Spotlight & Giveaway: The Write Escape by Charish Reid

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Charish Reid to HJ!

Hi Charish and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Write Escape!

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

The Write Escape is about two people letting go of the baggage that’s preventing them from obtaining their dreams, finding love, or simply living their best lives. For my heroine, Antonia, a cloud of bad luck just won’t leave her until she escapes to Ireland for her solo-honeymoon. It’s in a tiny coastal village of Tully Cross, where she finds herself staying next door to a sexy Irish professor. The Aiden is burnt out, aimless, carrying around his past like an albatross. Only when they spend time together, do they help one another lighten their respective loads. And of course, fall in love!
 

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

“Your face is an open book that I can read well enough.” He cupped her cheek with one large hand. “It’s a book I want to lose myself in on a rainy afternoon.

“Talking isn’t the only thing an Irishman’s mouth is good for.” (You can guess what Aiden is referring to!)

What inspired this book?

• The Irish setting was based on a month-long trip my husband and I took. We started in Tully Cross, went to Galway, Dingle, and ended in Limerick. I initially wanted to write travel essays about the experience, but after two or three pieces, I realized that I needed to write a romance instead.
• Both my husband and I are both professors, and while we love teaching, the stressors of students, administration, and publishing is…exhausting.
• As far as the internal struggles for both main characters, I’ve definitely experienced both Aiden and Antonia’s issues with the past affecting the present. It felt great to write some of those frustrations on the page and leave them there.

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

Antonia was easy. She’s a woman in her 30’s worried about career, love, and if she’s on the right path. Early readers seemed to identify with her immediately, finding glimpses of themselves in her. Aiden was a tougher nut to crack. He had a barrier of charm and humor that made it hard for me to get to know him. Once I dug deeper and realized his problems stemmed from his deadbeat sailor dad, it surprised me how easy his turmoil flowed on to the page. Aiden is a character who laughs to keep from crying, I think many can relate to the need to perform rather than experience their own feelings.

What was your favorite scene to write?

Antonia has baked an “anger cake” for her neighbor, Aiden, after an argument. When she delivers it to his cottage, he has other ideas about how to make up.

She was stuck on his stoop, getting wetter and unable to step forward. “I just wanted to show you that I could do it,” she said with a tremulous voice. She was too nervous to move.
“Get inside, Antonia,”he said. The steel edge in his voice made her even more nervous.
Antonia gathered herself and escaped the rain. As she edged past him and walked into his living room. She stood beside his dinner table and watched him close the door. When Aiden approached her, she held the cake up like a barrier.
It wasn’t enough.
He closed the distance between them, standing over her and her pitiful baking experiment. He ran his eyes over her, stopping to stare at the rise and fall of her chest. She was short of breath as she stood under his steady gaze. “You made this?”
“I did,”she said haltingly.
“You made me anger cake?”he asked.
“You don’t know if I was angry,”she said, finding her voice. “For all you know, I just made a cake for the sake of making a fucking cake.”
A dark brow arched as he peered down at her. “You’re not angry now?”
She was getting there. “Do you want it or not?”
Antonia watched him take another step forward, his eyes fixed on hers. “It looks pretty waterlogged,”he said.
She glared at him. “And I’m pretty wet as well.”
Aiden’s mouth twitched slightly. “Are you?”he asked. His voice could barely contain the smug arrogance that his expression hid. An unwelcome blush crept into her cheeks as she realized what she’d said. He quietly regarded her before raising one finger to her cake. He swiped the top layer of icing and gave it a quick inspection before licking it off his finger. The simple act made her hands tremble. He gave a curt nod. “It’s not bad,”he said.
Antonia held her breath and fought to disregard the tumultuous flip in the pit of her stomach. “Thank you,” she breathed.
Aiden then ran his thumb along the top of the cake and held it before her face. He met her gaze, issuing a challenge with forest-green eyes that sparkled recklessly. “Would you like a taste?” he asked. His voice dropped to a low vibration that struck a chord between her thighs.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

When Aiden meets up with his father and they have a long overdue talk about abandonment.

“Jaysus, you remember that?”
He rolled his eyes before taking a tip of tea. “Of course I do. You ruined my birthday, coming home pissed with that damn stray dog.”
Liam shook his head as his laughter turned into a raspy cough. “I’d just come back from a long haul in Dublin and remembered it was someone’s birthday. Christ, a little old reverend mother couldn’t have saved me from the Hannigan wrath that night. Thought she’d pan me head in, but she pulled a knife instead.”
“You tried to convince us that you bought the dog from travelers, but the damn thing was so long in the tooth, he limped in the door like he’d just entered the pearly gates,” Aiden said, biting back a smile. “This ancient hound found his way to the kitchen and stuck its fuckin’maws into the birthday cake Mam made.”
His father doubled over laughing at the story. “She screamed like the bean sídhe when that mutt dragged the cake off the table. Hollerin’, ‘we’ll never get the feckin’fleas out the rugs.’ And wee Ryan just sat on the floor and started eatin’ cake with the dog.”
Liam’s coarse laughter shocked Aiden back to reality. He remembered his mother’s face in that moment. It hadn’t been funny at the time and no matter how much Clare apologized to her children, he never forgot the pain in her face when she understood the end-result of trying to maintain a normal household. Liam would just show up and make a mess of it again. My god, it feels more like a tragic anecdote from Angela’s Ashes. Perhaps there would be something to smile about if it had only happened once. Unfortunately, destruction was the one thing his father was consistent with. “Are you sorry, Liam? For any of it?”

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

I think it is an accurate depiction of my writing style/voice. A bit of humor, a bit of snark, and plenty of sexy banter. You can count on that for the next few books. Even if I change sub-genres, I feel like my style will stay the same.

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

I want my readers to know that it’s possible to take chances and come out alright in the end. Antonia risks it all for love, and more importantly, herself.

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

My next book release is Hearts on Hold, a novel about a “sordid affair” between a prim English professor and a sexy children’s librarian. Victoria is highly organized, anxious, and obsessed with order. John reads to children in funny voices, is incredibly disorganized, and completely head over heels in love with Victoria, even though she’s lost one of his books. They must work together on a project while ignoring their opposing work-ethic and simmering attraction.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 eBook copy of THE WRITE ESCAPE by Charish Reid (open Internationally)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Which fictional character would you like to stay next door to while you’re on your Irish holiday?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Write Escape:

The goddamned Renvyle Oyster Festival.
Aiden pushed his shopping cart past two rowdy children, who rolled around the floor of the dairy aisle, grabbing butter as he went. He had forgotten all about the festival that made Clifden and the surrounding area fill up with visitors. The masses gathered here every June to partake in fresh seafood offerings. The SuperValu was a madhouse just as people were getting off from work. He glanced at his watch again to see it was close to 5 p.m. If he wanted to pick up his cottage keys from the front office, he’d have hurry this shopping excursion along. With his head still down, he rounded the corner and was met with resistance as he crashed carts with another shopper.
“Jesus, I’m sorry,” he said, looking up. His breath caught in his throat. Staring back at him was the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a long time.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said quickly. Her large dark eyes widened in embarrassment. A lovely deep blush crept up her neck and settled into her cinnamon brown cheeks. She was tall and slender, but possessed a generous hourglass shape. The black ankle-boots she wore added another inch making her statuesque. She dressed in simple black leggings and a cropped brown leather jacket. It hung open revealing a clingy gray sweater.
Aiden’s gaze snapped back to her face. It was rude to stare, and the way he stared was probably downright lascivious. “It’s my fault,” he admitted. “I wasn’t minding my cart. Are you alright?”
Her face broke into a beautiful grin, her lips full and inviting. “I’m fine, but while I have you…”
Yes, you have me.
Aiden drifted back to taking her in. He was mesmerized by her hair. It was huge and flowing with loose black curls that framed her oval face. One of those curls fell carelessly down her forehead, making Aiden grip his cart tighter. He wanted to push that curl aside and kiss her.
“…maybe you can tell me where I could find the yogurt.”
“I’m sorry?”
Her dark eyes twinkled with laughter. “Do you know where I could find the yogurt?”
Aiden couldn’t remember anything about the layout of the SuperValu; where he’d gone or where he was going, before seeing her face. “Yogurt?”
“Back that way,” said the mother of the two rowdy boys. She pulled one of the towheaded children by the jacket while the other hung off the cart.
“Oh, thank you!” The gorgeous woman started off in the direction that Aiden had come from. “Sorry again, for hitting you,” she said to him.
“No worries,” he said, mentally kicking himself. He knew damn well where the yogurt was. Aiden looked over his shoulder, his eyes following her as she navigated through the crowd of shoppers. Just as he suspected, she was just as sexy from behind. With several more items on his shopping list, he wondered if he would run into her again. She’d disappeared around the corner, minding her own business, just as he should have done. Aiden pushed forward, mourning his sudden loss of speech.
When he reached the paper towels, he threw paper plates and plastic cutlery in his basket. No sense in doing dishes if he didn’t have to. He paused in the paper goods aisle and debated if he needed some salmon or if he needed to follow the woman he crashed into. The fish was a given, he’d get that momentarily, but that woman… She would be easy to spot again. As far as Aiden could tell, she was the only black woman in the store. She sounded American too, her voice throaty and warm with no discernable trace of a European or African accent. There wasn’t a point to wondering all of this if she was staying in Clifden. She was probably shopping for her and her boyfriend. They would probably enjoy the weekend’s festivities, hugged up in an adorable B & B. Get a hold of yourself!
Aiden walked through a fog to get several frozen shepherd’s pies and pizzas, before grabbing a bag of crisps. The smoked salmon he chucked into his cart would be the healthiest thing in there. Where’s the brown bread?
Aiden didn’t see the woman when he made it to the checkout line. Perhaps that was for the best. Getting to Tully Cross before dark was more important. The sooner he could unpack, the sooner he could set up shop at the local pub and catch up with the villagers. The lines were alarmingly long and he had the misfortune to park right behind the oldest woman in the world. He closed his eyes and asked St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things and the elderly, to help him find his patience for her. Something hard bumped against his ass and he heard a light chuckle. He opened his eyes and turned around. To see her.
Thank you, St. Anthony.
“I did that on purpose,” said the beautiful yogurt woman.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Take one heartbroken Chicago girl

Literary editor Antonia Harper had it all—the career, the man, the future. That was then. Now Antonia is jobless, alone and at a crossroads. What better time to travel the world? A solo honeymoon on the Emerald Isle will be like hitting the reset button. No distractions, no drama.

Add some luck o’ the Irish

Aiden Byrnes may be a literature professor, but words fail him when he meets the woman staying in the cottage next door. Tully Cross is meant to be a sleepy little village, and he’s meant to be on a working holiday—not a vacation, and most definitely not with his beautiful neighbor.

And you get some mighty good craic

They say laughter is the best medicine—and as it turns out, superhot sex isn’t so bad either. Antonia and Aiden’s spark quickly grows into what could be something special, if they’re willing to take the leap. Ending up an ocean apart is unthinkable, and when real life comes calling, there’s no ignoring that leap anymore…

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

This book is approximately 91,000 words

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

Meet the Author:

Charish Reid is a fan of sexy books and disaster films. When she’s not grading papers or prepping lessons for college freshmen, she enjoys writing romances that celebrate quirky black women who deserve HEAs. Charish currently lives in Sweden, with her husband, avoiding most forms of exercise.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |