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black romance, Buying Love, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, contemporary romance, excerpt from Buying Love, Toni Shiloh
Today Wednesday Writers welcomes Toni Shiloh to the blog with a post and an excerpt about her contemporary romance Buying Love. Without further ado, here’s Toni.
Hello, readers! Today I wanted to talk a little about the setting of my latest release, Buying Love. The book takes place in the fictional town of Maple Run, Virginia, which is in the western part of Loudoun County. The place has a lot of open land, trees that change with the season, and a friendly community. I envisioned the place as a small town where the locals know one another, look out for one another, and have fun with one another. My heroine grew up as an orphan so her view on life is a little skewed as well as isolated. So I made sure to throw in a family in a small-town setting so that she could experience another way of life.
After all, isn’t that what we all hope to experience when delving into a book? A new place, new people to fall in love with, and a book that will entertain and mark our life in some way. Creating a fictional town was the easiest way for me to do so. I created important locations like their home and place of business. In other books, I’ll show more places in the quaint town of Maple Run and of course, bring everyone back to my hero’s restaurant, The Maple Pit.
Have you ever lived in a small town? If so, what’s your favorite aspect of small town living?
Thanks, Toni. I think small towns are fun to read about. They can have a lot of quirkiness that makes books interesting. Let’s take a look at the blurb and excerpt from Buying Love.
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Buying Love
By Toni Shiloh
Will money ruin everything?
Nina Warrenton is ready for the next step in her life plan—marriage, but there is one problem. No one has proposed! Taking matters into her hand, she places an ad in the newspaper hoping to entice a willing stranger. But when she begins to fall for the small-town chef, she realizes how much she wants him to love her and not her money.
Dwight Williams needs fast cash to save the family restaurant. When he sees Nina’s monetary offer for a husband, he goes for it. He’s determined to save the legacy his dad left him, but can he let it go to prove his love for her?
Can Nina and Dwight find true love, once money has entered the equation?
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Nina Warrenton checked her watch for the umpteenth time. He was late. On the one hand, she was thankful; on the other, she was annoyed. Who makes an appointment and shows up late? Granted living in the D.C. Metro area guaranteed multiple opportunities to be late, but she made an effort to arrive on time to any appointment. Too bad the unknown Mr. Williams didn’t hold the same virtue.
She sighed. Had she acted prematurely? Putting an ad for a husband was a little archaic, but she believed it would get the job done. However, none of the previous candidates had panned out. One man had been released from prison a couple of months ago. Another had answered her ad with the hope of moving out of his mother’s place. Still, another had answered her ad because the voices in his head had prompted him to. She shook her head.
Maybe the fact that Mr. Williams was missing was God showing her he wasn’t the one. Maybe he was prematurely balding or had the personality of wilted lettuce. Of course, she had prayed that God would send her the right man, but there was no guarantee He would acquiesce to her request.
She tapped her pen on the table and looked around the room. The coffee shop was filled with D.C. metropolitans ready to embrace the autumn air. It was a gorgeous day with a light breeze and the preferred seventies temperature. Was it possible that Mr. Williams was already here and hiding behind a coffee mug or laptop, to secretly get a first impression without her noticing? She peeked around the shop, but she was the only one alone.
She glanced at her watch again. He was only five minutes late. Maybe he took the metro and it was running behind. On the other hand, maybe he drove and couldn’t find a parking spot. The sound of her pen hitting the table seemed to mark the seconds. She knew this part of D.C. wasn’t filled with ample parking, but she wasn’t ready to excuse him yet. Her place was a block away and she had made the journey in no time.
She glanced down at her aqua journal to review her notes about the man in question. He had filled out the questionnaire she had sent when he contacted her about the ad. She knew he was a few years older than herself and lived in Loudoun County, a suburb in Northern Virginia. Coming from that direction, he probably was stuck in traffic.
She really wasn’t that obsessed with time. However, he was the third candidate she planned on meeting face-to-face. Third time was the charm, right? If so, why wasn’t he here? Why hadn’t Prince Charming swept her off her feet? Shouldn’t she be the one making him wait?
She glanced up at the tinkle of the door chime. She inhaled sharply. In strode a man, wearing a sweater that matched the color of her notebook, a white-collared shirt peeking above his collar and hanging past the sweater’s edge. His maple-brown sugar skin reminded her of her favorite body scrub. He was gorgeous.
Want to read more? You can find Toni’s book at http://amzn.to/2deXj91 and www.celebratelitpublishing.com/shop
About the Author
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. She spends her days hanging out with her husband and their two boys. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the local Virginia Chapter.
Contact Toni at her Website: http://tonishiloh.weebly.com ; Facebook: www.facebook.com/authortonishiloh ; Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116452363653059921235/posts ; Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tonishiloh ; Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/tonishiloh ; Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/toni-shiloh ; Blogs I’m a part of: http://puttingonthenew.com ; http://heartwingsblog.com
Catherine Castle 