IS THERE REALLY SUCH A THING AS A LIFE-CHANGING KISS?
SERENITY HARBOR
Haven Point Series
By RaeAnne Thayne
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Q&A With RaeAnne Thayne
Q: Katrina Bailey is the younger
sister of Wynona and Marshall Bailey, and she’s a character we’ve seen glimpses
of in previous books. What made you want to explore her story in more detail,
and what makes her such a great heroine?
A: One of my favorite things
about writing an ongoing series is having the chance to really dig deeply into
everyone’s stories. I introduced Katrina in the previous books of Haven Point
as a somewhat flighty young woman, obsessed with dating, who seemed to always
pick the wrong guys. I knew there had to be more to her. In SNOWFALL ON HAVEN
POINT, I created a plot where Marshall, Katrina’s brother, had to be in a
circumstance where none of his family members could help him after he was hurt
in a car accident. In one of those throwaway lines that I didn’t really think
through at the time, I wrote something about Katrina being out of the country,
trying to save the world. When I was trying to decide which character’s story
to write next, I knew it had to be hers – mostly because I was dying to know
what she had been up to! I loved learning all her secrets – especially discovering
why she had always been rather obsessed with guys.
Q: Can you tell us a little about Bowie Callahan?
Where did the idea for his character come from, and in what ways does he break
the “handsome millionaire hero” stereotypes?
A: In order to make it harder
for Katrina to resist him, Bowie had to represent everything she once thought
she wanted – a guy who is rich, sexy, successful. He is also brilliant enough
to completely intimidate Katrina, who struggled in school with learning
disabilities. As she (and the reader!) begins to learn more about Bowie, she
finds out there’s so much more to him than his outward layers. His childhood
was tumultuous and uncertain, and everything he’s earned came from his own
determination to be more. Bowie has this deep core of goodness and a
hard-won sense of responsibility that make it impossible for him to turn his
back on the young, needy half-brother he has just discovered. All those things
make him perfect for Katrina!
Q: We picked up on some Jane Eyre vibes (minus the madwoman in the attic!) when the wealthy
Bowie hires Kat to be a temporary nanny for his half-brother, Milo. Were you
thinking about that at all while you were writing this book, and if not, what
were some other things that served as inspiration for this story?
A: I wasn’t thinking
specifically about Jane Eyre, though
I’ve always loved the trope of the millionaire/nanny. I started reading Mills
& Boon romances when I was about 11 or 12 and one of my early favorites (I
can’t even remember the title or the author, to be honest) featured a storyline
about a woman who helps the widowed hero’s young daughter walk again after a
terrible accident. I found the whole thing deeply romantic and can remember
regaling my best friend with the entire plot. Until you asked that question, I
had completely forgotten the book and never realized how inspirational I must
have found it!
Q: Not to give too much away, but this book features a
pretty swoon-worthy first kiss. As a romance author, what would you say are the
key elements for writing a perfect first kiss?
A: Oh, this is a hard one for
me to answer, mainly because each “perfect first kiss” is perfect only for
those two characters, in their unique circumstance. The requirements to make
each first kiss in a book perfect vary as widely as the characters. They do
have a few things in common. I love stoking that simmering tension that
precedes that kiss until the hero and the heroine (and the reader!) can’t wait
another moment for them to finally come together. Tentative, sometimes
accidental touches, eyes meeting, that surge of awareness every time they are
together. It’s so much fun to write, especially when the characters are
fighting the inevitableness of that attraction with everything inside them!
Q: We have to ask, what’s next for you? Are you
planning more Haven Point novels? If so, can you give us some hints about what
readers can look forward to next?
A: I just finished the next
book in the series, which is the long-awaited (and frequently requested) story
of Jamie Caine! He is a sibling to many characters who appeared in my earlier
Hope’s Crossing series and it was so much fun to once more bridge the two
series. For some reason, readers really connected with him, and I’ve had many
people ask me to write his book. It’s been on my mind for a long time, but I
had to wait until I found the perfect heroine for him. I never would have
expected quiet Julia Winston to be the perfect one for this sexy pilot but, as
always, my characters love to prove me wrong. SUGAR PINE TRAIL comes out in
October, and I really hope readers adore them together because I loved writing
their book!
In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s newest book in her wildly popular Haven Point series, SERENITY HARBOR (HQN Books; on-sale July 2017), one kiss might be enough to change the course of three people’s lives. Tech millionaire Bowie Callahan is about the last person that schoolteacher Katrina Bailey wants to work for. She’s only back in charming Haven Point for one month, just to see her sister get married, and then she’s heading back to Colombia where her teaching job, and someone special, are waiting. Not to mention, as far as Kat can see, Bowie is arrogant, entitled and not up to the task of caring for his young half brother, Milo. Milo, who is on the autism spectrum, may have just been dropped in Bo’s lap and sure, Bo is trying to do right by him, but it’s obvious that Bo’s job takes top priority. Or at least that’s what Kat thinks. So when Bo convinces her to take a temporary, three week nanny position with Milo, Kat is really doing it for the cash, and because Milo is pretty darn sweet. Kat is desperately trying to save enough to help adopt an orphaned little girl back in Colombia and if this short-term job can get her there, then she’s willing to do pretty much anything. But as her kindness and patience work wonders with Milo, she realizes there's more to sexy, wary Bo than she'd ever realized.
Bo never imagined he'd be tasked with caring for a sibling he didn't know existed. Then again, he never pictured himself impulsively kissing vibrant, compassionate Katrina in the moonlight, especially when he can’t afford to lose her. She’s the only thing keeping him and Milo together until the new, permanent nanny shows up. But after that kiss, Bo realizes that he might be the one to make Kat’s dream of family come true…and he’s hoping there's room in it for him, and Milo, too.
Release Date June 27, 2017
$7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN.
ISBN-13: 978-0373799398
Amazon Buy Link
My Review Link
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About the Author:
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne loves words. Her love affair started as soon as she learned to read, when she used to devour anything she could get her hands on: cereal boxes, encyclopedias, the phone book, you name it! She loves the way words sound, the way they look on the page and the amazing way they can be jumbled together in so many combinations to tell a story. Her love of reading and writing those words led her to a fifteen-year career in journalism as a newspaper reporter and editor.
Through it all, she dreamed of writing the kind of stories she loved best. She sold her first book in 1995 and since then she’s published more than 40 titles. Her books have won many honors, including three RITA® Award nominations from the Romance Writers of America and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews.
RaeAnne finds inspiration in the rugged northern Utah mountains where she lives with her hero of a husband and their children. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.raeannethayne.com.
Love the interview of one of my favorite authors! Congrats on the new release RaeAnne.
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