What is the title of your latest release?
AFTERNOON DELIGHT
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A nearly-forty divorcee abandons her accounting career to run her friend’s adult toy shop. She wants to try new things, but does that include ‘sampling the merchandise’ with her charming new landlord?
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Originally, I was going to set it in Spokane WA, which is two hours from my home in Canada. I had an agent at the time and thought she would be pitching it to traditional publishers, so I thought a US setting was more marketable.
While still writing the book, I wound up parting ways with my agent. I decided to self-publish so I moved the book to a Canadian setting, Victoria BC, on Vancouver Island.
Along with being a very familiar setting to me (my sister once lived there) I liked it for its history and eclectic demographic, mixing retired seniors with families, students, and politicians.
It’s one of Canada’s nicest climates and has its own Westcoast, island-mindset subculture. It’s also very beautiful and outdoorsy—all things I love.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely!
What are three words that describe your hero?
Gorgeous, funny, capable.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Well, it takes place in an adult toy store, so I had to do a lot of research on toys.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go. It helps me get back into a story to read what I wrote the day before and also gives me time to work out what comes next.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Wine and potato chips. Rose and dill pickle, if I’m baldly honest.
Describe your writing space/office!
I love my office so much.
For years, I wrote in our finished attic, which was fine, but I hit my head on the slanted ceiling more than once. After our kids had moved out, we converted our son’s bedroom into my office. I spent a lot of time debating which of our two children’s room to colonize but chose my son’s because I was able to put a door in that leads onto the balcony off our bedroom.
That means I get a lot of fresh air in summer, when it’s open, and lots of sunshine in the winter. (The door is mostly glass.)
We added a big picture window, and I bought a standing desk that sits in the middle of the room, allowing me to gaze at the lake and watch the quail fight with the robins over the bird bath while I write.
If you want a virtual tour, you can visit my office here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2fwazjrJCY
Who is an author you admire?
I hate to play favorites! Pick any of my fellow Harlequin Presents or Tule authors. They all write beautifully and are all extremely generous, kind people.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I think every book I read changes me a little bit. I read a lot of nonfiction while I’m writing because reading romance can mess with my voice or cause me to question my story. One interesting book that I read recently was Four Thousand Weeks—which is the average person’s life span. This made me consider what I want to do with the roughly 1500 weeks I have left.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was May of 2012, and I’d been waiting 25 years for that call, so it was pretty profound. At the same time, I had been emailing quite a bit with my editor at Harlequin Presents and had a strong feeling that I was getting close. When she asked to call me from London—which was very early my time—I knew it had to be important.
I was elated, obviously, but I also had to get the kids to school and get ready for work because I still had a day job.
Not the most glamorous start to a career, but I’ve had some lovely highlights since then.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Romance! I’ll read almost any subgenre, but I’ll admit I’m not super interested in horror romance. I prefer some spice, but otherwise I just love a good, emotional story with fun characters and a happy ending.
What’s your favorite movie?
I’ve seen Pride and Prejudice about a million times. (Colin Firth version.)
What is your favorite season?
I like all the seasons for their different personalities.
Summers are so hot and smoky now that I don’t love them as much as I used to, but as I write this, it’s August. The doors and windows are open, we had rain last night so it’s fresh and cool… I can hear the birds and other sounds of nature. It’s a perfect summer day.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I don’t really celebrate it. It doesn’t freak me out to get older or anything like that, I just don’t have strong feelings about it.
Having said that, I’m always up for an excuse to go out to dinner rather than cook.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve been enjoying the Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast a lot lately and never miss an episode of Becca Syme’s Quitcast.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’m not a vegetarian, but I’ve always gravitated to eating like one. Give me a quinoa bowl with tofu and I’m very happy.
What do you do when you have free time?
I watch way too much TV, but that’s what my tired brain and feet demand after standing at my desk all day.
For longer breaks, I like to travel. We’re taking a trip to the east coast in September that I’m very excited for.
What can readers expect from you next?
Great question!
While I’m still writing for Harlequin Presents, I’ve started selling my indie titles direct on Dani’s Bookshop. I want to build my frontlist there. Watch for more longer contemporaries and an action-adventure romance to be available there in the next year or so.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT by Dani Collins
Freshly divorced and nearing forty, Meg regrets making all the safe choices. When her best friend needs surgery, Meg puts her accounting career on hold to run her friend’s racy adult toy shop—but her vanilla life never prepared her for this!
At thirty-two, Zak leaves the tech world for his dad’s antique store, wanting time with him before dementia erases his father’s memories. He’s Meg’s landlord, but she becomes his confidante, distracting him from his troubles with her suggestive puns and amusing misadventures.
Flirty banter leads to test-driving toys together, but Meg knows they won’t last. Their age-gap puts them in different life-stages and she lives in Toronto. A few afternoons of delight can’t change her life. Or can they?
Afternoon Delight is a stand-alone, slow-burn to steamy older woman/younger man romance. No cliffhangers, no cheating, just laughs, chemistry, and heart.
Buy AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Kindle | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Dani Collins
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author Dani Collins thrives on giving readers emotional, compelling, heart-soaring romance with laughter and heat thrown in, just like real life. While she is best known for writing contemporary romance for Harlequin Presents and Tule Publishing, she also writes historical and erotic romance. When she’s not writing—just kidding, she’s always writing. Dani lives in Southern BC, Canada with her high school sweetheart husband.
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