Behind the Book: Fake Engagement, Real Temptation by Joya Ryan

As a reader, I love getting lost in a good book and getting to know the characters. Those scenes that make you cry or laugh or give you the shivers are the best. Being a reader is like enjoying chicken nuggets. You just saddle up with your favorite dipping sauce and eat your heart out. But as an author…you see how the nuggs are made. And honey, it can be a brutal process. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing! But I always wonder what goes on behind the scenes for other authors. When I pick up a book and read a super sexy scene, I wonder, “Damn, that was great! I bet that was cake for them to write!” or “Holy crap, I can’t believe the hero was such a douche in that scene! I wonder if that was a difficult scene to write…” This is why I wanted to share some fun facts about the making of Fake Engagement, Real Temptation. A behind the scenes look on how these nuggs were made.

Fun fact #1: The original opening scene to FERT was changed 3 times, one of which had Carrie in her wedding dress at the airport after running away from her actual wedding. (Now, the book starts with Blake at Carrie’s hotel, walking in on her jazercising in her underpants and drinking whiskey)

Fun fact #2: Carrie’s last name “Morgan” is a shout out to my amazing editor for this book, “Stephen Morgan.”

Fun fact #3: When FERT went through it’s first round of editing, it was gutted, rearranged, and put back together again. But no matter how extensive the edits, there’s always time to have fun and laugh with the wonderful team that goes into producing these books. My favorite funny moment with my editor on this book happened in round one of edits where he noted on the manuscript, “Hmmmm…I think this blow job scene comes a bit too soon…” to which I replied, “That’s what she said!”

Fun Fact #4: The easiest scene for me to write in FERT was the “pineapple tour” scene. Where things get hot and heavy for the characters getting lost in the pineapple maze in the middle of Hawaii.

Fun Fact #5: At one point, FERT had a scene with an exploding burrito in it. Yep. You read that right. Exploding burrito.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing how these nuggs were made for Fake Engagement, Real Temptation and know that every time you open a book, there’s always a story behind that story! Thank you to all you amazing readers and I appreciate all your feedback and general awesomeness!