Spotlight & Giveaway: Magnolia Bay Memories by Babette de Jongh

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Babette de Jongh to HJ!

Hi Babette and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Magnolia Bay Memories!

 
Thanks so much for letting me tell y’all about my latest book in the Welcome to Magnolia Bay series!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

In Magnolia Bay Memories, I wanted to explore how people and animals who have experienced the worst trauma imaginable can begin to set their pain aside–even if only a bit at a time–and believe that if they can just find the strength, they’ll be able to climb up out of the abyss and find love again. And that’s only the first step, but it’s a big one that makes all the other steps possible. The heroine has lost the love of her life and is struggling to keep her kids from being scarred forever by the loss of their father. The hero lost the life he’d thought was his birthright years ago when Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans and turned his life upside down, and since then he has avoided all but the most superficial relationships. It will take the help of their animal companions–who are also rebuilding their lives after hardship–to teach these humans how to trust in love and reach for the happy ever after that everyone deserves.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Okay, well, I don’t have any. But here’s one that encapsulates the struggle each of the characters (and the rest of us living in the real world) have to deal with: “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a coward.” We’re all brave, but we’re all cowards too. We all deal with overwhelming situations that make us think we’ll lose in the end. But if we’re lucky, we can find the strength to allow our friends (animal and human) to help us find the strength we need to do the next right thing.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

The animals in this book (and series) are all inspired by animals I know in real life. Charlie Horse is inspired by our horse Zeus. Georgia, the dog in Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay, is inspired by my dog Georgia. Jasper is inspired by our Australian Shepherd Molly. Winky is inspired by our cat Glenn, whom we picked up from a restaurant patio in the Florida Keys and brought home on a three-day car trip. The whole thing involved animal communication, a few animal-friendly hotel rooms, and a bunch of cleaning products. It was all pretty miraculous. And Jack, the three-legged dog who is introduced in this book, was inspired by our Best Good Dog Jack, who will get his happy-ever-after in the fourth book in this series. You can find out more about these real animals and their stories by visiting my website and subscribing to my newsletter.
 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Welp, I’m sorry to say that my hero starts out a little bit shallow in the beginning. He is attracted by the heroine’s curvy figure and blushing cheeks, and by the fact that he can “get to her” so easily just by flirting, which comes easily to him. But he is also deep-down a nice guy who likes the heroine and her kids, so he antagonizes her to keep from acting on his attraction to her. The heroine is attracted to the hero’s kindness toward her kids and the animals in the shelter, but she isn’t immune to his good looks either. She has to protect her kids though, and she’s still not over her husband’s death. Plus, why would such a successful, good-looking guy be interested in a widow with three traumatized kids? She has plenty of good reasons to avoid him, but he’s a hard guy to ignore, especially when he turns on the charm.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Well, I don’t blush easily, and I love writing sexy love scenes. And I do enjoy writing funny scenes, especially from an animal’s point of view, like when Winky the cat sees the hero and heroine kissing and wonders if they’re trying to hurt each other, or when Winky gets locked in the bathroom and gets up to mischief. But the character of Charlie Horse in this book tugged at my heartstrings and made me (and my editor) cry a few times. (And at the end, Charlie gets to tell the epilogue, which makes me tear up every time I read it.)

Here’s a snippet of one of Charlie’s scenes: Charlie felt the cool, damp earth beneath him, seeping into his body and cooling the pain in his belly. But the griping pains didn’t stop. They built and then eased, built and then eased, never completely going away, always coming back stronger than before. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth against the pain.
Something he couldn’t understand kept him tethered to the earth. Tethered to the pain. Tethered to the people who didn’t understand him or care about him or have time for him. Why? Was it because he hadn’t yet suffered enough to make up for his failures? Was it because he had to be punished for his sins?
He was willing to be punished. He knew he deserved it. So he closed his eyes and kept his focus on the twisting pain in his belly. He let the pain come. He didn’t turn away from it, and he didn’t want to. Because he deserved it. It belonged to him. It was all he had left.
Moments later, he felt Erin’s gentle touch on his face. Then Charlie felt Heather’s hands on him too. She smoothed back the mane along his neck, and Charlie shivered as the warm evening breeze reached his sweat-¬damp skin.
“Mom,” Erin said. “I can’t believe you’re sitting this close to Charlie.”
“Neither can I.” Heather’s voice sounded as soft as her touch felt. “But he’s a little less scary when he isn’t standing upright.”
“I hope he’s gonna be okay.” Erin’s voice wobbled. “I’m so scared for him.”
“Me too, honey,” Heather said. “Me too.”
Jasper whined, nosing at Charlie’s face. Charlie tried to lift his head to greet his old friend, but even that small movement seemed impossible.
“Reva said that maybe Jasper could help us get Charlie up,” Heather said. “Let’s try it.”
Erin tugged at Charlie’s halter, and Heather tried to lift his neck, while Jasper barked in Charlie’s ears, a ringing, annoying repetition of “Get up, get up, get up.”
Charlie pedaled his feet weakly, but it was no use. He couldn’t get his feet under him now, even if he wanted to.

Readers should read this book….

The Welcome to Magnolia Bay series focuses on the way our animal companions help us in times of trouble and stress. As a professional telepathic animal communicator, I have counseled hundreds of multi-species families and seen first-hand how our animal companions help us–and interfere even when we don’t want help–to heal from past trauma and move forward to find sweetness and love in our lives. Our animals are often healing from the same traumas we have experienced–abandonment, betrayal, loss of loved ones, feelings of inadequacy, and more. The animals in this series often share a character arc with one or more of the main characters. They learn to love and trust together. And if you’ve ever thought that you knew what your animal friends are thinking, you’ll know it for sure once you’ve read one of these books.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Coming Home to Magnolia Bay is the third book in the series, and I expect to have the last copy-edit round to read through this coming week. It’s scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2022. I’m writing first draft (Yay, NaNoWriMo!) of book four in the series, and also plotting a potential spin-off series and maybe a few more books in the Magnolia Bay world.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A copy each of Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay and Magnolia Bay Memories!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you ever thought you could understand what your animal was thinking?

 
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Excerpt from Magnolia Bay Memories:

When Adrian put his arm around Heather’s waist and drew her close, every nerve ending in her body woke up. A shiver of anticipation coursed through her, drawing her nipples into tingling buds and igniting a flood of sensation lower down that made her suddenly aware of the way her panties skimmed against her skin when she leaned toward him.
His expression was serious, intense, intent on what he was about to do.
He was about to kiss her.
He held her loosely; she could break away if she wanted. His lips hovered over hers for a heartbeat before allowing them to touch hers, ever so slightly. She could have stopped him at any time.
She still could.
If that was what she wanted.
He moved slowly, giving her every opportunity to change her mind.
She could step back, make some quip about being hungry enough to eat his arm, and he would smile that easygoing smile he had perfected so well and usher her out the door with casual grace. It wouldn’t even be awkward; he would make sure of that.
She opened her mouth to his, and given that small sign of assent, he claimed her. His tongue slipped into her mouth, skillfully sliding across her teeth, making the underside of her top lip tingle in response. He stroked the roof of her mouth, making that tingle too. He didn’t just kiss her; he explored her mouth as if he wanted to get to know each separate part of it.
Dale hadn’t kissed like this.
The thought crossed her mind without warning, and Adrian was so aware of her subtle shift that he ended the kiss and pulled back to look at her. She hadn’t meant to compare the two men. But wasn’t comparison inevitable? She had never kissed another man besides her husband.
Adrian smiled, a gentle, questioning smile. “You okay?”
She felt a blush spread across her face. “I’ve never kissed anyone but my husband.”
Adrian’s smile grew, morphed into one of delight—maybe with an added hint of confidence. “Until now,” he added.
“Until now,” she agreed. “It was…different.”
His confidence was on full display now. “Yeah? How was it different?”
“It was…” Incredible. That’s what it was. She tried to tone down her smile, to keep her lips primly closed. She failed, and finally allowed her twitching lips to show her true feelings, even though she wasn’t about to go so far as to admit to him that he’d just blown her away. “I don’t know yet.” She managed to regain the prim expression she couldn’t hold on to before. “I haven’t quite made up my mind. I don’t think I have enough data to go on.”
“Good.” He grinned because of course he could see the effect he had on her. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m a big fan of data analysis.” He released her waist and took her hand, interlacing their fingers. “We’ll make a point of adding to your data set soon. But you’ll have to choose which comes first: food or data analysis?”
Data analysis tempted her, but her stomach growled, threatening to derail any attempt to overrule the body’s basic need for fuel. “Food, please. I’m afraid I’ll die if you don’t feed me right away.”
He brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Let’s go then.”
As they rode down in the elevator, he gave her some sultry looks that promised more kisses to come. But the most he did to ramp up expectation was to tuck her hair behind her ear and make a low growl in his throat.
She felt like a bandit when he took her through the building’s exit on the opposite side of the building as the pool. Co-conspirators, they walked together, hand in hand, along a paved riverside walkway that led through Crescent Park to the French Quarter. A balmy breeze blew up from the water, softening the sweltering heat of the sun overhead.
Hand in hand, they walked the short distance to the restaurant.
The entire meal became an exercise in decadence, a prelude to seduction. Good thing they wouldn’t have time to do anything more than walk back to his place, get in the truck, and head to the vet’s office to pick up that dog. “Thank you for taking me to lunch. All this decadence—the food and the company—is hitting the spot.”
“Oh my god,” Adrian said with his mouth full. “You have to taste this.” He held out a forkful of bread pudding.
She took it into her mouth and rolled her eyes in bliss. “Oh, wow.”
“So good, huh?” He swiped a finger across her lips, capturing a drop of the warm, gooey white chocolate sauce and then licking it off his finger. “So good.”
He fed her another bite of dessert, this time the cheesecake. “I’m thinking you might be feeling even more satisfied by now if we had decided to skip lunch.”
The thought that they could have made a different decision—and might have been together in Adrian’s bed by now—made Heather’s heart take a nervous leap into her stomach. A spur-of-the-moment fling wasn’t like her at all. But her time with him today had reminded her in a big way that she wasn’t just a widow; she was a woman. She wasn’t just a mother; she was a sexual being. “Except for the fact that my stomach would be growling, I’m sure you’re right.”
“Damn straight, I’m right.” He finished off the bread pudding, except one last bite that he gave to her. “How about we head back and gather some more data to prove how right I am?”
She’d gone way too long without sex. But he wasn’t talking about sex…was he?
Anyway, they were on the clock. “Unfortunately for us, we don’t have time.”
Their server laid the bill on the table, and Adrian counted out several bills, then closed the folder over them. “If we hurry back to my place right now, we can squeeze in enough time for me to rock your world.”
He was talking about sex! “Oh, God. I don’t know… Doesn’t this feel…a little sudden?”
“Not to me.” He leaned forward and gave her that look that always made her blush. “I have to admit,” he said quietly, “I’ve been thinking about luring you into my bed since the first time I met you.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Let’s Give Love One More Try.

Heather Gabriel already had the love of a lifetime. Now a widowed mother struggling with grief, the stay-at-home mom’s biggest priority is keeping her children’s lives as stable as possible. So when her new job at the Magnolia Bay Animal Shelter brings Heather and business consultant Adrian Crawford together to work on a special project, Heather doesn’t know how to feel about the attraction building between them.

Adrian Crawford feels the attraction too, but ever since he lost everything to Hurricane Katrina, Adrian learned not to form too many attachments. Even so, seeing the love Heather has for her kids and the animals makes Adrian wonder if the bachelor lifestyle is really what he wants.

With the animals on the farm to guide them, Heather and Adrian soon realize they can only have a future together if they are willing to heal from the past.
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Meet the Author:

Babette de Jongh has a Master’s Degree in education and has taught ballet and elementary school. Always a magnet for strays, she communicates with animals telepathically. Animals play a big role in her smart, sexy, Southern small-town romances. Her debut novel, Angel Falls—featuring an Aussie and a fat Siamese—won the Aspen Gold Readers’ Choice award and the New England Readers’ Choice Award. According to Kirkus Reviews, Angel Falls “hits all its marks and blends romantic comedy, drama, and suspense… A thoughtfully written, rewarding read.”
Babette’s how-to book, Hear Them Speak: A Twelve-Week Course in Telepathic Animal Communication, is an engaging and easy-to-follow course that draws on her experiences as a professional animal communicator and energy healer.
In her new romance series from Sourcebooks, an animal communicator from a small Gulf-Coast town helps matchmaking animals bring their human soulmates together. (Babette happily ignored good advice to choose between animal communication and romance writing.) In the series, you’ll meet many of the animals who live with her and her husband at Dragonfly Pond Farm on the Gulf Coast, where she teaches workshops on animal communication and writing. Her website is a fun rabbit hole to dig into when you have time!
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