Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Interview w/ Jan Meredith-- there's...man candy :) + giveaway

Morning ladies!! Today we've got a very new to me author...Jan Meredith. I just read Playing Doctor and, well, I flipping LOVED it! The review will be up later this afternoon so come back by and check that out. It got one of my very, very rare 5 star reviews. Jan stopped by for a chat today so check her out and leave her some comment love :)

Anna

5 star Review
Playing Doctor
When a fellow RN jokingly predicts that Beth Roberts will meet a tall, ripped and totally lick-o-licious stranger who will fulfill her deepest desires, it’s supposed to be from across a crowded room, not giving CPR to a wedding guest. Given her tragic love life, Beth has no desire to become involved again, but who could have predicted the ponytailed doctor with the mischievous smile would break through her defenses?

Dr. Gabriel North blamed himself for his wife’s death. Now, after two years of battling guilt and meaningless hookups, he’s ready to move on. When he sees the sexy brunette at his friend’s wedding, his attraction is swift and strong, and he wastes no time in pressing his advantage. One night with the woman who makes him feel alive again isn’t enough, but gaining her trust as a man was going to take more than medical school had prepared him for.

Amazon All Romance Goodreads

Good morning Jan!! Welcome to herding cats. I was feeling a bit adventurous this morning so whipped up some croissants for while we chat. *whispers* there are a couple chocolate stuffed ones in there.
Thanks for having me, Anna! Ooo, chocolate filled croissants—I’ll be right over. 
LOL I've got my eyes on those chocolate ones too! Yum! Alright. If you had 15 seconds how would you hook someone on Playing Doctor?
When two broken souls meet at a wedding and come together in a passionate and cathartic way, neither has the slightest clue how their chance meeting will both open their battered hearts and change their lives.
Can you share 3 fun behind the scenes facts about Beth, Gabe and their story? 
  • Beth’s car, a black on blue, 1969 Super Sport Chevelle, is the one my husband drove while we were dating. Her key ring is one I carried.
  • It’s no accident that Playing Doctor starts with Beth and Connie having breakfast at Cracker Barrel. My fellow nurses, who worked the night/weekend shift in the Emergency Department, and I would gather at Cracker Barrel after our last shift on Monday mornings, where we would gorge ourselves on pancakes and have the most outrageous conversations.
  • Connie’s character is a compilation of those friends, who are as dear to my heart as Connie is to Beth. 
    I really loved Connie's character. She seemed like a lot of fun :) I totally love quotes too... Do you have a favorite moment/scene from Playing Doctor that just totally got you?
    While there are several scenes that I love, the one where Gabe asks to see Beth again and she turns him away pulls at my heart each time I read it:
    At some point during the night, his priorities had shifted. One night with Beth wasn’t going to be enough. He wanted more—to get to know her, show her that she was more than a one-night stand or an emotional crutch to help him get past his guilt over Rita. He wanted to date her, find out what she liked to eat, movies she liked to watch. A relationship? Maybe. He needed time to find out.
    Her arms came up, circled his neck and pulled him down. The kiss rocked him right down to his toes.
    Good morning,” she purred.
    Gabe cupped his hand around Beth’s neck and brought her back up. One kiss wasn’t going to do it.
    I want to see you again,” he murmured, bypassing the morning greeting for yet another taste of her. Something flickered in her eyes. Surprise? Hope? Joy? Then her lashes came down and shuttered them, blocking her feelings. Blocking him. She pulled back, put some space between them. It was only a few inches, but it may as well have been a mile.
    That would complicate things.”
    His hand slid down her arm, a small connection to keep her from slipping further away. “Seeing each other again doesn’t have to be complicated.”
    But, it would, and we agreed—one night…”
    Fuck the agreement. I’ve changed my mind. I want more.” Frustration boiled just under the skin. Restless fingers plowed through his hair. He had to do something, say something to change her mind, but first, he had to get himself under control. Gabe banked his emotions and reached for the calm he employed when fighting for a patient’s life. Why did he suddenly feel as if he were fighting for his? “I’m just saying we should give this a shot, see where it takes us. There’s a connection between us, you felt it as well as I did.”
    Yes.”
    Then, let’s do this.”
    She shook her head. “We went into this eyes wide open, knew we would go our separate ways when it was done. This”—she indicated the bed—“was a chance encounter, unplanned and uncomplicated. As I said, I’ve never done anything like this before, and I don’t intend for it to ever happen again, and I have no regrets. It was wonderful. You were wonderful. You’ve given me so much more than I can ever return, but there’s something inside of me that I have to let go of before I can commit to a relationship.” She held up a hand, effectively cutting down his next argument. “Or even the possibility of one, and you deserve so much more than I’m capable of giving now.”
    Deserve. There was that word again. Funny she should bring it up now just when he was beginning to think he was worthy of trying again. Trying with her. Just goes to show you where thinking will get you. “It was amazing between us, and I think it can be better.”
    Her blue eyes flew to his, wide and vulnerable, and then she glanced away. “It was good with Jamie at first and look how that turned out.”
    It was as if something finally clicked in his brain. Trust—hers had been shattered. He wasn’t the man who’d broken that fragile bond, but he was the man who would have to earn it back. The thought barely crossed his mind before another followed—it wasn’t him she was rejecting, but he was the man she was turning away.
    The unfairness of it drove his anger up. He could handle the anger, welcomed it even. It was mild compared to the other emotion roiling through him that threatened to lay him low. That she would compare him to the man who had abused her, judge and sentence him for a crime imposed on her by another man wounded him to the bone.
    I’m not him, Beth. I would never intentionally cause you harm.” If he felt some small token of satisfaction at the shame that lit her lovely face, then so be it.
    Gabe rose from the bed and dressed. She sat cross-legged, her fingers plucking at the sheet pulled over her breasts. Her eyes followed him as he crossed to her, bent down, and took her chin in his hand. He took her mouth again, roughly at first, surprised at how badly he wanted, needed that one last taste of her. He lingered there, rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you for last night—for everything.”
    Her eyes filled. “Thank you.”
    He took a breath, blew it out. “So, there’s nothing I can say to change your mind?”
    Beth’s eyes drifted shut. A small, shaky breath passed her lips. For a moment Gabe thought, hoped, she was having second thoughts, but then she looked up and shook her head. “No.”
    Seconds ticked by, then he nodded, turned from the bed, from her, and walked to the desk. Beth’s paperwork lay there, waiting for her attention. He reached down, ran his finger over the letterhead on the staffing schedule, and glanced at the résumés as bits of their earlier conversation played back in his head.
    This is my cell.” He picked up the pen lying beside her laptop, scribbled the number on a Post-it note and stuck it to her laptop. “If you change your mind.” He went to the door, turned the knob, and glanced over his shoulder. “Beth…change your mind.”

    The door closed behind him with a quiet click. The weight of a new burden settled across Gabe’s shoulders as he made his way down the corridor to the elevator. He knew without a doubt he was walking away from the best thing that had happened to him in a long time, and he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life. Knowing it was irrelevant—he’d done all he could. It was up to Beth now. 

    What about Gabe had you going all *girly swoony* over him? What about Beth?
    How can you not swoon over a tall, dark and lick-o-licious guy with long hair, a great sense of humor and who knows how to take what he wants while making sure his woman gets what she needs? 
    As for Beth—I wanted a strong woman, one who could gather the remnants of her shattered life and move forward. It was going to take that kind of woman to pull Gabe from the guilt over his wife’s death. 
    LOL he sure made me swoon that's for sure. Alright a couple quickies before you head out...

    Favorite Man Candy? 
    Dustin Clare, as Gannicus from Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, was the original muse for Gabe. I loved his humor, his courage and strength…and then there was that great hair, his dark eyes and that fantastic body!
    As the story played out, Gabe began to resemble Chris Hemsworth and the two sort of morphed into one.
    Erm…hang on a sec…It’s cold outside and here comes a man with wood… *well, those are just...real nice Jan*
    I'm completely obsessed with...?
    Pawn shopping for rings! I love finding a beautiful old ring, wondering who wore it last, how she came by it, what happened to bring it into the shop…taking it home and adding another chapter to the story. *oh I love that!*
    Funky patterned socks or solid colors?
    Sadly, I’m boring when it comes to socks, but I would love to have a pair of red and white Wicked Witch of the West socks and a pair of sparkly red shoes to wear with them!
    Best food ever...?
    Nachos and Cheese and chocolate. I’m totally convinced that my gastroenterologist was full of dookey in even suggesting that they have anything to do with my horrible acid reflux problem J
    Any juicy gossip you can share about what's up next? Will there be more in this world or something completely new?
    I have several works in progress going at the moment! Three are stand-alone books, but I love the secondary characters in Playing Doctor, and they keep pecking at the inside of my head for me to tell their stories.
    Connie, Beth’s BFF from Playing Doctor will have her day in the sun, as well as giving us another glimpse of Beth and Gabe with a special HEA for them. Here’s a quick run-down of her story:
    Connie is fed up with her old money, society conscious family and their endless attempts to fix her up with the appropriate Mr. Right, and tonight’s debacle is the last straw. Escaping to the den for a moment of anger management, she finds her brother watching a cage fight on TV, and the mass of tattoo covered muscle and sweat in the octagon is none other than the local bad boy, and her former high school crush, Eddie Barone. When her brother jokingly suggests bringing the battered fighter to dinner and introducing him as her significant other, an idea germinates. It could work…as long as she remembers they’re not in high school any more. 

    When Constance Beaumont sways into his father’s restaurant, Eddie feels a punch to the chest, much like the one he’d taken the night before in cage that still had his ribs aching. When the ridiculous proposal spills from the luscious lips he’d ached to taste back in high school, his first instinct is to turn her down. With injuries to heal before his next fight, and bored to the point of screaming, this might be just the distraction he needs…and his one shot at getting his hands on the girl who’d always been just out of reach.

    Ian Montgomery and Eve Winters will have their own story as well. Here is the working blurb:
    All Ian Montgomery, Navy SEAL, wants is to get through his brother’s wedding and enjoy the peace and quiet of home. The last thing he needs is his pain in the ass childhood friend invading his space while her home is undergoing repairs for water damage. As kids, she was the annoying little sister he’d never had, or wanted, constantly pestering him to “show me how.” But little Eve has grown up, and rather nicely, too, and her latest request for his tutoring services are anything but childish.

    Write what you know. Easy enough, but Eve Winters, bestselling author of erotic romance is a fraud—she has a ghostwriter penning those steamy love scenes. Eve’s past relationships have been less than satisfying, leaving her wondering what all the fuss is about. How’s a girl supposed to write something she’s totally clueless about? What she needs is a lesson on the smexy, and there’s only one man she trust enough to do the job.
    Oh I am so excited! I loved both of their characters. Woot! Can't wait to see what you come up with for them. Thanks so much for coming by Jan! 
    Thank you, as well, Anna, for inviting me here today. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I hear a bag of Tootsie Rolls and one of my characters calling my name J
    Find Jan Online!


    We've got a HUGE month long giveaway going on ---->
    Check out the post and leave Jan some comment love!

    (Jan's donated a signed copy (or ebook if you prefer) to the grand prize!! Woot! Thanks Jan!)

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