Spotlight & Giveaway: The Aussie Next Door by Stefanie London

Posted September 3rd, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 54 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Stefanie London to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Stefanie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Aussie Next Door!

 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Angie is an American woman on the run from something horrible and public that happened in her childhood. She’s desperate to find a new place to settle down and call home, and that place happens to be a beautiful seaside town called Patterson’s Bluff in Australia. But her visa is running out and the only way she can stay is to fall in love and get married fast! So she embarks on a plan to find the perfect guy to marry, but instead she ends up falling for her grumpy, artistic landlord who does not believe in marriage.
 

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

“I like the way I look through your eyes.”

Angie says this to Jace when he’s describing why he’s so attracted to her, and it really brings out the theme of this story which is that we can all be perfect to someone just as we are, scars and all. Jace is a hero on the autism spectrum and Angie is a woman with a past that haunts her, and they both have struggled to feel understood. So finding love for them is about acceptance and finding the line between growing into the best person you can be but without the expectation that we should change in order to make someone else happy.

 

What inspired this book?

My cousin, Michael, who is a creative man on the spectrum (although he’s a filmmaker and the hero Jace is a cartoonist.)
The place where I spent time at the beach as a kid, which is a town called Sorrento in Victoria, Australia. It’s a gorgeous beachside town on the Mornington Peninsula and it features in this book (the scene where they get fish and chips and eat at the back beach is plucked straight from my childhood!) It also formed part of the inspiration for the fictional town of Patterson’s Bluff.
The water gun fight scene is actually “borrowed” from my husband’s family, and it was something they did as children.

 

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

My female characters often come to me very fully formed, and I got Angie right away. Her quirky, sweet personality was loud and clear as I was writing this book. As usual, my hero took a bit more work and he really came to life in the revisions of this story.

My characters always surprise me. Maybe that’s because I’m not a big plotter

 

What was your favorite scene to write?

Pretty much ALL the scenes of the two dogs. They were a hoot to write! But the best of the bunch is where Truffle, a little white chihuahua, ends up getting an unintentional new look:

But now he saw what he’d been missing out on. Angie was right—he was lucky. More fortunate than so many people who were estranged from their families or had parents who brought them down. What’s the worst thing he could say about his parents? That they forced dog-sitting on him? That they wanted to spend time with him? A guilty little lump settled in the back of his throat.
But that guilty little lump promptly vanished when the entire family went silent for a heartbeat. The Walters family was never quiet. Not without a very good reason.
“Oh my god.” Soraya clamped her hand over her mouth, and all heads swung in the direction of the back door.
Jace blinked. What on earth…?
Truffle trotted happily toward the group, totally unaware that he’d caused the entire family to come to a standstill.
“What the…?” Jace rushed forward to pick up the little dog, whose fur was damp.
And hot freaking pink.

 

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The most difficult scene for me is ALWAYS the black moment, without fail. It’s the same with every single book and often the area where I have the most revisions. I hate being mean to my characters and this is when we, as authors, really have to twist the knife.

“I have given so many chances in my life and every time, people have walked away.” Her lip trembled, but she dug as deep as she could to hold on to her emotions and crush them down into a little box. “You have no idea, Jace. You grew up with your perfect family who loved you, who supported you. I…I’m not used to that.”
It was like everything could be so good, and the possibility of it terrified her. Because if she screwed up and lost it all, how would she ever recover?
“I know how lucky I am,” he said quietly. While control was doing its best to wriggle out of her grip, he was turning in on himself. Shutting down. She could see it—the light in his eyes dimming, his mouth drawing into an even, flat line. The walls were going up. “You could have had my family care about you, too.”
Could have. Past tense.
A wave of sickness swelled in her belly, threatening to bring up the smoothie she’d had for breakfast. “I wanted this to work.”
“So did I. But you didn’t even give it a chance. Can’t you see what you’re doing? You’re cutting yourself off at the knees, so when it fails you can say, See, I knew that would happen. Instead of actually trying to make it work, you’re doing everything in your power to sabotage it.”
“I’m trying to sabotage it?” How could he say that when all she’d done her whole damn life was try, try, try? Try to make friends, try to find parents who might love her, try to find a new home, try to fit in. “That is the most hurtful thing you could possibly say to me.”

 

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

Hmm, it’s a little of column A and a little of column B. There are many elements of this book (the funny scenes with the dogs, the family drama, the quirky heroine) that are right on brand for me. But there are elements of this book that are a little different. For one, I haven’t written a lot of small-town stories, so the setting is different. Secondly, this book is a little sweeter than what I normally write. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some steamy open-door love scenes but they’re less frequent than what you might be used to with a Stefanie London book. The heat level wasn’t changed intentionally, but I had to do what felt right for the characters.

 

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

That you deserve love just as you are.

 

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

I’m writing the second book in the Patterson’s Bluff series, which features Jace’s younger brother Trent as the hero, and a sexy houseguest who’s taking part in a “house swap” with his sister. Instead of funny dogs, we have a potty-mouthed cockatoo in this book and plenty of the family drama and seaside Aussie goodness you’ll see in book #1.

I’m also working on a series called Close Quarters, set in my hometown of Melbourne, which revolves around a building where people keep falling in love. Faking It is book #1 and that will be out in September 2019. I’m currently writing book number three which is a wrong brother, runaway bride story!

I’ve also got a spinoff of one of my complete series in the works right now. Any guesses which one it might be??

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: One paperback copy of THE AUSSIE NEXT DOOR by Stefanie London

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Would you rather holiday by the beach or cozy up somewhere snowy?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from The Aussie Next Door:

Judging by the way Angie was talking to Elijah, smiling sweetly and toying with the end
of her ponytail, she was definitely “vibing,” as Chloe put it. An ugly, foreign feeling surged up
inside Jace that made him feel the exact same way as when he’d watched his brother flirting with
her.
Turn around and walk away. It’s none of your damn business.
But before Jace fully thought through the consequences of his actions, he was crossing
the road with Truffle leading the way. As soon as the little white dog caught sight of Angie, his
tail started going a million miles a minute.
Stop. You’re not going to get involved. Don’t be a hypocrite. Other people in this town
meddle and you hate it.
It was true. He came from a family of meddlers, and it drove him nuts. But maybe there
was some meddling-specific chromosome that had been passed on from his parents without his
knowledge, remaining dormant all this time and waiting for the right moment to strike.
“Jace.” Angie looked at him with wide eyes, almost like she was a kid with her hand
stuck in the cookie jar.
“I was taking Truffle for a walk.” He raked a hand through his hair like he was totally
relaxed and going about his day. The truth was, he had no bloody idea what he was doing. “How
was yoga?”
“Awesome.” For some reason, Angie’s voice seemed an octave or two higher than
normal. “Super great, actually. Excellent.”
Hmm. Three ways of saying the same thing. She did that whenever she was nervous.
“Are you into yoga?” Jace asked Elijah.
“Yeah, man. With all the firewood I have to chop for the pizza oven, my back gets real
tight.”
Jace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How did he manage to say shit like that without
coming off like a total douchecanoe?
“But I could always use some tutoring.” Elijah shot Angie a flirty look, and her cheeks
turned the prettiest shade of pink. “Any opportunity to expand my skills.”
“I’m sure Chloe could help with that,” Jace said stiffly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Truffle sniffing around Elijah’s leg. He’d done the
same thing to the coffee table earlier that morning—inspecting his target. Jace really should put a
stop to it…
“I wasn’t talking about Chloe,” Elijah said, his eyes still trained on Angie.
Angie laughed and gingerly stuck her hand in the air. “I volunteer as tribute.”
Jace forgot the dog and stared at her hard. Was this one of those gray-area things he’d
never understand, or did Angie really like this guy? He had no freaking clue.
Just then, Truffle jumped up on his hind legs, hooking his front paws around Elijah’s calf.
His hips started to hinge back and forth, and Elijah glanced down, a what the hell do I do now
expression on his face as he and Angie looked down at Sir Hump-a-Lot.
“What the hell?” Elijah stumbled back, and Truffle dropped down to the ground, looking
mightily miffed that his sexy times were interrupted.
“Truffle!” Angie snort-laughed. “So inappropriate.”
“It’s a dominance thing,” Jace said to Elijah. “He tends to do that whenever he thinks he
can overpower someone.”
Angie shot Jace a raised brow, but she squatted to give the dog a scratch behind the ears
before he could figure out exactly what she was thinking. Was the comment too much? He’d
blurted it out without thinking, and Elijah seemed off his game now.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

American Angie Donovan has never wanted much. When you grow up getting bounced from foster home to foster home, you learn not to become attached to anything, anyone, or any place. But it only took her two days to fall in love with Australia. With her visa clock ticking, surely she can fall in love with an Australian—and get hitched—in two months. Especially if he’s as hot and funny as her next-door neighbor…
Jace Walters has never wanted much––except a bathroom he didn’t have to share. The last cookie all to himself. And solitude. But when you grow up in a family of seven, you can kiss those things goodbye. He’s finally living alone and working on his syndicated comic strip in privacy. Sure, his American neighbor is distractingly sexy and annoyingly nosy, but she’ll be gone in a few months…
Except now she’s determined to find her perfect match by checking out every eligible male in the town, and her choices are even more distracting. So why does it suddenly feel like he—and his obnoxious tight-knit family, and even these two wayward dogs—could be exactly what she needs?

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

Meet the Author:

USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance with humour, heat and heart. Also llamas.

Originally from Melbourne, Australia Stefanie now lives in Toronto, Canada with her wonderful husband. She loves to read, collect lipsticks, watch zombie movies, and drink coffee.

Her bestselling book, Pretend It’s Love, is a 2016 Romantic Book of the Year finalist with the Romance Writers of Australia.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |

 

 

 

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54 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: The Aussie Next Door by Stefanie London”

  7. Sarah Scholz

    Cosy up somewhere snowy ❄
    This sounds like a great book. Thank you so much for the chance

  8. janinecatmom

    I think it would be fun to go where it snows just once, but I doubt I could handle the cold. I have always loved the beach the most. My husband hates snow and cold weather, so going where it’s snowy would never happen anyway.

  13. Laurie Gommermann

    I’d prefer a beach vacation. I like to walk and swim and read outside. Tropical weather, gorgeous sunsets, walks along the water ahhh! romantic!

  21. Lilah Chavez

    Snowy! I’m a Cali girl so it’s always sunny here and we go to the beach quite a lot ☺

  24. Karina Angeles

    Somewhere snowy. We can make hot chocolate, watch movies, and snuggle with a blanket.

  30. Angela Smith

    a snowy cabin in the woods or mountains..i don’t like being hot so no beach for me

  32. Barbara Bates

    Would love to be on the beach with a good book and lots of sunshine!

  36. erinf1

    The Beach! I live in the midwest and trust me, I’ve had my fill of snow 🙂 thanks for sharing!

  37. Ellen C.

    Grew up in central NY state. We had a lot of snow every winter. I like to visit and have snow at Christmas, If I’m going on vacation, I’d prefer warm and sunny.

  39. Didi

    I’ve never experienced snow before, so I’m kinda curious (although I’m not fond of freezing cold). And I don’t like sand and heat that much either. Difficult person, I know.

  44. Patricia B.

    For Christmas and Thanksgiving, I prefer to be where there is snow. Somehow it just doesn’t seem right to celebrate those holidays on the beach.

  45. Anita H.

    I love winter so definitely somewhere snowy where I can cozy up with my special someone!