Return of the Runaway Bride
by Nancy Fraser
GENRE: Contemporary Romance - Steamy
BLURB:
Five
years earlier, Emily Bennett ran out on Chase Michaels on the eve of
their wedding. At twenty-two, she wanted more than the island of Last
Chance Beach could offer. Intent on making a name for herself as a
world-class journalist, she left to take a job with a big city
newspaper.
Chase
Michaels left Last Chance Beach not long after having his heart
broken and joined the Coast Guard in an effort to rebuild his life.
Returning four years later for a family emergency, he decided to stay
and go into business with his best friend.
Emily’s
returning as well. Not as the journalist she’d hoped to be but as a
bestselling romance author. One of her books is about to be made into
a movie, and filming will take place on Last Chance Beach and in the
mainland town of Summerville.
Will
Emily’s return give them a second chance at the love they once
shared? Or, will her ‘other’ reason for leaving put a wedge
between three best friends that can’t be healed by time or
intention?
Excerpt:
Pick-a-Read Bookstore, Boston, MA
Present Day
Emily Bennett took a seat behind the cloth-covered table and waited for her publicist and good friend Mary to give her standard introduction. No matter how many of these events she’d done, to Emily they were never routine. Nervously, she adjusted and re-adjusted the angle of the ink pens and candy dish and fanned the bookmarks and other swag out across the tabletop.
Mary tapped the microphone, waited for the echo to stop, and then began, “Thank you all for coming to today’s book promotion event. Author E.M. Stephens will be here for the next two-and-a-half hours, and happy to sign copies of her New York Times bestseller, Love in the Surf, as well as early copies of her newest release, A Bad Boy for Willa.” Mary paused, then added, “For those who haven’t yet heard, Love in the Surf has been optioned for a movie and will begin filming within the next month.” Beaming proudly, Mary turned in her direction. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the romantically gifted, E.M. Stephens.”
The queue of fans bent around the front of the bookstore and out into the mall, with tables set up inside the entryway and books stacked in piles of twelve. One-by-one, the towers of both books diminished quickly.
Two hours in, less than a dozen people remained in line. Emily’s hand was beginning to cramp, but she forced a renewed smile to her lips and raised her gaze to the young man who stood in front of her.
“Is there a name for an inscription?”
“Eileen, please.” He flashed her a smile. “It’s for my mom. She’s a big fan.”
Emily wrote a short note and signed her name. “Tell your mother ‘thank you’ for me.”
“I will,” he assured her before moving on.
Emily repeated the smile and sign process over and over again until—finally—the line was gone.
Mary gathered up the remaining bookmarks, empty candy dish, and a half dozen pens before leading the way to the back of the bookstore and into a small private room. The moment the door closed behind them, Emily released a long sigh and reached for the mid-length blonde wig that had been driving her crazy for the past hour, releasing her long brown hair to hang freely across her shoulders.
A quick change out of her bright red blouse, tight black leggings, and fancy rhinestone hoop earrings, and back into her faded jeans and vintage T-shirt had her feeling more like Emily, and less like her alter ego, E.M. Stephens.
“I don’t know about you, sweetie,” Mary said, a long sigh escaping, “But I could use a greasy burger, with an onion ring and frosty beer chaser. Why don’t we get out of here and go someplace dark and inconspicuous and kick back for a while?”
“As much as the idea appeals to me, I’ve got to finish packing and then load the car. I’m hoping to be on the road by six in the morning, if possible.”
“I don’t understand why you’re driving all the way to Last Chance Beach. Why not fly in to the closest airport and rent a car?”
She gave a quick shake of her head. “I’ve got too much stuff to drag with me. Besides, the drive will give me two days and a night to get my story straight and figure out how to explain everything to my parents.”
“I still can’t believe you never told your parents about your books. With all the success you’ve had, you’d think bragging rights alone would have prompted the discussion.”
“I grew up on Last Chance Beach before it became a tourist magnet. I went to high school on the mainland where they still do farmer’s markets and county fairs. It was bad enough I left under less than stellar circumstances. I’ve never been ready to explain why I gave up on a career as a serious journalist to write romance novels.”
Mary’s grin was followed by a very unladylike snort. “For the money, sweetie. The glitz, the glamor and the chance for a huge movie deal.”
Emily flexed her sore hand. Opening the door, she stepped back out into the store, totally unrecognizable to her adoring fans. “Glitz and glamor? Not according to my impending carpel tunnel.”
Staying Inspired: Keeping the Creative Muse Fed
I probably have the most demanding, and fickle, muse out there. She can be real nasty when not properly fed with both time and ideas. I’ve tried wrestling her into submission and it just doesn’t work. Not only is she fickle, but she’s strong.
So, in order to keep her happy, I spend a portion of my writing time looking for the next piece of inspiration, the next prompt for her pleasure.
I find the best way to keep her working properly is to not stay rooted in one spot. As my author tag line suggests, I jump across romance genres with gleeful abandon. I rarely write two books in a single sub-genre back-to-back. The only exception would be if I’m putting out successive books in the same series.
As an example: This month’s book, Return of the Runaway Bride, is a steamy contemporary romance. Last month’s two releases were a later-in-life, sexy reunion romance and a sweet vintage (1980s) holiday romance. Next month, it’s a paranormal, multi-generational, ghost romance anthology. Then, the month after... you get the idea.
Molly (that’s my muse’s name) also likes good-looking, smart and caring men, so I keep her entertained by searching stock photo sites for my next hero. For this current book, Molly insisted on two good looking men. I was happy to comply. She’s somewhat ambivalent about the heroine looks-wise, but insists they be emotionally strong, intelligent, and able to handle those men.
Once we’ve satisfied her sweet tooth for characters, we decide on setting, and... then... we create a cover. I know, most writers work from inspiration boards or... heaven forbid... an outline. Not Molly and me. We work from the cover. Yes, I’m a pantser. We stare at that cover and voilà... we have a story! Well, maybe not that easily, but pretty close.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in 20+ years of writing and publishing—never argue with the muse. She’ll stab you in the back and leave you floundering. So... bottom line: good looking men, strong women, an exciting setting, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Molly prefers Starbucks blonde roast with two creamers—in case you’re in the neighborhood and would like to drop some off for us.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
NANCY FRASER—Jumping Across Romance Genres with Gleeful Abandon—is an Amazon Top 100 and Award-Winning author who can’t seem to decide which romance genre suits her best. So, she writes them all.
Like most authors, Nancy began writing at an early age, usually on the walls and with crayons or, heaven forbid, permanent markers. Her love of writing often made her the English teacher’s pet which, of course, resulted in a whole lot of teasing. Still, it was worth it.
Nancy has published over thirty-five books in full-length, novella, and short format. When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
Author Links:
Pinterest ~ YouTube ~ Instagram
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/bxkKvD
The book will be $0.99 during the tour.
3 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for hosting Molly and I for today's tour stop. We'll be back later to check for comments.
I enjoyed your guest post.
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