It's In His Kiss Blog Tour: The Making of Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis #12DaysofLuckyHarbor

I'm a huge fan of Jill Shalvis and her Lucky Harbor series, I first discovered these books a couple of years ago when some of my favourite American bloggers were all raving about them. I ended up being approved for the first few books by the American publisher on Netgalley and I've been addicted to Jill's writing ever since. She writes absolutely fantastic small town romances, stories that are full of warmth and humour, have brilliant characters and heart warming romances that are guaranteed to make you swoon. I can't gush about these books enough so I was absolutely thrilled to discover the series has been picked up by Headline Eternal and is now going to be much more widely available here in the UK.

I could spend all day raving about these books but in a minute I'm going to hand over to Jill Shalivs so she can tell you all about Lucky Harbor and the inspiration behind the series herself. First let me give you a bit more information about the next book in the series It's In His Kiss which is being released in the UK on the 26th of August. This is book 10 in the series but because the stories have all been written as trilogies you'll easily be able to start here even if you've not read any of the previous books.

ONE KISS CAN LAST FOREVER

Becca Thorpe has uprooted her life and escaped to the beach. Now’s her chance to get away from city living, throw caution to the ocean winds, and live in the moment. Especially if the moment includes the deliciously sexy surfer she meets shortly after arriving in Lucky Harbor. Something about the dark intensity of Sam’s eyes and the thrill she gets at his touch convinces her to stay awhile.

Boatbuilder and investment genius Sam Brody is a self-made man who knows how dangerous it can be to mix business and pleasure. But he can’t resist offering Becca a job just to hear her laugh and have her near. Yet when her brother comes to town asking for help, will he tempt her back to her glamorous life in the city? Or do Sam and little Lucky Harbor have a chance to win Becca’s heart?



Lucky Harbor Series:
(Links take you to my reviews)
Simply Irresistible
The Sweetest Thing
Kissing Santa Claus (Novella in the Small Town Christmas anthology)
Head Over Heels
Lucky in Love
At Last
Forever and a Day
Under the Mistletoe (Novella)
It Had to be You
Always on my Mind
Dream a Little Dream (Novella in the A Christmas to Remember anthology)
Once in a Lifetime
It's in his Kiss (August 2014)
He's So Fine (September 2014)
One in a Million (October 2014)

Author Bio:
New York Times Bestselling author Jill Shalvis wrote RESCUE MY HEART and FOREVER AND A DAY, along with many other romance novels including her acclaimed Lucky Harbor series. The Rita winner and 3-time National Readers Choice winner makes her home near Lake Tahoe. Visit her website at http://www.jillshalvis.com for a complete book list and daily blog, and http://www.facebook.com/jillshalvis for other news.

Website - http://jillshalvis.com
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22370.Jill_Shalvis
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JillShalvis/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JillShalvis

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Now please give a very warm welcome to Jill who is here to tell you all about Lucky Harbor!

The Making Of Lucky Harbor

by Jill Shalvis

I am a pop culture ‘ho. I inhale TV, People Magazine, and TMZ with equal joy. Same goes for movies. My favorite part of any DVD is always the special features, specifically the Making Of extra, and I like to create the same with my own books. So consider this the Making Of edition of my Lucky Harbor novels.

When I began brainstorming the sexy contemporary romance series about three sisters who get stuck running a dilapidated resort, I decided I was out of my mind. I don’t have sisters. I have a brother, and we like each other just fine.

For days I stared at a blank screen. Then at the dinner table one night, my three teenage heathens started bickering and fighting, and I just stared at them, both annoyed and … suddenly inspired. “Keep fighting,” I told them — much to their utter shock, since I’ve spent the past fifteen years begging them to get along.
Because suddenly it was a piece of cake to write the sisters. See, it turns out that they were estranged, and stuck together. Their claws were barely sheathed, with both resentment and affection vying for space, and … I was in writing heaven.

Especially when it came to finding the three sexy guys who would be the love interests. I’m a big romance reader as well an author, and for me, it’s always about the hero. It doesn’t matter what he looks like, or what he does for a living, or even who his family and friends are — it’s about his heart.

It just so happened that about this same time, my neighbor was having an addition put on her house. For six glorious weeks, there were a bunch of guys hanging off the roof and the walls, in perfect line of sight of my office.

Which is really my deck. It’s a wonder I got any work done at all during that time. Seriously. I sat in the sun and wrote while in the background all these strong, good-looking sweaty guys hammered, and sawed, and in general, made my day.
On some days, they even took off their shirts. Those were my favorite days of all.

Inspired, I needed a setting. I wanted the trio of books to be set in the Pacific Northwest, nestled between the ocean and the Olympic Mountains, I knew I was creating the fantasy for myself. Growing up in Los Angeles, in the land of the cement highways and year-round flip-flop wearing weather, I dreamed of a place where there were four seasons. Where I could boat in the summers and ski in the winter. Where I could go to the grocery store and run into people I knew.

What I didn’t realize is that I would start this series and then find out I had a lot more than three stories to tell. But back to the beginning. After I’d written the first book, my editor called me.

Editor:
Jill, we need a great series title name that signifies small town, warmth, and humor

Me:
How about "Funny-Warm Small Town"?

Editor:
...

Me:
Okay, okay. How about Moonlight Bay, Eagle Lake, Whisper Falls ...

Editor:
No offense, but you're not very good at this.

Me:
How about You're Lucky I'm Not Overly Sensitive Harbor?

Editor:
You're onto something. Lucky Harbor it is...

And so Lucky Harbor was born. I have written the series in groups of three so that readers never feel like they have to start at the beginning. They can jump right in wherever they please. The latest, ONCE IN A LIFETIME, is number nine.

Can I admit that it’s one of my favorites? I know, don’t tell the others, but it’s true. Our hero, Ben Kincaid, has been delivered a few life blows that’s changed how he lets people in. As in he doesn’t let people in. And the heroine … well, she’s a reformed bad girl with a list of wrongs she’s trying to fix and failing spectacularly. And then there’s the fact that Ben is on that list and he doesn’t even know it. Oh how I enjoyed pitting these two love-resistant people together and watching the sparks fly in spite of themselves.

And though I’ve LOVED creating and writing the Lucky Harbor novels, all good things must come to an end. This summer there’s a brand new – and final – trilogy from Lucky Harbor, and I hope you won’t miss them:

IT’S IN HIS KISS – 26th August
HE’S SO FINE – 30th September
ONE IN A MILLION – 28th October

Happy Reading,
Jill Shalvis

www.jillshalvis.com/blog
www.facebook.com/jillshalvis

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Thanks for a fabulous guest post Jill, I've loved spending time in Lucky Harbor so it was really interesting to see where you got the inspiration. Can I just say I'm more than a little jealous of the view you had when your neighbour was getting their extension done LOL! I can't wait to read the latest books in the series although I have to confess I'm very sad to hear these will be the last Lucky Harbor books.

So what do you guys think of the Lucky Harbor series? Have you already read any of the books already? If not I'd highly recommend them all!