Is it ever too late to come home?
Dylan is under pressure to renovate the Wylder Hotel before
his father pulls the plug on his project. He needs EJ’s expertise, but she is bent
on returning to her life in San Francisco despite the fireworks between them. EJ
walks a tightrope trying to balance Dylan’s needs against her own, but doing so
is far more complicated when emotions get in the way.
Good morning, EJ. Thanks
for taking time away from your practice to speak with us. Let’s begin with where
you are from. I’m
originally from Wylder, Wyoming, but I left my hometown when I went to college,
then law school, and now live and work in San Francisco.
Tell
us a bit about “Return to Wylder”. This
is the first contemporary in the Wylder West Series published by The Wild Rose
Press. Most stories in this series take
place in the late 1800s, in the fictitious town of Wylder, Wyoming. Since I
write contemporary, I brought it forward, but still use some of the landmarks
from back in the day, like the Five Star Saloon, the Vincent House Hotel and
Restaurant, and the Wylder Hotel.
What
did you think the first time you saw Dylan Addison? Just before arriving in Wylder, I had read about Dylan
in a business magazine during my flight. He works for his father’s redevelopment
company in Chicago and exuded the persona of the millionaire playboy, with a
different woman by his side in every photo. When I got to my dad’s law office
that morning, the first appointment I had was with Mr. Addison. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and extremely handsome—definitely the icon from
the magazine but minus the woman of the day—looking every bit as gorgeous and
wealthy as he had in print.
Isn’t that always the way. So . . . what was your second thought? His smile seemed to ooze satisfaction, and I feared he was arrogant, entitled, rude and demanding, given the legal work he had just laid at my feet.
Was it
love at first sight? Definitely not!
Totally
understandable. Is there anything to like about him? I eventually saw a more vulnerable side to him when he shared his dream
of helping small towns regenerate. He was in Wylder to renovate the Wylder
Hotel which he had purchased recently. His goal was to make a difference in
people’s lives, not merely work to add more cement to big cities.
How would
you describe Dylan? He’s not at all
like the entitled son of a millionaire business owner I’d expected. He’s kind,
and caring, and down to earth. Yes, he wants top notch legal representation and
he wants it now. But that’s because his father threatened to pull the plug on
his project if the permits weren’t obtained by the end of the month. If that
happened, his goal of helping Wylder, first with a five-star hotel and second
with other renovations that would bring the town more tourists and therefore
more revenue, would come to an end.
How
would he describe you? Loyal to my mother,
independent, driven, and helpful in bringing him into the fold of the community
so they would embrace him as one of their own. He would also say that I lost my
way. For the past six years, I’ve been representing huge developers like his
father, build new or bigger high-rises in a city already full of them.
What
made you choose the law for a career?
My father was a lawyer, and when my
sister and I were young, we always talked about going to law school and joining
our dad in the practice. It was our dream.
What
is your biggest fear? Not being accepted by the townspeople of Wylder.
My father was a pillar of the community. Everyone loved and respected him. He
helped those who couldn’t afford his services just as rigorously as those who could.
Stepping into his shoes would be next to impossible.
With
this daunting sounding goal in mind, how do you relax? I work a ton of hours at the law firm in San
Francisco. But I do play on a recreational volleyball team once a week and hike
with friends some weekends. That’s about it for fun. I also coach the moot
court team at Berkeley Law—not exactly relaxing but fulfilling.
Who
is your favorite fictional character? Anna from “Frozen.” The unconditional and powerful love
between Anna and her sister, Elsa, saves the day.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? It came from my nemesis, Adam Coulter, the permit
officer in Wylder. When I argued that he should grant the permits Dylan needed to
begin renovations on the Wylder Hotel without a variance, he told me that he
and my father worked together to get things done. I, on the
other hand, had been trying to get around the rules and had no working relationship
with him. I was an out-of-towner who apparently lacked the nice gene. If I
wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps, I’d better learn how to curry favor
with the locals by immersing myself back into the community. And be nicer.
Uh
huh. Good luck with further encounters with Mr. Coulter. Now we’d like to chat
with Maria beginning with What movies or books have had an impact on your
career as a writer? The books that I
loved reading and made me want to write romance were those by Judith McNaught.
My favorite book of hers was called “Perfect.” But I did love all her books. On
the other hand, a Danielle Steele book I was reading, made me utter the words, “In
bet I could do this.” I was annoyed with the way she would explain something on
page 100 and then again on page 103. We are not stupid readers.
Is
there an event in your private life that you were able to bring to this story
and how do you feel it impacted the novel? I am a retired divorce lawyer, and the two things I brought to this book
were my inner thoughts about working with a difficult client—biting my tongue
and explaining calmly and rationally why a client’s position may not be the
best position to put forward. Also, there is a need to work collaboratively
with those who can help you—even an adversary.
Tell
us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced
your decision to submit to them? In order to get my manuscript in front of the big
publishing houses, I needed an agent. I had one at one point, but I didn’t feel
like she was working very hard for me. Once I fired her, I was back to square
one, so I had to find those publishers who would look at un-agented
submissions. The Wild Rose Press was one of them. I had heard good things about them, so I
submitted. And the rest is history. I’ve been with The Wild Rose Press since
2013 and find them excellent to work with.
What
book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? I
downloaded “The Thorn Birds” recently. Although I had read it years ago, I
remember loving it (as well as the movie), so I want to read it again. [I’d
also add to the list] “Verity” by Colleen Hoover and “Pack Up the Moon” by Kristin
Higgins.
Lastly, what's up next and
when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I am working on book 4 of my Sworn Sisters series
(Women’s Fiction with strong romantic elements), tentatively called “Sworn to
Collide.” This is Denise’s story- one of
four girlfriends from high school, who is now in her 30s and dealing with an
upheaval in her marriage. Her husband of ten years has been transferred to
Boston, after she just got back into the workforce, having had three children
(one of whom is adopted and has leukemia). They agree that she will stay in
Princeton for the balance of the school year while he moves to Boston, but
other problems arise to thwart her upcoming move. There marriage may not survive
their conflicting goals as well as other possible love interests.
In addition to “Sworn to Collide,” I
recently pulled out of my drawer a manuscript I had written 15 years ago called
“Island Fever.” I spent two months re-working it and polishing it to a shine. The
heroine is a prep school teacher from Princeton who gets suspended because of an
edited video that was posted by someone else on Facebook. While waiting on the investigation,
she contacts a colleague who had started an environmental high school in the
Florida Keys, and she takes a semester job there. While teaching in paradise is
one thing, she must also participate in the outdoor activities such as
kayaking, fishing, camping and snorkeling-none of which are part of her repertoire.
This is a fish out of water story as well as an enemies to lovers story.
Maria
brought along an excerpt for us:
My father’s office was right
next to the Wylder Hotel, a place I now knew intimately after reviewing the
entire file including the architect’s rendering. I stood before the front door,
which held a sign—Closed Temporarily for
Renovations. A dim light shone through the empty lobby, its faded
green-velvet couches and linoleum-tiled floor proving its age. This hotel had
seen better days.
When I was a child, this was the
place where all my relative’s weddings had been held. It’s where my parents had
thrown my high school graduation party. Now it was a sad, empty relic. A relic
that Dylan aspired to turn into a jewel.
I startled when the front door
opened. Dylan emerged. “EJ, what are you doing here?”
“I was just leaving work. Heading back to my
mom’s. But first I decided to take a stroll around town to get the kinks out.
I’ve been cooped up in my office for hours.”
A look
akin to sympathy played across his face. “Almost everything is closed.”
“Yes. A little different than San Francisco.” I took in the spiral
notebook he was carrying with various papers hanging out at intervals. “Were
you coming up with more legal work?”
He chuckled. “No. I got the impression this afternoon you’ve had it with
me.”
Uh-oh. And here I’d thought my poker face had been on
display. “No. That’s not true. I’m sorry if that’s the impression I gave. I’ve
just been overwhelmed with everything there is to do.” I sighed. “For some
reason, I thought it would be easier. You know, a small-town law practice should
have small-town legal issues.”
“And it doesn’t.” His amused look at my erroneous
theory struck a chord, and guilt over my prejudice swarmed through me.
“I’ve been biased living and working in San
Francisco. Thinking that I’m counseling first-rate clients who have much more
significant problems than those I’d experience if I came back to work with my dad.
In the two days I’ve been here, I can see that the legal work, while on a
smaller scale, is just as important.”
“Good to hear. I wouldn’t want
you to minimize my needs.” A grin accompanied his words, softening the barb.
Not likely with your constant hovering.
https://books2read.com/u/4ELWkz
To
learn more about Maria Imbalzano and the stories she creates, go to:
Website: http://www.mariaimbalzano.com
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