Dark Chocolate and Strawberries
What's a naughty fairy tale like Red Riding
Hood without Red,
the huntsman, grandma and especially,
the big bad wolf?
I'm happy to have Daryl Devore' at the Reading Room again! This book sounds fun, exotic and delicious!
Blurb
What's a naughty fairy tale like Red Riding Hood without Red, the
huntsman, grandma and especially, the big bad wolf?
Esmerelda 'Red' Hood is summoned to her mother's executive suite
only to learn her sweet granny is headed for a romantic cruise with a gigolo.
Horrified, Red races off to save her grandma before it's too late.
On board, Red meets Andrew Woodsman and Willem Olf. One a cutie
with the biggest puppy eyes and the other a dark, sophisticated predator. Her
grandmother's warning rings in Red's ear "Never trust a wolf in sheep's
clothing."
Even with the warning, Red has trouble choosing which man could be
the big bad wolf and which could be her happily ever after.
Note: This book was
previously published by New Dawning Bookfair under the title Sexy Red Hood.
Excerpt :
When the elevator doors slid open, Red
stepped into the hallway. Before her, the impressive glass and brass doors of
Hood's Chocolatier –the corporate offices of one of the country's largest
independent chocolate makers. She stepped through the doorway and marched
toward her cubicle.
Three steps from her destination, the
word, “Esmeralda!” broke the silence.
Caught! She sighed, formed a smile, and turned. “Yes, Mother?”
“Where have you been? I've called and
called.”
“I noticed. Six voice mails and fourteen
text messages. Nothing flagged urgent. You seem fine. I'm fine. So, what's the
big deal?” She frowned. What could be the problem? “Oh no, is it
Grandma?”
Her mother threw her hands up. “Yes!”
“What? What's wrong? Is she sick? She
didn't fall and break anything, did she?”
“She's driving me out of my mind.”
Red bit back the sentence – Oh happy
day – and instead managed to say, “What's she done now?”
“Not here. Come into my office.”
“Can I go put my coat and things—”
Hearing her mother's sigh of frustration,
Red surrendered then remembered that following her mother to her office would
mean passing by the office of Stanley Parkinson, VP of Sales. She stood a
little taller, pulled in her stomach and strode near his office then deflated
at the sight of his closed door.
Red had barely stepped into the office
marked R. Hood, when her mother pushed her aside and closed the door. “Your
grandmother has booked a stateroom on a cruise ship and is taking a man with
her.”
Sensing So what?? was the wrong
answer, Red let her mother vent whatever bothered her. This day could still be
saved. If her mother stayed focused on the crisis-of-the-moment she might
forget the weekly discussion of her love life.
“A man. Did you hear me?”
“Yes, Mother.” Red unbuttoned her coat,
dropped her gloves, scarf and onto the seat next to her then settled in the
brown leather chair in front of the desk. Her mother walked around and sat
behind her large, hand carved, oak desk. It provided an imposing barrier
between mother and daughter.
“I haven't told you this before, but your
grandmother's going through your grandfather's money faster than you can go
through a tub of maple walnut ice cream after a breakup.”
“Mom!”
Folding her immaculately manicured hands
and placing them on her desk, Red's mother looked up. “Your flight's at two.”
“Excuse me?”
“I've booked a flight to Miami and a
stateroom on The Emerald Forest.”
Red shook her head. “I can't afford a
stateroom on a junior accountant's salary.”
“The company is paying. I had my
secretary send everything to your cell. Now, you have no time to talk. Go home,
pack, find your passport and save your grandmother.”
Red's voice rose an octave, “Save my
grandmother? From what?”
R. Hood placed her fingers on her
forehead. “Save your grandmother from spending your inheritance on some gigolo.
Your grandfather built this company from nothing to a multi-million dollar
business. And he had to fight the big boys like Hersey and the Mars brothers to
do it.”
Red sighed. “I know the corporate story,
Mom. He started by making his chocolate in great grandma's kitchen and from
those humble beginnings—”
“Put you through Harvard Business
School,” snapped her mother.
“Only to be dumped in a junior accountant's
position.”
“We'll fight later. Now go. No. Wait.”
Red’s mother pressed an intercom button.
A disembodied voice responded. “Yes, Mrs.
Hood?”
“The box for my mother-in-law, where is
it?”
“I'll bring it right in, Mrs. Hood.” A
moment later, the door opened and Brittnee entered carrying a silver box. She
offered it to Mrs. Hood.
Robin pointed to her daughter. The
secretary handed the box to Red and left the office, closing the door behind
her. Red didn’t need to ask, she knew it was the box. It contained the new
samples for next year's line. Grandma Hood retained the right of final decision
on what chocolates were sold at Hood Chocolatier.
“Take those to your grandmother. A taste
of home might bring her to her senses.”
Red held back a frustrated sigh. She
didn't want to fly to Miami. If she was away, Katerina would jump at the chance
to sink her claws into Stanley. Her man, the stud, the gorgeous VP of Sales who
made her body swoon with desire whenever he walked by. The smell of his
aftershave made her undies wet. Once, she rode from the lobby to the sixth
floor with him and almost had an orgasm before the elevator doors opened. She
couldn't concede this hunk of a man to Katerina. But what could she do?
Her mother snapped her fingers. “Why are
you just sitting there? Go. Save your grandmother. Save your inheritance.”
Five Why Questions:
Why did you choose to write
a twisted fairy tale?
It was requested by my
former publisher. And I thought it might be fun.
Why do a twist to Little
Red Riding Hood?
It just popped into my head
as the fairy tale to choose. I’m not a plotter, but the plot was already set
out for this story. I added a few updates and a twist and ta-da Dark Chocolate
and Strawberries was written.
Why choose the title Dark
Chocolate and Strawberries?
This was originally
published under a different title which I never liked. There is a scene and an
implied scene in the book that uses melted dark chocolate and strawberries. I
like connecting my titles to my books, so I used that.
Why Esmerelda as a name for
your heroine?
Total and complete honesty
– absolutely no idea. It’s the name that popped into my head. Obviously, she
goes by the name Red, but she needed a “real” name and Esmerelda was what my
muse offered.
Why haven’t you written
another twisted fairy tale?
I just haven’t gotten
around to it. I was thinking, since Dark Chocolate and Strawberries is novella
length, that I might write a few more and bundle them together. But since
procrastination is my middle name, we’ll see if I ever get it done.
Bio and Where to find Daryl
Devoré
Two writers in one. Daryl Devoré writes hot romances with sexy
heroes and strong heroines. Victoria Adams is Daryl Devoré's alter ego when
she's inspired to write sweet romances with little to no heat.
Daryl (@daryldevore)
lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, a large salt
water aquarium full of fish, a black cat named Licorice and some house ghosts.
Her daughter is grown and has flown the nest. Daryl loves to take long walks on
her quiet country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer,
kayak along the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a moon rock, a mammoth, and
a meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over
Niagara Falls in a helicopter, and used the ladies room in a royal palace.
Life’s an adventure and Daryl’s having fun living it.
