Pacific Blue, #1
by Lorelie Brown
Published:
July 1st, 2014
Publisher:
Signet
Genres:
Contemporary
Romance
Synopsis:
The gray-green swells of San Sebastian haven’t changed in ten years, but Tanner Wright has. The last thing he expects to find back on his home turf is the love of his life....
With a make-or-break world championship on the line, professional surfer Tanner Wright has come back to the coastal California hometown he left a decade ago, carrying only his board and the painful knowledge of his father’s infidelity. Now that Hank Wright is dead, Tanner intends to keep the secret buried to spare his mother and sister the burden.
The last time Avalon Knox saw her best friend’s brother, she was fourteen and he was a twenty-year-old surfer god. She’s never understood or respected the way Tanner distanced himself from the family that has embraced her. But now she has the professional chance of a lifetime: to photograph Tanner for the competition—if he’ll agree.
Out on the waves, they find in each other passion that’s impossible to resist. And Tanner’s not the only one trying to move forward from his past. As the competition heats up, secrets get spilled, and lust takes over. How close can Avalon get to this brooding surfer…without getting burned?
About Lorelie Brown
After a semi-nomadic childhood throughout California, Lorelie Brown spent high school in Orange County before joining the US Army. After traveling the world from South Korea to Italy, she’s returned home to California. Lorelie has three active sons and a tiny shih-tzu who thinks he’s son number three—not four, he’s too important to be the baby. Writing romance helps her escape a house full of testosterone.
by
Lauren Christopher
Published:
July 1st, 2014
Publisher:
Berkley
Genres:
Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
A sparkling debut romance where a getaway vacation turns into an unexpected new beginning……
For the last five years, Giselle McCabe’s life has been about sippy cups and playdates. But when her husband suddenly leaves her, Giselle flees to her sister’s California beach house for a two-week getaway. Out of her element, she’s surprised to receive such a warm welcome—especially from gorgeous celebrity athlete Fin Hensen……
Fin is escaping his pro tour for a season, trying to lie low until all the hubbub over a huge mistake in his past blows over. And when he sets his sights on Giselle, he realizes that the beautiful good girl just might be the ticket to his success.
But Giselle never expected romance to enter the picture again—especially with a hot twentysomething from a completely different world. And even though it feels like Fin is everything she’s trying to run away from, she can’t help coming back for more……
About Lauren Christopher
After graduating with an English degree from UCLA, Lauren launched a 23-year career as a nonfiction writer and editor -- writing more than 100 newspaper, magazine, and online articles on everything from the history of auto racing to the origins of Santa Claus. Lauren lives in Southern California with her husband and three teenage children.
Guest Post
Riding The Wave’s Playlist:
Actually, I really did have a playlist that I listened to religiously when writing Riding the Wave. I had songs in there for both Tanner’s bravado and dark secrets and Avalon’s craving for family and a place to belong. But my hard drive crashed about a year and a half ago. It was so, so, so sad. I had backups of my files and documents—but my playlists were lost! It was tragic.
Still, I remember a few of my really key songs.
For Avalon, Heavy in Your Arms by Florence and the Machine was very important. She’s struggled with feeling accepted and needed, and she’s kind of terrified of being too much of a burden. Though she doesn’t know it, she’s looking for someone to tell her that she’s not heavy at all to carry. (Metaphorically.)
The Kills’ Cheap and Cheerful was on really heavy rotation too. I think it was mostly about the lyric “I want you to be crazy coz you’re stupid baby when you’re sane.” Tanner has had a lot of stuff to deal with over the last decade, and Avalon too. They’re both looking for someone to let loose with. Plus it’s just an excellent song to blast on loud and drive with the windows down on a pretty
day! ;)
Killed Myself When I Was Young by AA Bondy.Andy Irons was a legend who died too young, in 2010. This AA Bondy song backs this clip of Irons talking about his love for the act of surfing, something I wanted to imbue Tanner with;
And then there was of course Santeria by Sublime. Mostly because Sublime is the soundtrack of my years growing up in Southern California. In high school, my best friend and I would drive to Huntington Beach in her Ford Escort with flames painted on the nose. The whole way, we’d crank up Sublime and sing along. It felt like California—a little wild and free, but mostly just in search of fun. Good times.
The Red Bikini’s playlist:
I play music during my plotting stage, when I’m just trying to get into the right mood for my setting and characters. The music I listened to while writing The Red Bikini was all beach music, of course. I had these three CDs on constant repeat in my car:
Jack Johnson– Son of a pro surfer who grew up in Hawaii, Jack Johnson started to go pro himself until a surfing injury took him out of the line-up for good. He turned to music and now combines both worlds. This is the music I imagined is coming out of Rabbit’s apartment, which Giselle describes as a “mellow, seaside kind of sound” because she doesn’t know who it is. Here’s “Flake,” which I listened to a lot:
Donovan Frankenreiter – Friend of Jack Johnson, Donovan Frankenreiter was a professional surfer who grew up surfing in San Clemente and bred that classic sound of “surf rock.” I listened to his title album over and over again while writing this book, and imagined Fin would have, too. Here’s “Free” from that album, a song he sings with Jack Johnson:
Bob Marley’s “Legend” – Nothing more laid-back than Bob Marley, is there? Giselle and Coco are listening to Bob Marley at the beginning of the story, saying that Lia taught Coco the song. I imagined Rabbit and the boys would have had Bob Marley blaring all the time, and that next-door-neighbor Lia would have adopted it and taught it to Coco. I also imagined that Giselle would have eventually replaced her ringtone of Beethoven’s 5th (which her ex had programmed) with Marley’s “Is This Love” for her and Fin! Coco would have heartily approved. Here’s “Is This Love”:
