Melinda Curtis

A Marriage Between Friends: the ideas & inspiration behind the story

   When I wrote Count on Love, the hero, Sam Knight, had a friend, Vince, who was a bad boy - not that he'd chosen that path, but life had dealt him some bad hands.  So, in my mind I knew Vince wasn't such a bad guy, just misunderstood by most people.  I thought he'd been jilted by the one girl who had the power to make him whole again.  Unfortunately, when these two originally met they were both a bit wounded and not ready to help each other heal.

   But I had to set these two up to meet again.  Since Vince was part of a casino owning dynasty, I was able to look in my own backyard.  Many Indian tribes are partnering with larger gambling companies to open their local casinos.  Vince wants to broker a deal with a tribe in the California foothills, where he rediscovers Jill, who doesn't want a casino to come to her small town.

   I had been to a writing retreat up in the mountains above Columbia, CA, which I used for inspiration for Jill's business.  It felt like a small dorm had been set down in the mountains.  I must admit that the road to get there is narrow and curvy and oh-so-fun to drive if you like that kind of thing (I do! And so did Vince!).

   Cover buzz:  This is one of my favorite Superromance covers.  There is chemistry here and a beautiful background.  I'm glad they didn't take my cover direction literally - Vince would have been wearing an Italian suit and sunglasses.  And Jill, who never wore a dress in the book, looks fabulous!

   It's always a challenge to write a marriage of convenience in modern times.  This was a fun book to write.  Hope you enjoy it!