Today we are interviewing Romance author Lee McKenzie. She is giving away a
signed copy of THE CHRISTMAS SECRET, the first in her three-book Ready Set Sold
series for Harlequin American Romance.
Alexis: Hi Lee, thank you for visiting Happily Ever
After Thoughts. How would you describe the type of romances you write?
Lee: Hi, Alexis. Thank you so much inviting me to
join you today. I write lighthearted contemporary love stories with an emphasis
on families, friendships and community. My husband tells everyone that my books
are fifty shades of pink!
Alexis: I love that. He should be your publicist. So
can you tell us what THE DADDY PROJECT is about?
Lee: This is the second book in my Ready Set Sold
series, and it’s on sale now. These books are about three women who run a real
estate business that renovates, stages and sells homes. THE DADDY PROJECT (Dec
2012) is Kristi’s story. She’s a single mom and the company’s interior
decorator, and she’s been hired by single dad Nate to stage his home for the
real estate market. They both have families who try to set them up with awkward
blind dates so they come up with a workaround…they’ll be each other’s fake date.
And that turns out to be a lot more complicated than either of them expects!
THE CHRISTMAS SECRET (Nov 2011), the first book in
the series, is Samantha’s story. She’s the company’s carpenter and all-round
handywoman, and hers is a secret baby story with a twist.
Alexis: A woman carpenter? I really like that. Where
did you get the idea for these books?
Lee: I love HGTV-style shows about renovations and
home decor and real estate, and thought it would fun to blend those things into
a company run by three smart, savvy women. My editor agreed and I’m so glad she
did because writing this series has been a lot of fun!
Alexis: What are your favorite character traits of Kristi
and Nate?
Lee: Kristi is a great mom who’s made some bad
choices when it comes to men. She doesn’t want her teenage daughter to make the
same mistake, so she’s decided to set a good example by putting her personal
life on hold until her daughter is grown up.
Nate is a scientist and a university professor and I
adore him! Think Big Bang Theory but
a little less nerdy. He’s a widower raising four-year-old twin girls, and
feeling more than a little overwhelmed.
RT Book Reviews gave THE DADDY PROJECT a four-star
review and said, “McKenzie's characters are clever, with a captivating warmth
that readers will love.” I’m thrilled with this review because that’s exactly
what I was going for with these characters.
Alexis: That is a great review. How long have you
been writing and what got you started?
Lee: I read Anne
of Green Gables and Little Women
when I was ten years old and knew then that I wanted to be a writer someday,
just like Anne and Jo. I discovered Harlequin Romance novels when I was a teenager
and read them voraciously, so when I started
my first novel-length manuscript as an adult, I knew I wanted to write
for Harlequin. The American Romance line, with its focus on family and
community, is an especially good fit for me.
Alexis: What can we expect next from you? Do you
have any new releases coming or a work in progress?
Lee: DADDY, UNEXPECTEDLY, the third book in the
Ready Sold Series, will be out in May 2013 and it’s already available for
pre-order. Claire is the company’s Realtor and this one’s her story. Her dream
is to have a family and a home with a white picket fence but what she’s getting
is a divorce. Then she runs into Luke, an old friend from college. He’s an
undercover cop and a more-or-less reformed bad boy who has no intention of
settling down. I think the title speaks for itself, and I hope readers will
love this hero as much as I do!
My first Harlequin Heartwarming, MAGGIE’S WAY, will
also be out in May, so that’s going to be a busy month for me. And right now
I’m working on a three-book series set in a fictional small town in Wisconsin.
I’ll be updating my website with more information about that series in the
coming months.
Alexis: Sounds great! Thank you so much for sharing
your stories with us. It's a pleasure having you visit.
Lee: You’re very welcome. Thank you for being my
host today. Merry Christmas to everyone, and here’s to writing and reading
fifty shades of pink! For readers who would like to keep in touch, I invite
them to drop by my website and sign up for my monthly eNewsletter—Life in the Slow Lane. Every month I
have a giveaway plus recipes and other fun stuff, as well as information about
my books.
Alexis: For a chance to win a copy of THE CHRISTMAS
SECRET be sure to leave a comment for
Lee. If I have contact information, I
will let you know when you win, otherwise, check the side column for your name
on Wednesday under WINNERS.
For more information on Lee and her stories, go to
Alexis: Check out this excerpt from THE DADDY
PROJECT.
Kristi Callahan rang the doorbell of her dream home.
A sprawling 1960s rancher with two fireplaces, a breezeway separating the house
from the two-car garage, and enough West Coast flair to appeal to potential
buyers searching for their own dream home in one of Seattle's
family-friendliest neighborhoods. And it was just her luck to be on the wrong
side of the door.
This house was well beyond the reach of a single mom
raising a teenage daughter on a single mom's income, but that didn't stop her
imagination from playing with the idea of actually living in a house like this
someday. And since she'd been hired to get this one staged for the real estate
market, she would at least get to put her personal stamp on the place before
returning to reality. Her modest two-bedroom town house was no dream home, but
it was hers. Or it would be hers in twenty-three and a half years.
The other reality was that by the time she and her
team at Ready Set Sold were finished here, this client would get top dollar,
even in today's less-than-stellar market, putting this house even further out
of her reach.
Speaking of clients, she had an appointment and she
was only five minutes late. Okay, eight, but surely Mr. and Mrs. McTavish
hadn't given up on her and gone out. There was a big silver-colored SUV and two
pink plastic tricycles parked in the driveway but that didn't necessarily mean
anyone was home.
She dug her phone out of the side pocket of her bag.
No messages, no missed calls. Taking care not to get tripped up by a tattered
teddy bear missing half its stuffing and three small yellow rubber boots strewn
across the wide front step, she rang the bell again, and waited. A moment later
her patience was rewarded with footsteps, lots of them. Two identical faces
with earnest blue eyes and blond Cindy Brady pigtails appeared in the glass
sidelight next to the door. One had her thumb in her mouth; the other's
pigtails were oddly askew. No doubt these were the tricycle riders. And then
they were dwarfed by a huge dog whose head appeared above theirs, a panting,
drooling Saint Bernard.
"Is your mommy home?" Kristi asked, loud
enough so they could hear.
Their pigtails shook from side to side.
The dog pressed its moist nose against the glass.
Hmm. The children stared at her but made no attempt
to summon a grown-up. Surely they hadn't been left here on their own with only
a dog to look out for them. A dog that let loose a strand of drool that now
slithered down one of the blond pigtails.
Gross. Kristi quickly looked away and reached for
the doorbell yet again, pulling her hand back when another set of footsteps,
heavier ones, approached from the other side of the door.
The man who opened it was wearing faded blue jeans,
a gray T-shirt with what appeared to be a complicated chemical equation in
green lettering stretching across his chest, and the annoyed expression of
someone who wasn't expecting anyone.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
Darn. Did she have the wrong day? No. She had
checked her calendar and this appointment had definitely been scheduled for
Wednesday. And it was Wednesday, wasn't it?
The man at the door gave her a wary look and held up
his hands, both clad in dirt-caked gardening gloves. "If you're selling
something, I'm not interested."
"No." She shook her head emphatically,
trying to ignore his mucky gloves and struggling not to be distracted by the
intensity of his eyes. Cool blue eyes that a girl could practically swim in.
"I'm not selling anything."
"Who's she, Daddy?" the girl with the
crooked pigtails asked before Kristi could continue.
"My name's Kristi." She smiled down at the
adorable little girls, then extended her hand to their father. "Kristi
Callahan. I have a two o'clock appointment to meet with the owners. The
McTavishes?" Maybe she had the wrong address. "I'm the interior
decorator with Ready Set Sold. You hired my company to stage your home and set
up the real estate listing."
His expression went from accusatory to apologetic
and he slapped a hand to his forehead—apparently forgetting about the gloves as
he remembered the appointment—and applied a grimy streak to his brow.
She stared at it, contemplated the protocol with
strangers who had spinach in their teeth, toilet paper stuck to a shoe, dirt on
their faces, and decided there wasn't one.
He must have realized what she was looking at
because he gave his forehead a hasty swipe with his forearm. The streak blurred
to a smudge.
Kristi fought off a smile and lowered her gaze to
the two little girls, who now flanked the man, each with an arm wound around a
kneecap. The one was still sucking her thumb.
"Right. I'm Nate McTavish." He held out
his hand, jerked it back and pulled off the glove. His handshake was confident,
firm but not too firm. His skin was warm and, given the state of his gardening
gloves, surprisingly dirt-free. "Your company was recommended by a
colleague of mine. I plan to sell but the house needs some work and I wouldn't
know where to start."
"I see." She noted that he said
"I" rather than "we," and the little girls had already
indicated their mother wasn't here. The hand that might give a clue to his
marital status was still inside a gardening glove. Not that it's any of your
business, she reminded herself, and tried to ease her hand out of his.
He quickly let go.
Alexis: Don't forget for a chance to win THE CHRISTMAS SECRET, leave a comment for Lee :-)
