Spotlight & Giveaway: Building a Surprise Family by Anna J Stewart

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Anna J Stewart to HJ!

Hi Anna and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Building a Surprise Family!

 
Hi there and hello! This is always one of my favorite places to visit.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Ozzy Lakeman has finally found where he fits. After a lifelong struggle with his weight and after a number of years as a Butterfly Harbor sheriff’s deputy, he’s made the successful shift to firefighter and life is good. He’d be happier if there was someone in his life, but his dating prospects just fizzle after the first one. From the second he meets Jo Bertoletti, however, those sparks he’s been hoping for fire on all cylinders. But Jo hasn’t just brought emotional baggage along; she’s five months pregnant and determined to make a new life for herself and her baby. On her own.

The absolute last thing Jo Bertoletti needs in her life is a man, especially after how her last relationship ended. The baby she’s expecting is a blessing in so many ways, and Jo’s stellar career as a construction project “fixer” has opened up some great opportunities, including this one in Butterfly Harbor. Ozzy Lakeman does not fit into her plans, which makes the absolute best–and worst–time to fall in love.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“And swipe right.” Ozzy waited for a ping of excitement, a ping of… something as the app responded and added another name to his list of potential romantic matches. Even as he set his phone down to finish his breakfast, that something never materialized.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Ozzy’s been a part of Butterfly Harbor from book 1. He’s also the hero I’ve been most anxious to feature in his own story.
• Jo Bertoletti arrives in Butterfly Harbor in style–towing her tiny house behind her!
• A secondary character popped up unexpectedly: Lancelot, a former police dog who deals with his traumatic issues with his emotional support…dragon.
• This my first May/December romance–only I flipped it. Jo is seven years older than Ozzy. Not that big a difference, I know, but it was for me to write.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

Ozzy has been that constantly changing hero-in-waiting. He might be the character who has already changed the most before his story even starts. As someone who has battled my own weight issues, I wanted to tackle the issue from a hero’s perspective and, as his journey has finally settled into a new reality for him, he sees his life really begin to open up.

Jo was raised primarily by her grandfather after her father’s passing. She’s grown up in the construction world. She knows it in and out and she knows how to deal with a mostly male workforce. I love creating characters I can flip–putting a woman in what’s normally perceived as a man’s role.

I think what surprised me most was the ease with which their friendship begins. It’s just…there. And, as a good friend of mine has always said, falling in love with your best friend is a perfect foundation for a relationship. Love is a bonus when you actually like the person you’re with.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

Ozzy has a special connection to Charlie Bradley, a little girl who’s a recent transplant to Butterfly Harbor. When he learns she’s lost her beloved bike in an accident, he takes it upon himself to replace it. I think this scene is the true heart of who Ozzy is and it’s an aha moment for Jo, who witnesses how truly kind and caring he is.

“WHEN YOU SAID we’d be taking a walk at dawn, I assumed we’d be going down to the beach for you to swim.” Jo dropped out of Ozzy’s SUV, and after a warning look at Lancelot telling him to stay put, she followed Ozzy around to the back of the vehicle.

“We’ll head there next. Just have to drop this off first.” He popped the trunk.

Glossy orange and black paint glimmered against the rising sun. “You finished it!”

“Last night.” He pulled the bike out and lowered it to the ground. He ran his hand over the handlebars accented with sparkling streams of glittery black plastic. “I was waiting for the baskets to arrive. Custom order from Etsy.”

One of the precisely woven faux wicker baskets was displayed perfectly on the front, the other situated at the back. Both were accented with tiny handpainted monarch butterflies, and on the front basket, “Butterfly Girl” was spelled out in beautifully painted letters.

Tears burned Jo’s throat. “It’s beautiful, Ozzy. Charlie’s a lucky little girl.” She touched his arm. He’d spent hours restoring this bike simply because he saw a need that he could fill and while Charlie’s original bike had been pink, he was pretty sure she’d be okay with the changes. “But why are you delivering it so early? The sun’s barely up.”

“You need to brush up on your magic, Jo. Don’t you know fairies only deliver at night?” He winked and headed across the street to a yellow cottage with a white picket fence. Jo remained by the car, admiring the beautiful butterfly stained glass window above the front door. The monarch on display in the glass spread its wings against the cresting sun and bathed the garden below and around the house like a winged guardian angel.

Ozzy lifted the bike over the fence and situated it out of the way. When he returned to the car, he motioned for her to jump back in. No sooner had they closed the doors and lowered the windows than the front door of the house swung open and a very pregnant woman emerged. Bright blond hair knotted on top of her head, she had the same gapping-robe issue Jo had been dealing with as of late.

“That’s Paige Bradley, right?” Jo asked. “She’s an ER nurse at the hospital?”

“Yep,” Ozzy confirmed. “She’s married to one of the town deputies, Fletcher.”

Paige gripped the doorframe, started to bend down, then looked at the ground. Even from a distance, Jo could imagine the woman’s sigh.

“Fletch?” Paige’s voice carried along the silence of the morning. “The newspaper’s all yours today.” She started to turn back into the house, then stopped. She stared, blinked, took a step out, then stopped, her hands covering her mouth. “Fletch!”

“Yeah, yeah, I can only move so fast myself.” A man hopped into view, his khaki shirt still unbuttoned and hanging open over his matching pants. He grabbed hold of Paige’s arm. “What is it? The baby? It’s coming now?”

“No, look.” Paige pointed to the bike. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Me?” Fletcher shook his head. “No, honey, this wasn’t me. I’ve been looking for one similar, but just haven’t found…” Fletcher’s gaze shifted to the street as if casing it.

“Uh-oh. Duck.” Ozzy dropped behind the wheel, but peered over the edge of his window.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Jo muttered, unable to take her eyes off the family. “It’s okay. He’s too preoccupied to notice.”

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

This book, like all of my romances, illustrate that family and love isn’t reliant on blood. There’s no question from the get-go that Ozzy falls in love, not only with Jo, but with her baby as well. It’s just who he is. Convincing Jo to give love another shot–that promise of hope, I think that’s what a lot of romance readers are looking for.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I just started writing the final Butterfly Harbor book. This will be Mayor Gil Hamilton’s story and will bring the series to a close (*sobs*). Next I’ll be writing a new Blackwell Family romance for Heartwarming and a romantic suspense I’m calling The Hangover meets The Bourne Identity.

I just turned in a new Sea Glass Bay novella, which will be in a new anthology from Caezik Romance next spring AND a brand new Christmas Town novella for our upcoming holiday anthology, CHRISTMAS TOWN HOMECOMING.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 winner, $15 Amazon Gift Card
2 winners, each receive digital copies of THE BAD BOY OF BUTTERFLY HARBOR (Ozzy’s first appearance), and THE FIREFIGHTER’S THANKSGIVING WISH.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: I’m always looking to put a spin on new romance tropes and, as I’m gearing up to submit new proposals to my editor, I’d love to know some of your favorite types of romances: friends to lovers? Enemies to lovers? Single dad? Tell me what you love to read!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Building a Surprise Family:

He took the long way around to the site and pulled into the gravel parking area on the other side of what looked like crime-scene tape stretched between and around thick-trunked trees. He heard the rumble of the serious truck heading up the hill as he climbed out of his car. Headlights flashed into view and he held up a hand to signal the driver.

He couldn’t stop grinning. That home on wheels was something to behold —practical with an elegant, streamlined luxury-cabin design. He could imagine how it would look nestled among the eucalyptus trees that outlined most of the area. A supervisor who brought his own house with him was someone who meant business.

The truck’s engine suddenly went silent. Ozzy walked over to greet the driver. “That is a thing of beauty,” he said as the door opened and the driver dropped to the ground in front of him.

Every thought he had disappeared straight out of his head.

Tall, curvy and with sun-streaked blond hair knotted into a messy pile on top of her head, Butterfly Harbor’s latest arrival faced Ozzy with a wide, welcoming smile on her round face. Beneath the barely-there sunlight of the May morning, her skin seemed to glisten in the chilly air. She had light brown eyes, almost amber with flecks of gold that sparkled when she smiled.

She wore snug jeans that accentuated everything a man like him enjoyed, sneakers that looked as if they’d been worn into the ground and a snug shortsleeved turquoise T-shirt that displayed a surprisingly round stomach.

The new foreman was a woman?

A pregnant forewoman?
“Didn’t realize there’d be a welcoming committee.” The woman closed the truck door and stepped up to him. “I know I wasn’t expected until next week, but I wanted to get a jump on settling in. I’m Jo Bertoletti. You are not Mayor Hamilton.” She gestured to Ozzy’s T-shirt with the BHFD logo on the front peeking out of his jacket.

“Ah, no, ma’am.” Ozzy shook her offered hand. Her skin felt rough and
calloused, proving she was someone who was used to getting her hands dirty.

Beneath that observation, a dull buzz shifted through his system. “I’m Ozzy Lakeman. I was in the diner when you drove down Monarch Lane. Just thought I’d come up and be the first to see what was happening here.” His own smile widened as something oddly definitive dinged. “I guess that makes me the welcoming committee.”

“I appreciate that, Ozzy Lakeman of the BHFD.” She beamed at him
before her expression shifted into a knowing one. “Judging by the look on your face, I’m betting you weren’t expecting someone…like me.”
“I…uh.” There had to be a way to answer that without sounding like a
complete sexist or jerk. “Like you?”

Jo snickered. “Don’t worry, Ozzy. Not the first time I’ve seen that reaction when I arrive on a site. And it’s not because of the little bun I’m baking in here. Bun in the oven. That’s such a weird phrase. Although come to think about it, I have spent my fair share of time waiting for my sourdough starter to develop.”

Ozzy could only nod. His ears were buzzing and his heart did an odd little skip and jolted in a manner he’d never felt anytime he’d swiped right.

“You still in there, Ozzy?” She waved a hand in front of his face. “If
you’re trying to cling to political correctness, don’t bother with me. I’ve been living and working on construction sites since before I could walk and long before I got this little one. I’ve heard it all and a lot worse that would make that cute face of yours blush six shades of red.”
“Okay.” At some point he was going to not sound like an idiot, right?

Jo stepped around him and moved toward the yellow tape. “They sent me pictures of the site. Man, when the frame collapsed, it did some damage, didn’t it?” She pointed toward the expansive grove of trees where scarred trunks and barren ground were the only remnants of the originally assembled structure. “We’ve got, what, nearly two months of construction to try to make up in a few weeks to get back on schedule?”

“The mayor is still counting on us opening in late October, early
November. In time for monarch season and the butterfly festival.” More like in time for the election, but Ozzy held his tongue on that point.

Jo sighed. “It’s not the best situation I’ve dealt with, but it’s not the worst, either. With the right crew, we’ll get it done.” Hands planted on her hips, she walked the perimeter. “You expecting more problems with the site?”

“No, ma’am.”

“I’m no one’s ma’am. The name’s Jo or boss. Since you aren’t crew, make it Jo.”

“Nice to meet you, Jo.” Something flickered in her eyes, something he
couldn’t quite identify, but he hadn’t imagined it. “I was coming off shift
when I saw you, or rather, your truck, rumbling through town.”

“From the diner, right.” She nodded. “Okay, firefighter from the diner, I’m glad you’re here. You want to help a pregnant lady hook up a house?” When she faced him, her smile told him she was teasing him. “I’m kidding.” She ripped down the yellow tape and crushed it into a tiny ball. “I’ve been hooking up this trailer for the last three years. I see the sewer line’s right over there, near the construction office. And I can plug it into that generator next to it for backup power.”

“So…you don’t need help?”

“Never have, never will.” She patted his arm and then headed back to her truck. “Stand back, Ozzy. This mama-to-be is making her nest.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

An instant family is life-changing!

Pregnant construction supervisor Jo Bertoletti doesn’t need anyone’s help…or another heartbreak. So she’s putting handsome, kindhearted firefighter Ozzy Lakeman firmly into the friend zone. After all, she’s just passing through Butterfly Harbor, and her life is too complicated for a summer romance. But Ozzy feels an immediate connection. Can he convince the woman of his dreams to take a chance on building a forever family with him?

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Meet the Author:

USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J Stewart writes sweet to sexy romances for Harlequin and ARC Manor’s Caezik Romance. Her sweet Heartwarming books include the Butterfly Harbor series as well as the ongoing Blackwell continuity series. She is also the author of the Honor Bound series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and contributes to the bestselling continuity series, the Coltons. Her second Butterfly Harbor romance, RECIPE FOR REDEMPTION, was optioned as a TV movie and aired as CHRISTMAS RECIPE FOR ROMANCE in 2019 on UpTV. A former Golden Heart, Daphne, and National Reader’s Choice finalist, Anna loves writing big community stories where family found is always the theme. Since her first published novella with Harlequin in 2014, Anna has released more than forty novels and novellas and hopes to branch out even more thanks to Caezik Romance and her upcoming new single title romantic suspense series. Anna lives in Northern California where (at the best times) she loves going to the movies, attending fan conventions, and heading to Disneyland, her favorite place on earth. When she’s not writing, she is usually binge-watching her newest TV addiction, re-watching her all-time favorite show, Supernatural, and wrangling two monstrous cats named Rosie and Sherlock.
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