Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jackie Ashenden to HJ!
Hi Jackie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, That Deep River Feeling!
Please summarize the book for the readers here:
A grumpy bear of a man has to look out for his buddy’s little sister after he dies, but she turns out to be a sunshiny cop who doesn’t need looking out for. Scenes of shirtless roof fixing, forest bathing, and an interfering old man ensue.
Please share your favorite quote:
Morgan put her cop face on. “Zeke Montgomery.”
“What?” He didn’t even spare her a glance. “If you’re gonna arrest me, then get on with it.”
But she’d gone off that idea. It wasn’t worth the aggravation.
“I’m not sure I can be bothered.” She eyed up his tall form. “Are you always this annoying?”
He frowned at something he’d obviously spotted on the ceiling. “Yes.” Then he turned and walked calmly through the doorway to the left that led into the big living room.
What advice would you give your main characters
Morgan: he’s just trying to make your life easier, chill out.
Zeke: She’s just trying to take care of you, chill out.
If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?
“You’re an interesting man, Zeke Montgomery,” she murmured at last. “Not to mention a little weird.”
It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before.
Zeke frowned. “You think I’m weird?”
“Well maybe not that weird. More like wild. A bit…uncivilized.” She was still smiling, as if being wild and uncivilized wasn’t a bad thing.
It pleased him for reasons he couldn’t have articulated.
“I’m not that wild or uncivilized,” he said.
She cocked her head, surveying him. “I don’t know. You’ve got that vibe to you.”
“What vibe?”
Her perfect little rosebud of a mouth curved and he was transfixed by the shape of it, by her smile and how warm it was. Even warmer than the sun above.
“Oh…maybe part bear.” That mouth curved a little more. “And part pine tree, with just a touch of paranoid hermit.”
Zeke didn’t often smile. But looking into Morgan West’s blue eyes he felt the urge now. He even kind of thought he saw the point of flirting.
Because she was flirting with him, whether she was aware of it or not, and he liked it.
He liked that she wasn’t afraid of him, that she felt comfortable enough with him to tease him. And he knew he shouldn’t respond, because he could feel a familiar static in the air, the charge of attraction building slowly between them, and he shouldn’t be encouraging it. But he couldn’t help himself.
“Interesting,” he said. “You have a vibe too, you know.”
“Do I?” Her smile invited him to share it. “What’s mine?”
“Honest cop.” And then, when her face fell, he added. “And sunshine.”
Her expression softened and her eyes sparkled. They honest-to-God full-on sparkled.
He didn’t often say things that made people happy. He gave people the truth, it was true, but he’d never believed in empty flattery, and he’d certainly never said anything just to make someone smile.
But the way Morgan was smiling at him right now, as if he’d given her an unexpected gift, made him glad he’d said it.
Then her eyes darkened slowly as they stared into his, the silence that had fallen becoming something more. The charge in the atmosphere became a fizzing electricity, snapping like a rubber band in the space separating them.
She felt it too, he could see it in her eyes.
But he didn’t want to get involved, not with her.
“I’ll be here first thing tomorrow morning,” he said shortly.
Then he pushed himself to his feet and walked away down the dock.
What do you want people to take away from reading this book?
That everyone deserves love and redemption.
Thanks for blogging at HJ!
Giveaway: A print copy of THAT DEEP RIVER FEELING by Jackie Ashenden
To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What do you love about small town romance?
Book Info:
Jackie Ashenden brings the heat to Alaska in her contemporary romance featuring:
• An independent woman dedicated to protecting her town—and her heart
• A mysterious mountain man with a past shrouded in secrets
• A small Alaska town that’ll take your breath away
Zeke Calhoun doesn’t care much about Deep River, but he’ll do just about anything to keep the promise he made to look out for his best friend’s sister.
As the sole police officer in Deep River, Morgan West won’t be bossed around, but Zeke is irresistible. He’s tough, challenging, and all kinds of sexy, but getting involved is the last thing on her mind. Or is it…?
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo |
Meet the Author:
Jackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. She used to balance her writing with the more serious job of librarianship until a chance meeting with another romance writer prompted her to devote herself to the true love of her heart – writing romance. She particularly likes to write dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Mary Preston
Often it’s the secondary quirky characters that steal the show.
EC
When the town comes together to support the couple.
Lori Byrd
That everyone knows each other.
Debra Guyette
Ilike how helpful small towns are.
janinecatmom
I love how close everyone is and how they are there for each other when someone needs it.
Pamela Conway
What I love about small town romance is the community, friendship. One of my favorite tropes!!
Lori R
like the characters that all know each other or think they do. I also like the fun festivals and shops.
hartfiction
Every. Single. Thing.
Texas Book Lover
Small town romances are my favorite!!!
Kathleen O
I love them!
Rita Wray
I like that everyone knows each other.
SusieQ
The secondary characters
Mary C.
sense of community
Glenda M
The sense of family and community
Ellen C.
The setting and the secondary characters.
Teresa Warner
Since it is a small community usually everybody knows everybody else!
Bonnie
I love the interaction between the characters in small town romance.
Patricia B.
The town is as much a character as any of the people. With small town romances, you tend to get to know more about the secondary characters, the setting, and what makes the community work. If it is a series, you know you will be revisiting friends and meeting new characters important to many of them.
rkcjmomma
How all the people know eachother and care for one another and how close they all are! Its like a small close family!
Irma Jurejevčič
The connection and how everybody knows everybody and take care of each other.
bn100
setting
Daniel M
everybody knows everybody
Colleen C.
the friendliness
Amy R
What do you love about small town romance? usually have a more in depth backstory
Banana cake
How everyone takes care of each other.
Terrill R.
I like the entertaining secondary characters and the true-to-life feel of the relationships, romance and otherwise.