by: Codi Gary
Series: Rock Canyon, Idaho
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Publisher: NYLA
They used to be enemies…
Gracie McAllister has never been the relationship type…until now. After a brutal visit from her happily married parents, Gracie is looking for Mr. Right…not Mr. Right Now. And despite their recent truce, there is no way sexy Eric Henderson is anything but.
Now they’re allies…
Eric has always had a thing for Gracie, but they could never manage to get on the same page long enough to explore the heat between them. When Eric gets the opportunity of a lifetime, he asks Gracie for help…and swears her to secrecy.
But is that all?
Now the whole town thinks their romance is real, but it’s just a business arrangement. There’s no way they’re actually falling in love…right?
In March of 2015, I was contracted for two more books in the Rock Canyon series. When my publisher suggested we start a new series, I was both relieved and devastated. I loved Rock Canyon, but I’d written six books in the series in two years, plus three Loco, Texas books. I’d had a busy schedule, sometimes writing, editing, and copy editing all at the same time, and I was ready to step away from the series and come back to it later with a fresh perspective.
It wasn’t until my schedule started to ease in the fall of 2016 that I finally had my agent asked Avon Impulse if I could continue the Rock Canyon series independently and they said yes.
I had the permission I needed, the characters…but was I ready to go back? It had been eighteen months since the last book in the series released and I was scared. Scared I wouldn’t do Gracie and Eric justice, that the readers had forgotten about the series...there were so many “what ifs” I was hesitant. I’d taken a few blows to my self-esteem in 2016 and I was freaking out a bit about trying to finish the series that had given me my start and held so much of my heart.
But just like the other books in the series, this one threw me two incredible curveballs and I was in it. Sure, there were a ton of bumps. Bad weather kept me from the coffee shop (where I do the bulk of my writing). Several sick days for my kids and a few for me had me exhausted and frustrated. Throw in a birthday for my son, and I was pretty crazed!
Rock Canyon didn’t care about that though. The characters leapt off the page, calling me to finish this scene, this chapter, the epilogue. When I did my final read through, I was happy with the book.
As writers, we sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves and whether our readers will like the book that we forget to ask ourselves what we think about it. We lose our way and forget why we started writing in the first place. It wasn’t for money, or fame, or recognition.
It was because we had these insanely loud voices in our head that wouldn’t shut up.
This book was filled with moments I wanted to write, with conflicts and reveals I was excited about.
I still hope that when my readers get their hands on it, they love it as much as I do, but I’m okay if not everyone does.
To quote my favorite Facebook meme, “You can’t please everyone…you aren’t pizza.”
If I was though, I’d be Hawaiian. Canadian bacon, pineapple, cheese, sauce, and thick crust…dipped in ranch. What kind of pizza would you be?
Purchase Good Girls Don’t Kiss and Tell from:
The Rock Canyon, Idaho Series:
(Clicking on the book covers will take you to Amazon.)
Places to find Codi Gary:
Don’t forget to check out the giveaway Codi has going on.
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Sounds like a fun book
ReplyDeleteHi Janine. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books in this series, but I have read another series from Codi and the books definitely made me laugh.