Through the Roof
“Can you write another half-Latin guy, like Alejandro in MIDNIGHT TOUCH?” asked my editor, when she conceived MEN AT WORK (Harlequin Blaze, July 2007).
“Sure!” I said, despite the fact that I am not half-Latin myself. Heh, heh, heh. Another opportunity to observe my friend’s husband and his brothers, covertly, with a notebook. I can’t wait . . .
(I mention the observation and the notebook because I was once accused of not having the “credentials” to write a half-Vietnamese character. Huh? Does this mean I don’t have the credentials to write a male character, despite my lack of a fifth limb?)
“Alejandro was really hot,” my editor sighed. “And macho.”
Ben Delgado, the hero of Through the Roof, my story in MEN AT WORK, is also hot . . . and plenty macho. In fact, like Alejandro, his machismo trips him up and inspires him to break his engagement and screw up his future with the heroine, Marina Reston.
I love writing these testosterone-filled alpha males, because often what makes them so delicious is also their fatal flaw. They cannot have their quintessential manliness challenged.
I live near Miami, Florida now and it’s a great geographical location for researching hot, charming Latin men with international flair. We also have lots of hurricanes here, and I dreamed one up for the sole purpose of destroying poor Ben’s business. Hey, no problem, right? I mean, he’s engaged to one of the richest socialites in Miami. She can support him to the end of their days . . . NOT!
Because Ben’s got his pride and he refuses to live off of his wife. He won’t be an ‘aprovechado,’ or kept man. If he has no money, then he has no business marrying this very expensive woman. He simply can’t afford her.
Marina isn’t about to take this verdict lying down. When she’s not contemplating various cosmetic procedures or trying to resist the ice-cream her best friend chases her with, she’s got a few tricks up her designer sleeves . . . tricks that will bring Ben back to her.
First of all, she hires Colleen’s character in MEN AT WORK, private investigator Gina Keys, to track Ben down. And then Marina conspires with Cindi’s character, Samantha Delaney, to restore Ben’s fortunes.
The results are sexy, fun and quite entertaining—you’ll gain new respect for the deviousness of a woman in pursuit of her happiness!
MEN AT WORK is a great summer beach read, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Wishing you a daiquiri, a sunny beach and a hot construction worker of your very own,
Karen Kendall
