Interview with Kim Findlay, author of A Valentine's Propsal with #Giveaway -

Welcome to the blog tour for A Valentine’s Proposal by Kim Findlay! I found this book to be a cute start to a new series and am looking forward to reading more! My whole book review is over at Andi’s Book Reviews. But here, today, you can read an interview with the author! Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour as well. Best of luck entering the awesome giveaway!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

A Valetine’s Proposal
(Cupid’s Crossing #1)
By Kim Findlay
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 227 Pages
February 1, 2021 by Harelquin Heartwarming

Their engagement is pretend
Cupid has other plans…

Wedding planner Mariah Van Delton has a plan to save the charming small town of Carter’s Crossing—by turning it into a romance destination! All Mariah needs is a very public Valentine’s Day proposal. And her only option? A fake one between her and the handsome town veterinarian and wedding hater, Nelson Carter. But a little charade between adversaries might just be the start of something undeniably real…

Meet the author and her book:

1.) What was the inspiration for this book?

The editors at Harlequin Heartwarming were looking for books set in a small town, but not a beach town. I grew up in Eastern Ontario, just across the St. Lawrence River from New York state. It was easy for me to imagine a small town in that area, where I had been often. They also wanted stories connected to holidays, and with low angst. Somehow, my brain put these things together and created a lumber town, the mill now closed, needing to find a new business model to keep people employed and invested in their town. What if there was a woman who’d been running the mill, and she considered making the town a wedding destination? What if an old college boyfriend had experience in event planning, and maybe sent his granddaughter to help? What if the granddaughter expanded the vision to include all things connected to romance? And what if the mill owner’s grandson was completely opposed to wedding planners, having been a groomzilla himself? That gave me the first book, with two more following the transformation of the town.

2.) Will we ever see these characters again?

Definitely! This year there will be three books published in the Cupid’s Crossing series. Abigail Carter, the town matriarch, reacquaints herself with her former college boyfriend over the course of the three books. Mariah, the heroine of A Valentine’s Proposal, continues to lead the town’s conversion from the mill town Carter’s Crossing to the romance destination Cupid’s Crossing over the series. And Rachel, a secondary character in A Valentine’s Proposal is the lead character in the second book, A Fourth of July Proposal. Nelson pops up occasionally, and secondary characters Jaycee and Dave among others will also be part of the series.

3.) To which character did you relate the most?

This is a difficult question! I don’t try to write myself, but parts of me, and people I know, show up in these characters. I dreamed of being a veterinarian for years, like Nelson, and I’ve always been a horse lover. I live on a sailboat, like Mariah did as she was growing up. Like her, I’ve always been a list person. But the character I probably relate to the best is Rachel. A people pleasing good girl? That’s me.

4.) What was one of your favorite scenes?

I like the scene where Mariah tells Nelson they need to practice kissing, so that if they do it in public, it will go smoothly. Nelson takes that as a challenge, and then…the kiss is so much more than he expected! I also love the sleigh scene. Nelson finds himself at a loss for words when he wants to express his real feelings. I feel it when someone confident loses their swagger when love comes along. And I like the scenes with the horses…I liked a lot about this book, which is good, because edits felt like they lasted forever.

5.) So you now live on a sailboat in the Caribbean. How did that come to be and what is it like?

This is all down to my spouse. It was his dream to be a liveaboard cruiser. Mine was to write. So he suggested we take our boat for a year, sail south to the Caribbean, and find out if we liked it. The carrot for me to agree was that I would have time to write. After that first season, we returned to Canada, sold our home and our boat, and bought a bigger boat. In other words, we liked it. And since I signed contracts for six (!) books in 2020, I think I’d call it a success.

Living on the boat is a version of tiny house living, with a house that moves. We anchor offshore and use a dinghy to go to land and normally walk to stores and restaurants. Things are always breaking on a boat, so there’s a lot of time spent fixing, getting supplies, and doing simple things like making water and power (we mostly use solar). It has been a great place to wait out a pandemic, since cases are low in the islands we’ve been at, and we are mostly social distanced in our regular lives. I’ve missed seeing family and hope with the distribution of vaccines to be able to get home to see people soon.

6.) You have accomplished so many of your dreams. What do you see coming up in your future?

I’ve been incredibly fortunate, I know, and try to remember not to take this for granted. I want to keep writing, definitely. Having people enjoy the books I’m writing is always the best thing. Depending on how things go with Covid and borders opening, we might sail to Europe in the spring. I’ve never been, so that would be another item ticked off my bucket list. And not too soon, but it’s coming, having grandkids.

About the Author

Kim Findlay lives in Toronto, Canada, with her very handsome husband, two strapping sons, and possibly the world’s cutest spaniel. When she can get time away from her accounting business, Kim can be found traveling, sailing, reading, or writing, depending on the season, time of day, and her energy level. You can find her at kimfindlay.ca, @missheyer74, or on Facebook.

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