Author Victoria Pinder, #RomanticTravel and a Secret Crush
Author Victoria Pinder is taking over the blog today as part of the Fall #RomanticTravel exchange to talk about her favorite place to visit and her book, Secret Crush, the first in her House of Morgan series.
Take it away, Victoria!
I have always loved stories with big families and lots of dramatic things that happen to them. I am a huge prime time fan and I can get sucked into an English translated telenovela fast. I have always wanted to write stories that implemented high drama with larger than life personalities. I’ve been working on the Morgan family for over a year. I had to figure out this family and wonder what happens next that kept me surprised and interfered with the characters love life.
First I had to come up with the family and their background. The major villain in all the stories is the guy who died in chapter one of the first book, Mitch Morgan. He was the patriarch of this family. What could a father do that kept all the children unhappy with everything in their lives that doesn’t involve physical abuse? (Emotional is in many ways more interesting for a villain.)
The possibilities were endless. Then what happened to the mother of the children? How would adult children in this super billionaire family be if the father was as awful as I realized Mitch was? In the first book John Morgan had joined the FBI simply to find evidence that might put his father in jail and how does he act when he failed at this mission.
I had to know and I had to learn who all the Morgans were and I hope all my readers find this family as fascinating as I do. Inside the House of Morgan, anything might happen.
Once this was done, I had to pick where this super rich family might live. The setting is also another character in many ways. If I chose New York then it’s relating back to the Gilded Age but also has a big city, capital of business feel. I chose Miami because it’s still the US, has a more vacation setting, and the tropics just somehow make drama more exciting.
For vacations though, I recommend Key West. You can drive down from Miami onto the islands, but it feels like a vacation. You can see Hemingway’s house with many cats, Cuba on a clear day, and bicycle your way to the little White House. It’s absolutely breath taking and a romantic way to spend your vacation.
Secret Crush: The House of Morgan
The Blurb
For some, joining the FBI is a long-term goal. For billionaire John Morgan, joining the Bureau is a stepping stone to proving his father is culpable for his sister’s death. After his estranged father dies, John is forced to return home and face the ghosts of his past. That proves to be more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
Alice Collins lives a peaceful life. As a farmer’s daughter, she knows what it’s like to work hard for what you want. After losing her best friend under inexplicable circumstances, her world viewpoint shifted until her small town sensibilities convinced her to attend Mr. Morgan’s funeral.
Soon, the past and the present collide and Alice is caught in the crosshairs. John comes to her aid, complicating matters for both of them.
Can a handsome billionaire on a vendetta truly fall for a small town girl or does he have something else in mind? Can a small town girl, if she gives her heart to him, ever fit of the House of Morgan?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/HfCdG_xtlfY
Pre-Order Here: http://amzn.to/2aIojRn
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1144255112
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/secret-crush-6
The Excerpt
John leaned against the wall and let the throngs of people pass. Alice followed suit, standing next to him as she sipped her wine. “I assumed he was taking over. Did you want that job?”
John’s entire body jumped as if she’d slapped him. “Hell no.”
She gulped her sip fast. She kept saying the wrong thing. Inside his blue eyes was a kaleidoscope of emotion. Alice remembered that he used to be kind. She rubbed her lips together. “Then who cares?”
He drank his wine and scanned the room. After making the rounds with his gaze, he took in her entire figure with an intensity that made her knees weak. “What is it you do, Alice?”
“Collins Organic Farm.” She brushed her brown bob behind her ear. “I work for my family. What is it you do?”
Again, his blue eyes flashed as if lightning was in his stare. She watched him, hypnotized. “I work in real estate.”
“Liar.” She tilted her head. He definitely didn’t work in real estate. She crossed her arm around her chest. Without another word, she waited for the fallout of her remark.
His eyebrows quirked in shock. Then his dimples appeared. “What do you think I do?”
She met his smile with her own. “Professional bad boy and poker player. It’s what I always thought.”
He chuckled. “I played football.”
She nodded. A moment of silence clung in the air as she sipped her drink. Then she said, “I went to your games in high school, but I also remember how you set up more than a few poker games. You always read people correctly.”
His sexy smile lit the room and her skin melted, literally fused into itself. “I remember that. You cheered with my sister, and I played you, too.”
About Victoria Pinder:
Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, after passing many tests proving how easy Math came to her. Then hating her life at the age of twenty four, she decided to go to law school. Four years later, after passing the bar and practicing very little, she realized that she hates the practice of law. She refused to one day turn 50 and realize she had nothing but her career and hours at a desk. After realizing she needed change, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is rewarding, but writing is a passion.
During all this time, she always wrote stories to entertain herself or calm down. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, and Victoria spent too many years living other people’s dreams, but when she sat down to see what skill she had that matched what she enjoyed doing, writing became so obvious. The middle school year book when someone wrote in it that one day she’d be a writer made sense when she turned thirty. 
She’s always been determined. She is amazing, adventurous and assured on a regular basis. Her website is www.victoriapinder.com .
Member of Florida Romance Writers, Contemporary Romance, Celtic Hearts and Savvy Authors.
Get a FREE Novella as a Thank you Gift here: http://victoriapinder.com/returningforvalentineshorttimeoffer
All Images Courtesy of Victoria Pinder