Spotlight & Giveaway: Callum by Sawyer Bennett

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sawyer Bennett to HJ!

Hi Sawyer and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Callum!

Hey, Junkies! Thanks for stopping by to learn more about my new release!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Callum is a second chance standalone hockey romance featuring Callum Derringer, the general manager for the Pittsburgh Titans. Callum is called back to his family home when his mom suffers an injury under suspicious circumstances. While there, Callum comes face-to-face with his first love, Juniper Ryan. But…plot twist…Juniper is married to Callum’s stepbrother (who Callum hates, but that’s a whole different part of the story!!). Turns out Juniper’s marriage isn’t all sunshine and roses, and when Callum sees bruises on her throat, he knows he needs to get her out of there…and fast. And thus begins the tale of two former lovers who have their second chance at first love.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

I release her hand, only to place both my palms on her beautiful face. “Juni… I love you. But I’m going to do things right. You telling me you want more than a kiss is weakening my resolve.”
“That sounds like a you problem and not a me problem,” she quips.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I’ve been looking forward to writing Callum’s story since this series started. An older man looking for his one true love? YES. PLEASE.
• There is a wedding in Callum’s story! Not Callum’s wedding, but one of the former Pittsburgh Titans heroes is going to say his “I do’s”.
• I cried writing the wedding scene because their vows are…*swoon*.
• The trade deadline is approaching for the Titans! That means new faces are coming to the team and we may say goodbye to a couple as well.

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

Callum and Juniper were in love long ago and it was instant for these young lovebirds. A couple years older than Juniper, Callum walked into her dad’s repair shop and one invitation for ice cream was all it took for these two to fall hook, line, and sinker.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

“I’m surprised that woman hasn’t gone up in smoke the way you’re looking at her.” I turn to find Brienne at my left. She’s dressed in a red strapless gown, the only jewelry visible her massive engagement ring winking under the twinkling lights strung above us.
I don’t respond to her observation because I can’t deny it. “You look lovely tonight,” I observe. “Where’s your other half?”
Brienne waves a hand. “Socializing. He’s become such a people person lately, don’t you think?”
“I think love does funny things to people,” I remark.
“And you’re just dying to fall back in love with her again, aren’t you?”
I turn to look at her, expecting to see a slight smirk on her lips. Brienne has become a good friend since I joined the Titans. Instead, there’s not a trace of whimsy on her face. She knows the potential for what I could have with Juniper is very serious.
“I’m not sure I ever left,” I admit softly, my gaze going back to Juniper. “I fucked up long ago and now I want it back.”
Brienne’s hand comes to my shoulder. “I’d bet on you to win, Callum.”

Readers should read this book….

To see a handsome, kind, smart, funny, caring man realize he made a terrible mistake years ago and vow to do everything he can to win back the woman he never stopped loving. Who doesn’t love a good second chance??

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m excited for the Pittsburgh Titans series to continue with two more books this year, but even more than that…I am SO stoked to be launching a brand new series this year! The Bluegrass Empires series is coming this summer and will bring readers into an epic feud between two Kentucky dynasties. The Blackburn family is prominent within the saddlebred industry while the Mardraggon family is big in the bourbon business. These families have been mortal enemies for years, but things are going to heat up when an unexpected turn of events pits them against one another in The Feud, the first release in the series.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Signed paperback of Callum (US only)

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Excerpt from Callum:

“What do you think?” Callum asks, and I twist my neck to look at him. We’re so close that he could kiss me if he leaned forward a few inches.
Not that I’d ever let him and not that he’d want to.
His eyes are troubled and beseeching for an answer. He wants me to validate what he’s thinking. The fact the files have been deleted is proof something nefarious happened.
I don’t know what to say. I’m afraid to voice it aloud, but it doesn’t matter because his attention is caught by something else.
His gaze drifts over my temple and I realize I unwittingly brushed my hair back as I maneuvered the mouse around. Eyes narrowing, he leans in closer to study what is clearly a bruise under the makeup.
My reaction is damning. I brush my hair forward with my fingertips and attempt to turn away from him. His hand latches onto my wrist, pulling it down. With his other hand, he pushes my hair back and quietly inspects my face.
“Stand up,” he says in a dark growl.
“What? No.”
Using his leverage, he pulls me out of the chair. Not roughly, and his grip on my wrist doesn’t tighten. It’s a gentle tug that I give in to.
“I may not have known you in recent years,” he murmurs reflectively, his regard moving to the scarf at my throat, “but you’re not the type to wear something like this.”
Before I can even think to jerk away, he pulls the material down and exposes the bruises on my throat.
“What in the ever-loving fuck is that?” he demands loudly, as close to a yell as one can get.
This time I do wrench free, moving behind the chair to put distance between us. “It’s none of your business,” I manage to stammer.
“The fuck it isn’t,” he snarls, lunging to take my wrist, presumably to pull me closer for another look.
I’m startled, having had Joshua make such a move, which was usually followed by a strike. I know in my heart Callum would never do that as he doesn’t have a violent bone in his body, but my arms fly up to protect my face.
Callum mutters a string of curses when he sees my reaction and comes to a dead stop. But he doesn’t leave me alone. Instead, he reaches out and folds my hand gently within his. “Come on.”
He tugs me along and my legs move, following behind him based on nothing but pure trust in the man I once loved. “Where are we going?”
“To talk,” he says. “Apparently, I have some catching up on how the Willard family is doing.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Callum Derringer was hired by the Pittsburgh Titans to help rebuild the organization after a devastating plane crash left its future unknown. Now that he’s got the team back on track, it’s time to put some effort into his own life.

When I accepted the job of general manager with the Titans, it was just the opportunity I needed to prove myself to the sports world. Unfortunately, my career isn’t the only area in which I’ve previously made mistakes and the past is about to come back in a big way.

Juniper Ryan is…complicated. Smart, funny and insanely gorgeous, she was my first love and my first heartbreak. But my loss was my stepbrother’s gain and she’s been his wife for five years now. I’ve done a decent job of putting her out of my mind but when I’m brought home for a family emergency and see the bruises on Juniper, I’m gutted to learn that she was pushed into the arms of a monster.

Vowing to put our past aside, I learn dark truths about my brother and his marriage to my first love. And to make matters worse, I’m beginning to realize the feelings I once had for Juniper aren’t tucked quite as far away as I had hoped.

When things take a dangerous turn, I’m willing to put myself in the line of fire to keep my girl safe. I was a fool to walk away from Juniper the first time and I’m a man who knows better than to make the same mistake twice.
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Meet the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).
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