By Sally Clements
I love writing romance, but I don’t like to be predictable. I like to explore and challenge expectations of ‘the perfect woman’ and ‘the perfect man’. In life, people come multiple varieties, and I like my heroes and heroines to reflect that.
I like turning things around, mixing it up. My latest series for Entangled Publishing, the Under the Hood series, is based around three women who are co-owners of a garage. They’re all qualified mechanics. Alice (the heroine of book one) is a full time mechanic who acts as a female white knight to help a hero in distress whose car needs a jump start. Her hero, Mark, is a more than capable divorce lawyer, used to being leaned on by his clients, but he loves being rescued.
Book 2, Love for Beginners, also features an owner of the Under the Hood garage, this time Melody Swan. Again, Mel bucks the trend somewhat. She controls her world very successfully, and has a truckload of responsibilities. She wants to share her life with someone who will fit into her life—someone she can have a real affection and partnership with. She believes that falling in love will cloud her judgement, will make her vulnerable. Mel’s not your typical romance heroine, but for me she rings true as a person. Her hero, Heath (Alice’s brother) has a reputation for love ‘em and leave ‘em, and a nickname of The Ladyslayer—but once again that’s only part of Heath’s story, he’s so much more than the tag he earned years ago…and when he meets Mel he doesn’t act the way she expects him to.
So far, readers love the premise of the Under the Hood Garage. A place run by women for women. A place where you don’t have to compromise or risk being judged for not knowing the ins and outs of an engine. It’s a typically male preserve, turned on its head and mixed up. Because in life, anything can happen—so I reckon the same should be true of fiction!
Author Bio:
Sally Clements writes fun, sexy and real contemporary romance, partnering hot heroes with heroines who know what they want, and go for it!She is a full-time author, who lives in the Irish countryside, and when she isn’t writing can usually be found in traffic, driving ‘Mum’s taxi’.Always a voracious reader, she considers writing for a living the perfect job—the only downside is saying goodbye to her characters at book’s end!
Make sure you check out Sally Clements’ latest novella, Love For Beginners, just released on May 27th.
Book Synopsis:
She needs a lesson in love, and he’s the perfect teacher.
Mechanic Melody Swan is looking for a man who can share her hopes and dreams, but she swore she would never lose herself to passion. When sexy Heath Starr agrees to temporarily sub in the Under the Hood garage for his sister, Mel sees the perfect opportunity to enjoy being with a man without becoming attached.
Heath came to Meadowsweet to photograph nature, not find a hookup, especially since his last relationship ended in disaster. He vowed he’d never break another woman’s heart, and in turn, protect his own. Still, when Mel offers to serve as his outdoor guide, he can’t refuse.
Mel may say she’s only looking for right now, but her body is speaking a whole different language. And Heath’s viewfinder is drawn to her time and again. When the two find themselves isolated in a rustic cabin, they could both break their promises if they aren’t careful…
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Connect with Sally Clements
Kay Adeola says
June 3, 2014 at 8:19 amSounds like an interesting read i would love to get my hands on a copy.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
June 3, 2014 at 8:41 amThat definitely sounds interesting. In my case, I am going to leave car stuff to my husband, though 😉
Theresa says
June 3, 2014 at 11:53 amI love how you are mixing it up. Not too many women work in a garage, so that definitely sounds like a fun twist on reading!
Jennifer Williams says
June 3, 2014 at 12:42 pmI would love to read this, of course it would be awesome if there were female owned garages. I will definitely check this out.
Tough Cookie Mommy says
June 3, 2014 at 1:13 pmI love romance novels and it is really my favorite genre. The fact that you try to not be predictable is a good quality because it separates you from other romance writers.
Pam says
June 3, 2014 at 2:51 pmSounds like an interesting series! I love unconventional characters in my romances.
Triplezmom says
June 3, 2014 at 2:53 pmMy brother-in-law produces the show All Girls’ Garage; I need to read these and see how it compares to the real life drama I hear about!
Liz Mays says
June 3, 2014 at 4:02 pmI like her topsy turvy approach. Plus, Love for Beginners sounds good too!
becca says
June 3, 2014 at 4:13 pmSounds interesting will have to add to reading list.
Sarah Bailey says
June 3, 2014 at 5:41 pmI’m not much of a romance reader but this definitely sounds like an interesting read 🙂 x
maria says
June 3, 2014 at 6:17 pmSounds like a fun weekend read! I like to get lost in books whatever genre it is!
Amanda Ripsam says
June 3, 2014 at 7:40 pmI would be interested in this book as well if there was a hard copy
Rosey says
June 3, 2014 at 8:14 pmI think it’s a good idea to mix things up too. It’s hard to read the same old story line with characters that just have different names. Hear hear for being different!
Amanda says
June 4, 2014 at 8:47 amI like books that have a good twist. There is nothing worse than a predictable book.
Nicole Brady says
June 4, 2014 at 8:51 amIt is a fun concept because it will allow you to take the readers in non-traditional directions (IE covered in grease instead of in makeup). What fun!
Annie Mai says
June 4, 2014 at 9:35 amI love the title! Sounds like a great book to read 🙂
The Chef's Wife | Anne @TheSatEvePot says
June 4, 2014 at 11:05 amThat sounds like a great book! It’s good to encourage girls to explore their strengths even if they aren’t the “normal girly” type of strengths. I love that this book reminds us that it’s okay not to be a girly girl!
Veronica says
June 4, 2014 at 11:44 amSounds like she writes really great stories in the romance genre. I honestly don’t read romance novels but I have a friend who loves them. I will have to tell her about this author
Dawn says
June 4, 2014 at 7:13 pmI like characters that don’t fit traditional stereotypes. This sounds like a good book.
Babita@BabsProjects says
June 4, 2014 at 8:05 pmI used to love reading romance novels. But, these days I don’t have the time to read. I would have loved to check this book out.
Toni says
June 9, 2014 at 4:32 amThese sound like interesting reads. ia m going to have to see if they are available for kindle!