The Rocky Road To Romance by Shawna Delacorte

Give a warm welcome to Shawna Delacorte, author of The Rocky Road to Romance, part of the One Scoop or Two Series by The WIld Rose Press.  Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Shawna and The Rocky Road to Romance.

Hello. I’m Shawna Delacorte and I’d like to thank Tena for this opportunity to be interviewed and to tell you about my new release. THE ROCKY ROAD TO ROMANCE is a novella published by The Wild Rose Press as part of their One Scoop Or Two series scheduled for release on Monday, July 27, 2020.

What inspired this particular story?

The parameters of the series certainly played a major part in creating the story—a short story/novella that’s a quick summer read. All stories have to center around or have something to do with an ice cream stand. They must take place near water. And a specific flavor of ice cream must appear in the title.

With all of that in mind, my first thoughts turned to a flavor of ice cream that would relate to a romance story line. While at the grocery story, I checked out all the different ice cream flavors and rocky road jumped out at me. The name certainly conveyed the very basics of a romance novel—the trials and tribulations encountered on the road to a happy ending. For a setting near water, I chose a summer resort marina at a lake. My heroine? A divorced high school history teacher who has leased the ice cream shop at the marina for the last three summers. My hero? The fifth generation head of the wealthy and powerful family that owns everything in sight, including the marina at the lake.

What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block?

I have two basic things I turn to when I’m blocked. I usually have more than one manuscript as a work in progress at any given time, with a specific one as the primary to be finished first. If I’m seriously stuck, I’ll turn to one of the other manuscripts I’m working on while keeping the primary one constantly in mind until I can return to it. My second diversion is to play Scrabble® on my computer while running the problems with the manuscript in the back of my mind.

Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book?

No. When I started my first novel many years ago, I didn’t tell anyone. I kept it completely to myself. I was working full time in a very demanding job and only wrote as time permitted. After I completed that first manuscript, thus knowing that I could do it, I set up a regular time early morning before going to work so that I was able to write every day even if only for a couple of hours. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing until I received my first contract for a novel which was with Harlequin.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I love to travel when time and money permit. I’m also an avid photographer. In the ‘old days’ of film cameras before everything went digital, I even had my own dark room. Now, of course, the dark room is whatever computer programs you use for fixing/manipulating pictures.

What’s your approach to writing—plotter or pantser?

When I first started writing, I was definitely a pantser—wrote by the seat of my pants. I had the basics of a story line and characters in my head but would create it as I wrote. I’d do a synopsis after I finished the manuscript (much easier that way, especially if you really dislike doing a synopsis). After having sold three books to Harlequin where I had to submit a synopsis and the completed manuscript, they allowed me to submit a proposal with only a synopsis and the first couple of chapters. I wouldn’t write the book until it was actually contracted. It was at that point being a pantser turned to being a plotter. I needed to have the storyline with the major plot points culminating in a viable conclusion (especially for a mystery) and the characters fleshed out enough to make it clear who and what they were. I needed all of that down on paper to submit before writing the book. I had to show the editor that I had a story with all the pieces included and an ending that made sense.

Tell us a little about The Rocky Road To Romance.

History teacher Sarena Fallon has leased the ice cream shop at the Colton Marina for the last three summers. And every year, she looked forward to spending time with her friend, Drew. Only this summer, she wants their relationship status to move beyond the friend zone he seems to prefer.

Drew Braden was taken with Sarena the first time he saw her. But a disastrous marriage to a scheming woman has left him seriously commitment phobic. Then there’s also the matter of his true identity. If she discovers who he really is, he could lose her forever.

Amazon buy link:

www.amazon.com/Rocky-Road-Romance-One-Scoop-ebook/dp/B089P3TBFV

 

A sneak peek between the pages of The Rocky Road to Romance.

Sarena Fallon entered the ice cream shop and set her purse on one of the chairs. A quick glance around told her everything appeared to be in order. She ran her hand across the counter, then rubbed her fingers together. She wrinkled her brow into a scowl. It definitely did not feel very clean. I have the uneasy feeling a more detailed inspection is going to discover—

“Hi. I hoped I’d find you here.”

She turned at the sound of the smooth, masculine voice. She couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips as her gaze fell on Drew Braden, all six feet one inch of him. Her breath came a little quicker, and her heart beat a little faster. His blue eyes sparkled as he blatantly looked her up and down. He wore his medium brown hair longer than last summer, but it was a length that looked good on him. It gave him a sexy appearance—even more sexy than she remembered from last year. She liked it longer. She definitely liked it.

“Hi, yourself.” Her smile widened, conveying her pleasure at seeing him. “I just unlocked the door. If you had arrived five minute ago, you would have beaten me here.”

He looked even more desirable than he did at the end of last summer, right before she returned to her teaching job at the beginning of the school term, when he had suddenly pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth with the hottest kiss she had ever experienced. A kiss that curled her toes and confirmed how much she wanted more of him. But more apparently wasn’t to be, much to her disappointment.

Fall, winter, spring—not a word from him, as if he had totally forgotten she even existed. But now, here he stood, as if he had been waiting for her to show up. The situation left her slightly perplexed. She briefly touched her fingers to her lips. All these months later, his parting kiss still burned hot against her lips. “You’re looking well. I like your hair longer like that.”

“Thanks…I think it might be the result of a bit of mid-life crisis. Trying to recapture a little youth.” His teasing grin said far more than his words.

“Mid-life crisis? You can’t be old enough for that.”

“I’ll be that dreaded forty in a couple of months.”

“There’s nothing old about forty.” Especially considering that I’m thirty-five.

He winked. “How would a sweet young thing like you know anything about old?”

“You’re incorrigible.” Her laugh surrounded her words. “It looks like you managed to survive the winter without any mishaps. Your brittle old bones didn’t snap?”

His spontaneous laughter filled the air. “No broken bones from slipping on the ice or falling into any snow drifts if that’s what you meant. And no broken bones from being thrown off a bucking horse, either.” His smile slowly faded as he pulled her into his arms. “I’ve missed you. I’m so glad to see you back this summer.”

“I have a phone, you have the number, and I only live fifteen miles from here in Coltonville. It’s not like you need to drive for several hours to get there.” She teased, but her comment contained a lot of truth.

A hint of something darted across his features but disappeared before she could read it. He slowly released her without kissing her, almost reluctantly so. After the goodbye kiss from last summer, she had anticipated more than just a hug.

“I haven’t checked the shop to make sure it’s been properly cleaned.” She touched the counter again. “And from what I’ve found so far, I suspect it hasn’t been.” A scowl darted across her face. “At least not adequately. Do you want to help me with my inspection?”

“Sure, I can handle that.” Drew nodded, pleased with the opportunity to check out the management office’s efficiency without it appearing to be his objective.

Drew Braden—Andrew Braden Colton V, to be exact—was fifth generation of the wealthy and powerful Colton family and at thirty-nine years of age, the corporate head of all the family holdings. He went by his nickname and middle name to separate himself and his personal activities from the family name and business empire. He found he accomplished more if people didn’t know he was one of the Coltons, specifically president of Colton Enterprises, Chairman of the Board, primary share holder, and in control of all the family businesses and investments of the privately held corporation.

Available in ebook at:

www.amazon.com/Rocky-Road-Romance-One-Scoop-ebook/dp/B089P3TBFV

And other online vendors.

About the Author:

I’ve lived most of my life in Los Angeles and earned my living for twenty years by working in television production. I was always interested in writing and dabbled at it, but not seriously. I combined my interest in writing with my avocation of photography and began doing magazine articles featuring my photographs. After selling several articles, I discovered I enjoyed the writing process as much as the photography.

My friends told me I should make use of my television contacts and write scripts. I enrolled in a screen writing class at UCLA. On the first day of class, the instructor said ‘if you’re in love with words, you don’t want to write screen plays.’ By the close of class I knew screen writing was not for me. The other thing I knew was that I wanted to write novels rather than magazine articles. I didn’t tell anyone about my attempts at fiction writing until I sold my first novel.

www.shawnadelacorte.com

https://shawnadelacorte.blogspot.com  new post every Saturday

Excerpts and other information available on my website:  www.shawnadelacorte.com

It’s been great having you with us today.  Good luck with The Rocky Road To Romance!

 

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