Letters from the Indulgence Authors

I love sharing Letters to Readers, and today we have four different letters from each of the Indulgence authors featured this week.

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Letter To Readers from Rachel Lyndhurst

One of the greatest joys of being an author is that people seem genuinely interested in what you do. Whether it’s in real life, on Twitter or Facebook they seek you out, they ask questions and it’s marvellous! And they really do ask me where I get my ideas from (along with have you made your first million yet? Ha!). The answer is, there’s no set pattern, my books evolve. They sort of grow from a tiny seed of inspiration, twist and turn, get tied up in knots and then somehow unravel into something with a plot and a happy ending.

Take Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire for instance. The main location of the book was inspired by a holiday in Historic Lindos, Rhodes. Not only was I gripped by the incredible age and architecture of the place, but also by the Greek Legends associated with it; particularly Helios the sun god and his demi-god son Phaeton. A salutary tale of what can happen if you don’t do as your father tells you. A fiery battle of disobedience and death. Great stuff, but how could I use all this in a contemporary romance? Hmmm.

While considering how I could get my heroine from her grotty flat in the UK to sun-baked Rhodes, I read a poignant newspaper article about General Sir Mike Jackson’s son, Mark Jackson, who reinvented himself after injury forced him to leave the army. He gave his sculpture of a lifeless Icarus his own scars. It brought tears to my eyes. This inspired me towards Andreas Lazarides’ dark secret.

Then a few weeks later I was suddenly whipped of to drink champagne on the London Eye in my best frock. Far too good an experience not to use, and I couldn’t wait to either; it needed to go into this book. But the story was supposed to be set in Greece. Blast …

I have also been a member of Amnesty International for many years which has raised my awareness of many issues that rarely make the daily news. They send me regular magazines and sometimes I’m brave enough to read them. In one particular issue there was an article about human rights abuse of Roma in Europe. Europe? Surely not … I did some research on the subject and came across a photograph that still haunts me: a small boy playing an accordion, begging for money. He had to go in …

I wanted to weave all these ideas into a fantasy escape love story with a happy ending as well. Dear readers, I do hope I’ve achieved that for you.

Happy reading!

~Rachel

(I’m always up for a chat. Visit me on my blog, Twitter or Facebook. Tell me your darkest secrets if you like!)

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Dear Reader,

I am a nerd. There, I’ve said. And I’m proud to say it! I am a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy books and movies, and none more so than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When I watched all three movies (extended version) in one day (yes, in one day—I said I was a nerd) I fell in love with Craig Parker, who plays Haldir. It was no surprise therefore that when I wrote my Entangled Publishing book Kiss and Make Up for the new Indulgence line, I had Craig in my mind for the sexy hero, Eli Black.

I watched all the extra features on the three Lord of the Rings movies (on a different day!), and they gave me the idea for the novel. What fun it would be, I thought, to write a story based on a film set. I loved the idea of the hero being a stunt man. I did some research and found out that to get into the New Zealand Stunt Guild, you have to pass in four out of eleven areas including fighting, gymnastics, horses, rock climbing, swimming, motorcycles, cars, high diving, sub aqua, white water, and parachuting.

What could be sexier, I mused, than a hero who’s passed in all eleven? Eli used to be a bouncer, but now he gets blown up and falls down stairs for a living. He tells the heroine, Tabby, “The trick is to do the stunts without getting hurt. Or damaging the set. The stuntman’s first law is that objects in motion will stay in motion until they hit the most expensive thing on the set you were told to keep away from.” He’s funny as well as gorgeous. *fans herself*

When I went to the RWNZ conference last year, I was in the process of writing the book and by sheer coincidence (maybe—perhaps Fate was taking a hand!) sat next to a writer who worked as a makeup artist. Talking to her was such fun, and she let me know I was right on track with the career of the heroine, Tabby, who’s lucky enough to get her hands on Eli to make him up!

If you love movies, if you love Lord of the Rings, and if you love a sexy hero who can swordfight, can knock out a guy with one punch, and who kisses like a demon, then you’re sure to love Kiss and Make Up!

~ Faye

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Dear Readers,

I have a confession to make: I really am a lawyer. In fact, I practiced law for more than ten years, and most of those years were in private practice, at one of those places where the number of hours you bill in a year means everything.

Except, I was lucky. My firm actually did care about people. I had supportive co-workers who took care of me when I was carrying my second child and had to go on bed rest. I had senior partners who mentored me and supported me. And most importantly, I had a husband and kids back home who gave me a reason to shut the office door, turn off the computer, and leave work behind when I went home at night.

Like any writer, I love to play “what if.” What if I hadn’t found such a supportive law firm? What if I hadn’t fallen in love with my husband? What if life threw me at my job and didn’t give me any reason to hold back? I suspect I would have turned out a little like my heroine in Rules of Negotiation, Tori Anderson: driven, successful, and oh-so lonely. Desperately in need of someone to sweep me off my feet and remind me that life is about love, and love requires risk.

Women today are juggling more than ever before: career, family, caring for aging relatives, trying to find fulfillment and meaning in their hectic, mixed-up lives…Yet at the same time, I think we are also searching for the same things women have always sought: love, family, and someone to remind us that we are beloved. Someone to tell us that we—and we alone—hold a special place in their heart that no one else can fill.

Tori’s road to finding love won’t be easy—she’s battling with a tough, determined man who’s never let a woman get under his skin. But Brit Bencher is in for the surprise of his life. He’s about to discover that he doesn’t always call the shots. And there’s one thing that can topple even the toughest man.

I hope you enjoy Rules of Negotiation. I love to hear from readers! Please send me an email (), tweet (), or message on Facebook (x). You can also find out more about me or my books at www.inarascott.com.

Wishing you happily ever after~~

~Inara

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Dear Readers,

I am absolutely thrilled that The Marriage Bargain is finally available and these two special characters will get the audience I always dreamed of. Writers are a funny bunch. Sometimes, we have these wonderful ideas that drive us to our computers – dancing images of characters, plots, and scenery. And when we finally try to write them, they leap just out of reach, taunting us and driving us crazy.

This was not one of those books.

My heroine jumped off the page. Impulsive, loving, loyal, and most of all, fun. My hero gave me heartburn for a while because I didn’t realize how deeply he’d been hurt and what it would take to heal him. But he finally met the woman meant to be his, and watching his journey to a man who could take a chance on love was humbling. Their story flowed, and I couldn’t wait to check back to the page to see what they’d do next.

As a dog lover, I love to rescue strays and volunteer for the shelter. This drives my poor husband nuts, since we already have two dogs, a small house, and two active little boys. Of course, this inspired me to bring a dog as a character into the story, and bump up the stress level for my hero. I must admit it was fun to step back and watch the sparks fly!

This book has tons of humor, which is a bit different from my other stories. There’s still my favorite alpha, brooding hero, and feisty heroine, but there’s more lighthearted fun along the way. Lots of dogs. Toddlers. Family members. Pushy best friends. All messy stuff that struck terror in my Nick’s heart. Wait till you see how he handles it!

I hope you will glimpse a piece of yourself in this story – I certainly did. It takes place in upstate New York, in a little artsy town near the Hudson River and surrounded by the majestic mountains, where the waterfront was created.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea, a soft blanket, and download it on your e-reader. Sit back and let me make you laugh. Cry. But most of all…let me entertain you.

Much love,

Jennifer Probst