We are so pleased to welcome Sadira Stone to the blog this week. Sadira is here to share her brand new release Opposites Ignite, book two in her Bangers Tavern Romance Series. Welcome, Sadira! We are all excited to hear much more about Opposites Ignite.
Q&A with Sadira Stone:
Q: Where is your favorite place to write?
A: My very favorite place to write is in our backyard gazebo. When the weather permits, I camp out there for hours at a time with an iced coffee, my notebook, and my laptop. Alas, Opposites Ignite was written in November-January, so outdoors wasn’t an option. We’ll be moving from Tacoma, Washington to Las Vegas later this year, so I look forward to more outdoor writing time.
Q: What inspires you as an author?
A: I’m inspired by the many real-life love stories I’ve witnessed and shared. It’s always fun to discover what brings a couple together, especially when the two people don’t appear to fit, like Rosie and Eddie, who develop a strong bond despite being as different as two people could be.
Q: Why do you write romance and why your genre of romance?
A: Romance is the literature of hope, and I really need that guaranteed HEA, especially lately. No matter how dark the situation may seem, I know that everything will work out in the end and leave me smiling. I gobble great stacks of romance books, most of them sexy contemporaries, the genre I write. But I also enjoy all sorts of historical romance, and this past year I’ve read several alien romances! Never thought I would’ve loved those so much.
Q: What are you working on next and when can we expect to see it?
A: Next up in the Bangers Tavern series is Anna and Diego’s story. He’s Bangers Tavern’s head cook and aspires to have his own food truck. She’s a nurse, sister of the heroine of Book 1 in the series, and pregnant with her soon-to-be ex-husband’s child. Needless to say, everyone connected to this couple thinks their affair is a terrible idea. Diego has an uphill climb to convince Anna he’s in it for the long haul, but he’s up for the challenge.
Q: What would you do if you couldn’t write?
A: Be sad? I’ve always done something artistic, mostly in the performing arts. Perhaps I’d go back to acting.
Q: How do you spend your free time?
A: What is this free time you speak of? I’m usually writing, doing writing-adjacent chores, or reading romance books. In the Before Times, I enjoyed traveling with Hubs and entertaining friends and family. I look forward to cooking for a crowd again and hosting parties. And how I miss our dart league! Someday…
Q: Do you listen to music when you write? What is your go-to playlist and why?
A: Okay, don’t laugh. I usually find a YouTube playlist of instrumental jazz, sometimes with rain sounds. It’s basically elevator music, but it’s mellow, up-tempo, and helps me concentrate when the coffee starts to wear off. Sometimes I sing along: “And then Eddieee runs his fingers through Rosie’s haaaairrrr…”
Q: How do you, your friends and your fans encourage you when you need a pick-me-up?
A: Commiserating on social media helps, mostly Twitter and Instagram. No matter their genre, other authors understand the struggles and lows of the writing life. Their support and fellowship means so much.
About: Opposites Ignite
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, barback Eddie has a huge crush on his curvy, tattooed coworker. Their New Year’s surprise is a dream come true—until 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!
Bangers Tavern Romance Book 2
Publication date: 3/15/21
Word Count: 66739
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-7357856-2-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-7357856-3-9
ASIN: B08WLKB3S8
Opposites Ignite Buy links:
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WLKB3S8
- Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/m0wjvP
- Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/opposites-ignite-sadira-stone/1138878794?ean=2940162422211
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/opposites-ignite/id1554956375
- Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57191079-opposites-ignite
- Universal book link: https://books2read.com/u/m0wjvP
Excerpt from Opposites Ignite:
All their coworkers saw Rosie and Eddie slow-dancing and kissing on New Year’s Eve. In the cold light of day, Rosie regrets hooking up with her shy, strait-laced coworker, so they try to convince everyone they’re just friends. And it almost works, until both their moms come into the bar, become tipsy BFFs, and make a scene. Dawn is the owner of Bangers Tavern.
“Dawn, I swear—” Rosie stammered.
“Get your stories straight.”
Like a wide-eyed prairie dog, Eddie popped up from behind the bar, spotted the boss and Rosie whispering, and ducked back down.
Dawn clucked her tongue. “Eddie, get your skinny ass over here.”
Shoulders hunched, he shuffled toward them.
Dawn slung her other arm over his shoulders and drew the two of them into the hallway. “Listen, you two, you’re grown-ass adults and responsible for your own decisions. But I do not appreciate being lied to.” She drilled each of them with a stern glare. “You’re more than employees, you’re family. And while I don’t approve of coworkers dating, I’m not going to fire you for it. Unless it gets in the way of your work. When you’re here, minds on the customers. No drama. Got it?”
They both nodded.
“Now go sort things out with your mamas before they get so drunk they fall off their barstools.”
Eddie croaked, “But you just said—”
“Get the tots and go.” Dawn strode back to her office.
“Now what?” Eddie clutched his head as if trying to keep his skull from exploding.
“We tell them the truth?”
“What truth—that we spent one drunk night together?”
Her chili dog curdled in her stomach. “Well, that is the truth, I guess.” Putting it that way made her sound like even more of a slimeball user.
He grasped her shoulders. “Rosie, my parents are old-fashioned. They won’t understand.” The plea in his chestnut eyes plucked hard at her guilt strings.
“So, what—we pretend to be dating? For how long?”
“I dunno. A few weeks? Long enough for me to think up a good reason for us to break up.”
“You mean, like how we’re as different as two people could possibly be?”
“Something like that.” He grasped her hands and wove his fingers between hers, filling her chest with happy, buzzing bumblebees—totally inappropriate, and not at all helpful. When would her body catch up with her brain and realize Eddie was not the guy for her?
“Come on, Rosie, my grandmother saw us together in my apartment. If we break up now, she’ll think I used you for a one-night stand. She’ll lose all respect for me. Please, just play along a little longer.”
She untangled her fingers from his and huffed, “Okay, okay. I helped caused this mess. I’ll help clean it up.”
Grinning, he pecked her cheek. “It’ll work out. Now, what’ll we tell them?”
After a moment of strategizing, they linked hands and made their way across the bar floor. As they passed the front door, Jojo snorted. “Just friends, huh?”
Rosie’s mom slapped the table when she caught sight of them. “Here they are, our sweet babies.”
Dawn wasn’t kidding—these women were well sauced. Empty glasses littered the table. She hadn’t seen her mom this plastered since the last presidential election.
“Shh, Ma. No need to yell.” She squeezed Eddie’s hand for good luck. “This is Eddie. We’re, uh, kind of—”
“In love!” Alina hooted. She lifted her glass, hooked her heels on the rungs of her barstool, and rose, wobbling precariously. “A toast, to young love.”
“Mama, sit down!” Eddie hissed through clenched jaws.
Too late. All around them, customers raised glasses in a toast to their make-believe love affair.
Rosie groaned and dropped her head onto Eddie’s shoulder. “We are in deep shit,” she murmured.
About the Author:
Ever since her first kiss, Sadira’s been spinning steamy tales in her head. After leaving her teaching career in Germany, she finally tried her hand at writing one. Now she’s a happy citizen of Romancelandia, penning contemporary romance from her new home in Washington State, U.S.A. When not writing, which is seldom, she explores the Pacific Northwest with her charming husband, enjoys the local music scene, plays darts (pretty well), plays guitar (badly), and gobbles all the books. Visit Sadira at www.sadirastone.com.
I’d love to hear from you! Please visit me on all the socials.