Spotlight & Giveaway: A Whole Lotta Trouble by Lea Hart

Posted April 10th, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 68 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome romance author Lea Hart to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Lea Hart and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Whole Lotta Trouble!

 
So happy to be invited.
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

Peace and quiet?
More like chaos and fire…
The town is taking bets. Rick and Em are either going to end up in jail or in bed. Likely both. How many bottles of tequila, visits to the sheriff, and family meddling it takes to get there is a whole other question…
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Emily drove through the west gates of Blakely Ranch, praying the good luck train she’d been riding wasn’t about to come to a screeching halt.
Though how that would be possible, she didn’t know, because last she heard, her childhood nemesis was in permanent residence.
A fact she’d been doing her best to ignore since returning to her hometown several months ago.
Running her hand over her favorite jeans, she let out a long breath and knew that reducing Rick to nothing more than a long-standing rival wasn’t fair. Or even particularly true.
He’d been her best friend, her partner in crime—as well as the very bane of her existence for more years than she could count.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • Family always knows best (even when they don’t)
  • Fussing and flirting are two sides of the same coin.
  • Second chances shouldn’t be wasted.
  • Love rewards the brave.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Rick and Em met in grade school and were the flint to one another’s bad ideas. If they hadn’t been squabbling like a pair of junkyard dogs and trying to get the best of one another, then they’d been egging each other on and twisting themselves into the best kind of trouble.
Which turned out to be a great source of entertainment for the local population as well as fodder for many lucrative bets for those who chose correctly. And truth be told, it had been a hell of a lot of fun for them as well.
Until it wasn’t.
When they run into each other a decade later, they begin the journey of discovering if the spark they once had can be reignited.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Destined, red-hot and fun!.
 

The First Kiss…

Life changing. Sometimes the person you meet in grade school can be your happy-ever-after.
 

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

Knowing that getting into a war of words wouldn’t do him any good, he kept his mouth shut and concentrated on how good it felt to finally have her in his arms. More than a decade had passed since their first and only dance at the Spring Fling in high school, and the woman she’d become blew away the hot seventeen-year-old she’d been. Something he never would’ve guessed was possible.
“People are lookin’ at us like we’re the best freak show at the circus,” she grumbled.
Pulling her tighter against his chest, he glanced around. “They’re just wonderin’ if there’s been a tear in the space-time continuum. No one has seen us been civil to one another since 2007, and they’re probably wondering what kind of dark force is at play.”
“Makes me want to do something…unexpected.”
He took a quick glance around and then gave Em a smile. “Any chance that unexpected thing could include a tongue-twisting kiss?”
Her mouth dropped open. “That is not at all what I was talking about, Rick Blakely. Have you lost your mind?”
“Might’ve but figured knowing how committed you were to making a point would be a good idea.”

 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

I’d make sure Netflix included this one because it shows that Rick and Em have a chance at something spectacular.

“I’d like a shot at a second chance.” He watched doubt and a little bit of hope war in her features and knew she needed to consider the idea. She’d always needed to take her time about things. Didn’t matter if it was a choice between chicken or steak tacos or rice pudding and a nice slice of sheet cake. The woman liked to consider her options, carefully.
Pressing a kiss to her head, he let his impatience go. “Just know that I’m ready to deal with every misstep I’ve made and the inaccurate stories and conclusions we’ve concocted over the years.” Feeling some of her stiffness disappear, he moved his fingers slowly over her arm. “I’m ready to dig into it the minute you give me a go signal.”
“All right, Rick.”
“Is that a yes, we’ll be doing it directly, or a no, I’m gonna kick this can down the road for as long as I can get away with?”
“A little bit of both.”
He squeezed her in a tight hug and then released his hold. “I’m gonna call that a win.”
Emily rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. “Of course, you are.”
“You’re the best co-conspirator a man could ever hope for, and though we fought and argued more often than not…yours is the company I’ve always wanted.”
“Because no one else would’ve take you up on your dares and gone along with the half-baked ideas.”

 

Readers should read this book …

If they need a little happy. I’ve filled this second-chance romance with laughter, high-stakes shenanigans and enough slow-burning love to make the world disappear for a couple of hours.

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m finishing up the second book in this series and can’t wait for readers to meet the oldest Blakely brother.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: A $ 15 Amazon giftcard

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you gotten in touch with the one who got away?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from A Whole Lotta Trouble:

More weight disappeared, and he let out a laugh. “Missed the hell out of you Stitches.”
“That’s hard to believe since I haven’t heard a word from you since you left for college.”
“I knew if I kept in touch, I never would’ve been able to stay way.”
Confusion clouded her eyes and he knew the sooner he could manage the overdue explanation he owed her, the better.
“Now that were going to be around one another from time to time, I hope we have a chance to get reacquainted and talk about what happened all those years ago.”
Emily stroked the horse’s nose and then wrinkled her own. “I’m more than happy to leave the past where it is. I also don’t know that I’m interested in keeping company with someone who used to tug my pigtails.” She pulled her long braid over her shoulder and twirled the end. “You also insulted me within a minute of meeting and told me I looked like a horse.”
“I can’t believe you remember that.”
“It would be impossible not to, since it was the first thing you ever said to me. My sweet little-innocent heart was all but crushed by your mean words.” Emily pressed her hands to her chest and sighed. “It’s a miracle that I survived the experience.”
He rocked back on the heel of his boot and let out a chuckle. “You hauled off and punched me in the stomach and then told everyone I smelled like a stinky cow, so you weren’t crushed for long.” He lifted her silky braid. “I thought your honey blond hair was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, and my horse was my favorite thing, so…”
She blinked. “You trying to tell me you were being nice?”
“No, since I hated your know-it-all attitude and prissy ways and wanted nothing more than to put you in your place.” Sensing a shift in the energy, he leaned in and heard her sharp intake of breath. “Do you still know best, Emily?”
Her eyes widened…and darkened. Yes. Countless things had changed in the years they spent apart, but the current of energy they’d always seemed to share was the same. Maybe even a bit more potent, if he wasn’t mistaken.
After a long, tense moment during which Rick seriously contemplated kissing the hell out of that sweet mouth, Emily smoothed out his shirt and stepped back. “Not as often as I used to.”
“Well, that’s good news.” Maybe he’d finally get the chance to prove to her that he knew best. About them. He let her braid slip through his fingers and then traced the small scar on her chin. “I never thought you’d follow me into that fallen down shack to see if the ghost sightings were true.”
She lifted her chin. “You suggested I wasn’t brave enough to confront the apparitions.
Had I known the floor was all but rotted, I would’ve kept my big mouth shut and stayed home.” She tagged the lead rope off the tie bar and held it out.
“Live and learn, that’s all we can do.” He took the rope she offered and felt the mare press her head into his hand. “Patience, girl. All the good things in life take time.”
Emily gave him a world-class eyeroll and he threw her a cocksure smile in response, knowing the time he’d spent getting his mind and soul back together had been worth it. They were two hard surfaces that ground against each other, creating the type of resistance that produced a spark capable of ignition.
Friction.
Sometimes it worked in their favor and other times, not so much.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Rick Blakely is enjoying being back on the family’s Texan ranch. After ten years in the Navy SEALs—and another one working through the damage they caused—he’s grateful his days are no longer filled with chaos and danger.

His peace and quiet ends the second the new vet pulls up to the ranch. Emily Conner has driven him up a wall since grade school, and their fights are legendary in these parts. Fate must be laughing at his expense—something he’ll be discussing with the man upstairs just as soon as he can tear his eyes away from Em’s very fine ass…

When Emily agreed to go out to the Blakely Ranch, she prayed fervently that her former nemesis was: A) not in residence, B) mute, or C) ugly as sin. Rick, of course, is none of these things, and she’s torn between wanting to throttle him and tear off his clothes to see whether what’s underneath is just as hot. Which will not happen. The man is nothing but trouble.

The town is taking bets. Rick and Em are either going to end up in jail or in bed. Likely both. How many bottles of tequila, visits from the sheriff, and family meddling it takes to get there is a whole other question…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Lea Hart lives in Southern California and write stories about sassy, smart women and the alpha men who fall for them. When she’s not writing, she takes care of her daughters and tries to take long walks. She believes in the power of a big glass of wine, the right pair of shoes, and a big dose of sarcasm.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | | Instagram |
 
 
 

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68 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: A Whole Lotta Trouble by Lea Hart”

  3. Jeanna Massman

    No, and I don’t plan to. Usually, there’s a reason they got away.

  5. Lilah Chavez

    No, but the one I thought was the one I have had convos with.. But he seems to have no recollection of any wrong doing on his part .

    Good thing I’m married.

  6. Diana Tidlund

    Nope unfortunately I married and divorced his sorry ass. But was worth it for the one who came along after . Together 28 years !

  14. Janine

    My ex-husband is one of my best friends. I think we get along better now than we did when we were married. at least we can talk about anything now. Back then, we didn’t communicate very well.

  17. Amy R

    Have you gotten in touch with the one who got away? No as I don’t have the one who got away

  21. laurieg72

    No, he’s not on social media. The last I heard,he moved out West and I moved down South.
    I believe in timing. It wasn’t meant to be.

  23. anna nguyen

    never had someone who got anyway. if i did i am not sure i would be brave enough to do something about it

  24. Natalija

    He got in touch with me, but I didn’t have much to say to him because I was in another relationship.

  28. Kathleen Bylsma

    More like I turned him loose…and yes, tow of them…I was right to do so

  29. MARCY MEYER

    I have not been in contact with anyone from my past. Not sure there is a ‘one that got away’, otherwise I would have stayed with them.

  34. Karina Angeles

    No. I’ve seen him in passing, and he has a wife and 6 kids. I’m glad he’s happy.

  45. Nina Lewis

    Yes. We live in a small town so we’ve seen each other through the years. He is married now & looks happy. I’m glad for him! 🙂

  48. Nancy Payette

    I never had one that got away. But I have received a few calls from old beaus many years in the past.

  49. Glenda M

    I don’t have any important ones that got away. I ran far and fast from the bf I had before I met my husband.

  60. joab4424

    I don’t have anyone who got away so, no, I haven’t gotten in touch. There was someone I was with all through high school who I keep track of now and then. But I would NOT want to actually see or speak to him. Too many years have passed.

  64. hendeis

    He’s been in touch with me on & off through the years! He’s happily married, but there’s still a tug there!