Hello from a Down Under summer. And it’s hot! But whether you’re in a heatwave and wishing for cold, or trying to stay warm in freezing conditions, reading a romance novel is a surefire way to help you forget what’s going on around you.
The great thing about being a writer is that every time you write a book you can absorb yourself in your current characters. You spend so much time with them that you know them very well. And you get to like them because, after all, these characters are the type of characters you like to read yourself. They come from the heart of you.
My latest Silhouette Desire series to come from my heart is my Valente series, a trilogy about three brothers whose wealthy father insists his sons must marry to carry on the family name.
In the first book of the series, The CEO Takes a Wife, the eldest son, Alex Valente, is an Australian tycoon who must marry or his father will sell the family business. In the third book in the series, Valente’s Baby, Matt Valente’s father doesn’t need to blackmail him into marrying. Matt’s managed to do that all himself, after he discovers a surprise gift awaiting him from a one-night stand.
My current book is the second in the series, The C.O.O. Must Marry, a February 2009 release.
What would compel millionaire playboy Nick Valente to marry a woman he hadn’t seen in years? Blackmail, of course. To keep his family home, Nick must marry the woman of his father’s choosing: Sasha Blake, a long-ago flame. Sasha had been barely out of her teens, but there had been nothing immature about her then—or his desire for her. Now she would be his wife and Nick would be free to make love to her. But there was one nagging question in his mind… He knew his reasons for agreeing to this marriage… what were hers?
I really enjoyed writing Nick’s story. Being the middle son in the dynamic Valente family, Nick has his own special challenges. As middle brother, he needs to find something for himself and his own place in the world. He doesn’t realize it at first, but his father’s ultimatum to marry or lose the beloved family estate ends up being the best thing for Nick. It leads him to finding true love with the one woman he can’t forget – Sasha Blake.
Sasha Blake is a heroine in the true sense of the word. Being the only child of a weak-willed father and a mother who can see no wrong in her husband, Sasha tries hard to please them by sacrificing herself and marrying Nick. She knows that Nick doesn’t want to marry her, and she doesn’t want to marry him, but it’s out of their hands. Yet she comes to realize that sometimes a young love doesn’t die, it merely sleeps until the time is right.
Can the woman who then risks her marriage for the sake of her parents, and the man who doesn’t trust, find a way to lay their hearts on the line?
Of course they do. J That’s the beauty of romance novels. Our characters go through great heartache and turmoil but we know eventually there’s going to be a happy ending. I love that safety net in a romance.
If you’d like to go in the draw to win a copy of The C.O.O. Must Marry and a small Australian key ring tell me your favorite ending in a romance book or movie.
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RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk 