Today
it’s my pleasure to welcome author M.C. Vaughan to Thoughts in Progress to talk
about her recent release, CASTING HER CRUSH, the fourth
installment in her The Charm City Hearts series.
Romance
with a co-worker is a terrible idea…unless he was the star of your teenaged
fantasies.
As
a teenager, MELINDA COLE underwent life-saving heart surgery. Ever since, the
hyper-efficient stage manager has no patience for wasting time. She devotes
herself to what matters most—her friends, her parents, and her job. Once upon a
time, her boyfriend had a spot on that list. Then he broke up with her out of
nowhere. So now? She's diving deep into her work at Baltimore's cutting-edge
theater company, with an eye on becoming a director by next season.
MAX
CAMERON spent his teen years as the heartthrob star of the number one family
sitcom in the U.S. But now, years after his wild child lifestyle ended, he'd be
lucky to score a spot on bad reality television. To reinvigorate his career,
Max and his cameraman buddy have cooked up an idea they hope will turn viral.
At the height of his popularity, he’d visited his number one fan as part of the
Grant-a-Wish program. Dropping in on her today would be ratings gold.
Melinda
has zero idea why Max Cameron, star of her teenage fantasies, has crashed her
theater’s auditions. Or why he’s bearing flowers, a cameraman, and his
trademark platinum smile. Before she can ask, the theater's producer sees a
stunt casting opportunity. Her boss cuts her a deal—if Melinda convinces Max to
take the lead and coaches him to a Bard-worthy performance, then a directorship
is hers. Challenge accepted, but she must keep her crush on lock. No one would
take her seriously again if she fell for the leading man.
CASTING HER CRUSH can be found at the following links:
Now
join me in giving a warm welcome to M.C. who joins us for a little insight into
her book. Welcome, M.C.
How
the book and series came to be, a little about me, and a little about the
series:
Aside
from my college years, I’ve lived in Baltimore since I was born. This quirky
city has inspired tons of television and movies, but zero romance novels that I
could find. It’s the perfect backdrop for romance—small town feel, bustling
downtown, a vibrant arts community, a picturesque waterfront, money-soaked
families that have been a part of Baltimore society since the founding of the
city. Thus, the Charm City Hearts series was born.
My
romances are always inspired by a meet-cute that pops into my head that makes
me giggle. For Casting Her Crush, I asked myself… What if you found
yourself working with the celebrity you had a giant crush on as a teenager? And
what if acting on that crush could land you in hot water, professionally? Why
would a nationally famous teen heartthrob find himself in Baltimore as an
adult? Answering those questions was a ton of fun, and eventually spun itself
into a novel.
Did
the pandemic affect your writing/publishing?
The
pandemic had a huge impact on my writing. Our worlds changed on a dime. One
day we were going to offices, school, sports, activities, and then… We weren’t.
All members of my family were home, hunkering down to combat a virus or questing
for hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Adhering to a writing became increasingly
difficult. Even if I wasn’t suddenly fielding dozens of school emails and
providing tech support to my family, the grind of constant worry made it tough
to get into the right headspace for romance.
For
my sanity, though, I needed to find a way to control something. So,
every morning before the rest of my crew stirred, I’d crawl out of bed to sit
with my fantasy world. Soon, Casting Her Crush became my happy,
pandemic-less escape. My characters went to their favorite restaurants, traveled,
performed in a theater, held hands (and more! wink). This productivity
didn’t happen overnight, and I ended up requesting a three-month extension from
my publisher. Graciously, they agreed. I’m so happy they did, because it
allowed me the chance to tell Melinda’s and Max’s story with the all the swoony
heart it deserves.
M.C.,
thanks for sharing this understanding of how your book came about. I’m glad you
were able to tell the story of Melinda and Max.
Meet
the Author: M.C. Vaughan
M.C. Vaughan is a Baltimore-based author of contemporary romance riddled with humor and local flavor. So, if you want to giggle throughout your sexy stories, welcome! You’ll root for her characters as they fall for their perfect people...and simultaneously want to throttle them for being big dummies about love.
She
grew up in a house crowded with family, friends, books, music, and the
occasional ghost. After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in
English literature (and an unofficial major in student- run theatre), she
worked in sports marketing, higher education, toy production, and software
development.
Currently,
she lives in Maryland with her husband and three delightful kids.
For more on the author and her writing, you can connect with her on the following links:
Thank
so much for stopping by today. Be sure to keep a check back later this month
when I share my thoughts on this fascinating story.
In
my early 20s I was a huge fan of a very popular soap opera and had the good
fortune to meet one of the handsome leading actors. We passed each other in a
hallway, spoke for a few minutes, took a photo of him and the next week I was
sneezing my head off like he had been. LOL Now, have you ever been able to meet
the heart throb of your teenage (or older) fantasies?
Thank you both. I really appreciate being invited into writer's heads and routines.
ReplyDeleteI do like learning how authors do what they do. And the story sounds like a fine romance, too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete