I’m so thrilled that my Author of the Week is my friend and fellow author Julie Ortolon! Julie has been a trailblazer in so many ways during this amazing e-book revolution and has been a great help to so many writers as we’ve forged exciting new paths with our books. Julie has chosen to share with us the inspiration behind Falling for You, the first book in her bestselling Pearl Island trilogy:
Parts of this story have literally been living inside my head since I was a little girl. As the youngest of four children, I used to dream about owning a B&B with my siblings, so we could live together forever in a great big house. Add to that a lifelong fascination with sailing ships, ghosts, and growing up on stories about pirates in Texas and Lafitte’s missing treasure, and all of the elements were there. A trip to Galveston, Texas made disconnected pieces come together. Of course, my childhood fantasies weren’t nearly as steamy as the novel they inspired, but it was fun to sprinkle them throughout the story.
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The forecast is smooth sailing for Oliver Chancellor, scion of Galveston’s premier financier. Destined to take his place in the hallowed marble corridors of his family’s bank, Chance is content with the future that’s been mapped out for him, right down to his upcoming engagement to a prim debutante enthusiastically approved by his socialite mother.But when beautiful Rory St. Claire crosses his path, Chance recklessly plunges into uncharted territory with nothing but his heart to guide him-and a beautiful woman to tempt him . . .Propelled by a lifelong goal to buy the island home reportedly haunted by her colorful ancestors, Rory desperately needs Chance’s help in securing a business loan, and she won’t take no for an answer. In the midst of convincing the hesitant blue blood to take a chance on her dream, Rory unexpectedly lands in Chance’s arms, stunned by his red-blooded passion-and her own awakened desire. Now, the mismatched pair can’t keep their hands off one another, and something tells Rory she’s headed for trouble-trouble in the name of love.
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Visit Julie’s main author website at http://JulieOrtolon.com, but she also has a fun beachy website for fans of the Pearl Island Trilogy, http://pearlislandbooks.com/. You can also find Julie on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julieortolon, Twitter at http://twitter.com/julieortolon, and Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/julieortolon/. Falling for You is available at Amazon and other ebook retailers, so dive into your summer with the Pearl Island Trilogy! Thanks, Julie!
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Leave your comments for Julie Ortolon so she can say hello, and she’d love to read about memories or daydreams from your childhood that have spilled into your own stories. While you’re joining in the fun, sign up for my Miriam Minger newsletter and drop me an email to tell me who you’d like to see as one of my Authors of the Week. All of my books are featured on my Walker Publishing website (Miriam Minger, Miriam Aronson, and M.C. Walker) so take a look around and “Happy Reading!”
The story sounds like a great start ffor a series. Most certainly it will be a HEA and that’s fine, because we need a little softness in our lives lately.
Suzanne, it’s definitely a “make you feel good” read about fun, likeable people. If you want something that will have you smiling at the end, I think you’ll enjoy Aurora and Chance.
It’s always neat to “see” inside the heads of other authors and what shaped their books. Thanks for sharing, and I can relate to the ghost part, of course. I put a lot of my ghost experiences into books like my Dead Man Talking and Dead Man Haunt, plus my true stories. Isn’t it great when we can commit things to share with others out there? And get to know others in return?
Ghosts have always fascinated me for some reason. But the ghosts in my daydreams are always romantic not scary. When I wrote the proposal for Falling for You, Marguerite and Captain Jack were a much more important part of the story. The publisher wanted me to take them out completely. I was horrified at the thought of not including them at all.
We compromised by making them enough of a “maybe they’re real, maybe they’re not” for the reader to believe in them or not.
Now that I’ve gone indie and can do what I want, I plan to make them a bigger part of any future books set on Pearl Island.
I love Julie’s books, too, and wish I had time to read them all. It was fun to find out what childhood memory played a part in this latest book, and I appreciate the opportunity to share one of mine that made it into a book.
When I was about 12 my girlfriend wanted me to help her start a butterfly collection. She caught the butterflies then mounted them on a board after dipping their little heads in alcohol. I could not help her do that. Killing them just seemed repulsive. At a point in my novel, One Small Victory, where Jenny is in a reflective mood while sitting outdoors, she sees a butterfly and I gave her my memory to think about. It was kind of cool to have that pop into the story, but I do think we need to be careful not to inject too many things that relate so closely to us. http://www.amazon.com/ONE-SMALL-VICTORY-ebook/dp/B0040GJI3K/
Maryann, that makes me think of catching fireflies on warm summer nights. Thanks for sharing the memory?
I love that you’re living out your childhood dream! Do you still have fantasies about running a B&B? I’m thinking Pearl Island-themed seaside writers’ retreat…
No plans to open my own B&B. While researching the series, I stayed at several and interviewed owners. It’s a lot of work and you have people around all the time. I like my alone time to write.
Now a sea side writers retreat at a B&B — THAT I could go for.
Hi Julie!
I read this book and I loved it – so much fun – complete with pirates!
Thanks Irene. Glad you stopped by.
I’ve read the opening chapters of Falling for You and am looking forward to reading the rest of this charming book soon.
Thanks for stopping by Phoebe. It’s always good to “see” familiar faces.
Julie – I had a “real life” incident that became the inspiration for a scene in my book, Some Kind of Wonderful. My husband and I were vacationing in Greece and decided, while on the island of Mykonos, to buy tickets and hop on a tiny boat just to see where it went. Surprise, it was a nude beach and we were all forced to get off! That had to end up in a book! Loved reading your inspiration.
Susan, that’s hilarious. And yes, that HAD to wind up in a book. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like my kind of book, and since I love your writing, I can’t wait to start reading. Good luck with the series.
Hi Francis. Good to “see” you here.
Julie, this sounds like a great read, and I love the cover! Ghosts, pirates, and mismatched lovers? What’s not to love? And yes, bits and pieces of my childhood have certainly found their way into my books, too… my dad was a hellion when he was a teen, and I remember him telling me a story about how one night, he and his rakehell buddies climbed up onto the statue of General Lafayette and his horse in the nearby city, and defaced a “certain part” of the horse with purple paint… that incident found its way into my book, The Wild One. Sadly, my dad is gone now, and never got to read that scene, but I’m sure he’d get a good chuckle out of it if he could!
Danelle, that’s funny. I bet your dad would get a kick out of it. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a great new series. Just loaded it on to my Nook! Can’t wait to read!