May Madness continues with Laura Boon’s Deerbourne Inn book, Lion Dancing for Love. The series is set in the fictional town of Willow Springs, Vermont, and a number of authors have written for this series, including me! This sweet story will have you cheering for Corey and Caitlyn. Laura agreed to sit down for an interview to talk about writing for a series and provide some tips for aspiring writers:
What made you want to write a Deerbourne Inn story?
I’ve never participated in a multi-author series before, or written a story based in a world someone else created and the challenge appealed to me.
If you lived in the fictional Willow Springs, Vermont, what would your hangout be?
Ha! That’s easy. At the Sunny Springs Café. Best coffee in town (sorry Nate) and Tiana’s yummy food as well.
What/who inspires the leading men in your books? Do you have a favorite “type”?
My type is an alpha that is human. Or a beta that steps up. Does that make sense? He’s competent, compelling, self-confident but not arrogant and has a sense of humor. I have an issue with men who are thugs, unacceptably arrogant or overbearing bullies being called ‘alpha heroes. There’s nothing heroic about being a thug. I have a project to go through the Greek alphabet and find a letter for a man who’s a thug not an alpha. My hero in Lion Dancing for Love is typical of my men and I just adore him. Corey lost his first wife to cancer and he’s given up on love. It takes a sassy young city woman to bring him back to the present. He’s strong, determined, no pushover but also caring and funny.
Do you spend more time reading or writing?
Oh dear! The truth will out… reading. It’s my first and one true love. Reading is my happy place. If I’ve had a bad day; if I have muscle aches and pains; if I am uninspired or feeling unloved, imperfect and underachieving – reading (a romance) makes me feel better and puts me back on track.
What’s the last book you read, and what’s on your to-be-read pile?
I read The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker. It’s book 4 in her London Celebrities series set in London’s West End Theatre district. I LOVE THEM. I am just about to read Forever in a Moment by Charlotte O’Shay, part of the Deerbourne Inn series. I love all the Deerbourne Inn books as well. Each one is different. It’s so refreshing.
Top three favorite genres?
- Contemporary romance
- Romantic comedy*
- Historical romance
* I think of romantic comedy as a sub-genre of contemporary romance, in which case my third favorite is paranormal romance
Do you write every day?
Sigh. I aim to write five days a week but life (and fear) often get in the way. The fear leads to procrastination. Then I make up for it in bursts.
What advice can you give aspiring writers?
Believe in your voice and your stories and never give up. Another writer recently talked to me about the concept of needing both a thin skin and a thick skin as a writer. A thin skin to absorb ideas, acknowledge valuable criticism, and empathize with your characters. A thick skin to bounce off rejection and unhelpful criticism. I like the concept.
Lion Dancing for Love blurb
Licking her wounds after a bad relationship, San Diego accountant Caitlyn Summers travels to Willow Springs to help her friend gear up for the annual Maple Sugar Ball. She isn’t planning on staying long, but one encounter with the delicious Corey Duncan has her re-evaluating her plans.
Corey swore off love when his wife Annie died from breast cancer. Caitlyn is too young, too citified, and vibrates with a passion and energy that will upend the safe, comfortable rhythm of his life. Corey has to choose between playing it safe and taking a risk on love. Caitlyn needs to find the patience to let Corey lead. If not, the Maple Sugar Ball might end in a sticky mess, instead of a slow dance with the man who has captured her heart.
Will their fire burn hot enough to erase doubts and past hurts?
Excerpt
“You don’t have to be good at it. You have to be able to follow and count to three.”
She put her hands on her hips. It was his turn to raise a brow. “I can follow—if I choose to.”
He chuckled. “Such sass. Prove it.”
He held out his left hand, and she moved forward and placed her right inside it. He twined their fingers and pulled her into position. A heady combination of scents rose from her, vanilla and pheromones and something uniquely Caitlin. Her skin was slick against his. “Rest your head against my chest,” he murmured.
“I don’t recall that as an official position.”
“It’s the one I favor. Stand on my feet. That’s it.” He adjusted her arm, so she had a good hold around his neck and drew her even closer. “Step with your right foot first…back across, together. Forward, across, together. Back, across, together. Forward, across, together.”
Halfway through the song, he let her feet slip to the ground. At the end he kept a firm grip on her waist while he hit replay, then led her through a series of fast twirls, their bodies so close they were almost one. When the song ended, they collapsed in a heap against the wall. She was giggling.
“What?”
“I get why it was considered scandalous when it was first introduced.”
He smiled and tipped her chin toward him with a finger. “It’s only scandalous if you do it properly.” He brushed his lips softly across hers, then claimed her mouth as she breathed into him.
Author bio
Laura Boon stole her first romance from her father’s bookshelves as a teenager, The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss, and was immediately captivated. After holding a variety of positions in publishing, from bookseller to sales rep and publicist, she eventually found the courage to write her own stories. She was born in Zambia, grew up in South Africa, and went to university in America. She now lives in Australia with her husband and their fur babies Beau and Arro. When she is not reading or writing, she enjoys sleuthing for artisan chocolate and beautiful stationery, watching tennis, and walking alongside Sydney’s beautiful harbor.
Winner 2018 Australian Romance Readers of Australia Debut Romance Author of the year (The Millionaire Mountain Climber)
Social Media Links
You can find Laura online at:
Web/Blog
Twitter @LollyRussell
Instagram @lauraboonrussell66
Buy links
