It's a Triple Threat with Regina Kyle

I’m so happy to welcome Harlequin Blaze author Regina Kyle to GLIAS today so she can tell us about her new book Triple Threat.

Regina knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing contest at age ten with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor.

A lover of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her husband, teenaged daughter, and two melodramatic cats. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking or watching bad reality television. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and treasurer of her local RWA chapter.

THE STORY BLURB

The Theater of Temptation presents Sabotage…and Seduction!

The Playwright: It’s emerging playwright Holly Nelson’s big break. Broadway. Having survived her traumatic marriage and divorce, Holly is now aiming for success, not love. And any naughty dreams about Nick Damone—the gorgeously dishy star who was her crush back in high school—must remain a fantasy.

The Star: For Nick, Broadway is a chance to go from big-screen-eye-candy to serious actor, and to explore the lust blazing between him and Holly. But life-threatening accidents will force a chain of events that could bring down the curtain on the whole production…or give Nick and Holly a chance to finish the sexy something that started fifteen years ago!

EXCERPT

Link to excerpt on Regina’s WEBSITE

Purchase TRIPLE THREAT:

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

Q & A WITH REGINA

LIZ: How often do you get lost in a story?

REGINA:     When am I not? Seriously, I’m always either lost in whatever I’m writing or whatever I’m reading. Or watching, in the case of Outlander. Jamie Frasier. Sigh.

LIZ: What’s the first book you remember reading? 

REGINA:     Flat Stanley. My sister and I were oddly obsessed with that book. I think she got it through the Scholastic Book Club, and I kind of stole it from her. I thought we were the only ones that into it, but then a few years ago, when my daughter was in elementary school, all of these Flat Stanley projects started turning up. You know, where kids read the book, make their own Flat Stanley and have someone take him around and photograph him different places. She had to do it in second grade, and good friends in Washington D.C. took her Flat Stanley to all the monuments. They said it was like traveling with a rock star, so many people kept stopping them!

LIZ: What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

REGINA:     My TBR pile is ginormous. Thank goodness for my iPad mini. I think my next five are Heroes are My Weakness, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; It’s in His Kiss, by Jill Shalvis; The Night Belongs to Fireman, by Jennifer Bernard; The Second Chance Hero, by Jeannie Moon; and Caught in the Act, by Sara Jane Stone.  SEP and Jill Shalvis are my romance writing idols.  I’m absolutely gaga over Jennifer Bernard’s Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel, and I was lucky enough to meet and hang with her at RWA in San Antonio this year. (She’s lovely!) And the last two are written by good friends and even better writers. I love the support I’ve gotten from the romance writing community, and always try to pay it forward.

LIZ: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

REGINA:     The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Not one of the most popular, but it’s always stuck with me. Twelve daughters, sneaking out of the house every night to meet twelve handsome princes. So daring. And romantic. Not that I’ve ever done anything like that. And my sixteen-year-old daughter better not, either.

LIZ: Cast your book using fairy tale or cartoon characters.

REGINA:     I think I’ll go with Disney characters.  Nick’s definitely Flynn Rider from Rapunzel. Man’s man, ladies’ man, man about town. Confident, maybe a little cocky, but also strong, quick-witted, sensitive and good-hearted. And oh, yeah, he’s got the smolder.

Holly’s more like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She’s smart, with an active imagination and an open mind, necessary characteristics for a writer. And thanks to her disastrous marriage, she’s determined to stand on her own two feet and not take a back seat to another man. Not even one as yummy as Nick.

LIZ: Name three things that are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse.

REGINA:     As a writer, Holly’s definitely got a pad and at least ten pens, her smart phone or tablet (you never know when you might need to Google something), and that necessary brain food, chocolate.

LIZ: What sound or noise do you love?

REGINA:     Rain on the roof. Always relaxes me. Same with the droning of a window fan. We live right on Long Island Sound and don’t have air conditioning. Never had it as a kid, either. I grew up letting the monotonous hum of the fan in summer lull me to sleep. I always feel a pang of sorrow when fall comes and I have to pack it up until next year.

   

LIZ: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

REGINA:     I’d love to go back to the Renaissance – the most artistic and creative time in human history. Who wouldn’t want to chill out with the likes of Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Da Vinci? Or to eighteenth century Scotland. But only if Jamie Fraser is there.

LIZ: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

REGINA:     My cat, Oreo. We have two cats, Oreo and Scooter. Scooter’s our old guy, going on 20. I love him, but he’s a bit of a grump, always smacking me in the head when I try to write. Oreo is my writing partner, especially in the summer. I like to sit out on our three-season porch, and she sits in one of the windows, keeping me company. She’s tiny and soft and always gives me lots of snuggles and lovin’. Except, of course, when I find she’s peed some random place that is NOT the litter box LOL.

LIZ: What is your biggest vice?

REGINA:     Reading. There are almost 1,000 books on my iPad. I stay up far too late on far too many nights indulging. Just one more chapter . . . just one more chapter . . .

LIZ: What do you hope for the future of romance publishing?

REGINA:     I’d like the see a truce between the self-publishing and traditional publishing camps. Most folks are great, but there are a few extremists on either side, people who claim their way is the “only” way. There’s no one right path that fits everyone. Self-pubbing can be great if you’ve got the resources and time to put into it. Traditional publishing has its flaws but you can’t beat it for widespread distribution. The bottom line is that each road has its pros and cons, and we have to recognize as writers that our choices for our careers represent what’s best for us, not necessarily everyone else.

LIZ HAS GOTTA ASK: What’s the most personal thing you’ve ever put in one of your books?

REGINA:     Well, Triple Threat is my first book, and my first manuscript. But there’s quite a bit of personal stuff in there. Write what you know, they always say. So I did. The theater in the book, the Elm City Reparatory Theatre, is based on the beautiful Goodspeed Opera House, on the banks of the Connecticut River. I grew up going there every year as a child for my birthday, and my daughter, who is a professional actress, was fortunate enough to work there a few years ago. I literally took the Goodspeed, description, history and all, and plunked it in New Haven.

But I think the most personal thing in Triple Threat is when Holly’s siblings tease her about flashing her undies on stage. Yep. That really happened to me. Twice. The first time I was a freshman in high school, and I was wearing a pair of those old-fashioned pajamas with a drop seat. Sure enough, the flap came open and the entire audience saw my undies. Then, sophomore year, I was playing Anybodys, the tomboy, in West Side Story. The director told me to wear my oldest, rattiest jeans – which were also my tightest. I climbed up on top of some scaffolding to “rescue” Tony at the end of act one before the cops showed up – and split my pants down the back seam. I somehow managed to get on stage, get him and get off without revealing too much. I hope. I spent intermission looking for a pair of jeans to borrow. Janet Jackson’s got nothing on me when it comes to wardrobe malfunctions.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Have you run into your high school crush since you were teenagers? Where and how, and is he (or she) still crush-worthy? I have a $10 gift card for Amazon or Barnes and Noble for one commenter.

CONTACT REGINA:

Website: www.reginakyleauthor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/reginakyleauthor

Twitter: _@regina_kyle1__

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomreginakyle

WHAT’S NEXT?

Up next will be the second book in the Art of Seduction series for Blaze, tentatively titled Triple Time, set for release in June of 2015. It tells Gabe and Devin’s story, two characters readers meet in Triple Threat. Gabe is Holly’s brother, an uptight, workaholic prosecutor with a strong sense of right and wrong. Devin is her best friend, a free-spirited, street-smart tattoo artist/bartender. I think you can see where this is headed. Sparks city.

First Friday with the Crew: Take a Virtual Stroll in our World(s).

This First Friday with the Crew, 
come along on a virtual street tour of locations featured in our novels.

G. Jillian Stone

The Dog and Duck Public House, a favorite Special 
Branch (Scotland Yard) watering hole.

Sometimes I like to walk the streets of London with my characters. Especially when  I'm feeling like I need to soak up a bit of foggy atmosphere. I often walk in Green Park, along the Embankment to Whitehall and Scotland Yard. In the evenings I might even pop into the Dog and Duck for a pint.   

Before I start a new manuscript I do a fairly extensive mapping of my protagonist's world. 

No. 10 Lyall Street, Belgravia. Residence of Detective Kennedy. 

And I'm fortunate that much of what was Victorian London in the late 1880s––the Lyceum Theatre, Leadenhall Market,  Savile Row–– all survive, even flourish to this day. I'm often delighted to find just the right home for my characters tucked away on some quiet London street.

 Zeno (Zak) Kennedy, hero of AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY,  lives in this comfortable town house several blocks west of Belgrave Square. 

As the story goes, Zak used an inheritance from his uncle to buy the manse and had it converted into two flats. He resides in No. 10 and lets No. 11 to the attractive young widow, Cassandra St. Cloud. In the screen shot above you will easily find the doors to both residences, and if you look carefully, there is an archway which is the former Lyall Street mews entrance.

Top right: What is left of Scotland Yard today. Bottom right: An early engraving of Great Scotland Yard. 



I often take a virtual stroll down narrow alleys and obscure yards searching for a safe house for one of Scotland Yard's undercover agents, or a villain's lair hidden beneath St. Katharine Docks.

Want to take a walk in my world? For more on the Gentlemen of Scotland Yard or my historical paranormal Phaeton Black series, visit my Amazon Author page. 

Detective Flynn Rhys is mad, bad and dangerous to know. 

Codename: Dragon, coming in Spring 2015.

E.E. Burke

A Dangerous Passion, coming this November, is the latest in my series Steam! Romance and Rails. 

This suspenseful historical romance that pits an ambitious railroad chief against his rival's daughter, takes place in Parsons, Kansas--located in the southeastern corner of the state, close to the Oklahoma border which at that time was Indian Territory. 

Henry Stevens, the hero, is based on the actual general manager of the Katy Railroad. His clever exploits and fierce drive to build the railroad in spite of impossible odds make him a fascinating character. Lucy finds he's a dangerous man to be crossed, but impossible to resist.

Parsons, early 1870s

It was a wild frontier in those days, as my adventure seeking heroine, Lucy Forbes, soon finds out. (Yes, those are covered wagons in the middle of town--a frequent sight those days.) 

Parsons was headquarters for the Katy Railroad. Over the years they had numerous depots. No pictures exist of the first and second depot. Here's the third, built in the late 1880's and later destroyed by fire. All those hot cinders spewed from steam locomotives can be dangerous.

Parsons 3rd Depot

Parsons is also close to a site where the Bender family murdered at least nine people over a period stretching from 1871 through early 1873. 

Drawing of Bender house

They lived in a house/inn that served travelers near the rail line. Kate Bender told fortunes. 

Unwary visitors were lured in, fed dinner, then bashed in the back of the head and buried in the basement or field out back. Residents report seeing the old man plowing at midnight. Chilling, isn't it? This grisly crime is woven into my story, as are other historical events in local and railroad history. For more info about my new book and more images, check out my Website or my Pinterest page.

Alexa Bourne

Earlier this week I received a new book contract! I'm so excited because it's set in my favorite place, Scotland. When I write about characters wandering through the moors or the streets in Scottish cities, my heart just fills with peace. Chasing Gold is a contemporary romantic adventure story set in the Scottish Highlands. The main characters, Americans Grace and Simon, are searching for a family heirloom but for totally different reasons. They spend a majority of the book traipsing through the gorgeous scenery as they learn to work together. How can you NOT be drawn into this scenery?

And.....as if this wasn't good enough, my next book, Wake Me, releases October 17th! This book is a romantic suspense with a paranormal element. It's the first book in a new series with all the books set in Austin, TX. If you look closely on the bottom of the cover you'll see the Austin skyline!

 

  

Kathleen Baldwin

The ruins of Corfe Castle look very like the ruins where the 
hero kisses the heroine of my traditional Regency,  
CUT FROM THE SAME COTH.

Lord St. Evert despises pretension of any kind. He cannot abide the self-important airs put on by some members of the Ton and takes pleasure in making a mockery of Brummell’s fashion strictures. Conceited frauds! Hadn’t his grandfather’s snobbery made his mother’s life a misery? All the more maddening to discover that the one woman who captures his interest is the biggest pretender of all. He vows to teach Miss Elizabeth Hampton a lesson she won’t soon forget.

Vicki Batman

Temporarily Employed

New Job. New Love. And Murder. Hattie Cook's dream job is down the toilet and her new SUV violated. Desperate for cash to cover the basic necessities of rent and food, she takes a temporary job at Buy Rite Insurance Company where she uncovers an embezzling scam tied to the death of a former employee--the very one she replaced. The last thing she wants is to clash with By-the-Book Detective Wellborn, no matter how much he makes her heart pound.
 
Detective Allan Charles Wellborn has secretly adored Hattie all his life. When the police determine there's more to the death of a former Buy Rite employee, he steps in to lead the investigation. Overly dedicated, always perfect, he puts his job first, even if doing so ultimately hurts the one he loves.
 
Can the killer be found before Hattie's time is up?

Excerpt:
Sommerville’s premiere department store, Tucker's, had recruited me for the job I'd truly desired. Steadily, I'd fishtailed my way up the food chain to become the menswear assistant buyer. The bonus of being the only woman in the men's division meant I received an enormous portion of flattering male attention, too. 

I'd loved my job. I'd held the everlasting wish to continue my retail career with Tuckers. I'd visited our sister stores in nearby smaller towns to arrange merchandise and consult with the staff. At the Men's Wear Show, I'd purchased new inventory. Did relevant paperwork. Pride and accomplishment consumed me when an order went from paper to merchandise to display.

The mall where my heroine loves to shop.

However, when I'd fallen victim to department reorganization during a slight economic downturn, my bubble had burst. Translated—I was let go.

Today, I'd taken the initiative and implemented Plan A—interviewing with Tuckers’ closest competitor on the off-chance something was available. I'd borne sky-high hopes for the meeting, only to find they weren’t hiring either. My heart broke with disappointment. I didn’t want a trip to the Europe or a million dollars. I wanted a plain ol’ job, doing what I'd done before.

Now, I had to shift to Plan B.  

Earlier, over lunch at Muy Bueno with Maggie, a Funsister friend who'd worked with me when we were teenagers at Amazing Adventureland, the local theme park, posed, “Why not try temporary jobs?”

I'd never considered working as a temp. I'd quirked my eyebrows upwards. “Temporary?”

“Sure." She'd beefed the idea with enthusiasm.  "That way, if you don’t like the job, you don’t have to go back. And you can continue to look for buying jobs until the right opportunity opens up.” 

Maggie was right. Temporary jobs would pay the rent and provide cash for food—and chocolate—until I'd found the position I truly desired.

Preorder links for Temporarily Employed: Amazon     The Wild Rose Press

Angi Morgan

HIT & RUN HALLIE

a Bodyguards in Heels novella

I also do extensive location research. Most of mine require a drive across Texas...or for my new Bodyguards in Heels series, just a drive around Dallas. 

~ ~ ~

Hallie Barton's hearing voices in her head. She's always had a strong intuition when it came to what a perp was about to do. She never imagined it was a 6th sense. ESP? Who believed in that? Her Grammy for one...and then there would be all her cousins...

Hallie relocates to Dallas, gets her PI license and her Grammy sets up shop, inviting all her cousins to participate. As each one joins the fun, their 6th sense gets stronger. But none of them realize their Grammy has an ulterior motive...finding the right match for them all.

~ ~ ~

I know Dallas pretty well. Most of the time I have a general idea of where something should be located. I grew up here and I'm not afraid of traffic. Since my third love is photography (2nd are my Labs, 1st is my writing--the family is on a different scale). I love taking pictures. I have a slide show of my research photos rotating constantly while I write to inspire me. 

Here's Grammy's house, where the cousins will all start out together. It's a big house and Grammy's money is paying the bills of Bodyguards in Heels, their agency so they don't mind living there for a while.  And even though this shop looks like a Christmas store (because it is)...this is where I picture the office.

You can find location shots on A Picture A Day and my Facebook page. I hope you'll friend me and drop me a line. Check out my Birthday Bash Oct 9th on Facebook. < #AMsBdayBash > Join the party early for special #flash #giveaways. 

Lara Lacombe

LETHAL LIES

Coming in December!

My first three books are set in Washington, D.C., a city I'm familiar with because I lived in that area for about 5 years while I was in grad school.  I fell in love with D.C., and even though I haven't made it back since I graduated, my memories of buildings and locations are as fresh as ever.

My third book takes place in the middle of winter, when a snowstorm blankets the city.  Unfortunately, the pictures I found don't have snow, so you'll just have to use your imagination to fill in! :)

The heroine of this book is Jillian, an ER doctor who has been kidnapped by Alex, an undercover FBI agent.  He's being framed by a bad guy in the Bureau, and he's trying to prove his innocence.  At one point in the book, Jillian walks into Ben's Chili Bowl to set up a meeting between Alex and his friend.

Ben's is a D.C. institution (with great food!) and it's a few blocks away from the Civil War Memorial, where Alex and his friend actually meet.

This story takes place all over the city, so be sure to check it out!  LETHAL LIES is up for pre-order now!

Amazon Kindle | Print

Barnes & Noble Nook | Print

Books-A-Million eBook | Print

Lizbeth Selvig

BEAUTY AND THE BRIT &
GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK

Avon Impulse

 My heroine, Rio Montoya, from "Beauty and the Brit" grew up in one of the toughest areas in Minneapolis, MN - known as The Phillips Neighborhood.  It's near a major thoroughfare and stretch of businesses, Lake Street, that runs through several gang zones--Latino, Black and Asian. She's made a home in a tough area. 

 

Here are shots of Rio's neighborhood--her house (before the fire) is the cute little tan and brown one in the top picture, but don't let the peacefulness fool you; this  street isn't for wimps.

 

Two street shots below are of W. Lake Street in Minneapolis. There are some bustling businesses, and restaurants for every ethnicity. 

You can also see one of the grills where Rio has worked (above). It might look safe, but you really don't want to stroll this street alone at night.  

Rio might think she's tied to the city, but her dream is to go out west and find some wide open spaces. Before she gets that far, however, she takes a little detour--to the small outstate Minnesota town of Kennison Falls. Here's a Google Earth shot of the area surrounding KF -- you can see the town in the corner and the landscape that's as different from Minneapolis as it can get.

And once she's there, her environment is also unlike anything she's ever been used to. While this isn't a street shot--it's a taste of one of her favorite spots on David Pitts-Matherson's farm:  the barn.

And, Kennison Falls is also home to Dewey Mitchell's Gas 'n' Garage - check out his restored station (left). You'll get to read Dewey's story in my soon-to-be-released 
"Good Guys Wear Black" -- coming out on October 14th. 

DONNELL ANN BELL
Buried Agendas
coming in November, 2014

 While we're waiting for my newest release, I thought I'd share some scenes in BETRAYED.  In Betrayed, my heroine, Kinsey Masters, runs in a popular running spot called the Highland Canal in Denver. (I use several authentic places in BETRAYED.) Unfortunately, my antagonist discovers where she runs and uses Kinsey to take his revenge on my hero, Detective Nate Paxton. I actually visited the place where Kinsey jogs with her black Labrador, Cordie. I wanted to take pictures of the place so I could wrap my writer's brain around the locale. What do you think? How's this for a suspenseful scene?

It's difficult to pinpoint where Kinsey might actually live (we do write fiction, after all.)  But I believe her place might look something like this . . .


Heck, if Kinsey doesn't want to live there, I do! 
Happy Reading!



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Monday on GLIAS: Regina Kyle

Get Lost on Goodreads, Facebook

or @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories

QUESTION FOR TODAY: How much detail do you like in the books you read?

Get Lost in The Courtesan's Book of Secrets…

From the diary of Cornelia, Comtesse de Vane.
England, 1803

Affection died with my mother. My father, a minor country baronet, didn’t want me because I wasn’t a boy, so he found himself a second wife who gave him what he wanted. Then he died, leaving me to deal with my shallow stepmother. The vapid woman would rather have a house in London so she can find another husband than take care of her own son, my half-brother, the one person I love the most in the world, the one person who loves me, except, perhaps Rafe. Or so I once thought.

Rafe Densmore, 5^th Baron of Densmore, was the only man at Lord Perry’s card party who didn’t eye me like a sweet meat as I stood behind my father, before his death, watching him gamble away the last of our money. I was wearing a too small, hand-me-down dress and Rafe smiled at me, not with the lascivious look all the other men threw at me, but with one of understanding. It was as if he alone knew the humiliation I was suffering.  Then, when my father ran out of blunt and the disgusting Lord Edgemont suggested he wager me instead, it was as if the world had turned upside down. My father, the one man who should have protected me, sat there and laughed with the others as old Lord Waltenham won the game then yanked me out into the dark garden.

I cursed my father as I fought the old man’s gnarled hands, but he was stronger.  Just when I’d lost all hope, Rafe stepped from the shadows and gave Lord Waltenham a thrashing. He sent the dirty codger scurrying back into the house. I didn’t know what to think of the handsome Baron standing before me, the one with a reputation for gambling and shouldering the debts of his father. As I rubbed my aching wrists, I expected him to be like Edgemont and demand something in return for his kindness, but he had a much more interesting proposal in mind.

“Working together, we could take the Paris card rooms by storm,” he said with a smile to make my toes curl with excitement.

After the Peace of Amiens, all English society was flocking to France. I’d never been farther than Lord Parry’s estate. Rafe promised to teach me how to act and dress like a lady, an education my mother and stepmother had failed to provide. It was an escape from my wretched life, a chance to slip away from my father and reinvent myself. It tore at my heart to leave my half-brother behind, but if I won in the card rooms of Paris, perhaps I could save myself and him from a life of poverty.  

The partnership Rafe and I agreed to was never about love, only business. I blossomed under his tutelage. I’d never met a man so honest, or one who looked on me as though I was a treasure and not a burden. Together, we lost ourselves in the whirl of London, and then Paris society. In the heady excitement of the card rooms, with Rafe strong, sure and confident by my side, I also lost my heart to him.

It was the biggest mistake I could have made.

The Courtesan’s Book of Secrets 

by Georgie Lee

Available October 1, 2014 from Harlequin Historical

     

Uncovered: a list of noblemen's names—each one guilty of treason. 

To save his family legacy, Rafe Densmore must seize a courtesan's infamous register. No one can ever know how his father betrayed his country! One person stands in Rafe's way—the beautiful Cornelia, Comtesse de Vane. 

In the card rooms of Paris, Rafe and Cornelia made an unbeatable…intimate team. Until, convinced of Rafe's desertion, desperate Cornelia married an elderly comte. 

Now, returning to London an impoverished widow, she'll do anything to possess the register. 

Even if that means becoming Rafe's partner once again…. 

Buy Links:  Amazon http://amzn.to/1lrOwBr   Barnes &Noble http://bit.ly/TmooMK

Harlequin http://bit.ly/1tNUtOu

A lifelong history buff, Georgie Lee hasn’t given up hope that she will one day inherit a title and a manor house. Until then, she fulfills her dreams of lords, ladies and a season in London through her stories. The Courtesan’s Book of Secrets is her third Harlequin Historical. When not writing, she can be found reading non-fiction history or watching any movie with a costume and an accent. Please visit  www.georgie-lee.com to learn more about Georgie and her books.

If you found yourself in Cornelia’s place and had to choose between following a handsome stranger and staying where you were and hoping for the best, would you follow the stranger? Keep in mind, the Peace of Amiens failed fast, trapping English citizens in France for over ten years, and there is no guarantee that you will win at the card tables. By following the stranger, you could end up in a worse situation than before. 

Commenters: Would you still follow the stranger? Let me know in the comments below.

Also, anyone who signs up for my newsletter will be entered into a drawing to win an ebook copy of my second Harlequin Historical, Rescued from Ruin. Follow the link http://bit.ly/1uzeNCJ  to sign up and then leave a comment below to let me know you did it.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to Get Lost in a Story for having me, and the Comtesse here today.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Georgie-Lee/259729314054846?ref=hl

Twitter: @GeorgieLeeBooks

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2985551.Georgie_Lee

Blog: http://georgielee.blogspot.com

Website: www.georgie-lee.com

Kimberly Kincaid

STIRRING UP TROUBLE

Sloane Russo’s turned a decade of crazy jobs and whimsical travel into a career writing steamy novels set in exotic places. Trouble is, Sloane’s flat broke now—and she can’t channel sun-drenched beaches in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The only fast cash in town comes with some seriously distracting temptation: Gavin Carmichael, hot, handsome and oh-so-hard-headed.

Gavin isn’t the impulsive Don Juan of Sloane’s novels. He’s raising his thirteen-year-old half-sister, and he’s pretty sure he’s supposed to act like he’s never heard of fun. Sloane is way too sexy and irresponsible to be his idea of a good tutor for Bree, but the unpredictable anti-nanny may be irresistible as well…

Read a little, Order the book

TOP TEN FUN FACTS

Every book I write has its surprises and ups and downs, and the creative process for Stirring Up Trouble was no different. Here’s a list of some of the sweet, sexy, and sigh-worthy facts about Gavin, Sloane, and the third book in the Pine Mountain series.

1 I always dream-cast my books (chose actors to “play” the roles of the characters in my head), but for the longest time, I couldn’t get a good read on the hero, restaurant manager Gavin Carmichael. He appears briefly in Gimme Some Sugar, but even when I wrote him then, all I got was a blurry idea. It wasn’t until I caught a YouTube interview with actor Gam Gigandet that I went, “That’s Gavin!” PS—you can check out my Pinterest boards for my whole dream-cast list.

2 I was very hesitant to make Sloane a romance writer! But it suited her (and the book) so well, I had to take the plunge. Her process is a hodge-podge of my writer-friends’ habits. Full disclosure: author Cherry Adair gave me the idea for the Post-Its scene!

3 Sloane’s car, a FIAT, was inspired from a Superbowl commercial from a few years ago, where a gorgeous, long-legged model pops out of this tiny little car. I saw it and thought, “That’s something Sloane would do.”

4 This book had both a false start (I wrote the first three chapters and discarded 90% of them in favor of what’s there now) and an alternate ending (same thing!) It’s the only time I ever did both with the same manuscript.

5 Stirring Up Trouble’s original title was “The Fallback Plan”.

6 Sloane’s signature purple boots are based on a pair that my fabulous mother-in-law bought me for Christmas one year.

7 I am not a fan of omelets. But when it came time to come up with the recipes for this book (as I do with all the Pine Mountain books), an omelet was the perfect thing for Gavin’s half-sister, Bree, to be able to make. So my family served as taste-testers as I created the recipe for Gavin’s Swiss Omelets. They weren’t unhappy about it! J

8 There’s one scene in this book that makes me laugh every time I read it (even though I wrote it and I know it’s coming, word for word) and one scene that makes me cry every time too. I won’t tell you which (no spoilers!) but I bet you can guess when you read!

9 In the book, Sloane wears a lucky hat when she writes. While I don’t do that, I am quite particular about my writing space. She and I share the same ideas about “good writing energy”.

10 I have always maintained that writing kids into romance novels is such a challenge that I’d never do it. But I needed something unlikely to bring Gavin and Sloane together, and that turned out to be Bree. Bree’s scenes ended up being the easiest and most fun to write. The ones that were the hardest were ironically the scenes where Sloane talks about her career.     

KIMBERLY KINCAID 
writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. Her digital Line series is all about the hot cops and sexy chefs of Brentsville, New York. She is also the author of the Pine Mountain series, which follows small town singles as they find big-time love. Kimberly resides in Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters. Visit her any time.

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KIMBERLY WANTS TO KNOW: What's #1 on your TOP TEN list?