Spotlight & Giveaway: On Location by Sarah Echavarre Smith

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sarah Echavarre Smith to HJ!

Hi Sarah and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, On Location!

 
Hello! Thank you so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

On Location is a sweet and sexy romcom about Alia, a Filipino-American television producer who gets to make the series of her dreams: a show about Utah’s national parks. It’s the career break she’s been working years for, but she’ll have to navigate working with the hottie who ghosted her and a diva host to make her professional—and romantic—dreams come true.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

I never thought brie cheese could be so infuriating. But infuriated is exactly how I feel as I watch the man sitting in front of me in this packed New York City subway car pull a wheel of brie from his jacket pocket. He takes noisy, sloppy bites, like he’s eating an apple.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The pandemic and subsequent quarantine was the inspo for this book weirdly enough! Like everyone else last year, I was stuck at home dreaming about all these places I wished I could visit. Southern Utah is one of my favorite destinations with its breathtaking desert landscape and jaw-dropping red rock formations. I used that as the setting for the book and came up with the actual idea for the plot around that.
• Alex O’Laughlin is the inspo for the love interest Drew! I’ve swooned over him while watching the Hawaii Five-O reboot and wanted him to be the inspo for a book boyfriend for a really long time, and I finally got the chance to do it in On Location.

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

I set out to write Alia as a tenacious and hardworking woman in the television industry who’s been through a lot to get to where she currently is in her career. I also wanted to give her a backstory to show her softness and vulnerability beneath her strong exterior as a producer and showrunner, but it surprised me just how deep that story went. Alia has experienced trauma in her past and the way she addresses it and reconciles with it is a really important journey that I didn’t initially plan to take her on as a character when I started this book. But as I revised it, her past ended up playing such an integral role in her present life, and I think it helped make her a richer, more relatable character.

In addition to being a hunk, Drew is a softie and has such a kind heart. He advocates for those around him, which is one of the things that endears Alia to him, and I think readers will love that about him too. I also think readers will love how willing Drew is to say sorry. There are a couple of conflicts in the story that lead to arguments and hurt feelings. Afterwards, Drew is always willing to apologize and take responsibility for what he did wrong. I feel like that quality—being able to sincerely apologize and own what you did wrong—can be really difficult to find in a person, especially a partner. Drew realizes he’s not perfect and he’s never too proud to say sorry when he messes up, and that to me is one of the most swoonworthy things a book boyfriend can ever do.

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

The tent scene! I don’t want to give too much away, so all I all say is that there’s an only-one-sleeping-bag situation that ends in a super funny and super hot moment. Here’s a snippet:

My hand stills against his stomach. “So…you like the way I’m touching you right now?”
He grunts another yes.
Slowly, I run my hand up his stomach, relishing the way each hard line feels under my palm. I stop on his chest, just over his heart, which is thundering inside of him. A quiet pant falls from his mouth.
He swallows. “You can do whatever you want to my body, Alia. Asleep, awake. Any time, any place. You have my permission.”
I tilt my head up, until our faces are barely inches apart. “I’m so attracted to you, Drew. Like, you have no idea.”
His half-smile turns full. It’s so bright it cuts through the darkness.
“It’s been a struggle not to drool over you while we’re shooting.” I tap my fingers against his chest, quietly delighting in the way his hard mass barely budges.
“It’s been the same for me. You’re beautiful, Alia. Every time I look at you, I feel like a creep because I can’t stop staring. I still can’t believe we ended up here.”
My heart melts in my chest. Whatever blip in the universe that resulted in us seeing each other again, I’m thankful for it.
He cups my cheeks with his hand. Closing my eyes, I hum.
“I’ve been trying not hardest not to pull you aside so we can finish that kiss we started that night we met.”
“We can finish it now.”

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

I just hope that On Location can be a fun escape for readers. Life is stressful and full of uncertainty, and if reading my book can be a pleasant distraction for people and bring them a small bit of joy, that means the world to me.

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

More books! I wrote a women’s fiction tearjerker called Three More Months, that’s out Dec. 1. And I have another sexy romcom due out in Spring 2022 called Simply Simon. And a few more secret projects, so stay tuned for those!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One print copy of On Location by Sarah Echavarre Smith, U.S. only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you had to go on location to film a show about your favorite destination in the world, where would it be?

 
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Book Info:

Alia Dunn has finally gotten her big break. After years of working her way up at TV’s top outdoor travel channel, she gets the green light from network executives to bring her dream project to life: produce a series about Utah’s national parks. It’s a touching tribute to her late apong, who sparked Alia’s passion for travel and the outdoors as a kid.

Alia is thrilled—until she meets her newest crew member, Drew Irons. The same Drew she had the most amazing first date with two weeks ago—who then ghosted her. The same Drew who has the most deliciously thick forearms and who loves second-guessing her every move on set in front of the entire crew. It’s not long before the tension between them turns hotter than the Utah desert in the dead of summer, and their steamy encounters lead to major feelings.

But when the series host goes rogue one too many times, jeopardizing the entire shoot, Alia realizes that she’ll need to organize one hell of a coup to save her show—and she’ll need Drew’s help to do it. It’s the riskiest move she’s ever made. If she pulls it off, she’ll end up with a hit series and her dream guy . . . but if it all goes wrong, she could lose both.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Sarah Echavarre Smith is a copywriter turned author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. She’s been hooked ever since. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and her adorable cat, Salem.
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