From Boardrooms to Base Camps: How I Put My Own Spin on the Billionaire Romance Hero

Billionaire romance heroes are one of my guilty pleasures, but when it came to creating Reese Spencer for The Sugar Maple Inn, I fancied doing things a little differently. In this blog, I’m sharing how my billionaire swapped the boardroom for base camps, and what happened when this rugged adventurer arrived in Solace Springs and met a woman who really couldn’t care less about his bank balance.

I have a confession. I LOVE a billionaire romance.

I mean, what’s not to love? There’s the escapism for starters and let’s not forget the confidence and freedom that comes with an insane bank balance.

I’ve happily fallen for my fair share of billionaire CEOs over the years, so when I started thinking about Reese Spencer for The Sugar Maple Inn, I knew I wanted him to have all those things I enjoy about the trope. But I really wanted to put my own spin on it.

When I tried to picture a billionaire arriving in Solace Springs, I couldn’t imagine him as a boardroom kind of man. I could very easily picture him halfway up a mountain though.

And that was much more interesting.

What if my billionaire romance hero was an adventurer?

Once I’d got Reese out of his suit (so to speak), I started to see him much more clearly.

He was Canadian and rugged and not one to be tied to a place. The sort of man who would rather be pulling on a pair of hiking boots than choosing a tie for a board meeting.

Somewhere along the way, I realised that rather than running a huge corporation, Reese would use the freedom his wealth gave him to travel the world leading expeditions.

Now that sounded like my kinda billionaire.

I still wanted all the fun of the billionaire romance fantasy. Reese has money, confidence and the ability to go pretty much anywhere he chooses. He’s also pretty used to getting his own way.

So, naturally, I needed to introduce him to someone who wasn’t going to let that happen.

Enter Grace Sullivan.

A billionaire romance where money can’t solve the problem

Those of you who’ve read The Cherry Blossom Boathouse will already know Grace, with her pink-tipped hair, Dr Martens and a tendency to say exactly what she thinks – sometimes softening the blow with coffee and cinnamon rolls.

Grace loves Solace Springs. It’s HER town.

She’s watched her mum, Mabel, make her mark on the community with Blossoms & Brew.

She’s watched her best friend Sophie breathe new life into The Cherry Blossom Boathouse and create somewhere that brings people together.

And now Grace is ready for something of her own and she has her sights firmly set on the Sugar Maple Inn.

The inn is part of Solace Springs’ history and Grace can see what it could become again. For her, this isn’t simply about owning a business. It’s her chance to take something that matters to the town she loves and make her own mark on its next chapter.

There’s just one rather large, rugged Canadian problem.

Reese wants the inn too and suddenly I had something all his billions couldn’t easily fix.

Grace isn’t interested in being dazzled by his bank balance and she certainly isn’t going to politely step aside.

She wants that inn and the fact that Reese wants it too probably makes her want it even more.

And I loved the contrast between them. Reese is a man who can travel anywhere in the world, while Grace has put down deep roots in one particular corner of it. He’s spent his life chasing the next adventure. She’s reached the point where she’s ready to build something that is hers.

They just happen to have chosen the same place to do it.

So, what happens when a man who never stays meets a woman who knows exactly where she belongs?

Well, obviously, I stranded them together…

It’s autumn in Washington State when Grace and Reese end up on remote Maple Island just as the weather takes a turn.

A nasty storm rolls in, leaving them unable to get back to Solace Springs, so they have no choice but to stay at the very inn they’re both determined to make their own.

Together. In the honeymoon suite!

Even as I wrote this, I had a smile on my face. Reese is a man who spends his life leading expeditions. He’s used to difficult conditions, unfamiliar places and dealing with whatever nature throws at him – and then he met Grace.

Being stranded together makes things considerably difficult - especially because beneath all the bickering and rivalry, there’s an attraction neither of them can entirely ignore.

The secret connection neither of them sees coming

The most delicious twist is that Grace and Reese have been talking (and flirting) online, each getting closer to their mystery “friend” without realising the person driving them mad in real life is also the person they can’t stop thinking about online.

Force them together through an autumn storm, on a remote island in the honeymoon suite, and things were never going to remain entirely innocent - this is a spicy billionaire romance, after all.

Looking for a different kind of billionaire romance?

I think that’s what I enjoyed most about creating Reese. I could keep everything I love about the billionaire romance fantasy and then send my billionaire off into the wilderness instead.

And, eventually, to the small town of Solace Springs where a pink-haired single mum is waiting to make his life considerably more complicated.

So, if you love billionaire romance but are ready to to venture out of teh boardroom, The Sugar Maple Inn might be just what you’re looking for.

After all, if I’m going to strand a rugged billionaire and the woman he can’t stop thinking about in a honeymoon suite, it would be terribly rude not to make the most of it.

Welcome back to Solace Springs. Reese Spencer is waiting for you in The Sugar Maple Inn.