Description
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About the author:
Theresa Papa is a writer and author of a new fiction Romance collection of novels. The Connected Series begins with The Misconception of Mia, serving as a prequel to the three novels that follow. The Deleted Heir, Consigliere, and Not So Wiseguy round out the set of four books based on a family under the thumb of the Chicago mafia.
Theresa is blessed to be married to her main man for thirty-five years. She knows what it takes to have a loving, lasting relationship. Her husband keeps her laughing after all this time. Tips on keeping the sparks alive along with the witty banter appear in her writing regularly. Her tagline “Add some spice to your life, read Romance” is a clever way of describing the feelings her writing evokes.
Love stories, a little suspense, and the happily ever after are Theresa’s prescription to keep you smiling. She is ecstatic to share her characters with the world and entertain her readers. Her big Italian family extends throughout the country with a rich and flavorful history. Much of that history spurs ideas for the stories she creates. Make sure you visit the Art Imitates Life in the back of every one of her books. It’s fun to see where ideas are born.
What inspired you to write your book?
This series was inspired by my last series where the Dragonetti family was on the sidelines. I knew they needed their own story. The mafia background gets more interesting the further in the lineup you read. I think my favorite sibling is Daniel. He's the bad boy neurosurgeon who gets kidnapped and thrown in a cell in Mexico with a very provocative woman. She's the off-limits mafia mistress.
Every novel has a page of actual life happenings that inspire the fictional story. Make sure you look to see what was actually reality.
I have a new series coming soon that will include my real-life adventure on a cruise ship that ended up with the flaming baked alaska falling on my head and setting my hair on fire.
Here is a short sample from the book:
“You’ll know soon enough what it’s like to have a Fiori fantasy!” The tall blond laughs, as she hands me a card. A few minutes earlier, she introduced herself as Kimber. I type the address from the card into my phone’s GPS. Kimber gestures for me to take a seat.
“How much could he have changed since I knew him five years ago?” I shrug. “He’s been best friends with my older brother since kindergarten. Sure, he has nice features, but he was tall and lanky.” She slowly shakes her head and presses her shiny lips together. “No?” I cock my head to the side. “To be honest, I always thought he was nerdy and overprotective. When I was a child, Marco would be at our house every single day. He and my brother Tony were inseparable. They’d always make fun of me together.”
“Tell me more.” She leans forward, resting her chin on her fist.
“As soon as my brother’s guitar teacher arrived on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Marco would always play with me. It lasted until they were teenagers, and I was almost seven.” I grin to myself, reminiscing.
“See, he’s really sweet,” Kimber says, gushing. “I just knew under all that broody brawn lies a heart of gold.”
I wave my index finger. “Then, suddenly, it was as if they were both too cool to acknowledge me. He was abruptly quiet and kept to himself mostly. The two of them went out instead of hanging around the house. A few years later, they both left for college.”
“Hmm, maybe the age difference kicked in for a while.” She places her index finger on her shiny bottom lip. “He’s still a man of few words until you get to know him, though.”
“Yeah, during breaks from the university, he would appear all of a sudden and then leave again. I guess you could say he was like a friendly older brother.” I nod.
She walks around the desk and sits on the edge. “Yeah, like I said, he still has the quiet, brooding thing going on, and he’s tall. But lanky and nerdy are the opposite of what he is now. That man is the star in all the girls’ fantasies around here. He has thick wavy hair; incredibly broad shoulders and his muscular arms seem to want to burst out of his t-shirts.” She looks up at the ceiling imagining the man she describes. “The interior designer drools when she talks about him. She’s angry that he’s not using her on the Pope reconstruction. I guess the owner’s wife, Samantha, is a designer or something.” Kimber unwraps a piece of chewing gum and stuffs it into her mouth.
“I’m sure he’ll still think of me like a younger sister since he’s my older brother’s age. And I’ll probably feel like he’s nagging me about my unwise life choices just like Tony does.” I wave my hand in the air dismissively. “So, no fantasies here." He never liked anyone I dated. He’ll probably lecture me about my lack of direction in life and work.
She pops a huge bubble. “Talk to me next week after your lucky ass works closely with him alone at the remodel.” Her eyebrows go up and down with a giggle. “Even though he’s way too old for me, I’ve had a few fantasies in my spank bank starring Marco.”