10 Facts in A Perfect Mistake Based on Reality by Laura Brown

Welcome to the book tour for A Perfect Mistake by Laura Brown! One of the bits of advice that writers are often given is to write what you know. And you'll always find an element of truth inside every story we write, even if it is a mere kernel. Today, author Laura Brown is letting us in on 10 elements of her latest book that are actually based on reality. Let her know what you think in the comments! And then follow the tour to learn even more about her. Best of luck in the giveaway!

10 Facts in A Perfect Mistake Based on Reality

1. Like my main character, Nica Anders, I worked as a social worker, specifically a case manager in elder services. I had clients who were frail and needed more help to stay at home. It shaped me in many ways, especially being in my mid-twenties when I started working there. My views on aging changed, and I learned a lot from my clients. I wanted to put some of that into Nica, because it’s a very powerful thing.
2. Along with number one: Because of the area I worked in (and partly why I applied for this job in the first place), I had a building filled with Deaf elders, and since I’m fluent in ASL, I worked with them. Due to language and culture they didn’t have the same access when working with a non-signing case manager. I not only could communicate, but I understood the culture and life with a hearing loss. It’s one of the things I miss most since changing careers.
3. Nica has a cat named Oreo, based off a real life trouble maker I had. Oreo was a kitten sized adult, a former stray we adopted. She was labeled “quirky” and when I went to pick her up I learned she was deaf! She never learned ASL, much preferring to use my signing hands to get scratches.
4. Nica’s apartment (sensing a theme here?) was based off an apartment I had! I loved the exposed brick, renovated factory interior, and even though I had moved when I started writing this story, the apartment kept coming to mind as I pictured Nica at home.
5. Brownie covered oreos. My couple has a bit too much fun baking these, but it’s a real treat! Simply mix up a batch of brownies, dip oreos in the batter, and bake. Yum!
6. My hero has a hearing loss and so do I! Cam Thompson may be Deaf, while I’m Hard of Hearing, but it’s important to me to show characters with hearing loss, and show the reality of life with a hearing loss.
7. Along with above, I made Cam verbal and have him lipread, but make a point of showing how incredibly hard this is. Lip movements only account for about 20% of the sound, the rest is a guessing game. I always say it’s easier for me, because I have some hearing, than Cam, who doesn’t, but he does a better job lipreading than I do. He’s also fluent in ASL and that is his primary language, without it he’d have struggled much more with spoken English.
8. Jewish funerals. When I first wrote this, I hadn’t intended to make any of my characters Jewish. But I had a funeral scene to write, and I could either research how others do things and ask my husband a million questions, or I could write what I knew. The story and characters came alive with this decision.
9. Fall in New England. Salem, Massachusetts, gets all spooky and Halloween ready over the summer, so by September (summer, really!) there are already Halloween happenings covering the city, even if most of the tourists don’t come until closer to the end of October.
10. The reality of keeping a professional relationship with clients and caregivers. Nica finds herself in an ethical quandary when she realizes Cam is a caregiver to one of her clients after their one-night-stand. I assure you I never found myself in this situation, but it’s one that would have serious consequences to employment and career. My former co-workers look at me with shock when I tell them the basic plot!

A Perfect Mistake

Falling for the forbidden has never felt so right…

When social worker Nica Anders indulges in one night of sexual passion with delicious Deaf man Cam Thompson, the last thing she expects is to see him the next day while visiting her dying client. He’s Cassie’s grandson and caregiver, the one treat she shouldn’t have tasted. Now her job is on the line, demanding she stay away.

But their attraction is building like a raging inferno and Nica can’t help but get burned.

Cam Thompson’s life is a mess. He’s losing his grandmother, the one person who’s supported him his whole life, and her dying wish is for him to settle down with a good woman—specifically her social worker Nica Anders. Despite Nica trying to hold tight to her ethics, he’s falling for her hard and fast.

Yet Cam's grandmother isn’t the only matchmaker in his family, and someone's determined to keep him and Nica apart.

Steamy, touching, heart-warming. A much-needed #OwnVoices romance to go perfectly with that plate of chocolate brownies and glass of wine!

Read an excerpt:

As I approached the room, my grandmother’s door inched open. I waited a minute, but no one emerged. I stepped to the side, letting the social worker finish up, trying not to tap my foot in impatience and envision how many digits my inbox had soared to.

I wondered if this was the social worker Grandma always talked about. The thought alone caused me to laugh and my foot to still. For years Grandma had matchmaking aspirations between me and the social worker. Then again, Grandma always had matchmaking aspirations, really bad matchmaking, take one look and run the other way kind. We’d never met but had e-mailed many times. I contemplated taking another step to the side to avoid any additional matchmaking attempts when the door opened further. A female with familiar blond curly hair backed out of the room. She waved to my grandmother and closed the door. Before I could chastise my dick on the urges the hair created, I found myself face to face with Nica.

She froze, an expression of pure bewilderment that I surely mirrored. Eyes wide enough that white surrounded her irises. On the lapel of her pink button-down shirt she had an ID badge. Her picture was on the badge, under the logo for Independent Senior Services, with her name: Veronica Anders.

Available on Amazon 

About Laura Brown

Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband has put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her two cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own Hard of Hearing ears, to the characters she creates.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorLBrown

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraBrownAuthor/

Website: https://www.laurabrownauthor.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Laura-Brown/e/B00IADINQW/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42903541-a-perfect-mistake

Laura Brown will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway