Scrooge had it right. Bah, humbug! Christmas sucked long and hard.Lights twinkled on the tree, reflecting off the windows of the darkened office. The smell of holiday spices wafted from the potpourri dish on Zoe Hillman’s desk, filling the room with false cheer. It was Christmas Eve, and not even the large, make that huge, bonus check lifted her spirits.
“Bah, humbug.” She sniffed, wiped her tears for the umpteenth time before she checked her resignation letter to Cox, Zuckerman, Howe & Stanford. No matter that her heart was shattered, her life over, it wouldn’t do for her last act as Alex King’s personal assistant to be sloppy and unprofessional.
She reached into the candy dish on her desk, absentmindedly unwrapped one of the truffles, and popped it in her mouth. The chocolate melted in a creamy, dark lushness designed to put a Band-Aid on her broken heart, but tonight her drug of choice didn’t work. Candy wrappers littered the floor, along with half a box of used tissues. The clock on her computer read 7 p.m. Alex would be married and on his way to Las Vegas by now. Bianca Freemont would be his bride. Zoe’s brain whipped up an Xrated vision of the wedding night, and she grabbed another tissue to wipe her red nose and puffy eyes.
Her breath hitched, and she hit the SEND key before she could change her mind.
God, she was so stupid.
You just read an excerpt from:
A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS
by
Dyann Love Barr
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
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Today, we’re here with published author, Dyann Love Barr.
Dyann : I write under the name Dyann Love Barr. Love is my maiden name and I did it as a tribute to my late mother, Violet Love. This storyline was really hers. After she passed away, I swore to write her story but I put my own spin n her original idea.
I'm a belly dancer, retired chef, actress, director and Andromeda Leigh's YaYa.
This book is a contemporary, although I’ve finished two romantic suspense, two other contemporaries and just finished a paranormal I’m polishing up for submission. I'll be doing book two in the paranormal series I'm writing and there is a medieval, a Regency, another romantic suspense and a contemporary on the back burner.
Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?
Dyann : It’s still on my computer. I look it over from time to time and think it could really be salvaged. It’s really funny—sometimes I’ll read a line or passage and think ‘I can’t believe I wrote that’. The writing is really good and tight, but then I’ll read further down and say to myself, “Man, oh man, what a stinker. I can’t believe you wrote that!”
Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?
Dyann : A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS from The Wild Rose Press is my premiere book.
Kage: Cool. Let's talk about A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS then. What's it about?
Dyann : It's coming out as part of the Three Kings series from The Wild Rose Press. Claire Ashgrove and Alicia Dean approached me to write the series with them. It’s set in North Kansas City and the surrounding countryside. The three King brothers, Clint, Heath, and Alex are ‘commanded’ by their recently widowed mother to come home for the holidays.
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A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS
by
Dyann Love Barr
Alex King wants to follow the family tradition and marry his perfect bride on Christmas Eve. There’s one little hitch—Bianca dumps him at the altar. He wakes up in Vegas with a hangover, a ring on his finger, and in bed with his best friend, Zoe Hillman. She’s overweight and plain, nothing at all like his image of the perfect wife. So begins the shortest Vegas marriage in history.
Zoe Bennett loved Alex from the moment he walked through the law firm’s doors. He can charm the panties off any woman, but he’s never tried it with her. The chance to grab for the golden ring is within her reach until everything blows up in her face. Now, five years later she returns to Kansas City with triplets in tow and a brand new look. Catering Alex’ next wedding should prove interesting.
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Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?
Dyann : I’d say an R rating..
Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?
Dyann : I’d say the secret baby times three.
Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?
Dyann : There’s nothing like having three four-year-olds lost in a blizzard to bring two stubborn people together.
Kage:What was the easiest part to write?
Dyann : Dialogue. I love snappy dialogue between characters. It makes everything come alive and it really keeps the pace of the story going. I love it when a character speaks to me and tells me what to put down on the page. Sometimes they know better than I what needs to be said.
Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?
Dyann : I love my heroine. Zoe starts out with a big disadvantage and bad self-image. By the time the book starts she's a hundred and fifty pounds overweight but as the story progresses she’s well on the way to destroying all her past demons. That is, until Alex shows up to rock her world again. She’s strong, a great mother, and has a good hold on life.
Alex King has a lot of growing up to do. Everything comes too easy for him. Women love him, men want to be him. I had to work hard to make him likable, to get the reader to see the good man behind the spoiled little boy. There’s nothing like torturing your hero, letting him twist in the wind for a while to make him come to heel.
Kage:Dyann , Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?
Dyann : This was a labor of love with two women who I’ve come to consider friends. You have to set ego aside when you’re working on a trilogy with two other writers. They have their stories to tell as well. It was a blast to get the crossover scenes to work, figure out what happens off scene, and get the little details, such as wardrobe or dialogue, right. Alicia gave my villainess a dress style and color I wasn’t sure about but the more I thought about it—she was right on the money.
Now that Dyann has totally made us want to buy her book, she was kind enough to provide us with a a buy link to A PERFECT BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS: Print orTwitter: eBook
If you're still curious about Dyann Love Barr, here are other places to find her on the web:
Website: dyannbarr.com
Facebook: Dyann Barr
Twitter: writergal2007
Congrats Dyann! Sounds like a great one.
ReplyDeleteLinda- You could probably get one of those nose sucker things for your baby and put the tiniest bit of water or two crystals of salt up her nose to try it, but most babies will probably not like it too much. Poor thing. Dairy allergy??? :O)
Sounds like a fun Christmas romance. =D
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