Spotlight & Giveaway: Avenged by Love by LJ Evans

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author LJ Evans to HJ!

Hi LJ Evans and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Avenged by Love!

 
Thank you for having me! I can’t wait to share more of Truck and Jersey’s fake marriage romance with you!
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

All my books are inspired by music. Seriously…lyrics, books, and me… we’re a thing. It all started with Taylor Swift (don’t roll your eyes… it’s true). I was listening to her old country songs when I wrote my debut novel, and the characters told their own story through her lyrics. Now, my readers are used to my chapters starting with song titles, and they know that the lyrics and tone of the song reflects in the story. The playlist for Avenged by Love is on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2uBGKBO.

Here’s some of the songs spelling out the book’s title.

• All to Myself; Dan + Shay
• Thought I Died and Gone to HeaVen; Bryan Adams
• Everybody; Keith Urban
• HumaN; Christina Perri
• Look What God Gave Her; Thomas Rhett
• Everything Has Changed; Taylor Swift w/ Ed Sheeran
• Don’t Look Back; Boston
• Bad Moon Rising; Creedance Clearwater Revival
• I Hope You’re Happy Now; Carly Pearce with Lee Brice
• Let it Be Love; Lady Antebellum
• LOve Hurts; Nazareth
• Lied about LoVe; Larry Fleet
• All out of LovE; Air Supply

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The back of the new-to-me pickup was full with one last load of boxes. We’d spent the day emptying the storage unit the Coast Guard had provided until I’d found a place to live near the academy. Dawson was crammed into the back seat, griping about something I chose to ignore, and Mac was in the front seat, pacifying him.

I love that the first scene gives readers a sneak peek at characters from the first two novels as well as unique side characters in this one. All the Anchor Novels can be read standalone, but they do have people who overlap because Eli, Mac, and Truck are three best friends who started the whole series!

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Ooh, these two characters have my entire heart. I have character cards for them (like all my books) on my website: https://www.ljevansbooks.com/avengedbylove-cc .

But here’s the short of it. Truck is a Coast Guard who blames himself for his brother’s downward spiral and has a superhero complex. He likes to save people. He’s also deathly afraid of horror movies, which seems so anti-heroish that it was fun to play with. He’s pretty much the most honorable, straight forward, caring guy you could meet.

Jersey is the town pariah because of her family’s past, but she’s determined to make sure her younger, genius sister has the best life possible. She has some pretty serious health issues and draws incredible comic book heroes, but she refuses to do anything about either until Truck slowly starts to force her out from behind her protective shield.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I made up an entire app (Married FOR Benefits) and a comic book superheroine (Glasswing) in this story. I kind of wish I could make them both come true in real life. You never know… could still happen.
• All Truck’s chapters start with country songs (because it’s my go to music even though I am pretty diverse in the songs I listen to). All Jersey’s songs were supposed to start with songs from The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks, but it was harder than I thought to use them, so her songs morphed into some great CLASSICS from the 70s, 80s, + Bryan Adams…because Bryan’s lyrics ALWAYS tell stories.
• In the book, the house Jersey is living in has a termite problem that causes the owner to fall through the floor. Some of my beta readers were rolling their eyes and saying, “What? Really?” Then, one of members of my Facebook reader group said the EXACT thing had JUST happened to them in their house, and I felt totally vindicated. I may (or may not) have gloated a little…just a little…

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

Blonde, beautiful, and silent, Truck is drawn to Jersey physically from the very first time he saw her as a side character in Guarded Dreams. Then, he ends up staying at the same place she’s living for a few weeks, and he is drawn by her resilience and her sacrifices that she makes for others.

Jersey loves superheroes. All the fandoms and comic books are the things she grew up loving, and Truck is literally a real-life superhero. Coast Guard, fighting the good fight, saving his brother. Everything about him, physically and mentally, pulls at her hidden away places.

The First Kiss…

Y’all…. It’s a fake marriage story, but it’s also a slow burn. Truck and Jersey make a whole contract around it that has NO KISSING ON THE LIPS listed as item #4… and YES there is absolutely a Pretty Woman reference in the book. So, when the first kiss finally happens, it starts to unravel everything!

Take a look:

“None of it was your fault,” I said, and when she looked away, I tugged her chin back to look me in the eyes. “None of that was your fault.” I wanted to will her into it. I wanted to force her to see the truth.

She shook her head. “Just stop, you can’t say―”

I kissed her. I forced my lips onto hers because I couldn’t stop her any other way, and I meant to. I needed her to just stop and listen. But once my lips were on hers, all those thoughts went out of my brain because she tasted just like she smelled, like cinnamon and vanilla. She tasted like Christmas and anticipation and joy.

She stilled in my arms, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, her hands journeyed to my waist and her body crushed itself against mine, a return volley I couldn’t help but respond to. I deepened the kiss until our tongues were tangling together in a dance as old as time itself, but new and fresh because it was with this gorgeous woman who couldn’t see past the shell she’d built around herself. My chest felt like the Grinch’s when his heart grew ten times that day. Mine had done the same. It grew and made room for this tiny woman inside it. All of her, but especially the parts she thought weren’t loveable. Those I wanted most so I could show her just how loveable they were.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

Oh holy guacamole, it would totally be the scene where he suggests they get married! It was such a fun scene to write. There’s more to it than just this, but here’s a little snippet.

“Excuse me?” I asked because I was sure I’d heard him wrong.

He dragged a hand over his face. “Sorry. Screwed that up. Let me try again.”

Try again? He was going to ask me to marry him in a different way? I looked around, expecting Violet to be filming this as some weird prank to post on her social media accounts.

“I was thinking,” he started, and this time, I could tell he was nervous.

“Stop. Don’t. Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. You don’t even know me.”

This seemed to knock him out of whatever apprehensive state he was in, because he chuckled. A slow rumble that bubbled its way across my frame and made me want to lean in and taste it. Taste him and his joy. But it certainly didn’t make me want to marry him.

“Jesus. I really am doing this all wrong. Can we sit down?”

I stared at him for a moment. “Have you been drinking?”

Our dad used to say some really bizarre things when he was drunk. Tony Stark had done some pretty stupid things when he’d been drunk. Drunk and men were a series of bad choices and decisions.

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

Wellllll, I think Truck would probably include all the Lady Antebellum, Sam Hunt, and Thomas Rhett songs about love, life, and changes because that’s pretty much him.

“On a Night Like This” by Lady Antebellum is the song and chapter title for when things start to get hot and heavy for Truck and Jersey. “Let it Be Love,” by them is also in the book and would absolutely be on his playlist.

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

You DESERVE to be happy. You CANNOT force your siblings lives into the shape you want. You NEED to practice self-care.

Maybe, if they’d known that before they started, it wouldn’t have taken them so long to surrender to the love they find in each other. But…then we wouldn’t have this heart stopping story of resilience, hope, and love, would we? And, dang it, I adore this story the way it is. Jersey and Truck are probably my favorite characters that I’ve written. I know you’re not supposed to have favorites as an author. It’s like picking a favorite child, but before this, Lonnie and Wynn from My Life as a Mixtape were my favorites. I think Truck and Jersey may have taken over their number one spot.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I’m so excited to be writing my first frenemy romance!!! The readers of Forged by Sacrifice will be very happy to hear that I’m working on Dani and Nash’s HEA in Damaged Desires that’s due out this October. Dani gives up the Washington political scene to find a life that isn’t built around scandal and drama. Dog sitting for a friend puts an extremely annoying and very tormented Navy S.E.A.L in her life on a daily basis. Dani hates that Nash Wellsley lights up every nerve ending in her body. Especially because he’s made it clear that his future lies in the direction of another woman. But when her new job launches her into the headlights of a crazy lady, and Nash is the one to sign up to protect her, they agree to a temporary alliance that they both know won’t end well. I adore writing BOTH of these characters and the love-hate thing. I’m digging it more than I ever thought I would. People can get a sneak peek of their story in the bonus epilogue for Avenged by Love when they sign up for my newsletter using the link at the back of the book!

I’m also working on a series of short stories for the holidays! It has the grown-up children of the cast of characters from the My Life as an Album series. In My Life as a Holiday Album, all the kids come home with secrets that are sure to send their parents and their families into a frenzy. As they try to keep them hidden, they come spewing out of them one story at a time. It’s been fun writing each secret as they slowly unravel!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Avenged by Love signed paperback with author swag and a deck of comic word playing cards, US only.
Avenged by Love eBook with $10 Amazon eCard, Int’l only. Must be able to claim a gift card from the US Amazon store..

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Truck and Jersey argue over male and female superheroes. Who is your favorite male superhero? Who is your favorite male superhero? And, the most important comic question, “Marvel or DC?”

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Avenged by Love:

“Do you regret it?” I asked him.

Surprise crossed his face. “Hell no. Not for even one moment.”

He ran a finger along my cheek.

“Then what?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve pulled back. It’s like you’re afraid to let me touch you.”

“I am.” Shock settled through my bones at his words, and it must have registered on my face, because he continued. “I’m not afraid of you, but of me.”

“Why would you be scared of yourself?”

“Like I’ve said, it’s almost impossible to stop male bodies once they get going, Jers.”

It registered in my brain finally—his words about not wanting to hurt me.

“If you’re not going to treat me…treat this”—I waved a hand between us—“the same way you would with any other woman, then I don’t want it either.”

He closed his eyes, shutting me out for a moment, but when he opened them, there was desire there. There was also still a hesitancy that I hated more than I hated the pain that normally accompanied my days.

“If I did it like I normally do…like I want to…I’d devour you and never stop.”

I pulled his hand to my lips, kissing the palm before I said, “Then devour me.”

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

“You don’t have to fight the world alone. You’ve got me.”

Travis Dayton, a.k.a. Truck, is focused on two things: settling into his position at the Coast Guard Academy and helping his younger brother stay out of trouble. So even though the beautiful, comic loving Jersey Banner is tugging at his heart strings in funny ways, he isn’t going to act on those emotions. Not when he’ll eventually be moving on, and she’ll be staying behind.

Jersey has been struggling to keep her family afloat ever since their dad went to jail. The pain she feels on a regular basis? It isn’t anything she can stop to think about. At least not, until she ends up at the emergency room in the protective arms of the one man who makes her pulse beat faster than the superheroes she worships.

Seeing Jersey in desperate need of medical care she can’t afford, Truck does the only thing he can to help… he marries her.

When chaos invades their lives, their temporary deal starts to crumble. Hearts and souls are twined together, so that there’s little chance of escape without permanent damage. Unless, they just surrender to it all and let love heal them both.

From award-winning author, LJ Evans, comes a novel inspired by Lady Antebellum’s “Ocean” about resilience and love. You don’t want to miss this small town, military romance.

Author’s Note: Protective, noble Coast Guard. Nerdy, comic loving heroine. Heart tugging words and slow, simmering attraction. Fake marriage, broken promises, and happiness you’ll feel in your bones.

“Love is the only real superpower.”
Book Links: Amazon |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Award winning author, LJ Evans, lives in the California Central Valley with her husband, daughter, and the terrors called cats. She’s been writing, almost as a compulsion, since she was a little girl and will often pull the car over to write when a song lyric strikes her. While she currently spends her days teaching 1st grade in a local public school, she spends her free time reading and writing, as well as binge-watching original shows like The Crown, Victoria, Veronica Mars, and Stranger Things.

If you ask her the one thing she won’t do, it’s pretty much anything that involves dirt—sports, gardening, or otherwise. But she loves to write about all of those things, and her first published heroine was pretty much involved with dirt on a daily basis, which is exactly why LJ loves fiction novels—the characters can be everything you’re not and still make their way into your heart.

Her debut novel, MY LIFE AS A COUNTRY ALBUM, was the Independent Author Network’s 2017 YA Book of the Year. For more information about LJ and her books, check out her website www.ljevansbooks.com.

“where music and stories collide”
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