Take One Librarian - And Add A Hot Fireman!

Today's blog is by Judy Jarvie. Judy is with me at the keyboard today celebrating her new release, FLIRTING WITH THE FIREMAN, available at The Wild Rose Press.  Welcome, Judy.

Thanks to Sarah for inviting me to her blog - the opportunity really made me sit down and think about Flirting With The Fireman and what inspired the story. I quickly and quite surprisingly realised that I hadn't intended to write about a fireman at all!!

Flirting With The Fireman is the story of the cyber and social struggles of librarian and reluctant bridesmaid Flick Truro and the hottest firefighter best man in town – Rod McAllister.

The addition of a fireman hero happened quite by accident. Which I suppose is just how most fires start too!!

That’s not to say I don’t find firemen attractive. Who doesn’t love a uniform, who doesn’t swoon over the guys who run in when everyone else is running out?

The fireman thing was more like the icing on the cake - that extra ingredient when everything finally clicked. Initially I started writing about a librarian bridesmaid’s feud with the best man. I wanted my heroine to struggle with her attraction - making her a librarian was the first step. That was enough to get my fingers flying over the keys. Their wedding obligations were going to test the two of them to the max.

The firefighter things just happened as an additional extra. Then it kind of took over. And ironically now it's become the main focus of the book and became the focus of the title -

• I wanted their relationship to be highly flammable.
• The book features narrative and use of emails, diary excerpts and instant messages. I wanted to convey a sense of the 'white noise' in modern relationships. We're all so busy and we communicate in so many varied ways. This can get frustrating - sometimes irony and humor doesn't work so well in text!
• The Flick/Rod relationship tussles started via emails that got terser and terser as time went on. The fireman job seemed to add to this ‘heated, sparky vibe’.
• I wanted their jobs to be really contrasting– Flick Truro runs a library, Rod drives a firetruck.
• I wanted him to be a red hot symbol of all the things that both enflame Flick and make her angry at her own impulses.
• Maybe I’m just evil when I’m working out characters but I really wanted Flick to hate that she was so intensely attracted to the obvious stereotype of a man in uniform. And I thoroughly enjoyed pursuing her intense struggles fancying the most fanciable man in uniform in town.
• I wanted Rod to really get under her skin. And making him a ‘playboy’ character but one who really is a day to day hero really appealed. Hopefully it will to readers to.

Flirting With The Fireman was released by The Wild Rose Press on 28 January. You can find out more HERE


LIBRARIAN BRIDESMAID versus FIREFIGHTER BEST MAN

Cyber sparks...combustible consequences

Felicity Truro's diary is fast filling up with problems. First there's the ugliest bridesmaid's dress in the world, then there's her sick aunt's serious secret. But it's Rod McAllister, the handsome firefighter best man with attitude, who's melting her willpower and frazzling her nerves the most.

Can Flick survive being a bridesmaid for the eleventh time whilst falling for the groom's aide for real? And how will she cope when Rod needs a stand-in and she's promoted to top of the candidate list?

And if you enjoy Flick and Rod’s story - on February 14th my release from Embrace Books, Nanny Behaving Badly, will be launched. See www.judyjarvie.com for more information!

Thanks so much to Sarah for letting me drop by!