Q: If your characters could describe each other after one
day of knowing each other, what would they say?
A: Connor would describe Alexis as a spitfire – sexy and
saucy, and with an attitude.
Alexis would describe Connor as an ass. LOL.
Q: Why Las Vegas? There must be more less sweltering places
to vacation in the summer. :-)
A: Vegas is the perfect setting for this story because
everyone goes there for different reasons. Connor’s had to do with escaping his
past, Alexis’ was tied to her dad’s love of gambling. I actually spent a lot of
my own summers in Vegas, and yes, you get fried as soon as you step outside.
But that’s what the pool is for. ;-)
Q: Will we see Alexis and Connor again?
A: Yes, but as secondary characters. The next novel in this
series will be Elle’s story, told through her POV alternating with a male POV.
#nospoilers as to who that is going to be. As drama unfolds, Elle will of
course be interacting with her best friend and her cousin, so Alexis and Connor
will be back.
Q: Losing Enough is your debut NA novel. Prior to this,
you’ve written two YA novels. Which do you like better?
A. Okay, hard question…. Because I will always love my YA
male main character Micah, first and foremost. Yes, he came out of my head but
he also serves as my muse (if that even makes sense). But I love the extent of
emotional development that characters can have in the NA genre in those
coming-of-age moments., so I really do enjoy writing NA a bit more than YA
(don’t tell Micah).
Q: Biggest dream?
A: NYT bestseller list and seeing one of my stories adapted
to TV or a movie. But seriously, just being able to write more and reaching out
to readers.
Q: Favorite writing food?
A: Chocolate. And more chocolate. (Isn’t that a given?)
Q: Greatest weakness in a guy when admiring from afar?
Q: Some recent NA reads that you’d recommend?
A: The Untamed Series by Victoria Green and Jinsey Reese
#TeamDare, Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn #TeamMaddox. I loved these stories, and as
you can tell, I’m very character-inspired. :-)
EXCERPT
1: ALEXIS
Tucker’s shout calling out my drink brings me
back. As soon as my fingers close around the glass, an elbow smacks into my
arm. Goddammit. My arm has more Manhattan on it than my glass has in it.
I whip around and shoot a death glare at the guy
next to me. The bar is crowded, sure. But would it kill him to wait until there
was actually room before plowing his way into a spot?
I’m face-to-face with a solid wall of dark blue,
a t-shirt that’s stretched over broad shoulders and a muscled chest that would
probably give Elle an immediate hard on. My gaze lifts to a face with chiseled,
strong features, full but firm lips, intensely blue eyes blazing in contrast to
his tanned skin. That kind of eye color should not legally exist on a human
being. I’m the one who’s drenched in whiskey, but he’s the one staring at me
like he’s pissed off at the world.
I snap in his direction, “Thanks for that. Now
I’m soaked and out of a drink.” I eye the stack of cocktail napkins next
to him, but they’re out of my reach. Not about to dive on him to get them.
Without saying a word, he takes a wad of napkins
and unceremoniously shoves them at me. His fingers rake through his dark wavy
hair, which is already messy like he’s been pushing his hand through it all
night. For some reason, everything about his appearance makes me think he rides
a bike. I check him out again as I blot my arm dry. Striking. Especially with
the slight stubble on his face, and with those eyes. Too bad he’s kind
of an ass.
“What, sweetheart? You want me to buy you a
drink now? You’ll have to sweet talk me more than that. Or I accept sexual
favors, too.” He says it half-heartedly, like he’s reading it out of some
stupid playbook of his.
Are you shitting me? Okay,
make that a total ass. I cough out a laugh. “Yeah, right. No thanks.”
He shrugs. “No skin off my back. People in this
city drink too much anyway.”
His voice is low and resonant, the timbre of it
sending an involuntary jolt of electricity through me. The look he gives me and
the way one corner of his mouth curves up is almost mocking. Not that I’m
expecting any sort of chivalry on his part, but that had to be the worst
apology. Ever.
I raise my eyebrows. “You might have noticed,
but you’re standing at the bar?”
“I’m not drinking, am I.” He says it flatly, as
a statement.
“No,” I admit. “But you seemed pretty intent on
shoving your way into a spot here, and there are less crowded places to go if
you didn’t want a drink.”
He glances away, unfazed by my stellar display
of logic. “Came here to talk to someone.”
“Lucky girl. Or guy,” I say with sarcasm.
Why am I even wasting my breath with this guy? I
don’t wait for a reply before shoving away from the bar. I briefly debate
circling around and going to the other end to get another drink, but my nerves
are crawling with irritation. And not just because my arm is sticky. I need to
get away from anti-Prince Charming before I go into total bitch mode. I’m here
to have fun, and normally things like that bounce off of me and don’t leave any
impression. But he got under my skin, and I don’t like that.
EXCERPT 2:
ALEXIS
I sprint for fifteen laps before surfacing at
the end of the pool. Mom isn’t on the chaise lounge anymore. Connor is.
His broad shoulders are slightly hunched over,
his elbows braced on his knees, his hands loosely clasped in front of him. And
those startling blue eyes are resting on me like they’ve been watching me for a
while.
I kick up, propping myself on the edge of the
pool with my arms as I catch my breath. “Hi. What did you do with my mom?”
He cocks his head at me. God, his gaze is so, so
focused in on me like they were in the high roller room, like laser beams. I
wonder if he’s always so intense. I let go of the pool’s edge and sink back
into the water, my toes touching the bottom.
“Nothing.” He stands, not breaking eye contact
with me. “She told me she was going to go back to her suite to shower. Asked me
to keep you company and remind you that brunch is…” He glances at his watch.
“…in fifty minutes.”
“I know when brunch is,” I say simply. “But
thanks. And as for keeping me company, I’ll be swimming for about twenty more
minutes and then going inside, so don’t feel obligated to babysit.”
I’m not trying to be rude, just straight with
him. I don’t need any company when I’m out here. I push away from the
wall, my head still out of water so I can hear him in case he responds.
I stare at him as he throws his watch on his
towel, right before he pulls his shirt over his head and drops it. I try
not to gawk, but he has a great body, all tanned with well-defined muscles. I’d
felt some of those muscles when we danced last night. He walks forward,
swimming trunks slung low on his hips, and crouches down by the side of the
pool. My head is right at the level of his crotch, and I fight to drag my gaze
back up to his face.
My mouth is suddenly dry. No harm in looking,
right? He was just watching me swim for however long without me knowing. I can
make out a pretty big scar on his left shoulder, and I wonder what it’s from.
“You don’t seem like the type who requires
babysitting,” he says in a low voice. His jaw is shaded with a little bit of
stubble today, like he slept in this morning and didn’t have time to shave. I
stare at his lips and finally manage to swallow.
“You’re observant,” I say back.
EXCERPT
3: CONNOR
Alex watches my approach, and I catch a flicker
of surprise cross her face, but it disappears as she turns to Elle. The two of
them get kind of touchy feely as they dance together, and I’m torn between
thinking that it’s hot and mentally kicking myself because Elle’s my cousin,
for fuck’s sake.
The band starts playing a faster song, and I
hold out my hand to Alex’s mom. She smiles and takes it, and I dance with her,
switching off my dark thoughts associated with Cruz and Laura. The hatred. The
guilt. Try to let it all go for now.
Elle catches my eye and smiles as I spin Grace
around. I know this was her intention all along, to get me to chill the fuck
out, and I roll my eyes at her. But I have to admit that it’s all good right
now. Maybe even better than when I go out, because I’m just having fun, for
once not planning my next move.
The first song transitions to another fast one,
and I keep dancing with Grace. She seems a little breathless by the end and
excuses herself to go to the ladies’ room.
“Thank you for the dance, Connor,” she says,
fanning a hand in front of her face. “I haven’t danced like that in a long
time.”
I’m holding her other hand, and I give her a
semi-formal bow. “The pleasure was all mine.”
She takes her hand back and pats me on the arm
before retrieving her purse from the table, and I’m left alone with Alex and
Elle. The next song is a lot slower, and I freeze as Alex walks right up to me.
“Hey,” she says. “Thanks for dancing with my
mom. She looked like she was having a lot of fun.”
She’s standing close enough to me that I can smell
her perfume. Close enough that if I took a half-step forward, we’d be touching.
“You’re welcome,” I say lightly. “But you don’t
need to thank me for that.” Elle is standing by the railing singing again, and
I raise an eyebrow at Alex. “Want to dance?”
She hesitates, and I almost say never mind, but
then she shrugs.
“Sure.”
She takes that half-step toward me, and my
senses fill with her as she slides her hands up to my shoulders, as we move
together like we’ve done this before. And maybe it’s easy because this is just
what I do when I go out and this is what she does when she goes out. But I
think it’s also because it’s her. One of her long legs brushes against mine,
and I stare down at her face. My skin heats up because of her nearness, her
touch, and I lose track of anything else when I bring my hands to rest on her
hips. She smells so fucking good. Her lips are slightly parted, and she looks
so sexy that I wonder if she tastes just as good.
I lean down, and she freezes, her grip
tightening on my shoulders. I pause with my lips just inches from hers, the
anticipation hanging heavily between us. Her breath becomes mine as I descend,
her eyes closing as my want turns into full-blown need.
I move forward until I’m only inches away from
her and she has to tilt up her head up to look at my face. Her lips part, her
cheeks reddening. It’s stupid, but I feel a sort of twisted sense of pride that
I made the cool girl blush.
“I’m gonna kiss you, okay?”
“That’s not even a legitimate question,” she
breathes.
“I know,” I say.
She drifts over to me, her leg brushing against
mine, and the way she’s looking at me is like an open invitation. I move my
hand through the water and find her, run my hand across her hip. Damn, her skin
is so soft, her curves so sexy. I keep my touch light but really want to grab
her and pull her over to me.
“So?” She challenges. “You going to kiss me or
not?”
My mouth tilts up in a sideways smile. She’s
fiery, and I like that. That’s why I originally came here looking for her, and
this… this is just extra but now that the moment’s here, I want it.
Hell, I think I need it. I thread my fingers through her hair, press my lips to
hers and drink her up with a soft kiss. She moans against me, and that kills
the soft for me. I take the kiss deeper, and fuck, how she responds, matching
every stroke of my tongue with hers, her taste deliciously sweet, her fingers
knotting hard in my hair before raking over my shoulders and down my back.
I want to get closer to her. Want it so fucking
bad, but there’s too much water stirring between us. I slip my hands around her
waist, and she pushes her body up against mine. We’re skin on skin, slick and
hard against wet and soft. It’s like every touch of hers leaves a charge behind
that electrifies and pulses through me. I’m rock hard, and my hand slides down
to grab that gorgeous ass of hers as I grind against her.
A small sound of need escapes her throat, and I
groan. I seriously consider carrying her out of the pool and finding an open
room so we can continue this in private. Her room. Laundry room. Somewhere.
Anywhere but here.
She breaks off the kiss, tilts her head back as
I lean down to suck on the very sexy curve where her neck meets her shoulder.
“My God,” she moans.
I
smile against her skin. “Not yet I’m not.”
DREAM CAST:
PLAYLISTS:
Alexis:
(A Second Chances Novel #1)
Publication date: April 30th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
When Alexis Lin heads to Sin City for the summer, she wants nothing more than to dive into the clubs, spas, and concerts – the benefits of her father’s high roller lifestyle. On her first night in the city, Alexis gets into trouble at a club but walks away from it with the help of Connor Vincent. Private security guard to the top gamblers, Connor is all charm with his clients, but he's the anti-Prince Charming when it comes to women. Connor doesn’t have time for romance. He has his own problems to deal with, including his wild card of a brother who has come to town to collect on a past debt.
Alexis and Connor's unlikely chemistry heats things up as chance again conspires to throw them together. The stakes become even higher when unexpected tragedy strikes Alexis’ family and when Connor’s brother threatens to ruin the life that Connor has worked so hard to build. To come out ahead of the game, Alexis must be brave enough to listen to her heart, Connor must finally face up to his past, and both must decide how much they're willing to lose.
Sometimes risking your heart is the biggest gamble of all.
Alexis and Connor's unlikely chemistry heats things up as chance again conspires to throw them together. The stakes become even higher when unexpected tragedy strikes Alexis’ family and when Connor’s brother threatens to ruin the life that Connor has worked so hard to build. To come out ahead of the game, Alexis must be brave enough to listen to her heart, Connor must finally face up to his past, and both must decide how much they're willing to lose.
Sometimes risking your heart is the biggest gamble of all.
Purchase:
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AUTHOR BIO
Helen Boswell loved to get lost in the pages of a story from the time she could sound out the words. Originally from upstate New York, Helen spent much of her early adult life tromping around in Buffalo, NYC, Toronto, and Las Vegas, those cities now serving as inspiration for the dark and gritty urban backdrops of her stories. An author of both urban fantasy and contemporary romance, she loves to read and write characters that come to life with their beauty, flaws, and all.
Helen dedicates her time to raising her family of two boys, teaching college students, and of course, writing.
Find out more about Helen at www.helenboswell.com.
Author links:
Helen dedicates her time to raising her family of two boys, teaching college students, and of course, writing.
Find out more about Helen at www.helenboswell.com.
Author links:
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