Jenna Sutton's Blog, page 2

Exclusive Teaser for Barreled Over Audiobook

Listen to an exclusive teaser from the just-released Barreled Over audiobook!

http://jennasutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Barreled-Over-Teaser-CH-13.mp3

Excerpt from Barreled Over

The set-up: Beck and Ava Grace are guests at a s’mores party hosted by Quinn and Amelia O’Brien (the main characters from All the Right Places)

Beck’s marshmallow had turned a nice golden brown, so he pulled it from the fire pit and carefully removed it from the skewer. Hot to the touch, the melted marshmallow oozed over his fingers as he placed it on the chocolate and graham cracker stack.

“What kind of s’more are you making?” Ava Grace asked.

As he pressed a graham cracker on top of the marshmallow, he thought about ignoring her question. He didn’t want to be drawn into conversation with her. It was bad enough he had to sit next to her and pretend not to notice the lacy waistband of her pastel pink panties when she leaned forward to toast her marshmallow.

Good manners eventually prevailed. “I’m a traditionalist. Plain graham crackers, milk chocolate, and vanilla marshmallow.” He sucked the marshmallow from his fingers before asking, “What about you?”

“I’m a non-traditionalist,” she answered with a smile, rotating her skewer over the fire pit. “Chocolate graham crackers, dark chocolate, and peppermint marshmallow.”

“That’s adventurous,” he gibed.

She glanced at him, the flames of the fire bringing out the gold in her eyes. “Under the right circumstances, I can be very adventurous.”

“Hmm,” he replied noncommittally while his cock demanded to know two things: what were the right circumstances, and how adventurous was veryadventurous?

He looked toward the fire pit, and when he noticed her marshmallow was getting a little too done, he tapped her forearm. “Your marshmallow’s burning.”

She immediately pulled it from the flames and began to ease it from the skewer. She hissed when gooey marshmallow got all over her hand.

“Dang, that’s hot,” she murmured, raising her fingers to her mouth.

As she licked the pink stickiness from them, blood rushed to his groin, his cock throbbing with every beat of his heart. He mentally reminded himself to avoid situations that involved Ava Grace and sticky or creamy foods.

In fact, he needed to avoid all situations that involved Ava Grace. Period.

He couldn’t think straight with her around. Earlier this evening, he’d almost kissed her, and a crazy, stupid part of him—his dick—wished he hadn’t pulled back. His dick wanted to know if she tasted as good as she smelled … if her petal-pink lips were as soft as they looked.

Trying not to think about her mouth and all the adventurous things she could do with it, he took a big bite of his s’more. As he chewed, he tried to recall the last time he’d eaten one. Probably back in high school, before everything turned to shit.

“You seem to be an expert marshmallow toaster,” Ava Grace noted, a teasing lilt in her husky voice. “How’d you gain that experience?”

“I went camping a lot when I was little, and we always toasted marshmallows over the fire.”

The memory made him a little sad. Even after all these years, he still missed his dad. Nothing could fill that void.

“So you learned by example,” she said as she built her s’more.

“I guess you could say that.” He leaned back in the Adirondack chair and propped his ankle on his knee. “Did you go camping when you were a kid?”

“No. I’ve never been camping. But I’d like to go someday. Sleeping under the stars sounds so romantic.” She flashed a teasing smile at him. “Maybe you can take me.”

Strangely, the thought of taking Ava Grace camping sounded like fun. He had no doubt she’d have plenty to say about the outing, and she’d deliver those observations in that sexy, wry tone that both amused and aroused him.

And after the sun went down, he’d build a blazing fire and stretch out under the stars. He’d pull her on top of him and watch her as she rode him, her head thrown back, her eyes shut, and her thick hair streaming behind her.

Fuck.

“Sleeping under the stars is not as romantic as it sounds,” he growled, trying to convince himself. “The ground is hard, and the bugs are vicious.”

Her smile widened. “How else am I going to achieve your level of marshmallow-toasting expertise?”

He lowered his voice. “I’ll let you in on a little secret that might help…”

“What?” she asked eagerly.

“Toasted marshmallows are even better when you douse them in bourbon before you put them on the fire.”

Her eyes widened. “Isn’t that dangerous? Don’t they catch on fire?”

He chuckled. “Sometimes. But usually the fire just caramelizes the sugar in the bourbon and the marshmallow. Kind of like using a kitchen torch on crème brûlée.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “I get it. That does sound yummy.” She pursed her lips. “You know, there are all kinds of marshmallow flavors now. Lemon meringue, cinnamon, coffee. I wonder how a bourbon marshmallow would taste?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say it would taste pretty damn good.”

“I think I’ll play mad scientist and come up with a bourbon marshmallow recipe to include in our cookbook.”

Our. He liked the way that sounded. Like they were a team.

Pre-order Barreled Over

 

Introducing the Trinity Distillery series!

I have very exciting news—Barreled Over, the first book of my new series, Trinity Distillery, will be available on December 26, 2017. The main characters are Jonah Beck and Ava Grace Landy (the best friend of Amelia Winger, the heroine of All the Right Places).

Barreled Over will be available in ebook, print, and audio! It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon, and it will be available at BN.com, iTunes, and Kobo on release day.

Here are the details about Barreled Over:

Ava Grace Landy’s music career is humming along until a shakeup at her label jeopardizes her recording contract and curses her with the world’s worst boss. Determined to satisfy him, she partners with Trinity Distillery to access a larger male audience. To her surprise, she’s the one who’s satisfied—by none other than Jonah Beck, the gorgeous, yet gruff man behind the bourbon.

No doubt about it, bourbon runs in Beck’s blood. But it’s audacious Ava Grace who makes it run hot. When she signs on as the spokesperson for his craft distillery, he doesn’t plan on hoisting her onto an oak barrel and rocking the rickhouse. Though he’s convinced their lives don’t mix—like a terrible cocktail—he can’t keep his hands off the alluring country star.

Ava Grace and Beck try to keep their intoxicating relationship private, but the glare of her fame is too bright, revealing secrets they both want to remain hidden. With a spotlight shining on his tumultuous past, their future is at risk. Now they must decide if being together is worth sacrificing the career she loves and the company he’s poured his heart and soul into.

Read an Excerpt

 

 

 

 

 

About the paperback pricing of FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS

I know the paperback version of FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS is outrageously expensive at $16.99! But I had no choice – that was the price the booksellers required. Keep in mind, the book is almost 500 pages. It’s a hefty beast in print. If you buy it directly from createspace, you can use the 50 percent off coupon that I set up, which brings the price down to a more reasonable amount. Unfortunately, the coupon isn’t good on Amazon or BN.

Here’s the link: https://www.createspace.com/6957646

And you need a coupon code: TX9Q77HD

Coming Soon – FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS

Forever in Blue Jeans is a collection of three Riley O’Brien & Co. novellas: The Perfect Fit, A Kick in the Pants, and Will Never Fade. The novella collection will be available in print and ebook! This is the first time the novellas will be available in print. Forever in Blue Jeans is scheduled for publication on March 14th, 2017. From February 1st to February 14th, I’m running a cover contest to see which cover readers like best. Vote for your favorite cover and you could win a $50 Visa giftcard. Click here to vote!

Guest Post for BFF Book Blog

Catching Up with Old Friends

Part of the fun in reading (and writing) novellas that are part of a larger series is the chance to catch up with characters in previous books. Whenever I read or write a novella, I feel like I am sitting down with old friends. And if I get an opportunity to meet new people, that’s even better.

The heroes and heroines of A Kick in the Pants and Will Never Fade are new to the Riley O’Brien & Co. world, but some of the favorite characters from the full-length books show up in the novellas.

Read more…

Interview with Deal Sharing Aunt

Originally posted at:

http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/2...

Where are you from?

I grew up in North Texas, and after living in Washington D.C., Chicago, and suburban New Jersey, I moved to back to Texas, but settled in the capital city, Austin. I didn’t stay there long before I moved back to Dallas-Fort Worth, which is where I now live with my husband.

Tell us your latest news.

I just returned home from a very long, very fun road trip that involved visiting eight states, with the purpose of researching for my next several books. While I was on the road, I also was getting ready for the release ofHanging by a Thread, which is the third and final full-length novel in the Riley O’Brien & Co. series. Later this summer, I will publish two Riley O’Brien & Co.-related novellas. After that, I will focus on a new series, which is based on a bourbon distillery. I’m really excited about the series, which will include at least three full-length books and one novella.

The first book, which is already written, should be out early next year, probably in February. The heroine is Ava Grace Landy, the best friend of the heroine from All the Right Places and a reader favorite who shows up several Riley O’Brien & Co. novels. Readers were worried that she wouldn’t get her own HEA, and I promise you that she does. The hero is Jonah Beck, and he shows up briefly in Hanging by a Thread. I will also be working on another series concurrently, but instead of it being straight contemporary, it will have a romantic suspense element. Sign up for my newsletter on my website (www.jennasutton.com) to get book-related news.

When and why did you begin writing?

I feel like I’ve been writing for most of my adult life. I was a journalist for a dozen years or so before I switched fact for fiction. I started writing romance novels three years ago. I had wanted to write a romance for a long, long time, but I never committed to sitting down and doing it. A lot of people want to write a book. In fact, every time I tell someone I’m an author, the response is usually, “Oh, I want to write a book, but I don’t have the time.” We’re all storytellers, but only a few of us put the story on paper (or the computer, rather). For several years, when I would be dissatisfied with a book that I had read, I would say, “I could write a better book than that.” Now that I’ve written a few books, I’m ashamed that I ever said that because it really doesn’t acknowledge the effort that is involved in writing and publishing a book.

Finally, one day my husband said, “Either write a book or stop saying that when you read someone else’s book.” Shortly thereafter, I received an email from MediaBistro advertising a romance writing class, and I saw it as a sign that I should stop talking about writing a book and actually write one.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

This is such an interesting question. I’m not really sure. As a journalist, I didn’t really consider myself a writer because the bulk of the job is asking questions, distilling information, and presenting facts. Even after I wrote the draft of my first book, All the Right Places, I didn’t feel like a writer. I think my mindset changed when I first held a copy of All the Right Places in my hands. And the first time I saw it in a store, I had a mini panic attack.

What inspired you to write your first book?

As I mentioned above, part of my inspiration was my husband and the MediaBistro class. One of the reasons I had never attempted to write a book before was because I didn’t want to put a lot of work into something that no one would ever read. As self-publishing became a viable option, I finally felt ready to write my first book. I initially thought that I would self-publish the book, but I queried agents, found one, and then sold my Riley O’Brien & Co. series to Berkley.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I write dual point-of-view, both hero and heroine. And I write third-person. Frankly, I am not a fan of singular POV or present tense, although there are exceptions, of course. I just feel that a romance is about two people falling in love, and I want to experience both sides of it. In addition, I try to balance internal narrative with dialogue and action. As a reader, I get a little distracted with books that have too much internal narrative—narrative that really seems like stream of consciousness. I know a lot of readers like this type of book, and I’m glad there’s such a variety of books for people to buy.

How did you come up with the title?

I wanted the titles of my Riley O’Brien & Co. books and novellas to tie into jeans since the company makes jeans. The creative team at Berkley came up with All the Right Places. My husband came up with the title for book two, Coming Apart at the Seams, which was perfect because Nick and Teagan definitely unraveled. I came up with Hanging by a Thread after writing a specific line of dialogue that the hero says during a sex scene. Initially, I was brainstorming ideas with the word pocket but I couldn’t come up with anything except for What’s in Your Pocket?

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

On the surface, Hanging by a Thread seems like a very simple, uncomplicated book. Hero and heroine fight their attraction, heroine wants to lose her virginity, and hero and heroine begin a steamy affair with no intention of anything more.

Yet Hanging by a Thread is more nuanced than that. It has a lot of additional threads, if you’ll pardon the pun. One of the themes that I explore in the book is how other people’s perception shapes us as people. The heroine’s intelligence has always defined her value, and she is subconsciously looking to connect with people who value her as an entire person, not just a brain. The people in the hero’s life, meanwhile, have always been his biggest fans, yet he too has struggled to find his place and to find people who value both his strengths and his weaknesses.

Ultimately, the message that I want readers to grasp is that everyone is multi-layered, like an onion, and that it’s important to find people who are interested in peeling back those layers and appreciating each one.

 

How much of the book is realistic?

This question made me laugh out loud because parts of it are very realistic, and part are less than realistic. For example, the hero is uncommonly well-endowed, and while that’s not unheard of, it’s not average. (Heroes in romance novels never have small penises, have you noticed that?) There’s a scene in the book where the heroine, Bebe Banerjee, and the hero, Cal O’Brien, are talking about the average length of erect penises. I actually did research to discover this fact, and while doing that research, I came across this awesome infographic that showed average penis lengths by country. It was like a starburst of penises. Let’s just say that there’s a wide range, according to the infographic, and men in many countries come up short… pun intended.

As for the rest of the book, the plot involves an Indian-American heroine who is in an arranged marriage. She’s a virgin, and she doesn’t want her fiancé to get her “firsts”. Cal is more than happy to help.

Arranged marriages are common in many cultures, so that’s certainly realistic. In fact, there’s a TV show on A&E called Arranged. It follows three couples as they navigate the path to an arranged marriage.

Another element of realism in Hanging by a Thread is Cal and Bebe’s behavior when they’re around each other. They hide their mutual attraction with insults, and in my experience that is very realistic. How many people have you known who seem like they can’t stand each other but they really just want to tear off the other person’s clothes?

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

To some degree, yes. One of my best friends from high school is Indian-American, and we talked a lot about arranged marriages when we were boy-crazy teenagers. I was always curious about that part of her culture… curious and kind of envious. I liked the idea that if I had difficulty finding a partner that my parents and family could help out. It seemed like the best kind of safety net. My friend ended up meeting a guy in college so she wasn’t arranged by her parents.

My critique partner is married to an Indian, and so is my best friend. Neither were arranged, but my best friend’s husband’s brother was arranged by his parents. We’ve had multiple conversations about arranged marriages, the motivations for people who enter into arranged marriages, how the process works, and also how the marriages turn out. Most of the arranged marriages that I know about (or have been told about) have worked out well, and the couples are very happy together. But I was interested in writing a book about what happens when two people agree to an arranged marriage for the wrong reasons, such as parental pressure or the need for approval, loneliness, or simple convenience.

What books have most influenced your life most?

I’ve always read romances. I started out at a very early age—way earlier than I should have. But I also read other genres too—women’s fiction, mysteries/thrillers, even true crime and non-fiction. Over time, however, I stopped reading other genres and exclusively read romance. I think part of the reason was that I hated investing in characters only to have horrible things happen to them. I loved the Outlander series, but I had to stop reading because I just couldn’t handle the stress of wondering what horrible things would befall the characters. More than once, I have felt betrayed by an author because they killed off my favorite characters. Occasionally, I forget why I stopped reading other genres, and I’ll read a book that, while well-written, makes me feel like crap for days afterward. I want to feel a good-book glow when I finish a book.

As for specific books that really impacted me, I can list a few of my favorites: Seen by Moonlight, Blue-Eyed Devil, See Jane Score, On Thin Ice,and The Bronze Horseman (which does not have a happy ending but is wonderful anyway).

What would you like my readers to know?

Five things:

1)      Every book in the Riley O’Brien & Co. series can be read as a standalone. You won’t be lost or confused if you don’t start with the first book.

2)      Hanging by a Thread has a universal message that we can all identify with—the need to be loved. And it also touches on the idea that people are complex and multi-dimensional and often make decisions that have far-reaching, unexpected implications.

3)      Readers and reviewers say that my books are smart, funny, and sexy.Hanging by a Thread is the hottest book I’ve written, and the sex scenes are hot and explicit. Don’t let the sweet cover fool you.

4)      I love hearing from my readers. It makes my day when I get an email or Facebook message from a reader telling me how much they love my books. You can send me a message through my website athttp://jennasutton.com/connect/ or email me at jenna@jennasutton.comor message me at www.facebook.com/jennasuttonauthor

5)      You can sign up for my monthly newsletter here. Subscribers are the first to know about new books, giveaways, and get access to exclusive excerpts.

 

Hanging by a Thread’s Signature Cocktail

One of my favorite scenes in Hanging by a Thread takes place at a party where the heroine, Bebe Banerjee, has an interesting conversation about bourbon distilling with Jonah Beck, a guy who owns a micro-distillery. Beck’s interest in Bebe draws the ire of the hero, Cal O’Brien. Cal and Bebe end up in the laundry room to talk things out, and her version of talking involves throwing her panties at Cal.

I’m not a mixologist, but I did come up with the perfect cocktail for Hanging by a Thread: the Panty-Throwing Peach Mule.

The Panty-Throwing Peach Mule is a variation on the common Moscow Mule, which uses vodka, ginger beer, lime juice, and mint. All mules are served in copper mugs, and my version uses bourbon as the base liquor, along with ginger beer, pureed peaches, and lime juice.

For the Panty-Throwing Peach Mule, I used my favorite bourbon, Woodford Reserve. If you ever get a chance to visit Kentucky, I encourage you to tour the Woodford Reserve Distillery, which is a National Historic Landmark. I spent several weeks in Kentucky touring the bourbon distilleries for my next contemporary romance series.

Ingredients

 3 ounces bourbon

1½ chopped fresh peaches

1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

6 ounces chilled ginger beer (I used Reed’s Ginger Beer, which is my favorite non-alcoholic drink)

1 1/2 cups ice, preferably crushed

Lime wheels, for garnish

Instructions

In a blender, combine the fresh peaches, lime juice, and enough water to puree to a liquid consistency. Pour the peach puree into a cocktail shaker along with bourbon and chilled ginger ale and shake until thoroughly mixed. Filled the copper Mule mug with crushed ice and pour the concoction over the ice. Garnish with a slice of peach and lime wheels.

 

Hanging by a Thread Playlist

I put together playlists for all my books, and I really love the playlist for Hanging by a Thread. The hero, Cal O’Brien, is a big fan of indie bands, so I’ve included several songs from indie bands on the playlist. And an important scene in the book centers around a song by the indie band, Cayucas, and their song “High School Lover”. The song kicks off a conversation about how Cal lost his V-card.

The playlist is available at Spotify, and I’ve included a link to each song below. I hope you enjoy the music for Hanging by a Thread.

Spotify

Bob Moses Tearing Me Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4oUeqOkb90

 

Cayucas High School Lover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8PqddrRIs

 

Coin Talk Too Much

 

Foals Mountain at My Gates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_EIE5f2t6M

 

Frightened Rabbit Get Out

 

Lord Huron Ends of the Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MH-UmYkXiM

 

MS MR Hurricane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sj684zcmzw

 

Nothing But Thieves Trip Switch

 

POP Etc What am I Becoming

 

Shelters Rebel Heart

 

Struts Kiss This

 

 

Tame Impala The Less I Know the Better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDeKxDNMfww

 

The xx Fiction

 

 

 

Crazy for Cars

My five-year-old niece doesn’t sleep with a stuffed animal. Her favorite nighttime lovey is a limited edition miniature Tesla that her grandfather received as a thank you for buying one of the first electric cars. She calls it “Big Orange Car” because, well… it is a big orange car.

Big Orange Car isn’t soft or snuggly, but my niece adores it anyway. She would be devastated if anything happened to it (and my sister-in-law lives in fear of Big Orange Car going missing).

Cal O’Brien, the hero of my newest Riley O’Brien & Co. novel, Hanging by a Thread, adores his car, too—a vintage Cadillac Coupe De Ville that his grandmother Violet gave to him. He named the power-blue car Belva as a tribute to his grandma, who introduced herself as Belva when she met her future husband and Cal’s grandfather after World War II.

This is what I imagined when I introduced Belva in the first Riley O’Brien & Co. novel, All the Right Places:

Cal and the heroine of Hanging by a Thread, Bebe Banerjee, have a conversation about Belva while heading to an orchard north of San Francisco for a day of apple picking. Here’s a little excerpt:

“Have I told you how much I love your car?” She shifted slightly so she could look at him. “It’s like riding on a cloud.”

His vintage Cadillac Coupe De Ville was very comfortable. It also was a gas-guzzler and almost impossible to parallel park, but he couldn’t give it up. His Grandma Violet had given the powder-blue car to him, and he liked feeling connected to her, even if it was through a piece of machinery.

Bebe stroked her hand over the dark blue leather seat, her rings glimmering in the sunlight, and for one fleeting moment, he was insanely jealous of a bench seat.

****

Lucky for Cal and Bebe, the Caddy has a very spacious backseat for a variety of pleasurable activities…

Are you like Cal? Is your car one of your prized possessions? Does it have a name? Do you know anyone, male or female, who is crazy for cars?