Interview with contemporary romance author Tracy Reed

To wrap up the week, contemporary romance author Tracy Reed is here to talk about her new novel, Generational Curse.

During her virtual book tour, Tracy will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice) to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Welcome, Tracy. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a single Christian woman who loves God, fashion, and cute guys. Not all women who write Christian fiction will admit to that.

I live in Southern California, but lived in New York for almost three years. I own an online lingerie store, called The Pink Duchess.

Please tell us about your current release, Generational Curse.

What happens when a celibate Christian Man befriends a woman involved with a married man? Will he run in the other direction or continue the relationship? Or will he abandon his Christian beliefs for a taste of the forbidden? Or will she learn that being with a married man isn’t the fantasy life the generations of women in her family made it appear?

Sean Prescott and Kyla James are business associates playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse, hoping the other will give in. But in this high stakes game is there really a winner or will both be losers.

What inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to tell the wealthy powerful man who seduces the naive virgin story, but in reverse. I wanted to know what would happen if a hot virile man fell in love with God and became celibate, would he be able to resist the hot, sexy woman who tried every trick in the book to seduce him.

Excerpt from Generational Curse:

SEAN PRESCOTT IS A NICE guy, not the words his ex-fiancée would use to describe him. He and Kyla have been work acquaintances for a few years, and every time she comes into the showroom, his spirit tells him to ask her out. However, his mouth has yet to get the memo. His staff has decided to play matchmaker and have deemed Kyla a VIP, meaning only the boss can help her.

Kyla walked in and greeted everyone before taking a turn around the showroom. She found a sofa she liked and sat down, closed her eyes and rested her head on the back. She looked like a princess waiting to be kissed by her prince.

Sean walked over and stood in front of the grey tufted sofa staring at the beautiful woman he desperately wanted to ask out. He cleared his throat ready to ask the one question he’d been wrestling with for quite a while. He opened his mouth, “I’ve had quite a few people come in and sit on that sofa, but none make it look as exquisite as you do.”

She opened her eyes and smiled. “Hi Sean.”

“Hi Kyla.” He smiled as he extended his hand to help her stand up. “What can I do for you today?”

“Thank you. I have a client that is working my nerves. She keeps changing her mind. I told her if she doesn’t make a decision this week, her guests will be sitting on lawn furniture for Thanksgiving.” They both laughed. He thought to himself, even her laugh is beautiful. She turned and started walking around the sea of furniture.

“Have you thought about dressing the room and letting her live with it a couple of days?”

“I don’t know.”

“We can bring everything over and if she likes it, we invoice you. On spec.”

She turned and met his smile with another of her own. “I know what on spec is.” They laughed. At that moment, he didn’t hear anything else she said. All he knew was he had to muster up his confidence and ask her out. She reached for her iPad and continued. “I hate wasting your time. Send Ryder over and he can…”

“You’re not wasting my time.” He opened his iPad. “Okay, let’s go.” Like a love sick puppy he followed her around the showroom, making note of everything she selected. Two and a half hours later with her order and delivery instructions printed and signed, he cleared his throat and asked, “Maybe once everything is installed we can get coffee?”

She looked at him and politely said, “No. I don’t think that would be appropriate. I don’t date people I work with.”

“But I don’t work with you and it’s not a date. It’s two people celebrating the completion of a well placed furniture installation.”

She laughed. “That’s cute. Tell you what, if my client agrees to buy everything, then we’ll celebrate with coffee.”

“So my having coffee with my favorite client hinges on your client liking my furniture?”

“That’s right.” She picked up her bag and started walking away when he stopped her.

“What if she doesn’t like any of it?”

“Then I guess we’re both out of luck. Bye.”

He stood still watching as she sauntered out of the showroom with her parfum lingering in the air. He was under her spell.

Sean walked around the showroom laying hands on every item Kyla had selected, and asked God to grant him favor with her client. He knew this was his only chance to show Kyla he was right, not only about the furniture, but himself as well.

Two weeks later, Kyla returned to the showroom. “Seems my client didn’t like everything,” she said. “Sorry, and I was looking forward to coffee.”

“A deal is a deal.” He smiled.

“Send me an invoice for everything else.”

“Maybe next time.”

“Maybe. Bye.” She turned and walked out.

He reached inside the bag looking for the sample ticket. Pinned to one of the pillows was a note. “I’ll be at Cafe Noir, two blocks over if you’d like to have coffee, Kyla.” He gave the bag to his assistant, grabbed his jacket and left.

He walked into the petite cafe` looking around for his dream girl. He started walking toward the back when he spotted her sitting at a table in the corner, reading Elle Decor. He smiled and walked over to join her.

“I see you got my note.” She smiled and put her magazine down. He sat across from her and she motioned for the server to bring another cup of coffee.

“I thought coffee was only if your client bought everything. You brought back a few things.”

“In all fairness, I knew those things weren’t right but I had to give her something to say no to.” They both laughed.

He nodded his head and thought, she smells even better up close. “So you padded the bet?”

“I had to. She’s a sweet lady, but she’s using this project to prolong the inevitable.”

“Which is?”

“The demise of her marriage. She’s hoping this redecoration will add some spark.”

“And you don’t think so?”

“It’s not my job to be her counselor or her best girlfriend. It’s my job to give her a beautiful home. And hers to make her husband happy in bed.” He almost choked on his coffee.

“I’ve never had a client be so honest. Most of my clients come in with their clients doing the decorator two step…agreeing with everything the customer wants. I sell a lot of beautiful furniture to the wrong people.”

“Exactly. That’s why I don’t bring my clients to the showrooms…it just confuses them. If they thought they could do this themselves, they wouldn’t hire people like me.”

“How do you get your clients?”

“Referral. The husbands love me.”

“I can see why.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean…you’re probably very good at staying on budget.” He smiled.

“I try. Most of my married clients come in with a money is no object attitude. They don’t know that their husbands have already called or emailed me a budget.”

“Isn’t that a little unethical?”

“Not when he’s the one paying the bill.” She laughed.

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“What about you? How did you get into the furniture business?”

Finally, his turn to shine and sell himself. He took a deep breath thinking about his opening line. “My dad is a contractor and my mother liked to sew. They taught my brother and me both crafts. My brother took what he learned and became a heart surgeon. I stayed a little closer to home and started designing furniture.”

“Wait a minute, you design the furniture in your showroom?”

“Some of it. The rest I source out.”

“Impressive.” She sat back in her chair with her arms crossed, absorbing everything he said.

“I built my business the old-fashioned way…walking the streets with my portfolio.”

“Wow! I had no idea.”

“And you, how did you get into Interior Design?”

“My mother.”

“Your mother?”

“My mother loved going to designer show houses looking for ideas. It was fun seeing how other people would make up pretend lives for the empty house. I thought it would be wonderful to do that for real people. And I saw how much power and control the designers had and I wanted that…to be the one calling the shots, orchestrating someone else’s life.”

He nodded his head thinking how could she not be in charge. He imagined every aspect of her life was probably well organized.

“We should do this again,” he suggested.

“I don’t know.” She took another sip of coffee smiling.

“What if I throw in a cookie along with the coffee?” They both smiled.

“A cookie? Somehow I think I’m getting the short end of the stick.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’d be bringing you a nice piece of business and in exchange, all I get is a cookie and coffee. I don’t know.”

“Okay, what if after each room you complete, I step it up?”

“I don’t follow.”

“The next room, it’s coffee and cookies. The one after, appetizers and…”

“I have six rooms, a kitchen and four bathrooms to finish. According to your proposal, I’ll be as big as a house.” They both chuckled. “What if…”

When she countered his proposal, he took it as a sign. Now all he had to do was seal the deal. “Okay, how about this…. if your client buys everything you select from me, you have to take me to dinner.” He finished his sentence with a beautiful smile.

“Me, take you to dinner?” She laughed. “That’s funny.”

“What? You’re the one with the client with an endless budget.”

“Tell you what. If my client selects everything I pick from your showroom, I will allow you to take me to dinner.”

He smiled and shook his head. Thinking if this is the only way to take her to dinner, then so be it. “Okay.” He reached his hand across the table to shake hers, sealing their agreement.

She looked at her watch. “This has been fun, but I have to go.” She stood up and he raced to his feet.

“Here let me help you.” He picked up her coat and helped her slip it on, being careful not to get too close. He couldn’t help inhaling her parfum. She smelled spicy and sweet, like a confident woman absorbing all the attention in the room.

“Thank you,” she said, lifting her hair and placing it on the collar of her coat. When she lifted her hair, it grazed his face. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized.

He didn’t care because that gave him another opportunity to inhale more of her arresting scent. Her hair smelled like lavender and combined with her parfum, she smelled like no other woman he’d ever been this close to. “That’s okay. I guess that means you’ll be buying me dessert with that dinner.”

She smiled and his heart stopped. He knew everyone in the cafe could read his mind. “We’ll see.” He watched as she walked out ahead of him. She was the Pied Piper and he was willing to follow her anywhere. He caught up to her on the sidewalk hoping for one last conversation with her.

“Thank you for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome…see you next week.” She turned and walked away. Sean walked back to the showroom, praying to God to grant him favor with Kyla’s client.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m in the revision phase of two books. One is a novella due out in June, called The Good Girl. The other project is a full length novel which is the first book in a series, called The Alex Chronicles: What My Friends Don’t Know. This is scheduled for summer.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When did I first consider myself a writer, I think that was when my first short “Career Reborn,” was published. A friend had a part interest in a digital magazine and she asked me to write something.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Do I write full-time…sort of. I have an online lingerie company I run from home. So in a sense, I do write full time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

What is my interesting writing quirk…that’s a good question. I’m not quite sure. I’m a pantser which could be a quirk. Oh, this is something I started doing courtesy of my new iPad. I keep it next to me and use it for quick research instead of switching screens on my computer. Somehow, it just seems easier to use it as a reference.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child, I wanted be an actress, business owner or fashion designer.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

What else would I like to share with readers…I’m a foodie and a movie screen talker.

Links:

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Thanks, Tracy!

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