SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Sadira Stone!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Sadira Stone. Sadira began writing steamy contemporary romance after leaving her teaching career in Germany. Now a resident of Tacoma, Washington, her stories are set in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, including a quirky bookshop in Oregon and a neighborhood tavern in Tacoma. Her Bangers Tavern series features holiday celebrations and tasty cocktail recipes (personally tested). Under another name, Sadira also writes cozy mysteries and creepy short stories. When not writing, Sadira explores the area with her husband. She enjoys the local music scene, and playing darts and guitar.

Author Sadira Stone

S: Welcome, Sadira! Thanks so much for joining me in The Loft!

Do you write full or part-time? Do you have another job/other responsibilities?

SS: I left my teaching career—high school English, German, French, and theater—in 2014, so now I’m a full-time author. It was quite a culture shock returning to the U.S. after nearly 30 years in Germany, but I’m loving my second chapter in life.

S: (Smiles.) Wow. After 30 years, I imagine this country has changed significantly.

Did you undergo any sort of educational or other preparation/training to become a writer?

SS: Well, I have a B.A. in English education and many years’ experience teaching composition, so that gives me a head start. I’ve also taken dozens of writing courses and attended many workshops and conferences in the past six years.

S: Complete this sentence: "When I started writing books, I wish I had known..."

SS: ...how much time marketing and promotion take! It’s all well and good to write and polish your book, but then you’ve got to let readers know what you’ve written and persuade them to buy it!

S: What attracted you to the romance genre?

SS: You know, for a long time I was one of those literary snobs who thought romance fiction was too fluffy, too formulaic, not real literature—as if the mysteries I gobbled had any more claim to literary merit. Then, after reading an article on how lucrative writing erotica can be, I tried writing a short, sexy story that morphed into a full-blown romance novel. I’d never had so much fun with a writing project. So I went to the library, loaded up on romance novels, and educated myself about the genre, joining Romance Writers of America and taking classes. I love the guaranteed happy ending that counterbalances whatever strife and sorrow the characters endure.

S: (Laughs.) I was one of those snobs, too. Until I realized that romance novels got me through some of toughest challenges in my life. They were a great diversion from reality.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Has it ever happened to you?

SS: I do not. Attraction at first meeting, perhaps, but that chemical pull toward another person who may or not be a good match—that comes from the way he sounds and smells and moves, the words he chooses, the color of his shoes, and eyes, the curve of his thighs. In other words, a lot of factors go into initial attraction, but love only comes when you truly know someone, and that’s not possible at first meeting.

S: Why did you write "Christmas Rekindled?" What was your inspiration?

SS: I knew I wanted to write a series set in my hometown of Tacoma, Washington, and I needed a setting where an interesting cast would assemble. Found family is a favorite theme of mine, and just a mile or two away is this wonderful stretch of Sixth Avenue filled with funky shops, restaurants, and bars. So I invented Bangers Tavern and plopped it down in one of my favorite neighborhoods. Dawn, the bar’s owner, is a surrogate/extra mom to the young people who work there—she’s my sister under the skin.

S: Is there anything about "Christmas Rekindled" that makes it special to you? To readers?

SS: As I said, the setting for this series is real, though the bar is not, and I love being able to spend time there—virtually, for now, since the bars are closed. We do support our favorite restaurants with takeout, but we won’t be browsing the vintage shops, record shops, and weird boutiques anytime soon, alas. I hope y’all enjoy this visit to my gritty, warm, and welcoming hometown.

Here's the blurb--

When two Scrooges unite to save a bar in trouble, a kiss under the mistletoe sparks the sexiest Christmas miracle ever.

Bartender River Lundqvist has a damn good reason for hating Christmas. Bangers Tavern is the perfect place to lay low over the holidays—until Charlie walks in. His first encounter with the saucy server nine years ago was utter humiliation. Her reappearance stirs up powerful desires and hopes for a new start. But the timing is all wrong.

Back in Tacoma to care for her estranged dad over the holidays, freelance web designer Charlie Khoury braces herself for the suckiest Christmas ever. A temporary job at Bangers Tavern gives her a chance to escape Dad’s criticism and blow off some steam. But why does the hunky bartender seem to hate her?

A pretend girlfriend is just what River needs to keep his family off his back—until a kiss under the mistletoe flares hot enough to melt the North Pole. When greedy developers threaten Bangers Tavern, River and Charlie must team up to save it. Their sizzling chemistry feels like the real thing—but everyone knows rebound relationships don’t last.

Come to Bangers Tavern for an enemies-to-lovers tale of reconciliation, found family, holiday cocktails, and the sexiest Christmas miracle ever.