Читать книгу Tempting the Negotiator - Zana Bell - Страница 3

Dear Reader,

This book was conceived in friendship. I grew up in Zimbabwe with my two best friends. We laughed and squabbled and shared all through our childhood and teenage years. Now one lives in Houston, the other in Tulsa and I’m in New Zealand.

I want to write books that link our lives. This story is the first of hopefully many where Americans and Kiwis meet and fall in love—and encounter many obstacles, misunderstandings and adventures along the way.

Having always been a fan of Westerns, visiting Texas was a dream come true, and I was sure I could detect cowboy DNA in those long-legged men and women with their slow, lilting voices. I was especially touched by Texan warmth and generosity. Sass, my heroine, has the same mixture of intelligence, Southern charm and underlying resilience that I encountered there.

Sparks often fly when people from different countries meet. It’s not always comfortable, but it is always vivid. I wanted to capture that flare when Sass first confronts Jake, a big wave surfer and typically laconic Kiwi male. Going to another country is also unbalancing and it’s good for my headstrong heroine to have her world tilted—especially as she’s busy turning Jake’s completely upside down.

I had lots of fun writing this U.S./N.Z. book—checking out what makes us different, what makes us the same. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Zana Bell

P.S. I love to hear from readers, so visit me at

www.zanabell.com.

P.P.S. And yes, N.Z. truly is fairy-tale beautiful. Even after living here for many years, it still takes my breath away.