When I started reading romance books on the regular, Julia London is one of the authors I could always count on for a great story. So when Berkley contacted me about doing an interview with Julia for her new book, I couldn’t resist!
Before we get to Julia’s answers, let’s check out the book!
Title: The Charmer in Chaps (Princes of Texas #1)
Author: Julia London
Pages: 360
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pub Date: May 7, 2019
Find it: PRH | Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | GoodreadsThe first in a sexy new contemporary western romance series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London where cowboys and true love brings you home…
Cimarron County knows the youngest son of the fabled Prince family as a womanizing hell-raiser, but Luca has another side to him. He intends to turn the overworked pasture land his father left him back to its natural beauty. There’s just one problem—a woman with sparkling eyes and more fight than a barnyard cat is grandfathered into some acreage on his portion of Three Rivers Ranch.
After years of living in foster homes, Ella has exactly three things to her name: A dog, a pig, and the rundown house she just inherited. Luca may not remember her from high school, but she definitely remembers him. He is as seductive as he was then, but Ella isn’t about to fall for his flirting—if only she could stop melting at his touch.
What begins as a game of seduction for Luca quickly turns into something more, but Ella has learned the hard way to trust no one but herself—especially when it comes to her deepest secret. Yet the closer Luca gets to Ella, the more he wants to be the one she leans on. For once, Luca is determined to do something right and give the woman he loves the home she deserves.
Sounds good, right?
1. Please give the elevator pitch for The Charmer in Chaps.
Dallas meets Friday Night Lights in a small Texas town, where big dreams are outweighed by bigger loves.
2. Which came first: the plot line or the characters?
I had the idea for the family first. I wanted to write about a big, rich, over the top ranching family who gets the rug yanked out from under their feet. They have to pick up the pieces of their privileged lives, but not without a lot of drama and definitely not without someone to help each of them through it, generally in ways they didn’t know they needed.
3. Why do you love Ella and Luca and why should we root for them?
Even though they come from opposite ends of the income spectrum, both of them have had their burdens to bear in life, and both of them have had to figure out how to bear it on their own. But as adults, those burdens are harder to manage, and they both begin to see how they need someone in their corner. I love Ella because she made something of herself against all odds. I love Luca because he had every advantage and still had to battle his way to what he wanted.
4. What is the weirdest thing you’ve googled for research?
I write a lot of historical romance, too, and the weirdest things have to do with 18th century contraception devices, or underwear for men and women of that age. You have to know what all has to come off in the bedroom! For this series, it wasn’t google, but I went to the Witte Museum in San Antonio, which has this great exhibit of all the flora and fauna by region of Texas. This is where I learned how lucky I am not to have encountered some really disgusting insects and varmin yet. None of which I used in this series of books because eeeweee.
5. Without spoilers, which scene was your favorite to write?
I love writing the banter, but I really love the emotional moments. Both Luca and Ella pour their hearts out at various points in the book. I’m always a little amazed at how much I’ve learned about a character that started off as very two dimensional, but somehow gains some depth as I go along. And I can relate to their heartaches.
6. Which romance tropes are your favorite to read?
I love love love love a grumpy hero. I love friends to lovers, too. And a well-written enemy to lover is always a good one for me.
Speed {ish} round:
1. You find out that you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.
A lot of shouting and laughing and wondering just how soon is too soon to pop a cork on a bottle of champagne. Funny story, when it happened to me, I was home alone and couldn’t get anyone on the phone. So it was just me shrieking and laughing and demanding to know if my dogs understood what this meant. They didn’t, but they were very enthusiastic all the same.
2. What three things would you take to a desert island?
One of those Swiss Army knife thingies with all the tools on it. A survival manual (I feel like obvious survival tips would not be obvious to me) and a Kindle, loaded up.
3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?
That’s so cruel! I can’t choose just one. But if I had to, I would choose one of the really thick books I avoid reading because they look like they might take too long to read. Like a Ken Follett novel, such as Pillars of the Earth. That should last me awhile.
4. Which book character would you want to hang out with?
Elizabeth Darcy or Bridget Jones. I feel them.
5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?
The list is long after twenty-one years in the business. But mostly—and this is what I tell new or aspiring authors—I wish I had understood that with every success that comes your way, there is a disappointment. Every single career is one of peaks and valleys, and those valleys cannot be avoided. I knew nothing about publishing when I sold my first book, and I was disappointed early on because I didn’t understand that it’s not a straight line trajectory. But the counter to that is that you will make some dear, dear friends along the way.
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Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than two dozen romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular historical romance series, the Cabot Sisters, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch, and The Perfect Homecoming.
Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.
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Huge thanks to Berkley for the invite and to Julia for taking the time. The Charmer in Chaps is out now!
This sounds like something right up my alley! I love romance novels but somehow never managed to read a Western romance! This synopsis sounds really good and as soon as I saw banter mentioned in the interview my decision was solidified even further!
Oooh, if you like western romances, try Maisey Yates. She has a couple of great series that are all cowboys in small towns. She’s a go-to for me.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check her out!
Which do you recommend starting with?
Her Copper Ridge series is first. You could start with Gold Valley, but it does sort of mention some of the characters from Copper. They’re both series of small towns and overlapping characters. You don’t have to read them in order, if you don’t want to.