Digging Deeper with Evonne
Wareham
Many thanks to Lorraine
for inviting me onto her blog to talk about my latest book, A
Wedding on the Riviera, and to dig a little deeper into my characters for
you.
I write in the genre romantic suspense, which means that you get a fully fledged love story along with the crime and dead bodies. Both sides have to be balanced, so the outcomes are equally satisfying in romance or mayhem, but all that I write is escapism, pure and simple. As you might guess from the title and cover, A Wedding on the Riviera is at the lighter end of the romantic suspense spectrum, although I do write at the grittier end as well.
This book centres on a group of friends setting up a sting to catch a runaway groom - a con man who leaves successive brides at the altar, absconding with a lot of money. The book has its dark moments - the con itself is devastating for the women involved, and the ending... Well I mustn’t give too much away.
In contrast, I had a great deal of fun researching and creating the wedding to end all weddings, at a glitzy villa in the South of France. That was the lure to bait the sting, and I got to indulge my love of glamour and sunshine.
Did I mention I like to write escapism? Alongside
the crime thread, my heroine and hero, Nadine and Ryan, have baggage and
barriers to overcome before they get to their happy ending. And there does have
to be a happy ending. For me, that’s a given.
My con man villain, Thackeray, talking about my hero, Ryan
Let’s face it – the man
is a loser. An actor – which means out of work most of the time. Good looking,
if you like the big brute, long haired, forgot to shave look – and I know some
women do - but basically, he’s just a lout. He met Nadine through the dating
agency where she met me and he’s still hanging around, although she’s with me
now. How he afforded the fees I don’t know. He has to be looking to hit on a
woman with money. I have to say he needs to smarten up his act if that’s his
plan. I should know. You need a certain style... He really isn’t any kind of a threat.
I’ve told Nadine what he must really be up to, and she understands. She already
relies on me. I like a woman who listens.
Ryan on Thackeray
Smooth – that’s John Thackeray.
Everything about him is designed to impress – clothes, grooming, car. All tasteful,
well chosen and expensive – and none of it paid for. He has got style – I’ll
give him that. He’s the sort of guy a successful woman like Nadine should be with
– if any of it was real. It’s job of work to him, convincing a woman the he’s
the man of her dreams. He does it well, but it’s all a facade. Underneath he’s
just a manipulative thief. Nadine knows that. She’s not going to be convinced
by anything he does, but that doesn’t mean she won’t see the contrast between
us. He thinks I’m a lout, I know that too. When he saw me, I was playing a
part, and he didn’t recognise me from before. That was a good thing, but the
contrast is real. It’s still there. Will Nadine remember that, when this is
over?
Casting hero and heroine
I know a lot of authors
mentally cast their characters when they are writing, but it’s not something
that I usually do. In this case, when the first draft for A Wedding on the
Riviera was finished, which was some
time ago, I was walking through the cosmetic hall of a big department store and
saw posters on the Lancôme counter advertising their Tresor perfume, with
Penelope Cruz and Noah Mills – and they were a perfect image for Nadine and Ryan.
Disposing of a body
I’ve never actually
concealed a body. All my deaths so far have been visible – including one
involving an express train out of Paddington station. As I am an academic as
well as a writer, I have always thought that those individual desks - carrels -
in a library or archive had distinct possibilities. Late at night, low
lighting, the body propped up in its seat...
***
Bio
Evonne is an award
winning Welsh author of romantic suspense - more crime and dead bodies than
your average romance. She likes to set her book in her native Wales, or for a
touch of glamorous escapism, in favourite holiday destinations in Europe. She
is a Doctor of Philosophy and an historian, and a member of both the Romantic
Novelists’ Association and the Crime Writers’ Association.
Twitter https://twitter.com/evonnewareham
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/evonnewarehamauthor/
Website www.evonnewareham.com
Blog www.evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com
Book
Description
A return to the Riviera on the trail of a runaway groom ...
When out-of-work actor Ryan Calder attends a wedding as the
plus-one of successful businesswoman, Nadine Wells, he doesn’t expect to get in
a scuffle with the groom.
But Ryan has a good reason. He recognises the
groom from another wedding where the same man made a quick getaway, taking the
wedding money and leaving a heartbroken bride in his wake. It seems he's struck
again, and Nadine's poor friend is the target.
Ryan and Nadine decide they can’t let it happen
to another woman, so with a group of friends they hatch a plan that will take
them to the French Riviera, hot on the heels of the crooked groom. But could
their scheme to bring him to justice also succeed in bringing them closer
together?
Buy links for A Wedding on the Riviera
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mYZKRC
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-wedding-on-the-riviera
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wedding-on-the-riviera-evonne-wareham/1137460211?ean=2940162842545
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