Did you know know that Harlequin Escape is one year old this week? We’re celebrating this momentous occasion with a week filled with interviews, reviews, and excerpts, plus awesome giveaways, here on Steamy Guys After Dark and on our sister site featuring YA: Swoony Boys Podcast!
Today, we’re chatting with Robin Thomas, author of Bonjour Cherie:
***INTERVIEW***
Beth Jenkins is into all things French — especially her French teacher, André LeBlanc. She’s on the fast track to Paris and nothing will stop her, not even the very Australian Zach Mills, whose abs and attitude are a powerful combination. As she endeavours to catch André’s interest, she also stubbornly ignores the growing chemistry with Zach.
I had a lot of fun with the French elements of the story – the food, the culture and the language. I also love French culture, like Beth – but I’m not quite as obsessed as she is.
I start off with an idea for a character – usually the voice gets in my head and then, as I write, the character evolves. Sometimes, certain characters get very insistent about what they want to do and I only occasionally argue with them – for their own good.
Beth was one of those tenacious characters. She was a force to be reckoned with at times. I knew she had a little maturing to do, but her heart was in the right place – and finally with the right guy!
Persistent (some might say stubborn), Curious (certainly not nosey) and Sense of Humour (surely that counts as one word!)
I can never remember a time when I didn’t want to write. When I was twelve and I wrote The Red Top Mountain Mystery, set in an English boarding school – of which I had absolutely no knowledge! My grade seven teacher read it to the class and that was a big thrill.
Jennifer Fallon once said at a workshop that sometimes, no matter how much you edit, some books are not going to make it and the best thing you can do is start the next one. It’s the writing that is important. That really resonated with me because I had been working on a book for years.
I have a deadline that’s creeping closer, my brain is numb and I’ve eaten far too much chocolate. I’ve taken procrastination to new heights and suddenly even cleaning the house seems appealing. Then, I just sit down at my computer and make myself do it. After a while, it starts to flow.
Aside from Mr Darcy (and Colin Firth has a lot to do with that), I think Zach in Bonjour Cherie is swoon worthy. He has a laid back sense of humour, he’s got a bit of chivalry going on there and, of course, he’s hot. He’s very Australian – and half Canadian too – which makes him perfect.
I’ve just finished a story where the heroine falls in love with identical twins. There’s a little magic, mystery and a twist at the end.
Will you please let us make a movie of your novel, and, by the way, do you mind if Johnny Depp plays the hero?
***About Robin Thomas***
Born in Canada, Robin has worked as a teacher in several countries and now lives just outside Brisbane. Writing has always been her passion and in recent years she has written several novels and short stories. She enjoys cross genre fiction, including romance, speculative fiction and history. Married with two children (three if you include Rosie, the Pomeranian), Robin is happiest when she is lost in a good story, either reading or writing it.
***About the Book***

Published by Escape Publishing on September 1, 2013
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 70
Goodreads Buy the Book
It's Paris or bust in this New Adult comedy of errors about seeing beyond the surface...
Beth Jenkins is into all things French — especially her French teacher, André LeBlanc. She’s on the fast track to Paris and nothing will stop her, not even the very Australian Zach Mills, whose abs and attitude are a powerful combination. As she endeavours to catch André’s interest, she also stubbornly ignores the growing chemistry with Zach.
But as mishap after mishap delays her dreams, Beth begins to learn that neither Zach nor André are quite what they seem. Will it be too late to win the one man who shows her that Paris is not the only destination worth planning for?
***GIVEAWAY***
Good luck and be sure to check out all the other interviews and reviews we’ve got going on to celebrate the first Birthday for Harlequin Escape!