Spotlight & Giveaway: Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains

Posted October 1st, 2018 by in Blog, Spotlight / 47 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Annie Rains to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Annie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Christmas on Mistletoe Lane!

 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Christmas is coming to the North Carolina mountains, and the air is fresh and crisp and filled with promise. After the devastating loss of her job in the big city, the small town of Sweetwater Springs feels like heaven to Kaitlyn Russo. She’s inherited her grandparents’ charming (if a little rundown) bed and breakfast, and it’s just the new lease on life she needs. Only “heaven” comes with a catch-and a handsome and completely infuriating one at that.

After what he hopes will be a quick trip, Mitch Hargrove wants nothing more than to put his hometown in the rearview mirror. But his plans get derailed when he learns he’s now half-owner of the Sweetwater B&B. The fact that he’s given only two months to make the inn a success is a huge problem, but it’s his pretty-and incredibly headstrong-partner who’s the real challenge. With the holiday fast approaching and a grand re-opening looming, will Mitch keep running from the ghosts of Christmas past . . . or will he realize the true gift he’s been given?
 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

1) Rascal Flatts’s BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD is this book’s theme song in my head.
2) Paris, a motorcycling graphic designer and the first guest at Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast, was just a brief guest in the original version of the book. I expanded his role later because I liked his character so much.
3) The town was originally called Firefly Falls, but changed to Sweetwater Springs during the editing process.
4) I went on a bed and breakfast tour at Christmastime in New Bern, North Carolina as research for the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast.
5) I haven’t actually made Grandma Mable’s Gingerbread Cheesecake recipe which is featured in the book but I plan to this year!
 

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

She picked up her fork and stabbed at a fluffy lump of perfectly golden eggs. “Long jog this morning?” she asked, making small talk.
“Only about seven miles.”
She choked on the lump of eggs that she’d just forked into her mouth.
Everything in Mitch seemed to stiffen as he watched her. She held up a hand to ward him off, guessing he was about two seconds away from hopping over the table and performing the Heimlich. And while the thought of his arms wrapped around her again was appealing, having her breakfast fly across the room in front of him was not.
“I’m fine,” she choked out. She took a drink from her glass of orange juice. “Just surprised that you jogged so far.”
“You wouldn’t believe how good it feels when you’re done. Better than sex.”
She started to choke again. “You…did not just say that,” she said on a laugh.
A smile crept through his angled features. “Sorry. I’m used to being around a bunch of marines, I guess.”
“Well, if you’re going to be helping me with the B and B, you can’t talk to the guests like they’re marines.”
“I’ll just try not to talk to them at all. I’m good at flying under the radar.”
She raised both brows. “I’ve noticed. You’ve been sneaking up on me ever since we met.” She bit into a piece of salty bacon, chewed, and swallowed. “You said your mom still lives in town?”
He nodded while continuing to eat. “Yep.”
“What about your dad?”
His fork paused momentarily. “He died when I was nine.”
Her heart broke a little for him. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard for you.”
“It was. And watching my mom work two jobs to make sure we had what we needed was hard too.”
“Is that why you’re so set on leaving again?” She regretted asking as soon as the question had come out of her mouth. It was none of her business why he wanted to leave. He’d agreed to the stipulations of the will, and that’s all she needed to know.
“It’s more complicated than that,” he said after a long moment. “Sweetwater Springs represents my past. Not my future.”
“I see.”
“My turn to ask questions,” he said, locking her gaze and holding it captive.
“Okay.”
“Who hurt you?”
She nearly choked again. “Excuse me?”
“Every time I walk into the room, you stiffen. Why?”
Her heart was beating fast now. Thanks to Bradley Foster, she was jumpy. He hadn’t gotten what he’d wanted but he’d still taken something from her. Her trust. “No one. I’m fine,” she lied, pulling her gaze to her plate. But she had every intention of making that lie a truth. Her nerves would eventually settle. Her memories of Bradley’s hands on her would soon fade—hopefully.
Mitch didn’t speak again until she looked back up at him. “You don’t have to worry about me,” he said in a quiet voice, his eyes steady and sincere.
She nodded. “I know.”
“A friend of mine says I’m just a big bear.” The hard angles of his face softened as he smiled.
Her insides turned to mushy eggs again. “Well, I’ll try not to poke you.”
One of his eyebrows shot up, and heat flooded her cheeks. That comment had unintentionally sounded sexual. The entire vibe between her and Mitch was unintentionally sexual, and that’s what she had to worry most about with him.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: Print copy of Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: It takes a certain kind of person to host an inn full of guests. If you inherited a bed and breakfast, would you run it or sell it?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Meet the Author:

Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes small town love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children. For more on Annie and her books, visit www.annierains.com.

Book link for Christmas on Mistletoe Lane:
https://www.forever-romance.com/titles/annie-rains/christmas-on-mistletoe-lane/9781538713945/  
 
 
 

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47 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains”

  2. Rachael constant

    Not sure if I would run it. I’m not particularly a people person. Id say yes, if I could run it from behind the scenes and have someone else on the front desk (if not all the time, then at least for the majority of the time)

  14. kermitsgirl

    I’d probably try to run it for a year, but ultimately sell it. I hate cleaning up after my own family, let alone other people.

  22. Caro

    I think I’d first try to fix whatever needs fixing (paint, gardens, etc.), I find that part more fun, lol. As for running it, not sure. It sounds like fun, but I don’t know anything about the hospitality business, so maybe I’d check that out first. It seems there is A LOT going on behind the scenes.

    Yes, I’m a nerd. I need to study stuff before making a decision. 😛

  27. Summer

    I don’t know how suited I’d be to it, but maybe I would give it a try.

  31. Glenda

    I’d run it but I’d hire someone to deal with people during the breakfast part – I’m not a morning person. ;o)

  34. Cherie J.

    I would sell it because I just don’t have the time and energy to run one.

  35. Cherie J

    I would have to sell it because I don’t have the time or the energy to run one.

  36. Jana Leah

    I love the idea of owning an inn but don’t think I could run it myself. Maybe I’d keep it if I had a business partner to help run it.

  37. Shannon Capelle

    I would love to own an inn and run it, it would ve so much fun! I love to cook and bake and take care of people!

  39. laurieg72

    As i’m retired I would like to keep it but I’d have a manager run it. I wouldn’t want the day to day headaches but I would like the family tie bond.

  42. Diane Sallans

    it depends on where it was located, what is was like & if I could find someone to work with me

  47. Terrill R.

    I would sell it. The idea of having to cook food for guests, as well as being “on” all the time, feels exhausting.