The Bad Boy of Butterfly Harbor
(Butterfly Harbor #1)
by Anna J. Stewart
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 368 pagesby Anna J. Stewart
Adult Contemporary Romance
1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
Can people truly change?
Two things keep Holly Campbell grounded: her precocious son and preserving her forty-year-old family diner in the face of expansion and change. She doesn't need a blast from the past like Luke Saxon, who's back in Butterfly Harbor after more than a decade away. The hard-luck kid who nearly destroyed her family, leaving her to pick up the pieces, is taking over as sheriff. She can't trust him, even if Luke's ideas for the town's upcoming anniversary seem to show he's trying to give back to their community. Has Butterfly Harbor found its unlikely savior? And has the widowed single mother finally found a man she can believe in, rely on…and love?
USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J. Stewart can't remember a time she didn't have a book in her hands or a story in her head. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, funny, and family centric romances with happily ever afters for the independent heroines she writes for both Harlequin and Berkley. Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural & Sherlock addiction, surrounds herself with friends and family and tolerates an overly affectionate cat named Snickers (or perhaps it's Snickers who tolerates her).
1. How
long does it take you to write a book?
It depends on the book. My Heartwarming titles (THE BAD
BOY OF BUTTERFLY HARBOR for example) tend to take about two months. My longer books (for Berkley) run at about three.
If I can get into a rhythm early on, the writing goes faster. It’s like using
muscles. The more you use them, the better they work.
2. What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t eat when I’m writing. I’m paranoid of dumping
something on my computer. And I listen
to the same CD all the time: it’s a mix of ocean sounds and
instrumental/meditative music. Listening
to water helps get me in “the zone”.
3. Where
do you get your information or ideas for your books?
From all over the place. THE BAD BOY OF BUTTERFLY HARBOR
was inspired by Monterey, CA (and its sister city Pacific Grove). I had one heroine (back when I was writing
urban fantasy romance) who shot into my head when I was at a Georgia O’Keefe
and Ansel Adams exhibit at an art museum. I think it was all the polished wood
and atmosphere—she was just there, clear as day. TV inspires me a lot—I can figure out plot
twists and see them coming a mile off, so it teaches me how not to do that. Anything at any time can pop a story or character
into my head. It’s one of the reasons I
love being a writer so much. Inspiration is everywhere.
4. What
was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
That I can keep coming up with characters and stories to
tell. I’m petrified that’s going to
disappear, that I’ll run out of ideas, but when my fingers hit those keys,
thankfully, it’s just there. Some days are tougher than others, and there are
days I hate it, but it’s also one of those things where I don’t have a choice.
5. What
do you think makes a good story?
Character and conflict and honestly, I don’t think you
can have one without the other. When I
started writing, I remember thinking, I want to be the heroine and I want to
fall in love with the hero. I keep that in mind as I write every book. That
means each of them haveto be likable, but they also have to have depth and
flaws. No one is perfect, not in real life, and they shouldn’t be in fiction.
They have to be more than a physical description and a wink and a smile. That’s where the conflict comes in—that clash
of belief system that keeps them at odds even though they want to be together,
that’s where the magic happens. Making the reader cheer and hope for their
coming together and getting their happily ever after? Making those characters
work for it? That’s my job as a storyteller.
6. What
would you like my readers to know?
I love what I do. I love creating stories and worlds and
characters out of nothing but my fingers and a keyboard. It’s addictive and
it’s a rush (even on those horrible days). I hope that comes through in my
books. Romance for me isn’t just about sex;it isn’t about how soon they get
into bed. I once had a reviewer say one of my books was soooooo slow and it
took me a while to realize that’s because the hero and heroine didn’t sleep
together until more than half way through the book. Clearly not the right
reviewer for my book, but doing anything different with those characters would
have been wrong for the story. I try to
develop characters by giving them
learning curves and helping them grow and become better than they were (or
maybe even just different) in the beginning of the story. Sex is a part of that, but it doesn’t have to
be. It’s why I love writing both sweet (little to no physical contact) to
mainstream, steamier stories. I (and my
readers) get the best of both worlds.
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Tour Schedule
12/13: Launch
12/17: Christy's Cozy Corners, Katie's Clean Book Collection, Thoughts of a Blonde, & Book Reviews @ Athena
12/20: Grand Finale
Thanks so much for hosting me on my cyber-tour!
ReplyDeleteThank you for informing me about this book.
ReplyDeleteDoes the sheriff job always seem to go to the worst candidate?
ReplyDelete