Charleston, SC, June 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palmetto Publishing has released Heat Wave In New Orleans-, a new multicultural contemporary romance by JJ Rodomel. The novel immerses readers in the sultry atmosphere of New Orleans, where an unexpected connection between two people threatens to overturn the lives they have carefully built.
The story opens inside Le Coup de Foudre, a 300-year-old taproom in the French Quarter, where Mawar, a captivating Indonesian woman, sits at the bar beside her distracted fiancé, Clyde. On the other side of the counter stands Dr. Anton Timish, a researcher moonlighting as a bartender whose time in New Orleans is running out. Over glasses of Abita Amber and whispered conversations about spotted owls, an undeniable intellectual and physical chemistry takes hold. The novel draws heavily on the city’s jazz rhythms, craft beer culture, and jasmine-scented nights to create a setting as vivid as its central love story.
The stakes rise quickly. Anton’s research stint is ending, and a return to Lansing, Michigan, looms ahead. Mawar wears another man’s ring, bound by commitment to a fiancé who seems more interested in his phone than in her. Every stolen glance and accidental touch pulls them closer, but one step forward could shatter friendships, loyalties, and the safe futures both have planned. Secrets compound the tension, and the question of desire versus duty becomes impossible to ignore.
Rodomel stated, “After decades as a psychotherapist listening to the most intimate stories people carry, I wanted to explore what happens when the heart recognizes something the mind is not ready to accept. This book is about the courage it takes to question the life you planned when real love arrives uninvited.”
Rodomel holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Metaphysics, and her background lends the novel a psychological depth uncommon in the genre. The book will appeal to readers of Jasmine Guillory and Abby Jimenez who gravitate toward steamy contemporary romances featuring diverse casts, food-centric settings, and slow burn tension balanced with humor and heart. With growing reader demand for multicultural romance and stories that center identity and belonging, the novel arrives at a moment when the genre’s audience is actively seeking fresh, representative voices.
Heat Wave In New Orleans- is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit any of their social media platforms.
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About the Author: JJ Rodomel is a retired psychotherapist who holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Metaphysics. Her extensive career exploring the inner workings of the human mind gives her fiction a rare psychological authenticity, allowing her to portray the emotional complexities of love, longing, and intimacy with striking precision. A lifelong learner and dedicated scholar, she brings both intellectual rigor and genuine warmth to every story she writes.
Rodomel’s journey into romance fiction grew naturally from decades spent listening to the most intimate stories people carry. As a psychotherapist, she witnessed firsthand the transformative power of human connection, and she channels that understanding into novels that explore the messy, exhilarating, and deeply rewarding terrain of romantic relationships. Her background in exoteric studies and comparative religions also informs her work, lending her characters a spiritual and philosophical richness that sets her writing apart in the genre.
Based in the Midwest, Rodomel can often be found in spirited conversation with friends and family about cosmology and world events. She is an avid traveler and voracious reader whose curiosity about the world feeds directly into the vivid settings and layered narratives of her books. Every summer, she trades her pen for a fiddle at a music camp in New York, where she immerses herself in Celtic melodies. It is this blend of intellect, passion, and playfulness that defines both the woman and her writing. Find the author at [email protected].
Media Contact: [email protected]
Available for interviews: JJ Rodomel, the author
- Heat Wave In New Orleans-