Bachelors of
Blueberry Cove, book 2
Kensington
Bold, brash,
Irish–Brodie Monaghan’s been breaking hearts ever since he arrived in Maine to
rebuild the family business. Still, there’s one woman he just can’t wow. Grace
Maddox claims she’s now part owner of Monaghan Shipbuilders, and she has her
own dreams for the weathered dockside buildings. Tiny Blueberry Cove has a way
of welcoming strangers with wide open arms, but is the sleepy coastal village
ready for the fireworks these two spark?
DIY is so
much better with two. . .
USA Today bestselling
author of the Cupcake Club Romance series, DONNA
KAUFFMAN has seen her books reviewed in venues ranging from Kirkus
Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan.
She lives just outside of DC in the lovely Virginia countryside, where she is
presently trying to makeover her newly empty nest into something that doesn’t
have to accommodate piles of sports equipment falling out of her coat closet
(okay, out of every closet...and under every bed....), size 13 cleats and
sweaty uniforms cluttering her foyer (and stairwell, and laundry room, and...),
and a kitchen that should have come with a traffic light. And a pantry monitor. (Anyone with a clever idea on how to repurpose lacrosse sticks into matching
reading lamps, she’s all ears!) When she’s not stripping paint, varnishing an
old auction house find, or trying to avoid bodily injury with her latest power
tool purchase, she loves to hear from readers! You can contact her through her website.
THE
DOWN LOW on BLUEBERRY COVE
In an article about fictional small towns Donna stated,
"I love the encapsulated feel of a small town. As a character in one of my
Cupcake Club books says, 'It's like being in a continual group hug.' I like
that closeness, both the support it gives to all the characters, and the
obstacles it creates, being in each other's back pockets. Secrets are hard to
keep in a small town, and everybody has an opinion on everything. I love
that!"
ANGI: What's different about BLUEBERRY COVE, MAINE?
DONNA: I love all of coastal Maine, and have been end to
end numerous times now, but was most deeply drawn to the northern stretch of
the coast, Downeast, than the more traditionally well-known touristy southern
end. So, I decided to set my small town there, where it’s more rustic, more
rugged, and the folks perhaps a bit more delightfully quirky.
ANGI: What's your favorite thing about Blueberry Cove?
DONNA: That would
go hand in hand with the first answer - it’s a different setting for coastal
Maine, and I love that it allows me to explore a different kind of small town,
one that embraces its rich, seafaring ancestry as one of the earliest towns to
be settled in the Americas.
ANGI: Can you share if Blueberry Cove is modeled after a real Maine
town (and which one)?
DONNA: Blueberry isn’t modeled after any one town. It’s
drawn more as a composite, from the history of that part of the coast, the
heritage there, drawing from many elements of the way of life there, both now
and throughout the centuries since it was originally settled.
ANGI: Who are your favorite recurring secondary characters?
DONNA: I think Fergus McRae, the somewhat crusty
Irishman who runs the Rusty Puffin pub and is the patriarchal figure in the
McRae family is one of them, for sure, but most definitely the top spot goes to
Eula March, the ageless, timeless owner of Mossycup Antiques, which features a
mossy cup oak tree growing right up through the middle of the shop and is
rumored to be inhabited by the wee folk who may or may not help her with her
somewhat magical and mystical restorations.
ANGI: What’s your favorite thing about Brodie?
DONNA: I adore an Irishman with a sexy swagger, and the
drop dead accent to go with it.
Especially when he’s quite content with charming his way into the hearts
and lives of his new American neighbors, but thinks he’s immune to the charms
of any one particular woman. He begins to see the error in that thinking in Pelican
Point, the first book in the series, but it’s not until he meets Grace
Maddox in Half Moon Harbor that he realizes his life as a happy bachelor
is about to come to a rather abrupt end.
ANGI: What’s your favorite thing about Grace?
DONNA: I love that she’s brave enough to make the change
in her life she must make if she wants to have a chance at finding what is most
important to her, even if it terrifies her, with no guarantee it will work out
the way she hopes it will. She wants to reunite with her estranged brother,
Ford, who is her only remaining family, and more importantly, find a way to
establish herself in a place she can call home, and truly feel and believe it
is all of that and more.
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: You said in our last interview-- "I've gotten to travel to so many fascinating places and meet so many
wonderful, amazing people while researching books, speaking at conferences,
attending signings." Where's your favorite place you've gotten to
travel?
DONNA'S GOTTA ANSWER: So many to
choose from! Coastal Maine nears the top of the list and I look forward to
heading back there this fall…but top spot has to go to the Western Highlands of
Scotland. Specifically the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebridean Islands. I write contemporary romance and love
bringing in a setting that is otherwise more traditionally seen only in
historical romance. Skye and the outer islands have been inspiration for a
number of books, most notably The Legend MacKinnon, The Charm Stone and,
most recently, my Hot Scot series. It is the home of my ancestors and I have
felt inexplicably like a lifelong resident (maybe more than one life?) since my
first time setting foot on the island.
FIND DONNA
Instagram: writerchick Donna Kauffman
Previous GLIAS interviews
DONNA's
Full Backlist
DON'T MISS
PELICAN
POINT
Bachelors of
Blueberry Cove Series
book 1
Blueberry
Cove, Maine, is as small-town as small towns get. More than a little quirky, it
has sheltered generations of families. But there’s always room for a new face…
Fixing
things has always been Alex McFarland’s greatest gift and keenest pleasure. But
with her own life thoroughly broken, she’s signed on to renovate the dilapidated
Pelican Point lighthouse, hoping to reconnect with herself. The last thing she
expects is to find herself falling in love – with the glorious coastline, with
age-old secrets and welcome-home smiles . . .with rugged Logan McCrae, the man
she just might be able to build new hopes on.
DIY is so
much better with two.
ANGI'S back on First Friday with
the Crew.
UP NEXT ON GLIAS: EMMA CONNOR.
or @GetLostInAStory #GetLostStories
DONNA
WANTS TO KNOW: Are you
drawn to books set in places that might interest you personally? Do you
enjoy reading books where the setting (coastal, mountains, big city, small
town) is intrinsic to the story itself? (Okay, so I cheated, that’s two
questions, but they go hand in hand!) Tell me what location/setting is a “must
check out” - one that will make you pick up a book regardless of if you’ve
heard of the author before.