A Tasty Read Welcomes Andrea Stein

Today at A Tasty Read, I have Fellow Long Islander, Andrea Stein here to promote her Newest Release, Rough Harbor.  I am so thrilled to have her with us today.

Andrea Stein: So happy to be here – you can take the girl out of Long Island but you can’t take the Island out of the girl…

  A Tasty Read: I whole-heartily agree!!  Now you describe Rough Harbor, not as a Romance Suspense, but as a Contemporary Romance with a twist.  Explain to us what the difference is.

 

Andrea: In romantic suspense I find that there’s usually some serial/psycho killer hunting the heroine because…well just because. I’m a fan of the traditional mystery where’s there’s more of a motive for the bad stuff that’s going on.  So in Contemporary Romance with a twist, the emphasis is on the couple, but there’s more of a mystery going on, especially with all of the secrets about Caitlyn’s family that she uncovers.

ATR: Sounds compelling...I will say that I truly enjoyed it myself! As a fellow writer, I know that the idea for a book can pop up out of the blue.  How did you come up with the idea for Rough Harbor?  Did the storyline come first or the characters?  

 

Andrea: I love the idea of the one that got away. Noah and Caitlyn were high school sweethearts who parted on bad terms.  They didn’t outgrow each other – they ripped apart.  Ten years have gone by and now they’re both different people – but were they always meant to be?

  ATR: I love the "one that got away" romance myself.  You mention on you website that you write for tweens and their moms, do you have a favorite genre between YA and Adult Romance?

 

Andrea: Adult romance, definitely.  A lot of YA has to find a way to get rid of the adults in order for all the stuff to happen, so I figure you might as well go straight for a world where the characters are adult…and you know, can do grown up things…

ATR: A girl after my own heart, you mention loving WB shows.  Do you have a favorite?  I am a past One Tree Hill fan myself.

 

Andrea: Hmmm….Buffy…and now Vampire Diaries.  And I am working my way through Gossip Girl, on Netflix .

  ATR: Top three favorite romances?  If you'd like, you can do top three YA and Contemporary.

Andrea: Nora Roberts – Montana Sky which has cowboys, and not one but three love stories.

Mary Stewart’s The Moonspinners, set on a Greek island, and even though it’s old, it’s exotic and romantic and happens to be a Disney film featuring Hayley Mills, and Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series, which is pretty racy. As for YA, I do have a special fondness for Twilight of course and The Hunger Games.

 

ATR: What are you working on currently?  Can you share a bit about Ivy Cottage? 

Andrea: Ivy Cottage is a more traditional romance but it’s also set in Queensbay and features Chase and Phoebe.  Phoebe is the granddaughter of Savannah Ryan – a Hollywood legend, and Chase is the grandson of Leland Sanders, with whom Savannah had a torrid affair – also known as “the romance of the (last) century.”  After Savannah’s death, Phoebe returns to Ivy Cottage in Queensbay, where Savannah and Leland hid away from the world.  When Chase comes looking to buy Ivy Cottage sparks fly between the two, and soon they find they’re reliving the Romance of the Century – but will this one stand the test of time?

  ATR: Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to have you back anytime!  As for the readers, keep reading for a Sneak Peak of Rough Harbor, and make sure to leave a comment to be entered into the Tour Wide Giveaway. 

Andrea will be awarding a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Keep Following the Tour, the more comments, the more chances to win,

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-book-tour-rough-harbor-by.html

 

 

After a bitter break up and professional set back in London, twenty seven year old Caitlyn has returned to Queensbay to work for Maxwell Randall, an old family friend, at his financial management firm.  So far, bit by bit, Caitlyn’s been rebuilding all she lost after Michael St. John broke her heart …and tried to ruin her professional reputation.

 

But her past comes back to haunt her when Maxwell unexpectedly turns up dead.  Not only does Caitlyn find her career in jeopardy but her heart is too, when Noah Randall, Maxwell’s son, and her first love, returns to Queensbay.  Once, ten years ago, Caitlyn was sure Noah was the one for her…but the tragedy of her grandfather’s suicide and Noah’s decision to leave town left her bereft…and determined never to trust him again. 

 

Over the past decade, she’s managed to do her best to forget about Noah Randall and the lingering questions surrounding her grandfather’s suicide.  But now that’s he back in town – rich and more handsome than ever, and she can’t help wondering what if? What if Noah really was the one? 

 

Noah Randall left home ten years ago to seek his fortune – vowing never to return until he’d made a success of himself – and show Caitlyn Montgomery just what she’d given up.  He returns to find that Caitlyn Montgomery has only grown more alluring with time. Noah’s always wanted he couldn’t have…and now he wants Caitlyn again.  But she’s determined not to make the same mistake twice.

 

While Noah and Caitlyn are revisiting old ground – and forging a new relationship, there’s trouble brewing in Queensbay.  Old secrets and new lead Caitlyn to believe that perhaps her grandfather didn’t kill himself – and that Maxwell’s death was no accident.  But just how far will someone go to keep her – and Noah – from finding out the truth…and will Queesbay prove to have troubled waters after all?

 

Noah leaned in closer, his lips hovering above hers, his arms moving around her, pulling her closer to him, so he could feel his body next to hers, feel the swell of her breasts, see every freckle on her nose.

 

“I have people for that,” he murmured, letting his lips feather across her. Her eyes opened wide, and he knew that she was feeling, that he had gotten to her.

 

“Noah…” It was more of a moan than a whisper.

 

“Shh, I know you’re not after my money. Just shut up and let me…”

 

Kiss you. And he did, their lips touching. Softly at first, so he could taste her, smell her perfume, something spicy, and her shampoo, something fruity. She moved in his arms – not away, but closer – and he took that for an invitation, an invitation that his attentions were wanted.

 

He deepened his kiss, letting his tongue explore, letting his hands slide from her shoulders down to the V of her neck, skimming lightly over her breasts, feeling the fabric of her bra, then the hard nub of her nipples which sprang to attention under his caress.

 

She moaned, answering his kiss, her hands running through his hair, pulling him towards her as their embrace deepened, grew more passionate, his hands roaming feeling, possessing her.

 

Until. “Stop, Noah, stop.” She broke free, her head moving away from him, her hands still twined in his hair. She lowered her eyes and leaned against his shoulders.

 

“What, what is it?” His voice was husky, raspy, and he could feel desire, the sheer wanting of her flowing through him, all the way through it. She felt it, too, and took a step back.

 

“Noah, you’re the boss. And we barely know each other. I mean now. I just can’t get involved right now.”

 

 

Author Info

Hi, I’, Andrea Stein an author, mother, wife and blogger and a certified mom-chauffeur. I have been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember, including my first adventure story, inspired by an obsession with Out of Africa (book, movie and biography) about a young girl stranded in Kenya. It was serial fiction handwritten, given to my sister, who couldn’t read my handwriting. That story dies after one installment, but the next year I got a word processor (not a computer, but an ACTUAL WORD PROCESSOR) that showed about twenty lines of text at a time.

 

This was before laptops were widely available and this allowed me to be able to type to my heart’s content in the privacy of my own room. Which I did. I think I spent the time writing stories about my “frenemies” to amuse myself. I also listened to a lot of the Cure and New Wave music. I have since moved on to a happier place.

Even though I read lots of different types of books, I write romance novels with a twist. More like contemporary romance than romantic suspense (I don’t write about serial killers or FBI agents) but I usually like to include a puzzle or mystery for my hero and heroine to solve.

Rough Harbor is my second novel, set in a small New England town. Coming soon is Ivy Cottage, also set in a small New England town on a river.

Other than writing I spend most of my time reading, watching TV, cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, trying to keep the house clean and folding laundry. I love Twizzlers, chocolate and shows on the WB. For me, reading has always been an escape, a way to escape the ordinary and dive into a world that feels real – but with all of the ‘boring’ parts edited out.

As for the rest of my life, I grew up on Long Island, spent a lot of vacations in small New England towns, went to college in New York City, married by high school sweetheart, worked, had kids, stopped working, and kept on writing. Now I live in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a thing), and though I don’t own any horses, I do have a barn, which I share with squirrels.

There’s something successful writers always tell new writers about their secret to success. Just do it…Bum Glue…write 1ooo words a day…write for two hours a day….Keep writing. And they’re right. I got more successful with my writing when I started to do it consistently. I don’t write every day, but I shoot for five days a week. This means that the words and pages pile up — and I have stories to shape, make and mold…and share.

I hope you enjoy my books, currently available at www.amazon.com

Links – Website:

www.Andreasteinbooks.com

http://www.facebook.com/AndreaSteinBooks

https://twitter.com/andreasteinbook