Author Lia Riley shares how her childhood small town influenced her small town romances. Enjoy! Want to skip straight to the except? Click here.
I’ve lived in various places around the world from Italy to Australia, as well as throughout the United States, but no matter what, I maintain strong small town roots. My under-ten years were spent in a tiny village in Southeastern Michigan, surrounded by soybean fields, corn and red barns–the sort of Shire-ish landscape that might be suitable to hobbits. It’s a location that you have to describe to others by naming other, bigger towns, nearby.
When I made the decision to write a small-town romance series, I knew that part of me would tap into my childhood experiences even though it’s far removed from the Californian mountains, in the fictional valley where Brightwater is located.
Part of what makes a small town a fantastic setting is their individuality, the special qualities of the local businesses and the folks who run them. Ma and Pa shops on Main Street can make for quirky fun, as can the locals who patronize them. Parking and traffic are no big deal. People can band together…or know everything about everyone else (or at least think they do).
The town where I grew up isn’t dying out, but it’s not thriving either. There is very much a “stuck in time” feel. That was part of how I designed Brightwater. What if a town that hadn’t changed much in one-hundred-and-fifty years suddenly became an “it” destination? People flocked in to build expensive vacation compounds and suddenly housing prices jumped. Long-time residents were uncertain…would they be pushed out of their home or was this an opportunity to grow and change?
I hope you enjoy getting to visit Brightwater and stop by throughout the books in the series to see how the town and its residents evolve with the times.
Last First Kiss Brightwater Series Book #1 by Lia Riley
Release date: June 23rd, 2015
Publisher: Avon Romance
New to Avon author Lia Riley makes a splash with her first sexy, hilarious book in the sizzling Brightwater series!
Synopsis
A kiss is just the beginning…
Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is… messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect.
Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.
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About Lia Riley
Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.
A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn’t mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c’mon, who doesn’t love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.
Connect with Lia: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads
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Thank you for hosting LAST FIRST KISS!
My pleasure