The Family Man Behind the Story
The Family Man: ideas & inspiration behind the story
This is the 2nd book in my Hot Shot series. When I was plotting out this book, I was reading a historical romance that used the beauty and the beast theme. And I thought: I should try using a theme like that! Only I didn't choose a fairy tale. I chose The Wizard of Oz. Not that the threads of that story run deeply through this one. But the hero's nickname was The Tin Man (he was a heartless playboy), my heroine was Thea Gayle (not Dorothy Gayle) and the dog's name was Whizzer (the Wizard!). I'll let you look for the other character's names and the flying monkeys...
I had a lot of fun writing about Thea's shoes. She didn't like silence. She threaded her tennis shoes with bells and wore slippers with squeakers in them. The hero - who was grieving and valued silence - literally got shocked right into speaking. Several times.
Cover buzz: I like this cover. So did my editor. She bet the other editors in her group that it would sell best for its debut month because the dog is adorable. I do, however, remember putting in a character description of the Tin Man in my cover notes - he has big, strong arms. Boy does he ever!
