I’m so thrilled to have Clarke Collins stop by today to answer a few questions and share her book, Ice Cream Castles.  It may be short but based on reviews it packs a might big punch.

(And a little birdie told me it is on sale this week so make sure you get your copy soon!)

*****

What do you like best about writing romances?     

What I like best about writing romance is the emotionality of it. As an author in this genre, I get to play with some of the most heightened emotions we humans possess. Love walks a fine line with hate.  I enjoy playing with the dichotomous nature of both. They’re twined in angst and when set to a high temperature can be like a release valve ready to blow. The tension that love and hate provide creates romance and if we think of the goldilocks effect – if it’s too little or too much – the balance is off. But, just right? Magic.

What is your favorite romantic story?

That’s a tough one, but if I’m being honest, it would be a five-way tie between Sleepless in Seattle, Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden), A Bronx Tale, Nine and a Half Weeks (Elizabeth McNeil), Raise the Red Lantern, and A Romantic Weekend (Mary Gaitskill). Why these particular stories? The shattering of idealized love. Romance has been aggrandized, but it’s really about companionable love, passionate love. Sometimes that kind of love comes packaged in a widowed divorcee single parent, sometimes it comes from someone you’re told it shouldn’t come from. Other times it seeps into us from pain. It can be dosed with suffering, pain and pleasure, from imperfect faces, bodies and minds, deviant. Sometimes it comes from corrupt power and desperation. It’s not a fairytale.

If you could be any romantic character, who would it be and why?

May I pass on that? I cannot for the life of me see myself in any romantic character I’ve read. I see emotions, thought, maybe even actions…but me? No.

Which of your characters/books was the most fun to write? 

The ones you have yet to see (stay tuned).

If you weren’t a writer and could be anything you want, what would it be?

An astronomer or astrophysicist. I love the stars. Love the universe.

*****

Ice Cream Castles

by Clarke Collins

Book Length: Novella (Approx. 24,000 words)

$0.99 Promotion Runs: Monday, August 27, 2018 – September 3, 2018

Book Genre: Contemporary Interracial Romance

Blurb:

When uptight Eli crosses paths with world-weary Naomi, culture clash ensues. After a strained encounter, the pair later discovers that what they share in common outweighs their differences. ICE CREAM CASTLES is a May-December romance that explores grief, understanding, and acceptance, with a passionate twist. It will leave you wanting more.

Amazon.com purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYM2ZPX

*****

Excerpt:

As a surprise for Kevin, Eli’s detour to Scoopy’s Ice cream stand had proven a mistake. He approached the order window, ignoring the long line of angry faces shooting daggers in his direction.

“Dude, can’t you see there’s a line here?” someone yelled.

Eli fixed his gaze on the attractive but frazzled African-American woman behind it. At first, she didn’t look up from the register, giving him a chance to study her closely. She had a pretty but lived in face. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a neat bun with a few loose strands springing from the sides. Though she wore no makeup, her earthy skin tone, radiant and twice baked by the sun, made up the difference. Her head tilted to meet his gaze. He took in her tight smile with passing annoyance.

“Excuse me sir but the line starts back there,” she said nodding in his direction.

“I’m not here to wait. I already did that. I’m here because of this–”

He held up a receipt and waited for her response. Her tired brown eyes seemed to measure him for a moment, as though finding him lacking, looked past him to the line. The dismissal stoked his frustration.

“Miss..” he began, but she halted him with a glance. He knew her kind. Just one of the countless women he’d crossed before. Steeped in bitterness. Biding their time through the drudgery of minimum wage employment. Angry at the world. He braced himself for the insult he was certain sat cocked on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she sighed.

“How may I help you, sir?”

Insults not forthcoming and her full attention granted, he found himself momentarily caught off guard.

“I…um…have this…” He held up the receipt again. She smiled; a genuine one. A pair of dimples peeked from her cheeks and her eyes lit with something close to amusement. As fleeting as it was, it captivated him. Why was she smiling at him now, and most important, why did it make him feel as though he was the luckiest man on earth?

“Sir?”

He emerged from his daydreams to find the woman now glaring at him. So much for that.

*****

Author Info:

Clarke Collins is a not-so-average Midwestern American mom by day and vivid dream wrangler by night. Aside from her vast consumption of romance and speculative fiction novels, her writing inspiration comes from an array of influential talents, across artistic disciplines and genres. A perfect life for Clarke is one filled with books and infinite time to read them all.

Official website: Clarkecollins.com

Amazon Author’s page: Clarke Collins

Goodreads Author page: Clarke Collins

Official Facebook – @booksbycc

Official Twitter – @booksbycc

Official Instagram – @booksbyclarke