Oh, the anticipation! My fellow Antipodean (she lives across the ‘ditch’ in New Zealand!), the fabulous Kara Isaac, has just released the cover of her debut novel, CLOSE TO YOU, a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a Tolkien tour of New Zealand. You know, where the hobbits live! April, 2016 can’t come soon enough!
I had the pleasure of meeting Kara in Indianapolis, of all places, when we both attended the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference in 2013, in order to exchange biscuits! Yep, that’s right! I gave Kara some yummy Australian Tim Tams and I received some NZ Toffee Pops. Priorities, people – we take our bikkies seriously 😉
Moving on…here’s the book!
Close to You by Kara Isaac
A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.
Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.
Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.
When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies, she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?
Kara Isaac is a romantic comedy writer living in Wellington, New Zealand. She is a proud Kiwi, bewildered Mum (or Mom), horribly undomestic wife, sort-of-ashamed Bachelor fan, great one-handed cook, and hopeless romantic.
Connect with Kara
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Pre-order at Amazon: Close to You
July 31, 2015 at 10:32 pm
This book sounds great and I’m happy to see more contemporary romance being published. I looked at the Amazon page and there’s only a Kindle version listed. Will this be available in paperback, digital only, or just digital first like Dawn Crandall’s books?
August 1, 2015 at 9:26 am
Hi Sylvia. Thanks so much for dropping by! Yes, it is coming out in paperback! As luck would have it something is going on with the feed for the paperback version and it isn’t showing up. Hopefully it will be fixed soon. If you add Close To You to your wish list hopefully it will show up when it is 🙂
August 3, 2015 at 8:05 am
Sylvia M. » Hi Sylvia – yes, Kara’s book is DEFINITELY being released in paperback. It just hasn’t quite made it to Amazon yet for some unknown reason! Keep your eye out for it 🙂
August 9, 2015 at 10:27 am
Hi Sylvia. I just wanted to drop by and let you know that the Amazon feed is all fixed and the paperback is now available for pre-order 🙂 Thanks so much for your support! Best regards, Kara.
August 1, 2015 at 2:03 am
That sounds absolutely adorable! I love the Tolkien spin. And the contract couldn’t have come to a lovelier person. Congratulations, Kara!
August 1, 2015 at 9:27 am
Thanks so much, Sarah. Excited for your new release too!
August 1, 2015 at 7:17 am
Oh this sounds darling! Ordering now.
I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand. Maybe this will give me a little glimpse.
Can’t wait! 😀
August 1, 2015 at 7:52 am
Is this going to be a print book, too? That would be my preference. 🙂
August 1, 2015 at 9:33 am
Hi DeAnna. You’ll “visit” four different parts of New Zealand in Close To You so I’m hoping you’ll feel like you’ve got a little taste of my beautiful little country 🙂 Yes, it is coming out in paperback! As luck would have it something is going on with the feed for the paperback version and it isn’t showing up. Hopefully it will be fixed soon. If you add Close To You to your wish list hopefully it will show up when it is!
August 1, 2015 at 9:39 am
Fabulous! I know how it is with Amazon technical issues. I had the hardest time getting them to link my upcoming release to my pen name and not my real name. It’s all straightened out now. Whew! 😀
I think your book is such a wonderful idea. I’m a Tolkien fan, and New Zealand is so gorgeous, it seems more like Middle Earth than our Earth. Being from there, I’m sure you can take your readers on an authentic tour.
So looking forward to this book!
August 3, 2015 at 7:57 am
DeAnna Julie Dodson/Julianna Deering » Doesn’t it look and sound fabulous, DeAnna? Thanks for dropping by!
August 9, 2015 at 10:28 am
Hi DeAnna. I just wanted to drop by and let you know that the Amazon feed is all fixed and the paperback is now available for pre-order 🙂 Thanks so much for your support! Best regards, Kara.
August 9, 2015 at 10:40 am
Just ordered it! Woo hoo! SO eager to read this. 🙂
August 1, 2015 at 9:00 am
Hi Everyone! Thank you so much Rel for the cover love and everyone for your kind comments! I’m so thrilled people are loving the cover as much as I do. YES it is absolutely going to be in paperback! At the moment, for some strange reason, the paperback version isn’t feeding through to Amazon but fingers crossed that will be fixed soon. In the interim if you add it to your wish list that should (I say should because the way Amazon works is a mystery to me!) show up when the feed is fixed.
August 3, 2015 at 7:57 am
Kara Isaac » A pleasure, Kara xo
August 2, 2015 at 6:59 am
Oh my goodness. This sounds like such a fun read. I’d love to visit NZ and the Tolkien sites this way.
August 3, 2015 at 7:56 am
Lori Benton » It does save the long flight that you Americans seem wary of, Lori – LOL! xo xo
August 9, 2015 at 10:29 am
Thanks so much, Lori. I have The Woods Edge sitting on my TBR pile as a reward for when I finally hand in Book#2!
August 2, 2015 at 5:18 pm
This went directly on my tbr and Amazon wishlist. Close to You has so many things I love – favorite genre (rom-com,) a place I long to visit (NZ,) and a beautiful cover. Yep, I’m superficial like that. April is so far away, but the release is two days after my birthday so “Happy Birthday To Me!”
August 3, 2015 at 7:55 am
Terrill Rosado » Love it, Terrill! I’m sure it will make a great birthday present 🙂
August 9, 2015 at 10:32 am
Hi Terrill, I’m very superficial like that too. For me I often won’t even pick up a book with a cover that doesn’t interest me so when I fell in love with this one I was so relieved everyone else at Howard felt the same way! And Happy Birthday for April! I hope Jackson and Allie provide you with a great birthday read 🙂
August 9, 2015 at 11:14 am
Thank you, Kara. I hope you have amazing success with this and future books. I am truly looking forward to them.