A Good Time
by Shannyn
Schroeder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
