Featuring: Through the Red Door and Sadira Stone

Letting him inside could be her salvation…or her undoing.

          Clara Martelli clings to Book Nirvana, the Oregon bookshop she and her late husband Jared built together. When rising rents and corporate competition threaten its survival, her best hope is their extensive erotica collection, locked behind a red door. In dreams and signs, her dead husband tells her it's time to open that door and move on. When a dark and handsome stranger's powerful magnetism jolts her back to life and he wants a look at the treasures of that secret room, she can't help but want to show him more.

          Professor Nick Papadopoulos is looking for historical erotica. Book Nirvana's collection surpasses his wildest dreams, and so does its lovely owner. A widower, he understands Clara's battle with guilt, but their searing chemistry is too strong to resist. Besides, he will only be in town for two weeks, not long enough for her to see beyond the scandal that haunts his past.

Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature author Sadira Stone and Clara Martelli from Through the Red Door, a current release from The Wild Rose Press, Scarlet Rose line. First up is Clara.

Where are you from? I’ve lived in Eugene, Oregon ever since I came to the University of Oregon as a freshman. It’s a fun, funky college town with a lively arts scene—a great place for my bookshop, Book Nirvana.

Tell us a bit about Through the Red Door. It is the story of a difficult passage in my life. A year after my husband Jared was killed by a distracted diver, our bookshop was teetering on the brink of financial collapse. The shop was my emotional anchor. The only advantage I had over the corporate competition was the extensive erotica collection—books of historical artwork and literature kept behind a locked red door. The special collection was Jared’s baby, and I just couldn’t force myself to go back there. Too many memories, too sharp a reminder of what I’d lost. My few remaining friends worried about my isolation and urged me to wade back into the dating pool. The very idea felt like a betrayal of Jared. Then, one day, I met two wonderful guys, Nick and Doug.

What did you think the first time you saw both men? When Nick came into my shop, the immediate zing of attraction I felt both thrilled and scared me. He felt it too—there was no missing the flash in his dark eyes. I remember thinking I’m in trouble. Meeting Doug was different. That bashful, crooked smile of his is so disarming. It felt as if we’d known each other for a long time.

What was your second thought? Finding out that Nick’s a widower helped me to relax around him because he understood what I was going through. With Doug—well, I was surprised to find so much intensity behind his easygoing exterior.

Did you feel it was love at first sight--with either man? I don’t believe in love at first sight. Having known real love with Jared, I know there’s so much more to love than chemistry. Still, if that’s spark’s not there—well, you need some kind of flame to light a fire. Nick was like a flamethrower—bright and hot and a bit scary. Doug was more like those waterproof matches you take camping: dependable, comforting. Nick is so determined, so passionate. Choosing between them was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make.

How would you describe these two different men? Nick is fiery, like the Mediterranean sun. He’s Greek, you know, and so gorgeous and seductive. He’s—well, dazzling is the word I’d use. Doug’s taller, leaner, quieter, a long-distance runner with a sexy shaved head and an adorable shy smile. I guess the word that best describes him is comforting.

How would they describe you? Skittish. Vulnerable. Guarded. But honest. I was straight with them both from the start: I wasn’t looking for love, just taking baby steps back into the world of the living. I didn’t expect either encounter to result in more than harmless flirtation. Man, was I surprised.

What made you choose owning and running a bookshop for a career? I loved my literature classes in college, so when the bookshop came up for sale, Jared didn’t have to work hard to persuade me.

What is your biggest fear? Losing the shop.

How do you relax? By reading, of course. I also enjoy a long, slow run along the Willamette River.

Who’s your favorite fictional character? Not very original, but I still swoon over Mr. Darcy.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here, we might as well dance.

We thank you for taking time out of your schedule to speak with us, Clara. Now we have a few questions for Sadira. 
What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? I love classic Rom-Com movies like French Kiss and Pretty Woman. I read lots of contemporary and historical romance, plus not-too-gory mysteries and romantic suspense. I there’s a spunky, self-directed heroine, some humor, and some steamy smooching, I’m in.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? Ever since I was a wee lass, I dreamed of own a bookshop. Add to that my fascination with historical erotic art and literature, and you’ve got the Book Nirvana series. As an older writer, I enjoyed the chance to feature an older couple—though at 39 and 41, Clara and Nick are hardly seniors. Late-in-life love, second chances at happiness, and reinvention are themes that pop up in my stories again and again. As pioneering female writer George Eliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” Nick and Clara’s sizzling chemistry proves that love can burn just as hot past that first flush of youth.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? After a Twitter pitch event led to an offer from a small publisher, my RWA chapter-mate Marie Tuhart, who also publishes with The Wild Rose Press, suggested I submit to them as well, since she’d had good experiences with TWRP. I’m very happy with the professionalism and the support I’ve received from the TWRP team.

What books currently rest on your TBR pile? Would you believe I haven’t yet read the Outlander series? My daughter gave me a copy of Book One. I’ve just started Dearly Beloved by Peggy Jaeger, another TWRP author. It’s a cute Rom-Com whose heroine is a wedding planner.

Lastly, what’s up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I’ve submitted Book Two in the Book Nirvana series to my publisher. I can’t say much about that one without spoiling Book One, but I adore the heroine, a nee employee at Book Nirvana. She’s an aspiring artist whose family and teachers have squashed her dreams—so far. In Eugene, she finds inspiration, the support of her feisty 90-year-old great aunt Maxie, and new love, of course. And she has her own adventures behind the red door. Book Three features Margot, Clara’s young shop assistant.

Sadira brought a short excerpt for us:

Probably just one of those guys who flirt with everyone. Thinking of him that way made it easier to face the prospect of seeing him again when he came for the rest of the books on his list. She knew in her bones she was not ready for a— what, a fling? A flirtation? A hot tumble among the naughty books?

Her body’s fevered response to Nick felt like a betrayal to Jared. But the thought of running her hands along Nick’s tawny skin warmed her in places that had been too cold for too long.

To purchase Through The Red Door, go to:

https://www.amazon.com/Through-Red-Door-Book-Nirvana-ebook/dp/B07J5BCTSG/

https://wildcatalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-erotic/6283-through-the-red-door.html

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-red-door-sadira-stone/1129705434?ean=2940161713808

A bit about Sadira Stone:

Ever since her first kiss, Sadira’s been spinning steamy tales in her head. But it wasn’t until her 50s that she tried her hand at writing one. Now she’s a happy citizen of Romancelandia, penning contemporary romance and cozy mysteries from her home in Washington State. When not writing, which is seldom, she explores the Pacific Northwest with her charming husband, enjoys the local music scene, plays guitar badly, and gobbles all the books.

Visit Sadira at:

www.sadirastone.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadirastone/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SadiraStone