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Harlequin Spotlight: What She Wants by Sheila Roberts – Interview/Review/Giveaway

    Sheila will be awarding a print copy of What She Wants (US/Canada only) to 10 randomly drawn commenters during the tour. A Grand Prize of a $25 eHarlequin coupon plus a finished copy of What She Wants (US/Canada only) will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  Rafflecopter link is at the bottom of the post.  Good luck!

BLURB:

What do women want? Jonathan Templar and his poker buddies can’t figure it out. Take Jonathan, for instance. He’s been in love with Lissa Castle since they were kids but, geek that he is, she’s never seen him as her Mr. Perfect. He has one last shot—their high school reunion. Kyle Long is equally discouraged. The pretty receptionist at his office keeps passing him over for other guys who may be taller but are definitely not superior. And Adam Edwards might be the most successful of Jonathan’s friends, but he isn’t having any success on the home front. His wife’s kicked him out. When Jonathan stumbles on a romance novel at the Icicle Falls library sale, he knows he’s found the love expert he’s been seeking—Vanessa Valentine, top-selling romance author. At first his buddies laugh at him for reading romance novels, but soon they, too, realize that these stories are the world’s best textbooks on love. Poker night becomes book club night…and when all is read and done, they’re going to be the kind of men women want!

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  Excerpt may be found here:   Excerpt Link

 

 

Author Interview: 

Welcome Sheila! Please start off by telling us a little about yourself. Thanks for having me!

Here’s a little about me. I like to entertain and play games which, in my humble opinion, made me a great mother when my kids were little.  I love to dance and keep hoping someone will call me to come on “Dancing With the Stars.” No call yet, which might be for the base. I suspect that if I ever went down for the splits I’d never be able to come back up!

Is “What She Wants” a single title, or part of a series? 

This novel is part of my “Life in Icicle Falls” series but it is stand alone novel. And it’s one I’m especially excited about because it’s a little different and, I think, a lot of fun.  

What were your inspirations for the story?

I got to thinking about how men often complain that they can’t understand us women. I don’t think we’re all that hard to understand though, do you? Anyway, I thought it would be fun to follow a group of men as they worked their way through their woman problems. And I thought it would be especially fun if they decided to use romance novels as their tutorials. If a guy is wanting to win points with his woman, he can’t find a better textbook than a romance novel!  

Please share your setting for “What She Wants”. Have you ever lived or visited there? If so, what did you like most?

Icicle Falls is based on one of my favorite towns, Leavenworth Washington. It’s a charming Bavarian village in the Cascades. One of the things I love about this town is the fact that it rebuilt itself. Back in the fifties Leavenworth was on the verge of becoming a ghost town. But the townspeople reinvented Leavenworth and restarted their economy and today it is a popular destination spot. I admire that kind of fighting spirit!  

When did the writing bug first bite? 

I got bitten when I was a kid.  

Who are you favorite authors, book/series? 

I like to laugh, so authors who can make me do that are high on my list. One of my favorites is a man named Donald E. Westlake who wrote hilarious novels about bumbling crooks. Sadly, he’s no longer alive.  

If you could have an author roundtable discussion with any authors, who would you invite?

I would love to talk with Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.  Charles could tell me how he came up with the inspiration for “A Christmas Carol”, Jane could tell me who she modeled Mr. Darcy on and Georgette could tell me what on earth a syllabub is.  

Do you have any hobbies or special things you like to do in your spare time? 

Reading, playing tennis, golf, and, oh, this is embarrassing. I’m addicted to Plants Vs. Zombies. If I took that game off my iPad I’d be twice as productive. And maybe I will… someday.  

 

Review:

Let me start off that I have never laughed so hard and so long in a book in a very long time.  I will try, I said I will try to not gush too much about the book.  As most people know, I love my Harlequin’s and here’s a piece of info:  I LOVE the male POV.  I love it when an author gets in their head and let’s the reader know what going on with him.  He’s just not reacting to the heroine but he is engaging us in his life, his thoughts and actions.

Jonathan is your typical computer nerd but utterly relatable and lovable.  Adam is married but has forgotten about his wife.  Kyle is the short man stuck in a tall man’s body and pines for the pretty blonde at work.

What is so great about the book is the friendship’s that these guys have with each other.  Yes, they are men but they are completely clueless when it comes to women and it shows every time they open their mouths.  Their weekly poker games are a riot.  And one of the men at the poker game is holding a very, juicy secret that I NEVER saw coming and its priceless.

When Jonathan decides to start reading romance novels, he goes one step further and decides to meet the romance author that all the men have started reading for dating and love advice.  The scenes with Vanessa Valentine are too much for me.  I like the fact that Ms. Roberts references a famous book store in Seattle and I can only imagine what a book signing would be there.

What would have come off as a sappy, male chest thumping book, ended up being the most fun that I have had in reading in a long time.  These guys are sweet, funny and will do anything to get the women they love to even notice them.  Their antics are heartfelt, maybe a little head shaking from this woman but endearing in the end.   I cheered for these men and so will you.

But that’s only if you can’t stop laughing at their antics, dialogue and the heartfelt sigh that you will have when you finish.

Best book of 2013…

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:   Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. She’s happily married and has three children. She’s been writing since 1989, but she did lots of things before settling in to her writing career, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Her band days are over, but she still enjoys writing songs.

When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences or hanging out with her girlfriends she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.

http://www.sheilasplace.com/index.html

http://www.sheilasplace.com/blog.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheila-Roberts/76502579853

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-she-wants-sheila-roberts/1112815374?ean=9780778314325

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