But when local carpenter Mike Standish shows up to give her an estimate, Ginny finds herself experiencing an entirely different kind of panic. He's handsome, hardworking, and he's making her think things no self-respecting woman should even consider about a man sixteen years her junior.
Despite his youth though, Mike has been around the block a time or two when it comes to love. And it doesn't take him long to realize Ginny's broken house isn't the only thing he wants to fix...
Reviews for Built to Last
"Ms. Dafoe has done it again with a book that is erotic, compassionate and one heck of a good read." -- A 5 Heart Sweetheart at The Romance Studio!
"Ms. Dafoe has created characters with believable feelings, infusing just the right amount of internal and external conflict in a relatively short tale." -- 5 Angels and a Recommended Read from Fallen Angel Reviews!
"BUILT TO LAST is more than just an erotic novella; it truly is a love story and one that will be sure to find its way onto your keeper's list." -- 5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies
"Ginny's reaction to her feelings for Mike felt so natural to me they make the story seem more than real; more like I knew them and witnessed these events personally. I was blown away reading BUILT TO LAST. You've got to read this one!" -- 5 Stars from Just Erotic Romance
Visit Sierra Dafoe's web site
Read an excerpt from Built to Last
About Sierra Dafoe
Sierra Dafoe published her first erotic romance in May of 2006, receiving three CAPA nominations that year including Favorite Erotic Author. She has since gone on to publish over two dozen books with Ellora's Cave, Siren, Changeling, and now Samhain, earning numerous recommended reads and awards for her work including a second Favorite Erotic Author nomination in 2007. Visit her newly-redesigned site at www.sierradafoe.com and join her newsletter to read a free erotic story!
Backlist
From Ellora's Cave:
Coming in August: Immortal Lust
Built to Last
His for the Taking
Make Me
A note from Sierra...
I'd also like to include that my Samhain debut, The Boys Back Home, is releasing Aug. 19th, and my Dark Pantheon book, Immortal Lust, is releasing Aug. 27th. It's a shared-world series with the other Deliciously Naughty Writers, and I built us a website at www.darkpantheon.com. Also, if there's room, I had a fantastic time at the Reader/Author get together in Cincinnati sponsored by Lori Foster, and would love to mention it!
An Interview with Sierra Dafoe
By Holly Hewson for The Romance Studio
HH: Sierra, thank you for talking with us at TRS. Please tell us about Built to Last.
SD: Built To Last is my contribution to EC's Oh Yum! series, available now at Ellora's Cave. Each story in the Oh Yum! series is centered around an older woman and a younger man, which was a really fun concept to write about. (Thank you, Demi Moore!)
HH: Yours is the story of a lonely widow and the handsome younger carpenter who will fix more than her house. Where did the idea for this story come from? SD: Some of it came from my own experiences with a run-down house, actually -- the contractor who gives her an outrageous bid in the beginning, for example, is one of the very few characters I've ever drawn pretty much directly from real life. (In my case, I ended up doing much of the work myself.) So on that level, at least, I really understood Ginny's sense of helplessness and frustration. Where the idea for making her an advice columnist came from, I really don't know. It just sort of happened.
HH:What are the challenges in writing an older woman, younger man story? SD: Well, I had a bit of a head start -- my husband's eight years younger than me, so I was already familiar with some of the dynamics of the relationship. But there are differences from, say, a story with an older male -- I know for me, at least, approaching middle age as I am, I really identified with Ginny's nervousness -- what is Mike going to think of her? Should she approach him? Her reluctance is compounded by the fact that she's hired him to do a job, and feels she's taking advantage of him.
HH: What did you personally find satisfying about writing this tale? SD: One thing I wanted to accomplish was a level of realism that's maybe a bit "harsher" than usual for a romance. Ginny's grief over the loss of her husband isn't simply a plot device -- it's the controlling emotion of her existence at the beginning of the story. It drives her decisions, her reality, it colors every one of her experiences, as deep grief tends to do... And following her through that, through the entire arc of grief and loss and despair until she finally reaches joy, was a wonderful journey for me as a writer, and hopefully for my readers as well.
HH: What do you like best about Mike? SD: Um, everything? Hee! I'm very proud of Mike -- he's absolutely perfect, and yet he's totally human, too. He makes mistakes. He's pretty together for a twenty-four year old, but at the same time there are things and situations he doesn't know how to handle; he simply doesn't have the life experience yet. Plus he can fix just about everything. I can't count the number of letters I've gotten saying "I want a Mike Standish, darn it!" and you know what? I have to agree. I want a Mike Standish, too!
HH: What else do have you coming up for readers? SD: This month is a very exciting one for me. My debut Samhain release, The Boys Back Home, is coming out on August 19th, and I hope readers will enjoy it -- it's my very first cowboy story!
Then on August 27th, I have Immortal Lust, my contribution to the Dark Pantheon series, coming out at Ellora's Cave. The Dark Pantheon is a shared-world vampire series penned by me and fellow Deliciously Naughty Wrtiers Sherrill Quinn, Anna J. Evan's, and Kelly Maher. You can find out more about the Dark Pantheon books at www.darkpantheon.com!
Also, I recently redesigned my website at www.sierradafoe.com, including a new look, a new blog, and a new free story for my newsletter subscribers -- just visit http://www.sierradafoe.com/newsletter.php to sign up!
HH: So do you feel you're moving more towards contemporary and historical romances these days? SD: Well, yes and no. Yes in that they're genres I've expanded into in the past year, so they're still quite new to me and I'm having a ton of fun writing them! Readers can definitely expect to see more contemporaries and historicals from me in the future.
On the other hand, I still love my paranormals and in fact am working right now on a new paranormal series. So it's not so much that I've stopped writing one genre as I've started writing others, as well.
HH: Where and when do you do your best writing? SD: Late night is often the best time for me. It's quiet, there's no interruptions... and when I get going I will often write for eight and ten hours at a stretch, when I get the opportunity!
HH: What goals do you have for yourself in the next year? SD: Still the same ones I've had for the past ten months or so, sadly! Much as I love the novella format, I also really like longer stories and keep trying to make time to write more novels. I need more time in the day, darn it! Then again, don't we all?
HH: What's your favorite way to network with readers? SD: One of my favorites is through my readers group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Sierra_Club and of course through my newsletter, which sends out a release notice every time I have a new book coming out and notices whenever I post to my blog, as well. So that's a really good way of staying up to date on what I have going on.
Plus I have some great chats coming up in the near future, including one on Monday, August 18th to celebrate the release of The Boys Back Home at Samhain. Check my Events page at http://www.sierradafoe.com/events.php for details, and I hope you'll come join me for The Boys Back Home release party!
Holly, thanks so much for having me, and I look forward to visiting with TRS again soon.
HH: Thank you!
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