As part of Author Tina Gayle‘s #RomanticTravel Fall Blog Exchange, welcome Author Patricia Preston to Rogues, Rebels & Rakes! Lady Patricia is sharing inspiration for her new LaFayette Falls Series and she’s offering a #giveaway in honor of her Sept. 13th release!
I love autumn and the Natchez Trace in Tennessee has provided me with plenty of inspiration for the fictional setting, Lafayette Falls, that I’m using in my contemporary romances for Lyrical Shine. The drive is leisurely and stunning along the Trace in the fall. This is a national parkway so there are no stores, gas stations, power lines or commercial traffic on the Trace. It is steeped in history along with pastoral beauty. Great for photographers.
So if you want to get out on a pretty fall day for a drive and a picnic, check out these places.
Rock Creek. You can skip across the creek on square rocks. Fall Hollow is a lovely waterfall. I used it as a model for the waterfall in my book. It is an easy walk from the roadside. Jackson Fall is a larger waterfall and a longer hike from the road. There is also a portion of the original Trace that you can hike. This is the path Jackson’s army took on the way home from the Battle of New Orleans. One of my favorite overlooks is Baker’s Bluff which features a working 19-century farm.
To learn more about all the sightseeing stops along the Trace, go to: https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm and https://www.facebook.com/natcheztracetravel/?fref=ts
My newest book, ONE WEEK IN YOUR ARMS, is mainstream contemporary romance filled with witty, charismatic characters. The fun, fast-paced plot features a secret baby, a billionaire baby daddy hero who needs a pretend girlfriend for a week, and a pretty doctor who is desperate to keep her child a secret. Unfortunately for the intrepid heroine, Marla, she needs money for her community clinic so she has no choice but to spend a week in paradise with the one man who can destroy her life. How can she say no? (Personally, I couldn’t say no. Could you?)
IT STARTED WITH A FLING…
Six years ago, Dr. Marla Grant gave into temptation with a gorgeous man. Now the medical director of Lafayette Falls Community Clinic and a single mom to a little girl, Marla finds herself in a dilemma when the funding for the community clinic is threatened by none other than the powerful man of her long-ago fling and unsuspecting father of her child…
Carson Blackwell has never forgotten bright, beautiful Marla. When he discovers that she works at the clinic his grandmother’s foundation sponsors, it’s the perfect opportunity to end to his ongoing infatuation and use his leverage to cement a new business deal. He needs a fake girlfriend for one week in Hawaii, and Marla is just the woman for the job. It’s a win-win situation, until they realize the attraction between them isn’t feigned, and the heat has never died down. Only the secrets they’re both keeping stand in the way of a future together and a love that could last a lifetime.
~ Excerpt ~
She picked up the letter opener. Her heart palpitated in sheer terror as she slid the opener under the flap of the envelope. With the envelope open, she peeped inside to see one folded sheet of stationery.
After six years, what could he possibly have to say?
She pictured him, standing beside a black truck in the drive of Royal Oaks, an old estate belonging to his grandmother. She recalled the date. June twenty-eighth. The day they had said goodbye had been a warm, blustery day in Tennessee. A summer storm was heading toward the rolling hills near Nashville.
The wind made a mess of Carson’s unruly dark hair. His dark blue eyes were hidden by a pair of mirrored lens aviators, and his alpha-male physique tested the seams of his polo shirt.
“If I’m ever back in town, I’ll look you up,” he promised as their casual affair came to an inevitable end. For three weeks, they had been together and finally, the time had come for them to go their separate ways. She hadn’t realized it would be so difficult.
“Sure.” She forced a smile of goodwill. After all, they weren’t parting in anger, or in love for that matter. And it was unlikely that she would ever see him again.
“I had a great time,” she confessed boldly. She’d loved every minute of their brief, steamy affair. Talk about a summer break to remember. She grinned.
He gave her cheek a stroke. “You’ll make a great doctor.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “You certainly know all there is to know about male anatomy.”
“Yours, at least.” She laughed. Then she hopped up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “Goodbye, Carson Blackwell.”
She stepped away from him. Now was the time to face what was ahead. A grueling three-year residency. There would be no more time for long summer nights, tangled sheets, and sighs against swollen lips. She walked toward her small, sturdy hatchback. Before she opened the driver’s door, she looked up and met his gaze.
“Goodbye,” he called.
At that moment, she’d had an odd sensation in her chest that her life was never going to be the same.
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Patricia Preston writes witty mainstream romances where love matters most. You are her reader if you like funny, passionate, feel good reads. Must haves in her writing cave include sweet tea and music. Besides writing, she loves music, history, movies, and anything containing chocolate. Her dream-come-true would be a townhouse in the French Quarter so she could party twenty-four seven. She never misses Supernatural or the Walking Dead. Sam, Dean, and Darryl fangirl!! She is repped by the Seymour Agency and currently working on a contemporary romance series, Love Heals All, for Lyrical Shine imprint of Kensington Books.
Available titles include Amazon best sellers in comedy, “The Yard Sale” and “Laid to Rest,” as well as sexy historical romances: To Save a Lady and Almost an Outlaw. Coming in September is the first book in the Love Heals All series from Kensington Boos, One Week in Your Arms. Also available for pre-order is the second book in the series, Everything His Heart Desires.
Patricia’s Ports of Call:
Webpage Amazon BookBub Facebook
Twitter Goodreads
****Patricia’s Treasure Alert****
I’m celebrating the coming of fall and the release of my first book in my new contemporary romance series by giving away a batch of my Kindle ebooks and a $20 Amazon gift card. You can enter by leaving a comment and email on this blog and extra entries by going to my Giveaway post on my blog. Drawing will be on Sept 30th. Winner notified via email and posted on my blog.
Don’t forget to comment/sign up for Patricia’s Giveaway, me hearties! Patricia’s books are delightfully engaging and humorous escapes! I can’t wait to read this first book in her new series!!!
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Bestselling, Award-winning author Collette Cameron sails into port with a post about marriage and divorce. More importantly, she’s sharing her new release, PASSION AND PLUNDER! Huzzah and Hoorah!
Ahoy, me hearties! ‘Tis the day o’ all days… seven swashbuckling romances are here in one thrilling and epic box set. Did you pre-order your copy? If so, grab the rum, put your boots up, and enjoy!
Jack: Preens. “Happy to be back on deck, Lady Katherine. I’m awash with delight.” Bows then straightens effects. Turns and poses for his guest. “Ah, there’s the fine authoress Lady Cathy Skendrovich now. Welcome aboard, luv. Tis a pleasure to have ye.” Winks devilishly and points to his rum jug. “Don’t be nervous. I brought rum. Let’s start at the beginning, eh? Everyone was born with a compass pointing somewhere. I have a compass that points to what I want most. Where does your compass point to?”
“’Tis an opportune moment for rum, luv.”
Lady Chloe Walsingham is an enthusiastic gothic romance reader and hopeless romantic focused solely on finding her perfect hero. She also happens to have a penchant for getting into trouble. So when the man she loves disappears after a scandalous duel, she decides to follow him to the ends of the Earth. To do so, however, Chloe must evade her brother, an infamous revenue man, and board a ship bound for Penzance. And nothing in her beloved books can prepare her for the harsh realities of wreckers who ply the coast.
