Tiki Hut - Canadian Style

LOL...now this post has a title! My bad.

We have a new visitor today Under the Tiki Hut. Joan Leacott has been a writer friend of mine for a few years now, and she's here to tell you a little about herself and her debut novel, ABOVE SCANDAL. She lives in Toronto, Canada, and we met through an online goal-setting group. Please slap a couple of those bright red maple leaves together, and give Joan a warm welcome.

Warm...Canada...Tiki Hut...get it?

I apologize :)
I'll shut up now and let Joan talk.

What is your fondest book-related memory?

The library in my mid-sized hometown was an old municipal building with a formal façade of limestone stairs and columns beneath a triangular portico. The front doors were so heavy that my dad had to open them for Mom and me. The fiction section was down creaky stairs and into the basement. The adult book stacks ringed the sides. A carved stand proudly held a massive dictionary. The children’s area was in the centre of the adult area, surrounded by benches and screens. Clever planning, eh? The book I remember reading first is Harold and his Purple Crayon by Crockett Jones. I’m thrilled that Harold and his adventures are still available.

What are you working on?

I’m finishing another round of edits on Sight for Sore Eyes, the second book in the Clarence Bay Chronicles. Emma Finn has inherited her grandmother’s china shop. She’s looking forward to a peaceful life with family and friends. Asher Stockdale, the new doctor in town, has a different vision for Emma, a vision of romance. But Emma’s resistant to change—she’s had quite enough of it, thank you very much. So a pair of scheming seniors decide to nudge Emma and Asher towards their happily-ever-after.

Your books are set in Clarence Bay, Canada. How different is that from the Tiki Hut?

At this time of year, the obvious difference is the weather; it’s cold and dark up here, and getting more so every day until the winter solstice. The leaves have changed colour and fallen to cover roads, gardens, and unwary cats. Brrr! Come summer, though, the two places are much more similar. Hot sunny beaches, cool blue water, long lazy days. A glass of wine and a good book in a Muskoka chair amid the trees. Much better!

Joan Leacott lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and son. She attends piano classes, melts in the hot yoga studio, and loves to cook for family and friends. She spends her summers on the shores of Georgian Bay.

Three generations of Rossetti women are hoarding secrets.

Cathy Rossetti’s secret is Hayley, her outspoken ten-year-old daughter, who’s about to meet her family for the first time. Sadly, it’s taken a terminal illness to bring Cathy back to her hometown.

The elder generation of Rossetti women guards a thirty-year old secret with the power to rock Cathy’s world. Will her mother take their secret to her grave, or will her aunt break her punishing vow of silence?

Hayley hates secrets, so she’s sleuthing around Clarence Bay looking for her daddy. Is it her new BFF’s father or mayoral candidate Ryan Chisholm or Ryan’s handsome campaign manager?

Ryan has a secret, too. He’s still in love with Cathy, his high-school sweetheart. For a man running his election campaign on a platform of honesty, this could cause problems. Will dumping his popular fiancée cost him the election? And if Cathy still loves him after eleven years' absence, she’s not telling.

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Deep Dark Secrets are usually

more fun in books than they are in real life.

Do you have a secret?

What if we found out?