love in the
limelight with Cheryl Harper's fun and flirty new series set in the wacky
Elvis-themed Rock'n'Rolla Hotel.
Big shot producer KT Masters never
apologizes. Especially not to showgirl waitresses. But when he tears Laura
Charles's feathered costume and she gives him a piece of her mind, it sets him
aflame. In fact, between Laura's feisty temper and how damn good she looks in
that little number, KT wouldn't mind seeing a lot more of that costume . . .
balled up next to his bed, that is.
Despite KT's arrogant attitude,
Laura can't help but be drawn to him. And when he offers her the fling of a
lifetime—a week spent in his gorgeous celebrity arms—she's willing to play
along . . . just so long as her heart stays out of it. But as things heat up
between them, going back to the way things were isn't so easy. Could their passion
be the real thing . . . or just a vacation from reality?
DO YOU HAVE A
QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
If you could build a
hotel dedicated to your favorite book or movie, which one would you pick?
I’ll give
away a Kindle or Nook copy of Can’t Help Falling in Love (US) to one lucky
commenter!
Thanks, Cheryl, for taking time to visit with us today--it was so good to have you at Get Lost in a Story!
Hi, Liz, Hi, Cheryl, great interview! Wow, that is one hard question. My favorite movie is Dave -- with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver, or Overboard with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and I'm partial to the yacht Goldie lived on ... so I'll stick with that. Thanks for joining us today!
ReplyDeleteA yacht! Yes! I'm definitely in the mood to do a little sailing right about now. Great answer!
DeleteGood morning, Cheryl! Thanks so much for giving such a wonderful interview and spending the day with us here. I just love the premise of your series -- love the books too!
ReplyDeleteI just had a chance last year to visit Liverpool and see the very expensive Hard Days Night hotel. I would love to have a Beatles-themed hotel that was affordable to all--I'd be in heaven!
I've only seen pictures of it, but the Beatles hotel does look like a fun place to visit. Thanks so much for inviting me to post here! Love the interview.
DeleteWelcome to GLIAS, Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteThat is a fantastic question and has left my fingers without an answer. Going to have to think about that one. Best of luck with your series.
~Angi
(Who thought: JUSITIFED...but then the police would be there everyday and the crime scene cleanup would probably get very expensive. LOL)
You know, if I could be guaranteed a Raylan Givens sighting, I might want to visit that hotel.
DeleteDon't know
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I think it would be fun to stay in a Wizard of Oz themed hotel. :D
ReplyDeleteYour book series sounds like a hoot, Cheryl.
Marcy Shuler
bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com
Marcy, I love that idea! So many great iconic sets to work with. Good one!
DeleteI would pick Pride and Prejudice since the clothes and settings are so lovely.
ReplyDeletemce1011 AT aol DOT com
I would want to live in that hotel!!!
DeleteWhɑt a higɦ qualityy find oon this wet Wedneѕday.
ReplyDeleteMɑny thanks for brightening up myу day.
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