Did you ever wonder how a writer’s mind works? Because – spoiler – it isn’t
pretty. But I’ll give you a peek. Here’s the flat out truth – I was more than a
little tipsy when the idea for my Naked Men series
originated. I was at a wine tasting at Fleming’s Steakhouse (twenty-five wines
in two hours – hence the tipsiness!). The idea of a series revolving around five
guys who share a blog seemed like a winner. Okay, lots of hysterical things
seemed like a winner that night, but this one really had legs. Like the wine
(that’s a joke only for wine snobs, but I promise they’ll be ROFL over
it). Obviously the guys all had to be different. I still have the paper with the
original scribbled ideas: the jock, the jerk, the manwhore, the smooth talker,
the big business tycoon. Then I drank more cabernet. You know – to celebrate
having an awesome idea!

So the next day – after much water was consumed – I had to figure out how to
turn a fun idea into a book. Because five guys typing a blog post on their
laptops is, in fact, not a viable idea. The incredibly talented Sue
Grafton said, “Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates
the sheep from the goats.” Now, I’m not sure what makes being a sheep that much
better than a goat, seeing as how I could eat goat cheese all day long.
But you get the point. The hard part is the execution.
There had to be drama (don’t worry – there is lots of sex, too). So I turned the
five guys into high school friends who survived a near-fatal accident. The three
days they spent struggling to survive turned them into the men who became my
heroes. Griffin realized nobody would rescue them, and he had to take control of
the situation. He grew up to be a Coast Guard rescue pilot (see it taking
shape?), and the hero of book 1, RISKING IT ALL. Josh did
not do well going without food for three days. He pulled a little of a Scarlett
O’Hara (“I’ll never be hungry again” – thank you, Margaret Mitchell!) and turned
into a chef.
And Knox, who was petrified that at fifteen he’d die a virgin, grew up to become
that manwhore (well, I call him a Casanova because it sounds slightly more
classy) that I’d first envisioned. His adolescent fear informing his choices as
an adult made him a tad more sympathetic. His giant brain (what he saw as the
reason behind his unwanted virginity) turned him into a gajillionaire (technical
term, I swear), so he also became the tycoon from my original idea. Then he was
interesting enough to be the hero of book 2, WANTING IT ALL. Especially
once I decided that the perfect heroine for him would be a woman who moved to
D.C. solely for two reasons (in order of importance): 1) to get married ASAP,
and 2) to find her newly discovered half-brother. See how that makes them
absolutely wrong for each other?
Spoiler: it turns out they just might be perfect for each other. You’ll have to
read the book to find out. And to get peeks at my other heroes who started out
as wine-soaked figments of my imagination and grew into super sexy men who just
need to find the right women…
Naked Men
#2
After narrowly surviving a bus crash in high school with his best friends,
science geek Knox Davis resolved to become so successful that he could have
anything and everything he wants. Now he’s über-wealthy, a huge business
success, and a notorious ladies’ man. Knox refuses to limit himself to one
woman, but when his latest conquest—a blond beauty from the Alaskan
bush—challenges his superficial ways, Knox begins to see the world through her
eyes, and finds he likes what he sees.
A nurturer at heart, Madison Abbott wants to put down roots. She left Alaska to
meet Mr. Right—and to track down Logan, the half-brother she’s never met.
Instead, she finds Knox. Although the sexy-as-sin bachelor may not seem like
marriage material, Madison’s starting to think that Knox is The One. But Knox
refuses to settle down, especially once he learns that Madison is his best
friend’s little sister. Now it’s up to her to convince Knox that she’s
everything he really wants.
Romance Contemporary
[Loveswept, On Sale: August 9, 2016, e-Book, ISBN:
9781101965214 / eISBN: 9781101965214]
Naked Men
#1
Griffin Montgomery helps people. As a teenager, he kept his best friends
alive after their soccer team’s bus crashed in the Alps. Now, as a Coast Guard
search and rescue pilot, he saves lives with reckless abandon—until he goes too
far and earns a lengthy suspension. Working on the Naked Men projects keeps his
mind busy, but Griff’s itching to get back in the action. That’s when he finds
his latest rescue mission: a pretty wallflower who’s stuck in her comfort zone.
Chloe Widmore doesn’t take risks. As a professional letter writer, she gets
enough excitement out of expressing other people’s emotions. So when the hottest
man she’s ever seen invades her coffee shop, Chloe surprises herself with how
much she wants to be with him. Routines make her feel safe. Griff makes her
deliciously unsafe, in so many ways. But falling for him is one risk she might
just have to take . . . whether she’s ready or not.
Romance Contemporary
[Loveswept, On Sale: March 8, 2016, e-Book, ISBN:
9781101965207 / eISBN: 9781101965207]
For info on the entire series as well as my other books, please follow me on
any/all of my sites! Website | Blog | Pinterest | Twitter | Goodreads
| Amazon Author Page
|Facebook |Instagram
Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon
a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning.
Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes
award-winning contemporary romance. Christi is President of the Maryland Romance
Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.
2 comments posted.
Thank you so much for posting a great post. You always bring something new to us which is helpful for us.
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(Charles Lafferty 7:32am August 11, 2016)