by Carolyn Brown
Published by Montlake Romance

Interview with Heroine Jolene Broussard from The Magnolia Inn

Greetings Jolene! So happy to have you here at Bookhounds today, but it looks like you are kind of down while you should be dancing on air — after all, you just inherited your dream house.

Hello to all y’all, and thank you for inviting me to Bookhounds to visit about the Magnolia Inn. I guess the reason I’m down is that I had a childhood picture in my mind about the old inn. It was my stability when I was growing up, but now looking at it through the eyes of an owner, I can see that it needs lots and lots of work. My Aunt Sugar left half of the inn to me. Her husband, Uncle Jasper, left his half to his nephew, Reuben. I was hoping that Reuben, would borrow the money to help restore it but that sorry rascal put his half on the market the day he inherited it.

Okay, so you’ve got a little more work to do on the inn than you would like. Do you have any help?

Oh, I’ve got help all right. Tucker Malone bought the other half of the inn, and he’s a cracker jack carpenter as we say down her in Texas. That’s the good news—the bad is that he’s a tortured soul and not so easy to live with. But he’s willing to put out the money for the repairs, and actually dive into some pretty major restoration projects. I can deal with his moodiness for all that—and I do like his cat.

Tucker sounds like he’s going through a rough time. Any ideas what put him into such a bad mood.

He doesn’t like to talk about it. He’s one of those guys who holds everything inside and lets it eat away at him. His wife died in an automobile accident some years ago, and he blames himself for her death. He just can’t let go of the guilt, and that makes him drink—sometimes a lot.

It sounds like he’s not looking for love and you aren’t looking for love, so we shouldn’t expect any sparks between you two, right?

Aunt Sugar used to tell me if you want to find something, you quite looking for it—and there it will be right in front of your eyes. Neither of us were looking for love, or even in a position where we were willing to acknowledge it if it should drive cupid’s dart into our hearts. But sometimes Madame Fate hides things until it’s time for them to be found.

Everyone seems to have gossip and many, many opinions about everyone in town. On the plus side, you can never get lonely! However, it has to be a little daunting to be caught in the middle of the gossip. What are some of the rumors that are swirling around town? Any truth to them?

I’ve lived in small towns most of my life, and they have a heart beat and pulse all of their own—and most of the time what jacks either up is good gossip. Everyone knows everyone, what they’re doing and who they are doing it with. They buy and read the local paper just to see who got caught. It is daunting to be caught in the middle of the gossip—especially when it’s about me and Tucker. Like how Aunt Sugar would throw a hissy fit if she knew I was working at the Tipsy Gater bar, or if she found out that Tucker was living in the innwith me. Oh! My! Goodness! Whether the rumors about him being falling down drunk, which he isn’t, or me sleeping with him are true or not, once they’re out there for all of the town to hear about, the damage is done.

Braving the onslaught of gossip is hard, but you are willing to do it for your inn. Let’s talk a little bit about what you are hoping to accomplish while in East Texas. What are your top 3 goals?

My top three goals are to get the Magnolia Inn up and running by spring. To have the best bed and breakfast on the tour of homes. And number three is to figure out why I have these feelings for a man that is so totally wrong for me.

If you closed your eyes and imagine a completed Magnolia Inn, what does it look like? What do you want your visitors to feel while they are there? What do you expect to feel once you complete this project?

It will be even better than it was in the original because each bedroom will have a private bathroom. As a guest you should expect fantastic service, great breakfasts, a warm welcome when you arrive, refreshments in your room, and an invitation to come back as you leave. We want this to be an experience, not just a place to sleep and have breakfast. I want to feel a sense of accomplishment when the Magnolia is open for business. I also want to feel like Tucker and I have both buried the ghosts of our past, so that we are ready to move on to the fauture with no baggage.

Thank you so much, again, for asking me to visit your site. It’s been a pleasure to be here and to answer your questions about The Magnolia Inn. Y’all have a wonderful week!

***

About the Book

Title: The Magnolia Inn
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary

Inheriting the Magnolia Inn, a Victorian home nestled in the East Texas pines, is a fantasy come true for Jolene Broussard. After living with the guilt of failing to rescue her self-destructive mother, Jolene knows her aunt and uncle’s B&B is the perfect jump start for a new life and a comforting place to call home. There’s just one hitch: stubborn and moody carpenter Tucker Malone. He’s got a half interest in the Magnolia Inn, and he’s planting his dusty cowboy boots squarely in the middle of her dream.

Ever since his wife’s death, Tucker’s own guilt and demons have left him as guarded as Jolene. The last thing he expects is for his new partner to stir something inside him he thought was gone forever. And as wary as Jolene is, she may have found a kindred spirit—someone she can help, and someone she can hold on to.

Restoring the Magnolia Inn is the first step toward restoring their hearts. Will they be able to let go of the past and trust each other to do it together?

Author Biography

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a RITA finalist with more than ninety published books, which include women’s fiction and historical, contemporary, and cowboys-and-country-music romance. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else and knows what they’re doing and when. And they read the local newspaper on Wednesday to see who got caught. They have three grown children

and enough grandchildren to keep them young.

Visit Carolyn at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.carolynbrownbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolynbrownbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13554.Carolyn_Brown

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