Foreign Affairs with Sidney Bristol: Dream Vacation

The Foreign Affairs romance anthology from Turquoise Morning Press is out today in e-book format. (Trade paperback out October 8.) Available from:

Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance

This steamy collection features stories of dreamy foreign men from all over the globe, penned by Sidney Bristol, Michelle Garren Flye, J.M. Kelley, Karen Stivali, Georgia St. Mane, and myself.  Anthology author Sidney Bristol is here to get things started by tempting us with visions of French men and her story, Dream Vacation.

In a few sentences, tell us about your story for Foreign Affairs:

Dream Vacation is about Naomi, a school teacher who has recreated herself into the woman she’s always wanted to be, going on the trip of a lifetime and finding herself stranded on the resort by a tropical storm. Unbeknownst to her, Luc, her internet pen-pal from a weight loss forum, has flown in to surprise her.

Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?

I think what attracts Naomi to Luc besides her fascination with everything Paris, she is a French teacher after all, is that Luc knows her. They became friends back before she lost weight and in many ways they’ve held hands while they went through this transformation together. Luc is a quiet guy, but he’s driven and he’s decided Naomi is worth moving heaven and earth for. I think that makes him pretty irresistible. Plus, who doesn’t love a guy that can turn his life around on will power alone?

How did you choose your hero’s nationality?

Last year my mother and I went to Paris for the largest and longest running organized cycling event, Paris-Brest-Paris, or PBP. I don’t cycle, but my mom is a nut about it. So I went with her and helped crew some. When I wasn’t helping her, I was discovering the city on my own, so it just seemed right that I write about it. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity to use my personal knowledge of Paris since Dream Vacation actually takes place in Cancun, but it was still fun.

Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?

Oh my goodness, yes! There’s lots coming out. I just released my first novel, Under His Skin, on July 20th from Ellora’s Cave. I have a Taboo book with them that should come out late fall or early winter titled Bound with Pearls. And there’s also a Christmas science-fiction romance called A Kiss for a Cure coming out from Lyrical Press during the holidays, so a lot is in the works. And that’s just what’s contracted!

Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?

I don’t know. I really like Naomi and Luc, and their story is really only beginning. There’s a lot left to work out, but it’s not like they’re strangers beginning at square one, they have history. I’m not going to rule out writing about them, but it’s not in my pipeline right now.

Dream Vacation isn’t my first multicultural romance. I’m a big believer that we’re not all one flavor and we should write about everyone and anything. Personal Adventures has a Native American-Asian heroine. I have a book in edits right now with a Korean heroine, and more planned along those lines.

It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life.  She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.

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