The Nantucket Beachfront Inn
(Sconset Beach Book One)
by Ainsley Keaton
GENRE: Women’s Fiction
BLURB:
She's 54, broken-hearted, and starting over....
High-powered New York attorney Ava Flynn finds herself without a job or a future. Unemployable at her age, and broken-hearted by a husband who left her in the lurch, she desperately needs a Plan B. Her prayers are answered when a wealthy benefactor wills her a large house in the 'Sconset Beach area of Nantucket. She heads out to the picturesque New England island with her two best friends, Luna and Mila, going along for the ride.
One catch...her estranged daughter also lives there. Charlotte Killeen, Ava's daughter, is battling a crisis of her own. Her new husband, Matthew, wants a divorce, even though the couple have a newborn baby. Charlotte needs her mother more than ever, but the two have never seen eye to eye. Her marriage on the rocks and with few prospects for income, Charlotte is near the end of her rope. Then a life-threatening illness brings into focus what's important after all.
Ava's other daughter, Samantha, also lives on Nantucket Island, with her best friend and roommate, Grayson. Samantha suffers from a lack of direction in her life, and longs to meet a rich prince charming who will sweep her off her feet. When she meets the man of her dreams, she's leaving behind the one man who loves her unconditionally - Grayson.
Jackson, Ava's son, is an aspiring actor in Hollywood. Everything has always come easy to him, that is until Willow, Matthew's cousin, shows up. Free-spirited Willow is just the kind of girl to break Jackson's heart, which is difficult to do, as Jackson is always the heartbreaker.
And speaking of Willow...she's a feminist island witch and artist. She and Jackson have been through many, many lifetimes together. Yet, Willow wants nothing to do with Jackson in this lifetime. She has no desire to give up even an ounce of her power, not even for her soul mate. Willow also is hiding a devastating secret from Jackson. A secret that is guaranteed to upend his life for good.
Mila, Ava's best friend, is battling a devastating illness, information that she hasn't shared with Ava and Luna. She never wants to be a burden, so she just doesn't ask for help. But she's going to need all the support she can get. She finds this support in a very surprising place, and, in doing so, gets closer to her own destiny.
Ava busies herself with fixing up her beautiful new beach home, so that she can open up a bed and breakfast. Contractor Deacon Cromwell, whom Ava hires to do the renovation, is the man who might thaw Ava's cold heart, if only she'll let him. However, he's almost 20 years her junior and, Ava believes, out of her league. Can Ava overcome her insecurities and allow herself to love again?
In this feel-good beach read with a touch of magick, Ava and her friends and family will become your best friends. Come and share their joys and heartbreaks, their tragedies and triumphs. For fans of Susan Mallery, Jude Devereaux Nantucket Bride series and Elin Hilderbrand!
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Excerpt:
"You don't need me to do another spell to bring that guy back. What you need is a spell to make you tougher, stronger. More of a badass. Mentally, that is," Willow clarified as she looked at the delicate waifish-like figure of her friend.
"I don't want to be a badass. I just want him back."
"The sex couldn't be that good," Willow said. "No sex is good enough to make you give your power away like this. And why do I think that you guys aren't even having that good of sex?"
Sara's pale face grew crimson. "I don't like to talk about that," she said.
"I knew it. I knew it. The guy's not even that great of a lay, is what you're telling me, or not telling me, yet here you are, desperate to get him back. What kind of hold does he have over you?"
"He…he…he…" Sara couldn't seem to find her words, so Willow found them for her.
"Listen," Willow said. "Here's the thing. You're a hotty, in case you don't know. Here's a mirror." Willow kept a small mirror in her pocket to ward off negative energies. In this case, she didn't want to use it for magickal purposes. She just wanted Sara to see herself.
Sara looked into the mirror. "Oh, God, I look like crap. No wonder Jamie left." Then she shook her head.
"That backfired spectacularly," Willow mumbled to herself. "Let's see, what kind of spell can I do to make you like yourself? Let alone love yourself?"
She was going to have to go to her personal Book of Shadows, where she wrote down all of her spells, incantations and poetry, and find the right spell to work so that Sara could see herself as the world saw her. Sara was objectively beautiful - even without makeup, her skin glowed from within, as did her enormous blue eyes. Somehow, her eyelashes were thick and dark, even though the woman was a natural blonde. Her nose was thin and delicate, her lips full and lush. She also appeared to be naturally slim, although Willow wasn't sure about that. It could be that she just had an eating disorder.
Or, maybe like Willow herself, Sara just couldn't afford to eat. That was always a possibility.
Sara was gorgeous, yet she still clung to the jerkiest jerks in Boston. And, yes, Sara lived in the city, which meant that every time she came to see Willow, she had to shlep her carcass an hour east to Hyannis, catch the ferry, then Uber her way to Willow's cottage. Willow was still astounded that anybody could be that motivated, especially about getting some loser back in one's life.
"I don't care about that," Sara said. "I just want him back."
"You don't care if you love yourself or not?" Willow asked. "Let's go for a walk to the beach, shall we?"
"No," Sara said. "I didn't come here for a nature hike."
"I know, I know. You came here because you lost your regular booty call. Because that's essentially what Jamie was, you know. And, from your reaction earlier, it sounds like he wasn't all that great of a booty call at that."
Willow stood up and started walking towards the beach, making it clear that the topic of whether or not the two women were going to take a walk wasn't up for discussion. If Sara wanted Willow's help, she would do it on Willow's terms, not her own.
What are four things you can’t live without?
Dogs! Specifically my beautiful puppies, Bella and Annie. Bella is a rescue shepherd-pug mutt and Annie is a puggle. But, yeah, a world without dogs would be much drearier.
My boyfriend. He’s intelligent, kind and gets me.
Books. I like to lose myself in a good story.
My friends, especially my friends that I’ve known forever.
What is your favorite television show?
There are so many. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel comes to mind. That show makes me feel good like nothing else does. I love Midge and Susie’s interaction and the parents are a riot, especially her father. Cobra Kai. I don’t know, that show is absolutely addictive. Everybody who loves that show says the same thing - you just cannot stop watching it. Downton Abbey. I’ve seen every show in that series three times and I could watch every show a million more times. I just love that show and everything about it. Queen’s Gambit. Chess fascinates me, even if I am the worst chess player that was ever born. Sex and the City. I’ve seen every episode a million times and can recite them all by heart. Succession. I love a show where the rich people are all kind (Downton Abbey) and then I love Succession because I love the intrigue and machinations. And I love Kendall - he has the complexity that makes me love him and hate him, it just depends on the episode.
If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?
I think that I’d like to be Nora in The Midnight Library. She has a chance to live so many different lives and she has the chance to find out through living these lives that her current life is pretty damned good after all. I would love the chance to see what would have happened if I would’ve done X, Y or Z. Maybe if I did that, I would appreciate my current life much more.
What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?
The Orchid Inn. It’s a beach-themed book about three sisters whose lives fall apart at the same time. They all end up on the New England island where they went for summers growing up. It’s about forgiveness, redemption and family ties.
What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Every book I read influences my writing, because I always get sparks or ideas from them. But I like Elin Hildebrand. She writes beach-themed books set in Nantucket and I like the way she creates her characters and the situations she puts them in. Her characters are flawed and relatable and I like an author who doesn’t create a bunch of Mary Sues.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Ainsley Keaton lives in Southern California with her husband and two fur-babies, Bella and Annie. When she’s not binge-watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Downton Abbey and Succession, she’s reading historical and women’s fiction or scouring the beach for sea glass and sand dollars.
8 comments:
Sounds like an interesting book.
I need to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I keep hearing great things about it
Great interview, terrific excerpt, very nice cover and the book sounds like an excellent read for me! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a wonderful day!
Thank you for sharing the author's interview and book details, I have enjoyed reading this post and am looking forward to reading this story
intriguing cover
Thanks for the interview and excerpt!
looks like a fun one
Sounds like a good read!
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