Interview with Christi Barth - Back To Us

Today I'm welcoming back Christi Barth who visited last year with the release of her first novel in her Shore Secrets trilogy with a guest post. Now her third and final in her trilogy is out and she's here to talk about Back to US. 
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9781459290006
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 07/13/2015
E-Book
Buy It: B&N/Amazon/Kobo

  

Overview

Ward Cantrell always went for the long shot. But that recklessness cost him his college scholarship and his chance to play pro ball, and—worst of all—it ended his relationship with the girl next door. Neither the town nor the girl has ever forgiven him. Now he's taking one last long shot by opening a boutique distillery on the family farm he inherited.

Piper Morrissey spent high school in Ward's shadow, but she's come into her own in the years since. Maintaining her spotless image, and that of her family's winery, is priority number one. Nobody knows that she still yearns for her golden-boy ex. Or at least they didn't—until Ward agrees to sell Piper the land she needs to start her precious port line. The caveat? She'll need to date him for one month.

Read an Excerpt:

Back To Us

Ward Cantrell always went for the long shot. But that recklessness cost him his college scholarship and his chance to play pro ball, and—worst of all—it ended his relationship with the girl next door. Neither the town nor the girl has ever forgiven him. Now he’s taking one last long shot by opening a boutique distillery on the family farm he inherited.
Piper Morrissey spent high school in Ward’s shadow, but she’s come into her own in the years since. Maintaining her spotless image, and that of her family’s winery, is priority number one. Nobody knows that she still yearns for her golden-boy ex. Or at least they didn’t—until Ward agrees to sell Piper the land she needs to start her precious port line. The caveat? She’ll need to date him for one month.  
Ward hopes a month is all it’ll take to convince his former sweetheart that while he’s changed, his love for her hasn’t. But when the chance arises to thumb his nose at the town that turned its back on him, he can’t afford not to reject Piper’s offer. Will that make her reject him and his love—for good?

Excerpt:

“Don’t you ever go with your gut?” He sauntered closer.

“That’s risky.”

A devilish smile flashed across his face. “That’s the fun part.”

“We can argue over business strategies—or lack thereof—later,” she said archly, giving him a disapproving glare down her nose. “I’m going to have to insist on time to weigh the pros and cons.”

“It’s Wednesday. I’ll give you until this time on Friday.” He closed the distance between them in one long stride. “I’ll give you something to start off that pro/con list with too.”

Ward bent, putting his lips on hers before Piper could decide whether to scoot out of reach or not. Probably because a part of her couldn’t believe it was actually happening. There was a very strong possibility she’d passed out from exhaustion and this whole thing was a dream. It was the likeliest explanation for the morning’s strange turn of events.

But the warm slide of his lips pulled her straight out of her head and rooted her firmly in the moment. This moment. What she’d dreamed about and hoped for didn’t hold a candle to the reality of Ward, her Ward, finally claiming her again with a kiss that seared her down to her core.

He planted his hands at her waist and lifted, lips never breaking contact. Lips, heck—tongue never breaking contact. Even as he raised her high enough that her feet left the floor, Ward’s tongue swept around every inch of her mouth. Every nerve-laden inch. Every sensitive, tingling inch.

Piper needed to touch. Needed to greedily take him with the same heat he was lavishing upon her. Her hands fisted in his hair. Ward nipped at her bottom lip in response. So she wrapped her legs around his waist. That elicited a growl, and Ward braced her back against the wall. Then he pushed close. Pushed that muscled chest and those ripped abs against her body. Canted his hips to push something else even harder against the vee where her legs met. At that, they both moaned.

The rasping brush of his stubble burned in an oh-so-sexy way as Ward angled down her neck. At her indrawn breath, he paused to suck and lick at the spot right on top of where her pulse fluttered rapidly. Because, oh, the things he did to her. The shivers that raced through her just from the strong, wide span of his hands at her waist. The way he crowded out all thought as he crowded his body against hers.

Even the roughness, the harsh press of his jeans inseam and the scrape of the hair on his chin and the hard grind of hip against hip surged a sexy thrill from her head to her toes. Piper couldn’t squeeze her legs tight enough, couldn’t rake her nails down the back of his shirt hard enough, couldn’t recapture his mouth fast enough. Nothing was enough.

On a gasp, Ward pulled away. His eyes had darkened to midnight and a satisfied smile played at the edges of his mouth. And when had his hands shifted down to support her ass?

“That’s my pitch.”

She tried—and probably failed—to sound aggrieved. “That? A kiss was your pitch?” Best. Marketing. Ever.

“No. The pitch was my carefully laid-out reasons why a month of your time is more than reasonable to secure the land you need.” Another flash of that wicked grin that would’ve turned her knees to jelly if she’d been standing. “The kiss was my closer.”

 Hi Christi, welcome back to The Reading Frenzy.

Last year you did a guest post when your first Shore Secrets novel released, now your releasing the third in the trilogy, Back To Us.
What’s it about?

When her ex-boyfriend refuses to sell her his land unless she dates him for a month, an uncompromising winemaker learns that some bargains are worth making for a second chance at love.

You mentioned that Back to Us can be read as a stand a lone.
How are the novels in the trilogy related?

Two ways! First, the crazy—and some would say unbelievable—tradition of a mailbox journal where the whole town shares their secrets, which is absolutely real and in all three books. I borrowed that wonderful idea from an NPR story on a town in North Carolina with a lakeside journal. Secondly, the entire trilogy revolves around four best friends, so they are constantly popping in and out, even weighing in on how soon Piper and Ward should *finally* have sex!

Christi you have an eclectic bio, from Masters degree in vocal performance (my daughter is finishing her doctorate in vocal performance right now, she’s classically trained opera), a career on the stage, to wedding planner and finally to novelist.
So what kind of time frame are we talking from college to present?

Ooh, congrats to your daughter! Um….I have no shame/pride/whatever. I’ll admit that I finished grad school in 1993 at the tender age of 21. Immediately started performing and didn’t look back. My first book was published in 2010.

Was it a bumpy road?

No. Well, probably, but I’m one of those people who makes up my mind in a split second and then forges ahead. So each time I decided to change careers, it was a done deal. No waffling. No regrets. But was it hard work? You bet. My ingrained stubbornness always gets me over the rough patches, though.

It also says that it was your love of romance that drove your career.
Are happy endings a must for your novels?

YES! Yesyesyesyesyes. I truly believe that love makes everything better. Life is hard. Big, bad stuff happens, like car accidents and cancer. Little annoyances fill every day, like parking tickets and burning your toast. I want my books to be an escape for readers. Something that fills them with joy even if just for a few hours. To do that, you need the promise—fulfilled—of a happy ending.

Christi in your guest post last year your topic for your article was “How To Make Sex Interesting”.
As a reader I never knew so much thought and process had to go into writing a sex scene.
When you first started writing novels what about the whole process surprised you the most?

How stinking hard the sex is to write! Seriously, aside from that, I enjoy the writing tremendously. I plot ahead of time, work out the kinks, and then just sit down and let the words pile onto the screen. I think what surprised me the most was the promo process. Nobody mentions what hard work it is to *sell* books. I adore all the chances to interact with readers. Catching them is the hard part – it is a crowded world of awesome reads out there!

Christi the tag line on your website says “sassy, sexy and smart romances”
Now as far as I’m concerned romance and Harlequin make the world go round and every time I hear a romance nay-sayer whether it’s mild or super hot stories it burns me up.
What most readers don’t realize is that if it weren’t for the romance genre the big publishing houses wouldn’t be able to support their “literary authors”.
How do you handle nay-sayers?

Romance Writers of America very helpfully puts out numbers every year. In 2013, the estimated total sales of romances were $1.08 billion. That’s billion with a B. I believe all other genres, such as mystery, literary fiction, fantasy, etc., each only were in the millions. We provide entertainment. People trash reality television, too—and yet it gets millions of viewers. I have a feeling what people say in public and what they do in private can be contradictory. And then I tell them not to knock it till they try it!

Christi, this is the last book in your Shore Secrets trilogy.
What are you working on now?

In the fall I’m releasing The Opposite of Right, the first novella in my Bad Decisions series about hot rock stars. 2016 kicks off with the release of Risking It All - Book One in the Naked Men series. It centers around five men who survived a high school tragedy, how it made them into the men they are today, and of course, the women who complete them.

What was the last romance you read that you recommended?

I am binging my way through Chloe Neill’s awesome Chicagoland Vampire series. And, for another series that just wrapped up, Hard To Let Go, the last book in Laura Kaye’s Hard Ink series released last week and is spectacular.

Christi thanks for chatting with me today and good luck with the novel.
Are your events/signings listed on your website?

Yes – and there is one next one, at RWA in New York City!

Connect with Christi - Website - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

MEET CHRISTI:

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.  A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance.  Christi is President of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

Today's Gonereading item is:
The Paperback Scent Collection
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