From the desk of Kristen Ashley

Dear Reader,

When the idea for LADY LUCK came to me, it was after watching the Dwayne Johnson film Faster.

I thought that movie was marvelous, and not just simply because I was watching all the beauty that is Dwayne Johnson on the screen.

What I enjoyed about it was that he played against his normal The Game Plan/Gridiron Gang funny guy/good guy type and shocked me by being an antihero. What made it even better was that he had very little dialogue. Now I enjoy watching Mr. Johnson do just about anything, including speak. What was so amazing about this is that his character in Faster should have been difficult to like, to root for, especially since he gave us very few words as to why we should do that. But he made me like him, root for him. Completely.

It was his face. It was his eyes. It was the way he could express himself with those—not his actions—that made us want him to get the vengeance he sought.

Therefore, when I was formulating Ty Walker and Alexa “Lexie” Berry from LADY LUCK in my head, I was building Ty as an antihero focused on revenge—a man who would do absolutely anything to get it. As for Lexie, I was shoehorning her into this cold, seen-it-all/done-it-all/had-nothing-left-to-give woman who was cold as ice.

I was quite excited about the prospect of what would happen with these two. A silent man with the fire of vengeance in place of his heart. A closed-off woman with a block of ice in place of hers.

Imagine my surprise as I wrote the first chapter of this book and the Ty and Lexie I was creating in my head were blown to smithereens so the real Ty and Lexie could come out, not one thing like I’d been making them in my head.

This happens, not often, but it happens. And it happens when I “make up” characters. Normally, my characters come to me as they are, who they are, the way they look, and all the rest. If I try to create them from nothing, force them into what I want them to be, they fight back.

By the time I got to writing Ty and Lexie, I learned not to engage in a battle I never win. I just let go of who I thought they should be and where I thought they were going and took their ride.

And what a ride.

I’m so pleased I didn’t battle them and got to know them just as they are because their love story was a pleasure to watch unfold. There were times that were tough, very tough, and I would say perhaps the toughest I’ve ever written. But that just made their happy ending one that tasted unbelievably sweet.

Of course, Ty did retain some of that silent angry man, but he never became the antihero I expected him to be, though he did do a few non-heroic things in dealing with his intense issues. And I reckon one day I’ll have my antihero set on a course of vengeance who finds a woman who has a heart of ice. Those concepts never go away. They just have to come to me naturally.

But I had to give Ty and Lexie their story as it came to me naturally.

And I loved every second of it.

From the desk of Anna Sullivan

Dear Reader,

There’s a lot more to being a writer than sitting at a computer and turning my imagination into reality. Of course I love creating characters, deciding on their personal foibles, inventing a series of events to not only test their character but also to help them grow. And that’s where everything begins: with the story.

But every writer does her share of book signings and interviews. As with every profession, there are some questions that crop up more often than others. Here are some examples—and the answers that run through my mind in my more irreverent moments:

But seriously, I hope you enjoy my second Windfall Island novel, HIDEAWAY COVE, as the search for Eugenia Stanhope, kidnapped almost a century before, continues.

Now Holden Abbot is joining the quest for truth, justice, and the American way… Wait, that’s Superman. Well, Holden Abbot may not be the man of steel, but he’s tall and handsome, and his smooth Southern accent doesn’t hurt either. And even if he can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, Jessi Randal is falling head over heels in love with him. She may be Eugenia Stanhope’s long-lost descendant, though, and that puts her life in danger, along with her seven year-old son, Benji. Holden may have to do the superhero thing after all. Or he may only be able to save one of them.

I had a great time finding out how this story ended. I hope you do, too.

www.AnnaSulivanBooks.com

Twitter @ASullivanBooks

Facebook.com/AnnaSullivanBooks

From the desk of Rochelle Alers

Dear Reader,

Writers hear it over and over again: Write about what you know. I believe I adhered to this rule when continuing the Cavanaugh Island series with MAGNOLIA DRIVE. This time you get to read about a young Gullah woman and her gift to discern the future. As I completed the character dossier for the heroine, I could hear my dearly departed mother whisper in my ear not to tell too much, because like her, my mother also had the gift of sight.

Growing up in New York City didn’t lend itself to connecting with my Gullah roots until I was old enough to understand why my mother and other Gullah held to certain traditions that were a litany of don’ts: Don’t put your hat on the bed, don’t throw out what you sweep up after dark, don’t put up a new calendar before the beginning of a new year, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The don’ts go on and on, too numerous to list here.

I’d believed the superstitions were silly until as an adult I wanted to know why my grandfather, although born in Savannah, spoke English with a distinctive accent. However, it was the womenfolk in my family who taught me what it meant to be Gullah and the significance of the traditions passed down through generations of griots.

In MAGNOLIA DRIVE, red-haired, green-eyed Francine Tanner is Gullah and a modern-day griot and psychic. She is able to see everyone’s future, though not her own. But when a handsome stranger sits in her chair at the Beauty Box asking for a haircut and a shave, the former actress turned hairstylist could never have predicted the effect he would have on her life and her future.

The first time Keaton Grace saw up-and-coming actress Francine Tanner perform in an off-Broadway show he found himself spellbound by her incredible talent. So much so that he wrote a movie script with her in mind. Then it was as if she dropped off the earth when she abruptly left the stage. The independent filmmaker didn’t know their paths would cross again when he made plans to set up his movie studio, Grace Lowcountry Productions, on Cavanaugh Island. Keaton believes they were destined to meet again, while Francine fears reopening a chapter in her life she closed eight years ago.

MAGNOLIA DRIVE returns to Sanctuary Cove, where the customers at the Beauty Box will keep you laughing and wanting more, while the residents of the Cove are in rare form once they take sides in an upcoming local election. Many of the familiar characters are back to give you a glimpse into what has been going on in their lives. And for those of you who’ve asked if David Sullivan will ever find a love that promises forever—the answer is yes. Look for David and the woman who will tug at his heart and make him reassess his priorities in Cherry Lane.

Happy Reading!

[email protected]

www.rochellealers.org

From the desk of Jessica Scott

Dear Reader,

The first time I got the idea for my hero and heroine in BACK TO YOU, Trent and Laura, I was a brand-new lieutenant with no idea what deployment would entail. I remember sitting in my office, listening to one of the captains telling his wife he’d be home as soon as he could—and right after he hung up the phone, he promptly went back to work. He always talked about how much he loved her, and I wondered how he could tell her one thing and do something so different. And even more so, I was deeply curious about what his wife was like.

I was curious about the kind of woman who would love a man no matter how much war changed him. About the kind of woman with so much strength that she could hold their family together no matter what. But also, a woman who was tired. Who was starting to lose her faith in the man she’d married.

Having been the spouse left at home to hold the family together, I know intimately the struggles Laura has faced. I also know what it feels like to deploy and leave my family, and how hard it is to come home.

I absolutely love writing stories of redemption, and at the heart of it, this is a story of redemption. It takes a strong love to make it through the dark times.

I hope you enjoy reading Trent and Laura’s story in BACK TO YOU as much as I enjoyed bringing their story to life.

Xoxo

www.JessicaScott.net

Twitter @JessicaScott09

Facebook.com/JessicaScottAuthor

From the desk of Shannon Richard

Dear Reader,

So UNSTOPPABLE had originally been planned for the fourth book, but after certain plot developments, Bennett and Mel’s story needed to be moved in the lineup to third place. When I dove into their story I knew very little about where I was going, but once I started there was no turning back.

Bennett Hart was another character who walked onto the page out of nowhere and the second I met him I knew he needed to have his story told. I mean, how could he not when he’s named after one of my favorite heroines? Yup, Bennett is named after Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Don’t scoff, she’s awesome and I love her dearly. And hello, she ends up with a certain Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy… he’s my ultimate literary crush. I mean really, I swoon just thinking about him.

And I’m not the only one swooning over here. A certain Ms. Melanie O’Bryan is hard-core dreaming/ fantasizing/drooling (just a little bit) over Bennett. Mel was definitely an unexpected character for me. It took me a little while to see that she had a story to tell, and I always like to say it was Bennett who realized her potential before I did.

Both characters have their guards up at the beginning of UNSTOPPABLE. Bennett is still dealing with the trauma he experienced when he was in Afghanistan, and Mel is dealing with getting shot a couple of months ago. Mel is a very sweet girl and she appears to be just a little bit unassuming… to those who don’t know her, that is. As it turns out, she has a wild side and she lets Bennett see it in full force. Bennett and Mel were a different writing experience for me. I was discovering them as they discovered each other, and sometimes they surprised me beyond words. They taught me a lot about myself and I will be forever grateful that they shared their story with me.

Cheers,

From the desk of Lauren Layne

Dear Reader,

I am a hopeless romantic. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been stalking happy endings. It started with skimming Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley Twins books for the parts about boys. From there, it was sneaking into the Young Adult section of the library way before my time to get at the Sweet Valley High books—because there was kissing in those.

By my mid-teens, I’d discovered that there was an entire genre of books devoted to giving romantics like me a guaranteed happily ever after. It was the start of a lifetime affair with romance novels.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as I was stockpiling my book boyfriends, I also did a fair amount of thinking about the future hero of my own love story. I had it all figured out by junior high. My future husband would have brown hair. He’d be a lawyer. Maybe a doctor, but probably a lawyer. He’d be the strong, silent type. Very stoic. He’d be a conservative dresser, and it would be strange to see him out of his classic black suit, except on weekends when he’d wear khakis and pressed polos. We’d meet when I was in my mid-to-late twenties, and he’d realize instantly that my power suits and classic pumps were his perfect match. Did I mention that in this vision I, too, was a lawyer?

Fast forward a few (okay, many) years. How’d I do?

Well… my husband has brown hair. That’s the only part I got right. He’s an extroverted charmer and wouldn’t be caught dead in a standard-issue suit. He’s not a lawyer, and I’ve never seen him wear khakis. Oh, and we started dating in high school, and were married by twenty-three.

I couldn’t have been more wrong, and yet… I couldn’t be more happy. Although I am a “planner” in every sense of the word, I’ve learned that love doesn’t care one bit about the person you think is your perfect mate.

In my Best Mistake series, the heroines learn exactly that. They have a pretty clear idea of the type of person they’re supposed to be with. And they couldn’t be more wrong.

Whether it’s the cocktail waitress falling for the uptight CEO, or the rigid perfectionist who wins the heart of a dedicated playboy, these women learn that being wrong has never felt so right.

I had a wonderful time wreaking havoc on the lives of Sophie and Brynn Dalton, and I hope you have as much fun reading about the best mistakes these women ever made.

Here’s to the best of plans going awry—because that’s when the fun starts.

www.laurenlayne.com