By: Dani Collins
Congratulations to Karen J., the winner of Dani's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
Harlequin Presents are known for their
exotic settings and when I sat down to write More Than A Convenient Marriage,
the weather was much as it is now. Winter was closing in with depressing
inevitability. Therefore, it shouldn’t have surprised me that my editor at the
time, Megan, would say in her revision letter:
“You
bring to life the Greek setting and 5* villas, hotels and apartments
beautifully – absolute escapist reading.”
It is warm in Greece when Gideon
arrives—and he hates it. He has bad memories of Greece and is only there
because he suspects his wife is having an affair. She’s not! Neither is Gideon,
but Adara has the same suspicion about him. She
has come to Greece in search of her brother.
The book opens outside a mansion, Rosedale.
It has a story of its own—a full length novel actually, called No Longer
Forbidden? (In the US, you get both titles as a 2in1.) When I wrote that book,
I wanted a heavy English Manor feel to the house as a backdrop for those
characters, Nic and Rowan, to sort out their mutual past.
Adara doesn’t get in because Nic isn’t
home. She hasn’t seen him since they were children and Gideon doesn’t even know
she has an older brother. They go back to her hotel where this information
comes out. Adara’s family owns a string of high-end hotels so she takes in
everything about this boutique accommodation. I wanted it to be inspiring to
her on a professional level, but also a romantic contrast to their talk of divorce.
Gideon doesn’t want to break up. He has a
secret of his own, but learning the huge one that Adara has kept all these
years about her brother makes him realize they need to talk more. That’s
something that’s hard for both of them. Sex has always been easy and he’d like
to get back to that, thanks. So when a message comes from Nic that they can
stay in Rosedale, alone, Gideon jumps at it.
Here things are able to rekindle. They’re
both workaholics, neither is used to downtime, but there are orange groves and
a pool and a private beach. I personally can feel myself lying face down on the
sand every time I read that scene. Yes, I was there in spirit.
Gideon comes up and warns her against
burning, then adjusts the umbrella. Adara says she wishes they could stay on
vacation forever. Don’t we all wish that?
I won’t give away all my plot points, but
they do eventually work their way back to the chill of New York. Here they have
a penthouse that is ultra modern—a symbol of their cutting edge previous lifestyle
that doesn’t quite work for them any longer. It was designed with separate
bedrooms on opposite ends of the flat, for example. I won’t spoil my own
ending, but the way the space is renovated toward the end suits Gideon to a
tee.
Before we get there, however, they have one
more place to visit: Adara’s mother’s house in Chatham. I wanted something
upstate with apple orchards and chicken pens in the yard, even though her
mother would have no such thing mucking up her lawn. Her home is a gorgeous
white farmhouse with a wrap around porch, a dream home for a family—the
complete opposite of Adara’s upbringing. Because, I surmised, when you have a
broken home, but you have money, you whitewash the image into an appearance of
what you wish you had.
If you’re counting, by the way, there is a
scene in one of Adara’s hotels. I imagine this is what Megan was referring to
when she counted five. I don’t keep track as I write. I’m a bit of a pantser
(fly by the seat of my pants) when I write. I wind up with characters in a new
setting and have to sit back and decide what will be the best foil for whatever
they are going through emotionally.
But I indulge my own tastes and desires,
especially when it’s cold. Tonight, as the light fades and it’s still only six,
I feel a Caribbean setting come on.
Do you enjoy ‘visiting’ a hot setting in a
book when the weather turns gray? One of my favorite winter movies is Shag. I
love a trip to Myrtle Beach in January!
BLURB:
It started with a signature…
Rich, powerful
and with a beautiful wife to boot, it seems like Greek shipping magnate Gideon
Vozaras has it all. But little does the world know his perfect life is all a
façade…
After years of
disguising her pain behind a flawless smile, untouchable heiress Adara Vozaras
has reached breaking point. Her marriage, once held together by an undeniable
passion, has become nothing more than a convenience.
But Gideon
can't afford the public scrutiny that a divorce would bring and if there's one
thing his harsh past has taught him, it's how to fight dirty to keep what's
his...
EXCERPT:

Welcome to
Hell.
He hated
Greece at the best of times and today was predicted to be one of the hottest on
record. The air shimmered under the
relentless sun and it wasn’t even ten o’clock yet. But the weather was barely worth noticing.
The gates of
the estate were open. The other car
could have driven straight through and up to the house, but stayed parked
outside. He watched the female driver
emerge and take a moment to consider the unguarded entrance. Her shoulders gave a lift and drop as though
she screwed up her courage before she took action and walked in.
As she
disappeared between imposing brick posts, Gideon left his own car and followed
at a measured pace, gut knotting with every step. Outraged stung his veins.
He wanted to
believe that wasn’t his wife, but there was no mistaking Adara Vozaras. Not for him.
Maybe her tourist clothes of flip-flops, jeans chopped above the knees,
a sleeveless top, and a pair of pigtails didn’t fit her usual professional
élan, but he knew that backside. The tug
it caused in his blood was indisputable.
No other woman made an immediate sexual fire crackle awake in him like
this. His relentless hunger for Adara
had always been his cross to bear and today it was particularly unwelcome.
Spending the
week with her mother. This ain’t
Chatham, sweetheart.
He paused as
he came alongside her car, glancing inside to see a map of the island on the
passenger seat. A logo in its corner
matched the hotel he’d been told she was booked into. And now she was advising her lover where to
meet her? Walking bold as you please up
his million-dollar drive to his billion-dollar house? The only clue to the estate’s ownership, the
shields welded to the gate, were turned back against the brick wall that fenced
the estate from the road.
Gideon’s
entire body twitched with an urge to slip his reins of control. He was not a poor man. He’d got past envying other men their wealth
once he’d acquired a level of his own.
Nevertheless,
a niggle of his dock-rat inferiority complex wormed to life as he took in what
he could see of the shoreline property that rolled into a vineyard and orange
grove. The towering stone house, three
stories with turrets on each corner, belonged on an English estate, not a Greek
island. It was twenty bedrooms
minimum. If this was the owner’s weekend
retreat, he was an obscenely rich man.
Not that Adara
needed a rich man. She had grown up
wanting for nothing. She had a fortune
in her own right plus half of Gideon’s so what was the attraction here?
Sex.
The insidious
whisper formed a knot of betrayal behind his breastbone. Was this why she hadn’t shared that stacked
body of hers with him for weeks? His
hands curled into fists as he tried to swallow back his gall.
Dreading what
he might see as he looked to the front door, he shifted for a full view. Adara had paused halfway to the house to
speak with a gardener. A truck
overflowing with landscaping tools was parked midway up the drive and workers
were crawling like bees over the blooming gardens.
The sun seared
the back of Gideon’s neck, strong enough to burn through his shirt to his
shoulders, making sweat pool between his shoulder blades and tickle annoyingly
down his spine.
They had
arrived early this morning, Adara off the ferry, Gideon following in a power
boat he was ‘test-piloting.’ She’d been
driving a car she’d rented in Athens.
His rental had been negotiated at the marina, but the island was
small. It hadn’t surprised him when
she’d driven right past the nose of his car as he had turned onto the main
road.
No, the
surprise had been the call thirty-six hours previously when their travel agent
had dialed his mobile by mistake. Ever
the survivor, Gideon had thought quickly.
He’d mentioned that he’d like to surprise his wife by joining her and
within seconds, Gideon had had all the details of Adara’s clandestine trip.
Well, not
all. He didn’t know whom she was here to
see or how she’d met her mystery man.
Why was she doing this when he gave her everything she asked for?
He watched
Adara’s slender neck bow in disappointment.
Ha. The bastard wasn’t home. Grimly satisfied, Gideon folded his arms and
waited for his wife.
GIVEAWAY:
Tell me about your coping strategies for escaping winter’s gloom and I’ll draw for a signed copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage from those who comment.
GIVEAWAY:
Tell me about your coping strategies for escaping winter’s gloom and I’ll draw for a signed copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage from those who comment.
BIO
Dani Collins spent twenty-five years
dreaming of writing full time and finally made her first sale to Harlequin
Mills & Boon in May of 2012. She’s still dreaming of making Romance Author
her day job, but for now she writes around work, family, and enough exercise to
keep her out of traction. For more information about Dani, you can visit her
website at www.danicollins.com,
listen to her interview with Nice
Girls Reading Naughty Books, or watch her interview on GFTV.
PURCHASE LINKS
Nook | Kobo | eHarlequin | Mills &
Boon Aus | Mills
& Boon UK | ARe | BooksaMillion
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Nov. 24th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
I do like visiting places that are warm and inviting when I am reading in the winter. Reading with a cup of tea is definitely a great way to spend a cold winter day.
ReplyDeletemce1011 AT aol DOT com
I cope with the cold, gloomy winter days by snuggling in my recliner with my blankie (yes, I am a woman of a certain age that has a blankie) I make sure to have a large mug of dark chocolate hot cocoa and trail mix next to me while I venture off to fabulous places.
ReplyDeleteJulie O
jo1963jo at gmail dot com
Reading and a hot drink are a must, I agree. I love hot chocolate with marshmallows, but I also love my herbal teas so I usually save the cocoa as a treat.
ReplyDeleteI snuggle up with my Kindle, a hot cup of coffee and a blanket or my hubby! ;)
ReplyDeletekdjohnston73@yahoo.com