Quinn was the object of her girlhood crush—and heartbreak— and is more gorgeous than ever. He’s also the only person qualified to oversee the renovation. Now they’re butting heads every step of the way... and their attraction is more electrifying than ever! But once the house is sold, Holly needs to return to her real life. And falling for Quinn all over again is one risk she can’t take...
Jake has never played by the rules. Getting Minister Holbrook's daughter pregnant wasn't part of any life plan, but he won't run from his responsibilities. He'll step up and be the best man he can, even if he doesn't have a clue where to begin. The more time he spends with Claire, though, the more he wants her, and the harder it is to get close because that would mean sharing the one thing he hasn't with anyone—the truth and his heart.
Former surgeon and self-professed life-long bachelor Evan Manning has one thing on his mind—to reclaim the career that a car accident stole from him. But when he’s forced to return to his hometown of Red River, Evan comes face-to-face with the gorgeous woman who’s haunted his dreams for the last year—the woman he rescued from the burning car that injured his hand. Now Evan needs her help. In a month, he'll have the job opportunity of a lifetime...he just needs a wife to get it.
Artist Grace Matheson is down on her luck again…until she walks into Evan Manning’s office. When her sexy former hero hears that she needs work, he offers her a job and a home—if she’ll pretend she's his fiancée. Grace knows she shouldn't fall for him. Once the month is up, Evan will be back to his old life. But the more time they spend together, the more real their feelings become—and the more likely heartbreak is.
So sometimes I get SUPER excited to interview and author. I read The Doctor's Fake Fiancée by Victoria James and I just had to talk to her. That means you REALLY should get this book!!! So, my blogmate Nicola and I got together to interview Victoria.
Kim ~ Hi Victoria! Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed. Have we mentioned that we LOVE the Manning men???? Because we do!!!
Hi Kim and Nicola! thank you SO much for having me on your blog! I’m thrilled to be here. Soooo glad you love the Manning men-I do too. (wink)
Nicola ~ I'll kick things off then. Quinn, Jake & Evan are each wonderful in their own unique way, but does any brother hold a special place in your heart?
Victoria ~ Ach, this is truly like asking me which of my kids holds a special place in my heart. It’s impossible, because they each have a different hold on me and I love them equally. I loved Quinn the most when I wrote his book, same with Jake and Evan. I think Quinn was my biggest crush, Jake broke my heart, and Evan was an absolute riot because he was so sarcastic.
Nicola ~ You summed up my feelings exactly. I have lots of love to give, it's no hardship . (wink)
Nicola ~ Red River is painted as a beautiful, picturesque small-town, is there a real-life place on earth it's based on. (...because I'm booking my flight if there is)
Victoria ~ LOL-if you’re flying in let me know, you can stay with me. (wink) Yes, Red River is based on a small town situated on the Canadian side of Lake Erie. I’ve been going there with my family since I was a baby. Not much has changed in that town in 30+ years. It has the lift bridge that I mention in the books, the lake, the river, and the small downtown core. I adore the area and every time we go down there, I’m always tempted to move there!
Kim ~ I wanna go!!!
Nicola ~ That's me off to check flight prices...
Nicola ~ What next for Red River and its residents?
Victoria ~ Hmmm…well, do you remember Natalia, the bakery owner? I’m thinking she’s needs her own book, and I think she’d be great paired up with one of Jake’s old bad-boy friend who comes back to town. Of course, now he’ll be reformed and successful…and I think he might be Mr. Mcann’s son (wink). I’ll keep you posted!
Nicola ~ How did you react when you discovered you'd become a USA Today Bestselling Author?
Victoria ~ I didn’t really believe it. I kind of found out by accident. It was early Saturday morning (but the USA bestseller’s list had already come out days prior and no one had noticed my name on it) and I was on my iPhone while the kids were watching TV and thought I’d check out the list. I remember staring at my name and The Best Man’s Baby book cover, not really believing what I was seeing. I mean, if this were true, surely someone would have noticed! So I ran upstairs to my husband and said, ‘um, I think I made the USA Today Bestseller’s list. But I’m not really sure. Am I going crazy, is this right?” and then I shoved my phone in his face (he was sleeping). So he confirmed it and was all excited, but I still didn’t believe it, lol so I sent an email to Liz Pelletier (the publisher at Entangled) and I titled it, ‘stupidest email ever’ and proceeded to tell her I think I might have made the list, etc. She wrote back and said indeed I did, and they’d missed it, congratulations, etc and were now going to celebrate. I also emailed my editor and thanked her because she was so much a part of every book I’d written. I never would have achieved that so early in my career if it hadn’t been for Liz and Entangled, so I was very, very grateful for the opportunities they’d given me.
Nicola ~ Your books have a tendency to reduce both Kim and I to tears. Her probably more than most. The girl cried like five times, reading The Doctor's Fake Fiancée. Do you experience the same emotions whilst you're writing the books.
Victoria ~ Teehee, sorry about that! I usually write the emotional scenes very, very fast so that my internal editor doesn’t interfere with getting the emotion down on the page. I know it’s emotional because I have a hard time reading it back or it makes me uncomfortable to re-read.
Kim ~ Truthfully, I probably cried MORE than five times. I actually lost count after four. Thank you very much.
Nicola ~ And I seldom cry, so well done, that's an achievement in itself. (smiles)
Victoria ~ Sorry! (smiles)
Kim ~ When you write a book, how do you do it? Do you start at the beginning, middle or end?
Victoria ~ I really wish I just started at the beginning and wrote right until the end, but I don’t... I tend to write the scenes that are in my mind, just burning to be down on paper. These tend to be the really funny scenes or the really emotional scenes. Then I will write the rest of the book around those scenes and add to those scenes once I know the characters more. I find that if I don’t get those scenes down when they are alive in my mind, I miss the passion or the emotion. It’s a messier way of writing and the neat-freak in me hates it, but it does work for me.
Kim ~ How did you choose your heroines (Holly, Claire and Grace) for the Manning brothers?
Victoria ~ Holly and Claire were easy for me-they were really funny, won’t-take-any-crap from either of those guys, type of women. They made me laugh and reminded me of my relationships with my best girlfriends. I had a harder time writing Grace because she had such a hard life and was at a real low point. She was perfect for Evan because she highlighted how shallow his pursuits were, and she brought out a deeper, more selfless and sensitive side to him.
Kim ~ I loved that Grace made Evan really look at his life.
Nicola ~ Claire and the stick. Need I say more - the lady rocked.
Kim ~ Yeah...That was a REAL highlight.
Kim ~ Was there anything about The Doctor's Fake Fiancée that surprised you?
Victoria ~ I think it was how much Evan had to change. On the outside, he was a great guy, but inside he was really lost. He was probably the most emotionally unaware guy I had ever written-and it was hilarious to write him. I loved his internal dialogue because in the beginning he was such an ass, without even realizing it. So it was fun to torture him until he finally figured out what he really needed in life.
Nicola’s Quick-fire questions!!!
Plotter or pantser?
Both.
Red or white (wine)?
Red.
Sun or snow?
Snow.
Dogs or cats?
Both.
Eat-in or out?
In (but not me cooking).
Clean-shaven or beard?
Clean-shaven or stubble-no beards!
Baseball or Football?
Baseball.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee!
Red River or Tall Pines? (oh yes, I'm evil (wink) but gotta ask it)
This is evil. Very evil and not quick (wink). Ach, how can I answer this….I love all the characters from both series equally…but I do love the town of Red River. I’m a sucker for small towns at the end of the day, and I hope I’ll have the privilege of writing them for a long time.
Nicola ~ And we hope we have the privilege of reading them for a long time.
Kim ~ I completely agree.
Kim ~ Thank you Victoria for answering some of our burning questions. We have to stop now, because we could talk to you FOREVER!
Victoria ~ Thank you so much for having me! xoxo
Purchase The Doctor's Fake Fiancée from:
The Red River Series:
Have a look at Nicola’s reviews of the Red River Series:
I always knew I wanted to be a writer and in grade five, I penned my first story, bound it (with staples) and a cardboard cover and did all the illustrations myself (if you’ve ever seen my drawings you’ll know how horrible they must have been. I still draw stick figures). Luckily, this book will never see the light of day again.
In high school I fell in love with historical romance and then contemporary romance. After graduating University with an English Literature degree, I married my own hero, pursued a degree in Interior Design and then opened my own business.
After the birth of our first child, I knew it was time to fulfill the dream of writing romantic fiction. I’m a hopeless romantic who is living my dream, penning happily-ever-after’s for my characters in between managing kids and the family business. Writing on a laptop in the middle of the country in a rambling old Victorian house would be ideal, but I’m quite content living in suburbia with my husband, our two young children, and very bad cat.
Places to find Victoria James:
I really enjoyed the interview, thanks for sharing. This was my first Victoria James book. I must say that I have bouht her other Red River books on my kindle and can't wait to read.
ReplyDeleteHey Shari.
DeleteThank you for checking out the interview. I LOVE Victoria. Yeah, I know, I've said that everywhere more than once already. But I REALLY do!!!
I still have to read A Risk Worth Taking (Red River Series) and The Rancher's Second Chance. But with Christmas coming up, you should definitely check out The Billionaire's Christmas Baby. That was another 5 star review for me.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I can NOT thank you enough for appearing!!! Thank you so much!!! ♥
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