Hello Frolic!
This week, I am chatting with three fabulous authors about their upcoming releases. So, although I enjoy crafting my opening remarks, I am diving into the pool right off the bat so you can read all about these romance novels that should be added ASAP to your TBR shelves.
Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam
Release Date: May 18, 2021 (available for preorder)
Genre: Romance Fiction
What do you need to know about Thien-Kim?
Thien-Kim Lam writes stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. www.twitter.com/msthienkim
(Description provided by publisher.)
With her debut novel, Thien-Kim Lam serves up a sexy second-chance romance about exes with unfinished business. When working together reignites their passion, will these former flames sizzle or get burned all over again?
Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career. She’s made a fresh start in Washington DC, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her. With a Post-it note.
The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. Their chemistry is still scorching, but he’s desperately trying to save his family restaurant from gentrifying developers. The solution? Partnering with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop-up shop for hungry and horny clients.
Thanks to their steamy truce, both businesses start to sizzle and their red-hot desire soon reignites deeper feelings. But when Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will pride ruin their second chance at happiness?
Denny: What’s your favorite trope to read? What’s your favorite trope to write—and does either one get some love in your new release:)?
Thien-Kim: I adore enemies to lovers, second chance romance, and fake relationship tropes. Even more when two of them are smashed together like enemies to lovers who have to pretend to like each other. Pure catnip as a reader and a writer. Happy Endings is a second chance romance with a smidge of enemies to lovers since there’s a bit of hostility between the Trixie and Andre when the run into each other again.
Denny: What do you want readers to learn about the Vietnamese American experience from your book?
Thien-Kim: That there is no such thing as one specific Vietnamese American experience. As someone born and raised in Louisiana, I wanted to show readers that the Vietnamese American experience isn’t just tied to California or New York City. I wanted to highlight both aspects of my heritage through Trixie’s experiences in Happy Endings.Â
Denny: What are you binge watching now and what beverage do you recommend readers enjoy while devouring your new release!
Thien-Kim: The Expanse! I’m rewatching it with my husband, who opted out when I started the series a few years ago. The cast is diverse, and all the women characters are badasses. Readers are in luck because Andre, the hero in Happy Endings, is a bartender! He works with Trixie to create Pants-on-Fire Martini, inspired by some of the sexy products she sells. The cocktail recipe is included in the book so readers can have their own hot pant(y) moment. May 18th feels far away, so I’m sending everyone who joins my newsletter my recipe for bĂ¡nh mì sliders. They can join at www.thienkimlam.com.
A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams
Release Date: June 1, 2021 (available for preorder)
What do you need to know about Preslaysa?
Preslaysa Williams writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with an Afro-Filipina twist. @preslaysawrites
(Description provided by publisher.)
A heartwarming Avon debut of love, forgiveness, and new beginnings set in the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry.Â
Maya Jackson has worked for Laura Whitcomb, Inc, a renowned New York City bridal gown brand for years and dreams of becoming Head Designer. She has the talent, she just needs a chance to showcase her unique style. Due to an illness, she’s always prioritized her career over her personal life until Maya’s father fractures his hip and she returns to Charleston, SC. While home for only a few months, she’s thrilled to find an opportunity at the local bridal gown boutique, never expecting sparks to fly with its owner…
A military veteran and widowed father, Derek Sullivan hopes to save Always a Bride from bankruptcy in order to preserve the legacy of his family. He also wants to reconnect with his estranged, twelve-year-old daughter, who is still recovering from the loss of her mother. The last thing he needs is a relationship with a beautiful, smart, complicated woman who will be leaving soon.
When Derek begins to fall for the lovely Maya, he knows there’s no future. But destiny has its own plans, and these two lonely people with big hearts discover that coming home to love is the best gift life can give.
Denny: What’s your favorite trope to read? What’s your favorite trope to write—and does either one get some love in your new release:)?
Preslaysa: I have so many romance tropes that I absolutely love to read. My favorite tropes to read are single parents, forced proximity, fake relationships, friends to lovers, second chance romance, jilted bride, fish out of water, weddings, and workplace romances. My favorite tropes to write are very similar to the ones I like to read. I love writing about single parents, second chance romances, forced proximity situations, jilted brides, main characters who are a fish out of water, weddings, and office romances.Â
A lot of tropes are featured in A Lowcountry Bride! This story features weddings (and the bridal gown industry), a single parent, a jilted bride, a fish out of water, and a workplace romance.
Denny: What was your favorite part about writing A Lowcountry Bride?
Preslaysa: I loved writing about Maya’s journey of coming into her own as a bridal gown designer. During the course of the story, she gained confidence in her talent, her business acumen, and her unique design style. Maya’s journey reflects my writing journey in many ways.Â
I also loved writing Derek’s story about finding love again after undergoing a great loss. He is a widowed single father who learns to give himself permission to be happy, despite a very hard past.Â
Denny: What are you binge watching now and what beverage do you recommend readers enjoy while devouring your new release!
Preslaysa: I binged watched Bridgerton on Netflix. The costumes, hairstyles, diverse cast, and the handsome Duke of Hastings pulled me into the story.Â
When readers devour A Lowcountry Bride, I recommend having a cool glass of sweet tea since my story is set in South Carolina!Â
Careless Whispers by Synithia Williams
Release Date: March 30, 2021 (available for preorder)
What do you need to know about Synithia?
Synithia Williams writes sexy, messy emotional romances that are as hot as their southern settings. www.twitter.com/@SynithiaW
(Description provided by publisher.)
She’s falling in love with the one man she can’t trust…
Elaina Robidoux knows how people view her: coldhearted, ambitious, ruthless. But it doesn’t matter. Running the family business is all she’s ever wanted and she’s so close she can almost taste it…until her father fires her and hires her nemesis—arrogant, unflappable Alex Tyson. Elaina may be hurt but she refuses to be defeated, so she throws herself into creating a business of her own. But she never dreamed that to close her first deal, she’d need Alex’s help…
Alex understands the power of a family legacy better than most and the last thing he wanted was to take that from Elaina. Her beauty and fierce strength are undeniable, but there’s a softer side that no one but him seems to see. She’s been taught that emotions are a liability, yet one impulsive kiss starts a chain reaction that neither of them wants to stop. But can love ignite—and survive—when secrets and loyalties collide?
Denny: What’s your favorite trope to read? What’s your favorite trope to write—and does either one get some love in your new release:)?
Synithia: My favorite tropes to read are friends to lovers and fake relationship. They know each other, they want each other, but for whatever reason they’re holding back. That’s my catnip right there. My favorite trope to write is also friends to lovers and brother’s best friend. Neither get love in my next book, Careless Whispers, which is an enemies to lovers romance. Â
Denny: What made you decide to write an enemies to lovers story?
Synithia: The first two books in my series were second chance/friends to lovers romances. The series is also set around a family with lots of secrets and forbidden romance. As much as I love friends to lovers, I felt that didn’t fit for Elaina Robidoux, the heroine in Careless Whispers. I wanted Elaina to find a perfect love in a place she least expected.Â
Denny: What are you binge watching now and what beverage do you recommend readers enjoy while devouring your new release!
Synithia: I just finished a K Drama titled I Remember You. It’s a complicated, murder mystery with a hint of romance and I loved it. The Untamed, a C Drama, is up next. The best beverage to pick up when reading Careless Whispers is a glass of wine in honor of the heroine, Elaina Robidoux, who is often seen holding a glass of wine.Â
Thank you authors for joining me and readers, see you next month!
