Whoa! Stop right there. Where did he come from? My husband is blond, and of course he’d be the star of my vacation fantasy.
Sorry about that, darling hub. My romance novel fantasy butted into my vacation dreams… Which is what happens to authors. I'm sometimes surprised to read back over my work and see themes and issues from my own life interlaced through my story. I didn't intend them, they just got there via my subconscious.
The tropical paradise thing, for example. In Home Is Where the Bark Is, Serena and Nick plan to honeymoon in Hawaii where Serena will pose in a swimming pool of chocolate for a commercial. Hmm. Don’t ask me where that particular fantasy comes from! Come to think of it, chocolate seems to sneak into everything I write...
My newest story The Castaway Bride has all the above tropical island wonders and, come to think of it, chocolate as well. The dark-haired fantasy lover? Well of course!
I so enjoyed writing Matt Slade. He’s succeeded in the business world against tough odds but he’s been betrayed by people he trusted. That’s made him cynical about love but there’s a wonderful chivalrous streak in his nature that keeps fighting its way to the surface—especially when runaway bride Cristy Walters is close by. He helps her escape from her cheating bridegroom only for them to end up shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Cristy has her own issues—in particular she doesn’t trust lust—and boy does she have to struggle against her feelings for hot hunk Matt!
Is there a dog in The Castaway Bride? That’s one of the first questions people ask me. (My Berkley Sensation books, Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is, have lots of dogs in them.)
Yes and no. Matt is taking time out on his yacht. He’d love to have his beloved black Labrador Jake sailing with him, but Jake gets seasick and can’t be on board. Matt has to Skype his dog to keep in touch. So Jake is part of the story but never actually appears on the pages. Needless to say my heroine Cristy Walters finds Matt’s devotion to his dog endearing. Oh, and there’s a tame dragon lizard named Sam who plays a part in the plot.
But the focus of The Castaway Bride is purely on two people, both emotionally wounded in their own ways, finding passion and true love in a tropical island paradise. Alert: it’s a tad steamier than my doggy books.
The Castaway Bride is my first foray into the exciting world of indie publishing and is available only as an e-book at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and other e-book retailers. It’s on sale for the introductory price of $0.99c (that’s another thing I love—a bargain!) But I’m giving away a free copy to anyone who comments here over the weekend, via a coupon for Smashwords where you can download the book in a format to suit any e-reader or PC.
Do you have a fantasy vacation destination? A favorite romance scenario? I’d love to hear your comment. Be sure to leave your email address if you would like a free download of The Castaway Bride.
http://www.kandyshepherd.com
Photos courtesy of Tahiti Tourisme and Tourism Queensland.
http://www.kandyshepherd.com
Photos courtesy of Tahiti Tourisme and Tourism Queensland.
