Spotlight & Giveaway: The Billion-Dollar Bride Hunt by Melanie Milburne

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Melanie Milburne to HJ!

Hi Melanie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Billion-Dollar Bride Hunt: An Uplifting International Romance (Harlequin Presents)!

Hello! Great to be here!
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

The is for two people who belong together
H is for heart-wrenching dilemma
E is for emotional roller coaster

B is for best laid plans go awry
I is for interesting characters
L is for longing for what you can’t have
L is for love conquering all

My title is too long, so I’ll leave it there!

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Emmaline Woodcroft was basking in the glow of yet another successful match between two of her dating agency clients when her secretary-cum-receptionist, Paisley, came into her office and informed her she had a walk-in who insisted on seeing her immediately.
‘Male or female?’ Emmie asked, putting her mobile phone back down on the desk.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Emmie Woodcroft has given up all hope of a happy ever after for herself but that doesn’t mean she isn’t determined to give all of her dating agency clients theirs.
Matteo Vitale suffered a terrible tragedy and will never marry for love again. But he needs a wife and heir in a hurry, so he engages the renowned matchmaker Emmie.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

I wanted to do a book inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma. I really loved the most recent film adaptation, so I decided to write a matchmaker story of my own.

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

As soon as Matteo strides into Emmie’s office, she is struck by his brooding presence. She is attracted to him immediately, but also intrigued by him and his request for a wife in a hurry.
Matteo is equally intrigued by Emmie, for she is such a successful matchmaker but claims she isn’t in finding love for herself.

The First Kiss…

His gaze lowered to her mouth, his hand on her arm moving to press ever so gently on the small of her back, bringing her slowly, inexorably closer to the warm, male heat of his body. There was a dark intensity in his hooded gaze and her blood quickened, as if suddenly injected with a potent drug. A drug that pushed aside her normal inhibitions and sent her senses spinning out of control.
Emmie licked her lower lip, breathing in the intimate warmth of his breath that danced over hers, her eyes lowering to half-mast. She was drugged, dazed, dazzled by the ever-so-slow descent of his mouth, her breath hitching in the nanosecond before he touched down…

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

I think the opening scene because it’s where we meet the characters for the first time. They are both trying to make the other out. It is Emmie’s job to get to know her clients but she finds Matteo particularly unreadable.

‘So, how may I help you, Mr Vitale?’ She activated her best business-like tone but something about the glint in his dark blue eyes was cynical, perhaps even a little mocking.
‘You’re a professional matchmaker, correct?’
‘Yes. I individually profile my clientele and help them to find a partner who will be perfect for them in every -’
‘I need a wife.’ His blunt statement and the determined set to his mouth made her sit up straighter in her chair.
‘I see. Well, the, you’ve come to the right person because I have successfully matched many couples who are to date still all happily together. Emmie’s Magical Match-Ups has a track record I’m enormously proud of, and I know it’s because I take the time to get to know each of my clients personally before I find them the love of their life.’
One side of his mouth lifted but it would a stretch to call it anything near a smile. If anything, it matched the cynical glint in the eyes that seemed as perpetual as his frown. ‘I don’t want a long-term wife. Only one who will stick around long enough to provide me with an heir.’

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé’s duet Perfect.

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

You both deserve love, don’t believe the lies you’ve been telling yourself all these years.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I am in the fun stage of thinking of a new novel to write while I wait revision suggestions on my last from my editor. So far, I have a few ideas floating around but I haven’t settled on one as yet.
My upcoming releases are Shy Innocent in the Spotlight and A Contract for his Runaway Bride.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A signed copy of The Billion- Dollar Bride Hunt.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you been matched up by a friend or have you been a matchmaker?

 
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Excerpt from The Billion-Dollar Bride Hunt: An Uplifting International Romance (Harlequin Presents):

‘Look, Mr Vitale, I don’t think I’m the right person to help you after all. My focus is on finding true love for my clients, not finding a womb for hire.’ She began to push back her chair to bring the meeting to a close but something about his expression made her sit back down again.
The silence was palpable. It seemed to press in from all four corners of the room, robbing the air of oxygen until Emmie found it hard to expand her lungs enough to take a breath.
‘I’m prepared to pay well above your normal fee.’ His tone was coolly business-like. She knew she should inform him that no price would allow her to compromise her professional reputation by taking on a brief so far outside what she normally did for her clients. But something about that ever-so-brief flicker of pain in his gaze captivated her.
Emmie studied him for a moment, scanning his features for any further sign of vulnerability, but there was none. He could have been carved from stone. ‘How do you know I won’t name a price more than your family estate is worth?’
‘I’ve researched you. You’re expensive but your clients get what they pay for. And, as you say, your success rate is commendable. I’ll pay you three or four times what you normally charge.’
Emmie had done well with her business, better than she had expected, but it was an expensive service to run with increasing overheads. Plus, she had a mortgage, and she was helping her mother pay for her younger sister Natalie’s therapy for an eating disorder that had started during Emmie’s battle with cancer. It would be crazy not to at least consider Matteo’s offer. His request might be a little outside her normal range of service but it was surely worth a try? Never let it be said she shied away from a challenge. Her history of chemotherapy was proof of that. ‘You’re a forensic accountant, right?’
His eyebrows lifted in mild surprise. ‘Was that a wild guess?’
‘I saw something about you in the press a while back,’ Emmie said. Although the photo hadn’t done him justice. Matteo Vitale had a commanding presence that no camera lens could ever capture. It wasn’t just his imposing height or brusque manner—something about his eyes hinted at deeply buried pain. Pain that was so cleverly, determinedly hidden it took a special skill to recognise it.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

When Matteo Vitale strides into matchmaker Emmaline Woodcroft’s office, he has an unusual request. He must marry and father an heir to inherit his family’s estate. After his first marriage ended tragically, what he needs is a wife who isn’t looking for love.
To understand her enigmatic client Emmie accepts an invitation to his Italian villa. As she gets closer to the real Matteo, for once she gives in to desire. The trouble is, Emmie knows she can’t be the bride Matteo is looking for…
Book Links: Amazon | B& N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Melanie Milburne read her first Harlequin at age seventeen in between studying for her final exams. After completing a Masters Degree in Education she decided to write a novel and thus her career as a romance author was born. Melanie is an ambassador for the Australian Childhood Foundation and is a keen dog lover and trainer and enjoys long walks in the Tasmanian bush. In 2015 Melanie won the HOLT Medallion, a prestigous award honouring outstanding literary talent.
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