Interview & Giveaway: Louisa Edwards

As you probably know by now Louisa Edwards is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, so you can imagine how happy I was to be able to interview her. I hope you enjoy reading her answers just as much as I did.

Hello Louisa, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I’m thrilled to have you here today because I’ve been a fan of your work for almost two years now, ever since first reading Can’t Stand the Heat. So if I start squealing please ignore me, it’s just my inner fan-girl trying to come out, she will go away eventually.

Q. I read in your bio that you have some experience in the culinary world. You used to be a restaurant reviewer, a waitress and also worked at a bakery, so is no coincidence that your books are populated by chefs and set in the restaurant world. My question is: what came first, the cooking or the writing? Did you always want to write, or was cooking your first passion?

Actually, my first passion was reading. I started reading romance when I was eleven, sneaking Harlequins out of my grandmother’s suitcase whenever she came to visit! From there, I was hooked. So when I graduated from college, I knew I wanted to be involved in publishing—first as an editor, and then when we moved to a small town in Ohio, as a writer. My other big reading love is cookbooks (which I devour like novels) and kitchen/chef memoirs—so the culinary romance is really the perfect marriage of my two favorite things.

Q. Your books are mouthwatering, and I’m not talking about your heroes -although a couple of them have been known to make me drool-, I’m talking about the recipes. Every time I start one of your books I know I’ll put on a few pounds because the way you describe the food makes me crave all the delicious treats. Do you come up with all the recipes yourself, or do you have some outside help when it comes to figuring out what your characters will be cooking?

I’m very proud of the fact that I personally develop and test all the recipes in my books. Which is not to say I don’t have help! My sister, for instance, has been known to help me test the cocktail recipes. And my best friend is a fabulous food blogger and an accomplished home cook in her own right; we’ve collaborated on a few techniques and ideas.

Note from Brie: Aha! So you're responsible for making Brussels Sprouts delicious! That's quite an accomplishment... (you guys need to read Too Hot To Touch to see what I mean) 

Q. Danny, the hero of Some Like It Hot, is a pastry chef. Until now all your heroes have been more into the savory part of cooking, so I’m wondering if it was hard for you to write about this new aspect of the culinary world, and did you do research (and not just the kind where you eat lots of desserts) to write this book?

I read a LOT of pastry recipes, hoping to give myself more of a grounding in the sweet world. And I watched Top Chef: Just Desserts! Beyond that, the character really wrote himself—Danny Lunden is one of my favorite heroes. There’s a lot more to him than his love of pastry! ;)

Note from Brie: I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who loved and actually watched Top Chef: Just Desserts.

Q. What else can you tell us about Some Like It Hot?

I had the best time with this book. Danny and Eva threw sparks from page one, every time they were together! I loved playing with a heroine who was sexually liberated and at home with her needs, and a hero whose first priority is his family. Their chemistry made them a blast to write!

Q. I confess that my favorite character of the series, and the one that intrigues me the most, is Beck. Are we going to find out more about him in this book?

Oh, you’re going to be sooooo happy with this installment! The mysterious, enigmatic Beck spills some shocking secrets in Some Like it Hot—not necessarily on purpose.

Q. I saw on your blog that you’re working on your next project. Can you tell us a bit about it, just to wet our appetite?

I really can’t! I’m sorry, I hate to be a tease, but until things are finalized with my publisher, I can’t really talk about it. But it’s an exciting direction that I’m thrilled to be pursuing.

Q. You like to make us suffer because you write these fantastic secondary storylines that keep us waiting for the next book in order to find out what’s going to happen to them. I love the stories, but the wait is pure torture. How did you come up with the idea to have these recurring storylines and why not just write a whole book dedicated to them?

I feature secondary characters with strong, continuing subplots in my books because that’s what I love as a reader. Some of my favorite love stories have actually been the secondary romances in books like Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series and Eloisa James’ Desperate Duchesses novels. I like to use the secondary romance to explore characters and dynamics that I can’t necessarily get away with in the main storyline—so that’s why they stay secondary.

Q. Speaking of secondary storylines, I must say that I’ve got a soft spot for Frankie and Jess, the secondary characters from your original trilogy. Because I loved their story so much, and I think you did a great job with them, I wonder if you ever considered writing an M/M romance, or at least more storylines featuring gay characters?

I’ve definitely considered writing m/m—it’s something I love to read! If I could only find the time…but first up, I’d have to revisit Frankie and Jess to see how they’re doing now that we’ve achieved marriage equality in New York! I also get a lot of requests for more story for Grant and Christian, so they’re on my list.

Q. Finally I can’t let you go without asking the standard question: what’s your favorite romance novel?

Oh my gosh, that’s an impossible question. There are so many wonderful books out there! But I guess I have to give the top honors to the book that really hooked me on romance forever: Laura Kinsale’s The Shadow & the Star. Lush, lyrical, unique, deeply emotional, shatteringly sexy—I’ve read it many, many times since that first, breathless discovery, and it never disappoints.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer the questions, I had a blast talking to you and I can’t wait to read your next book! I hope you visit us again!

Thank you so much for having me!

To find out more about Louisa you can visit her website, follow her on Twitter, "like" her on Facebook, and friend her on Goodreads.

GIVEAWAY!

All right guys, I’m going to give one copy of Louisa’s new book, Some Like It Hot (you can read my review here), to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what’s your favorite dessert and if you want you can leave the recipe as well. Please remember to leave your email in the comment so I can contact you in case you win.


EDIT: Louisa has kindly offered a signed copy as well, so we'll have two winners. The signed book is for US residents only, so if you are an international reader please let me know in the comments so I only enter your name for one of the books.

Rules:

• One (1) winner gets one copy of Some Like It Hot by Louisa Edwards (International) and One (1) winner gets one signed copy of Some Like It Hot by Louisa Edwards (US only)
• One part of the contest  is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country or you prefer the Kindle version (I can send Kindle books to any country so no restrictions there). Remember to let me know in the comment if you are an international reader.
• One part of the contest is open to US residents only.
• Contest ends on Friday, December 2^nd at 5pm EST.
• Winner will be selected using Random.org and announced here and through email, and will have 72 hours to respond.
• We are not responsible for items lost during shipping.
• You must be at least 13 years old to enter the contest.

Sexy, single, and even sweeter than the treats he bakes, New York pastry chef Danny Lunden is trying to stay focused on food—not females. With the Rising Star Chef competition approaching, he doesn’t have time to get all steamed up over the gorgeous woman he encounters on the plane to Chicago. Even if she is Eva Jansen—the billionaire heiress in charge of the contest… 

Danny assumes that “Eva the Diva” is a spoiled rich girl who doesn’t share his passion for food. But when the two meet up again in an elevator—alone—they share more than just passion. They share a kiss hot enough to start a kitchen fire—and they’re hungry for more. To indulge their new secret craving, Eva and Danny have to break every rule in the cookbook. But—like chocolate and caramel—some ingredients are are so sinfully good together, one scrumptious bite is never enough...

Some Like It Hot by Louisa Edwards

St. Martins Press; November 29, 2011.