Interview & Giveaway: Roses in Ecuador by

Original Title: Roses in Ecuador
Author: Heather Huffman
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Release Date: February 1st 2013
Genre: Romance

Unknown to each other, they each escaped to the heart of Ecuador to make the world a better place, having sworn off the possibility of love… but disaster pulls them together.

Jane Russell is certain she’s had enough heartbreak for one lifetime, and love is the last thing on her mind when she arrives in Ecuador. Focused and determined, she settles in to write a book on the local jaguar preservation.

Devon McAllister, the wealthy and handsome son of a corporate mogul in the U.S., has broken his share of hearts despite his best intentions. He moved to Ecuador to escape his father’s destructive greed and pursue his passion to do good in the world, opening a fair trade rose plantation.

When the jaguar preservation comes under attack by what appears to be a group of angry locals, Devon jumps in to help Jane fight for the animals they love. As the danger grows, the motives of the attackers are revealed to be much more sinister than either could have ever imagined.

Unsure of whether they’re more frightened by the prospect of love or the danger to the jaguars, they must decide whether they can open their minds–and their hearts–to trust again.

EXCERPT

Tree limbs smacked her in the face. Thorns and underbrush clawed at her skin and clothes. Her legs screamed from the exertion.  Still she pressed on, keeping Devon well in sight. When she burst out of the trees into a clearing, he reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling Jane to him just before she ran straight off the edge of a cliff.
“Oh, dear Lord,” she gasped, clinging to his shoulders and burying her face against his chest. His heart was hammering as hard as hers. The thunder of a waterfall filled her ears. She couldn’t hear anything else; she had no way of knowing if their pursuers were still behind them.
“I think we should jump.”
“I think you’re crazy.”
“Probably, but I still think we should jump,” he persisted.
Jane peeked over the edge. The water seemed pretty darn far below to her. “Holy crap. I still think you’re crazy.”
He spun her back around and cupped her chin in his hands. “Trust me, Janey. Please.”
She paused for a beat, searching his eyes. “Okay. On three?”
Their pursuers were closer now; Jane could hear them above the roar of water.
“Three.” Devon grabbed her hand and pulled her with him over the edge of the cliff.
The freefall to water lasted just long enough for Devon to wonder if he’d killed them both – and to think he liked the way her hand felt in his, even as they plummeted through the air. The crash into the water knocked the wind out of him, but he was happy to be alive—and happier still when he felt Jane struggling to resurface.
They popped out of the water, sputtering for air. Without a word, Devon tucked Jane to his side and kicked his strong legs, propelling them to shore. He’d lived in the basin long enough to know they hadn’t survived the jump yet, not until they were out of reach of the myriad of predators who called this river home.
Their pursuers fired at them in vain. Devon wasn’t sure whether it was divine providence or the fact that the distance was too great for the bullets to find their target, but he wasn’t willing to stick around to see if their luck would hold. The pair crawled out of the water, still gasping for air, and stumbled into the protection of the jungle.
Devon cast a worried glance at Jane when she stopped to lean against a nearby tree with her eyes closed. “Do you have a little bit more in you?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She shoved away from the tree. “Just point me where you want me to go, boss.”
“Are you sure?”
She replied with a look that adequately conveyed her irritation.
“Okay then.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face north. “That way.”
Devon knew he needed to take the lead since he was the one who knew where they were going, but he was loath to let Jane out of his field of vision. She looked pale and shaky. And tired.
As they trudged through the dense vegetation, Devon wondered what kind of trouble his pretty little neighbor had landed herself in the middle of. Neither spoke much; they were both too tired and unsettled.
When Devon finally broke the silence, it was to let her know they didn’t have much farther to go before reaching a cabin where they could take a break and get a drink of water. “Can you make it a little longer?”
“Would you stop asking me that? It’s patronizing.”
“How is concern for your welfare patronizing?” He stopped and turned to her. “You look like you could collapse at any moment.”
“I told you before, I don’t collapse.”
Those were the last words to leave her mouth before she crumpled like an old marionette at his feet. He felt a little bad for not catching her, but it had taken him by such surprise he hadn’t reacted quickly enough. Jane had been so adamant about not collapsing, he’d believed her.
“Well, this sucks,” he told no one in particular before kneeling to scoop her unconscious form into his arms. She wasn’t a large woman and he considered himself to generally be a strong man, but the added weight made his already tired muscles protest. Suddenly the cabin felt much farther away than it had five minutes ago – not that he’d ever tell Jane that. Of course, it was probably best if he didn’t tell her he hadn’t caught her, either.
Devon resolutely set out toward the cabin. By the time the building came into view, he was happier to see it than he ever had been before. Once there, he laid her on the bed and gently tugged her wet boots and socks off. Then he hesitated. If it were anyone else in the world, he’d strip them down to their skivvies and put a warm blanket around them.
But this was Jane, and that posed a whole new set of problems. For one, he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted the first time he saw her in her underwear to be while she was unconscious. That just seemed too creepy. For another, there was a very distinct possibility she would be really pissed at him if she woke up in her underwear.
Still, she looked miserable in her soaked clothes. He reminded himself he was a grown man and the head of several corporations. Surely he could be adult about helping a friend in need and weather any fallout from that decision.
“Okay then,” he told himself aloud, feeling a little silly as he reached down to tug her T-shirt up. It was an awkward process, disrobing a woman who was completely passed out. This certainly wasn’t how he’d been envisioning undressing her for the past several days. He was fairly proud of himself by the time he finally had Jane’s clothes in a sopping heap on the floor and a warm blanket tucked around her.
He looked down at her on the bed; she looked so fragile. He couldn’t resist reaching down to brush aside the blond ringlets that clung to her cheek. Then he surprised himself by leaning over and kissing her tenderly on the forehead. She murmured in response. He froze, wondering if he’d been caught in his impetuous gesture of affection. She sighed and settled deeper into her pillow.
He straightened and took a step back. He didn’t understand what it was about her that brought about such a tumult of unfamiliar emotions. It irritated him not being able to sort it all out. Absolutely, she was beautiful, but he was accustomed to beautiful women. What magic power did she have that held him so captive? Was it her apathy – was he truly that shallow?
Thunder rumbled in the distance, telling him they would be waiting out a storm in the little cabin.  He scowled. That’s just what he needed, to be confined in a small space with a stunning, nearly naked woman he couldn’t touch.

INTERVIEW WITH HEATHER HUFFMAN

Is there an inspiration behind why you chose writing?

I’ve loved to write for as long as I can remember. It’s such a part of me that I almost don’t feel comfortable in my own skin if I’m not at some stage of working on a book.

When I was 18, my boyfriend told me he thought I should be a writer. I looked at him like he was crazy – even though I was constantly working on a book.

It wasn’t until I hit 31 and had drifted from job to job because I couldn’t find anything that fit that I decided to get serious about writing. I think I’d always been looking for something more “practical.” I realized it was passed time to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up and the only reason I hadn’t pursued writing was fear. My degree was in marketing communication; I used it get a job writing for a corporation and started really cleaning up a manuscript for submission. Two years after that decision, I signed with Booktrope, my publisher.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

Even though I’ve loved to write for as long as I can remember, I had no idea I wanted to be a writer until I was an adult. For most of my childhood and into young adulthood, I wanted to be an actress. Fallback careers included being a veterinarian or marine biologist. (Eclectic mix of career choices, I know!)

Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is....

Chronicles of Narnia. I love that series and all the layers to it!

What are your current literary works? Any sneak peeks?

My currently published novels include: Throwaway, Tumbleweed, Jailbird, Suddenly a Spy, Ties That Bind, Ring of Fire, Devil in Disguise and Roses in Ecuador.

Readers should look for Fool’s Game to be released also in 2013. The main character in that novel is Cody Kingsley, who first appeared in Ring of Fire and we got to know better in Roses in Ecuador. Some of the questions that were left unanswered in Roses in Ecuador will play out in this novel.

I’m really excited about releasing Fool’s Game because I originally wrote the manuscript when I was seventeen years old. I’m really enjoying working with my editor on this one and I can’t wait to share it with my readers!

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

Back to the past. I’m all about living a simpler life, although I’d miss indoor plumbing.

What is your favorite scene in the book and why do you love it?

There are three or four that come to mind right away that I really loved to write, but if I had to pick just one, it would be when Jane and Devon are running from the bad guys and jump off a cliff together through the point when they wind up waiting out a storm in the cabin together. Those handful of pages are packed with humor, suspense and sparks between the two main characters. They’re just at the beginning of their journey together and neither of them have any way of knowing what’s about to unfold.

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