1. I hear you have a cat in your Book Nirvana series. Tell us about the series.
As a lifelong bookworm, how could I not want to write a romance series set in a quirky bookshop? Of course, the fascinating women who work there provide a cast of heroines for the series. And as a lover of erotic literature and art, I had so much fun researching the books Clara Martelli, widowed owner of Eugene, Oregon’s Book Nirvana, keeps in a luxurious little room behind a red door. I didn’t invent any artists or writers—every name mentioned in the book is worth Googling if you’d like to see the racy pictures for yourself!
Blurb for Book Nirvana 1: Through the Red Door:
Letting him inside could be her salvation…or her undoing.
Clara Martelli clings to Book Nirvana, the Oregon bookshop she and her late husband Jared built together. When rising rents and corporate competition threaten its survival, her best hope is their extensive erotica collection, locked behind a red door. In dreams and signs, her dead husband tells her it’s time to open that door and move on. When a dark and handsome stranger’s powerful magnetism jolts her back to life and he wants a look at the treasures of that secret room, she can’t help but want to show him more.
Professor Nick Papadopoulos is looking for historical erotica. Book Nirvana’s collection surpasses his wildest dreams, and so does its lovely owner. A widower, he understands Clara’s battle with guilt, but their searing chemistry is too strong to resist. Besides, he will only be in town for two weeks, not long enough for her to see beyond the scandal that haunts his past.
Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/bxnz0P
Blurb for Book Nirvana 2: Runaway Love Story:
Fierce passion or long-cherished dreams…she can’t hang onto both.
High school history teacher Doug Garvey is trying to enjoy his last few weeks of summer vacation, but receiving his final divorce decree hits him harder than expected. After a brief fling fizzles, he fears love just isn’t in the cards for him. If only he could find someone who’s real, someone interested in something beyond herself…maybe a new running partner who can keep up with his more carnal appetite. When sexy, straight-talking Laurel runs across his path, he dares to hope again.
Fired from an art gallery, Laurel Jepsen shelves her pursuit of an art career in San Francisco to help her beloved great aunt Maxie move into assisted living. While out on a morning run, she’s harassed by a group of teens until a tall, broad-shouldered hottie steps in, pretending to be her boyfriend with a kiss that makes her wish it were true. But she’s only passing through, not looking for a relationship.
Their fierce chemistry burns up the sheets—and the couch, the shower, the forest—but falling in love would ruin everything. Laurel can’t stay in Eugene, and he can’t leave. Doug’s only hope is to convince her the glittery life she’s after could blind her to the opportunities already in her path.
Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/mqrGQe
Blurb for Book Nirvana 3: Love, Art, and Other Obstacles:
She’s a free spirit. He’s a one-woman man.
Rejected by her family for her bisexuality, graphic artist Margot DuPont yearns for a life with no fences, no limits, and no family ties. Between college, work at Book Nirvana, and an art competition, she barely has time for her part-time girlfriend, much less a flirtation with her competitor.
Dumped into the foster system at a young age, ceramics artist Elmer Byrne craves a big, loving family of the heart. His artist family almost fills that need, but something is missing…until Margot. But when he offers his heart, her thorny defenses shatter him.
Thrown together in an art competition that could jump-start one artist’s career, but not both, their irresistible attraction forces them to reconsider the meaning of success.
Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/bar2RP
2. Why did you add a cat to these books?
King’s Books’ Herbert
Alas, I have no pets at the moment, though I do spend lots of time with my granddogs, a pair of long-haired miniature dachshunds named Elle and Mila. I love both dogs and cats, along with fish and birds. I’ve had Westies, a shepherd mix, a bitey cat, a ginormous pair of mated Oscar fish, a pair of zebra finches named Fred and Wilma, and a lovely Mexican red knee tarantula named Lucretia—because, you know, poisonous lady.
I’ve met quite a few bookshop cats over the years, and my favorite is Herbert, a huge, friendly floof who greets customers at Tacoma, Washington’s King’s Books—when he’s not snoozing on the book displays.
3. What other books have you written?
All my books so far are steamy contemporary romance set in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. If you like your romance on the spicy side with lots of humor and a bit of family drama, check out my Bangers Tavern Romance series, set in a neighborhood bar in my former hometown of Tacoma. I’m writing book four now.
4. Tell us about your kudos.
I’ve won a few awards, including the 2020 IDA award for Best Erotic Romance Novel for Love, Art, and Other Obstacles and Best Erotic Short for Gelato Surprise, a standalone older woman/younger man beach romance novella. Runaway Love Story was a finalist for the Stiletto Award for Contemporary Romance, and Christmas Rekindled was a Rone Award finalist.
5. How do you promote your books?
I spend far too much time on social media, so you’ll find me pushing my books on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
6. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?
I’d love to hear from you! Please visit me on all the socials:
Author website: https://sadirastone.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadirastone/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SadiraStone
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18568049.Sadira_Stone
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sadira-stone
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Sadira-Stone/e/B07KWK5FBX
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sadira0641/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadirastone/
Author newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/q7x4c6
Sign up for Sadira’s newsletter and get a FREE steamy seasoned romance novella: Cupid’s Silver Spark: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/43zaw5wntq
Thanks so much for letting me visit today!
From Marcia: Thank you, Sadira, for being my May interviewee! I love discovering romances that feature pets, so I look forward to reading your books!
MONTHLY BLOG EBOOK CONTEST! Would you like to win a Marcia James’ ebook? Visitors to this pro-pet blog can join in the fun, comment, and/or share photos of their pets for a chance to win one of my ebooks! Each month, I’ll randomly pick one commenter to win. To leave a comment and/or a photo, click on the word “Reply,” which is just below the social media icons for THIS interview. (Don’t scroll past this interview to the next interview.) Go Pets!
Golden North
I have published eight books. Golden North is second in the Dangerous Times series along with Silver Screen Heroes, and Bronze Skies. Most of my books are historical, but I do have a woman’s fiction set from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Bronze Skies blurb:
Yes, I do! This is a sweet series weaving pet rescue and adoption into the love story. Rescue Road is the first novel, about a woman (Rhiann) who moves to Montana from Washington state to set up an animal rescue sanctuary. She meets EMS captain Levi Butler, who claims the land Rhiann purchased belongs to him. Enter another person who desires the property, and you have a bit of drama mixed into the story. The book is available in both paperback and e-book formats on Amazon and other platforms:
Other books follow Rhiann and Levi, including a Christmas novella published last year. Paws-ing for Love also brings in some drama as Rhiann experiences a significant health issue and the community of Colter, Montana, where Rhiann and Levi live, experiences the loss of a special community member. Rescue dogs and cats are part of the story as well. Readers can find Paws-ing for Love on Amazon and other platforms, again either in paperback or e-book format.
Blurb for Mermaids Marry in Green:
Blurb for A Merman’s Choice, book 1 in the “Sea of Love” series:
Blurb for Music for a Merman, book 2 in the “Sea of Love” series:
In Bishop Takes Knight (“Redclaw Origins” book 1), we meet former socialite Henrietta (“Rhett”) Bishop as she struggles to find work with her unusual skill set. A misread address and her own pluck win her a job at Redclaw Security, but the new job isn’t what it seems. Mechanical devices seem to have a mind of their own, and Rhett’s new co-workers are a little strange. When she takes down a dangerous intruder in the office, Rhett gets promoted to field agent—and is let in on the secret: Redclaw Security is an elite paranormal agency that investigates matters in the hidden shifter world. One of the unit’s primary functions is to collect a series of mysterious, powerful artifacts and remove them from of the public sector.
The adventures continue in Bishop’s Gambit, when Rhett and Peter pose as a married couple in a posh 1950s suburban community while investigating a series of deadly paranormal events. After the debacle of their first mission, Rhett has a lot to prove to Redclaw and seeks to carry out her assignment without the distraction of a budding relationship with Peter Knight.
As I mentioned earlier, Bishop and Knight have a real Nick and Nora vibe with their banter as they solve cases, and that alone made me want to include a spunky little dog to the series. But I also inherited Captain, my mother’s little JRT, when she died, and I’ve fallen completely in love with him! I’d never had a small dog before—all my other dogs are German Shepherds. I was worried Captain wouldn’t fit well into our household at first. But he was the BEST addition ever. He meshed in with our family as though he’d always been a part of it: sleeping with the cats, playfighting with the big dogs, and worming his way onto our bed and into our hearts. When I decided to give Rhett a little dog in the “Redclaw Origins” series, I knew Captain was perfect for the role.
’ve also recently begun writing a series of small-town cozy mysteries (so far, nothing paranormal!) under the name M. K. Dean, featuring house-call veterinarian/amateur sleuth Ginny Reese and her trusty German Shepherd, Remington. I am having a LOT of fun with this series, and there are lots of animals in those stories too!
In Love Takes Flight, dogs bring Erin and Drew together. Erin owns a golden retriever and runs a dog kennel business. A daring jet pilot, Drew leaves his Border collie at her kennel but soon gets stranded there in a huge, prairie blizzard. Forced together, Erin and Drew overcome an icy start, but secret fears threaten to keep them apart.
In Love Leads the Way, Tessa and Mark clash at work when his boss forces him to enroll in the leadership program she manages. They both own golden retrievers, and at first, a love of dogs is the only thing they share in common. But both are single parents and have mothers with dementia…and even though she’s his coach, maybe they both need lessons in love.
On a windowsill in our home, I display a little plaque that says, “Home is where the dog is,” and I believe it’s true. One of our walls is decorated with quirky artwork featuring dogs. Over the years, I’ve owned three golden retrievers and a Border collie, and all were a big part of our family. My daughters joked that sometimes they thought I liked the dog better than them. (The dog definitely listened better!)
I write feel-good stories about women who chase their dreams and bump into romance along the way. They live in small communities near my home in the Canadian prairies, and they count on an eclectic mix of family and friends (and often dogs) to make their lives interesting and fun.
My first published mystery novel, Mahu (
The Cat’s out of the Bag shares the romance between a tortured heroine and secret billionaire who meet at a cat shelter. In billionaire romance, money is no object but the personal lives of our billionaires are not smooth sailing. It includes a road trip across Australia.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie is a second-chance romance set around a fake million-dollar scavenger hunt in Sydney. Second-chance romances have a different structure and feel to a standard romance. This is because of the history between the two main characters. They know each other already and are still harbouring strong feelings for one another, whether they admit it or not. In this story, we learn about Tara’s childhood dog who was there with her and her brother growing up.
Get Off Your High Horse is a modern royal and sports romance revolving around the game of polo. The story is based in Brisbane and Maryborough. I shine a light on Maryborough, my hometown, when the characters visit the birthplace of P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins. In this story, I was able to combine my love of horses and Australian culture into the story.
Down the Rabbit Hole is a small-town romance between two best friends. It is not your typical small-town romance as the town itself is not very friendly. It is illegal to keep rabbits as pets in my home state of Queensland and the rabbit, Shorty, who is rescued highlights this. Shorty is based on a hare that was run over by a lawn mower. He was given to my daughter to care for.
I love animals. I don’t think life would be complete without them. It felt natural to me to add them to my stories. They just add another element of enjoyment.
3. What other books have you written?
I used an Irish Setter in Teach Me To Forget (odd, since I’ve never owned an Irish!) He just sort of showed up while I was describing the heroine’s motor home.
One of my favorite book “pets” is Mosby, the gray stallion in A Question of Honor, which starts the Stormhaven series, with horses in each book.
