Roxanne St. Claire ~ Barefoot in the Sun Interview & Giveaway

When running is all you've ever known . . .

Caught between fight and flight, Zoe Tamarin has always picked flight. Since she was rescued from a nightmare childhood by her great-aunt Pasha, they've been on the move, never staying in one place long enough to risk exposing their precarious past. But now that they've reached the sun-baked shores of Barefoot Bay, Zoe may have to stay and fight-for her aunt's life . . . and for a love she ran from years before.

Sometimes the bravest act of all is to stand still.

Oliver Bradbury came to Florida to start over, as both a doctor and a father to his eight-year-old son. He never expected life to hand him a second chance with the woman he lost years ago-but one look at Zoe Tamarin and he knows he'll do whatever it takes to prove that this time, he can be the man she needs. But when demands of family and friendship threaten to shatter their rekindled passion, Oliver must heal Zoe's lifelong wounds with more than hot kisses . . . but will that be enough to keep her from flying off with his heart?

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Talk about being an exciting day for me..... I actually get to ask Roxanne St. Claire questions and have her on my blog. (Cover your ears while I SCREAM and do my crazy happy dance!!!)  My goodness, there are NO words to explain how much I love this lady.  So without further ado, here’s my interview with the wonderful and fabulous, Roxanne St. Claire.
 

Tell us about Barefoot in the Sun. I haven't read it yet, but I WILL! Is this another book which should come with the warning, "box of tissue required for reading"?

Tissues are always a good call when my name is on a contemporary. If I don’t cry while writing the story, well, I probably go back and whip some more emotion into the manuscript. That’s the fun of a contemporary romance -- no dead bodies and surprise villains but plenty of ripped out hearts and sigh-worthy endings! BAREFOOT IN THE SUN is Zoe’s story, so you can also expect lots of laughter. This is a reunion romance, but both parties have a lot of explaining to do...and they need each other more than they want to admit. Zoe’s challenge in life is staying in one place to grow roots and Oliver wants and needs her to do just that.

What do you love about Zoe & Oliver?

The layers! Zoe, in particular, stunned me. I will be quite honest in saying that I wasn’t sure what her backstory would really be until I started writing it. From the moment she was introduced in the first book, she’d been my comic relief -- the good time girl who loves her wine, her sarcasm, and her men. Oh, and she loves her Great Aunt Pasha, who raised her. Early on, I laid the groundwork for an ex to be in the picture, but when first introduced, he’s married -- and the reader really doesn’t know if maybe Zoe had an affair with a married man. (She did not!) When it came time to write her book, I started to unpeel the layers and let Zoe tell me her story -- whoa. Wasn’t expecting that! She’s a fascinating character with far more depth than her snark and wit would make you think. Not an easy character to write, but I’m really pleased with her story and the lessons she learned from love. I hope readers are, too!

It's no secret I LOVED Barefoot in the Rain. - How did you come up with the idea for the series and the individual books?

Thank you! I loved RAIN, too, but I love them all. I recently finished the fourth book in the series, BAREFOOT BY THE SEA, and that one might have been my favorite of all. I had been playing with the idea of a contemporary series set on a fictional island in Florida for many years while I wrote my last few romantic suspense novels. I think part of me wanted to write books that delved into emotion instead of suspense, if only for a palette cleanser. I also live in a gorgeous, tropical paradise in Florida and I felt like I could really turn the setting into a “character” and honor the true beauty of my home state. I also wanted to write a series that explored women’s friendships; there’s a lot out there about sisters -- and I love those books! -- but I also wanted to celebrate the unique bond that adult women friends share. My group of closest friends are truly a “second family” to me and I wanted the theme of the healing power of true women friends to be central to the series. Once I created the four women who would form the backbone of the books, their love stories and perfect heroes took shape naturally.

You recently signed a new contract to continue the Barefoot Bay Series. Any chance you can gave us an idea of what to expect?

Yes and I’m SO excited to be writing more Barefoot Bay books. A million thanks to the readers who have embraced them and a billion thanks to my awesome publisher, Grand Central, who has done a marvelous job of packaging and promoting this series. The new trilogy will be called the “Barefoot Brides” and it centers, again, on female friends. These three are all wedding planners, each with their own specialty, who come together to start a bridal consulting business centered on Barefoot Bay as a destination wedding locale. The resort where the four women (and their husbands!) work, Casa Blanca, will still be front and center in the trilogy, but I’m also going to spread out and let readers see more of Mimosa Key, the fictional island where the series takes place. I hope to write deeply romantic and emotional stories for each of the women, who are going to be introduced to readers in BAREFOOT BY THE SEA (#4). The books will be released in 2014 and 2015, so stay tuned for more!

Thank you so Roxanne. And a BIG thank you also goes out to Jihan for making this all happen.

 

About the lovely Roxanne:

Roxanne St. Claire is a bestselling author of thirty novels of romance and suspense. A five-time nominee and one-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award for outstanding romantic fiction, her books have also won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense for two consecutive years, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, five Awards of Excellence, the Aspen Gold and many others.

 

Prior to launching a full time career as a novelist in 2003, Roxanne spent most of her professional life as a marketing executive and public relations consultant. She is a graduate of UCLA, an active member of several national writing organizations, and a lecturer on a wide range of writing-related topics. She lives in Satellite Beach, Florida with her husband and their two teenagers, and if you know her, you call her Rocki.

Connect with Roxanne St. Claire:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Current & Upcoming books in The Barefoot Bay Series.

 

Roxanne and her publisher, Grand Central Forever are offering up copies of BAREFOOT IN THE SUN to two lucky RYWBR readers. (US only) 

To enter for your chance to win a copy of the book, you must:

1. Be a BlogLovin’ follower. AND

2. Leave a comment for Roxanne or myself.

Contest ends on Monday, May 6 at 11:59 PM (PDT). Winners will be contacted on May 7th and have 48 hours to respond.