Contemporary

Interview: Zanna Mackenzie author of If You Only Knew @ZannaMacKenzie #RLFblog #contemporary

If You Only Knew 
Genre: chicklit / contemporary romance
Author: Zanna Mackenzie
Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG

Interview with Zanna Mackenzie

Why did you write this
book?
The characters popped into my head and wouldn’t shut up! I had
lots of ideas and scenes in my head for If You Only Knew and I knew I just had to
tell the story.
What is your favorite
genre to read?
I would say it is mostly chicklit / contemporary romance though
I have read some thrillers.
What is your favorite
character from fiction (not including your own characters)?
I loved Becky Bloomwood from Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series
and also Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. In some ways I think they’re
similar – they both have a mischievous side which endears me to them.
Do you enjoy films and/or
TV shows? Which are your favorites?
Yes, I love films and TV and have quite varied tastes. My favourite
film is probably The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, it’s a fantasy,
thriller, romance and I think the chemistry between the two main characters really
fizzes. With TV programmes I like all sorts, from period dramas to science and nature
programmes. I’m very keen on series like Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Parenthood, Gilmore Girls and Once
Upon A Time.
What are you working on
at the moment, and what are we likely to see from you in the coming months?
My next book (my third novel) is launched on February 7th
and is called If You Only Knew. I have another two books planned and partly written
so I’m loving working on those again. They’re both in the chicklit/contemporary
romance genre. One looks at the downsides of dating someone famous and the other
has a mystery feel to it when the main female character finds herself having to
investigate her family history to find answers to questions about her future.
Please tell us about your
latest book.
Would you have the courage to feel the fear and fall in love
anyway…?
Faith owns The Coffee Pot in the outdoor adventure sports mecca
of Derbyshire’s Peak District. She hasn’t had a man in her life for a while, as
she has been too busy serving cakes to weary rock climbers and mountain bikers to
find time for the complications of a relationship with the male of the species.
Then Zane and Matt arrive on the scene as the new owners of the
Carrdale Adventure Sports Centre.
Dating Zane, she soon discovers he’s not the Mr Perfect she thought
he was; and why is he so reluctant to talk about his past?
As for Matt – well, to Faith he isn’t Matt at all because he
was a completely different person when he broke her heart all those years ago.
With her new boyfriend and her first love running Carrdale as
business partners – Matt out to cause trouble and Zane keeping secrets – Faith struggles
to keep the peace between them whilst trying to figure out how she feels about the
two men in her life…

Excerpt

This couldn’t be happening.
Zane had said his business partner
was called Matt. She was sure of it. Yes, he’d definitely just introduced him as
Matt. But the man standing before her wasn’t Matt.
It was Aaron.
Faith wiped her hands on a tea–towel.
She wanted to speak, but couldn’t get her brain into gear enough to make her mouth
form the words.
She’d thought Aaron was gone from
her life.
It looked as though she was wrong.
She took a step back, wrapping her
arms around herself. Suddenly she felt cold and shaky. Aaron was back? This was
impossible.
Yet here he was, standing in her kitchen.
She felt dizzy and light-headed.
How should she react? Should she admit
they knew each other? Why had Aaron changed his name to Matt anyway? Would he prefer
it if the fact they knew each other was kept quiet?
But she knew she couldn’t keep something
like that from Zane.
As she debated what to say and do
next, the room remained awkwardly silent. Zane was looking at her questioningly.
What should she say?
Come on, think, woman. Think.
Too late. Aaron spoke first.
“Faith, it’s amazing to see you
again after all these years.”
OK. So he didn’t want to keep it a
secret that they already knew each other.
“Aaron,” she managed to
say. “This is a bit of a shock.”
“That’s an understatement,”
Matt said, stepping forward to pull her into a hug.
“Hang on a second,” Zane
said, pushing into the room. “Aaron? That’s your proper name isn’t it?”
He raised enquiring eyebrows at Matt. “What’s going on? You two already know
each other?”

Buy This Book

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/You-Only-Knew-Zanna-Mackenzie-ebook/dp/B00I72RU9W
Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Only-Knew-Zanna-Mackenzie-ebook/dp/B00I72RU9W/

Author Bio

Zanna Mackenzie lives on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border
with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and
an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read. Being a freelance writer
and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity,
she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working
on.
She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds
of their own and start deviating from the original plot!
If You Only Knew is Zanna’s third novel; her previous books,
The Love Programme, and How Do You Spell Love? were both published in 2013.

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