Today, I’m excited to welcome romantic comedy author, Rosie Dean. Rosie is an author friend from my writer’s group, eNovel Authors at Work, and quite a fun girl to talk to. Have a look at her stylish book covers and then join me as I ask a few questions to find out more about her!
Does your life lack fun and love? Does work consume your time? Does your mother try to fix you up with her priest’s middle-aged nephew? Millie’s does – so she takes a grip on her own future and draws up a plan to find Mr Right. When the first guy who floats her boat, Josh Warwick, doesn’t meet the criteria on her wish-list she moves on to wine merchant, Lex Marshall, who ticks all the boxes. Sexy, rich and unable to keep his hands off her, he seems like the man of her dreams. But when Millie faces danger and betrayal, she wonders if her dream man might not be Mr Right after all. So, who will be…?
What if you found yourself stranded at the altar, knee-deep in your absent fiancé’s gambling debts? Vicki Marchant, humble art teacher and jilted bride, seizes her freedom by leaving teaching to paint – in France. It’s her time. Nobody is going to get in the way of her ambition – definitely not a man. Vicki learns two things: some men are difficult to resist, and choosing the right one is not always easy. Sexy French vet or aristocratic art dealer? Tough decision.
To save her grandfather’s legacy – The Joshua Steele Theatre – Chloe Steele sells her services to the highest bidder. Enter leisure tycoon, business angel and playboy, Duncan Thorsen. But when the bank calls in the debts and the council enforces closure, just how much paparazzi exposure and wheeling and dealing can a girl stomach?
Hello Rosie, and welcome to my blog!
Thank you Fros, I’m very excited to be here.
What has inspired you to write Chloe’s Rescue Mission?
I started to write Chloe’s Rescue Mission after watching an episode of Dragon’s Den and wondering what would happen if a female candidate fell for the dragon who helped her out. Add to that my love of the theater and my own history of spending years treading the boards in amateur productions, and the story came together.
I also have a bit of a soft spot for Gerard Butler, so he was my inspiration for Duncan.
Gerard Butler? Yum! (giggles) What other writing have you done? Anything else published?
For years, I wrote corporate training materials and then marketing materials. But my love was always for telling stories. So I have two other romantic comedies out there, both about young, professional women looking for Mr Right. The first, Millie’s Game Plan, is a about a woman so determined to find him, she produces a wish-list and a plan but, like so many things in life, it doesn’t work out quite the way she plans it. And Millie finds love where she least expects it.
The second, Vicki’s Work of Heart, is about a woman who thought she’d found Mr Right but discovers, on her wedding day, he really isn’t. She escapes to France to pursue her love of painting and get her life back on track. She doesn’t intend to let any man get in the way of her ambition but life has other plans, and throws two men in her path.
They all sound like awesome reads! Do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?
Oh yes! I confess there are aspects of me in all of my characters, although none of them is me. I think it would be difficult to write my heroines without some of my personality coming through. But I also give them characteristics I wish I had, and some I wouldn’t want.
I find it difficult to write serious, worthy, intense characters – unless I’m making fun of them. I try to see the funny side of life because often, that’s what has got me through the hard times. I hope that comes across in my heroines and perhaps helps readers to cope with their own difficulties.
A little bird told me you run on coffee when you write! Is this true?
Indeed, coffee is indispensable! I’ve done this selfie with a coffee for your blog. Well, there’s a bit of it left in the bottom of the mug that is!
Love it. Rosie! Anything else you’d like to show us that gets the creative juices flowing for you?
Well, I like to burn joss sticks and own a few incense burners. Will that do?
Wow, great selection there, Rosie! It promotes a relaxing atmosphere for you, right? I get it!
Yes, combined with classical music it works like a charm to create just the right ambiance for me. I find fragrance is very good for getting me in the mood to write.
What’s that wooden figurine on the left? I love that!
Oh! I got this cute incense burner from Germany.
How quaint! So, you listen to classical music when you write? I should try that. Sounds like a great idea.
Yes, I listen to classical music. Not because I’m highbrow or anything, but because I once read that when children were played classical music in the classroom, they became more creative. So I thought I’d give it a try. I have no idea if it has made me more creative, but if I listen to any other kind of music, I end up singing along or dancing around, which is counter-productive when I’m trying to meet a deadline. So, playing classical music, quietly in the background, has become part of my writing ritual.
What are you working on at the moment? Tell us a little about your current project(s).
I’m working on a riches to rags romantic comedy, about a sculptor called Gabriella Gill-Martin – known to her friends as Gigi. I’m setting it on one of my favorite places – the Isle of Wight – which is just off the south coast of Britain. I was lucky enough to live there for a few years, and still try to spend as much time as I can over there. It has some beautiful countryside and seascapes plus, being an island, it also has a lovely sense of community, which is missing from so many other parts of our world.
Gigi, who has had everything handed to her on a plate, moves to the island when she inherits her grandmother’s house. She’s a lovely girl but her world falls apart when the money stops coming in and she’s forced to make it on her own. She comes to learn the value of the simpler things in life, and finds true love where previously she’s mostly known cupboard love.
Sounds like quite a journey for your heroine, I love stories like that! If you could have one superpower what would it be?
To be able to cure the sick.
That would be an awesome power indeed. What are the things in your life that you’re most grateful for?
Being taught family values. I had a loving and supportive family. We weren’t spoiled with material things or flashy holidays but we were safe and loved. We also spent good times with the extended family, which gave me a sense of belonging, and lots of laughs.
I hear you, Rosie. I have been blessed with all that too, more or less, and feel very rich for it. How would you like to be remembered?
With a smile.
Well, Rosie, this has been a blast! Thank you so much for your visit.
Indeed, it’s been wonderful, Fros; thank you for having me!
BIO
I write romantic fiction with a sense of humor and, sometimes, a sense of the ridiculous. Because we all know life and love aren’t exactly how we’d like them to be. When not writing, I love to cook and to read, I even read in the car (talking books) and have notched up countless unnecessary miles as a result. Not one to spend hours in the gym or pounding the pavement, I prefer Yoga and Pilates, which means I can tone and tighten whilst watching TV.
Other links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RosieDeanWriter
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RosieDeanAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RosieDean
