I’m excited to welcome Sadira Stone and her novel Opposites Ignite to the blog this week. Sadira lives in Vegas amidst the glitz and glamor. In keeping with a Valentine’s Day theme, join me as we get to know a little about Sadira and her journey as an author.
Background For Opposites Ignite
Rosie is an aspiring tattoo artist, inspired by an actual bar server I met in the 6th Avenue District of Tacoma, Washington, where the series is set. She had the most gorgeous bouquet of roses tattooed on her chest. I liked the idea of defying the usual romance body types: slim, delicate heroine and big, beefy hero. I mean, we’ve all met loving couples who don’t look like that, right? So I made Rosie big and curvy, and Eddie slim and smaller that the usual romance hunk.
A mismatch sparks the hottest flames.
Blue-haired, buxom, and bodacious, server Rosie needs her job at Bangers Tavern, where her work family adores her weirdness and supports her hunt for a tattoo apprenticeship. When too much New Year’s bubbly tumbles her into a sweet, shy coworker’s bed, she craves more. But guys like Eddie never stick with girls like her.
Strait-laced, soft-spoken, and skinny, Eddie has a huge crush on his curvy, tattooed coworker. Their New Year’s surprise is a dream come true—until his grandma walks in on them. Eddie begs Rosie to fake-date him to appease his old-fashioned family. He’s already keeping secrets, so what’s the harm in one more? But the longer he pretends with Rosie, the deeper he falls.
Their boss lays down the law: No relationship drama at work, or you’re fired. Rosie’s everything Eddie ever wanted—but to keep her, he’ll have to drop a terrifying truth bomb on his loving but stifling family. And Rosie must trust her bruised heart with the guy who nearly crushed it.
Come back to Bangers Tavern for a steamy, laugh-out-loud, opposites-attract romance that ignites in all the worst ways—and the best!
Available for purchase here. http://bit.ly/OppositesIgnite
What Sadira Says About Her Journey
Sadira favorite place to write is her cozy writing cave in her Las Vegas home with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and blue-green curtain made of recycled silk saris. I asked her why she wrote romance and why her particular genre of romance. She said I guess I’m just a grounded, practical sort of person. I prefer slice of life romance stories with people you might actually meet facing realistic obstacles. After all, life throws plenty of those across our paths, right? I’ve tried writing other genres, like horror and cozy mystery, but a romance thread always snuck in. After a while, I finally took the hint.
Later this year, she’ll release the first three novellas/short novels in her Trappers Cove Romance series, set in a Washington State beach town. Though she’s living in Vegas now (for family reasons), she’s self-professed Pacific Northwest girl at heart!
Living in Vegas affords Sadira the opportunity to try new restaurants and see shows, especially live jazz and blues. And the hype, she’s lived in Las Vegas for a year and a half and has yet to see an Elvis impersonator.
Sadira listens to instrumental or study tracks music while writing, so she can maintain focus. When she’s feeling down, chatting with author friends about the author biz always lifts her spirits. When the going gets really tough, she rereads positive reviews to remind her she’s done this well before and can do it again, even if her characters aren’t cooperating.
What Sadira’s Readers are Saying…
Bangers Tavern has the most interesting people working there! Straight shooter barback Eddie has had his eye on curvy waitress Rosie for a long time. She’s friendly but hasn’t indicated that she welcomes a relationship. She doesn’t hide her vivaciousness. She has blue hair and she is a favorite at the tavern because she puts herself out there, smiling, sashaying around the tables—even a bit of flirting. Then comes the tavern New Year party at which both she and Eddie both imbibe a bit too much. The next day, to Eddie’s delight, Rosie wakes up in his bed. If she’d left just a few minutes earlier, she wouldn’t have run into his grandmother—his very proper grandmother. In order to escape embarrassing questions, Rosie gives into Eddie’s plea to act like his girlfriend for a few days. She really likes Eddie, but how long will an OCD, strait-laced planner like Eddie stick with a free spirit like Rosie? Plus, he has a secret that will disappoint his parents if they knew. The seem ill-fated. If only they didn’t like each other so much…
This second Bangers Tavern book is a delight! I love reading about curvy women who don’t fit the stereotypical heroine view. In book 1, bartender River finds his love in waitress Charlie. The characters—both employees and customers—give Bangers its flavor and fun. This series is fun and Ms. Stones skillful writing brings them all together in a seamless bundle of good reading. Highly recommended!
– Dee S. Knight, Erotic Romance Author
Rosie is a blue-haired, buxom, multi-tattooed, and in-your-face kind of gal who dreams of becoming a tattoo artist, while working at a server at the Bangers Tavern. She lets herself be enticed by the mistletoe hung in the tavern, stealing a few kisses from bartender’s assistant Eddie, that culminates in them dancing long after everyone else has gone home on New Year’s Eve before they head for Eddie’s place. Eddie is soft-spoken and always getting underestimated. He’s been in love with Rosie from the first time he saw her. So the night of passion is a dream come true for him…At times I laughed then I got turned on by their steamy interludes and I felt for them when things didn’t seem to be working out. Isn’t that the quintessential essence of a good romance? Yes it is! And this is a great read!
– Fiona Gierzynski
This book scratched all my itches: deep emotions, well-drawn characters, really hot love scenes, and a curvy, tattooed, not neuro-typical heroine. Loved it all! Stone is a careful, intentional writer, threading realism and respect into the way she crafts her characters, scenes, relationships and settings. I can’t wait for the next!
– Elle Beauregard
An Excerpt of Sadira Stone’s Opposites Ignite
But why did Dawn hang mistletoe from the bar’s ceiling if she didn’t want people to kiss? Eddie would wait until the boss was in her office, then find some excuse to linger beneath that clump of green, his eyebrows flicking up in a flirtatious question. You wanna?
Damn it, she did wanna. His crooked smile was so tempting. And his lips were so soft, his kisses so sweet—unlike the slobbery mauling she got from most guys she dated. Desire simmered under his cool surface, making her want to dive deeper.
New Year’s Eve served up the perfect excuse. When the bar staff toasted the new year, it was so easy to land in Eddie’s arms. So easy to keep dancing as their coworkers filed out, leaving them alone beneath the kitschy disco ball, its dizzy sparkle whirling them around and around.
And now he slept beside her, sunlight glinting off his wavy brown hair, glossy lashes fanned across his cheekbones, dark scruff shadowing his razor-sharp jaw. So pretty, so vulnerable, so one hundred percent wrong for her. Clean-cut guys like Eddie never stuck around with girls like her. God knows she’d bashed her head against that brick wall enough times to learn her lesson.
Breath held, she gingerly removed his hand from her breast and wriggled toward the edge of the bed. Eddie sighed and squirmed into the space she’d vacated, nuzzling her pillow. No, she corrected herself, his pillow. Gotta get out of here.
Rising on unsteady legs, she turned back for a final look. Sleep melted his solemn daytime expression into peaceful sweetness. His bare shoulders rose on a shiver. As she bent to tuck the quilt around him, her boob brushed his arm.
“Huh?” His eyes fluttered open. His brow rumpled, then smoothed as a bleary smile spread across his pillow-creased face. “Good morning,” he croaked and pushed up on his elbow. His gaze sharpened as it raked over her naked body. “Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow.” She waved a limp hand over the bed. “Last night was, uh—really something.” She shuffled backward, stifling the impulse to cover her bits. After all, he’d seen every inch of her. He’d sampled it all, too. Twice, if she recalled correctly. The details were still kind of blurry, but she remembered lots of giggling, Eddie’s silky hair tickling her inner thighs, the slap of flesh on flesh, and a climax so powerful she nearly blacked out.
Meet the Intriguing Sadira Stone
Award-winning contemporary romance author Sadira Stone spins steamy, smoochy tales set in small businesses—a quirky bookstore, a neighborhood bar, a vintage boutique… Her stories highlight found family, friendship, and the sizzling chemistry that pulls unlikely partners together. When she emerges from her writing cave in Las Vegas, Nevada (which she seldom does), she can be found in Zumba class, strumming her ukulele, exploring the West with her charming husband, or cooking up a storm—and always gobbling all the romance books. For a guaranteed HEA (and no cliffhangers!) visit Sadira at www.sadirastone.com.
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