We’re excited to welcome Lorelie Brown and Lauren Christopher to TBRG today. They are interviewing each other about their latest releases Riding the Wave by Lorelie Brown and The Red Bikini by Lauren Christopher
The publishing world is such a funny place sometimes—Lauren Christopher and I, Lorelie Brown, have never met before. The fact that we’ve both written romances with professional surfers for heroes, from the same publishing house (though from different imprints), that release on the same day was a complete coincidence. But when we found out, we were stoked! Another author whose interest dovetail with ours and who wanna let readers in on how smokin’ hot surfers are? That’s awesome! But we had to get to know each other a little bit more….
LC: For starters, I’m dying to know: Was hottie Tanner based on anyone?
LB: Tanner is based on someone, but not in exactly the way most readers will expect. I didn’t model his looks on anyone–Tanner’s surf style is based on Taj Burrow, a professional surfer on the ASP’s World Championship Tour. Taj has the power moves that I love to watch. As a result, Tanner and Taj’s body types are kind of similar, because their style comes out of their strength. But Tanner’s cuteness is all made up by me. (Taj ain’t bad, but he’s not my type. Or Avalon’s type, more particularly.)
LB: Okay, now turn about is fair play and all! Is Fin based on anyone? Because damn, is he tasty!
LC: Fin is a tiny bit based on Kelly Slater, but not really. Mostly just the ambition, the well-spoken nature, the smart business sense. But the similarities are pretty vague. I mostly just wanted to present someone who broke every stereotype for Giselle (and the reader), and Kelly Slater was a good model for that. 🙂 Rabbit was based a little bit on a cross between pro surfer Rob Machado and funny instructor/surfer Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, who became famous in 1994’s “The Endless Summer II.” The surf world is filled with personalities to use as models, that’s for sure!
LB: So do you follow professional surfing?
LC: I followed the ASP Tour for the two years I was writing the book, so I got pretty into the different surfers and their different personalities in those years. I was so impressed when I started watching – not only the crazy athleticism they all displayed, but they all had philosophies about surfing, and the various philosophies translated into even more competition. It made it all really exciting and interesting to watch – I just wanted to bring that world alive for the reader.
LC: How about you, Lorelie? — You obviously really know your stuff. Where did your love for surfing come from?
LB: My love for surfing comes from my love for the ocean and my awe that there are people who can master it, even a little bit. I got to see the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California a couple times when I was in high school. The first year, Kelly Slater won. The second year was another dude, but it didn’t matter. They were all made of…something special. Half these competitors I was watching were within a couple years of my age, but it seemed like they were already grown men. In the best kind of way. I was pretty much head over heels after that.
LC: So Lorelie, will your whole series be based on surfers? And will Sage get her own book (please)??? And Jack? 🙂
LB: Yes, the Pacific Blue series will be based on surfers. Not everyone will be competitive on the World Championship Tour, but they’ll all have a love for the ocean and know how to make their way around a surfboard. 😀 The Pacific Blue series has 2.5 books done or in production already (including the novella that came out last month) and every single one features a surfer! My editor loves where I’m going with these books, and has been incredibly supportive. I just hope readers love Tanner as much as I’ve loved writing him. If all goes right, Sage will be book three. (With Jack. *cough* Is that a spoiler? Maybe no one cares? Maybe people will be excited to hear it? *g*)
LB: How about you? — I know Lia’s book is coming next, but what’s going to happen with Rabbit and that divorcee?
LC: Ah, Rabbit and the Divorcee! Good title! Ha, ha. I would love to write Rabbit a book. But right now I have only the three sisters planned – Giselle, then her younger sister Lia, then the youngest Noelle. All three take place in Sandy Cove and all center around the ocean – and Rabbit does make a brief appearance in all three, actually – but so far Fin is the only professional surfer.
LB: So what’s your favorite beachside activity?
LC: Uh … sitting covered up in my towel and reading? ha, ha. Maybe taking pictures? I’m the least athletic person you will ever know, and I probably couldn’t squeeze myself into a bathing suit if my life depended on it. But I love to go to the beach and take pictures of the beauty there or watch the bodysurfers at “The Wedge” or just enjoy the beauty of the ocean.
LC: How about you — What are your favorite beachside activities?
LB: My personal favorite beachside activity is bodysurfing. I wish I knew how to surf, and I’m sad that I’ve let my bodyboarding skills go, but at least I can still get out there and feel the ocean move me. 🙂 Second to that is holding my kids in the waves and teaching them how to behave in the water.
***
It’s fascinating how Lauren and I have taken such similar stances and created such very different books! The Red Bikini is sweet and earnest, with a heroine who blossoms beautifully under the respect of the hero. Riding the Wave is a smokin’ hot romp through dark secrets leavened by a snarky as hell heroine. But they’ve definitely got one thing in absolute common—our love for California! If you want to get away this July, but can’t afford the plane tickets, you should totally try our books. They’ll have you on a California vacation as soon as you open the pages!
Riding the Wave blurb:
The gray-green swells of San Sebastian haven’t changed in ten years, but Tanner Wright has. The last thing he expects to find back on his home turf is the love of his life….
With a make-or-break world championship on the line, professional surfer Tanner Wright has come back to the coastal California hometown he left a decade ago, carrying only his board and the painful knowledge of his father’s infidelity. Now that Hank Wright is dead, Tanner intends to keep the secret buried to spare his mother and sister the burden.
The last time Avalon Knox saw her best friend’s brother, she was fourteen and he was a twenty-year-old surfer god. She’s never understood or respected the way Tanner distanced himself from the family that has embraced her. But now she has the professional chance of a lifetime: to photograph Tanner for the competition—if he’ll agree.
Out on the waves, they find in each other passion that’s impossible to resist. And Tanner’s not the only one trying to move forward from his past. As the competition heats up, secrets get spilled, and lust takes over. How close can Avalon get to this brooding surfer…without getting burned?
Lorelie Brown Bio:
After a semi-nomadic childhood throughout California, Lorelie Brown spent high school in Orange County before joining the US Army. After traveling the world from South Korea to Italy, she’s returned home to California. Lorelie has three active sons and a tiny shih-tzu who thinks he’s son number three—not four, he’s too important to be the baby. Writing romance helps her escape a house full of testosterone.
Lorelie Brown social media links:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Riding the Wave buy links:
Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Powell’s
The Red Bikini blurb:
A sparkling debut romance where a getaway vacation turns into an unexpected new beginning……
For the last five years, Giselle McCabe’s life has been about sippy cups and playdates. But when her husband suddenly leaves her, Giselle flees to her sister’s California beach house for a two-week getaway. Out of her element, she’s surprised to receive such a warm welcome—especially from gorgeous celebrity athlete Fin Hensen……
Fin is escaping his pro tour for a season, trying to lie low until all the hubbub over a huge mistake in his past blows over. And when he sets his sights on Giselle, he realizes that the beautiful good girl just might be the ticket to his success.
But Giselle never expected romance to enter the picture again—especially with a hot twentysomething from a completely different world. And even though it feels like Fin is everything she’s trying to run away from, she can’t help coming back for more…
Lauren Christopher bio:
After graduating with an English degree from UCLA, Lauren launched a 23-year career as a nonfiction writer and editor — writing more than 100 newspaper, magazine, and online articles on everything from the history of auto racing to the origins of Santa Claus. Lauren lives in Southern California with her husband and three teenage children.
Lauren Christopher social media links:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
The Red Bikini buy links:
Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Powell’s
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