Isabel Neri’s innocence captures the attention of a well-known Italian marble mogul, Marc Santoro, when she approaches him against her family’s wishes. Wanting to honor her disgraced grandfather, Isabel needs Marc’s permission to produce a film about the Carrara marble industry.
Faced with honoring an old family obligation, Marc allows Isabel to travel to Italy with him but seeks to limit her exposure to his family’s tragic past. Isabel discovers the untold story and challenges Marc to reveal the truth. She is forced to expose her own secret as their desire sparks out of control.
♥ I spent three years re-writing Ruthless Perfection. The original title was Matchmaker. The hero’s aunt played a much larger role in the novel and was the ‘matchmaker’. After getting feedback, I decided that the concept took too much power away from the romance. It would have been fine to introduce the couple but in previous versions the aunt took over the story.
♥ In the original story, Isabel was a nurse hired to care for the aunt. Many of the scenes were in the hospital and the hero didn’t have enough of a role. I liked the healing aspects of being a nurse so I changed the idea and had Isabel change careers from nursing to filmmaking. I thought this was an interesting concept – taking a risk and leaving behind an established profession to develop her artistry. It was something she had in common with the hero in the story.
♥ I wrote the opening scene after traveling to Martha’s Vineyard. It’s a beautiful, remote place and I could easily imagine a reclusive, well-known business owner seeking anonymity there.
♥ I liked all the imagery around the marble. It is such a tangible, solid and beautiful element in the novel. By setting some of the novel in Carrara, there was the historical backdrop of the marble industry. There is inherent risk in dealing with marble and whoever worked in the industry had to be somewhat fearless and a risk-taker. I used these traits when imaging the hero and heroine that would inhabit this setting.
♥ The landscape in Carrara is simply breathtaking. It is also always changing and evolving. My hope for the main characters was that they would change and grow emotionally as well.
♥ In the original story, Isabel was a nurse hired to care for the aunt. Many of the scenes were in the hospital and the hero didn’t have enough of a role. I liked the healing aspects of being a nurse so I changed the idea and had Isabel change careers from nursing to filmmaking. I thought this was an interesting concept – taking a risk and leaving behind an established profession to develop her artistry. It was something she had in common with the hero in the story.
♥ I wrote the opening scene after traveling to Martha’s Vineyard. It’s a beautiful, remote place and I could easily imagine a reclusive, well-known business owner seeking anonymity there.
♥ I liked all the imagery around the marble. It is such a tangible, solid and beautiful element in the novel. By setting some of the novel in Carrara, there was the historical backdrop of the marble industry. There is inherent risk in dealing with marble and whoever worked in the industry had to be somewhat fearless and a risk-taker. I used these traits when imaging the hero and heroine that would inhabit this setting.
♥ The landscape in Carrara is simply breathtaking. It is also always changing and evolving. My hope for the main characters was that they would change and grow emotionally as well.
First Meeting
Isabel felt a moment of panic as she watched the driver make a swift exit. She carefully walked up the stone path that led to the front door, being careful not to catch her black Manolo Blahnik heels in the stones.
The front door swung open and Isabel felt the oxygen leave her body. She wasn’t prepared for seeing Marc Santoro in the flesh again. She could feel his gaze rake over her in appraisal, apparently sizing her up. He looked every inch the wealthy business owner: he was dressed in an expertly tailored gray shirt with slightly darker gray trousers that were pressed to exactness. He was even more striking than she remembered, and she reminded herself to just breathe and focus on her pitch.
It was his intensity that she responded to; he seemed to be absorbing everything about her. Isabel hid her expression as she acknowledged to herself that while he may appreciate her outward appearance, he wouldn’t appreciate her damaged body.
Would he remember meeting her before?
She forced herself to reach out and offer her hand. As his warm fingers enveloped hers, she felt a spark of attraction travel through her body. She immediately pulled back, but not before she saw his eyes darken.
He merely smiled at her reaction, saying, “So you are not just a figment of Alberto’s imagination.” Guiding her inside, he added, “I was beginning to doubt that the old man had any relatives interested in the marble trade.”
Isabel felt her spine stiffen. Was he questioning her family’s loyalty?
“My grandfather speaks very highly of you,” Isabel said as she took in the luxurious setting, trying to get her bearings.
His voice was cool and didn’t give her any clue if he welcomed her visit. “It isn’t often that Alberto Neri asks for a favor.”
Isabel felt a moment of panic as she watched the driver make a swift exit. She carefully walked up the stone path that led to the front door, being careful not to catch her black Manolo Blahnik heels in the stones.
The front door swung open and Isabel felt the oxygen leave her body. She wasn’t prepared for seeing Marc Santoro in the flesh again. She could feel his gaze rake over her in appraisal, apparently sizing her up. He looked every inch the wealthy business owner: he was dressed in an expertly tailored gray shirt with slightly darker gray trousers that were pressed to exactness. He was even more striking than she remembered, and she reminded herself to just breathe and focus on her pitch.
It was his intensity that she responded to; he seemed to be absorbing everything about her. Isabel hid her expression as she acknowledged to herself that while he may appreciate her outward appearance, he wouldn’t appreciate her damaged body.
Would he remember meeting her before?
She forced herself to reach out and offer her hand. As his warm fingers enveloped hers, she felt a spark of attraction travel through her body. She immediately pulled back, but not before she saw his eyes darken.
He merely smiled at her reaction, saying, “So you are not just a figment of Alberto’s imagination.” Guiding her inside, he added, “I was beginning to doubt that the old man had any relatives interested in the marble trade.”
Isabel felt her spine stiffen. Was he questioning her family’s loyalty?
“My grandfather speaks very highly of you,” Isabel said as she took in the luxurious setting, trying to get her bearings.
His voice was cool and didn’t give her any clue if he welcomed her visit. “It isn’t often that Alberto Neri asks for a favor.”
♥ Click on the cover for more info ♥
Susie Warren writes contemporary romance. Besides being an avid reader, she spends much of her free time crafting intense and complex stories about falling in love. When she is not writing, Susie works as an administrator in a small, independent school while caring for three teenagers and keeping tabs on her inventor husband. With the launching of her first book, The Forgotten Heiress, she has slowly begun to navigate the social media realm.
Susie loves to hear from readers and responds to each email and Facebook post. Please reach out to her via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susie-Warren/647556668647832 or Twitter @susiecwarren
For more information on her upcoming releases, new excerpts and other related postings, or to sign up for free promotions, please visit www.susiewarren.com
@susiecwarren @GoddessFish http://goo.gl/ha2VK3 pic.twitter.com/5Mkzd6jY44
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