Saturday, March 29, 2014

Spotlight on Barefoot Bay


I was one of many disappointed fans who mourned when Roxanne St. Claire announced she would be moving her writing focus from sizzling romantic suspense to emotional contemporary stories. After three full-length books and three novellas set on St. Claire's fictional barrier island off the west coast of Florida, I'm disappointed no more.  Instead, I've delightfully devoured each of the Barefoot Bay stories and eagerly anticipate each new offering from one of the most talented authors around.  And, for those of you who enjoy that St. Claire sizzle, not to worry.  There's plenty of that to enjoy in these new, heartwarming stories as well.

Bridging the gap between her full-length trilogies, St. Claire has brought three sexy billionaire heroes to Barefoot Bay, telling their stories in novellas (125-145 pages) that will have readers begging for more of the same.  At least, it has this reader begging for more! :)

SECRETS ON THE SAND kicks off the Barefoot Bay Billionaires novella trilogy with a story of second chances.  Though they were classmates in high school, Zeke Nicholas and Mandy Mitchell may as well have lived on separate planets.  Nerdy Zeke didn't stand a chance with his gorgeous and popular high school crush, Mandy.  Ten years later, roles have been reversed.  While Zeke's extraordinary math skills have led him to a successful business career and a billionaire bank account, Mandy's life has taken an opposite turn as evidenced by the fact that she is now the maid tasked with cleaning Zeke's cottage at the exclusive Barefoot Bay resort.  Will a second chance give these two the happy ending they deserve or will a secret from Mandy's unhappy past tear them apart forever?  I was cheering for these two the entire way.  Zeke, especially, is a total sweetheart.  If Mandy didn't take him, I was ready to hop a plane for Barefoot Bay and claim him for myself!








SEDUCTION ON THE SAND brings us the story of billionaire real estate mogul Elliott Becker and Barefoot Bay goat farmer Frankie Cardinale.  When Frankie inherits her grandfather's goat farm on Barefoot Bay, she leaves her high powered job and takes up residence on the secluded piece of land where she spent the happiest days of her childhood.  Everything comes easy to charming Elliott Becker and he has no reason to expect anything different when he shows up on Barefoot Bay to buy a goat farm that's sitting on land he and his partners need for their proposed baseball stadium.  He'll have Frank Cardinale handing over his land in short order.  Except Frank turns out to be Frankie, a sexy Italian spitfire who fires up Elliott in more ways than one.  Elliott has finally met his match but, whoa mama, is she going to make him work for his happy ending - an ending he didn't even know he wanted...or needed.







SCANDAL ON THE SAND:  A member of American "royalty," Nathaniel Ivory has done his best in the past to live up to his notorious reputation but he's making a concerted effort to change.  He's given up the wild parties and one night stands and, along with his billionaire buddies, is concentrating his efforts on bringing a baseball team to Barefoot Bay.  But while Nate is trying his best to turn over a new leaf, scandal just can't help but find him - this time in the form of no-nonsense court clerk, Liza Lemanski.  Liza has been raising the son of her friend since that friend's death in a car accident and wants to adopt him.  She only needs to inform the child's father - Nathaniel Ivory - of the child's existence and get him to sign papers that release him from all parental rights. She's sure "Naughty Nate" will be only too happy to make the "problem" of an illegitimate child go away.  Things don't quite go according to plan.  Nate has grave doubts that the child is his; he doesn't even remember meeting the child's mother.  But then he meets Dylan...and gets to know Liza.  And as he and Liza work together to unravel the mystery of Dylan's mother's story and whether or not Nate actually is the boy's father, for the first time in his life, Nate discovers something he's willing to fight for:  a young boy who needs him and a woman he can't life without.  I do love a bad boy trying to reform and St. Claire has created a great one in Nate.  I loved his interactions with the prickly but determined Liza and was cheering for the two of them the entire way.


All three Barefoot Bay Billionaires novellas are available individually in e-book format and now available in a print boxed set.  The first story, SECRETS ON THE SAND, is currently FREE for download to your Kindle. 

Readers, do you enjoy novellas?  Have you read any good ones lately?  Have you read Roxanne St. Claire's books yet?  Have any favorites?  

Because I enjoyed these stories so much, I'm giving a Kindle format set of the three novellas to one person leaving a comment on today's post.

~PJ





30 comments:

  1. I have read quite a few novella's.. I have read some by Carly Phillips, Kathleen Brooks, Jill Shalvis just to name a few.

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    1. I haven't read Kathleen Brooks. Off to check out her books. Thanks, Kathleen!

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  2. I love novellas when I get really busy and don't have the time for a long book. It's a whole story in a little bite. :)

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    1. Exactly! That's one of the reasons I so enjoy them, Jessica.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Thanks for dropping in, Annie! We should have had more faith in Roxanne's ability to bring us the stories we love, regardless of the sub-genre, yes? :)

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  4. Love everything that Roxanne writes!

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    1. Me too, Marianne. While I like some of her books better than others I have to say she hasn't disappointed me yet.

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  5. I can't resist popping in to say hello! Thank you, PJ, for this terrific feature and for showing the love to Barefoot Bay. It wasn't easy to jump from romantic suspense to contemporaries (What shall I do for plot if I can't kill anyone??) but it has be so much fun and quite rewarding. I am NOT done with romantic suspense, though. I was recently gifted with a Great Idea (thank you, God!) for a new series that I plan to launch with beloved Hot Guy Gabriel Rossi as the first hero. I'm not sure when I'll write that -- I do have another Barefoot Bay trilogy launching in May (the Barefoot Bay Brides) that are three full-length novels. The first is finished and I think I'll write #2 and #3 and get those in reader's hands before I dive back into romantic suspense.

    As far as the novella question -- I love them as a reader and a writer! I can finish a full story in a day and if the author has done her job, I feel satisfied. The Billionaire novellas are all 40,000 words, which is about half the length of a full book and I think they're pretty packed with story and characterization. Most novellas are more like 25,000 words and that's a fairly short read. As a writer, it's a challenge to pack romance and plot twists and emotion into a shorter space, but it forces me to make every word count.

    Thanks again to The Romance Dish and all the awesome readers of romance!

    xoxo

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    1. Hi Roxanne! Can't tell you how excited I am to hear that Gabe will finally get his story. I can wait as long as I know that it will come eventually. I'm excited to hear that the next Barefoot Bay trilogy will launch in May. It's nice to not have to wait a long time between these wonderful stories!

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  6. I don't think I've read this author, but I downloaded the free novella.

    I like novellas, but I don't always like the price point. Some favorite authors' full-length ebooks have been on sale for $1.99 - $3.99, so when they price a 100 page novella at $1.99-$2.99, it seems a high in contrast.

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    1. Kim, you have a lot of great reading ahead of you with Roxanne St. Claire's stories!

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  7. Thank you so much for the opportunity to enter the giveaway! I love Roxanne St. Claire's books! I look forward to reading these novellas.

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    1. Hope you enjoy them, Rachel. Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. I have read Roxanne St. Claire books before but none of her Barefoot Billionaires books. Looking forward to reading them.

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    1. It's a wonderful series of books and novellas, Maria. I hope you like them!

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  9. Sometime novellas are just right. I really enjoyed Pamela Clare's I-Team novella Skin Deep. Love St. Claire's books. Absolute favorite was Space in His Heart.

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    1. Adding Skin Deep to my buy list. I like Pamela Clare's books!

      I have Space in His Heart waiting for me on my Kindle. I really need to figure out a way to add more reading hours to my day!

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  10. I am already a big Roxanne St. Clair fan... and downloaded the first novella this weekend. Glad to know that Roxanne is thinking about Gabriel Rossi - that should be a great story!

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  11. I do enjoy novellas, nice when I'm short on time but long on craving a good book! I've read everything Roxanne St. Claire has written, my ultimate favorite is all 4 of the Barefoot Bay series, some of the best books I've ever read!

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  12. I do enjoy novellas b/c with my work schedule, sometimes that's all I have time to read. And there are soo many great novellas to pick from :) I'm just getting started with Roxanne's new trilogy and I can't wait :) Ummm... last year my fav novella was The Story Guy by Mary Ann Rivers. *that* novella blew my mind!!! Thanks for the fun spotlight!

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  13. Novellas are okay, if written well. Sometimes they just seem too short, like an outline for a full length book. I like the idea of a trilogy tho.

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  14. Actually, I've read Secrets on the Sand and enjoyed it very much. I haven't picked up the other two yet. I do enjoy novellas. Last year's The Story Guy (Mary Ann Rivers) was wonderful.

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  15. I have tread Roxanne's earlier books, not not this series. I love novellas, especially for secondary characters in a series. I also love anthologies with short stories by different authors. I have found many new writers that way!

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    1. Should have said....read Roxanne's earlier books but not...

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  16. I like novellas. However, if it is a series of novellas with a continuing story, like this one, I would want them all to be out before I got started! Some I have liked that are single titles are Erin Knightley's Ruined by a Rake, Seduced by a Pirate by Eloisa James, The Wedding Date by Cara Connelly & Last Chance Bride by Hope Ramsay.

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  17. I've read, and loved!, the Barefoot by the Bay series. Now I can't wait to start her Billionaire's series. :)

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  18. I do read novellas, but I tend to read full length stories more. If I am enjoying a story, the longer the better.

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  19. I've read and enjoyed many of Roxanne's Harlequin category books. I also enjoyed her BULLET CATCHER series.

    Novellas are a great way to try out new authors as are anthologies. Novellas have found their niche in the e- reader marketplace.

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  20. I, too, was disappointed to see her leave the suspense sub-genre. However, it sounds like she has turned her considerable talent to something that has turned out just as good. I wasn't aware of this series, but will be following it from now on.
    I am a fan of novellas. Often I don't have time to spend with a long book and turn to anthologies frequently. You can read a good story, get to know interesting characters, and wish them well on their HEA in a short read. Yes, I am sometimes disappointed I didn't get to know them better, but good authors make the brief meeting satisfying. Thanks for letting me know about this series.

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