I had a blast writing Trapping a Terrorist, my contribution to the Behavioral Analysis Unit ensemble collection. There was the thriller part as FBI Supervisory Special Agent Miguel Peters works with his team to locate a serial bomber who is terrorizing Seattle. Of course, there was also a romance with Miguel and Maisy Oliver, a woman whose past may hold the key to identifying the serial killer.
When I was thinking about who to cast as my FBI Agent, Eduardo Verastegui came to mind. I just love men with light eyes and dark hair and Eduardo was a perfect choice! What do you think?
Credit to lukeford.net (permission statement at en:User:Tabercil/Luke Ford permission), CC BY-SA 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons
I know it’s going to be tough for you to focus on this one, but please pay close attention. Hair or no hair? It seems that on romance novel covers it’s usually models with no hair, but I kind of like a little chest hair, not full fur. How about you? Do you like this or that?
P.S. – You may think authors have some say in their romance novel covers, but unless you’re self-publishing, you can only hope the art department has listened to your suggestions for the hero and heroine.
They say the eyes are a window to the soul and when you think about it, eyes can say a great deal. Shifty eyes warn us someone is lying. A teen eye roll can make you grit your teeth! We communicate so much with our eyes, especially in romance novels. While I try to avoid it, I confess there is often quite a lot of gazing into eyes. LOL! And what about the eye color? Does that matter? Share which is your fav eye color for a hero! Personally, I like dark-haired men with light eyes – either blue or green.
I remember reading years ago that women did not like blonde men on romance novel covers. That always surprised me because Fabio was one of the most successful romance cover models of all time. According to Body and Soul News, Fabio appeared on 462 romance novel covers. Now there’s a new romance novel cover king in town since brown-haired Jason Baca has appeared on over 500! What about you? Do you like blondes or brown-haired men on romance novel covers? What about redheads? I’d love to know!
The hero and heroine in South Beach Love are both chefs and as you may know, many chefs have tattoos. Personally, I’m not a fan, but I’d love to hear from you! Tattoo or no tattoo?
I’m not a romance author who normally has photos of my characters when I start writing. I usually use rough descriptions so you can fill in who you would like the character to look like! Sometimes afterward I’ll pick someone who I think might be a good choice. Today’s pick: a young Mario Lopez to play Tony Sanchez from South Beach Love.
What do you think? If you’ve read South Beach Love, how did you picture Chef Tony? Who do you think should play Tony if this book becomes a movie on the Hallmark Channel?
And now, a little excerpt for you!
Excerpt
“Chef, there’s someone out there who says he’s an old friend.”
Sara peered over the half wall that separated her restaurant’s open kitchen from the dining area. As her hostess jerked her head in the direction of the front door, Sara craned her neck to see an older, but unquestionably memorable face, at the hostess podium. A face she had dreamed about more than once as a teen.
“OMG,” she heard from beside her. “Is that Tony Sanchez? The Tony Sanchez?” said Jeri, her business partner, fellow chef, and long-time best friend. Inches shorter than Sara, Jeri had to rise on tiptoes to peer over the half-wall.
“None other,” Sara said as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands and shot a quick look at a starstruck Jeri. Her aqua blue eyes were wide with surprise in a face of flawless café con leche skin. “Can you handle things for a few minutes?”
At Jeri’s nod, Sara rushed out to greet Tony. She told herself not to make too much of how his smile widened when he spotted her, or how his eyes, those melty chocolate-colored eyes, warmed as he settled his gaze on her. But it was impossible to stop how her heartbeat picked up speed that he was here and seemingly happy to see her.
Hugs had always been freely given by the Sanchez family, but she held her hands out to him to avoid a hug, uncertain of how she’d react to the embrace. “It’s been way too long, Tony.” Nine years and eight months, give or take. Not that she was counting.
Liar, the little voice in her head chastised. Even though Tony had left Miami behind, she’d eagerly followed all his accomplishments. Even dared to wonder if he’d ever make Miami his home again.
Tony took both her hands in his and playfully wagged them. “You’ve grown up, chiquitica.”
She laughed and tried to ignore the tingle building where her hands rested in his. Slowly she eased her hands free. “I couldn’t stay ten forever. You look good,” she said and prayed it didn’t sound too much like flirting. To cover for it, she blurted out, “What brings you to Miami?”
“Family,” he said and glanced around the restaurant. “I ran into Rick the other day and he mentioned you had a place, so I decided to come by and say ‘Hello.’”
“Well, hello,” she said, feeling more and more like a tongue-tied fool with every passing second. “Monica will get you a table.” She waved at the hostess and when the young woman came by, she said, “Please seat Tony as soon as you can.”
He raised his hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Por favor, no special treatment.”
Sara peered around the dining room. Every table was full inside and a quick look through the windows confirmed the outdoor seats were all taken. Plus there were quite a number of people milling around outside waiting to be seated.
“It may be a while,” she said with an apologetic grimace.
Tony mimicked her action, scrutinizing the restaurant and outdoor area. “I can wait. I’ve got all night. And if I’m still here when the rush is over, maybe we can grab a coffee later?”
Coffee? With Tony? Butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she somehow got the word out. “S-s-s-ure,” she stammered and without waiting for his reply, she rushed back to the kitchen before she embarrassed herself even more.
“You’re blushing. I’ve never seen you blush before,” Jeri kidded as Sara resumed the final plating of the nearly complete orders.
“It’s the heat in the kitchen,” she said, although her partner probably knew it was a lie.
“Sure, Sara. The heat and not…” Her friend paused and looked over the wall to where Tony waited outside, just beyond the entrance to the restaurant. “That hot guy you obviously have a crush on.”
“Not a crush,” she said and jerked tickets off the board to place them and the finished plates on the counter. Like clockwork her servers came over to pick up the meals and take them to their respective tables.
“Sure thing, Sara. Whatever you say,” Jeri teased as she finished up an order of sliders by topping them with slices of perfectly grilled foie gras. When she was done, she passed the plates to Sara for the final touch of caramelized onion compote before a toasted brioche bun top completed the slider and the order went up on the counter.
“Please, Jeri, leave it alone,” she pleaded and with a reluctant nod, her partner returned her focus to the new orders while Sara prayed that she wouldn’t make a fool of herself with Tony when it came time to chat with him.
She’d tried to keep her crush a secret from him and if he’d ever noticed it, he’d been gentleman enough not to mention it.
She wanted to keep it that way.
He had his restaurant and life in New York and she was here in Miami and never the twain would meet.
But in the back of her mind, she wondered, “What if?”
I haven’t done a Man Crush Monday in a long time and I figured it was well past time to share this hottie with you again! I just love Tyler Hoechlin and I hope you do as well. Tyler has been in favorites like Seventh Heaven and Teen Wolf and is now playing Superman on the new Superman and Lois. Tyler is the perfect Superman and I love the concept of having Lois and Superman deal with real-life dilemmas as the parents of teenaged sons. You can check out Superman and Lois on the CW and GOOD NEWS — It’s already been renewed for a second season!
I could also totally imagine Tyler as the hero in one of my romance novels! Maybe Southern Vampire Ryder Latimer from The Calling is Reborn vampire novel series. What do you think?
