JUST ONE SPARK: Where do you get your ideas?

JUST ONE SPARK releases tomorrow, so I've been going through promotional material from the first time it came out. This was featured on The Idea Boutique :: 

A firefighter fit for a calendar caught me in the grocery store checkout line, two tantrum-prone toddlers ready to bolt. The man was a dream, both because of how he looked and because he stopped his day to talk with my boys, giving them stickers and a distraction so I could pay for seven gallons of milk. These were big toddlers, people.

Safely securing my beasts into the only thing that can hold them down – a five point harness car seat – I turned the radio up and headed for home, thinking that maybe that fire fighter should play a role in the novel I was starting the next day as part of my first NaNoWriMo, if only he hadn’t had a ring on his finger. 

No matter, I work in fiction and I had almost twelve hours to come up with a reason for the ring. Quite proud of myself I turned the radio up, Mindy McCready’s Maybe, Maybe Not coming across the front speakers (don’t want to damage the delicate eardrums of the screachers in the back) of my compact sedan.

What if … Mr. Hunk-of-the-Month had to explain the ring to a woman sitting on a washing machine in a Laundromat? Instantly, I was dying to write the scene. I stayed up until midnight (unheard of when you have a child who routinely wakes at four-twenty to begin his day) just to get the scene out. I didn't care about what came next, didn't plot a character arc or layer in symbolism. The story unfolded as I imagined what I would want to read if I picked the book up at the store and shelled out the change from my last trip through the Coffee People drive-thru.

The way I wrote Just One Spark defies everything I’ve learned about novel writing since. If I’d known you never sell your first book, every scene needs goals, motivation and conflict, or that this is a hard business to break into, I never would have tried. Thank goodness for naivete.

Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled

JUST ONE SPARK: A picture is worth...

Had Mason been teasing her about snooping, or did he really want her to? Hannah ran her fingers across the mismatched photo albums. If a picture was worth a thousand words… 

It would certainly serve him right. She hadn’t looked through his things at all in the week she’d been staying here. And tomorrow she’d agreed to meet his parents. She’d look through the pictures to make sure nothing surprised her. Look out for a two-headed aunt or something. Maybe see if she could find out where he got those eyes.

She curled up on the couch with an album of travel photos. He’d been almost everywhere. And from the looks of it, with quite a few women. It didn’t surprise her, but it stung. One day she’d wind up as nothing more than a snapshot tucked into an album. Fire training dominated another album. He’d told her he’d fought forest fires during the summers in college, but the pictures made it all too real. She slammed the album shut halfway through. She’d have to finish that one day when he wasn’t at work. 

An eight-by-ten of a beautiful brown-eyed baby girl stared out from the front page of the final album. Hannah smiled, immediately recognizing Ryan’s nose. This must be Rianna. Sure enough, the following pages were a testament to the McNally family devotion to the next generation. Anyone holding Rianna in the snapshots was smiling. There was one of Derek holding her at arm’s length because she was covered in spaghetti. One of Ryan with his face and her hands covered in finger paint. Mike having a tea party wearing a tiara, and one of an older woman who must be their mother brushing Rianna’s long blonde hair. A child would be so blessed to be part of this family. 

Her breath caught in her throat when she turned the page. A picture of Mason asleep in a recliner with a napping Rianna curled up on his chest. He’d be a wonderful father. She squeezed her eyes shut at the notion, hot tears prickling her eyelids. She just had baby on the brain because of turning thirty next week. That’s all.

Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled

COVER REVEAL :: Just One Spark

Just One Spark is back & better than ever! Revised content, new scenes, and finally Derek & Kate's story is coming. (Plus, you'll LOVE who Jeanette winds up with!)

A Look Inside :: The Billionaire’s Reluctant Fiancée

From the beginning, there is such friction between Jake and Lily, it's no wonder that when things spark, they explode. 

Excerpt :

Jake made his way through the dark house without turning on any lights. The full moon provided just enough illumination to keep from bumping into things on his way to the kitchen. He pushed open the door and reached for the light switch, flicking it on.

Lily stood in front of the refrigerator, a carton of milk in her hand, at least until she spied him and dropped it with a gasp. His eyes widened at the sight of Lily in a pale pink nightie, her golden hair loose about her shoulders. The light material dipped low between her full breasts, delicately revealed the curve of her hips, and gave an alluring view of her bare thighs.


She wasn’t so mesmerized. She cursed, then reached for a towel on the counter and bent low to clean up the spill. Jake pulled his libido back in check and moved to help her. He took the towel from her and she stood. He had to bite back a groan at how the hem of her nightie came right into his line of sight.

“I’m sorry,” Lily said, walking around him and returning with another towel. “I didn’t expect anyone.”

“Obviously.” He finished the task and stood, enjoying the way her chest hitched with each breath as he looked down at her. “What are you doing down here?”

“Having a glass of milk, or trying to anyway. That’s what I do when I can’t sleep.” She kept her gaze locked on his, except for fleeting moments when it dropped to his bare chest.

He grinned, glad he wasn’t the only one hyper-aware after midnight. “That’s because you sleep alone.”

Her cheeks pinked, but she recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes. “You know, I think you may be right. It’s time I find someone willing to marry the penniless virgin and cure her insomnia.”

She tried to walk past him, but he caught her arm, turned her around and pulled her flush against him. “Try it, and you’ll find my patience exhausted quickly.”

“While you expect me to live a life in perpetual understanding of your need to go through mistresses faster than socks.” She tried to shake off his hold, but he pulled her closer.

“I’ve never claimed to be a saint. But I’m not going to spend my life feeding into your insecurity. I want you, only you, and have from the moment I saw you.

“I watched you, this golden angel gliding across a room, and I wanted you to be looking for me, not one of those worthless idiots you dated. We hadn’t even met, and I couldn’t get you out of my mind. Maybe I did use your father to get closer to you. It seemed kismet that we were in the same industry. Will became my friend, but he became my partner because of you. I had no other choice. I had to protect you somehow, and you never would have looked twice at me had I not thrown myself in your way at every opportunity.”

“You’ve been watching me?” Her haughty tone cut him to the quick. He was never going to be enough for her, never going to measure up to the vapid boys always trailing after her simply because he hadn’t lived their life.

“And you’ve been watching me, wondering what it would be like if you were only brave enough to step outside your perfect world for a minute and indulge in all I can offer you.” He took a step forward, moving them both until she was backed up against the kitchen table.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Her eyes flashed with an emotion he hadn’t seen in her yet. True fear, or excitement?

“What you’ve wanted me to do since you first started watching me. You think there’s something beneath what the world sees. Maybe it’s time I show you what that is.”

The Billionaire’s Reluctant Fiancée

Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | Play | Entangled

INDULGE! 99¢ Sexy Romance SALE

You can't have just one. It's true of potato chips, chocolate chip cookies and billionaire book boyfriends. Indulge your fantasies and bring a billionaire to bed with you tonight! This 99¢ only lasts until Friday, so don't wait!

The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancée - This is a fantastic story with very strong characters who were beautifully written and I immediately fell in love with both of them.— The Good, The Bad, and the Unread

The Billionaire's Private Scandal - This sizzling tale about a suddenly-poor heiress and the love of her life who is behind her family’s financial ruin is as juicy as a soap opera and more fun than a day at the beach. — Romantic Times

The Billionaire's Holiday Engagement - Absolutely delicious and delectable, full of passion, romance and humor.— Marilyn's Romance Reviews

The Billionaire's Reluctant Fiancée - The writing is fantastic, the character development is brilliantly done, and the pace of the story is excellent. — Long & Short Reviews

New Release :: The Billionaire’s Reluctant Fiancée

The Billionaire’s Reluctant Fiancée

Invested in Love 5

by Jenna Bayley-Burke

After her father’s untimely death, the only things Lily Harris is left with are debt and scandal—and her late father’s business partner, Jake Tolliver, looking over her shoulder. Lily isn’t interested in being another one of Jake’s many conquests, no matter how attractive he is, or how convincing he might be. She just needs to keep reminding herself she’ll get burned if she makes a deal with this devil.

Billionaire Jake Tolliver is the ultimate ruthless businessman with a well-deserved reputation for always getting what he wants. Before his friend and mentor dies, he asks Jake to take care of his daughter...by marrying her. It sounds like a perfect arrangement to Jake. He’ll have a beautiful wife on his arm, and Lily will have someone to take care of the mess her father left her. But Lily’s a romantic at heart, and she won’t accept a marriage of convenience. She’s wants the one thing Jake can’t afford to lose—his heart.

Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | Play | Entangled

Excerpt

Countdown to The Billionaire's Reluctant Fiancée