How a childhood crush on Tom Brokaw turned into a steamy Nora Roberts-type Hero
That pretty much sums up Tanner McBride, my steamy hero in NORA ROBERTS LAND. Back from serving as a war correspondent in Afghanistan, Tanner has seen things that have made him question if there’s anywhere good and safe anymore in the world. He’s returned to a job state-side, hoping to find it.
Then his life takes a wild turn. His new boss blackmails him with a family secret and sends him off to the small town of Dare Valley, Colorado where he’s supposed to make his boss’ wife fall in love with him. Why? Well, Meredith Hale is pursuing her own real-life story of trying to find her own NORA ROBERTS LAND—or happily ever after—by dating all the guys in her small town that resemble Nora-type heroes. This sounds like an interesting, but maybe out-of-left-field story, right? Why’s she doing it? Because Tanner’s boss, who she calls Rick-the-Dick, blamed their divorce on her reading too many Nora Roberts novels and getting ideas, and she’s determined to prove her ex wrong. Rick-the-Dick wants to stop her story since he’s just announced a possible Senate bid. He’s afraid she’s going to hurt his chances for a successful run.
So where does Tom Brokaw fit into all this? Well, I lived in the same small town as Tom Brokaw in South Dakota—although not at the same time. Because he’d become the NBC Nightly News anchor, he was a hero. The town was really proud of him, and growing up I heard stories about him from locals. My mother, a nurse, even took care of his mother at the hospital. Suffice it to say, we were a pro-Brokaw household growing up.
Seeing someone succeed like that, travel around the world, and then interview important people wouldn’t normally inspire a childhood crush. But Tom was super handsome. He seemed like the boy-next-door who’d made it big, but had never let it go to his head. The story and the people seemed important to him. There was a humanity in the way he described the news. And I was captivated. Even though I was young and he was years (and I mean years) older than I was, I wanted to marry him when I grew up. Of course, eventually I realized he was already married—duh—and like I said a whole heck of a lot older than me. So, I settled for wanting to marry a man like Tom Brokaw. Smart, adventurous, compassionate, and hot.
In other words, Tanner McBride.
P.S. I hope you'll want to know more about my books and what's going on. If so, please connect with me on my site, on Facebook and at Twitter and Pinterest. Also, you may want to visit my Nora Roberts Land page for "Thirty Days of Nora Roberts Land" currently in progress or visit my site to check out the latest contest.
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"NORA ROBERTS LAND Follows
Journalist Meredith Hale as She Returns Home to
Dare Valley, Colorado in
Search of Her Own Happily Ever After"
Ava Miles' first novel, NORA ROBERTS LAND, goes on sale July 2nd as an ebook original. The first book in the Dare Valley Series, it's the story of Meredith Hale and her search for her own "happily ever after", a.k.a. Nora Roberts Land.
Like her heroine, Ava Miles has always known what she appreciates the most about romance novels. It's the affirmation of romantic love and the guarantee of a "happily ever after." Which made it all the more incomprehensible when her sister's ex-husband concluded that it was reading Nora Roberts novels that was to blame for their divorce. Later, Ava realized she had the hook for a new story and NORA ROBERTS LAND was born.
In the book, Meredith, a journalist, has just bought Nora Roberts' latest release. It's the first she's picked up since her divorce. Her New York power broker ex- husband blamed the break-up on Meredith's Nora Roberts addiction, saying it gave her unrealistic expectations of marriage. For awhile, their messy divorce put a damper on her dreams of happily ever after, but no more. Meredith has been asked to return home to Dare Valley, Colorado to fill in for her father at the family newspaper, and she's going with more than one agenda. She also plans to find her own small-town Nora hero, prove that true love exists, and publish an article about her quest.
That is until her ex gets wind of it. He's just hired war correspondent Tanner McBride for the international desk at his New York daily and needs him to take on a special assignment first. He's to go to Dare Valley, make Meredith fall for him and put an end to the article about love à la Nora by breaking her heart. The media mogul is sure the piece will air dirty laundry that will threaten his senate run and he wants Meredith stopped. Tanner refuses, until blackmail changes his mind.
When the two meet, the attraction between them is undeniable. As they work together to uncover the mystery behind the death of a family friend, Meredith, who vowed never to date another newspaper man, nonetheless begins to wonder if Tanner could be her own Nora Roberts hero. Meanwhile, Tanner, who knows he's fallen head over heels in love, is determined to thwart his blackmailer and keep Meredith in his life.
Ava Miles mixes humor and suspense in her small town tale as she brings readers a story from the heart and the promise of a happy ending.
Like her heroine, Ava Miles has always known what she appreciates the most about romance novels. It's the affirmation of romantic love and the guarantee of a "happily ever after." Which made it all the more incomprehensible when her sister's ex-husband concluded that it was reading Nora Roberts novels that was to blame for their divorce. Later, Ava realized she had the hook for a new story and NORA ROBERTS LAND was born.
In the book, Meredith, a journalist, has just bought Nora Roberts' latest release. It's the first she's picked up since her divorce. Her New York power broker ex- husband blamed the break-up on Meredith's Nora Roberts addiction, saying it gave her unrealistic expectations of marriage. For awhile, their messy divorce put a damper on her dreams of happily ever after, but no more. Meredith has been asked to return home to Dare Valley, Colorado to fill in for her father at the family newspaper, and she's going with more than one agenda. She also plans to find her own small-town Nora hero, prove that true love exists, and publish an article about her quest.
That is until her ex gets wind of it. He's just hired war correspondent Tanner McBride for the international desk at his New York daily and needs him to take on a special assignment first. He's to go to Dare Valley, make Meredith fall for him and put an end to the article about love à la Nora by breaking her heart. The media mogul is sure the piece will air dirty laundry that will threaten his senate run and he wants Meredith stopped. Tanner refuses, until blackmail changes his mind.
When the two meet, the attraction between them is undeniable. As they work together to uncover the mystery behind the death of a family friend, Meredith, who vowed never to date another newspaper man, nonetheless begins to wonder if Tanner could be her own Nora Roberts hero. Meanwhile, Tanner, who knows he's fallen head over heels in love, is determined to thwart his blackmailer and keep Meredith in his life.
Ava Miles mixes humor and suspense in her small town tale as she brings readers a story from the heart and the promise of a happy ending.
Born and raised in the Midwest, where her family's newspaper is located, Ava went on to earn an undergraduate degree in writing and advance degrees in political science and conflict management. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Washington Romance Writers. She is also part of an unofficial group that regularly convenes a writing retreat at Nora Roberts' restored Inn Boonsboro in western Maryland. Now writing full-time in the peace and quiet of her northern Virginia porch-swinging-friendly community, she is putting the finishing touches on the two upcoming books in her Dare Valley Series and plotting her next series.
NORA ROBERTS LAND, Book 1, The Dare Valley Series
Ava Miles
Contemporary Romance/E-book
Original
On Sale 7-2-13/$5.99
