Talk about it Tuesday: Southern Sins

I have a new series I am starting in October that is straight romantic suspense(probably sensual to erotic)  and set in Savannah. It is one of my favorite cities in the country and if they actually had seasons, it would be on the list of places to retire. The atmosphere, the history...it just can't be beat.
I haven't nailed down everything in the series yet, but I do know the heroine of the first book pretty well. Raelynn Hill is a fixture in Savannah society. Add in the fact her mother is one of the most famous unsolved murders, and you have her as part of the atmosphere that drapes the city.
Raelynn (who is here on the left modeled so wonderfully by Jaci Nudell)has lost her mother and been estranged from her father for years, but she has turned out okay. In fact, she has one of the most popular place for locals and tourists to visit on the Riverfront: Sweet Reads Bakery. It is a combo bakery and bookstore. I am still working out the details of what it will look like, but I am quite excited. I have written chefs before: Jocelyn and Chris Dupree, and of course Cynthia Myers Dupree, all from Harmless. But because this place is going to be so important to the book I need to know more about what goes on behind the scenes at Sweet Reads. That is why there are going to be some pretty cool things to go along with it. First, there is already a CAFE PRESS store for things. Secondly, I feel I need to know more about her character because in a lot of ways, she is my exact opposite. She is even tempered and never, ever goes out without makeup on. There she is in jeans and no shoes, but more than likely you will find her in heels and vintage dresses. She loves to dress up and she is so, well, girlie.
So, while I am probably never going to be a girlie girl, I want to know a little more about the inner workings of the current love of her life, baking. She learned everything she knows at the side of the grandmother who raised her. She comes from old Savannah money, but her grandmother instilled in her a work ethic that has served her family well. And, she took the one thing she loved most in life, besides her family, and turned it into a place people love.
I bought the cookbooks, with some recommends from my niece who loves to bake, and I now have one of those silly cupcake makers.  My girls and I are going to have a lot of baking sessions this summer as I write the book so it should be fun!