Normally I kick off a guest blog with me fangirling over an author and their books and – don’t get me wrong, I stan Alanna Martin! (and couldn’t resist posting a pic of Baileycakes and HEART ON A LEASH as the cover image for this blog)– but today we’re talking about Hearts of Alaska: a trio of delightful (and steamy!) romance books featuring RESCUE HUSKIES. Go ahead, run out and buy them, and then come back and finish reading the interview. I’ll wait.
Guest Blogger: Alanna Martin
“Whether you’re a dog lover, cat lover, or romance lover, you’re sure to fall head over heels for this book.”
– Sarah Smith, author of Simmer Down
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Both HEART ON A LEASH (out now) and PAWS AND PREJUDICE (Jun 29, 2021) take place in the small town of Helen, Alaska, where a family feud has been raging for a a century. The younger generations are getting really tired of it, and are just waiting to be reminded of why love should win in the end. HEART ON A LEASH: Taylor Lipin has made it her life’s mission to leave her hometown and its ridiculous, century-old feud with the Porters behind. But when her sister needs help running the family inn, Taylor agrees to return to Helen, Alaska on a temporary, definitely not longer than two weeks, basis. Or so she thinks, until she’s quite literally swept off her feet and into enemy territory by three happy huskies and their drool-worthy owner, Dr. Josh Krane. Though Josh didn’t grow up in Helen with the rest of his Porter cousins, he’s heard the stories: Porters rescue huskies. The Lipins are cat people. Keep to your pack. But Taylor is too tempting to give up–plus, his dogs love her. As Taylor and Josh grow closer, tensions in the town escalate and the need for secrecy starts taking a toll. Soon they’ll need to decide whether their newfound love is just a summer fling or if they’ve found their forever home. Available now online and in stores, including Barnes & Noble and Walmart!
Unlike what Kelsey believes, Ian loves Helen’s charms as much as she does. That’s partly why he’s determined to open a brewery there, and he’s not about to let anything or anyone stop his dream from coming true. But he didn’t count on the beautiful, prickly woman getting under his skin. Or having to be within hand-biting proximity of her three huge huskies. When Kelsey’s family conscripts her into helping Ian get his brewery off the ground, she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard . . . muscular . . . man who has a fear of dogs. But the longer they work together, the more she can feel herself begin to thaw. Now she’ll have to choose: let sleeping dogs lie to protect her heart, or mush head-on toward love. Available June 29, 2021 |
“An effortlessly charming debut! Heart on a Leash gives us great comedy in the form of feuding-family shenanigans,
along with swoony romance… and huskies. What more could you want?”
-Jen DeLuca, author of Well Played
I’m so happy that this is a romance trio, because I literally could not read just one. All three of the books in the series are set in Helen, Alaska. If you could pack up your life and move anywhere in the world, where would you go? Would you consider Alaska?
Would I love to spend a lot of time traveling around and exploring in Alaska? Definitely. Live? Maybe not. I need longer summers! There are so many places I want to visit or go back and re-visit, but it’s hard to say if one of them could persuade me to stay permanently. Ultimately, I think I’d end living near where I am now—by a coast, near a great city, not too far from awesome mountains for hiking, and a day’s drive away from family. It’s kind of hard to beat that combination! Although I’ve yet to make it to Ireland, so I’m not ruling anything out.
PAWS AND PREJUDICE (6/29/2021) is the second book in the series. I’m convinced you wrote this book specifically for me. I loved HEART ON A LEASH. I love doggos. I completely relate to Kelsey. Plus you’re all but releasing PAWS AND PREJUDICE on my birthday. Assuming you weren’t actually writing this one for me, what stood out for you that made you know you had to write Kelsey and Ian’s story?
I always knew Kelsey was going to get her own book when I was wring HEART ON A LEASH, but how that was going to work was a little fuzzy. It turned out that Kelsey as so loud as a character that the rest became easy. In fact, I had to keep telling her to tone it down in HEART ON A LEASH because she was taking over every scene.
Kelsey’s identity is built around a couple of things: she likes dogs more than people, and she (ostensibly) enjoys the feud. So, in PAWS AND PREJUDICE I had to create two challenges for her. The first was giving her a love interest with a fear of dogs. The second was showing what her (ostensible) love of the feud is really about. (Hint: it’s not that she actually enjoys fighting or hates the Lipin family.) Don’t get me wrong—Ian was lots of fun to write. But Kelsey drove that story. It was probably the easiest of the three in this series to get down because she gave me so much to work with.
Tell me a little about the third book in the Hearts of Alaska series, and when can I get my grubby hands on it?
The third book is called LOVE AND LET BARK (yes, we did have fun coming up with titles), and it’s Lydia’s and Nate’s story. Lydia is Taylor’s sister from HEART ON A LEASH, and Nate’s is Josh’s cousin. It’s also, of course, the story of Nate’s two puppies—Dolly and Spark.
When Nate Porter left Helen, Alaska, to become a firefighter with the Forest Service, he claimed it was because he craved adventure. The truth was, he couldn’t stand to hang around, pining for a girl the town’s century-old feud meant he could never have. But Nate got over Lydia Lipin years ago, or so he thought until he learns that an old rival has come sniffing around. The solution—a trip home with his rescue puppies to prove to himself he completely extinguished that old flame.
Lydia Lipin has always been satisfied being the “good” Lipin daughter—dutiful, practical, and always putting others before herself. But that role begins to chafe as Nate’s return ignites old memories. No one in town knew about their secret friendship or those forbidden kisses they stole the summer after graduation. Suddenly, Nate and his puppies are everywhere, and sparks are flying.
When Nate realizes he never got over Lydia, he’ll risk everything for a second chance. But Lydia’s not a risk-taker, and she has to make a choice—play it safe and pretend their summer fling was just puppy love, or step out of the family shadow and unleash her heart.
LOVE AND LET BARK comes out November 30th, and it’s available for pre-order. I can’t wait to show off the cover, because it might just be my favorite!
I can’t wait to see that cover! All of your covers, and plots, are spectacular. In HEART ON A LEASH, love interest and brewery owner Ian is Jewish. Do you have any favorite Jewish traditions, holidays, or foods? Personally I’m a sucker for fruit-filled Hamentashen.
Oh, that’s funny because I’m not actually a big fan of hamentashen. I always loved lighting the menorah at Hanukah the best, but that could in part be because I like setting things on fire. But seriously, Hanukah was the quiet holiday when I was growing up. Just my grandfather would come over each night, and it was a warm and tiny gathering. Can you tell I’m an introvert? Plus Hanukah is the time for latkes, and I do love an excuse to eat more fried potatoes. I’m now also craving rugelach and chocolate babka, so thank you for this question.
When I read books, I want an escape. I’ll read beach books in the winter and Christmas themed books in July. When you’re writing, are you thinking about the season that it is now, when the book is going to be released, or does it even matter to the process?
I’ll read anything at any time as long as I’m in the mood for the story. When I write, I think about the season only in how it might impact what I want/need to happen in the book. It’s next to impossible to know when a book will release (unless you’re self-publishing), so I try not to consider that. My problem is that if I could, I’d set every book in autumn and include a mandatory trip to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch, so I have to actively fight against that tendency! Being able to set each of the books in this series in a different season was fun because I got to imagine how the town changed during a year.
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About Alanna Martin Growing up, Alanna Martin wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor, and an actor – possibly all at once. After nine years of studying psychology, she somehow became a writer instead. This turned out to be the best career choice of all because she can work in her pajamas while drinking wine. She firmly believes in the power of fluffy books, long walks in the woods, and that there’s no such thing as too much coffee. Alanna is most likely to be found babbling about random things on Twitter, but she gets around:
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