Title: A Neapolitan Fairy Tale at Lake Okoboji
Author: Paula Benge
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Book Blurb:
A budding romance set in a simple ice cream parlor—owned by fairies. Twenty-seven-year-old workaholic Georgiana Bennet lost her sense of taste in an accident. When she arrives at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, looking for a cure she meets Michal, the handsome co-owner of the Lucky Star Ice Cream Bar, and his three eccentric partners. The three women weave their way into Georgiana's world as she finds herself spending days in the sun and evenings under the stars with Michal. But when she sees fairy wings on her new female friends, it changes her forever.
The fairies manipulate Georgiana's life, including her love life, until she makes a decision that complicates everything.
Excerpt:
Through the gray sheets of rain she fled, passing suspended seagulls, flapping their wings futilely against the wind. She flinched, refusing to look at any more wings. She drove the boat on and on. At the final turn to her dock, she shielded her eyes and managed to park without wrecking. She tied it off and clambered out. Tree tops thrashed above her as, head down, she forged up the lawn, feeling assaulted from the inside out and wanting only to be out of the rain and to forget what she’d seen. Then she raised her head.
Michal was standing on the porch.
Her breath caught in her throat. He held out a hand to calm her. “It’s me, Georgiana. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“How did you get here?” She covered her mouth with horror. “Did you fly?”
He blinked. “Me? No.” He gestured behind to the driveway. “I drove.”
How was she to know what to believe? She glanced back at the raging lake. There was nowhere to run. Lifting her chin, she stood as tall as she could. “I’m leaving.”
“I assumed so,” he said. “I even understand. But would you give me a chance to explain first?”
“No.” She edged around him, digging for her key. When she pulled it out, it was slippery and wet, and she instinctively brushed it against her skirt. If anything, it picked up more water.
Michal patted his pockets as if searching for something dry to give her. Then he wilted in defeat, and his hands dropped. “Please don’t leave yet,” he said. “I’m offering you the truth.”
Something in his voice stopped her. He looked miserable. Her innate curiosity overtook her fear. She realized that she needed to find out whether she’d actually seen wings or it would drive her crazy. His curls were flat and dripping. Water slid down his temple. She sighed. She’d listen, but as soon as he was through, she’d toss all of her stuff in the car and get the heck out of Dodge. And she wasn’t changing her mind.
Inside the mudroom, he reached into a cabinet that she hadn’t noticed and handed her a beach towel. She glared at him, though it was pointless. It was his condo, after all.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, and, with as much dignity as she could muster while half drowned, climbed the stairs.
She came back in sweats and a t-shirt, hair still dripping, to find that he’d made coffee and cleaned the puddles by the door. Her heart hurt to look at him. Well, this is why she didn’t date. Just when you thought you’d met an amazing person, you discovered his relatives had... no, she wouldn’t think it.
“Would you like to sit in the living room?” he asked quietly, handing her a mug.
In answer, she pulled out a kitchen chair and settled at the table, one leg tucked under her on the seat. Rain strafed the window. She kept the warm porcelain between her outstretched palms. Michal sat and wiped a hand down his face.
“Okay,” he said, leveling his gaze at her. “My granny is a fairy.”
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If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
I think I would dress up as Good News, somehow. 2020 has been scary enough, it would be nice to put a smile on someone’s face instead. lol.
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
What intrigued me about writing this story was the fictitious University of Okoboji. It’s a big deal to Lake Okoboji fans—I mean there are t-shirts and mascots and athletic team records. The Three Sons store has taken this to the level that now they have University 5k’s and other events to raise money for charity. I thought that was awesome! Then I had to wonder who would teach in a mythical university and that’s how the fairies came to be. But once I imagined having fairies for family, I could see so many complications. And it was fun to meet Georgiana and Michal and watch them fall for each other as they dealt with the fairies. This novella is part of the Wild Rose Press #OneScoopOrTwo series that are romances set in ice cream shops near a lake or ocean. Summer vibes, romance, and ice cream. What’s not to love?
Giveaway:
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Open internationally
Runs October 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on November 1.
Author Biography:
Paula Benge is the author of the short, romantic fantasy A Neapolitan Fairy Tale at Lake Okoboji, part of the Wild Rose Press #OneScoopOrTwo series. She has also written an award-winning contemporary YA that is coming soon. She is drawn to ordinary female characters who, once thrown into unusual circumstances, prove that they were never ordinary. She is a personal trainer when not writing and lives in Oklahoma with her husband.
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