Normally I drop a teaser every Monday morning.

Today, instead, I’m going to chat about Tempting Hallie. Casual. Easy. Like we’re just a couple of buddies having a drink, talking romance novels.

So let’s get into it, shall we?

First off, Ace. — He’s a straight shooter, a no holds barred, don’t give a damn kind of man. He’s also incredibly protective, sexy, tatted, curses like a sailor, and spends a lot of his time behind the bar—The Cricket, which he owns—slinging drinks. He’s incredibly multifaceted, and if you’ve met him in any of my other books in the Sweetgum Valley series, you’ll know he’s a real handful sometimes. But there’s so much more to him than what’s been shown on the pages before now.

Then there’s Hallie. — She’s sharp, wise beyond her years, incredibly loyal, a little playful, but so very vulnerable with a depth of layers so many don’t see because she’s so good at hiding behind master manipulating the pieces on the metaphorical chessboard that is life. — But not in a malicious way. Just in a way that is very Hallie.

Tempting Hallie itself is the story of two somewhat lost souls, very different from each other, colliding. But it’s told with all the playful banter, sexual tension, and humor that I find I just love pouring into my novels. But as always, the threads of something more run deeper. In Tempting Hallie, that’s honesty, fear, vulnerability, trust, forgiveness. It’s growth, it’s being willing to shed armor and wade into that messy thing called love. It’s family and friendship. It’s finding strength in those things.

It was so fun to write. When I was mulling over all my characters years ago, I knew almost immediately that Ace and Hallie were going to end up together. I was really excited because I knew it was going to be a challenge to get two people so very stubborn together without losing my mind. And if you’ve read previous books, then you’ll know that Ace and Hallie each have strong personalities. — But very different ones. And so making that work in a way that was fun and would have you, along with me, rooting for them, was something I loved every second of.

I literally told my mom the other day as I was working through some edits, I said, “Look, I love my husband, but I want an Ace, dammit.” 😂 – I love him as a character that much. And I love that of all my characters, I was able to gift him to Hallie. Because if he’s everything I’ve made him out to be, make believe as he is, he’s perfect for her, and she deserves nothing less.

So there’s an overall look at Tempting Hallie, and some of my thoughts about it as I’ve worked on it over the last year and a half. I could go on and on, but then we’d be here all day, and I won’t ask you to read a book until, well, I publish the actual book.

And speaking of… keep an eye out. It’s coming in December!