Thirty-year old Matthew Herrington is weary of solo nights in strange cities. He is ready for a change. And that is exactly what he gets when he steps into Swing Night at The Green Mill and is instantly immersed in the sights and sounds of another era. Intrigued by the club’s authenticity, Matthew is enchanted when he meets Patty, a mixture of sexy and sweet who steals his heart.
Patty Dennison has never met a man like Matthew in all her twenty-one years. A sophisticated man, he stands out from the usual Swing Night crowd. He is self-assured, smart, charming, and handsome as hell, even if he is a lousy dancer. Once he takes her in his arms, Patty is more than willing to give him a few dance lessons along with her heart.
Repeated missed dates and unanswered phone calls strain the relationship and frustrate the pair. But unraveling their mystery exposes an impossible scenario, one that will torment their sanity and test their love.
How can they make their fairytale last? Can love transcend time?
Thank you to Romance Novel Giveaway for hosting the blog tour for “Our Love is Here to Stay”. It’s great to be here and to share a quick anecdote about how this book came to be.
You may be surprised to learn that although I have published three Beguiling Bachelor novels and two short stories, this was in fact the first story I ever wanted to write.
Several years ago, when I was just considering writing my first romance, music-loving friends came to visit me in Chicago. My clever boyfriend, Michael, felt certain they would love a night at The Green Mill, a legendary Chicago jazz lounge (www.greenmilljazz.com). I had never been there, not being a jazz aficionado, but it was Swing Night, and Michael assured me that I would love it. He was right.
From the moment I entered the club I felt as if I had stepped back in time. The Green Mill was lovingly renovated to make me feel just that way. The music and dancers contributed to the feeling until it swamped me.
I loved the big band sound and the faux-radio broadcast to our servicemen overseas (circa 1940’s). A story began to form in my head; a story of someone like me, a product of modern times, stepping into that era and someone being stuck there.
We stayed through several sets, chatted with patrons dressed in 1950’s garb, fabulously talented swing dancers who were regulars, and just nice folks. Michael refused to dance, intimidated by the talent on the floor, but he promised to remedy that by our next visit to Swing Night.
Fast forward two years. Michael’s intimidation gave way to dance lessons and now the man can cut a rug. I got the story from my head to page in the form of “Our Love is Here to Stay”. It is an homage to the era, to the Green Mill, and to romance. I was able to play with the idea of modern times being thwarted inside the lounge in fun ways. New to time travel, it took me a while to develop an ending to truly satisfy my readers, but once I did, the book was born and thrived.
I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it.
You may be surprised to learn that although I have published three Beguiling Bachelor novels and two short stories, this was in fact the first story I ever wanted to write.
Several years ago, when I was just considering writing my first romance, music-loving friends came to visit me in Chicago. My clever boyfriend, Michael, felt certain they would love a night at The Green Mill, a legendary Chicago jazz lounge (www.greenmilljazz.com). I had never been there, not being a jazz aficionado, but it was Swing Night, and Michael assured me that I would love it. He was right.
From the moment I entered the club I felt as if I had stepped back in time. The Green Mill was lovingly renovated to make me feel just that way. The music and dancers contributed to the feeling until it swamped me.
I loved the big band sound and the faux-radio broadcast to our servicemen overseas (circa 1940’s). A story began to form in my head; a story of someone like me, a product of modern times, stepping into that era and someone being stuck there.
We stayed through several sets, chatted with patrons dressed in 1950’s garb, fabulously talented swing dancers who were regulars, and just nice folks. Michael refused to dance, intimidated by the talent on the floor, but he promised to remedy that by our next visit to Swing Night.
Fast forward two years. Michael’s intimidation gave way to dance lessons and now the man can cut a rug. I got the story from my head to page in the form of “Our Love is Here to Stay”. It is an homage to the era, to the Green Mill, and to romance. I was able to play with the idea of modern times being thwarted inside the lounge in fun ways. New to time travel, it took me a while to develop an ending to truly satisfy my readers, but once I did, the book was born and thrived.
I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it.
A waitress came to take it off his hands. “Another?” she queried and he nodded agreement, placing a crumpled dollar on her tray. “Too much,” she told him shaking her head no. Matthew was surprised by her response but the tray was covered with loose change so he removed his bill and left the equivalent in quarters. Everything was so inexpensive but the server still needed to make a decent living.
She gave him a grateful smile and turned to move to her next customer, carefully balancing her tray above the heads of the young people around her. In the process, she nudged Matthew slightly causing him to lose his footing and fall gently against another body. Turning to apologize he found himself staring into the clearest, lightest blue eyes he had ever seen. He couldn’t look away.
“Sorry,” he mumbled when he finally regained his composure.
“That’s okay,” she replied with a quick, bright smile. She was lovely, in a wholesome girl next door way. She had her blond hair pulled into a ponytail that curled like a hair product ad, clear-skinned cheeks that were pink with warmth and perhaps exertion, and a curvy body displayed under a bright red sweater and a flared plaid skirt.
Matthew felt his mouth go dry and his palms get sweaty. She did something to him, this fresh faced woman that he found incredibly sexy. Her red lipstick was a slash of bright color mimicking the red of the sweater. Until this moment, bright red lipstick screamed “tough broad, stay away” to Matthew but on this girl it whispered “come hither.”
“Matthew,” he squeaked out, extending his hand to shake hers. Thinking twice about it, he retracted his arm, running his palm against his pants swiftly, and hopefully surreptitiously, before he extended his hand again.
“Patty,” she responded, placing her soft fingers in his large palm. She shook like a girl. After all the bone-breaking handshakes Matthew had endured across the globe, this limp, fingers-only shake surprised him. She looked athletic, not tough but toned, and not sickly pale like most Chicagoans in winter. The handshake didn’t match the image and normally would have bothered him. Nothing about Patty bothered him. Everything about her bothered him.
She gave him a grateful smile and turned to move to her next customer, carefully balancing her tray above the heads of the young people around her. In the process, she nudged Matthew slightly causing him to lose his footing and fall gently against another body. Turning to apologize he found himself staring into the clearest, lightest blue eyes he had ever seen. He couldn’t look away.
“Sorry,” he mumbled when he finally regained his composure.
“That’s okay,” she replied with a quick, bright smile. She was lovely, in a wholesome girl next door way. She had her blond hair pulled into a ponytail that curled like a hair product ad, clear-skinned cheeks that were pink with warmth and perhaps exertion, and a curvy body displayed under a bright red sweater and a flared plaid skirt.
Matthew felt his mouth go dry and his palms get sweaty. She did something to him, this fresh faced woman that he found incredibly sexy. Her red lipstick was a slash of bright color mimicking the red of the sweater. Until this moment, bright red lipstick screamed “tough broad, stay away” to Matthew but on this girl it whispered “come hither.”
“Matthew,” he squeaked out, extending his hand to shake hers. Thinking twice about it, he retracted his arm, running his palm against his pants swiftly, and hopefully surreptitiously, before he extended his hand again.
“Patty,” she responded, placing her soft fingers in his large palm. She shook like a girl. After all the bone-breaking handshakes Matthew had endured across the globe, this limp, fingers-only shake surprised him. She looked athletic, not tough but toned, and not sickly pale like most Chicagoans in winter. The handshake didn’t match the image and normally would have bothered him. Nothing about Patty bothered him. Everything about her bothered him.
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Madison is the author of three novels in the Beguiling Bachelor series, as well as several short stories. She is a member of Romance Writers of America.
After living in the northeast, southeast and the west, Maddy returned to her Midwest roots. She lives in Evanston, IL with two feline editorial assistants and great views of Chicago’s famous skyline.
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Up for grabs:
Romance and TimeTravel Prize Package #1: Includes Books: Outlander, Time Traveler's Wife and Beyond the Highland Mist and DVDs: Somewhere in Time, The Lake House, the eBook Our Love Is Here To Stay.
Romance and TimeTravel Prize Package #2: One of the books above and 1 of the DVDs plus the eBook for Our Love Is Here To Stay.
Romance and TimeTravel Prize Package #3: One of the books above or one DVD plus the eBooks Our Love Is Here To Stay.
Looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteI might want to go back to the old west.
ReplyDeleteme i would go to the old west to see of the family i have done research on and then go to ireland
ReplyDelete