A Good Time by Shannyn Schroeder

A Good Time

by Shannyn Schroeder

 

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BLURB:

 

A passionate free spirit and a sweet-talking playboy sound like a match made in heaven—until life gets in the way of all the fun and games…

 

Indy Adams values her freedom above all else. She works hard to support herself, moonlighting as a waitress while she fights for her first big sale in the Chicago real estate market. The last thing she needs is to be tied down, so she doesn’t think twice about declining her philandering boyfriend’s marriage proposal. Besides, she just landed a new client, a wealthy lothario—exactly the kind of guy who would understand her no-strings approach…

 

 

Handsome, rich, and charitable, most women jump at the chance to even talk to video game developer Griffin Walker, let alone date him. So he can’t understand why Indy wants nothing more than a few steamy nights together. Despite his romantic track record, Griffin longs for real love—complete with a home and family—and he wants it with Indy. But a blessing in disguise may lead them both to a life they never expected, and give Griffin a chance to show Indy that it’s okay to want more than a good time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt : Griffin and Indy just suffered through an uncomfortable family dinner with Indy’s dad. They’ve left her sister’s house together. (263 words)

 

 

“How are you getting home?” Griffin asked.

           

“Same way I got here—public transportation.”

           

“You’re taking the bus?” Somehow, he couldn’t picture her standing at a bus stop and clambering up the steps, pushing into the crowd.

           

“Yes, I’m taking the bus. What’s so funny?”

           

“How many times on your trip did a guy try to pick you up?” That he could imagine, especially with her bar uniform on.

           

She shrugged. “No more than when I’m at work. The unwashed masses are not as bad as you picture them.”

           

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

           

“Not necessary. I don’t mind taking the bus and my apartment is out of your way.”

           

“Come on. By the time the bus shows, I’ll have you halfway home.”

 

They walked to his car in silence.

 

“What, no Jag tonight?” she asked, approaching the SUV.

 

“Sorry, I came from the office.”

 

Indy opened the rear passenger door and carefully placed the cake on the floor. She closed the door and leaned against it. “Thank you for tonight. You were an excellent distraction.”

           

She smiled up at him, golden eyes reflecting the streetlights. On impulse, he lowered his lips to hers. Her heady scent grabbed him and he pressed her against the car.

           

She tasted even better than he imagined. He expected light and breezy, but found her spicy and secretive. He braced his hands on the car behind her, trapping her with his body and preventing himself from grabbing her. His fingers wanted to tangle in her long hair.

           

He pulled back before he could want more.

 

 

Excerpt Three: Griffin and Indy have slept together, but Indy snuck out of his house. Now, he’s shown up at her apartment to confront her. (373 words)

 

 

“Why are you here?” she asked again.

           

“I rolled over in bed, expecting to find a warm naked body and found nothing. When you didn’t pop out of the bathroom, I went to look for you and found this.” He tossed her crumpled note on the kitchen table.

           

She shook her head to clear it. “You’re pissed because I borrowed a sweatshirt?” How petty was this guy? She stripped it off and threw it at him. He dropped it on the chair.

           

Indy moved to push past him, but he caught her arm.

 

“I’m pissed because you snuck out of my house. You just left.”

           

She yanked her arm back. “I didn’t see the point in waking you. What do you want, a big, fat thank you?”

           

He deserved at least that much. It had been some of the best damn sex she’d ever had. Not that she would admit it right now.

           

“I want to know why you left.”

           

She didn’t know how to answer. I don’t belong in your world? He wouldn’t buy it, even though it rang true. She took a deep breath, stared at the floor, and lied. “I can’t sleep in a strange place.”

           

She’d felt too comfortable in his bed and knew it was a bad thing. Sex was sex, but sleeping together changed things.

           

His voice softened. “You fell asleep before I did.”

           

She shrugged, hoping he wouldn’t try to bust her on her lie. He moved closer and ran a hand over her hair. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle her face into his hand, but held back.

           

“Fine. I thought you might want these back.” From his pocket he produced her panties.

           

She looked at her panties dangling from his finger. The tense moment passed and she smiled. “No bra?”

           

His eyes wandered to her chest and her hard nipples. “I didn’t know you left it.”

           

“I couldn’t find my panties or bra.”

           

“I’ll look for it.” He took a step closer and she backed into the wall. “Next time, I won’t let you off so easy.”

           

She tilted her chin up, her heart already racing. “Who says there will be a next time?”

           

“You,” he whispered against her lips and kissed her.

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Shannyn Schroeder is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

 

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.

 

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”

 

So she did.

 

That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to professional author. She came to reading romance later than many, but lives for the happy ending because real life can be depressing. She writes contemporary romance because she enjoys the adventure of new love.

 

In her spare time, she loves to bake cookies and watches far too much TV, especially cop shows. She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

 

Web site: http://www.ShannynSchroeder.com

 

Twitter: @SSchroeder_

 

What inspired you to write your first book?

I had been reading a ton of romance and then one day I had this idea. I thought about it for weeks, without telling anyone. Then one day, my husband made a joke about the number of books I was reading. He said that I might as well just write one. I sat down at my computer and started writing, not knowing if I’d be able to write a whole book. I didn’t know anything about writing a book (How many words in a book? How does a book get published? What do I do when I’m finished?) I was able to finish the book and then I set out to learn all I could about the business, starting with joining RWA. The book wasn’t very good, but I learned a lot from it and fell in love with writing.

 

Do you have a specific writing style?

I’m a pantser, which means that I don’t really know what I’m going to write. I come up with ideas for my characters and a basic situation and then I start writing. Now that I have to write under deadline, I’ve tried to get better at doing some planning before I write so I don’t have to waste a ton of time rewriting junk.

 

How did you come up with the title?

I didn’t. My editor came up with my titles. In fact, I’m really bad at coming up with titles. My first book, More Than This, went through 3 titles in my hands before my editor came up with More Than This. A Good Time went through two titles with me. The second one I had wasn’t bad, but A Good Time is better.

 

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

The idea that really surrounds Indy and Griffin is that they should exceed expectations. They both go through life not having too many expectations at all, but they teach each other that it’s okay to expect more.

 

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

Nothing in this book is based on anyone I know or anything I’ve experienced. That’s part of why this book was hard for me to write. Indy is so different from me that I kept having her do things and react to things the way I would, which didn’t work for the character or the book.

 

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Lani Diane Rich (AKA Lucy March) has been great. I started following her blog a few years ago and then I took a couple of classes with her. I have learned so much about story structure and characters, especially for this book. Without her help, I might still be staring at old drafts of A Good Time trying to figure out what to do.

 

 

What book are you reading now?

Love Irresistibly by Julie James. I buy all of Julie’s books because she crafts a great contemporary.  

 

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

One of my favorite authors of 2012 is Ruthie Knox. She had 2 books release last year and she’s become an auto-buy for me.

 

What are your current projects?

The third book in the O’Leary series is with my editor and will be out sometime in early 2014. I’m currently drafting book 4 while revising a couple of non-O’Leary books that I hope to get out on submission.

 

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Chicago-North RWA. This is my local chapter and it’s a critique chapter. They’ve taught me so much, I can’t even put it into words. The members are all so supportive, both published and unpublished. I hate when I have to miss a meeting.

 

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

I can’t think of anything major that I’d want to change. With every book there’s always small things—a word I found I used too often or a sentence that reads awkwardly—but the story itself I still like.

 

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I’ve always been a writer. As a kid, I walked around with a clipboard full of looseleaf so I could craft a story. By the time I was in high school and through college, really, I focused mostly on poetry. Once I became a teacher, I stopped writing because my job required all of my focus. It wasn’t until after I had a couple of kids that I returned to writing.

 

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Revisions are always hardest for me. I like to draft—that first time of getting a story down and playing with the characters. I let the words flow without worrying too much about what works and what doesn’t. Then I have to revise. Sometimes, though, I’m not sure how to approach a book to make it better. I can’t see the problems, much less know how to fix them.