Interview: Donna Kauffman, author of 'Half Moon Harbor'

When Donna Kauffman isn't dishing on Dancing With the Stars and Castle for HEA, she writes super fun contemporary romances. At the end of this month, the latest in her Bachelors of Blueberry Cove series, Half Moon Harbor, makes its debut. Donna chatted with me about book one Pelican Point's disparate lighthouses, DIY projects and (newsflash!) the cover for book three, Sandpiper Island.

Joyce: Hi, Donna! Please tell us about the new mass-market paperback cover of Pelican Point. Why is it so different from the trade paperback version? And aren't those lighthouses really different?

Donna: Both covers are gorgeous, but you're right, one of these things is not like the other! There is a little behind-the-scenes story to that. Should I share? Oh, of course I will. (Now your readers will know all my secrets! OK ... not alllll my secrets, but this one is pretty cool.) I loved the trade paperback cover for Pelican Point, which is actually done from an oil painting. Pretty fabulous, right? However, given that, we didn't have a lot of wiggle room in terms of story-matching. So I ended up making some adjustments in the storyline so that my lighthouse fit the look of the lighthouse on the cover, as my original inspiration was somewhat different. My fabulous editor and the even more fabulous art and graphic department at Kensington knew that took some scrambling on my part, but we all loved that cover and I was happy with how everything came out.

When it came time to release Pelican Point in mass market paperback — which happens July 29 *shameless plug* — they rewarded all my scrambling and gave the book a brand new cover look that honors exactly how my original Pelican Point lighthouse was conceived inside my writer's mind. Of course, the description in the story remains true to the trade cover as it's a reprint/re-release of that book, but I have to say I was thrilled getting to see my lighthouse in all its imagined glory. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do, and I've been dying to show it off, so thanks for doing the big cover reveal for me!

Joyce: You're welcome! It's a fabulous cover.

Your next Bachelors of Blueberry Cove book, Half Moon Harbor, comes out at the end of this month. What can you tell us about it?

Donna: This is the book that follows Pelican Point and features Brodie Monaghan, that brash, fresh-off-the-boat, sexy Irishman you met in book one. As it happens, that boat he hopped off of was built by his own two hands, something his ancestors have done for centuries, albeit his three-masted schooner is a bit smaller in scale than the clipper ships they built back in the late 17th century.

He arrives in Blueberry Cove, Maine, intent on resurrecting his family's shipbuilding empire, one hand-built sailboat at a time. Things are going slowly, but it's an enormous undertaking, and he's a patient man. He has it all planned out ... until the morning he wakes up to find out that the recently scorned town rich girl managed to find a loophole and sold off one of his boathouses. New boathouse owner Grace Maddox is excited to leave the world of estate law behind and become an innkeeper, building a new life for herself and reconnecting with her older brother, her only remaining family. She's less excited to learn that the shipyard isn't as abandoned as she was led to believe ... and she's having the devil of a time focusing on the job at hand with all that Irish charm, swagger, and drop-dead accent going on around her. But then ... who wouldn't?

Joyce: I got chills, they're multiplyin'!

The teaser for Half Moon Harbor says: Includes an easy do-it-yourself restoration project! What's that about?

Donna: All three of the Bachelor's of Blueberry Cove deal with restoration, rehabilitation, and refurbishing, both with the lighthouses and shipyards and such, and with the lives of the heroes and heroines as well, even the town itself begins a slow transformation. So, we thought it would be fun to showcase a little DIY project with each book, featuring a piece that shows up in the book. For Half Moon Harbor, Grace Maddox finds herself pretty much indoor camping in her boathouse as she renovates it into her charming little inn. So she takes a vintage trunk she pulls from the heap of ancient detritus that's piled up in the building, adds legs, and turns it into an all-purpose table. When I was in Maine researching the series last summer, I found a beautiful old vintage suitcase, and right next to it were four old table legs ... and I thought, hmm ... So that project is featured in the back of the book, and Kensington will be posting a downloadable project sheet, complete with photos of my own process in creating my DIY suitcase table.

Joyce: Wait. "All three" Bachelors of Blueberry Cove? What's next? Can you share the cover art? We're all about cover reveals today, after all.

Donna: You can! (You know my weaknesses! I love cover reveals, too!) The third book is Sandpiper Island and will feature Grace's brother, Ford Maddox, as the hero. He's sort of a modern-day Crusoe-Meets-Dr.-Doolittle, living out on an island in a tree house he built himself (I loved that research!) where he works to help save endangered water fowl, like the wee Atlantic Puffins. (Loved that research, too. So much so I ended up adopting several through the Audubon Society.) Ford's story hits the shelves on Aug. 26, right after Pelican Point comes out in mass market. You can already pre-order it on your favorite book-buying sites! (I know, I'm so helpful like that!) But they provide sneak peeks of the story as well.

Joyce: Will you be leaving Blueberry Cove behind after this trilogy is complete? We've just fallen in love with everyone!

Donna: Well, since you seem determined to get at allll of my secrets, I can whisper in your ear that I just signed on to write another Blueberry Cove trilogy titled The Brides of Blueberry Cove featuring Pelican Point hero Logan McCrae's three sisters: Hannah, Fiona, and Kerry. I'm writing the first one now, and I'm beyond thrilled I get to hang out with this quirky, crazy gang a little longer. But shhhh. Don't tell anyone.

Joyce: In addition to bringing us stories set in coastal Maine, you've been moonlighting and doing a little television talk for us lately. What is it about Dancing With the Stars that makes it so fun to dish about?

Donna: Um, well ... there's sequins, spray tans, and massive expanses of exposed skin ... much of it chiseled. Need I say more? Well, in addition to that, I grew up dancing and even performed in a jazz troupe, lo those many moons ago, so dancing shows always grab my attention. But DWTS is extra fun because you've got the amateur angle of watching everyday folks (OK, so celebs aren't everyday everyday folks, but they aren't professional dancers, so in that case, it's the great equalizer.) And we get the chance to watch some familiar faces do something that maybe we imagine ourselves doing. Or perhaps it inspires us to realize we can do something that far outside our comfort zone. This season we have Amy Purdy, a paralympian who lost both of her legs to meningitis at age 19, and is making us all feel like ridiculous slackers with what she's accomplishing on the dance floor (with her always hunky and adorbs pro partner, Emmy-winner Derek Hough.) All right, all right. I see the look you're giving me. I know that look. So yes, yes. OK. It's not just the inspiring dancing ... it's also watching to see which couples spark chemistry, and then play the "are they-aren't they?" game. I mean, come on! If I was wrapped around Maksim Chmerkovskiy eight hours a day, seven days a week, I'd be asking myself "should I or shouldn't I?" Wouldn't you?

Joyce: Is there anything you'd like to add?

Donna: Just that I think I need a fan. And maybe some ice ...

OK, that and a big thank you for once again getting me to spill all. You're so sneaky like that! Oh! And one more thing! I want to thank Jill Shalvis and Lori Foster. Jill gave Half Moon Harbor and Sandpiper Island amazingly wonderful cover quotes, and Lori was equally generous in providing a quote for the mass market release of Pelican Point. They're both awesome authors and even more wonderful people. I'm sure your readers have been longtime fans of both, but if not ... seriously, go check them out!

Joyce: We all know you're the queen of giveaways. Do you have one for us today?

Donna: I do! I have a fabulous Half Moon Harbor tote bag to give away — and, yes, I'll tuck an advance copy of the book inside! To enter, simply leave a comment here. Maybe a little ballroom dish, or if you're into DIY, tell me what your favorite project has been to date. Or just say hello! I love to hear from you all. International entries are most welcome — I'm appreciative of every last one of you. You guys are the best! I'll draw one name from the comment section and winner-winner!

Joyce: Thanks, Donna! See you on the dance floor!

To find out more about Donna and her books, visit DonnaKauffman.com.

HEA curator and contributor Joyce Lamb has 25 years of journalism experience and eight published romantic suspense novels, three of which have been RITA finalists. You can reach her at jlamb@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter (@JoyceLamb). You can also follow HEA on Twitter (@HEAusatoday).