SECONDHAND
ROMANCE
By
RoseAnn deFranco
BLURB:
Annie O'Malley's dream of owning a secondhand
bookstore in tight-knit Audubon Springs is coming true. Still reeling from her
parents' sudden deaths, she believes that signs or messages can be found within
the pages of books. She loves her job and has made plenty of friends but longs
for the acceptance only love and a family can provide.
Tony Iuliano is there to fix the wiring in her
shop. He doesn't believe in fate, magic, or the power of a good book. All this
combined with his sexy-as-sin presence and all-knowing attitude infuriates
Annie. The quirky bookworm intrigues him enough to accept her bet to read a
book from her shop. When he discovers a stack of fifty-year-old love letters in
the book, he wants to leave the past alone, but seeing it as a sign, Annie
challenges him to read the letters and search for the long-lost lovers or lose
the bet.
While shaking the dust off several ill-fated
romances and fighting their attraction at every turn, the pair soon become the
town gossip daily special. If they can stop arguing long enough, they may just
discover this particular sign was meant for them all along.
EXCERPT
He glanced at the book she left on
the counter and picked it up, weighing it in his big hand as if it were a
foreign object. “I don’t get it. What is it about a book that so completely
captures your attention?”
Annie’s eyes widened. A smile tugged
at the corners of her mouth. “Hmmm, no, I don’t think so.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not going to try to
explain this to a non-reader.”
A dark expression flashed across his
face. “I read.”
“Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition
and Playboy do not count.”
“I said I can read!”
“Calm down there, big guy. I’m sure
you can read, but I own the only
bookstore in town, and I’ve never seen you in here to buy a book. To my way of
thinking, that puts you in the category of a non-reader, as in someone who does
not read for pleasure.”
“Okay, fine. You’ve got me. Humor
me. What is it about a book that completely grabs your attention, leaving your
store vulnerable to theft and you to bodily harm?”
Annie regarded him through narrowed
eyes, not entirely sure if he was serious or seriously trying to provoke an
argument. She found both options interesting. Up until now, they shared very
little in the way of one-on-one dialogue. The nature of this question indicated
a certain level of contemplation he’d already given on the subject. “You’re not
going to let that go, are you?”
“No.” He revealed just the slightest
crack of a smile.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
RoseAnn DeFranco
grew up in upstate NY with her nose in a book and a song in her heart.
Following the pursuit of a musical theatre career in NYC, she turned her
creative energy to writing romance. RoseAnn blogs about her writing experiences
with her critique partners at www.the violetfemmes.com. A NJ shore transplant,
she enjoys time spent at the
beach with her family. She would love to one day live in a quaint shore town
like the fictional town Audubon Springs from her BROTHERS OF AUDUBON SPRINGS
series. More information about these
Contemporary Romantic Comedies can be found at www.radefranco.com.
Web links: www.radefranco; www.thevioletfemmes.com;
@radefranco; https://www.facebook.com/#!/roseanndefrancoauthor
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Secondhand-Romance-RoseAnn-DeFranco/dp/1628301732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391294775&sr=8-1&keywords=secondhand+romance
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteThank you for featuring Secondhand Romance today! I love this moment between Annie and Tony. Writing this story was fun because I got to gush about books, Jane Austen and well...Tony is just really yummy!
ReplyDeleteChemistry w/a hot guy in a bookshop. It just doesn't get any better LOL!
ReplyDeleteilookfamous@yahoo.com