Spotlight & Giveaway: Bad Influence by Stefanie London

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Stefanie London to HJ!

Hi Stefanie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Bad Influence!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

This is the final book in the Bad Bachelors series, and it’s one readers have been waiting for! Without spoiling too much for people who haven’t read the first two books in the series, this is a second chance romance between Annie and Joseph. They had a very emotional break up three years ago when Annie’s mother was diagnoses with cancer and now Joseph is back in New York and looking to make it up to her.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Three years ago…
Joseph would forgive her for changing her mind; he had to. They were family. Sure, they might not be married yet, but she’d seen the ring. The elaborate hunk of a stone, a cushion-cut masterpiece surrounded by a spray of smaller diamonds, nestled in navy velvet, and tucked away in the depths of his sock drawer.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I knew exactly how this book would end before I even started writing the first book in the series. Annie was a character who came to me very clearly!
• Annie’s step-father is very loosely based on my dad. They have a lot of traits in common, although my dad ditched his big bushy moustache quite a few years ago.
• I worked in an information security environment a few years back and used a lot of what I learned for the hacking subplot in this book.

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

This scene shows both characters and how they feel about their chance meeting after Joseph moves back to New York…when Annie pushes him into a pond. Now they’re back at her place and struggling to navigate seeing one another for the first time in three years.

Tell him to leave. Get him out of here!
“How was Singapore?” she asked, mentally cursing herself.
“Busy.” He set the cup down on the table in front of him. “Exhausting.”
Lonely. She could hear it in his voice, a tiny change in tone that revealed more than his words. When they were together, she’d become adept at interpreting tone. Being with Joseph had required master-level skills in translating body language. She’d become an expert in pitch and subtext and the minutia of him.
Was he regretting his decision to leave? Had he missed her?
Her chest constricted. “Why did you come back?”
“New opportunities. HSBC had given me what I needed, and it was time for me to move on.”
“And how is your career going?” Annie couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice. “Are you on your way to world domination yet?”
He sat up straighter, his broad shoulders stretching to their full breadth. She forced herself not stare at the muscles flexing in his chest and arms as he shifted position. One wrong move, and that towel would be nothing more than window dressing.
“Did you say you had something I could change into?” He ignored her question.
And like that, conversation time was over. Some things never changed. “No, I didn’t say that.”
“You expect me to walk out of here naked?”
Annie smirked. “Why not? I’m sure the ladies of Manhattan wouldn’t mind. It’s over fifty degrees, so you shouldn’t have too much shrinkage.”
“That’s never been a problem, and you know it.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “And I’m not going to get booked for indecent exposure my first weekend back in the city.”
“That sounds like your problem.” She waited for him to squirm. He didn’t. “How you walk out of here is up to you, but your options are pretty limited.”
“And what exactly are my options?”
She smiled. “Your suit or a towel or a pair of my running tights.”
**
Joseph’s eyes dropped to the dark fabric hugging her hips and thighs, outlining her to perfection. Even if he could squeeze into them—which was highly unlikely—he’d maintain his modesty better with a face cloth. But damn, she looked good in them. Her legs were lean and toned. Shapely.
The rest of her was as stunning as he remembered—cocoa-colored eyes framed by thick lashes, fine nose, high cheekbones. She had a smile that could light up a room…not that he’d be likely to see it anytime soon.
“Surely there’s something else I can wear,” he said.
She shook her head. “Not that I can think of.”
“You haven’t got any baggy sweatpants?”
“I’m afraid not.” She looked like she was having far too much fun with this scenario.
“You seriously have nothing else?”
He was tempted to ask her if an old boyfriend—or a current one—might have left any clothing he could borrow. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that.
“What about a sock?” She cocked her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Or maybe a strategically tied scarf?”
Clearly she wasn’t going to budge. Wasn’t this the ultimate post-breakup fantasy? Catching your ex in a compromising position and mercilessly holding it over them?
Since his suit was currently soaked through, it looked like he’d be making the journey back to his new apartment in a towel. Part of negotiation was knowing when to stop, and she’d made it crystal clear that pushing would not get him what he wanted.
If she thought he was going to stay here and whine about it, she was sorely mistaken.
“Fine.” He stood, tightening his grip on the knot at his waist.
Annie’s eyes lingered there, something dark and forbidden flickering over her features. Joseph willed himself not to react. An untimely erection would only make his situation more precarious. But it was hard not to remember all the times they’d torn each other’s clothes off right here. Annie was the kind of woman who’d been brimming with passion, and she’d often instigated sex with rough kisses that spiked his body temperature and made him insatiably hungry for her.
Chemistry was never their problem.
He squared his shoulders and walked across the room, studiously ignoring the internal voices taunting him with all the ways he’d screwed up. He hovered at her front door, her name on his lips.
There was so much he wanted to say to her, but talking about his feelings ranked low on his list of skills. And desires.
“What about your suit and shoes? Well, shoe. Singular.” The amusement in Annie’s voice needled at him. Yeah, she enjoyed having the upper hand, all right. “It’ll all be ruined if you squish it into a bag now.”
“I’ll pick everything up later, after my appointment.”
He opened her door and walked out into the hall. Nobody else appeared to be coming or going from their apartment and he made it down to the foyer without anyone seeing him. But that’s where his luck ran out. The concierge lifted a brow as Joseph strode through the lobby, the towel clutched in one hand and his soggy wallet in the other.
“Can I help you with something?” the concierge asked. But Joseph walked silent and barefoot right out onto the street, automatically sticking his hand out to hail a cab.
The cool air chilled his skin. Hypothermia was the least of his concerns, however. Because even though New York had a reputation for being an intensely crazy city, a half-naked man standing on the corner of Sixth Avenue in Midtown would most certainly attract attention. And he was less worried about a cop stumbling across him than he was going viral on Snapchat.
That would not be the right way to start off his stint as the “youngest CIO of any American bank.”
“Oh my God!” A group of teenage girls giggled as they walked past him, arms linked. One of them held her phone up, the rhinestone-encrusted case glittering in warning.
Mercifully, a cab pulled over right then, and Joseph ducked his head as he slid into the back seat. If the girl got a photo, at least it wouldn’t show his face.
“Sutton Place,” he said, following up with the exact address.
The driver, a woman, winked at him in the rearview mirror. “It’s not every day I pick up a guy in a towel. Got a story to go with that outfit?”
“My ex-girlfriend pushed me into a pond.”
A raspy chuckle filled the cab. “Good for her.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That it’s never to late to admit a mistake and make amends. If you’ve hurt someone or done something bad, you can always say sorry.

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

ALL THE THINGS!

This year I’ve got another three releases confirmed, after Bad Influence, with two more pending. These include:
• The second book in my Greek Billionaires series which is a “Reverse Cinderella” story and features some hilarious scenes with a clown suit, a taxidermy fox and the wedding dress from hell.
• The Aussie Next Door is the first book in my Australian-set small town romantic comedy series and has lots of crazy animals and a super sweet and sexy romance.
• Faking It is my first foray into writing in first person. It’s the start of a new series with Harlequin Dare and it features two frenemies going undercover as man and wife.

In terms of what I’m working on well…that’s top secret.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Print copy of Bad Influence (Bad Bachelors #3) by Stefanie London

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Book Info:

He’s the bad bachelor who inspired it all…

Annie Maxwell had her whole life figured out…until her fiancé left her when his career took off. If that wasn’t bad enough, every society blog posted pictures of him escorting a woman wearing her engagement ring. To help the women of New York avoid guys like her ex, Annie created the Bad Bachelors app. But try as she might, Annie just can’t forget him…

For bank executive Joe Preston, his greatest mistake was leaving the love of his life when she needed him most. Now, all he wants is to make things right—and she won’t have him. But when Annie’s safety is threatened by a hacker determined to bring down her app, Joe is the only one she can turn to. He’ll have to lay himself on the line to prove to Annie that he’s a changed man. But will their hard-won bond survive the revelation that Annie is the one pulling the strings behind Bad Bachelors?
 
 

Meet the Author:

Stefanie London is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing was praised as “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT magazine. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Stefanie now lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband. She loves to read, collect lipsticks, watch zombie movies and drink coffee. You can visit her at www.stefanie-london.com.
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