Celebrate Summer with Trust with Hearts – A Spicy Contemporary Romance

Happy Summer everyone!

To celebrate the summer months, I’m posting a “Summer Romance Series” of blogs. Today I’m sharing a look at my spicy summer romance, Trust with Hearts.

Trust with Hearts is an example of how a story idea can come to an author anytime, anywhere. One night I was waiting for a concert to start and a premise for a romance popped into my head: A woman falls in love with her cousin’s best friend, but doesn’t realize he’s a famous country singer.

I knew I had to write it down, but the only paper I had was the envelope the concert tickets came in. (Yes, this was years ago!) I scribbled a brief outline and a character list before the concert started. And that’s how Trust with Hearts was born—but not right away.

I was in the middle of revising another romance at the time, so I took a few hours and wrote a detailed outline, snippets of dialogue, and character information about Trust with Hearts, then set it aside. About a year later, I pulled out my notes and started writing. The idea was still fresh in my head, and the book practically wrote itself. (I always advise writers to take down ideas as they appear—otherwise they might fade into oblivion.)

Trust with Hearts was an interesting book to write. The heroine, Sherrie, has left a bad relationship, and on the spur of the moment, goes to West Virginia and moves in with her cousin Dave. Unknown to her, Dave already has a houseguest—his friend Curtis. Curtis is a country boy and Sherrie is all city.

I enjoyed playing off their differences and had fun inventing vexing situations for them to get on each other’s nerves. And boy, do they! Right on page 1, Curtis and Sherrie start an on/off love/hate relationship—and soon realize there’s more to their teasing and feuding. Before long, they discover they have a lot in common, and begin a steamy summer romance.

Some of my favorite scenes are when Curtis climbs a tree to rescue a kitten, when Curtis and Sherrie realize they like each other, and the big bombshell scene when Sherrie learns Curtis’s secret. I also liked writing the scenes where Dave plays matchmaker and counselor to each of them. In his own way, he brought this unlikely couple together. 

But you can’t have a good romance without drama, and the book is filled with it. Sherrie confronts her abusive ex-boyfriend, reexamines her life, and finds her purpose. Curtis is healing his wounded heart, dealing with a major family crisis, and going out of his way to keep a huge secret from Sherrie. Throughout the book Cutis and Sherrie face their pasts, work on their personal issues, and learn to love and trust again.

Trust with Hearts is not just a romance, it’s also a summer romance, so when I was writing the book I made sure to include specific details to bring out the “summer romance” theme: hot, sticky, sweaty days and nights, cool iced tea, gardening, and even heat stroke. The details pull the reader into the story and into Curtis and Sherrie’s world. And since Curtis is an expert in country music, I worked those details into the plot and even had Curtis give Sherrie a very erotic guitar lesson!

Trust with Hearts is a summer romance with interesting characters, an unusual storyline, and plenty of sizzling love scenes. It will make you laugh, cry, and root for love. I hope you’ll add it to your summer reading list.

Here’s the book summary and link:

TRUST WITH HEARTS

After a bitter breakup, Sherrie Parker seeks refuge at her cousin Dave’s house in rural West Virginia. Early one morning, she runs into Dave’s other houseguest, a singer named Curtis Taylor. The last thing Sherrie wants is to share living quarters with a country music crooner – even if he is sexy, in a cowboy sort of way.

Thrown together by circumstances, Sherrie and Curtis get off to a rocky start, but soon discover they have more in common than they ever imagined. Unable to fight their growing attraction, they give in to their desires and start a sizzling summer romance.

Everything is perfect between them until Sherrie discovers Curtis is keeping secrets from her – and his biggest secret of all will change everything. Can their newfound love survive, or will destiny keep them apart forever?

Read reviews and order your copy of Trust with Hearts here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/trust-with-hearts

I hope you enjoyed this “Summer Romance Series” blog. Visit my site www.kelliwilkins.com to learn about all of my books, read more blogs, and get links to my social media.

Happy Summer,

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

               

Heating Up Summer Romances with Sizzling Details

 

Happy Summer everyone!

To celebrate the summer months, I’m posting a “Summer Romance Series” of blogs. Today I’m sharing a few thoughts on how authors use details to spice up sultry summer romances.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself at the beach. The ocean waves are rolling into shore… you feel the sun on your skin and the warm, gritty sand beneath your toes… the air smells like salt water mixed with coconut-scented suntan lotion… You open your eyes and see a tanned hunk standing in front of you. A bead of sweat drips down his six-pack abs…

Did it feel like you were on the beach? Could you sense everything happening around you? Good, because conveying sensory details to readers is an excellent way to draw them into the book and make them part of the action.

More than anything, readers want to get inside the story, feel what the characters are feeling, and live vicariously in the world the author has created. When writing a summer romance (or any romance), authors should make the most of the five senses to bring the story alive. Exploring all the details of a scene gives the reader the experience of “being there.”

Here are a few examples of how authors bring everyday surroundings to life and enhance the sensory details in a story:

What’s the weather? How does the weather influence the action in a story? Is it too hot and humid to move? Does a sudden thunderstorm send everyone at the baseball game running for cover? Or is it a perfect breezy summer day? When does the scene take place? At an early morning sunrise? In the blazing afternoon heat? A cool summer night?

Liven it up with color! Summer colors are usually bold and bright. Authors can use details to describe the heroine’s hot pink bathing suit, the hero’s cherry red convertible, or the vibrant turquoise beach towel they make love on…

Add some flavor: The sense of taste is usually hard to work into a romance, but authors can get inventive. When the characters kiss, what do they taste? Zingy lemonade? Beer? Mint chip ice cream? Spicy BBQ? Does the heroine taste like the strawberries she’s just eaten?

The sounds of summer: Summer is a great time of year for main characters to be outside, so what do they hear in the background? Kids yelling and playing games? Music? Splashing in a pool? Carnival-ride sounds from a boardwalk? Sea gulls calling? Lawn mowers blaring?

Look around: What do the characters see as they go through a scene? Fireflies? Bees buzzing around flowers? A tattoo peeking out from under a bathing suit? Her long tan legs? Are people watching them kiss on the beach?

Breathe deep: The sense of smell isn’t always crucial to a romance, but having a hero follow his nose to the scent of burgers cooking on a grill, or relaxing in the comforting smell of smoke from a campfire can enhance a scene. Maybe the heroine is turned on (or off!) when she smells suntan lotion. Don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers. Flowers are blooming all summer, and the heroine can be an avid gardener who loves the scent of roses, while the hero has allergies.

Reach out and touch: One way to pull readers into the action is to describe what the characters physically feel as they go through a scene. Authors can describe sweat trickling down the hero’s back, the brisk coolness of walking into an air-conditioned room, jumping into a cold lake, rough sand under bare feet, or even what it feels like to touch the hero’s hot, sweaty skin…

My summer paranormal romance, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover, is set at the beach. (Yes, it’s quite an unusual setting for a vampire romance!) In this book, I used a variety of details to describe the hero’s obsession with the sun, sand, and surf (or as he put it: wax, water, and waves).

I contrasted all that with details of his nights spent with the vampire heroine (the moonlight reflecting off the ocean, making love on the deserted beach, and swimming at night). By enhancing the details, I showed how Brian and Anya lived in completely different worlds (literally, night and day) and still found summer love.

I incorporated a lot of “summer” details into my contemporary romance, Trust with Hearts. In this sizzling tale, Curtis and Sherrie fall in love over the course of a summer. I used the hot and sticky weather, cool summer drinks, and sultry summer nights to build heat between the two characters.

Want more writing tips and advice? Order my fun and easy guide to writing, You Can Write, Really! here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/you-can-write-really

The next time you read a summer romance, pay closer attention to the little details the author has added. Notice how they draw you deeper into the world of the characters and the story. And don’t we all want to get swept away into another world for a while?

I hope you enjoyed this “Summer Romance Series” blog. Visit my site www.kelliwilkins.com to learn about all of my books, read more blogs, and get links to my social media.

Whether you’re writing a summer romance, or losing yourself in one on a lazy afternoon, enjoy the summer!

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

 

Remember the Battle of Gettysburg with… DEAD ‘TIL DAWN

 

Welcome to July! 

While everyone is celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, I’m remembering the Battle of Gettysburg that took place July 1-3, 1863. 

Several years ago, my husband and I went there on vacation. Our unusual paranormal experiences inspired me to write my horror novella, Dead Til Dawn. Here’s the summary, link, excerpt, and more about that eerie battlefield visit.

DEAD ‘TIL DAWN

Disturbing the dead doesn’t prove you’re brave – it proves you’re stupid.

After touring Gettysburg battlefield, Jessica, Tim, and Steve decide to sneak out to the Devil’s Den for some late-night fun. Jessica’s friend Kathy objects, and warns them about trespassing where they’re not wanted.

Undaunted by ghost stories and fueled by his own arrogance, Tim races toward the Devil’s Den. When the group drives through mysterious battlefield fog, they find themselves surrounded by Civil War soldiers looking for a little fun of their own.

Kathy leaves the others to fend for themselves and flees to Little Round Top. Although she’s rescued by a kindhearted Union solider named Charlie, she refuses to believe that what she’s experiencing is real. As the nighttime battle rages on, Charlie introduces Kathy to other weary soldiers, and she quickly realizes she’s trapped in the land of the dead until dawn.

***

So how did this story come about? Well, if you know me, you know I love writing psychological/creepy/spooky horror stories. And I also love traveling to historic places–especially if they’re haunted.

This novella was inspired by actual events that happened to me in Gettysburg, PA. My husband and I had a very unusual experience with battlefield fog and I wanted to use it in a story. Here’s the short version:

It was around 11:30 pm and we wanted to explore. Since you can’t go onto the battlefield at night, we decided to drive around it. As soon as we got outside of town we came upon a wall of fog. You could literally see the line where it started. (I incorporated this into the story.)

I thought that was strange–but what the heck–we’d drive through it and come out the other side. Wrong. The thick, swirling fog completely engulfed the car. We couldn’t see more than two feet in front of us, and saw nothing but fog on all sides.

We figured the fog would dissipate or… something. Nope. The further we drove, the thicker it got. From time to time I swore I saw shadows in the fog, but I figured it was my imagination.

Robert was getting a little nervous because it was pretty obvious this wasn’t normal. He was worried about another car coming down the street (there weren’t any, who else would drive around in creepy fog?) and hitting us. I told him I was more worried about what we would do if a Civil War soldier on a horse ran out in front of us.

After about half an hour we decided to turn around. As we headed back to town, I was on the side of the car nearest Little Round Top. The fog was on the ground in the field next to us, but it wasn’t high up on the ridge. I looked toward the top of the ridge and saw several flashes of red and orange light. At first I thought it was heat lightning (but it was April), then I remembered all the reenactment photos I’d seen in the museums. Whenever a cannon went off, they always showed a burst of red or orange light. (Again, I used this in the novella.)

I watched the bursts of light go back and forth for a while. I rolled down my window and heard a muffled “boom” noise. Robert asked me if I’d heard thunder. When we got back to the hotel, I told him what I’d seen and heard. (He said he was happy that I had waited to tell him until we were off the road.)

A few years later, we were in Colonial Williamsburg on a ghost tour and I told my fog story to the woman running the tour. Her face actually paled and her mouth dropped open. “You went out in battlefield fog?” (She was clearly shaken up and horrified.)

I said, “Yes, so? What’s the big deal? What exactly is it? What happens if you go out in it?” (I had my own theories, of course, but I wanted to hear what she had to say.)

I never got an answer. All she said before she took off was, “Don’t ever do that again.”

Flash forward another few years. Robert and I went back to Gettysburg with friends who wanted to see the fog for themselves. We waited until late and went to the edge of town. There wasn’t a wisp of fog anywhere.

I guess Robert and I witnessed something special that night. I’m not sure what would have happened or what/who we might have seen if we’d stayed longer (technically we were “safe” in the car… I think), but common sense prevailed. We’ll go back another time and see what happens – because you never know….

Here’s an excerpt from Dead’ Til Dawn, featuring the infamous battlefield fog.

***

Steve leaned forward in the back seat and tapped Tim on the shoulder. “You think we can get to the Devil’s Den now? Won’t they have security guards?”

“Who’d guard a battlefield at night? Ghosts?” Tim chuckled.

“The ghost stories we heard today were cool,” Steve replied. “I wanted to take that ghost tour at the orphanage. They let you investigate and try to contact dead soldiers. Maybe tomorrow–”

“I told you, that was a rip off,” Tim interrupted. “Who cares who died out here, anyway? It was over a hundred and fifty years ago. I don’t know why you keep wasting your time and money on that paranormal crap. There’s no such thing as ghosts. People in town made up those stories to rake in tourist money and sell costumes to idiot reenactors. If playing dress-up… Whoa!”

Tim stopped the car. A wall of white mist covered the road ten feet ahead of them.

“Is that fog?” Jessica asked, brushing her long red hair over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Steve answered. “But why is it there and not anywhere else?”

Kathy peered out the side window. The two-lane road was crystal clear on both sides of the car, but the line of fog blocked their path. It’s waiting for us to advance. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Let’s go back.”

Tim stomped on the gas and plowed into the fog.

“Check it out. We’re surrounded,” Steve exclaimed.

Fog engulfed the car, blocking out the fields, trees, and fences along the road. Every so often Kathy thought she saw a glimpse of movement in the misty darkness, but it was hard to tell with Tim speeding like a maniac.

Steve pointed behind them. “Look back there. The town’s gone, swallowed up,” he said.

Kathy gazed out the rear window. Steve was right. Behind them, Gettysburg lay sleeping, wrapped in a blanket of milky whiteness.

***

Wanna find out what happens when they get out of the car? Read reviews and order your copy of Dead ‘Til Dawn here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/dead-til-dawn

Looking for great summer reads? Visit my site to learn about all my titles: www.KelliWilkins.com

Happy Summer!

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

 In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.