**Oh my gosh, folks. I'm so embarrassed. I got so totally involved in sharing the BOOK with you, that I completely and utterly neglected to put in Shannyn's guest blog. I'm horribly embarrassed. But I guess, if a good book gets me that excited, worse things can happen. Post has been modified now.**
Happy New Year, everyone!
I'm really pleased to bring you Shannyn Schroeder today, and her debut book, More Than This. I read what was sent over to me as a tour host, and must confess, it sucked me in very quickly. Enough that I went to Shannyn's website and read a really long excerpt she has posted there. You should check it out. It's published by Kensington, and I downloaded my own copy a few minutes ago.
I'll say this again: You should seriously check out this book! The characters pop, and Ryan has already melted my heart. Those of you who follow my guest author Thursdays know I don't often publicly recommend a book-take me seriously, please.
So, the details:
Shannyn Schroeder
When a lonely teacher teams up with a handsome bartender for some outrageous acts, they both get more than they bargained for…
Learning her ex-husband is going to be a father, Quinn Adams is determined to have a baby of her own—without the partnership of a man. But her sister and friends believe she needs to focus on herself first, and step out of her comfort zone by completing a list of adventures. Challenge number one is to go on five dates within two weeks. After a few disastrous attempts, Quinn’s ready to give up—until sexy bartender Ryan O’Leary offers his assistance.
Ryan has always been the dependable one in his family, often at his expense. But lately, he’s been longing for a life—and a woman—of his own. The woman he has in mind is Quinn. Though it seems all she wants is friendship, Ryan can’t ignore the explosive chemistry he feels between them. In the hopes of becoming closer, Ryan offers to help out with Quinn’s list. But when she asks him for a serious favor, he’s afraid it will jeopardize his chance to become more than friends.
The First Meeting
When I was first asked to write about my hero and heroine’s first meeting, I had a bit of panic. Although I had an image of their first meeting, it doesn’t appear in the book. I would have to write the scene and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to jump back into the world I’d left when I sent in my final revisions. So I sat on this blog post for a long time. Then finally, I let my mind wander back to imagine the first time Ryan laid eyes on Quinn…
Ryan O’Leary left his office with the intent of checking in with Mary before heading to his other bar, Twilight. What he hadn’t expected was to see a crowd of people standing at the bar at four-thirty in the afternoon. Where the hell did all these people come from?
He made his way behind the bar to help Mary pour drinks. As if reading his mind, his manager shrugged at him and pulled another beer. About twenty people, more than half of which wore red shirts, lined up waiting for drinks. There must’ve been some conference or something nearby. He served drinks one by one and people filtered away to nearby tables and into the back to play darts.
Mary could handle the rest, and Ryan was about to leave when a pretty brunette took a stool across from him. One more customer wouldn’t make him late. She sat stiff and uncomfortable, but she wore the same red shirt as everyone else, so she obviously belonged to the group.
He slapped a napkin on the bar in front of her. “Hi, what can I get for you?”
She started and looked over her shoulder. He waited patiently with a smile for her to return her attention to him.
When she did, her cheeks were slightly pink and she tucked a lock of her chin-length hair behind her left ear. Her voice was almost as weak as her smile as she spoke. “Um…a frozen strawberry margarita?”
“Is that a question or an order?”
“Can you make me one?”
“Sure can.” He turned to fulfill the order and watched the woman from the corner of his eye. She interlocked her fingers and braced them against the edge of the bar.
Ryan placed the drink in front of her and extended his hand. “Ryan O’Leary. Nice to meet you.”
She glanced at his hand like it was a foreign object and reluctantly shook it. “Quinn Adams.”
“So, Ms. Adams, what’s with all the red shirts?” He leaned forward on the bar and hoped she’d do the same, but she kept her distance.
She tugged at her short sleeve as she crossed her arms. “Oh, school spirit day. We all work at Jones High School. We go out for a drink every Friday after work and someone suggested we try a new bar.”
Lucky him.
“What do I owe you for the drink?”
“It’s on the house. Welcome to O’Leary’s. Hopefully, you’ll become a regular.” He smiled again, with the grin that worked on every woman, and watched the pink rise in her cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually witnessed a woman blushing.
“Thanks.”
He wiped down the bar and carried on small talk with other teachers, while keeping an eye on Quinn. She drank quickly and didn’t talk to anyone.
At one point, a tall blond man spoke to her. She shook her head and then slid from her stool. She hadn’t finished the drink, but tossed a dollar on the bar. He hurried back to her spot.
“Something wrong with the margarita?”
“Not at all. It was very good. I’m just heading out.”
“Will you be back next Friday?”
She glanced at the group around her. “Probably.”
Then she treated him to a smile that was as quiet as she was, but brightened her face. For a brief moment, she relaxed as she looked into his eyes.
“I look forward to it.”
~~@~~
EXCERPT
~~@~~
“What’s up? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“It’s only been a week.”
“I’ve gotten used to you stopping by more often.”
“I’ve been working. The end of the year is a busy time.” This was the third time she’d seen him since the kiss, and he’d said nothing.
“What’s this?” He tapped her calendar.
I guess we’re still ignoring the kiss. “I’m trying to choose the best day to play hooky.”
Ryan’s laughter rose above the noise of the milling crowd. “You need more help than I thought. Sweetheart, a hooky day isn’t something you plan. You just do it. You don’t think about work. The day is supposed to be fun.”
Quinn groaned and thumped her head on the table. “I can’t do that.”
“Didn’t you ever cut class?”
Quinn raised her head. “No. Perfect attendance all four years. Eight if you count college.”
His crinkly-eyed smile returned. “Oddly, I’m not surprised by that fact. If you’re not comfortable with it, why are you doing it?”
“Remember the list Indy and Kate created for me last week?” You know, the night you kissed me senseless one minute and moved on to a bimbo the next?
He nodded and she continued, “The first item on the list is to play hooky.”
“Playing hooky should not be stressful. Everyone does it. Lighten up. Pick a day and have fun. Your students will survive without you. Most of them have played hooky and can appreciate it.”
She slammed her calendar shut. “Okay. Monday it is, then.”
He shook his head again. “Not quite spur of the moment.”
“Hey, I’m a work in progress.”
~~@~~
YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM MORE THAN THIS
~~@~~
GIVEAWAY! So, more than a good book, Shannyn has a super give-away with her release. Shannyn will be awarding a 15" x 12" Pampered Chef flat baking stone (similar to the one her heroine uses) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US only). She'll be awarding a Keeper Kase (to keep your autographed book cover flats in) with an autographed cover flat from "More Than This" to one commenter at every stop (US only). Follow the tour, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning! Complete tour dates can be found here.
About the Author:
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.
Twitter: @SSchroeder_
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| A GoddessFish Promotions Guest |
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
Posts
Hi Claire - Thank you so much for hosting me today and for the wonderful recommendation! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Thanks again
Thank you for hosting today.
Shannyn -- I'm fascinated by this book. Apologies that I got so fascinated by sharing the blurb and excerpt, that I goofed it. I wish you the utmost success in sales. From what I've read, and am reading now with my downloaded copy, you absolutely deserve it!
No problem, Claire - I was so happy with what you said that I didn't even notice :)
Nice first meeting.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Shannyn is a new to me author but by the sounds of what I read about the book and how great the excerpt was, I am going to love the book and be impatiently waiting for her to publish a new one! lol
Best wishes!!
Christine S
cms72023 at gmail dot com