Hideaway Cove (A Windfall Island Novel) (31 page)

Dear Reader,

The first time I got the idea for my hero and heroine in BACK TO YOU, Trent and Laura, I was a brand-new lieutenant with no idea what deployment would entail. I remember sitting in my office, listening to one of the captains telling his wife he’d be home as soon as he could—and right after he hung up the phone, he promptly went back to work. He always talked about how much he loved her, and I wondered how he could tell her one thing and do something so different. And even more so, I was deeply curious about what his wife was like.

I was curious about the kind of woman who would love a man no matter how much war changed him. About the kind of woman with so much strength that she could hold their family together no matter what. But also, a woman who was
tired
. Who was starting to lose her faith in the man she’d married.

Having been the spouse left at home to hold the family together, I know intimately the struggles Laura has faced. I also know what it feels like to deploy and leave my family, and how hard it is to come home.

I absolutely love writing stories of redemption, and at the heart of it, this is a story of redemption. It takes a strong love to make it through the dark times.

I hope you enjoy reading Trent and Laura’s story in BACK TO YOU as much as I enjoyed bringing their story to life.

Xoxo

www.JessicaScott.net

Twitter @JessicaScott09

Facebook.com/JessicaScottAuthor

Dear Reader,

So UNSTOPPABLE had originally been planned for the fourth book, but after certain plot developments, Bennett and Mel’s story needed to be moved in the lineup to third place. When I dove into their story I knew very little about where I was going, but once I started there was no turning back.

Bennett Hart was another character who walked onto the page out of nowhere and the second I met him I knew he
needed
to have his story told. I mean, how could he not when he’s named after one of my favorite heroines? Yup, Bennett is named after Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice
. Don’t scoff, she’s awesome and I love her dearly. And
hello
, she ends up with a certain Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy… he’s my ultimate literary crush. I mean really, I swoon just thinking about him.

And I’m not the only one swooning over here. A certain Ms. Melanie O’Bryan is hard-core dreaming/ fantasizing/drooling (just a little bit) over Bennett. Mel was definitely an unexpected character for me. It took me a little while to see that she had a story to tell, and I always like to say it was Bennett who realized her potential before I did.

Both characters have their guards up at the beginning of UNSTOPPABLE. Bennett is still dealing with the trauma he experienced when he was in Afghanistan, and Mel is dealing with getting shot a couple of months ago. Mel is a very sweet girl and she appears to be just a little bit unassuming… to those who don’t know her, that is. As it turns out, she has a wild side and she lets Bennett see it in full force. Bennett and Mel were a different writing experience for me. I was discovering them as they discovered each other, and sometimes they surprised me beyond words. They taught me a lot about myself and I will be forever grateful that they shared their story with me.

Cheers,

Dear Reader,

I am a hopeless romantic. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been stalking happy endings. It started with skimming Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley Twins books for the parts about boys. From there, it was sneaking into the Young Adult section of the library way before my time to get at the Sweet Valley High books—because there was kissing in those.

By my mid-teens, I’d discovered that there was an entire genre of books devoted to giving romantics like me a guaranteed happily ever after. It was the start of a lifetime affair with romance novels.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as I was stockpiling my book boyfriends, I also did a fair amount of thinking about the future hero of my own love story. I had it all figured out by junior high. My future husband would have brown hair. He’d be a lawyer. Maybe a doctor, but probably a lawyer. He’d be the strong, silent type. Very stoic. He’d be a conservative dresser, and it would be strange to see him out of his classic black suit, except on weekends when he’d wear khakis and pressed polos. We’d meet when I was in my mid-to-late twenties, and he’d realize instantly that my power suits and classic pumps were his perfect match. Did I mention that in this vision I, too, was a lawyer?

Fast forward a few (okay, many) years. How’d I do?

Well… my husband has brown hair.
That’s the only part I got right
. He’s an extroverted charmer and wouldn’t be caught dead in a standard-issue suit. He’s not a lawyer, and I’ve never seen him wear khakis. Oh, and we started dating in high school, and were married by twenty-three.

I couldn’t have been more wrong, and yet… I couldn’t be more happy. Although I am a “planner” in every sense of the word, I’ve learned that love doesn’t care one bit about the person you
think
is your perfect mate.

In my Best Mistake series, the heroines learn exactly that. They have a pretty clear idea of the type of person they’re supposed to be with. And they couldn’t be more wrong.

Whether it’s the cocktail waitress falling for the uptight CEO, or the rigid perfectionist who wins the heart of a dedicated playboy, these women learn that being wrong has never felt so right.

I had a wonderful time wreaking havoc on the lives of Sophie and Brynn Dalton, and I hope you have as much fun reading about the best mistakes these women ever made.

Here’s to the best of plans going awry—because that’s when the fun starts.

www.laurenlayne.com

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