Football Friday: Meet Silas Moore + an ARC Giveaway!

We're just FOUR DAYS away from the release of ALL BROKE DOWN! 

FOUR DAYS!!! Which, as you can probably guess, has me feeling a little bit like this...

 and a little bit like this....

 and basically a whole lot of this....

If you aren't yet familiar with All Broke Down, you can check it out on Goodreads, and you can read the FIRST TWO CHAPTERS, as well as all the teasers I've released so far, here!  You can pre-order ABD on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or iTunes. AND THEN, if you need a little more incentive, those who pre-order All Broke down (in any format) and then enter their pre-order info HERE will receive an official Rusk University "Back to School" pack that includes a ton of Wildcat goodies - including a Rusk folder, swag, a pen, a temporary tattoo, and a little something special from Book 3, ALL PLAYED OUT!! (US only).

If you're new to the Rusk University series, each book stands alone and can be read without reading the previous books. But if you want to check out book one, All Lined Up, it's at a special promotional price of $.99 right now as we gear up for All Broke Down's release!

Last week, I introduced you to Dylan Brenner, the heroine of All Broke Down. This week, I'd like to tell you all about my bad boy, Silas Moore!

 

Ahh... Silas. That dude does something to my heart. If you've read All Lined Up, you might think Silas is kind of a jerkface (SPOILER ALERT: he was). While he wasn't the jerkiest jerkface in that book, he still was one of the antagonists who caused problems for Dallas and Carson. I knew as soon as I started writing him in ALU that he was eventually going to be the hero in one of the later books. I've written a lot of nice guys (Can I get an awww for Golden Boy?). And I thought it was about time I try my hand at something different. 

He makes some bad decisions. Okay, a lot of them. One of which lands him in a jail holding cell near the beginning of All Broke Down. I wanted him to be a bad boy, but at the same time, I'm not a fan of guys that treat girls badly and behave rudely. So I had to balance his issues with charm. And it was so much fun getting to dissect his behavior and learn why he behaves the way he does. Bottom line: Silas is just looking for a place he fits. Where he feels like he belongs. But that's tough when you think you're a screw-up who doesn't deserve a chance at something better. So a lot of the time, he ends up sabotaging himself. 

Another thing I'm not a huge fan of? The idea that love can fix a bad boy. That a girl can somehow turn a jerk into a decent dude with some sexy smooching. Talk about pressure, man. So rather than falling into this cliche or avoiding it completely, I decided to embrace it, and turn it just a little on it's head. When Silas finds himself in danger of losing his spot on the Rusk football team (the only place where he feels like he's worth something), he turns to do-gooder Dylan and he asks for the cliche. He wants her to fix him. But he gets more than he bargained for when she puts him to work and makes him volunteer and work with charities. In the end though, Silas is the one who has to change himself. He has to figure out his worth off the field and out of the bedroom. 

This is what I picture Silas looking like. *swoon*

But of course... being the bad boy that he is... Silas doesn't always play nice. He's sexy and take charge,  and when he decides he wants Dylan, there's nothing that will get in his way. 

And it just wouldn't be right to talk about Silas without giving you a little taste of the smexy. So here' s a little snippet to whet your appetite: 

I pull away enough to pop open another button, revealing the top of her cleavage. She shifts closer, and she’s soft everywhere I’m hard, and the friction turns my spine into a live wire.

“For the record, I still think this might be a bad idea.”

“For the record, I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had.”

Her fingers trace lightly back and forth over the back of my neck, and I’m a ticking time bomb. Each stroke makes my fuse a little bit shorter, and I need to get those buttons undone before I forget about not destroying her shirt.

With an agility and speed that I was missing today in practice, I have the rest of her buttons undone and her shirt open in seconds. Her bra is this pale purple that cups her small breasts perfectly. Her narrow waist flares out into curvy hips covered by a snug skirt. I can’t decide whether I want the skirt off or hiked up around her waist.

Deciding on the latter, I grip her hips and lift her up onto the kitchen counter. There’s a certain appeal in seeing her still in those fancy clothes, but pulled and bunched and revealed however I can manage. I love to see her go from pristine to disheveled all because of me. Slowly, I push the edge of her skirt up her thighs. When I can’t move it any farther, I say, “Lift up your hips.”

She wets her bottom lip, and my cock twitches at the sight. Her nerves just kick up my adrenaline. I give her a few seconds to adjust, taking two steps back to look at her.

She snaps her legs closed and sits up straight. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to decide exactly what I want to do to you.”

She hunches over, shaking her head and laughing under her breath. “It’s like you’re trying to give me a heart attack.”

“I don’t want to give you a heart attack. I want to make you come. The question is just how.”

She tilts her head to the side and blinks at me. “How are you so comfortable with this?”

I don’t think she wants the real answer to her question . . . that I’ve been doing this for a very long time, since before I was really even old enough to understand half of what I was doing.

“I just know what I want, what I like. And if you’ll let me, I’ll help you figure that out, too. You want that?”

Tentatively, she nods. I cross to her again and slide my hands up her thighs to where I left off with her skirt.

“So, tell me what you like, Dylan Brenner.”

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. (If you want to see some more sexy Silas excerpts, check out ones that I've previously posted here).

I'd love it if you'd join me at the All Broke Down Pep Rally on October 27&28! It's an online party, so you can attend from anywhere in the world (in your pajamas if you so choose), and we have an amazing line-up of guest authors who will be popping in throughout the day, and there's going to be lots of giveaways and Wildcat-related fun! And in the spirit of Dylan and her charitable ways, if we get 350 people to RSVP to the event, I'll donate $350 to a local non-profit homeless shelter. You can find more details about that at the pep rally link above. But I'd love for you to attend! And bring a friend!


There's something about being so close to release day that makes me want to give stuff away...and since we're four days away, that means there's still time to win an ADVANCED copy of All Broke Down! Enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win a signed ARC of All Broke Down and an official Rusk University tote!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Football Friday: Meet Dylan Brenner + an ARC Giveaway!

We're less than two weeks away from the release of ALL BROKE DOWN!!! ARCs have been distributed, reviews are starting to roll in, and my excitement level is through the freakin' roof!

If you aren't yet familiar with All Broke Down, you can check it out on Goodreads. (You can read the FIRST TWO CHAPTERS of All Broke Down, as well as all the teasers I've released so far, here!  You can pre-order ABD on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or iTunes, and you can even pre-order a signed and personalized copy from Word Bookstores (ENDS TODAY 10/17). AND THEN, if you need a little more incentive, those who pre-order All Broke down and then enter their pre-order info HERE will receive an official Rusk University "Back to School" pack that includes a ton of Wildcat goodies - including a Rusk folder, swag, a pen, a temporary tattoo, and a little something special from Book 3, ALL PLAYED OUT!!

If you're new to the Rusk University series, each book stands alone and can be read without reading the previous books. But if you want to check out book one, All Lined Up, it's at a special promotional price of $.99 right now as we gear up for All Broke Down's release!

Today, I'm excited to introduce you all to the heroine of All Broke Down: Dylan Brenner!

Dylan is a little bit hipster, with a touch of sophistication. These were my inspiration photos when I was writing her:

(Yes, I needed an outfit inspiration pic too :D ).


Dylan is the ultimate people pleaser. That's the way she's always connected with people, always found her worth. She's the perfect child to her strict and not-so-nurturing adopted parents. She's the ideal girlfriend for her (likely to be a politician someday) boyfriend. And she's a compassionate activist for those less fortunate than herself.

Then her boyfriend breaks up with her. She feels like she's suffocating in her own family. And a lapse in judgement (okay, total mind melt) gets her arrested at what was supposed to be a polite and peaceful protest. Dylan has always been respectful and straight-laced and the ultimate good girl. But she's about to learn how to live for herself instead of other people, and a certain sexy football player is out to give her a lesson in what it feels like to be a little bad.

Here are a few graphic teasers from All Broke Down to give you a little more of Dylan: 

And this one's not technically Dylan. It's Silas. But it's what he thinks about her and is one of my favorite moments in the book. *sigh*

And my favorite Dylan quote (and what could pretty much be the motto for the Rusk University series): 

"Why isn't there a reality TV show filled with hot guys doing sweaty, mouth-watering tasks? Oh, right. That's called sports." 

Now that you've met Dylan, you can enter to win a signed advanced copy of All Broke Down PLUS a Rusk University notebook! It's perfect for jotting down all your philanthropic ideas....or just writing "Future Mrs. Silas Moore"....not that Dylan does that or anything. (She totally does. Who among us can blame her?)

Giveaway is open internationally. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Football Friday: Meet Coach Cole and the Rusk University Wildcats (Plus a Giveaway)!

Well, guys, here we are. Four days away from the release of All Lined Up, and I am basically just in a constant state of:

As excited as I am that ALU releases in four days (please refer to the .gifs above for more information), I'm a little sad at the same time, because it means this is the last #FootballFriday. I've so enjoyed celebrating this hashtag every week in our little corner of the internet! The good news is that once All Lined Up is out, EVERY day can be #FootballFriday! Please tweet or facebook me pictures of hot Football players. I will NEVER say no to that. :) 

If you haven't heard about ALL LINED UP, you can check it out on Goodreads. You can also read the first thirty four pages. And in case you need MORE incentive, if you pre-order ALU and  register here, you'll get  a BRAND NEW Garrick and Bliss scene Post-Losing It/Keeping Her. EVEN BETTER... you can now order your own signed paperback from Word Bookstore! So far I introduced Carson McClain, the heroine Dallas Cole, BFF slash Badass Stella Santos, bad boys Levi and Silas, and team manager Ryan.

A quick re-cap

So, on this final football Friday, we're talking about the team in general. 

Just like the Losing It series, each book will focus on a new couple, but I really wanted the team as a whole to feel like a character that you got to follow the arc of through the entire series. So each book fleshes out the team a little more and introduces new players. It's been so much fun to write the team all together that this series might just never end. I'll just keep adding more and more players and continuing Rusk's story. Maybe. :) 

So, here's what you need to know. The Rusk University football team has seen better days. So in the first book, All Lined Up they've brought in a coach with a reputation for turning around losing programs. That would be Dallas's dad, Coach Cole. Here's a little teaser introduction to him: 

The Coach was definitely one of my favorite characters to write. I got to write the cool speeches he gives to pump up the team. Here's a little snippet of one of those: 

And one particular speech of his makes me tear up EVERY TIME (but you'll have to read the book to see that one). Which is weird, I know, because I wrote it. But the coach is so much like my dad (who was a coach before he retired), so I'm naturally pretty emotionally attached to him. And for whatever reason, I've always been the type of person to cry at Sports movies. Remember the Titans? HITS ME RIGHT IN THE FEELS.

You may be thinking that ALU isn't for you if you're not a big football fan. But you're not alone there, I promise! Dallas, the main character, pretty much loathes football. So I think (I HOPE) I've written it in a way where you don't have to care about football to enjoy the book. I'll admit that I even have a love/hate relationship with football. It's a natural by-product of being surrounded by it all my life. But with ALU, I wasn't trying to capture the sport, but rather the spirit of it. The way it brings people together and lifts people up. 

I got to write the fun team and university traditions. The good days and the bad ones. I got to write the team dynamic-- the way the guys mess with each other and butt heads. Really, they're like one big dysfunctional (very attractive and muscled) family. 

(This guy may or may not be from the scene that makes me tear up every time). 

Plus... I mentioned all the attractive and muscled players... yeah? 

I hope you'll love meeting the team as much as I loved creating it. And make sure you're following my facebook and twitter because we've got some pretty awesome stuff planned next week for the release! And I want to say a huge thank you in advance to all those who will buy, read, review, etc! I couldn't do what I do without you, and I cannot tell you how appreciative I am! 

Now... enter to win my very LAST ARC of All Lined Up! Open Internationally! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Football Friday: Meet Ryan Blake plus a Giveaway!

THAT MEANS ALL LINED UP COMES OUT THIS MONTH!

 If you haven't heard about ALL LINED UP, you can check it out on goodreads. You can also read the first thirty four pages. AND... if you need more incentive, those who pre-order ALU and register here will give a BRAND NEW Garrick and Bliss scene Post-Losing It/Keeping Her. EVEN BETTER... you can now order your own signed paperback from Word Bookstore and get it on release day! So far I introduced Carson McClain, the heroine Dallas Cole, BFF slash Badass Stella Santos, and bad boys Levi and Silas.

And now I'm introducing Ryan Blake, team manager and Carson's friend. 

I picture him a bit like this... 

Ryan is a bit on the nerdy side, but he still loves sports and aspires to be an athletic trainer. When he and Carson become friends, he gives a much-needed bit of levity. Carson is so focused and determined that he'll drive himself into the ground. Ryan helps him work towards his goal of becoming starting quarterback, but also helps him loosen up. Ryan is funny, shamelessly flirty, and extremely loyal. 

Here's a few teaser graphics from ALU: 

I mentioned he was shameless... right? ;)

Ryan is actually the hero of book three in the series, which I'm scheduled to start working on soon, and I'm so excited. I have a feeling I'm going to laugh A LOT in that book. :) 

And that's Ryan. Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a signed ARC and meet him in person! (Or you know... in pages). 

And if you're heading to RT convention in New Orleans, or you live in the area, join me (and a bunch of other awesome authors) for a signing on release day (May 13th) at Garden District Books! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Football Friday: Meet Stella Santos & a GIVEAWAY!

We're one week closer to the release of All Lined Up on May 13th! ARCS are out in the world, reviews are rolling in, and I'm SO excited. If you haven't heard about ALL LINED UP, you can check it out on goodreads. You can also read the first thirty four pages. AND... if you need more incentive, those who pre-order ALU and register here will give a BRAND NEW Garrick and Bliss scene Post-Losing It/Keeping Her. So far I introduced Carson McClain, and the heroine Dallas Cole, and now it's time to meet one of my FAVORITE characters!  

Stella is confident and bold and knows exactly who she is. She's always challenging Dallas to loosen up and have some fun, something she's very good at having. She's funny, and she'll say whatever she's thinking because she could care less what others think. 

Basically, she's everything I wish I was. ;) And because I love her so much, she plays a pretty big role in the series as a whole. 

Here's a few of my dream Stella's with some quotes! 

And because I love you guys... a slightly longer teaser featuring Stella and Dallas before one of Carson's games: 

I pull out my phone to text Carson, but I don’t know what to say. I want to tell him something that matters, something big, but the only thing that comes to mind are those three little words that we are so, so not ready for.

I tell Stella as much, and she pauses in unwrapping a piece of gum to say, “I’ve got three different words for you. Winning = BJ.”

“Stella!”

She pops the gum in her mouth. “You said you wanted something big that matters. I think that qualifies.”

“You’re terrible. And no help whatsoever.”

“Speaking of big things...” Her slow-spreading smile reminds me for the thousandth time how different we are. “How big is it? You can tell me.” 

I hope you enjoyed meeting Stella! Enter to win a signed advanced copy below! And come back next week for more chances to win and to meet more characters from the series! 

*cough* sexy football players up next *cough*

a Rafflecopter giveaway