News from Suz Brockmannwww.SuzanneBrockmann.com@SuzBrockmann (on Twitter)May 15, 2021
Flash e-Sale for STAND-IN GROOM !!
Originally published (and set!) in the glorious 1990s, the reissue of my 1997 Bantam Loveswept, STAND-IN GROOM, is currently on e-sale for $2.99 !!Trope alert: Marriage of Convenience (literally!)Opposites AttractUptown GirlHERO: Giovanni “Johnny” Anziano, master chefHEROINE: Chelsea Spencer, computer programmer and small business ownerLOCATION: Boston, MassachusettsOkay, this book's a fun one.First it's still set, unapologetically, in 1997, in my beloved city of Boston. (Remember the endless years of the Big Dig? Remember (more universally) those nifty little plastic square disks with which we backed up our computers, and how psyched we were when those giant (GIANT!) 128 MB flashdrives were first available...? Remember when the Chipmunks released their cover of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt...? Yeah, I remember that, too.)Second, I wrote this book when I was heavily into my Susan Elizabeth Phillips phase. I discovered her books relatively late in the romance game, and glommed her backlist, one after another, right around 1997. She wrote a number of stories featuring heroines who were rich and extremely privileged (often to the point of being spoiled) as the book started, and in Stand-In Groom, I was attempting to do something similar with richie-rich Chelsea Spencer.Chelsea collides--almost literally--with the book's Boston-Italian-townie hero, Johnny Anziano, who happens to be doing volunteer work as a Meals-on-Wheels delivery driver, and witnesses Chelsea being mugged on the street outside of her software start-up.He, of course, leaps to her rescue.These two, like good romance novel characters, immediately spark, and even though they seem to come from different worlds, Johnny asks her out. But alas, Chelsea's getting married--that very weekend.Turns out that she was planning on marrying a long-time friend, in order to get access to her inheritance and break ties from her controlling (and uber-old-money-wealthy) father and brothers. But her friend gets cold feet and backs out, days before this high society event, complete with 700 guests.Chelsea takes a deep breath and calls Johnny Anziano, and quite literally asks him to marry her.It's not exactly the first date that Johnny had in mind! (My original title for this book was FIRST DATE. Heh.) But he's adventurous and definitely wants to spend more time with Chelsea, so...High jinks ensue.Back in 1997, when I wrote Stand-In Groom, I'd already made something of a name for myself, writing category romances with heroes who were the opposite of billionaires, like Navy SEAL Joe Catalanotto in 1995's Prince Joe. (In Joe's book, the heroine, Veronica St. John, was not only an uptown girl, she was from the UK, with connections to royalty! Uptown Girl trope, indeed!)With Stand-In Groom, I wanted to continue to explore the theme of "things are not as they seem," in which Chelsea thinks she knows exactly who Johnny is, based on his long hair, construction-worker's rugged build, and his "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt" T-shirt that he's wearing on the day they met. Turns out, it was laundry day, and he'd run out of clean clothes--and that there's a great deal she doesn't know about him, including the fact that he's THE chef in Boston's most popular upscale restaurant.And, in the spirit of all those great SEP novels from the 1990s, Chelsea has a lot to learn about her own self, too, before she wins her HEA.Here's an excerpt from the book (with just one (1) Star Trek reference):
“I’m going to have Emilio give you a call,” Chelsea decided. “He can give you a crash course in international banking.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“Oh, yes, it is. What are you going to do when my father starts asking you questions about the Italian economy?”
“I’ll do this.” Johnny leaned forward slightly, bringing his finger up to his lips in a gesture of silence. He spoke with a faintly foreign-sounding accent. “Shhh. Today is a day of pleasure and celebration, not business. We will talk of such things another time.”
Her graceful lips quirked upward in a smile and she snorted, trying not to laugh. “I hate to break it to you, but you sound like Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island.”
He gave her a mock scowl. “No, I don’t. I sound like Emilio.”
“Hmmm. Do you speak any Italian?”
Johnny rubbed his chin. “Only a few phrases. And definitely nothing I can toss out at your wedding reception, believe me.”
She began searching for something in her purse, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “I guess Mr. Rourke will have to do.”
Johnny stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. “So which of my tuxes do you want me to wear on Sunday? The light blue polyester or the maroon velvet?”
The look on her face was priceless. She actually believed he was serious.
“I’ve got this pink ruffled shirt that goes great with either of ’em…” he continued, unable to keep from smiling at her look of total horror. “Chelsea, I’m kidding. Black. My tuxedo is black. I was just getting back at you for saying I sounded like a character from a bad 1970’s TV show.”
“But I loved that show. I adored Mr. Rourke… Until he turned into Kahn and killed Mr. Spock in Star Trek II.” She paused. “You did say your tuxedo is black, right?”
“Black and only a year old. Right in fashion. Designer label. Fits like a glove. Women faint when I wear it in public.”
“I’ll bet.” She found whatever she was looking for in her purse, pulled it free and handed it to him. “Here, Don Giovanni, try this on for size.”
It was a jeweler’s box, covered with soft black velvet. It was a ring box. Johnny popped it open, and there, inside, was a gleaming golden band. He looked up at Chelsea, suddenly subdued. She, too, had fallen silent.
This was a wedding ring. An age-old symbol of commitment and love. But Chelsea was joining him in holy matrimony on Sunday, and neither of them were expecting either.
“I tried to guess your size,” she said softly.
The ring was gorgeous in its simplicity. Johnny ran one finger lightly over it, but when he pulled it from the box, he fumbled and dropped it onto the plush carpeting.
Chelsea bent over and picked it up. “Here,” she said, reaching for his hand.
She slid the ring onto his finger.
It seemed far too intimate an act. Far too personal for two people who barely knew each other.
Chelsea looked up into his eyes and, for Johnny, time seemed to stand still.
“It fits,” she whispered, still holding his hand.
It did fit. Snugly. Perfectly. About as perfectly as her hand fit in his.
“Good guess,” he said. His voice sounded odd, too. Breathless.
“Mr. von Reuter will see you now,” Mrs. Mert announced, appearing suddenly, like a specter from the mist.
Chelsea jumped and dropped Johnny’s hand as if he’d burned her.
Johnny looked down at the ring he was wearing on his left hand.
Married.
On Sunday, he was going to get married. He should be searching his soul, questioning the moral implications of so casually entering into one of the Holy Sacraments. He was, after all, at least half Catholic.
But instead, all he could think was how much he couldn’t wait to kiss the bride.
Here are the e-sale links to STAND-IN GROOM:
Kindle: http://amzn.to/2gVgEm7Nook: https://bit.ly/3hrFt6KApple: http://apple.co/2uoFkq7Kobo: https://bit.ly/33IRU6aGooglePlay: https://bit.ly/3fnyXez
That's all the news for now! Happy May! (Happy Birthday to me!) :-)Vaccine update: My entire family is fully vaccinated! YAY!My recent reads:I've just reread my entire Troubleshooters series, starting with HOT TARGET, all the way through to SOME KIND OF HERO, including the e-shorts like WHEN TONY MET ADAM, BEGINNINGS & ENDS, and the FREEFALL, HOME FIRE INFERNO and READY TO ROLL trilogy. I've been thinking alot about Jules and Robin, and Sam and Alyssa, Jay Lopez, Lew Koehl, and Boat Squad John. Hmmm. Stay tuned.(Ah, but if that list of e-shorts makes you go "Wha...?" you can find out more here: https://suzannebrockmann.com/books/eshorts/ Thank you for your time and attention! As always, please feel free to email, blog, post, tweet, and/or share any or all of my news with your social circle! I appreciate it when you do! Love and hugs and don't stop fighting for equality, equity, peace, hope, and love,