The book launch that almost wasn’t.
I honesty thought this book would be out in June. August at the absolute latest. I thought, if I could get 4 books out in a year then I could get one done in six months.
Thank goodness I didn’t. I’d be a puddle of goo on the floor at this point.
So, I’m way behind schedule, but it’s out! Book 4 of the Have Heart, Will Travel series, magically appeared in all the ebook stores last week with almost no fanfare. I didn’t even manage a newsletter. I got the book out, but I had nothing left in the tank for launch promotion.
It’s been a year, hasn’t it? I can’t even pretend, for a moment, that I’ve had a particularly difficult year. I live in a safe little bubble where, somehow, still, miraculously, there has yet to be wide community spread of Covid. It’s coming, but it aint here yet.
Do you want me to tell you about the book? Oh, okay.
It’s about two New Zealander’s in Rome – I love Rome! I visited, years ago now, and it was brilliant.
The characters are some of my favourites to write. Summer is a genius baker who tends to get all fired up and ranty about things. She’s creative and passionate and ambitious with a strong sense of integrity – she’s open and has no time for dishonesty. And Finn starts off on the wrong foot, by lying. Well, pretending he’s something he’s not. But other than that, he’s in danger of being too perfect. My editor likes him best of all the men I’ve written so far…
Finn is a professional rugby player, recovering from injury, and a tad frustrated by his limits, the unknowns, the waiting… He’s fiercely loyal to Gabriel, his gay best friend, who just got his heart broken. Finn is an eager, if somewhat foolish, ally, ready to throw himself on the line to protect his semi-closeted team-mate. So, why would this genuinely great guy do something as silly as lie to the woman of his dreams?
Summer grew up in a rugby-obsessed family, and has seen all the worst of that world. Her father coaches, neglecting every other aspect of his life and family; her brothers all play, and one of them, in particular, has suffered serious concussions, derailing his life, his family… costing him almost everything.
When Finn and Summer first meet, there’s instant connection, the back-and-forth banter flies, and in amongst it she makes a passing reference to how much she hates rugby. She does her thing – goes off on a wee rant – it’s both charming and terrifying.
So Finn doesn’t tell her that he played professionally back in New Zealand and knew her father. And he certainly doesn’t let her know that rugby is his full-time job now. He’s a charming bugger and gets away with it, turns it into a game – her trying to guess what he does for a living.
Am i giving too much away? I don’t know. Maybe just grab a copy…
Oh, but first, content warnings: food. All the FOOOOD. This book will make you hungry. Summer knows how to cook. And they both know how to eat. And you feel free to read into that, while we’re here. It’s a sexy read – as hot as What’s Dutch for Damn? and almost as fast.
Oh, and the other warning: it’ll make you want to go to Italy, explore some ancient ruins, bask in the sun, imagine the history…
One more content warning for those who suffer vertigo: Summer and Finn are neighbors, living 12 storeys up, in a building with an ancient elevator. The elevator is based on a true story. The rest is all just the workings of my wicked imagination, but the elevator was real.
The swinging cage-in-a-cage freaks out Summer… makes her want to cling on to something, or someone, for dear life.
On a more serious note, I should add a content warning for Gabriel’s coming out and what follows. He wants to be out, but navigating that, in the macho, hetero-normative world of rugby, is a bit of a minefield. Rest assured, there’s no physical violence against gay characters.
What’s next? Well, I’ve got a few recipes to share from Summer’s repertoire, and this is the perfect time of year to be experimenting in the kitchen. Watch this space!
