Hope Nolan is too busy for love, and that is just fine with her. Between her bakery and her six-year-old son, Rylan, her heart and her schedule remain full.
Besides, she knows full well the complications love can bring. One naive choice during her headstrong teenage years saw her facing more responsibility than a girl that age should face. Hope Nolan is strong though, and with the help of her mother, she manages to raise Rylan and run a thriving business in her hometown of Magnolia Harbor.
They affectionately call her “The Wedding Cake Queen” in any town within 20 miles of Magnolia Harbor, and not because she likes weddings. Her cake and cookie decorating skills are the talk of the town, and her blog where she displays her latest creations has twenty times as many followers as the population of Magnolia Harbor.
There’s only one problem, a handsome and well-traveled young chef is opening up a restaurant in the space across from Hope’s bakery, disrupting her satisfying and uncomplicated life. His tiramisu might even manage to steal some of her regular customers.
In the end, Hope will need to decide how she is going to handle this new addition to Main St. She may even learn that the most unexpected miracles happen when chooses to do what’s right for her son, her business, and her heart.
Targeted Age Group:: 17-75
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
A combination of two things: Running into an old friend who I learned had been a single mother for the many years that we hadn't seen each other, and watching her fall in love with a great man who added so much happiness to her life. It allowed her to grow beyond what she had ever thought possible. Also, I think everyone who runs their own business, or supports themselves or their family, deals with the struggle of never feeling grounded, never feeling like you are safe or successful enough. Learning to manage those stresses, and finding a way to take care for yourself at the same time, is something that everyone deserves. It's so incredibly important, and yet it is so easy to sacrifice your own well being without a second thought. If you don't take care of your heart, your body, and your souls, you can't ever fully live up to your potential. I just want everyone to know how loved they are and that they are important.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
The book started with the idea of Hope and her bakery. Hope was a fictionalized character with a combination of inner emotions that I've helped friends with in the past or experienced a bit myself. Rylan's obsession with sea life was a gentle nod to my son's love of the same. Hope's mom came to be because I have never witnessed anything more selfless than seeing my mother and mother-in-law step up to help me in parenting. Families are amazing (even the ones who you don't get by blood). And Michael…well let's just say that I believe that there are incredible men out there. When we let people be their whole selves and don't pigeonhole them into stereotypes of what a “man” or “woman” is suppose to be, you will usually find that the whole human before you is kind, loving, goofy, patient, and just as much in need of love as you are.
Book Sample
The sunlight had just reached that perfect time of the morning where it filtered in through the windows at the back of the bakery, causing the stainless-steel worktops to gleam like glass. It was quiet; there would not be another human inside the building for at least another hour. The small green radio hummed a low tune, and the atmosphere in the room was peaceful and calming. Outside the charming little shop, majestic live oaks draped with Spanish moss swayed lazily to the beat.
Hope Nolan stood in front of the tall, double-doored refrigerator, her top lip clamped between her teeth as she studied the contents inside. Her fingers gingerly tapped on the handles of the doors in rhythm to the upbeat tune that started to play. She loved this song and mouthed the words as her motivation gained steam. She pulled an ever-present hair tie from around her wrist and secured her caramel hued hair into a neat knot at the nape of her neck.
She works hard for the money, do do, do do…so hard for it, honey, do do, do do…she works hard for the money, so you better treat her right…
She squared her shoulders, let out an energizing sigh, and placed her hands back on the refrigerator handles. “Let’s do this.”
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Is this book in Kindle Unlimited? Yes
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