I didn’t discover the joy of staying in bed & breakfast inns until I was in my mid-twenties. My husband and I had taken a road trip along the California coast, stopping over as the mood struck. We made it to the charming town of Mendocino, with its stunning view of cliffs overlooking the ocean and surf crashing upon a narrow beach. Late afternoon on a Sunday, it hadn’t occurred to us that in such small communities, the gas stations would all close early. We’d planned to have dinner and head further up the road to stay with family, but one look at the gas gauge, and it was clear we were going nowhere before morning.
As luck would have it, we found the one remaining room still available in an adorable Victorian Bed & Breakfast Inn. The last room at the end of the hall, it was small but lavish. I was immediately charmed by the dark mahogany four-poster, pedestal bed. Oriental rugs in red and blue graced the floor. White lace curtains over fringed shades with seashell pulls added interest. But the shared guest bathroom down the hall was a surprise.
Having stayed in motels on family trips my entire childhood, this was an experience. And despite the shared bath, I found I adored bed & breakfast inns. It made such an impact that a mere few years later when we traded in our waterbed – hey, it was the end of the eighties! – we replaced it, with a mahogany, four-poster bed with an oriental rug at our feet and lace curtains in the window. It would be some years before we stayed in another bed & breakfast as we soon had small children to take with us on family trips. But the experience stayed with me. B&B’s are now my favorite form of lodging. I love chatting with innkeepers and fellow guests over elaborate breakfasts. And from that experience, it felt very natural to me to style a story around a bed & breakfast inn.
My main character Kate, frustrated with her life at her father’s reputation management firm, uses her savings to purchase the derelict Hazard Inn on a whim and sets about restoring it to its former glory. More work than she imagined, when Rory, the handsome grandson of a member of the Hazard Historical Society, shows up on her doorstep with a van of historically accurate furnishings, she jumps at her good fortune. But fortune in the magical community of Hazard has more twists and turns to shape her life.
From a charmed magical score hidden in an old desk to a warren of tunnels beneath her inn, Kate finds herself caught up in the mysteries of Hazard, Rhode Island. Can a musical score if played perfectly guarantee you success? Can a former reputation manager, who shunned her previous life of celebrity scandal fixing, fall in love with a rock band keyboardist stalked by an obsessed fan? And, is her inn truly the seat of a time anomaly? And how is it she never actually sees the cat she knows is there. Even more, how can Rory fall in love with the woman who bought the site of his worst childhood trauma?
Unbeknownst to them both, the magical town of Hazard has its own agenda.
A small town contemporary romance with hints of magical realism, The Magical Bed & Breakfast will take you on fun, delightful journey. And, like my very first stay at a B&B, it will be an experience.
About the Author.
Having lived in both California and Texas, Aimee O’Brian now resides in the beautiful wine country. With her three children grown and experiencing their own adventures, she and her husband are free to explore the world. When she’s not reading, writing, or planting even more perennials in her garden, she can be found stomping through ancient ruins and getting lost in museums.
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