Some Prim and (not so) Proper Facts

The Aussie cover

It’s May, and as Miss Prim’s Greek Island Fling hit the shelves this month, I thought I’d share some fun facts about the book.

#1: This book was an utter delight to write. I can’t remember enjoying the writing of a book more. That, however, doesn't mean it was perfect first or even second time around. I had revisions, and then tweaks. But they were fun too! Which is crazy sauce because normally I hate revisions. I know, I know, they make a book better, but I usually find them a hard slog—but not for Miss Prim. :)

#2: My working title was The Playboy and Miss Prim. I like Miss Prim’s Greek Island Fling better, don’t you? Annie West tells me the title has music, and I think she might be right.

The UK cover

#3: The theme song for this story was ABBA’s "Tropical Loveland" because my setting was an island paradise (even if it technically wasn’t tropical). I listened to the song A LOT. But I didn’t watch the film clip until yesterday when I was writing this post. OMG! Just…go watch it for the hilarious moment when Frida eats a banana. ;-)



#4: Maybe the book was so much fun because my research was so fun. It included Google Mapping lots of Greek islands. Happy sighs. And it included watching the Mamma Mia movies (many times) as well as The Durrells. I still swoon over the scenery every single time.

#5: The very first line of the book stayed the same from from first draft to last draft. It reads: It was the sound of shattering glass that woke her. Cool, huh?

I’ve had some glorious reviews for Miss Prim. If you want to grab a copy, it’s available online in all the usual places and on the shelves in Australia and the UK right now.

The US cover

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Sunday Smooch with Michelle Douglas

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Miss Prim's Greek Island Fling.

 

An idyllic island retreat…

…with her Mr. Wrong!

After a devastating betrayal, Audra Russel escapes to her brother’s Greek island to lick her wounds. Only she soon finds that her brother’s best friend, Finn Sullivan, is vacationing there, too! He may be recovering from a near-fatal accident, but the irresistible daredevil is intent on showing buttoned-up Audra how to have a good time. And now that she’s started, she doesn’t ever want to stop!

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[Scene set up: Finn is frustrated because Audra keeps resisting fun and frivolity and the notion of letting her hair down. She’s such a warm and generous person and he wants her to be happy. This is one challenge he refuses to walk away from.]


‘I’ll tell you what I understand. That you’re the most uptight, repressed person I have ever met.’

‘Repressed?’ Her mouth opened and closed. ‘I— What are you doing?’

He’d seized her hand and was towing her towards a copse of Aleppo pine and carob trees. ‘What’s that?’ He flung an arm out at the vista spread below them.

She glared. ‘The Aegean. It’s beautiful.’

‘And that?’ He pointed upwards.

She followed his gaze. Frowned and shrugged, evidently not following where he was going with this. ‘The…sky?’

‘The sun,’ he snapped out. ‘And it’s shining in full force in case you hadn’t noticed. And where are we?’

She swallowed. ‘On a Greek island.’

He crowded her in against a tree, his arms going either side of her to block her in. ‘If there was ever a time to let you hair down and rebel against your prim and proper strictures, Audra, now’s the time to do it.’

She stared up at him with wide throbbing eyes, and he relished the moment—her stupefaction…her bewilderment…her undeniable hunger when her gaze lowered to his lips. This moment had seemed inevitable from when she’d appeared on the stairs a week ago to peer at him with those icy blue eyes, surveyed him in handcuffs, and told him it served him right.

His heart thudded against his ribs, he relished the adrenaline that surged through his body, before he swooped down to capture her lips in a kiss designed to shake up her safe little world. And he poured all of his daredevil wildness and adventurous temptation into it in a devil-may-care invitation to dance.

The assault on Audra’s senses the moment Finn’s lips touched hers was devastating. She hadn’t realised she could feel a kiss in so many ways, that it’s impact would spread through her in ever-widening circles that went deeper and deeper.

Finn’s warmth beat at her like the warmth of the sun after a dip in the sea. It melted things that had been frozen for a very long time.

His scent mingled with the warm tang of olive trees and sun-kissed grasses, and with just the tiniest hint of salt on the air it was exactly what a holiday should smell like. It dared her to play, it tempted her to reckless fun…and…and to a youthful joy she’d never allowed herself to feel before.

And she was powerless to resist. She had no defences against a kiss like this. It didn’t feel as if defences were necessary. A kiss like this…it should be embraced and relished…welcomed.

Finn had been angry with her, but he didn’t kiss angry. He kissed her as though he couldn’t help it—as though he’d been fighting a losing battle and had finally flung himself wholeheartedly into surrender. It was intoxicating.

Totally heady and wholly seductive.

 This is  one of the funnest books I've ever written, and in a lot of ways the book itself is about fun and joy and what brings us peace and pleasure. So let's all broaden our finding-pleasure horizons. What (other than family, friends and reading as I know all of us here find great joy in those things) brings you pleasure? Leave a comment to go into the draw to win a signed copy of Miss Prim's Greek Island Fling! :-)

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Amy Andrews will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver