Cooking as Love

This summer Harlequin will be releasing one of my favorite books I've ever written. The title A BRIDE FOR THE ITALIAN BOSS doesn't do justice to this story about a chef who falls in love with a woman who comes to work for him as a hostess in his Tuscany restaurant.

I say the title doesn't do the book justice because it doesn't mention that he's a chef. From the beginning of the book, it's easy to see that cooking is a very personal thing for Chef Rafe. He loves flavors and scents...but he also loves pleasing people. He's big and gruff and bossy -- very Alpha male -- the way a lot of celebrity chefs are. But at his core is a man who knows the power of food.

We don't think about this often. But pause for a second. Food gives us pleasure. Too much of it and we're unhealthy. Too little of it and we're unhealthy. :) Food starts conversations. Food brings people together. Cooking as a couple can change a marriage. Eating in front of the TV can change all your relationships. Food makes us shop. And, unless you order from the Internet, that shopping makes you interact with other people.

Rafe knows this power. He feels it in his hands every time he kneads a dough. He throws this power around like a man who could some day rule the world. He needed a love interest like Daniella who is very down to earth and sees his cooking more as an act of love than power. It's a way he's never looked at his profession, so her presence in his life changes his life -- makes him a better man.

And that's really what a great romance does. In fiction or in real life, a true love will change your life...will make you better.

A BRIDE FOR THE ITALIAN BOSS is the first book in an 8-book continuity that begins in July. But...there's also  FREE online story, a prequel to the first book in the continuity that will be on Harlequin.com in installments. I also wrote that. :)

If you love Italy, Tuscany in particular, if you love food and wine and romance, you'll love these reads.

But since that's almost two months away...Think a bit about food. I'm currently working to lose twenty pounds so I'm learning things about myself and food. My relationship with food. And my inability to cook food! It all works together though. Because cooking well and cooking right, using good ingredients, learning about spices and fats, that's truly an art...and an act of love.

BTW...today is my birthday! It's the one day I will go to a restaurant and have a low-cal meal. I'll probably skip the margarita though! LOL

Happy Reading... 

susan meier