$50 Gift Card Giveaway & Interview: Rough Harbor by Andrea Stein

Original Title: Rough Harbor
Author: Andrea Stein
Publisher: GirlMogul
Release Date: October 10th 2012
Genre: Contemporary Romance

BUY @ Amazon

After a bitter break up and professional set back in London, twenty seven year old Caitlyn has returned to Queensbay to work for Maxwell Randall, an old family friend, at his financial management firm.  So far, bit by bit, Caitlyn’s been rebuilding all she lost after Michael St. John broke her heart …and tried to ruin her professional reputation.

But her past comes back to haunt her when Maxwell unexpectedly turns up dead.  Not only does Caitlyn find her career in jeopardy but her heart is too, when Noah Randall, Maxwell’s son, and her first love, returns to Queensbay.  Once, ten years ago, Caitlyn was sure Noah was the one for her…but the tragedy of her grandfather’s suicide and Noah’s decision to leave town left her bereft…and determined never to trust him again.

Over the past decade, she’s managed to do her best to forget about Noah Randall and the lingering questions surrounding her grandfather’s suicide.  But now that’s he back in town – rich and more handsome than ever, and she can’t help wondering what if? What if Noah really was the one?

Noah Randall left home ten years ago to seek his fortune – vowing never to return until he’d made a success of himself – and show Caitlyn Montgomery just what she’d given up.  He returns to find that Caitlyn Montgomery has only grown more alluring with time. Noah’s always wanted he couldn’t have…and now he wants Caitlyn again.  But she’s determined not to make the same mistake twice.

While Noah and Caitlyn are revisiting old ground – and forging a new relationship, there’s trouble brewing in Queensbay.  Old secrets and new lead Caitlyn to believe that perhaps her grandfather didn’t kill himself – and that Maxwell’s death was no accident.  But just how far will someone go to keep her – and Noah – from finding out the truth…and will Queesbay prove to have troubled waters after all?

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA

1.  Is there an inspiration behind why you chose writing? 

It wasn't so much inspiration as the fact that t the end of the day I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing, except perhaps reading.  I looked around at the books I was reading and I would think I can do that, or I wish I had done that.  I have been writing on and off since I was a little girl, but about five years ago I decided to get really serious about it and have been writing consistently since then - first with a blog, then a tween mystery novel, then a romantic suspense book and now Rough Harbor which is my contemporary Romance and the start of an interconnecting series of stories.  I am the kind of person who writes things out as I see them, or who makes up stories out of things I overhear or see so I just realized that it was silly to fight the impulse and I decided to become an author...I now actually tell people that's what I do when they ask.

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

A writer.  Followed by some sort of antique dealer. I loved history and books.  So perhaps what I really wanted to be was a bookstore owner who solved mysteries. Instead I have settled for being a writer so I can pretend to be anything I want.

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

The Outlander - I just s reread it and it's a pretty heady combination of history, fantasy and romance Twilight...

4.  What are your current literary works?  Any sneak peaks? 

I am working on the second book in the Queensbay series - the setting for Rough Harbor, featuring the story of Chase and Phoebe. Chase is born and bred in Queensbay, while Phoebe is a transplant from Hollywood. It should be out in early February 2013

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

Tough one.  We tend to romanticize the past - but we forget there were no toilets, or medicines or healthcare and only think about how romantic it must have been to gallop on a horse at sunset.  Still I wouldn’t say no to getting a glimpse at the court of Elizabeth I.

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

I like the opening – where Caitlyn is discovered snooping in Noah’s father’s house – and realizes that even though she hasn’t seen him in ten years, she’s still attracted to him. How many of us could/would want to say the same about high school flames?

Thanks so much having me!
Andrea

Thanks for the interview Andrea!  It was fun having you on my blog.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi, I’, Andrea Stein an author, mother, wife and blogger and a certified mom-chauffeur. I have been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember, including my first adventure story, inspired by an obsession with Out of Africa (book, movie and biography) about a young girl stranded in Kenya. It was serial fiction handwritten, given to my sister, who couldn’t read my handwriting. That story dies after one installment, but the next year I got a word processor (not a computer, but an ACTUAL WORD PROCESSOR) that showed about twenty lines of text at a time. This was before laptops were widely available and this allowed me to be able to type to my heart’s content in the privacy of my own room. Which I did. I think I spent the time writing stories about my “frenemies” to amuse myself. I also listened to a lot of the Cure and New Wave music. I have since moved on to a happier place.

Even though I read lots of different types of books, I write romance novels with a twist. More like contemporary romance than romantic suspense (I don’t write about serial killers or FBI agents) but I usually like to include a puzzle or mystery for my hero and heroine to solve.

Rough Harbor is my second novel, set in a small New England town. Coming soon is Ivy Cottage, also set in a small New England town on a river. 

Other than writing I spend most of my time reading, watching TV, cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, trying to keep the house clean and folding laundry. I love Twizzlers, chocolate and shows on the WB. For me, reading has always been an escape, a way to escape the ordinary and dive into a world that feels real – but with all of the ‘boring’ parts edited out.

As for the rest of my life, I grew up on Long Island, spent a lot of vacations in small New England towns, went to college in New York City, married by high school sweetheart, worked, had kids, stopped working, and kept on writing. Now I live in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a thing), and though I don’t own any horses, I do have a barn, which I share with squirrels.

There’s something successful writers always tell new writers about their secret to success. Just do it…Bum Glue…write 1ooo words a day…write for two hours a day….Keep writing. And they’re right. I got more successful with my writing when I started to do it consistently. I don’t write every day, but I shoot for five days a week. This means that the words and pages pile up — and I have stories to shape, make and mold…and share.

I hope you enjoy my books, currently available at www.amazon.com

AUTHOR ONLINE: Website | Facebook | Twitter

GIVEAWAY

Andrea will be awarding a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn host.

Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends February 1st, 2013!