#NewRelease from Lisabet Sarai - HER SECRET INGREDIENT
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Today we have a #NewRelease from Lisabet Sarai - HER SECRET INGREDIENT. This time it's a rom-com, but in true Lisabet fashion, this re-release is a steamy one! Thanks for being here, Lisabet!
The Accidental Rom-Com
The first edition of Her Secret Ingredient was published more than a decade ago. At the time, I was pretty much of a novice at writing romance, as well as clueless about the genre as a whole. The impetus for the title was a series my publisher was doing called “What’s her secret?”. I had an inspiration, created a quick, steamy contemporary story about an ambitious young woman whose plans spectacularly backfire, and marketed it as contemporary erotic romance.
I know a lot more now about all the genres and sub-genres, labels and tropes, under the big tent of romance. As I was editing the manuscript for this new edition, I found myself grinning frequently and sometimes, laughing out loud. This is better than I remembered, I thought. It’s really pretty funny. But I didn’t fully understand what was going on until I went to publish the book on Amazon and saw that one of the category options was romantic comedy.
Something clicked. Of course! I didn’t sit down to write a rom-com, but this book has many of the typical features of the genre: embarrassing mishaps, unexpected misdirections, a hint of the wacky, and a smart but in some ways clueless heroine who doesn’t realize she’s going after the wrong guy. It’s not as wild and woolly as one of Julia Kent’s tales (she’s the rom-com goddess, in my view), but it’s moving in that direction.
So if you pick up a copy of the book (and I do hope you will), don’t expect anything too serious. Except the love, of course. That’s about as serious as things can get.
Blurb:
Stir in a pinch to stir up his passion.
When the Tastes of France food channel offers Mei Lee “Emily” Wong a series of guest spots, she jumps at the opportunity to take her culinary career to a whole new level. Ultimately, she wants a show of her own, but first she has to prove herself to Michelin-starred network founder and effective dictator, Etienne Duvalier. A legend in the world of classic French cuisine as well as a domineering perfectionist, Etienne is skeptical about the culinary abilities of a woman from Hong Kong. To make things more difficult, the master chef is also so gorgeous that Emily can’t help being attracted to him.
Emily tries to solve both problems by spiking her luscious profiteroles with an ancient Oriental aphrodisiac. Unfortunately, Harry Sanborne, the low-key, bespectacled producer for Emily’s show, samples the delicacies she intends for Etienne’s consumption. His powerful reaction to her secret ingredient comes as a pleasant surprise to them both. Harry turns out to be far more impressive in bed than on the set. However, he can’t do nearly as much to advance her ambitions as Etienne. Emily tries once more to tempt the exacting Monsieur Duvalier with her special cooking as well as her feminine charms. The outrageous results threaten to end her TV career forever—until Harry steps in to save her reputation and claim her heart.
Excerpt:
“How are you getting on with Monsieur le Chef?”
“What?” I nearly toppled off my stool. I’d been focused on my iPad, poring over my recipe files and trying to figure out how much I’d need to modify them to satisfy Duvalier.
A firm grip steadied me. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you. Etienne said you might need some help with your test dishes.” When he was certain I was not going to fall, the newcomer released my shoulder and extended his hand. “Harry Sanborne, at your service. Head producer, chief bottle-washer, and all-around handyman.”
A thirty-something man with unkempt brown hair and dark-rimmed glasses grinned down at me. He wore loose-fitting jeans, a green plaid sport shirt and a dreadful beige cardigan sweater like something that might have belonged to my Chinese grandfather. Somehow I’d expected the producer would be more corporate. This guy looked like he belonged behind the counter at some backstreet bookstore. He had scrumptious nutmeg-brown eyes, though, brimming with laughter behind his spectacles, and I heard genuine warmth in his voice.
“Mei Lee Wong. But you already know that. My friends call me Emily.”
“I hope I can count myself in that fortunate number, Emily!” He hiked his bottom up onto the stool beside mine. His baggy clothing didn’t completely conceal the fact that he was lithe and fit. “So does he have you cringing in terror yet?”
“Not exactly. Let’s just say that our culinary philosophies are not exactly in sync.”
“He’s been at you about the purity of French cuisine, hmm? Talking about how it’s a sacrilege to modify the holy recipes that have been passed down through the centuries?”
I chuckled. “That’s exactly the word he used! The problem is, all my recipes are riffs on traditional dishes. My specialty is contemporary French-Asian fusion. I’ll have to start from scratch to give him what he wants. And to be honest, I’m not sure I want to.”
The producer tugged on his chin with thumb and forefinger. He reminded me of Rodin’s statue. “Actually, if you stand up to him, you’ll be doing the network a favor. With his looks and charm—yes, he’s charming on his show, believe it or not—he’s still a draw, but serious foodies are starting to get a bit bored.”
“Oh?” I glanced at my watch. “Do you mind if I chop some veggies while we talk? He gave me a deadline and I’d like to be able to keep that, regardless of what I cook.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I selected a six-inch blade from the rack on the counter and began peeling carrots. “Anyway, you were saying the viewers are bored?”
Harry swiveled his seat so he could watch me work. I didn’t mind—I’d cooked in open kitchens, and if I was going to be on television, I had to get used to having an audience. And somehow, though I’d known him for only a few minutes, the casual, rumpled young producer made me feel comfortable.
“Yeah. The ratings for the channel as a whole are falling, because he won’t work with any chef who refuses to toe his line. That’s one reason the execs pressured him to contact you. Fresh blood and all that.”
“Hmm.” My knife rose and fell with satisfying precision, creating uniform half-inch cubes of crisp orange. I swept the diced carrots into a pile at one end of the cutting block then started on the onions.
“Amazing. I could never do that. When I try to cook, the results look like something from a slasher movie.” He flipped his hair out of his eyes. “Anyway, the first two guest chefs the network hired—Etienne drove them away.”
I set the blade down. I’d chilled the onions ahead of time, but my eyes watered nevertheless. Harry handed me a handkerchief. What a sweet guy. If only Etienne were more like him.
Buy Links:
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6X5D959
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G6X5D959
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1923881
Barnes and Noble – https://barnesandnoble.com/w/her-secret-ingredient-lisabet-sarai
Universal Book Link – https://books2read.com/u/mdkrAw
Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245242009-her-secret-ingredient
Review Quotes:
Her Secret Ingredient was a great short story. I loved the unique plot, the realistically drawn characters and the writing style. ~ Lucy Felthouse, Goodreads
I've always been a sucker for books set in the kitchen, and even as outlandishly over the top as this one is, it was a lot of fun…lighthearted and silly and sinfully sexy. ~ Steph, The Romance Reviews
About Lisabet Sarai:
Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh
Thanks for being here, Lisabet. Best of luck with the new re-release!