In my newest book, His Second Chance at Forever, (Book #1 in the Santa Barbara Sunsets trilogy) I write about a nurse practitioner who has different ideas from her brooding doc boss. In fact, it’s a main source of conflict between them right off. One of the fun things I included in a small secondary thread was how Claire Albright believes in alternative approaches to medical care for all-around wellbeing. She also believes in the calming effect of certain essential oils. Jason his clueless, and at first, more than a little skeptical.
For those who aren’t familiar with essential oils, they are concentrated forms of plants and flowers that are often used in massage therapy and aromatherapy. From my perspective, they are heavenly. More and more people are discovering them, too. What about you?
FYI: Breathing in essential oils goes to the part of the brain that is linked to emotions. Good ones. The soothing scents tend to cause a positive reaction in mood, blood pressure, and heart rate to name a few.
If you suffer from white coat syndrome (fear of seeing your doctor) you might appreciate how Claire set up soothing aromatherapy in the office waiting room without consent. Risking her new job, she uses Lavender, Frankincense, and wild orange at one point, and Lavender, Ylang-Ylang, and rosemary another time for the sake of nerves about seeing a doctor. Jason Rogers didn’t understand what was going on, but the patients liked the change, and the benefit was calmer people with which to deal. Win-win, right?
At another point in the book, I mention how Jason, a man who is permanently grumpy because of a heartbreaking reason, discovers that Claire often smells like cinnamon, and, like it or not, the scent is appealing to him. So much so, he can’t get her out of his head. Not a bad side effect, right? Soon, Jason lets his guard down and asks Claire to coffee. So, unbeknownst to Claire, her choice of alternative treatments for herself opened the door to romance.
Not to go too technical, but did you know that the antioxidants in cinnamon have anti-inflammatory properties? This is another tidbit I enjoyed researching while writing this book, so load that stuff on your oatmeal, cereal, or smoothies all you want!
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SCENT
When Jason notices and likes Claire’s scent, he doesn’t realize she smells that way because she uses it as part of her Lupus treatment. All he knows is he likes having her around and catching the special fragrance, and her scent drives him a little crazy. Which is the part of the story that begins to bring him back to life again, and eventually, as they each work through their personal issues—because that’s what we do in romance—into the open arms of his new love. Yes! Another happy ending. sigh
QUESTION: Have you heard of essential oils? If you have, do you use them? If not, has your interest been piqued?
HIS SECOND CHANCE AT FOREVER by Lynne Marshall
The brooding doctor was stuck in his past until she showed him the way to his future…
Jason Rogers prefers to keep people at a distance and his pain tucked safely inside. So what if he’s a grouch? He doesn’t care.
Claire Albright isn’t afraid to waltz into her new boss’s office and give her opinions. The fact she has a tagalong little girl, Gina, who reminds Jason of the daughter he lost, only adds to their bristly start.
Soon, against Jason’s will, Claire and Gina inject hope back into his dull existence. Dare he dream of a life he never thought he’d have again?
Romance Contemporary [Author Self-Published, On Sale: May 14, 2019, e-Book, / ]
About Lynne Marshall
Lynne Marshall has been traditionally published with Harlequin as a category romance author for more than ten years with over twenty-five books, and more recently with TULE Publishing, she has also gone hybrid with self-publishing. She is a Southern California native, has been married to a New Englander for a long time, and has two adult children of whom she is super proud. She is also an adoring grandmother of two beautiful little girls, a woman of faith, a dog lover, a cat admirer, a meandering walker, a curious traveler, and an optimistic participant in this wild journey called life.
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