Book Tour & Interview: The Matchmaker’s Royal Mess by Frieda J. Downing

I'm delighted to be a part of The Matchmaker's Royal Mess by Frieda J. Downing book tour, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours, and to have had the opportunity to ask Frieda a few questions. She will be giving away a paperback copy of The Matchmaker's Royal Mess and a $25 gift card at the end of the tour.

The Matchmaker’s Royal Mess

Frieda J. Downing
Publication date: November 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She’d rather give a mountain lion a bikini wax than mess with love again.

Been there, went viral, never going back. Hattie Montague’s life as a backcountry guide for the spoiled and famous suits her just fine, thanks. It’s the only place she feels completely safe being herself. So what if she has nightmares that she can only speak squirrel and craves pine cones for breakfast? It beats leaving yourself vulnerable to humans. Fine, all of them aren’t bad. She likes probably three, so when one needs her help, she drags herself back to civilization. If she can navigate white water rapids, she can babysit a matchmaking office for a weekend. It’s not like she’ll have to deal with people or, you know, be nice. Ew.

Alexander Greye ruined her life ten years ago. Not his proudest moment. Known as the Winter Warlocke, he’s a man born and raised to lead a country with logical precision. Yet around her, he can’t seem to think rationally. He’s never met anyone who dives into the unknown like she does or tames chaos like she can. In a world as perfectly controlled as his, that makes her irresistible and utterly dangerous. And he’s willing to risk it all to thaw his frozen heart.

It’s half past too late when he realizes his carefully laid plans to win her over covered everything except the theft of the Crown Jewels, an abandoned mine where they’d have to face their deepest fears, and the betrayal that forces them to let go.Quite literally.

Warning: Not for the faint of heart. Sassy romantic adventure, with instances of chaos, misunderstandings, and feels. Oh, and the occasional sheep. Sparks will fly, it’s gonna get awkward, and the Happily-Ever-After will be well-earned.

Goodreads / Amazon

Please help me welcome Frieda!

What inspired you to write this book?

I’d like to say it was something deep and meaningful, but initially, it was the picture of a college girl who had access to a shower but really just wanted a bath. Being resourceful, she dug out her plastic storage tote that she’d used to pack her bedding in, emptied it, and filled it with water in her shower. Roommates being roommates, they took a picture of her all crumpled up and happy in her “tub” and posted it. My imagination was off and running about a straight shooting, rough-around-her-many-edges backcountry guide who becomes a royal fish out of water. And a modern, messy fairy tale was born.


What are you working on now?

I’m working on the next book in the series, The Matchmaker’s Not-So-Honest Mistake, a sort of bad boy Cyrano de Bergerac meets The Bachelorette. Luna, a high school teacher, teams up with the Matchmakers to prove to some of her “less popular” teens that anything is possible if you stay true to yourself, including dating the guy or girl of your dreams. The Matchmakers decide to hold a Bachelorette sort of contest to find her perfect match. To make the competition even more exciting (or terrifying, if you ask Luna) they hire Cy, a notorious ladies’ man, wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, and her brother’s best friend. His job? Coach the bachelors to provide the ultimate romantic experience. It’s a lighthearted bad boy falls for best friend’s sister romance, if you enjoy chatting tropes.

What are you reading?

Several books, like a lot of you. With my daughter: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I mean mansions, puzzles, secrets, hunks, romance, danger? Uh, sold. I’m absolutely enjoying it. I’m also reading Double Whammy by Gretchen Archer and am completely entertained. Loving the main character and the fact that things are a whole lot more than what they first appeared to be. Now everything is going sideways, and I’m such a happy reader.


What is your favorite genre and why?

Romantic Comedy, without a doubt, especially when I find writers who can surprise me. I adore it because from start to finish relationships are a gold mine of heartfelt desires, vulnerability, misunderstandings, awkwardness, and just plain dumb decisions sometimes when our hearts overrule our brains. Who hasn’t done something totally mortifying in front of a crush? Who hasn’t gone into a situation with golden intentions, only for everything to explode into an utter trainwreck? It’s just so cathartic. For me, it’s often a fountain of never-ending relatability. Add that Happily-Ever-After, and I just keep coming back for more.


How did you become an author?

I was a stay-at-home mom, and it was a time in my marriage where things weren’t awesome. There was financial stress, my husband was working nights, and we were living with my mother-in-law. One night I saw an ad in a magazine for a writing contest and thought what the heck. I can’t sleep anyway. So I wrote a story for my own jollies, sent it in, and forgot about it. That is, until I won. What I neglected to read in the fine print was the prize was a publishing contract. And so it all began.


What do you do when you’re not writing?

I get into trouble lol. Seriously, because when I get bored, I get sketchy ideas. And sometimes you just gotta try that stuff out, you know? To keep myself out of jail, I read, of course, in all kinds of genres. Aside from that, I love to mountain bike (not the crazy stuff you see on YouTube), kayak (easy Class III or below because I love my life and I’m not twenty anymore), bake crazy new stuff with my family, play Settlers of Catan, and travel. We’re complete travel junkies. Then summers I run an outdoor mystery adventure camp for girls with a sassy partner in crime and some incredible volunteers. We’ve helped over 700 girls learn outdoor skills and overcome fears through searching for clues and solving mysteries. I adore seeing the confidence, strength, and courage they develop.

Author Bio:

Nice to meet you. I’m Frieda. I write sweet contemporary romance as well as romantic adventure.

I blame it on my childhood babysitters. For some reason they thought I shouldn’t ride our family’s buffalo. Believe me, I was just as shocked as you. Though I never did get that buffalo ride, I found plenty of other creative outlets for my adventure needs. Some were good clean fun, some got me kicked out of various and sundry events, and others ended with me getting lost in catacombs. (Not metaphorically speaking. Somewhere there’s an Austrian catacomb caretaker? guy whom I owe dinner and a large apology.)

I like to think I’ve gotten a tiny bit wiser.

I married my best friend and dove head first into the magnificent cyclone known as raising kids. I mountain bike every chance I get, lose my coffee cup daily, and bake a mean lemon merengue pie, if I do say so myself. I may indulge in shenanigans on a regular basis, but I plead the fifth every time.

I suppose it’s important to me that you know how very much I love us crazy, broken humans. We dream so big. We try so hard. Yet somehow, so often, things just go terribly, horribly wrong.

That’s where my books begin… because that’s where the real love story’s found. I hope you enjoy reading them. Most of all, I wish you adventure, joy, and more love than you knew was possible,

Frieda

You can find more at www.friedajdowning.com

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