Spotlight & Giveaway: The Desert King Meets His Match by Annie West

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Annie West to HJ!

Hi Annie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Desert King Meets His Match!

 
Hello and thanks so much for having me. Hello to all the romance readers out there!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Salim doesn’t believe in love but needs a wife to meet his exacting criteria. But how can he concentrate on finding his ideal bride when the only woman he craves is his alluring, troublesome, utterly unsuitable matchmaker? Is a short affair the answer? Or will that undo all his plans? As for Rosanna, there are all sorts of reasons why she needs to make a success of this new job. Good, solid, important reasons… yet what she feels for Salim has her breaking all her self-imposed rules.
 

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

It was hard to choose, but maybe this. Salim is rejecting so many of the potential marriage candidates Rosanna has suggested.
‘Are you sure a tall, blonde aristocrat will meet your needs—’
‘Why, Ms MacIain? Do you think a medium height brunette from Australia might be a better fit for my needs?’
(Which just happens to describe Rosanna…)

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I’ve loved the name Rosanna since I was in primary school. One of my classmates had that name and I thought it so pretty. When I came to choose a name for my heroine this one popped back into my mind and fitted perfectly. I’m so glad I hadn’t used it before!
• The fact that Salim had already appeared in a previous story (The Sheikh’s Marriage Proclamation) made it a much easier and faster story to write. For some reason, if I already know the general world of the story and the background, I seem to get into the writing rhythm faster and easier.
• Much of this story was written with a beautifully scented candle nearby – Arabian Nights by Glasshouse. It was a lovely gift and smells of saffron, white rose, oud and sandalwood. It really helped transport me to Salim’s exotic kingdom.

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

Instant physical attraction is a big part of it – that animal awareness that makes them take notice of each other. But there’s also the fact that each speaks to something the other craves. Rosanna realises right from the start that Salim’s unexpected wit and honesty are incredibly seductive. For Salim, used to women who fawn and try to catch his attention, the fact that Rosanna treats him like an equal, and intrigues him with her forthrightness, fascinates from the start.

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

There were several scenes that made me chuckle as I wrote. Especially when Salim was trying to keep his distance from Rosanna as he realised how tempting he found her, which only made her more determined not to be ignored because she couldn’t do her job without seeing him. She’s so determined to get her job done and he’s having trouble focusing. Things come to a head when they discuss the potential brides she’s found for him and he doesn’t react the way she expects. Read on towards the end of this interview for a long excerpt that covers some of that. I had a ball writing it.

Readers should read this book….

If you like a well-matched hero and heroine who are trying really hard to resist temptation! It’s passionate and fun but with underlying emotion and characters with integrity and humour. Plus it was fun creating a lavish, exotic setting full of romance and luxury.

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

Thanks for asking – it’s so nice to share. My October/November book is ‘Reunited by the Greek’s Baby’. It’s a story of one night with consequences (or actually, several weeks with consequences) featuring a female archaeology student and a Greek tycoon. After that I’m hoping there will be a Beauty and the Beast story set in a castle in the lake district to the north of Italy. It’s a boss/housekeeper story with a touch of Cinderella too and I’m having a wonderful time with it.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: This is open internationally. I’ll send two separate readers a signed paperback – another sizzling sheikh romance.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Sometimes I love a story set somewhere exotic to me and at other times I enjoy relaxing with a book set somewhere that feels like home. I like varying that and read different books depending on my mood. Which do you prefer – settings you know or exotic locations? Or are you like me and enjoy both?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Desert King Meets His Match:

Rosanna has been hired to help Salim find a suitable royal bride. It’s a challenging process. In this scene they’re discussing some of the potential brides Rosanna has brought to meet him. They have worked their way through a long list but things aren’t going smoothly!
‘I’m sure if you gave her another chance…’
Salim shook his head and turned back to the window. ‘No. I’ve made my decision. She’s not the woman for me.’
‘Okay then. What about Sylvie? She’s got the diplomatic and linguistic qualifications you wanted and is very capable.’
Salim shook his head. ‘She won’t do. All the time I was with her I felt like I was being assessed so she could tailor her conversation to fit. I could almost hear the wheels turning in her mind.’
Rosanna didn’t say anything and her silence eventually made him turn to look at her. She was looking across at him, frowning, her mouth a flat line.
‘That’s unfair. Of course she was thinking about what might interest you. She was trying to get to know you.’
‘It was more than that. It just felt too…contrived. She lacked spontaneity.’
When he’d met Rosanna, for instance, their conversation had been easy and entertaining and felt as natural as water bubbling from a mountain spring.
Rosanna’s frown didn’t shift. ‘So conversation is important. You want someone who talks easily and is interested in a lot of subjects.’
Put like that it sounded very basic, but that was precisely what he wanted. ‘That’s right.’
‘So, then there’s Natalya.’
‘No sexual spark.’
Rosanna’s eyebrows shot sky high. ‘Sorry?’
‘She’s a nice woman, I’ll give you that. She’s friendly and intelligent and not at all fazed by life at court, but I wasn’t attracted to her.’
‘But she’s a model. She’s the face of a multi-million dollar cosmetics campaign!’
Salim shrugged. ‘She’s beautiful. But not for me.’
For some reason her ice-blonde beauty didn’t move him. He’d spent several hours with her and felt not the least stirring of sexual awareness.
Whereas, he realised, he just had to be in the same room with Rosanna MacIain for his libido to throb into life. He set his jaw, determined to get this over. ‘Who’s next?’
They dealt with several more on her list. Salim’s answers grew shorter and Rosanna’s mouth tighter as she noted his objections. Everything from shyness to an annoying, high-pitched giggle, to one who’d tried to seduce him at their first meeting and whom he labelled too pushy.
Rosanna drew a slow breath and made yet another note. She looked grimmer than ever.
‘So, you want a woman who’s aristocratic, preferably royal, or used to mixing in such circles. She must be beautiful, but in a way you can’t specifically describe. She has to be confident but not too confident. Able to satisfy you sexually but not be sexually predatory. You’d like a competent, career woman but not so focused she isn’t interested in other things. She needs to be able to talk with anyone, but not presume to put words into their mouth. Someone who’s at home in a formal setting but not just there. She must have a sense of humour and warmth but not an annoying laugh or any sort of verbal tic. Plus she has to like Dhalkur, be an accomplished linguist with not a whiff of scandal about her, and be eager to have children.’
Salim nodded. ‘Excellent. You’ve described her well.’
As he watched, Rosanna pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. She drew a deep breath then busied herself making another note. But she didn’t raise her eyes to his.
‘Right, what about Maryam, the last woman you met? She meets a lot of those criteria.’
Salim was already shaking his head. ‘On paper she seems right, but in reality,’ he paused remembering those big doe eyes looking up at him. ‘She deferred to me all the time. Even when I asked her a straightforward question she was reluctant to commit herself in case it wasn’t the answer I wanted.’
‘With respect, Your Majesty, that’s not surprising.’ He didn’t miss the snap in Rosanna’s voice, as if she held her temper by a thread. ‘You can be quite daunting.’
‘I told you to dispense with my title in private.’ The way she said it, as if it tasted sour on her tongue, irked him. Or maybe it was the judgemental way her mouth flattened as he gave his completely legitimate reasons for each rejection. ‘As for your with respect, that’s what you say when you’re feeling not at all respectful.
She met his eyes, her stare fulminating. Yet she retained her composure and said nothing. Salim realised he was trying to crack the barrier she’d erected around herself. She challenged him yet pulled back at the final moment.
That was a good thing. It was safer that way, for both of them. Yet it frustrated him.
He wanted more from her.
‘If you feel you’re not up to the job…’
‘Are you sure there really is a job?’ She set aside her laptop and stared up at him, her gaze probing.
He frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Your requirements keep changing and expanding. I bring you one of the world’s most beautiful women and you claim you don’t find her attractive.’
‘I didn’t say that. She is attractive. I just don’t want her.’
Because infuriatingly, his body and mind were fixated on Rosanna MacIain. The knowledge made him grit his teeth in annoyance. He was lord of all he surveyed and the one thing he wanted was the one thing he shouldn’t want. Because she was his guest, his employee…
And the source of more frustration than he’d ever felt in his life. When he was with her he didn’t feel like a king or her employer. He felt like a man lost in the desert, thirsting for a single taste of pure, lifegiving water.
‘Are you playing some sort of game?’ Emotion coloured her voice. She sounded fed up. ‘Are you sure a tall, blonde aristocrat will meet your needs—’
‘Why, Ms MacIain? Do you think a medium height brunette from Australia might be a better fit for my needs?’
Her gasp was loud in the thrumming silence. She shot to her feet, eyes flashing pure silver, hands curling into fists beside her. ‘If you’re implying—’
‘I’m not implying anything, just pondering.’
And despite his better judgement, enjoying the fact she was no longer treating him like a professional challenge. He much preferred her honest emotions, though he wouldn’t accept such insolence from anyone else.
The air sizzled with the energy she radiated. Salim felt it like a shower of sparks peppering his skin. And in the heavy weight settling in his lower body. The strain of clenching muscles.
‘I’d never…’ She shook her head as if words failed her, but not for long. ‘No, you’re the one sabotaging this process. I’m the one trying to keep it on track.’
She dragged in deep breaths, her breasts rising against her blue dress. Valiantly Salim refocused on her face, flushed and vibrant.
‘That’s the problem. This project isn’t on track at all. It’s going off the rails.’
It was his fault for agreeing to have her here. He should have known better that night when she’d stalked into his office as if she owned it, demanding to know what he was doing there. That stirring excitement hadn’t left him since. He’d been on tenterhooks, trying to do the right thing, curbing a reaction to her that was as undeniable as it was inconvenient.
She hiked up her chin, at the same time cocking her hip and planting her hand on it in an attitude of pure, feminine provocation that was impossible to resist.
‘Okay. I’ll bite. Why, in your opinion, is it going off the rails? Tell me straight. Don’t waste any more of my time.’
‘Why? Because of this, of course.’
Salim took a single stride that brought him right up to her. He saw her narrowed eyes widen but not, he saw, in dismay. He slipped one arm around her waist, drawing her against him and cupped the back of her head with his other hand.
For an instant he was lost in the white-hot flare of light in her eyes, then he bent his head and his mouth met hers.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

His royal matchmaker
Or his perfect match?

The new Sheikh of Dhalkur must find a wife—immediately—so he outsources the task to an expert. But once he’s introduced to matchmaker Rosanna MacIain, Salim is hit with a red-hot jolt of recognition. She’s the captivating stranger from an electric encounter he never forgot!

Unfazed by his royal status, Rosanna challenges Salim like no one ever has. And ignites a desire in him like no one ever has! She’s entirely unsuitable as his queen, but their unique chemistry is enough to drive all other candidates from his mind…
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Meet the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Annie West loves writing passionate, intense love stories. She has devoted her life to an in depth study of tall, dark, charismatic heroes who cause the best kind of trouble in the lives of their heroines. Creating heroines who are a perfect match for those strong, stubborn men is one of her all time favorite things. As a sideline she’s also researched dreamy locations for romance, from vibrant cities to desert encampments and fairytale castles. She lives on the east coast of Australia and her favorite things are books, good company, good food and travel. For behind the scenes news, early release information and free giveaways, sign up for Annie’s newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/ya56pe7c
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