Spotlight & Giveaway: Island Charm by Audrey Wick

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Audrey Wick to HJ!

Hi Audrey and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Island Charm!

 
Thanks so much for having me, Sara. It’s great to be back on the blog after my last release. I’m so excited to share Island Charm!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

ISLAND CHARM is a contemporary romance set mostly in Key West, Florida. In it, Anna Worthington takes the tropical honeymoon intended for her twin sister and her fiancé . . . because her twin has been jilted at the altar. An airport mix-up leaves Anna alone in this island paradise, and that’s where she meets handsome Gunnar Lockhart, an island local with a heart of gold. Romance is the last thing on her mind, but when she starts falling for Gunnar, she has to untangle her feelings to learn whether this romance with an expiration date is real or if, like her twin sister, she is setting herself up for heartache.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Anna reached for the handle of her roller bag. A luggage tag with a name that wasn’t hers flashed on full display. She flipped the tag over, hoping the inn’s proprietor wouldn’t notice.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I’ve taken two trips to Key West, and I’ve always wanted to write a novel using this island paradise as the setting. My editor lives in Florida and I live in Texas, where my heroine, Anna, also lives. Having this expertise in partnership for the novel really helped make the writing authentic.
• My editor and I also talked about key lime pie, which figures prominently into one of the book’s opening scenes. There’s an exclusive recipe for it in the back of the book that readers can try on their own. So if readers get a sweet tooth while reading, they have an outlet for dealing with that. I hope readers enjoy this recipe!

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

Anna is a jewelry designer who can’t seem to stand out from the crowded entrepreneurial scene in the city where she lives because it’s so full of artisan charms. She’s given herself a goal to get her designs on track for the summer and make headway in sales, or she risks losing her apartment.

As I wrote her, I was surprised by her tenacity and the ways in which she uses opportunities to reinvigorate her design eye so she doesn’t have to abandon her dream. She’s someone I would immediately befriend in real life, as she has so many qualities I admire. It was also fun to write about jewelry design from a tropical island perspective.

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

There’s a scene in the book where the couple steps aboard a catamaran for a sunset cruise around the island. I’d like to see actors convey the flirtation in this scene:

The catamaran boasted a champagne celebration sunset adventure. “What are we going to celebrate?”
“Anything you want,” Gunnar replied.
Anna was getting used to this attentive treatment.
Soon, the catamaran’s sails would stretch high above the crystalline water, sharp as shark fins yet smooth as silk as they bent with the breezes. The catamaran’s name, Mona, was emblazoned on the side in bright colors, a dazzling nod to pride of ownership. Anna asked Gunnar, “Are boats always named for women?”
“A lot of them are.” Gunnar extended his hand to help Anna step aboard.
She accepted the outreach with pleasure, placing her hand into his and leaning into him as he braced his stance. “Why is that?”
“Because women are sexy.” Gunnar squeezed her hand in a playful show of affection.

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

Setting is an important element of my writing, and I hope readers experience a deep sense of place by reading this book. Whether readers have been to Florida before or whether they simply want to journey there as armchair travelers, I hope the setting comes alive on the page and transports them into a sunny, breezy adventure.

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

I’ve been working on another contemporary romance that I hope to share with readers soon where the hero is a sexy optometrist. When I got new glasses myself, the story took shape for me as I sat in the waiting room. That’s often how story ideas happen for me: a scene will take hold in my mind, and then a larger story gets built around it.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ebook copy of Island Charm by Audrey Wick

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Excerpt from Island Charm:

She was dressed Key West casual, with the chic look of a tourist but the carefree attitude of a local. Yet she was alone. No gaggle of girlfriends, no boyfriend with whom to walk hand in hand, not even a dog at the end of a leash. She had a crossbody purse slung across her torso, making her hands free to accept the offer from Gunnar, who froze in silence at this impromptu crash with a woman who took his breath away.
“It’s got a thin crust. Homemade. And just the right amount of tart in the base.” Jack rattled off the merits of Kermit’s key lime pie like a food critic.
Or like a man who just polished off a slice himself. At Gunnar’s expense.
Gunnar shook his head to shake away the negative memory of why he has been called to the shop in the first place.
“This is really kind of you.” She nodded in the direction of Jack before turning her head back to face Gunnar. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“Fine, fine.” Gunnar, who never searched for words and had been afforded his job for the Chamber of Commerce on account of his talkativeness alone, was struggling to choke out more than two words at a time. He cleared his throat to try again. “I mean, yes, the pie. Enjoy it. I don’t need this many slices.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t buy so many,” Jack ridiculed.
At that, the woman’s laughter lifted the mood, easing Gunnar’s stress as he realized the humor of the situation. To any onlooker, he must have appeared to have an intense sweet tooth. And it looked like he was hungry to dig in, based on his speed of movement. Realizing the irony, he couldn’t help but let out a huff of his own, followed by a lighthearted chuckle in tune with the woman. Shared laughter was a beautiful gift, something simple yet striking that served in place of further conversation. Their spontaneous melody carried on the perpetual breezes that wafted to and fro in every spot on the island.
This woman had created a song. Spellbound, Gunnar had been captured by it. But before he knew it, Jack was racing ahead, and Gunnar’s sense of responsibility willed him to follow the man who needed him. The woman waved before disappearing into the heart of the shop, leaving the melody they shared as little more than a memory.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

When Anna Worthington’s twin sister gets jilted by her fiancé, Anna steps in with a plan for a girls’ Key West getaway instead of a honeymoon trip. Yet when her twin has her own crisis of commitment and doesn’t board the plane, Anna finds herself on a romantic getaway that she’s forced to navigate alone.

Gunnar Lockhart, whose specialty is island tourism, is the perfect match for helping Anna complete her vacation bucket list, but time together forges a connection more personal than either anticipate. As they make island memories, Anna has to untangle her mixed emotions. Are her feelings toward Gunnar real? Or like her sister’s wedding day, has this connection been doomed from the start?

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Meet the Author:

Audrey Wick is a full-time English professor at Blinn College and author of women’s fiction/romance. Her writing has also appeared in college textbooks, and she is a guest blog columnist with Writer’s Digest. Wick believes the secret to happiness includes lifelong learning and good stories. But travel and coffee help. She has journeyed to over twenty countries—and sipped coffee at every one. See photos on her website audreywick.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @WickWrites.
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