Blame It on Texas (46 page)
Authors: Christie Craig
Tags: #Fiction / Suspense, #Fiction / Romance - Contemporary, #Fiction / Romance - Erotica
“Craig offers up another well-written and nicely plotted story… [She] always delivers enjoyable, light romantic mysteries—add
Only in Texas
to the list.”
Acclaim for
Christie Craig
“Funny, hot, and suspenseful, Craig’s writing has it all. She’s the newest addition to my list of have-to-read authors. Warning: Definitely addictive.”
—Nina Bangs,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Craig is the jewel of my finds when it comes to new authors to add to my favorites list. Her characters draw you in immediately, make you care about them in no time flat, and her humor is to die for.”
“Christie Craig writes delicious sexy romances that are as addictive as a can of Pringles; once you start, you can’t stop! Hilarious, romantic… entertaining from start to finish.”
“Craig is like chocolate: addicting and good for you. I dare you to dive in and not get a good laugh.”
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Rochelle Alers
Dear Reader,
I would like to thank everyone who told me they couldn’t wait to return to Cavanaugh Island. And like the genie in the bottle I’m going to grant your wish.
You will get to revisit people and places on the idyllic island, while being introduced to others who will make you laugh, cry—and even a few you’d rather avoid. It is a place where newcomers are viewed with suspicion, family secrets are whispered about, and where old-timers are reluctant to let go of their past. Most inhabitants believe what happens in Sanctuary Cove, Angels Landing, or Haven Creek stays in Cavanaugh Island. Angels Landing—or “the Landing,” as the locals refer to it—takes its name from the antebellum mansion and surrounding property that was and will again become a crown jewel on the National Register of Historic Places.
In ANGELS LANDING you will meet newcomer Kara Newell, a transplanted New York social worker who inherits a neglected plantation and a house filled with long-forgotten treasures and family secrets spanning centuries. Kara finds herself totally unprepared to step into her role as landed gentry, and even more unprepared for the island’s hunky sheriff. Her southern roots help her adjust to the slower way of Lowcountry life, but she finds
herself in a quandary when developers concoct elaborate schemes to force Kara into selling what folks refer to as her birthright. Then there’s hostility from newfound family members, as well as her growing feelings for Sheriff Jeffrey Hamilton.
Jeff has returned to Cavanaugh Island to look after his ailing grandmother and to assume the duties as sheriff. His transition from military to civilian life is smooth because, as “Corrine Hamilton’s grandbaby boy,” he’s gained the respect of everyone through his fair, no-nonsense approach to upholding the law. However, his predictable lifestyle is shaken when he’s asked to look after Kara when veiled threats are made against her life. When Jeff realizes his role as protector shifts from professional to personal, he is faced with the choice of whether to make Kara a part of his future or lose her like he has other women in his past.
So come on back and reunite with folks with whom you’re familiar and new characters you’d want to see time and time again. You will also get a glimpse of Haven Creek, where artisans still practice customs passed down from their African ancestors. Make certain to read the teaser chapter from
Haven Creek
for the next installment in the Cavanaugh Island series.
Read, enjoy, and do let me hear from you!!!
From the desk of Christie Craig
Dear Reader,
Have you ever stared in the mirror and had yourself a mini identity crisis? Felt unsure of who you really were? I have, and that was the inspiration for BLAME IT ON TEXAS. But for my heroine, Zoe Adams, her identity crisis isn’t so mini.
Imagine seeing a childhood picture of yourself splashed across the TV screen on an unsolved mystery show, which claims you were kidnapped from some highfalutin’ Texas millionaire family. Imagine learning that your corpse was supposedly discovered shortly after you were kidnapped. Imagine it, when all your life you’ve had some strange memories that didn’t make sense.
With Zoe’s parents—or people she thought were her parents—deceased, she’s certain of only one thing: She’s not dead. (Although, after her fiancé ran off with another woman, taking her heart with him, she hasn’t felt too alive.) So Zoe does the only thing she can: She takes a leave of absence from her job as a kindergarten teacher, packs up the only thing that matters in her life—her handicapped cat—and hightails it from Alabama to the Lone Star State.
Her search for answers lands her in a whole lot of trouble, too. When someone starts taking pot shots at her, she winds up under the protective arm of a sexy commitment-phobic PI who is more than willing to play bodyguard. Between Tyler Lopez, his family and friends,
and all the zany characters she meets while working at Cookie’s Diner, Zoe learns that who you are isn’t so much about your birth name or who your parents were. It’s about whom you let into your life and whom you love.
From Texas-sized flying cockroaches and ticked-off clowns, to games of strip Scrabble, writing the story of Zoe and Tyler was the most fun I’ve had doing something that wouldn’t get me arrested. The chemistry between these two characters lit up the page from the moment she drops three plates of food on him. Hot grits and sunny-side up eggs never looked so good. I hope you enjoy the story of two people stumbling their way through life’s bumpy roads and landing smack-dab in the lap of love.
I love hearing from readers, so please come visit me at
www.christie-craig.com
; find me on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/christiecraigfans
; or follow me on Twitter at @Christie_Craig.
Laugh, Love, Read.
From the desk of Nina Rowan
Dear Reader,
Confession #1: I’m terrified of math. I have been a math-o-phobe since first grade, when we learned basic addition and I had to count on my fingers to make sure I was
getting the answers right. Confession #2: I still count on my fingers. Confession #3: I’m way, way beyond first grade.
Math and I have never found a groove. I’m okay with some numbers (2 and 5 are polite acquaintances of mine, if not exactly friends), but others make me nervous (7 is somewhat flinty, and 9 is plain evil). I never memorized the multiplication tables. I still can’t do long division. My son is now a first-grader and completes his math homework faster than I can check it.
So what provoked me to create a heroine who is a brilliant mathematician? Lunacy, of course, and maybe a little bit of “Ha! I will confront you, Math, even though you scare me.” At least in writing about a mathematician, I could channel my fear into creating a hopefully unique and memorable heroine.
If there is one thing Lydia Kellaway, the heroine of A STUDY IN SEDUCTION, does not fear, it’s numbers. Equations comfort her. She enjoys theorems, series, postulates. She understands them. They understand her. And I loved the idea of a Victorian woman who has a harmonious relationship with math and who is renowned for her extraordinary intelligence.
The seed of Lydia’s character came while I was researching nineteenth-century Russia and discovered information about Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891), a prominent Russian mathematician who made major contributions to the field.
Despite the barriers she encountered in academia, Sofia earned a doctorate
summa cum laude
from the University of Gottingen, becoming the first woman in Europe to hold that degree. Personal and professional struggles did not prevent Sofia’s success, as she soon became the first woman in Northern Europe to hold
a full professorship at the University of Stockholm. She published numerous papers, edited a mathematical journal, and received the competitive Prix Bordin from the French Academy of Sciences.
While Sofia Kovalevskaya inspired my idea of a heroine who is a mathematician, I wanted Lydia to be a unique character in her own right. I loved that she could immerse herself in numbers and find comfort in equations, but what did that mean for the other parts of her life? What would happen if Lydia had spent her childhood in lonely isolation, with only numbers as her faithful companions, and then was suddenly forced to confront the exact opposite of intellect—the pull of lust?
After her destructive early experiences, Lydia lives in safe comfort inside her head…until Alexander comes along to wreak havoc with all his hot, Russian sexiness. He is fascinated not only by her body, but also by her brilliant mind. Writing about how Lydia’s affinity with math affects and changes their relationship was both a challenge and a pleasure.