Sadira Stone joins me with book 3 in her Bangers Tavern series which just released on January 4, 2022. I love the premise of this story; imagine finding the love of your life when you're pregnant with your ex's baby. Talk about conflict! Sadira tells us five things about DELICIOUS HEAT that give us great insight to this story and to the complete series. Thanks for joining me, Sadira!
5 Things to Know About Delicious Heat: Bangers Tavern Romance 3
1. Why a pregnant heroine?
Anna and Diego’s meet-cute played out in Book one of the Bangers Tavern series, Christmas Rekindled, the story of Anna’s older sister Charlie and River, Bangers’ flirty bartender. Readers asked for Anna and Diego’s story, and I was glad to oblige. They’re so stinkin’ cute together!
2. What was the hardest part of writing this story?
Anticipation of reader push-back gave me many a sleepless night, but in the end, I wrote the story as it wanted to be told. “No cheating” is a hard and fast rule for many romance readers, and Anna is technically still married throughout her courtship with Diego, though she’s trying her best to end the marriage. Here’s the thing: it took me a long, long time to legally untangle myself from my toxic ex who, like Anna’s Brock, kept throwing up obstacles to the divorce out of spite. And I fell in love after we separated but before the divorce was final. That does not make me a bad person, nor is Anna a bad person or mother for accepting love when it came her way.
3. Is Bangers Tavern based on a real bar?
Kinda/sorta. Tacoma’s 6th Avenue District is very real and very much as described in the Bangers Tavern Series. The bar itself is an amalgam of a few bars on The Ave, other bars I’ve known and loved, and my imagination. I wanted to create a place like TV’s Cheers, where everyone feels welcome, where folks can relax and play darts or pool, meet friends, dance, sing karaoke, play trivia, celebrate holidays, eat fabulous bar food—a home away from home experience.
4. Why foodie romance?
Honestly, is anything sexier than flirting over a delicious meal? I’m a frustrated wannabe chef at heart, so I love writing about foodie characters.
5. Why is found family so important in your stories?
Modern life often takes us far away geographically from our families of origin, and our blood relations don’t always understand or appreciate us. Yet we all need a clan who accept us no matter what, our family of the heart. These kinds of relationships have enriched my life, and I love constructing them for my characters.
Blurb:
Cupid has lousy timing.
After kicking her cheating husband to the curb, nurse Anna Khoury discovers she’s pregnant. When Bangers Tavern’s hunky chef makes heart eyes at her, she dismisses that delicious thrill as the last thing she needs. Single motherhood will take all her strength and focus. Anna’s battered heart can’t take another blow.
Chef Diego Vargas is aiming higher than burgers and tater tots. His dream—his own food truck, the Empanada Angel, but he’ll need his family’s support to pull it off. Meeting Anna leaves him thunderstruck, even though his attraction to her threatens all his plans. Call it fate, call him crazy, but he’s determined to prove he’s in it for keeps.
With a belligerent ex-husband and two overprotective families set on breaking them up, Anna and Diego will need more than red-hot passion to pull them through. His career and her baby’s future are on the line.
Come back to Bangers Tavern for a spicy tale of forbidden love that will warm your heart…and other parts…and make you hungry for empanadas!
Pre-order links:
Order your copy of Delicious Heat today!
https://books2read.com/deliciousheat
Excerpt:
When the tots were crispy and golden, Diego layered on the toppings: shredded extra-sharp Tillamook cheddar, crumbled pepper bacon, paper-thin slices of green onion, sauteed garlic mushrooms, pickled sweet-hot pepper slices, sour cream, and a drizzle of his house-made spicy ketchup. Heart attack on a plate. He hoped Charlie’s sister was hungry. Was she as pretty as Charlie?
He smoothed his apron and blotted his sweaty forehead. “I’m just gonna deliver these.”
At the bar, he found bartenders Kiara and River, along with all three servers, huddled around a brunette knockout in a curve-skimming red dress.
She glanced up. Their gazes met and held. Everything else slowed down.
Those last few steps to the bar felt like being towed through honey. Her espresso-dark eyes widened, sparkling under the Christmas lights. Her plump lips parted. Her chest rose and fell.
She’s a goddess.
He set the container of tots before her, removed his cap, and scrubbed a hand through his squashed hair. She echoed the gesture, winding a chestnut curl around her slender fingers.
Abuelita had told him the story of when she and Abuelo first met. “It was like a golden rope wrapped around my heart and pulled me to him. It holds us together still.”
At the time, he’d laughed off her hyperbole. But now, in this electric moment, Diego understood exactly what she meant.
“Hi.” The angel murmured, her voice low and musical, like a cello. “Did you make these?”
Dumbstruck by her beauty, he could only nod.
She lifted a tot to her lips, inhaled the steam rolling off it, and sighed.
He thanked the kitchen gods for the apron hiding his erection.
She took a bite, then her head lolled back on a groan. “Soooo good.”
Charlie narrowed her eyes and moved closer to her sister, bristling with protective vibes. He’d do the same if someone was eyeing his little sister like a tasty snack.
Say something, idiot! He cleared his throat. “They go really well with the Port Angeles Amber.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the beer taps.
Her gaze dropped, and the corner of her mouth hitched up in a shy half-smile. “Wish I could try it, but I’m pregnant.”
No ring on her left hand, but a pale indentation where one had recently been. Divorced? Please let her be single. Please, please, please.
“Oh. Well then, enjoy, Miss…”
“Anna.” Though it didn’t seem possible, her wide smile made her even more beautiful.
Flushed and breathless, he backed toward the kitchen and bonked into something soft.
“Watch where you’re going, Romeo.” With a chuckle, Dawn grasped his shoulders, spun him around, and sent him on his way with a gentle shove.
What are you doing? his common sense shrieked. She’s pregnant! But he allowed himself a final glance over his shoulder. She popped another tot into her lush mouth and winked. He waggled his fingers and pushed through the swinging doors, then collapsed against the wall, clutching his heart.
“Whatsa matter with you?” Shelby asked with a snort.
He closed his eyes and heaved a happy sigh. “I just met the woman I’m going to marry.”
Order your copy of Delicious Heat: Bangers Tavern Romance 3:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HRJW5CN
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940162472384
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/delicious-heat
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1592832791
Author Bio:
Award-winning contemporary romance author Sadira Stone spins steamy, smoochy tales set in small businesses—a quirky bookstore, a neighborhood bar, a vintage boutique... Her stories highlight found family, friendship, and the sizzling chemistry that pulls unlikely partners together. When she emerges from her writing cave in Las Vegas, Nevada (which she seldom does), she can be found in belly dance class, or strumming her ukulele, perhaps exploring the West with her charming husband, or cooking up a storm, and always gobbling all the romance books. For a guaranteed HEA (and no cliffhangers!) visit Sadira at www.sadirastone.com.
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