Barrett didn’t mean to lie. Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a
dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it? Lanie thinks so, especially since
her beloved Aunt Ruby would have been heartbroken to know the truth of her
niece’s sadly loveless, short-of-sparkling existence. Trouble is, according to
the will, Ruby didn’t quite buy Lanie’s tale. And to inherit the only house
Lanie ever really considered a home, she’ll have to bring her “husband” back to
Charmed, Texas for three whole months—or watch Aunt Ruby’s cozy nest go to her
weasel cousin, who will sell it to a condo developer.
is out of work, out of luck, and the spitting image of the man Lanie described.
He needs money for his daughter’s art school tuition, and Lanie needs a
convenient spouse. It’s a match made . . . well, not quite in heaven, but for a
temporary arrangement, it couldn’t be better. Except the longer Lanie and Nick
spend as husband and wife, the more the connection between them begins to seem
real. Maybe this modern fairy tale really could come true . . .
There are things a girl hopes to hear in her lifetime, and a marriage proposal definitely tops that list. A proposal offered as a business deal, probably thrown out in desperation to stop my meltdown and pending dehydration, however, was not what most women have in mind.
“Don’t, Nick,” I said, hiccupping through my sobs, trying to make it stop. “Don’t play with that. Don’t make fun.”
“I’m not,” he said, still facing Ralph, the dog’s face in his hands as if it were all addressed to him. “I’m dead serious.”
I waited for more and it didn’t come. Um, I needed more explanation than that.
Wiping at my face in vain, I leaned against the post and looked down at possibly the hottest man I’d ever met. Sitting on my porch in a black-on-black suit, asking me to marry him by proxy of Ralph.
“Why?”
Finally, he let go of Ralph’s large head and stood, turning to face me as though it was with his last dying breath.
“You need this house,” he said, his words slow and precise. His dark eyes didn’t blink, didn’t look away uncomfortably, didn’t falter. “You may or may not need the money, I don’t know. I don’t see you getting all emotional about that, but you’re hugging the house, so I’m guessing the money’s not an important factor.”
“I didn’t even know about that money.”
“Which brings it to me,” he said, closing his eyes briefly. “I need a job.”
“Are you saying—”
“I’m saying I just got in a car with a stranger for five hundred dollars,” he said. “That’s how far I’ve fallen. Three months of my life—what would that be worth?”
My tongue felt as swollen and stuck as my eyelids.
That sentence, along with the glazed over look his eyes got and the hard set of his jaw, was possibly the saddest thing I’d ever witnessed. To be followed closely by the strong possibility of my saying yes.
Describe yourself in five words or less.
- Snarky (Might be kind of scary that this was the first one that came to mind.)
- Introverted
- Sneaky
- People-watcher (notice how I hyphenated to get an extra word? Yeah, see #3)
- Dog-lover (it worked last time)
Can you tell us a little about your book?
It’s about lying! LOL. Truly, it’s about when all your little white lies catch up to you, and what the hell do you do then? You make up a gargantuan sized one to cover them, and then hope it doesn’t swallow you whole. Unless it’s in the form of a hot sexy get-under-your-skin man….then by all means swallow! (I did not just say that.)
Lanie and Nick’s story was honestly one of my favorite books to write—EVER. It was so much fun, and such a runaway train ride with no hands! I loved literally watching them fall for each other, I loved Lanie’s spunk! I loved every second of it, and it birthed the town of Charmed, so I hope you will love it as much as I do.
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
I Hope You Dance
Name one thing you won’t leave home without.
My phone and a hair tie on my wrist. (That’s 2. Damn I have trouble following rules.)
What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
I adore writing intense scenes with either sexy-smexy chemistry burning up the page or fast snappy dialogue. Sex scenes before the sex…with the tease and the tension and the snarky back and forth talking…I love that. Also fights are a blast with all that emotion churning around. Dialogue is always the most fun. I groan to write description…
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Everyone says this, but seriously, never give up. I met Sandra Brown at a writer’s conference, and she was behind a table signing for a line of hundreds, and when I got up there I said “Everyone in this line wants to be you one day.” She looked at me and said, “You’re here. You’re already halfway there. Don’t ever stop learning and don’t ever stop writing. You’ll get here. One day, maybe I’ll be in your line.” I never forgot that. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing by any means, but my first book was published almost exactly 5 years ago, and now A CHARMED LITTLE LIE is my 10th published book, and I’ve just finished writing my 12th. Don’t give up on your dream. Also, remember that you write about life, and to do that you have to live. There are times (deadline evil times) that you have to stay in a cave and pound out words, but outside of that, find a balance and enjoy your life. It will show in your writing when you do…and when you don’t. If you write romance, kiss your husband every day. And if you are writing about hot sex and he is one of your readers, you’d better be prepared to give up the goods. Saying you aren’t in the mood after penning being banged against a wall—doesn’t cut it honey. 😉
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I wouldn’t be here without you, and I love and adore you so much for taking the time to buy my books and give my stories a try. And when you email or message me to tell me about it…oh my God you just don’t know the rainbows and unicorns that fill me up. Nothing is more important in this job than readers. When I make you happy…when I make you laugh or cry or feel something that you are moved enough to tell me about…my God, ice cream isn’t even as good as that. It’s close. But not quite. 😉
Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and two crazy dogs. She is the author of five stand-alone novels including the bestselling Don’t Let Go, the exciting Heart Of The Storm series, and the fun and sexy new Charmed in Texas series.
For more about Sharla’s books, visit www.sharlalovelace.com, and keep up with all her new book releases easily by subscribing to her newsletter. She loves keeping up with her readers, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
