Bake
300 cupcakes for the town’s garden party? Easy.
Resist
the sexy man from her past? Impossible
Unemployed
photojournalist Raynor Elliot stops at a bakery near the famous
Deerbourne Inn. Not only does he get a lead on a job but the bakery’s
owner is that awkward kid he knew in high school, only now she has
fabulous curves and an irreverent sense of humor. The cozy bakery,
with its aroma of sugar, vanilla and spice, has more to offer than
tasty cookies.
Fiona
MacLeod has been plagued for years by the need to make amends for
telling The Big Lie. When the lie’s victim strolls into her bakery
with his icy blue stare and killer charm, she feels like she’s
standing too close to a hot oven.
Between
running her bakery and frosting cupcakes for the Mad River Garden
Party, she's pretty sure she's falling in love with this infuriating,
sexy man. Can Fiona dredge up the courage to confess, face the
consequences, and hope for forgiveness?
Wild
Women Authors is pleased to welcome back
author Luanna Stewart who is celebrating the release of Love
Proof, a contemporary novella length romance,
the latest in the Deerbourne Inn series out of the Wild Rose Press.
With her is Raynor, Ray, Elliott.
Where
are you from? I grew up in a small town in
Nova Scotia called MacLeod’s Cove. I left home to attend journalism
school and then traveled the world covering wars and disasters, and
uncovering lies.
Tell
us a bit about Love Proof.
Not much to tell. I just landed in town, on my way to somewhere
else. I’m starting to think I might want to stay in Willow Springs
a while longer.
What
did you think the first time you saw Fiona? I
didn’t recognize her at first, haven’t seen her since we
graduated high school. She sure changed – the shy, awkward kid is
now all woman.
Sounds interesting. What
was your second thought? My
second thought was to stay
far, far away. I’ve sworn off relationships and she spells trouble.
Was
it love at first sight? It’s certainly lust
at first sight, and I like her. She sure does have a wicked sense of
humour.
What
do you like most about her? She’s a
genuinely nice person, no bull-shit meter required. Plus, she bakes
delicious cookies.
Among other yummy sounding treats.
How would you describe Fee?
Beautiful.
Not a super-model or anything but the prettiest woman I’ve seen in
a long time. I get lost in her big blue eyes, and her skin is soft
and smells like sugar.
Pal, you are so sunk. How would she describe you? Oh,
man, whatever she says probably isn’t complimentary. I have a
feeling her memories of me from high school aren’t the best.
What
made you choose photojournalism for a career? Frankly,
I was tired of having to wade through politician’s lies every time
I read the newspaper. I planned to change the world by exposing the
crooks in charge. I soon found out the crooks in charge weren’t
about to let anything get in their way.
What
is your biggest fear? Failure. In school, at
sports, in love – ha! I’ve failed at love more times than I want
to say. Hence my moratorium on relationships.
Smart
thinking. So . . . when you're not in a relationship, how do you
relax? A good book and a glass of single malt
scotch.
Works
for us. Who is your favorite fictional character? Sam
Vimes, from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. That guy made the
best of every opportunity.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? My
high school football coach, a real hard-ass with a voice like a
foghorn, gave us a pep talk before every game. I forgot most of his
words of wisdom but one thing he said stayed with me. “You miss
100% of the shots you don’t take.” I’m pretty sure Wayne
Gretzky, the hockey star, said it first, but it’s as accurate for
life as it is for hockey.
Amen, my
brother. Can't do any better than following advice from The Great
One.
Now it's
time to chat with Luanna.
What
movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Both
Susan Elizabeth Peters and Loretta Chase have always been authors I
want to emulate.
Couldn't
do better than Susan Elizabeth, She's a wonder. What event in your
private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel
it impacted the novel? I had braces on my
teeth, wore glasses, and was painfully shy – my high school years
were not kind. I gave my heroine a similar history, and I used her
experiences in high school to explain why she did certain things, and
how she coped later in life.
Tell
us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what
influenced your decision to submit to them? I
first submitted to Wild Rose Press when an editor from that
publishing house attended a small conference and listened to my very
first pitch. She was so kind and generous, I knew I’d be happy with
the company. I’ve gone on to publish several books with them.
What
book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Oh,
my goodness, my TBR pile has toppled under its own weight and
sprouted secondary piles. Actually, I have three TBR piles going. Top
of my contemporary romance pile is another Deerbourne Inn book –
Witches Cliff by Peggy
Chambers. In my historical romance pile is The
Duchess of Love by Sally MacKenzie – I love
the humour in her stories. And in my business of writing pile is
Strangers to Superfans
by David Gaughran.
Lastly, what's
up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I’m
working on a new small town contemporary romance series. The first
book is about a woman forced to move home to her whacky family, and a
man who takes a mama-sitting job after losing everything. I plan to
release that book in the autumn.
Here's
an excerpt from Love Proof:
“I remember those days.” She pushed the
calculator to the side, too tired to worry about planning the week’s
baking schedule. “Why’d you study journalism?
“Truth is important to me. I was tired of
all the lies in government, at every level. I wanted to change that.
Ultimately make the world a better place. Easy peasy, right?” His
lips quirked and he shook his head.
“That’s why I decided to be a baker.
Brighten someone’s day with a special treat.”
He scooted his chair closer and pointed at the column of
numbers on the page. “You want me to do the rest?” His arm, bare
to the bicep, lightly tanned, dusted with blond hair, a little
lighter than on his head, rested less than an inch from her own
spindly pale arm. Not spindly compared to other women, hefting bags
of flour and moving trays of baked goods did take some muscle power.
But spindly compared to his manly toned muscles flexing under skin
that she’d bet her last jar of sprinkles was smooth and warm. She
clenched her hand.
No touching allowed.
“We have cupcakes to frost.” She
bounded from the chair and rushed into the kitchen.
Holy moly, the guy oozed sex. In a good way. A very good
way. She pulled a clean apron off the shelf and cinched it around her
waist. An extra layer of armor between her and temptation in the form
of Raynor. The seeker of truth. The man whose mission in life was to
expose lies. The reporter who thought liars were not decent human
beings.
To purchase Love Proof, go to:
A bit
about our feature author:
Luanna
Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since
childhood. At the tender age of twelve she discovered her
grandmother's stash of romance novels, after which all plots had to
lead to a happily-ever-after.
She
spends
her days writing sexy romantic suspense, steamy paranormal romance,
and spicy historical romance. When
she's not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s either in her
kitchen baking something delicious, or protecting her garden from the
chickens. She lives in Nova Scotia with her incredibly patient
husband and two spoiled cats.
To learn
more about Luanna Stewart and the stories she creates, go to:
Website:
http://www.luannastewart.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Luanna_Stewart
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/luanna_stewart/
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/luannastewart/
Amazon
Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/luanna_stewart
