Countdown to 2012 contest! Six…
For the next 6 days, I thought I'd do a year in review sort of party/contest to celebrate an awesome year! 2011 was so fantastic for me…in so many ways–personally and professionally. It's time to party it up.
I had 12 releases in 2011 (blows my mind every time I think of it!), so I'll share personal reflections surrounding the two of the releases and the first page (just the first page) of each book to try to entice you in to buying if you haven't. Every day I will pick one name from the comments pile and that person will win their choice of one of the two books featured. At the end of the six days, I'll draw one name for a grand prize winner who will receive a $25 gift card to Amazon and a signed print book from me (winner's choice of book). Sound like fun?
Also…I recently did a website facelift and lost (sob) all my subscription names. If you sign up to subscribe to my blog, I'll throw your name in the hat an extra time. If you signed up previously (71 of you wonderful people have), your name goes in automatically.
So…let the countdown begin…
Six…
In January 2011, I had two releases, Any Given Sunday and Power Play.
Any Given Sunday was the end of a writing era for me and it was one of the hardest books I've ever written. Took me freaking ages and it wasn't until I beat my head against the wall and begged Rhian for help that I made any progress. She basically saved the story when she wrote back after reading what I had and said, "You have your guys mixed up." It was amazing, insightful, dead on! For some insane reason, I was writing Chad like Sean and Sean like Chad. I am an idiot like that some times. The second I fixed it, the story flowed. 
Prologue – Any Given Sunday
"Where's Chad?" Lauren asked breathlessly as they entered Sean's apartment.
Sean rested his forehead against hers for an extra second or two before pulling away from the kiss they'd just shared. However, the distance was too much for him and the image of her in her mini-skirt and silky blouse proved to be his undoing. He pressed her against the door to steal another long, hot kiss. They'd gone out for a romantic dinner to celebrate the end of their first month as a couple.
"Chad's out for the night," he replied. He grasped her hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm. "Thanks for making sure I made it to the door safely, Ms. Chase," he teased. She'd followed him up to his apartment, jokingly claiming it was the gentlemanly thing to do after driving them home from the restaurant. "Do you need to leave right now or do you want to hang out for a while?" He was unwilling to say goodbye to her after such a great evening.
She smiled and ran her hand down his chest. "I'm not in any hurry."
They'd been friends forever, so there was no awkwardness between them. Years as best friends had bred a comfortable familiarity. It had also built up some pretty deep-seated need in Sean. If he didn't get her into his bed soon, he was likely to do himself an injury. Sporting a hard-on 24/7 couldn't be good for anybody.
Sean stole another kiss and wondered if he'd ever experienced anything so amazing in his life. "Good. You wanna watch TV or make out?"
She laughed. "I wanna have sex."
Her quick response took Sean off-guard for a second, but he was accustomed to her forthright, honest nature. It was refreshing and, in some ways, a relief. He was part of a large family that walked to the beat of a different drummer. Sometimes he worried their quirkiness was hard for outsiders to take. It was cool to just be himself—Collins warts and all—and not have to worry about scaring her away because of his unconventionality.
"Jesus," he muttered and she gave him a husky laugh that was sexy as hell.
He studied her face and saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes—the look was hungry, almost feral. "I want you so much," he confessed, running the back of his hand along her soft cheek. She was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. "I've wanted you forever."
She nodded. "The feeling's mutual."
She grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head before he could respond. He wasn't surprised to discover this aggressive side. Lauren was a strong-willed, opinionated woman and it stood to reason she'd attempt to take the lead in the bedroom. Leaning forward, she planted several wet kisses on his chest before using her teeth to playfully bite his pec.
Any Given Sunday is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo and All Romance Ebooks.
An author shouldn't have favorites, but I'll confess it. Power Play is one of my all-time favorite books. WHICH…usually is a kiss of death for any of my books. LOL. I loved writing this book. It just fell out of me. Frankie is one of my favorite heroines because she's totally kick ass and doesn't ever bend to a man's will. That was fun because Reed is like this super alpha male. It was fun making that relationship work. AND…Valerie made the cover. It's also one of my all-time favorites (after Western Ties).
Chapter One – Power Play
Reed Donovan stared at the flat-screen TV in the corner of the bar, and though his eyes were seeing the baseball game, his mind wasn't processing a single aspect of it. He leaned back in his chair and tried to shake off the lingering traces of jetlag. Two days earlier, he'd flown back to the States after nine months in London. He only had tonight left to recover from the trip before he returned back to work bright and early the next morning.
He picked up the drink in front of him and took a long, deep swig. His throat was parched and his mouth dry. Clearly the stress of his day job was affecting his mind, messing with his head. He'd gone to London in the early fall to clean up the mess the former manager had left in his company's branch office.
"Have to admit I didn't think you had it in you to be quiet for so long."
Reed looked up and found his cousin, the owner of the bar, looking down at him. He gestured to the chair across from him and watched Carter sit.
Reed lifted his glass. "Trying to drink away some of my damn tiredness. Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow."
"Nine months is a damn long time to uproot from your home, Reed. And I know you hate playing the admin role, know you've been gritting your teeth every minute of these last few months, wishing you were back doing what you love."
"Uncle Brian needed my help getting the London branch back under control. The last manager only managed to run the damn thing into the ground. It was my job to clean house, to put the pieces back together."
Carter leaned back in the chair, put his hands behind his head and studied his face. "So what's stuck up your ass? You're home now. Figured you'd be happy and celebrating that little fact."
Reed rubbed his eyes wearily. His cousin was right, he should be doing fucking flips around the bar. Instead, he felt tired, irritable. "You want me to make a bulleted list for you?"
Carter grinned. "Is this gonna be a long presentation, Mr. Exec?"
Reed leaned forward, not bothering to acknowledge his cousin's joke. "Number one, I'm pissed as shit about Brian sending me to London. I've worked my ass off for that man for years and I don't appreciate being used as a lackey to do his goddamn dirty work. I'm going into his office tomorrow and letting him know it's not something I ever intend to do again."
Carter winced. "Fuck, man. That's not gonna be a fun conversation."
Power Play is available at Samhain, Amazon, Sony, Barnes and Noble, Fictionwise and ARe.
Simply leave a comment today telling me one gift you received this holiday season. Tomorrow, we'll continue the countdown and I'll announce today's winner. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!
