Spotlight & Giveaway: The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sarah Chamberlain to HJ!

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

Dear readers, I’m so excited for you to read my first book! I wrote The Slowest Burn at the lowest point of the pandemic, when gathering around the table with my friends and family felt like an impossible dream. Alone at my desk, I packed this book full of all the things that make me happy, from stained cookbooks and long dinners, to good croissants and In’n’Out burgers to feline escape artists and black and white movies. I hope reading it gives you as much joy as it gave me to write it.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Slowest Burn is an opposites attract contemporary workplace romance between Kieran O’Neill, a chaotic, impulsive celebrity chef and Ellie Wasserman, a starchy, detailed-oriented ghostwriter and widow who’s living with her former in-laws. When they’re partnered up to write Kieran’s first cookbook, personality clashes and impromptu cooking competitions give way to friendship and fake dating in front of Kieran’s toxic parents. But when their feelings turn hot, can these two driven, lonely people let go of their past hurts and make something truly sweet together? Or will fragile new love go up in smoke?
 

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

The sweetest words that any eldest daughter/parentified child can hear, from Kieran to Ellie:

“Ellie?” I said slowly, not wanting to spook her.
“Yeah?”
“You can be bad with me.”
A long silence. “What do you mean?”
“Not, like, do crimes. I mean, you can tell me everything you want, and I won’t think you’re selfish, or ungrateful. You’ll just be you.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• One of my favorite parts of the book was coming up with all the different dishes that Kieran and Ellie cook and eat together. I’ve been inspired by so many different cookbooks I’ve used and restaurants I’ve eaten in, but the structure of the cookbook the two MCs write together was inspired by Crave by Ed Smith. Ed is a British food writer who deserves to be much better known!
• I also snuck in flavors as a motif throughout the book – keep an eye out for oranges, strawberries, and chocolate.
• I used to be a college radio DJ and nothing gives me more pleasure than making playlists. Between them Ellie and Kieran share my music taste; I love opera and jazz and the occasional bit of Taylor Swift and gave that love to Ellie, but I also love 2000s indie bands the way Kieran does. (Ellie’s theme song is “Little Girl Blue” by Nina Simone, Kieran’s is “Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio.)

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

I want to speak to this on both a physical and emotional level, so here goes: for Kieran, the emotional attraction starts because Ellie really believes in him – her determination makes him want to step up for her. For Ellie, it’s Kieran’s goofy sweetness – he gives her a refuge from being sober and serious all the time.

As for physical attraction, Ellie can’t stop looking at Kieran’s hair and eyes and strong arms, while Kieran is obsessed with Ellie’s freckles and curves.

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

I love that Ellie and Kieran can’t resist roasting each other a little bit even as they’re falling into bed together for the first time, so I guess this is a combined laugh and blush:

He sized me up. “You’re early.”
I sized him up back. “You’re not wearing pants.”

Readers should read this book….

If you love opposites attract, black cat/golden retriever, forced proximity, and a little bit of fake dating, this book is for you. If you love to eat and spend a lot of time thinking about your next meal, whether you’re cooking or going to a restaurant or getting takeout,, this book is for you. If you love an MMC who’s got some common DNA with Carmy from The Bear, this book is for you. And if you’ve ever struggled to figure out who you are and what you want the most from life when everyone else is trying to put you in a too-small box, this book is for you.
 

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

I’m writing a standalone contemporary culture-clash romance set in a dusty old bookstore in London. Think Ted Lasso meets You’ve Got Mail! It’ll be out in fall 2025.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 5 copies of THE SLOWEST BURN, US only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you believe “opposites attract” is true? In what ways do opposites lead to a strong relationship? In what ways do you think it can cause friction?

 
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Book Info:

Ellie Wasserman’s life is neat and tidy, and that’s exactly how she wants it. Really. A top ghostwriter for celebrity cookbooks, she was widowed three years ago and has no interest in taking chances—not on writing her own cookbook, not on telling her still-grieving in-laws she wants to move out, and certainly not on dating, which is about as intimidating as a recipe with fifty steps.
Kieran O’Neill isn’t known for being organized. An up-and-coming chef who scored big on a reality television competition, he’s been the guy who cracks jokes and makes messes—something his chilly family has never let him forget. The only place he feels truly capable is at the stove. But when he’s paired with an uptight ghostwriter with cool blue eyes and distracting curves to write his debut cookbook, she shreds his class clown act like a paring knife cuts an orange peel.
As Ellie and Kieran are forced to work closely together in a hot kitchen for weeks on end, their sharp edges and harsh judgments slowly soften and sweeten into a wildly delicious attraction. Long, steamy days turn into even steamier nights, but they have to face their painful pasts to know if this tender new love can transform into something lasting.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | kobo |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Sarah Chamberlain is a writer, editor, and cookbook translator whose articles have appeared in The Guardian (UK), Food52, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. When she’s not writing witty, sexy contemporary romance, she enjoys making dinner for her friends and family, watching Cary Grant movies, and setting records as an amateur competitive powerlifter. Originally from Northern California, she lives in London.
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