1–What is the title of your latest release?
THEIR ICELANDIC MARRIAGE REUNION, Book 1 of my Dream Destinations Duet.
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Hollywood’s ex-fairytale couple Winter and Josh are reunited in the land of ice and fire – and need to discover if the heat between them is enough to melt their hearts once more. And if they’re willing to risk a reunion – and the potential for more heartbreak – in front of the world’s media…
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My editor and I were discussing ideas for a new book, and she mentioned she’d love to see some more armchair travel… but I didn’t want to take my characters to any of the usual places! I’d visited Iceland in my twenties and found it such a fascinating place, I thought it would be brilliant to go back – even if only through fiction. I loved looking through my old photos and diaries to get a feel for the place – and researching some places I never made it to but wish I had!
4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! Winter is a sweetheart – but she’s also Hollywood royalty and could get me into all the best restaurants and parties…
5–What are three words that describe your hero?
Hot. Conflicted. Determined…
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
The blue whale has the largest penis in the animal kingdom, averaging over 2.5m… (and you might have to read the book to find out why that was relevant!)
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Answer: to a scene while I’m thinking about it, but I prefer to have the whole story laid out in front of me before I start figuring out how to fix it.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Bouja Bouja chocolates. They’re divine!
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I used to have a dedicated office in our converted garage, with a desk and bookshelves, and a filing cabinet. But then the pandemic happened, and now my husband works from home more days too. He has a lot more meetings than me, and he talks to himself while he works, so I can’t concentrate if he’s anywhere near me, so he gets locked away in the garage now, and I work out at a tiny desk in our family room. I have a screen I can hook my laptop up to if no one is watching Pokemon on it… (I’m being dramatic. My desk in the family room is lovely, and here’s a photo to prove it!)
10–Who is an author you admire?
There are so, so many authors I admire just writing for the True Love/Harlequin Romance line with me! We’re so lucky to have a bit of an author community going, and having that support makes all the difference in what a very solitary job can be. But if I had to pick just one… today I’d say, Liz Fielding. For writing the books that made me want to write a series romance in the first place, and for always keeping them fresh. And for always seeking out new challenges with her writing. I think she’s amazing.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Welcome to Temptation by Jenny Crusie. I think reading that book was the moment I fell in love with everything that romance could be.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
My very first call came back in 2013. I’d submitted a partial to a fast-track scheme the London Mills & Boon office was running for what was then called their Cherish line in summer of 2012. They’d requested the full and, later that year, given me some edit notes that I was (slowly) working my way through.
Then in January 2013, I got a call from an editor telling me that if I could finish the edits and get them back to them by the following day, I’d have a shot at a publication slot they needed to fill.
I had the flu. It was my daughter’s 4th birthday, and we had an Alice in Wonderland party planned. It was basically impossible.
I did it anyway and sent in the edited manuscript on a Friday. On Monday, I got the call telling me they wanted to offer me a two-book contract, and I tried very hard to hold it together as I accepted.
My daughter told me she was proud of me all the way to the moon, and that’s when I cried.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Usually, whichever one I’m not writing! In addition to romance, I also write crime fiction as Katy Watson, so I read a lot of crime, but not when I’m writing it, as I don’t like to get too influenced by other books. So when I’m writing crime, I read romance, and when I’m writing romance, I read crime. But I also love fantasy novels, so they’re always good. Unless I decide to write a fantasy novel next…
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I’m not sorry.
15–What is your favorite season?
Autumn. Especially when it’s still warm enough not to need a big coat, and the sun is shining through the red and gold leaves, and there are enough brown ones on the ground to kick through. And I can wear boots. I love my boots.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Extensively. Ideally, I like the celebrations to go on for a full week, maybe a month. And I have to have my mum’s traditional chocolate cake, with lots of candles!
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m watching Wednesday with my daughter right now and loving it! Book-wise, I recommend everyone look out for The Agency for Scandal by Laura Wood, publishing in January. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy, and I loved every single page!
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian. I would eat pasta every day if I could.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Read, mostly. Hang out with my kids and my husband, and take adventures to local places – woods, parks, stately homes, castles, that sort of thing. I like to explore the world around me – and keep an eye open for stories, of course.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
It turned out that, while I was writing Winter and Josh’s reunion in Iceland, their best friends – Jenny and Liam – grew a little bit closer than I’d intended them too. And that closeness is about to have consequences in Book 2 of my Dream Destinations Duet, Baby Surprise in Costa Rica, which is out in April 2023!
THEIR ICELANDIC MARRIAGE REUNION by Sophie Pembroke
Dream Destinations #1
Contemporary Romance
Escape to Iceland in Sophie Pembroke’s latest Harlequin Romance novel, where Hollywood’s dream couple are unexpectedly reunited and the press is watching!
A second chance…
In a far-flung place?
Winter and Josh were the most envied celebrity couple in Hollywood. But the world didn’t see their heartbreak of having the fairy tale—and losing it! Now they’re unexpectedly reunited in Iceland, and the press is watching! Time apart has changed them, but their undeniable connection is more magnetic than ever. Keeping their budding renewal secret adds an excitement they haven’t felt in a while. Is it enough to spark a forever reunion?
Romance Billionaire [Harlequin Romance, On Sale: December 27, 2022, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781335736932 / eISBN: 9780369727596]
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About Sophie Pembroke
Sophie Pembroke has been writing romance for years, ever since she stayed up all night reading Mills and Boon novels as part of her English degree at Lancaster University. She loves to set her contemporary romance stories in the places she has lived – from the wilds of the Welsh mountains, to the gentile humour of the English country village, or the heat and tension of a London summer. She also has a tendency to make her characters kiss in castles. Currently, she makes her home in Hertfordshire, with her husband and daughter. She writes love stories in her little spare room office, while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. Or, when things are looking very bad for her heroes and heroines, white wine and dark chocolate.
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