Spotlight & Giveaway: Hard Drive by Shae Connor

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Shae Connor to HJ!

Hi Shae Connor and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Hard Drive!

 
Hi all! Glad to be here!
 

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

HARD DRIVE is an F/F college sports romance between a geek and a jock. Annie is a shy computer whiz with a big crush on Eve, the school’s start softball player. When Annie fixes Eve’s laptop for her, Eve takes her to dinner to say thanks… but it doesn’t take long for their relationship to move to the next level!
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The dull, metallic crack of aluminum bat meeting leather ball cuts through the air, and I glance toward the infield in time to see the shortstop catch the resulting popup. It’s the first regular season game for Tornadoes softball, and I’ve claimed the same spot I did toward the end of last year—out on the farthest edge of the bleachers, as far away from the action and, more important, the rest of the crowd as possible.

Just close enough to be able to see the main reason I’m here.

But she’s not on the field right now, so I drop my gaze back to my phone, which stubbornly refuses to offer up any new messages. I’m not supposed to be sitting out here alone.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Annie is the twin sister of Grant, the main character in ROUGH & TUMBLE, the first book in the series—though you don’t need to read book one first!
• I’m a longtime baseball fan, but I don’t know nearly as much about softball, so I had to do a little research for this one.
• The location of the University of Atlanta is in an area on the northern side of the city where I lived for several years. (There’s a different college in that area, but UofA isn’t based on that one other than the general location.)
• The only restaurant in the story that isn’t fictional is Waffle House—and there actually is one in that same neighborhood!
• I completely lucked into the couple on the cover when looking for stock images to send to the cover artist, Bree Archer, who did a beautiful job.

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

Annie is first attracted to Eve’s looks, since she doesn’t much else about her. Eve’s attracted to Annie’s shy nature and the differences between them.
 

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

Opposites attract toward common ground.
 

The First Kiss…

After Annie fixes Eve’s laptop for her, Eve thanks her by inviting her to dinner, and then with a kiss on the cheek. There are several more near-miss kisses before their first real kiss, after a late dinner at Waffle House. 🙂
 

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

I swallow and slowly reach out to take the bat. I’ve seen a thousand baseball games over the years, so I understand the basics of what I’m supposed to do. I’ve just never actually done it.

I’m right-handed, so I turn so I’m facing the side of home plate, the mound to my left. I grip the bat with both hands, right above left, leaving an inch or so between my left hand and the knob at the end. I bring the bat up over my
left shoulder and hold it there, elbows away from my body.

“No, you need to—here, let me show you.”

Eve steps close and then wraps her arms around me, hands adjusting mine on the bat handle. My entire body lights up at once, heat spreading up my face and down to the butterflies in my belly, sending them into a frenzy. In less than a minute, I’m overheated, throbbing, desperate. Ready for anything. Everything.

Eve presses in close, her mouth an inch from my ear.

“Just like this,” she whispers, and she guides me through a swing that ends with my head turned toward hers, faces a heartbeat apart.

Eve’s gaze locks onto mine. “Annie,” she murmurs, her lips just brushing mine.

Oh, screw baseball.

The bat hits the dirt.

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

The scene where Eve apologizes to Annie at the softball field. I can’t share a snippet because it would be too much of a spoiler!

Readers should read this book …

… if they enjoy slow-burn, low-angst contemporary romance with an equal mix of sweet and heat!

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

I always have multiple works in progress. Right now, I’m working on a destination wedding romance and a romcom featuring a big Southern family, among other things. My next releases will be re-releases of an M/M trilogy, the last of the books I have back from my previous publisher. I’m hoping to get those out in early 2022.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m offering a free backlist ebook, a $10 Amazon gift card, and (if you’re in the US) a swag bag including a HARD DRIVE bookmark!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Are you a baseball or softball fan, or do you/did you play yourself? What’s your favorite team?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Hard Drive:

“So what’s this surprise you promised?”

I’d texted her a few hours earlier, telling her our date was a surprise and to wear comfy shoes. I grin back and, taking a chance, reach for her hand. “C’mon.”

It’s a short walk to our destination, and Eve tells me what her coaches said about curfew. “Coach Young is the head coach, but she’s more lenient most of the time. Coach Barrett is the one to watch out for. She wanted me on curfew for two weeks, if you can imagine that. Coach Young overruled her.”

I shoot her a small smile. “I’m glad.”

She smiles back and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad, too.”

A few minutes later, we round a corner and our date comes into sight. A small carnival, neon lights glowing, has set up in a field next to one of the county recreation centers, with a handful of rides, a tiny set of midway games, and the best part: three different food trailers.

I glance at Eve, and the look on her face is difficult to describe. She’s definitely surprised, but if I’m not mistaken, there are tears in her eyes. Crap. I hope I haven’t stepped in something with this.

I try a gentle joke. “It might not fit your training diet, but I couldn’t resist the chance for funnel cake and maybe a candy apple.”

Eve sucks in a breath and smiles at me. “It’s fine.” She blinks away the wetness. “I just haven’t been to a carnival in years. I…” She pauses. “I grew up mostly living with my grandmother, and she wasn’t exactly the carnival type.”

It’s the first real information she’s given me about her life before college. I don’t push for more. I just squeeze her hand. “Where do you want to start?”

She grins then, childlike and happy. “The Tilt-O-Whirl!”

So that’s where we start. We manage three rides before my spinning head needs a break, so we head for the midway, where Eve steps up to knock down some bottles and win me a prize. I carry my stuffed monkey, which she inexplicably names Gus, on the next three rides, by which time we’ve ridden everything once and the Tilt-O-Whirl three times, and we’ve had enough.

“Okay.” I grab Eve’s hand and turn toward the food trucks. “Time for some junk food!”

Choosing from the fair fare is tough, especially since there’s more choice than I expected. We end up with hamburgers and grilled corn on the cob, plus a funnel cake to share. A few picnic tables have been set up near the vendors, so we sit across from each other so we can talk while we eat.

The food is good, but it’s secondary to the connection across the table.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Hi, my name’s Annie Clark, and I’ve managed to flip my quiet, nerdy, single life completely upside down.

First, I recently figured out that I’m bisexual.

Second, Eve Frederick, star softball player and my ultimate crush, asked me out on a date.

Third, she rocked my world, and now I can’t stop thinking I want more… even though Eve is not into relationships.

And to top it all off, someone took a private video of us and is threatening to make it public.

It’s enough to make me want to go back to hiding out in my dorm room—but only if I can take Eve with me.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Shae Connor lives just outside Atlanta, where she’s a government worker by day and writes sweet-hot romance by night. She’s been making things up for as long as she can remember, but it took her a while to figure out that maybe she should try writing them down.

Shae is part Jersey, part Irish, and all Southern, which explains why she never shuts up. When she’s not at her laptop, she enjoys cooking, traveling, watching baseball, reading voraciously, giving and receiving hugs, and wearing tiaras. She also serves as director/editor of the Dragon Con on-site publication, the Daily Dragon.
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