I've Done...

All the Dumb Things by Georgia Tingley

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review - and Georgia very kindly agreed to a Q&A so you get that as well!!!! Her novella from last year, Whistler's Wonderland, had been selected as a RUBY Finalist.

Review
Juliet has had no luck in her pursuit of marriage and family - too bad the prefect guy doesn't want either of these things. Trey has been one of her "dumb things" before but she just can't help herself. Will this shot at love burn out like all those other times?

This is a fun and sexy (very sexy!) contemporary romance that will spice up your evening. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Juliet's "dumb things" because of the tension they brought to the story (flashbacks are so hard to do well). Juliet is a realistic heroine who endears herself to you - she isn't as vapid as some of the protagonists in the genre. What I like most, however, is the fact that Juliet is 40. She's realistically portrayed as someone who found success later in life.

Click here to read the Q&A with George Tingley :D

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Q&A

Your first books were about angels (Justice is still one of my fave angel books!). Why the recent shift towards contemporary romance?
I wrote a second book in the Angel Calling Trilogy AN UNHOLY GIFT and it didn’t get too much attention. I’m still planning on the final third book and have plotted it out, but as yet it’s still at that stage. I’ve also started to convert JUSTICE into a screenplay to enter into a competition and that also is sort of on the back burner while I have these other projects going.

My first love was always romance – whether it’s contemporary, historical, paranormal, sci-fi etc. and it was actually what I’d written first then put into a drawer to take out at a later date. That later date came earlier than I expected when I decided there weren’t enough romances which featured mature women and men.

So, I decided to write my ‘Mature Love’ series – HAVING FAITH was my first and ALL THE DUMB THINGS is my second. In between I wrote a Christmas Novella WHISTLER WONDERLAND which has just been named as a finalist in the RWA’s RUBY competition in the novella section. I haven’t forgotten about my paranormal roots though and have a number of stories in my TBW (To Be Written) pile! In fact, I’m currently writing a PNR for a Valentine’s Day Anthology which will be available – you guessed it, in February.

I love that Juliet is a sexy and mature protagonist. What inspired your decision to create romances featuring more mature leads?
Whenever I read romances, I do love them, but the characters are always young women. It’s like women become invisible after a certain age. As if men don’t give them the eye, or chat them up at the pub. It’s far from the truth, and I wanted to make sure people realised this. Plus, we all like to read for the emotional value we can get out of a story, and if you have a rapport or bonding or relatable character all the better.

I was tired of reading about 20 somethings. I wanted to read about real women who faced divorce, failed relationships, single mums of teenagers, women who struggled to re-invent themselves in society, women who had been thrown on the scrap heap as unimportant in romances. I hope I can achieve that with these standalone romances. I have a ton of them!  

Were the flashbacks an early decision or did they come a bit later in the writing process?
I’m a plotter, so yeah, they were always there from the start. You don’t get to be 40 without a suitcase of baggage, whether that’s one relationship or many. I decided it would be interesting to read a story about a couple, who although they have separate lives and separate relationships, they were always there for each other but were too set on their own selfish path to realise that sacrifice is necessary for any relationship to work. I wanted to stitch their lives together one thread after another, until their blindness was cured and their love revealed an intense connection woven from that emotion.
 
Juliet and Trey are fantastic together. How long were they inhabiting your head before you wrote their story?
Not that long surprisingly. On the acknowledgement page I credit my sister for inspiring this story. Although this isn’t ‘her story’ it’s been inspired by the fact that the thing she wanted most – marriage, children, happily ever after, isn’t as easy for some as it is for others. As the saying goes ‘you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Prince Charming!’ She said to me one day about a two years ago, that if she had to have a theme song for her life, it would be “I’ve Done All The Dumb Things’. We laughed and it got me thinking about how many women I know who would say something similar? And so the birth of ALL THE DUMB THINGS was born.

What do you love most about Trey?
I love that he is an Alpha without needing all the macho bullshit about him. He has a great sense of humour, purpose, conviction, loyalty etc. Of course, he needs a smack across the back of his head in regards to his love for Juliet (some men do), but I wanted him to be there as her strength when life hits the fan, which in reality happens more often than we think. I love that he is gentle, yet takes charge when required. I love that he is a constant in her life. I love that he is gorgeous and cocky without being annoying. I love that although his life has run smoothly, he can still provide empathy for her. Let’s face it, we all want a Trey!

You can buy Georgia Tingley's latest release, All the Dumb Things​, here!!