Sex On The Beach

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BEHIND THE SCENES

The idea for Sex on the Beach came to me on a cold winter day in Vancouver, BC. I thrive on sunshine and warmth, and I wasn’t getting any, so instead I nourished my soul with memories of tropical holidays, like the one I took to Belize.

Then I happened upon an article about the popularity of destination weddings, and I remembered how many people I’d seen getting married on tropical beaches – in Belize, Costa Rica, Australia. I imagined the sexy fun that might ensue when a group of wedding guests assembled in Belize for the week before an exotic wedding.

And . . . ooh, ooh! What if each of the couples had a reason for keeping their relationship secret? Could you imagine how complicated that could get?

I thought about making one of the couples the bride and groom, but for whatever reason that didn’t feel right to me, though as it turned out they decided to have a major spat which put their wedding in jeopardy. I didn’t plan that; the characters just went and did it, and as so often happens, it fit well with the general themes of the book.

I did know one of the heroines had to be the wedding planner – and what better hero to pair her with than a guy who was strongly motivated to stop the wedding? And so, presto, Sarah and Free.

I love “second chance at love” stories, so that’s how the bride’s long-estranged parents became one of the couples. For them, I wanted a real contrast in personalities – the fiery Italian versus the cool, analytical Brit. I’m old enough to remember Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck (IMHO, one of the sexiest men ever!), so they became my role models for Giovanna and James.

Another theme that always intrigues me is the closeted gay guy, and I thought about what would happen if he brought along a female friend who pretended to be his date – but then she found herself falling for another man. That led to Zane (the gay writer of very macho thrillers) and Tamiko – and Tamiko’s new love interest, Ric, the resort manager. As for Tamiko’s back story…well, until I’d begun writing, I had no idea she had such a troubled past. Again, the character surprised me. But it made me even more glad that I’d paired her with the gentle, considerate, and very sexy Ric.

I really liked the idea of setting all three stories in the same time frame. It made for a real writing challenge, particularly in keeping track of the details of exactly what was going on when, with which characters, but that added to the fun of writing it.

Anyhow, I had a blast writing Sex on the Beach. I hope you have as much fun reading it.