California Heart Series, Book 3
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 04-17-2024
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Heartbroken and mortified by mean-spirited taunts and social media pictures
of her looking like a hot mess at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, Leah
James decides to accept her friend, Miguel Montoya’s, offer to take a
road trip to their hometown of Santa Lorena.
Miguel, ex-Marine turned fitness trainer, is done pretending that he
doesn’t have strong feelings for Leah. From the moment he laid eyes on
her, he knew she was the one, and now this trip provides the perfect
opportunity to take their relationship to the next level.
Will shocking lies, deceits, and half-truths dampen the fiery sparks of
passion that ignite when Leah and Miguel are forced to share a cozy
honeymoon cottage, or will they overcome their fears and build a brighter
future based on honesty and love?
Interview with Dalia Dupris
Have
you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
I
haven’t read anything that has made me think differently about
fiction, probably, because I have always valued the joy and pleasure
that’s involved in reading a well-crafted story. More recently, I
have come to realize that fiction can be a positive contribution to
a person’s mental health ad sense of well-being. It can help us
forget our own problems and immerse us in a totally different world
that provides a perfect, low-cost form of entertainment and
pleasure.
How
do you select the names of your characters?
My goal is to
match character names to the character traits. For example, in Orange Blossoms-Love Blooms, Book 1 in my California Heart series,
Elaine is the main character. She is loyal to her family, and will
do anything to save her family’s legacy, but she is also fragile
based on events in her past, so her name captures that mixture of
loyalty and vulnerability. Her sister Morgan is the main charater in Anything But Love, Book 2 in the series. The name is bolder,
which reflects Morgan’s more cavalier attitude towards life. I
selected Marcel, as her French lover’s name, because I thought it
sounded romantic. For me, each name should be a hint about the
character. Leah is the main character, in Soft Lies & Hard
Truth's, the final book in the series. The name is soft, and it
reflects her current heartache and disappointment in love and her
relationship with her father.
Do
you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes!
However, they aren’t really secrets as much
as they are clues to the direction the story will take. I believe
all novels are mysteries, which is why readers keep turning the
pages. Novels are also like puzzles, and it’s not until the end,
that all the pieces come together, and all the questions get
answered. Readers of the first two novels will pick up on secrets
that are revealed in the final book. There’s the aha moment when
the secret is revealed, and the reader has a sense of satisfication
that everything now makes sense. There are lots of secrets in Soft
Lies & Hard Truths.
What
was your hardest scene to write?
The sex scenes
are always the most challenging scenes for me to write in all my
novels. I have to decide the buildup to the scene, how much sexual
tension will exists, how explicit will it be. What kind of language
will the characters use has to be determined. There’s foreplay,
the act and follow-up. Also, how will this new level of intimacy
effects the flow of the story as the characters’ relationship has
moved to a new level.
Do
you want each book to stand on its own or are you trying to build a
body of work with connections between each book?
Each book stands on its own. Definitely. However,these three books
are part of a series and as such, they have characters that are
connected to each other in ways that are not always obvious. Even my
novella, A Whirl With My Mocha-Chocolate Swirl, is connected to my
new release, Soft Lies & Hard Truths. Different tropes emerge
through the various interconnected and independent story lines. I
don’t want to give anything away, but I will say there are enemies
to lovers, friends to lovers and found family tropes in these
contemporary novels of love lost and love found.
What
were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you
feel you achieved them?
I always strive to
entertain the reader by introducting them to main characters, Soft
Lies & Hard Truths, it’s Leah and Miguel, who are both
likeable and complex. They have histories that shape them and
stories that need to be told. I want the reader to cheer for them to
overcome their insecurities and have their hopes and dreams come
true. If I laugh and cry at different times, while I’m writing the
book, than I know I’ve been successful in making the characters
come alive and that readers will hopefully care as much as I do,
about what happens to Leah and Miguel. Early reviews have me feeling
positive that my goal has been achieved.
What inspired you to write Soft Lies & Hard Truths?
I have a background as a therapist, so I’m fascinated by how often
all families have secrets or you could call them soft lies and half
truths. Leah and Miguel both have troubled relationships with their
fathers. What are the secrets/lies that shape Leah’s relationship
with her father and how has it affected her self-esteem? When Leah
discovers an enormous family secret will it bring her happiness or
more pain?Will she be angry at not being told the truth sooner? These
are issues that she’ll need to explore as her world is turned
upside down.
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Soft Lies & Hard Truths or what you have planned for the future?
Holiday
Hope is the book I have been working on for the last
year. Jayden, the main male characters, is an injured football
player, whose had one too many concussions to continuing playing pro
ball. Shayla is an aspiring actress whose Hollywood aspirations have
not been fulfilled. They are at major crossroads in their lives.
They have to decide if they will cling to their fantasy version of
the perfect life or if they can create a new vision that brings them
unexpected joy with their careers and each other.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Soft Lies & Hard Truths?
Jayden
is the local boy who makes it big, graduating from high school, and
immediately signing on with a professional football team. His life
seems perfect, as long no one discovers his medical condition or that
he’s dyslexic. Shayla, best friend to Jayden’s sister, Talia, has
moved from northern California to Los Angeles, and despite going on
numerous auditions, she hasn’t gotten her big break. Her side job
as a hair stylist to a temperamental A list actress leaves a lot to
be desired. When Shayla returns to Oakland to be the maid-of honor in
Talia’s wedding, she’s paired with Jayden, who she discovers has
changed from an irritating teen to a handsome, and alluring, but
complicated man who has somehow captured her attention. But does he
feel the same way, and does it matter if Shayla plans on returning to
LA to pursue her acting career?
What
did you enjoy most about writing this book?
It was so
much fun to write the character of the actress, because her
behaviour is so outrageous. I also enjoyed writing about a
professional athlete who is perceived as having a dream life, but in
reality, the sport has left him with health risks, which ultimately
means that his dream career is over. Additionally, I wanted to
portray a strong male character who is challenged in other ways,
such as the dyslexia. Shayla, the female main character, has a big
heart and it’s fun to create a world where she will, ultimately
re-discover her joy.
About the Author
Dalia Dupris has been a book lover as long as she can remember.
Dalia’s BA in English Literature from UCLA and Master’s degree
in Social Work, from the University of Southern California, in addition to
years of experience as a licensed psychotherapist, contribute to her
creation of relatable and complex characters.
In her spare time, she enjoys bike riding along the California coast with
her husband, and hiking with her daughter. She loves hearing from her
readers. Their words of encouragement inspire her to continue creating
memorable characters, who will make you laugh and cry and keep rooting for
them until the very last page. Subscribe to her website for a chance to
learn more about Dalia and her books.
Contact Links
Linktr.ee
Website
Facebook
Twitter @dalia_dupris
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Instagram
TikTok: @daliadupris8
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1 comments:
Great interview! This is looks really good.
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