In Jen Gilroy’s Back Home at Firefly Lake, Cat McGuire and Luc Simard find love and second chances in a heartwarming small-town romance that fans of Women’s Fiction and Susan Wiggs’ The Lakeshore Chronicles will love!
Author: Jen Gilroy
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Women’s
Fiction
Release Date: December 5,
2017
Publisher: Forever –
Grand Central Publishing
Series: Firefly Lake
Print ISBN: 9781455569618
Digital
ISBN:9781455566938
She has a million reasons to leave. Can
he give her the one she needs to stay?
Cat
McGuire’s return to Firefly Lake is turning into much more than she bargained
for. Sure, she missed the crisp pine-scented air and the comfort of having her family
around her. But being home makes her feel less like the successful single mom
she is–and more like the awkward teen who never fit in. It doesn’t help that
hockey-pro Luc Simard is back in town, too. Luc was her childhood crush, the
hometown hero who never noticed her, and yet somehow he still makes her heart
skip a beat.
Luc’s
homecoming has been bittersweet. He’s lost his wife and his career, but there’s
no better place to start over than Firefly Lake. Coaching the local kids’
hockey team makes him feel alive again, and he thinks his life is
complete–until Cat arrives. The shy girl he always wanted to protect is now the
gorgeous woman who’s stealing his heart and making him believe in second
chances. But how can he convince Cat that Firefly Lake is where she truly
belongs?
Now an
Amazon Best Book of the Month!
Praise for Back Home at Firefly Lake:
“When these two broken
souls come together, magic happens.” – Publishers
Weekly
“Back Home at Firefly Lake is a charming small-town,
second-chance story. With well-written and relatable characters, readers both
new and old to the series will enjoy it.”
– Harlequin Junkie
Excerpt:
Luc’s
heart squeezed. [Cat] was embarrassed to ask her family for help, like he’d
have been embarrassed asking his. Except, that would never be an issue because
he had more money than he could spend in one lifetime. Money to finance the
creamery expansion his dad had talked about for years, and to send his folks on
that cruise they’d hankered after but could never afford because of the cost of
raising four kids and putting most of them through college. Money for
everything except what mattered most—taking care of his wife and their child
like he’d planned.
“Pay
for the hockey registration when your grant comes through.” He tried to smile.
“I know you’re good for it.”
“Thanks.”
Cat’s voice cracked and she took one hand away from her bag to rub it across
her face. “Hockey means everything to Amy. I want her to be able to play, but
she’s growing so fast right now.”
“Hockey’s
an expensive sport.” He slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little
squeeze. The same kind of friendly squeeze he’d given her all those times back
in high school when she’d saved his butt in chemistry. Before today, however,
his fingers had never tingled when he’d touched Cat. His body had never heated,
either.
Cat
started and pulled away at the same instant he did. “Hockey can be a dangerous
sport too, and now Amy will be playing with boys. She hasn’t played with boys
since she was seven. She could get hurt.
Like
he had, hurt so bad it had ended his career. “Amy’s playing minor hockey. At
her age, there is a rule about no body checking.” He tried to make his tone
reassuring. “I promise I’ll keep a close eye on her.” It was his job as her
coach, and he’d do the same for any kid. It had nothing to do with the strange
and unexpected attraction he all of a sudden had for this woman he’d known his
whole life, who he’d never really looked at until today.
A
woman who wasn’t Maggie. Luc’s stomach clenched in a tangled lump of guilt and
grief, tied tight with a slippery ribbon of disloyalty. Maggie was never coming
back, but that didn’t mean Luc could forget her. Or that he wanted to.
Copyright © Back Home at Firefly Lake 2017 by Jen
Gilroy
Other Books in the Firefly Lake Series:
Some
mistakes can never be fixed and some secrets never forgiven … but some loves
can never be forgotten.
Charlotte
Gibbs wants nothing more than to put the past behind her, once and for all. Yet
now that she's back at Firefly Lake to sell her mother's cottage, the
overwhelming flood of memories reminds her of what she's been missing.
Sun-drenched days. Late-night kisses that still shake her to the core. The
gentle breeze off the lake, the scent of pine in the air, and the promise of
Sean's touch on her skin…True, she got her dream job traveling the world. But
at what cost?
Sean
Carmichael still doesn't know why Charlie disappeared that summer, but after
eighteen years, a divorce, and a teenage son he loves more than anything in the
world, he's still not over her. All this time and her body still fits against
his like a glove. She walked away once when he needed her the most. How can he
convince her to stay now?
Praise for The Cottage at Firefly Lake:
“Gilroy’s
debut contemporary is packed with potent emotions…[the] protagonists tug at the
heartstrings from the beginning of the story and don’t let go. Long on charm,
this story invites readers to come in and stay a while.” – Publishers Weekly
“Memories,
regrets and second chances are front and center in Gilroy’s fantastic debut.” –
RT Book Reviews
Summer
on Firefly Lake
Sometimes love is better the second time around.
Mia Gibbs spent her marriage putting her
husband’s needs before her own. And now, after a painful divorce, she’s
building a new life for herself and her two daughters back home at Firefly Lake.
The last thing she needs is a man to complicate things. But former bad boy
turned friend Nick McGuire—and the one kiss they’ve shared—has turned
everything upside down.
Attorney Nick McGuire wasn’t meant to be
a family man. His career has always been his focus, and after taking time out
to help his mother, he’s ready to get back to the city…until Mia and her
daughters arrive at Firefly Lake. Mia is beautiful and intriguing, and it
doesn’t take long to realize being “just friends” will never be enough. As the
summer nights turn colder, Nick will have to choose between the life he’s
always wanted…and the woman he can’t live without.
Praise
for SUMMER ON FIREFLY LAKE
“Has
charm to spare… The delightful supporting cast and expertly plotted story add
depth and richness to this tale, leaving readers eager for another visit to
Firefly Lake.”—Publishers Weekly
“4
stars! Gilroy’s second Firefly Lake novel encapsulates the quaint, busybody
small-town feel and the slippery slope of friends becoming lovers quite well…
Engaging…[a] fast-paced page turner.”—RT Book Reviews
About Jen Gilroy:
Jen Gilroy lives
in a small town in eastern Ontario, Canada where her Irish ancestors settled in
the nineteenth century. She's worked in higher education and international
marketing but, after spending too much time in airports and away from her
family, traded the 9-5 to write romantic women’s fiction to bring readers'
hearts home.
Jen
likes ice cream, diners, vintage style and all things country. Her husband is
her real-life romance hero, and her teen daughter teaches her to cherish the
blessings in the everyday.
The
Cottage at Firefly Lake, the first book in her Firefly Lake series, was a
finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® award in 2015. It was
also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon Award
2017.
Thank
you for interviewing me on your blog, Vicky. I’m happy to be here to chat with
you and your readers about my writing life.
When did you write your first book and how old
were you?
Since
childhood, making up and writing down stories has been my way of making sense
of the world and my place in it. The first “book” I wrote was a Christmas story,
and the text was accompanied by pictures I’d drawn and colored. I was in the
third grade and made the “book” by stapling sheets of paper together and adding
an illustrated “cover.”
Later,
when I was fourteen, I wrote what would now be called a novella—a western
romance inspired by the historical fiction I’d then begun to devour.
It
was only when I was in my late thirties, though, that I started to write
seriously in pursuit of publication and completed my first “real books”—both unpublished
young adult titles.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a
better writer? If so, what are they?
Keep
writing! Your craft improves with practice, and the more you write, the more
you learn and the better you get at it.
Writing
daily also helps you find your unique writing voice, as well as the writing
process that works best for you.
I’d
also suggest reading widely in both your genre and beyond. You learn much about
story structure and craft by reading from the perspective of a writer and
studying how others have constructed narratives.
As a child, what did you want to do when you
grew up?
Being
a published author is my childhood dream come true! I’ve always been a
voracious reader, and I remember looking at books in my local public library
and wanting to see mine there one day.
Although
it’s taken many years, and I had numerous career detours along the way, my
books are indeed now on the shelves of my hometown public library. Among all
the “firsts” of achieving publication, that milestone is perhaps the most
special.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
My
family adopted a dog this year, and the lovely Floppy Ears, a Beagle-Walker
Hound mix, has added fun, laughter and much-needed exercise to my life outside
writing.
I
also enjoy singing and am part of a choir in my small town. I like reading too,
as well as baking and watching movies.
What does your family think of your writing?
My
husbandhas always been very supportive of my writing. My new release, Back Home at Firefly Lake, is in part
dedicated to him because he was the first person in my adult life to see me as
a “real writer,” and his steadfast love, support and belief in me helped me
persevere through years of rejection and setbacks.
My
teen daughterhas grown up with a “writer mum,” and I dedicated my second book, Summer on Firefly Lake, to her.
Alongside a central romance, all my books feature family relationships, and
she’s my go-to girl for teen and kid “speak.”
Without
my family, I wouldn’t be the writer I am, and they’re both my cheering section
and biggest blessing in my life.
What was one of the most surprising things you
learned in creating your books?
When
I started working seriously toward publication, I’d spent many years writing in
a corporate environment. Consumed by briefing notes, case studies, employee
newsletters, and executive speeches, I’d lost touch with my creative writing
voice and had forgotten how to write from my heart.
At
first, it was scary to delve into my own emotions to bring emotion to my
writing, but it was surprisingly liberating too. And once I stopped worrying
about what “other people might think” and wrote the books of my heart, my whole
writing career—and the course of my life—changed for the better.
For
me, the most powerful stories tug at readers’ emotions and also say something
about the author—the kind of person they are, what they value, and how they see
the world. The Firefly Lake books come from my heart, and I hope they touch
readers’ hearts too.
What would you like my readers to know?
As
an author, I’d like to say how grateful I am for all the readers out there.
It’s
readers who enable authors to do what we do and by reading, you give
storytellers like me the gift of your time, your interest and, in many cases,
your hard-earned money when you buy one of our books.
Thank you, happy reading to all, and happy
holidays!
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