Welcome to Contemporary Romance author Annette Mardis,
author of the Gulf Shore series.
Lexi: What
are you working on now?
Annette: Soon, I’m going to begin writing
book one in a new contemporary romance series called Ruben’s Refuge, set at an animal sanctuary, pet adoption center and
wildlife rescue located just outside my fictional west-central Florida beach
town of Gulf Shore. I introduced Ruben’s Refuge in Scrumptious, a novel I recently finished and hope to have published
later this year. Scrumptious is
intended as a bridge between the new Ruben’s
Refuge series and my four-book Gulf
Shore series. Much of the action in the Gulf
Shore series is set at the local aquarium/marine animal rescue.
Lexi: Where
did you get the idea for this story?
Annette: I’m a big believer in the
old saying “Write what you know,” so my leading lady in Scrumptious, Helen Holt, is a newspaper reporter. I spent more than
30 years as a newspaper writer and editor in the Tampa area, and I want to give
readers a realistic portrayal of that profession. I introduced Helen in Shore to Please, Gulf Shore Book 3 and
thought she deserved to have her own happily ever after.
Scrumptious opens with Helen participating in
and reporting on the rescue of an imperiled manatee mother and her calf. It was
inspired by a real-life experience I had as a volunteer member of a marine life
rescue team based in Clearwater, Florida. The book also includes Helen’s visit
to Ruben’s Refuge, where she falls in love with a one-eyed calico cat. I love
animals, and rescues/rescuers of homeless pets and sick/injured wild creatures
are near and dear to my heart. My husband and I adopted Woody, a corgi mix
puppy, more than a year ago, and he’s introduced as a beloved resident of Ruben’s
Refuge. Animals play a big role in all of my books, and I’ve immortalized other
pets in my novels.
Lexi: I just love animals, too! What
are your favorite traits of the two main characters?
Annette: All of my leading ladies are
intelligent and talented, and Helen Holt is no exception. I love to write
snappy, sometimes snarky dialogue, and Helen has a quick wit. (I love clever
people.) She’s hard-working and dedicated to her profession. She’s also
endearingly self-deprecating and self-conscious. Her love interest, chef and
restauranteur Rico Pellegrini, has overcome a sad and difficult family
situation through diligent work and force of will to achieve success. He’s a
dedicated son who knows how to treat a woman, and once he sets his heart on
Helen, he’s not easily deterred. But he’s also considerate of her wants and
needs. Rico has a sense of humor, of course, and is romantic without being
schmaltzy. During the course of the book, he demonstrates a brave and heroic
side as well.
Lexi: What
has been the best piece of advice you ever received for your writing career?
Annette: When I was in high school, I
worked on the campus newspaper and was the editor in my senior year. I attended
a convention at which members of the local media were guest speakers. One of
them was a features writer for my hometown St. Petersburg (Florida) Times. She
impressed on us that if we pursued journalism as a career, we had to
demonstrate the right work ethic. Writers facing deadlines don’t have the
luxury of putting their articles aside when they don’t feel well or aren’t inspired
to write that day, she said. Basically, they just have to do it. I
procrastinate as well as the next person, but that advice has stayed with me
all these years and provided motivation when I needed it.
Lexi: What
do you think everyone should know about your husband?
Annette: I didn’t find the love of my
life until I was in my late 20s, and Rick and I will celebrate our 29th
wedding anniversary on May 27. His sense of humor attracted me from the
beginning. Over the years, he encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and
try new things. Thanks to him, I’ve enjoyed scuba diving, boating, golfing, RV
camping, motorcycling and other hobbies. He has always supported my career and
other aspirations, and I’ve never had to be less than myself to spare his ego.
He’s always considered me an equal partner.
Shore is Magical, Gulf
Shore Book 4
After suffering losses that would’ve wrecked a lesser
man, Kenshin Hamasaki has resigned himself to a life without true love. His
perpetual grumpiness has damaged the few friendships he’s managed to forge, and
his dalliances with women are superficial at best.
And then comes a
chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Marina, whose mere existence
defies logic. She’s led what many would consider an idyllic life, but one
that’s shrouded in secrecy. Marina longs to explore the limitless possibilities
of Kenshin’s world. Yet, sharing the truth about herself could place her entire
species in peril.
These two
searching souls are drawn to each other by an animal attraction with the
potential to change them in ways they never could’ve imagined. Lurking in the
background, however, is a dark presence from Marina’s past, who threatens to
end this unlikely pairing before she and Kenshin can fully explore whether
they’re destined to be together.
Buy
links for Shore is Magical, Gulf Shore
Book 4:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gP4jiw
Liquid
Silver: http://bit.ly/2gmfrA2
Barnes
& Noble: http://bit.ly/2gvDNKr
Google
Play: http://bit.ly/2gMr5rb
Excerpt
Here’s a snippet from one of my favorite
scenes in Shore is Magical, when
Kenshin first encounters Marina in very enticing human form. This scene takes
place in the marine animal hospital at Gulf Shore Aquarium, where Kenshin
works. He thinks he’s helping to rehabilitate a rescued dolphin, but he gets
the surprise of his life one night.
Looking up,
Kenshin almost dropped his phone. He stared, eyes wide, mouth open, as a lithe
form emerged from the pool, water cascading down her body. Where had she come
from and, more importantly, why was she naked? Then he glanced behind her and
received his second shock.
The rescued
dolphin was—gone. Impossible. He gave his cheek a light smack to make sure he
hadn’t succumbed to exhaustion and passed out. That was entirely possible,
given he hadn’t slept more than two hours at a stretch since leaving Erica’s
bed.
If this was a
dream, it was incredibly realistic. Off the charts sexy, too.
The woman
sauntering toward him was hotter than an egg yolk on Florida asphalt in August.
A short cap of dark, wavy hair framed a pair of turquoise eyes that shimmered
like the sea. Her rosebud nipples all but begged for his touch, and he imagined
himself at home between her long, supple legs, which were as toned as the rest
of her.
The corners of
her lips tipped up as if she’d read his mind. Kenshin’s gaze darted around the
rehab unit, looking for backup if he needed it. But Kelsey had gone home early
for a change, Flipper probably was loading up on caffeine and carbs, and Sitara
was in her office catching up on paperwork.
Kenshin’s
carnal fantasies dissolved amid concerns about a massive security breach.
“Who are you,
and why are you here?” he demanded.
“You know who I
am.” The woman’s voice was as smooth as spiced rum sliding over ice cubes. “You
just don’t want to admit it.”
“What are you
talking about?”
“Your friends
brought me here from the beach, jostling me around in that canvas thing. What
do you call it?”
“Are you
talking about the sling?”
“It felt like
they dragged me across a rocky sea bottom. Very bad for the delicate skin.” She
pouted and pointed to a chafe mark on her elbow. “Get something softer, for
Poseidon’s sake.”
“This
is...insane. Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
She shrugged.
“I didn’t bring any.” Cocking her head, she studied him for a moment before her
expression turned playful. “Don’t you like me as I am? I thought the males of
your species enjoyed seeing females without garments.”
What an odd way to say that guys lust
after naked women.
“You’re beautiful, and I think you know that, but it’s beside the point.”
“Is it?”
She’d come
close enough for Kenshin to stroke a hand down all that lush, bare flesh, and
he almost did so to make sure she was real. Common sense kicked in before he
acted on the impulse. Besides being a stranger, she was, well, strange.
“Listen, lady,
I don’t know what your game is but--”
“Game? There is
no game. Your people rescued me, and now I’m your responsibility. Isn’t that
how this works?”
Kenshin glanced
around again, convinced that any minute Flipper or someone would leap out and
scream, “Gotcha!” This had to be a prank. Stuff like this didn’t happen
otherwise, at least not to him. But after that dolphin encounter at the reef,
anything seemed possible.
Kenshin felt
her warm breath on his face. It smelled...fishy? When he wrinkled his nose, she
clapped her hand over her mouth. Now
she was self-conscious? He looked into her eyes, an inviting shade matched only
by a secluded tropical lagoon.
“What’s your
name?”
“Marina.”
“Marina what?”
“Just Marina.”
Author
bio
As
a girl, Annette dreamed of being an astronaut, but she stank at science and
math and became motion sick riding the bus home from school. So she went with
her second choice—newspaper journalist—and stuck with it for more than three decades.
After years of ignoring people who said, “You should write a book,”
she finally did. And then she wrote a few more.
When she’s not working, Annette usually is engrossed in someone
else’s novel, rooting for her favorite sports teams and athletes, camping with
her husband, or enjoying animal-related adventures with friends. She has two
totally spoiled pets and volunteers at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of diva
dolphins Winter and Hope from the Dolphin
Tale films.
Annette is the author of the woman’s fiction
novella Getting Her Money’s Worth and
the Gulf Shore series of contemporary
romance novels: The Shore Thing, Shore
Feels Right, Shore to Please and Shore is Magical
Connect with Annette
