Romantic Reads: Falling for the Innkeeper by Meghann Whistler

Welcome Meghann Whistler to the blog! 

She's a new author whose debut book Falling for the Innkeeper was published and made available for purchase on July 21, 2020. 

Meghann is here today to discuss her book and help you to get to know her captivating characters!

Enjoy!

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Interview with Meghann Whistler about Falling for the Innkeeper:

Alexis: Why did you write this book?

Meghann: I wrote this book after I quit my job as the marketing communications manager at a large software company to stay at home with my three young children. I’ve always loved creative writing, but while I was working, I didn’t have the time or energy to devote to creative projects.

Once I became a stay-at-home mom, working on Falling for the Innkeeper gave me something fun to daydream about while I was changing diapers and doing the laundry!

Alexis: Who or what inspired the storyline?

Meghann: There were a lot of different things that inspired the storyline, but the biggest one was probably the setting. I grew up spending my summers on Cape Cod at my grandparents’ seaside inn, and I really wanted to go back there in my imagination.

Alexis: How did you research the setting for this story? Did you travel to Cape Cod? Why or why not?

Meghann: I started writing this book about two and half years ago, and I haven’t been back to Cape Cod since then. I do still have family there, though, and I was there for a wedding about a year before I started writing Falling for the Innkeeper.

In terms of research, I relied a lot on my memory, and I also conducted my fair share of Google searches!

Alexis: Tell us about your story’s heroine Laura Lessoway. What is she like? Describe her looks, personality and heart.

Meghann: Laura is a beautiful young woman with dark hair and green eyes. She grew up wealthy but prefers the simple things in life. She dresses casually and is a big Boston Red Sox fan!

Thanks to a close relationship with her recently deceased grandmother, Laura has a real heart for the Lord. She’s a single mom because her ex-husband cheated on her and abandoned her while she was pregnant. She’s wary about getting involved with another man—especially one who’s a lawyer like her ex-husband—so Jonathan has to work hard to win her over.

Alexis: Let’s talk about your story’s hero Jonathan Masters. What is he like? Describe his looks, character and heart.

Meghann: At the beginning of the story, Jonathan is very focused on work. He’s a good-looking guy with dark hair and dark eyes, but he made a decision back when he started law school that he wouldn’t “get distracted” by a serious relationship until he’d made partner, and he’s stuck to that resolution for almost ten years.

In addition to being hard-working, disciplined and trustworthy, Jonathan is kind and easygoing, and he has a soft spot for kids.

Alexis: Why does Laura fight to save her grandmother’s beachfront inn?

Meghann: Laura’s relationship with her parents isn’t the best, and the place where she has always felt most loved is at her grandmother’s inn. She wants to keep the inn to keep her grandmother’s legacy alive, and also to make sure that her four-year-old daughter, Emma, is able to stay in the only home she’s ever known.

Alexis: What is it about Jonathan that draws Laura to him?

Meghann: Laura works hard to fight her attraction to Jonathan because she’s nervous that he’ll turn out to be an unethical workaholic like her ex-husband, but his easygoing manner, sense of humor and fondness for her daughter draw her in.

Alexis: What is it about Laura that makes her unforgettable to Jonathan?

Meghann: Jonathan has never told anyone how hard it was to grow up with a mentally ill father, but he trusts Laura enough to tell her. Not only does she comfort him, she also immediately sets out to help Jonathan find his father, who has been missing for fifteen years. When they visit a local homeless shelter together, Jonathan sees what a kind and caring person she is, and he knows he doesn’t want to let her go.

Alexis: Paint a picture of The Sea Glass Inn. What makes it special to your characters?

Meghann: When you think about classic Cape Cod architecture, The Sea Glass Inn is basically what will come to mind! It’s two stories high with gray cedar shingles, black window shutters and a hand-painted sign with its name hanging from a wooden post out front.

It sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, nestled behind the dunes of a sweeping, white-sand beach on Nantucket Sound. Rosebushes grow haphazardly around a split rail cedar fence that surrounds the property. There’s a jetty at the mouth of the nearby harbor that Laura and Jonathan visit a couple of times in the book.

For Laura, the inn symbolizes her grandmother’s love. For Jonathan, it’s a place where he can relax and be his real self without all the pressure from his job weighing him down.

Alexis: What brings Laura and Jonathan together and what threatens to tear them apart?

Meghann: Jonathan’s job is what brings them together initially—he comes to the inn to make an offer on behalf of a client. But his job is also what keeps them apart, as Laura finds it difficult to trust lawyers in general, and she is also very aware that his whole purpose for staying at the inn with her and Emma is to take it away from them.

Alexis: What do you want readers to remember most about Falling for the Innkeeper?

Meghann: That when we trust God, He’ll work all things for our good. No matter what mistakes we’ve made in the past, no matter how misplaced our priorities have been, if we honestly seek Him, He can do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

Alexis: If you could spend a day with any of your story’s characters, which one would you spend it with and what would you do?

Meghann: I’d spend the day with Laura’s daughter, Emma! I have three boys, so it would be fun to hang out with a little girl. I’d take her out for ice cream, which she loves, and let her go wild at the trampoline park she visits in the book!

Alexis: Complete this sentence: If I were not an author, I would be _____________________because___________________________.

Meghann: If I were not an author, I would be a counselor because I’m a great listener and I get a lot of satisfaction out of helping other people.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview! Do you have any closing comments?

Meghann: Thank you for taking the time to visit with me today. 😊

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Author Bio:

Meghann Whistler writes sweet Christian romance novels that won’t make your grandmother blush. 

A hopeless romantic who met her husband on a blind date, Meghann recently left her marketing career to pursue her lifelong passion of writing sweet, hopeful stories that demonstrate the power of love and grace.

She loves to hear from her readers, who can reach her at www.meghannwhistler.com.

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Falling for the Innkeeper Back Cover Blurb:

A battle for a charming Cape Cod inn… But what happens when romance checks in?

Single mom Laura Lessoway won’t accept her mother’s plan of selling her late grandmother’s inn without a fight.

But when big-city attorney Jonathan Masters arrives to arrange an offer from a client, she’s drawn to him. And working together as he helps with repairs only brings them closer.

With his career and her home on the line, can they ever find common ground?

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Buy Meghann’s book:

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2Wvcc0a

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INDIGO (Canada): https://bit.ly/3dGKRhm

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BOOK DEPOSITORY (Free International Shipping): https://bit.ly/2XjZvoa

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Connect with Meghann:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/authormeghannwhistler
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeghannWhistler
Instagram: https://instagram.com/meghannwhistler/
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fmV1F6

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United States of America residents ONLY may enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:
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