FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST was inspired by a cabin my husband and I bought halfway through the Covid pandemic. We live near the beach, literally a five-minute walk from the San Clemente beach and pier, but during California’s lockdown we felt a need to go somewhere, so we’d feel as if we’d escaped to somewhere. Ty and I spent a couple of weekends looking at cabins and areas, and in January 2020 we found a 1923 cabin near Lake Arrowhead in the little town of Blue Jay in California’s San Bernardino Mountains. Even better, the drive was only an hour and a half without traffic (especially with my husband at the wheel.)
The cabin still had the original logs, all placed in a vertical design, which was popular in the 1920s and early 30s. Why vertical placement of logs? It allowed local builders to use local logs, and the logs didn’t have to be exactly the same size as there was no joining logs at the corners. The cabin we fell in love with needed so much work, but we loved its history, (our Hawaii house was built in 1929, and our San Clemente home was built in 1926-27) and each of those houses have needed work, so we were prepared to dig in and work. Unfortunately, sellers took a different offer instead of ours, and a few weeks later we were looking at another cabin when our realtor called us to say that the cabin we loved was back on the market as no bank was willing to give a loan for a cabin that was in danger of “falling down”.
The cabin wasn’t falling down, but it reeked of skunks (a family had taken up residence in the crawl space) and was in really rough condition, needing a new subfloor, plus floor, new roof, new chinking between the logs, new windows, new bathrooms, new kitchen…I’m sure I’m forgetting something! We made a new offer, and this time got the cabin and started ripping out the pink carpet right away. The pink carpet was everywhere, on both levels, and the paneling had emerald green trim around windows and on walls, as well. We hired wildlife experts to trap and safely move the skunks who kept returning, and finally they got the hint.
For six months my husband drove up to the cabin almost every day, and after a year of demoing and rebuilding, we had new windows, and then a new roof, and then finally new exterior paint, but it was during one of the early work trips, there was a heavy snowstorm, the snow so thick there were no cars out (except for my husband in his 4x4 truck with the enormous snow tires) and we reached the cabin so he could work. I sat near the fire in a folding chair under a pile of blankets trying to stay warm. While husband Ty and one of our sons, patched holes in the floor, I, being a romance writer, tried to imagine how I’d cope if I was up there in the mountains on my own, in the middle of a heavy snowstorm.
It crossed my mind that I’d think it was wonderful until I got cabin fever and couldn’t actually go anywhere. And then I thought well, if I was single, I’d hope there was a gorgeous man somewhere, a very rugged alpha, who didn't mind snow and ice and wouldn’t be afraid of much of anything. And that was how Flirting with the Beast came to be. Andi was my heroine with a cabin in Blue Jay, and Wolf was her not-so-friendly neighbor with his cabin on a hill behind hers, and when they were both snowed in, Wolf made sure Andi didn’t freeze to death (amongst other things). And Wolf, a retired Marine, and a prototype for Marsoc, can handle just about anything, including Andi.
I love writing mature characters, and Andi and Wolf deserved happiness and FLIRTING WITH THE BEAST became one of my favorite stories I’ve written. And every time I visit our cabin in Blue Jay, including our trip last week, I remember how hard my husband worked to save a “falling down cabin” so it’d still be here in another one hundred years, and I remember Andi and Wolf, and how a snowy Christmas and New Year gave them a second chance at happy-ever-after.
Modern Love
A woman expecting to spend the holidays alone finds warmth in the iciest man she knows in this steamy and charming later-in-life romance by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.
It’s been five years since Andi McDermott lost her husband, and she's finally starting to feel like herself again, ready to live fully—she’s even started dating again. But when her holiday plans with her stepson and his fiancée fall through, she refuses to spend another Christmas alone while everyone is celebrating with their families. Impulsively, she decides to go up to her cabin in Lake Arrowhead, a place she used to love to visit but hadn’t gone to in years, not since the feud started between her husband and their nearest neighbor.
Andi starts to rethink her decision when being alone at the cabin proves to be more challenging than she expected—a heavy snowstorm hits the area, and Andi finds herself trapped there with no one to help except for her neighbor, Wolf Enders. A military vet who lives full-time on Lake Arrowhead, Wolf is as grumpy and intimidating as Andi remembers. But he’s also unexpectedly kind and uncomfortably sexy—his presence reminds Andi that she may be older, but her body still works perfectly fine, thank you very much. But can this good girl tame this sexy beast of a man, and will this snowy fling turn into a love of a lifetime?
Romance Contemporary | Women's Fiction Contemporary [Berkley, On Sale: November 29, 2022, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593438404 / eISBN: 9780593438411]
Wintry weather is a character in this mountainside romance
Classic Romance, Modern Chick Lit
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jane Porter holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and has written 75 novels since getting her first sale to Harlequin Presents in 2000. A six time RITA finalist, and RITA winner in July 2014 for Take Me, Cowboy, Jane is known for her passionate, powerful stories and relatable heroines. An advocate for writers, Jane founded Tule Publishing in 2013 to give romance and women’s fiction authors support and opportunities. Jane and Tule Publishing are both based in sunny San Clemente, CA.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy