Spotlight & Giveaway: Melting Wynter by J Marie

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author J Marie to HJ!

Hi J Marie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Melting Wynter!

 
Hey Readers! Thanks so much for stopping by HJ to read about my newest release!
 

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

Weston Croix is sexy, charming; a playboy. Wynter Carlisle has a great job, nice apartment, she’s got everything she wants, except for the one thing she doesn’t know she’s missing… love. Weston Croix may just be the answer, but can she let him in? Can he ultimately melt the ice queens heart with just a little bit of love?
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Wynter Carlisle.
Current editor of The Progressive. The air of poise she carries as she sweeps across the office in black with hints of red, moving quickly and gracefully like a queen, is mesmerizing. Fitting, seeing as she’s a princess, the heir to one of the wealthiest families living in New York. If you ever get into a bind, her father is the man you call to get you out of the most heinous of crimes.More wins in a single career than any other lawyer, backed by only the most prominent leaders in New York. Highest paid in the country.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Wynter’s sass is #goals
• Our hero, Weston, is obsessed with Disney, which leads to some major book boyfriend vibes.
• The humorous wit and sexual tension between these two is sizzling!
• All is fair in love and war, until love takes over 😉
• She’s known as the Ice Queen and his boss, but to him she’s his chance at forever.

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

Weston is attracted to Wynter’s unattainable-ness. She’s known as the Ice Queen. People don’t date her and most are afraid of her. She’s not apologetic for who she is and she won’t back down from a fight. What starts out as friendly banter turns into more as he realizes that she does feel, she does have emotions tucked in the deep recesses of her heart.

Wynter is attracted to Weston because he’s this charming guy who’s a complete pain in the butt, yet he has the tendency to make her laugh, to make her feel, but she also hates him for it. She doesn’t want to feel. She’s been satisfied with being on her own for years and now he’s making her question everything.
 

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

Humorous hate and sexual tension!
 

The First Kiss…

I wanted the buildup to their first kiss to almost be explosive. Weston and Wynter have hated each other and claimed to be enemies since they started working together many months ago. The sexual tension is off the charts, add a little bit of jealousy and you’ve got the sparks to ignite one hell of a passionate first kiss. It’s lust and hate mingled together in this dark, dirty back of a hole in the wall bar. Sometimes it doesn’t matter where the passions strikes… sometimes, you just have to kiss the girl or as Weston would say… cue The Little Mermaid vibes.

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

My favorite scene is when Wynter goes to confront the person she believes caused the flood in her apartment. It just seems so real to me. We’ve all had that moment where it just seems like our life is flipped upside and nothing else can possibly go wrong, right?

In this case, Wynter’s realized that she may actually like her coworker and she’s fighting it, then her apartment floods and when she goes to confront the neighbor she realizes that he is the neighbor and it’s just another layer of… what else can possibly go wrong. Not only is she working with him now, she also lives in the same building with him.

Snippet:
Weston Croix stands in front of me, a grin spreading across his gruff jawline. “And what do I owe this pleasant surprise, Chief?”
“You have got to be kidding me!” I yell at no one in particular. How is he everywhere? It’s bad enough that I work with him, but now he’s here too. “What are you doing here?” A mask of indifference slides across my face. Or I hope it does.
“I live here. So, the question is what are you doing here?” His eyes widen with enlightenment as he puts the pieces together. “Wait, you live at 425 Madison, too?”
His eyes roam down my body before meeting my own again and it immediately dawns on me what I’m wearing. I hadn’t bothered to even look in the mirror before I’d dashed out of my apartment thinking a string of explicit words.
Without even looking down, I know that I look like I’d crawled out of a gutter somewhere.
I’m less queen and more pauper for sure. Not even bothering to wear shoes, I stand in front of my nemesis in bare feet, sweats, my hair in a messy bun, and no makeup.
Sans fancy clothes and face battle paint, I feel utterly exposed.
“You look um…” The words are out before he can summon them back.
“I suggest you don’t finish that sentence, Croix.” I give him a droll look, arching an eyebrow.
“You own sweats? I mean, damn.” He chuckles and I glare at him. “I honestly don’t even understand what’s going on here. Why are you here other than to show off this sexy little number?”
“We’ve been over this, I live here and screw off,” I say dully, rolling my eyes.
“No, I mean. What are you doing here at my apartment?”
I sigh. “The apartment above me has a water leak, and I came up to speak with the owner of the apartment. Who… to my delight, is apparently you. I have three inches of water all over my apartment because of you.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and I can’t help but admire the arms of his suit pulling tightly. “And you’re sure it’s from us?”
“Yes, I’m sure. And now I’m wondering if maybe you had something to do with it personally.” I waggle my finger at him.
Hands on his hips and a smirk spreads across his beautiful face. “You really think I intentionally flooded your apartment. Please enlighten me, Chief, why would I pick only your apartment to flood?”
“Hell if I know, but it seems like something you would do.”

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

The first kiss… It’s filled with lust, hate, and a passion that can’t be denied. Besides… who doesn’t love watching, reading about, or remembering their very first kiss… unless it was bad…

Snippet:

“We need to have a talk.” There’s a gruffness to my voice that’s not usually there.
She chuckles a devilish laugh. “Oh, Croix. Are you… jealous?” She draws the word out, raising an eyebrow.
“Why in the hell would I be jealous, Chief? I don’t even like you,” I snap and the words are out of my mouth before I realize how wrong they sound. Lies. I am fucking jealous.
Pushing away from the wall, I stalk toward her as she remains rooted in place, staring me down. Fight mode in place. I take another step, closing the distance between us again, molecules breaking up without space to simply be. Her warm breath runs over every crease in my skin, heat radiating from her skin for once.
Squaring her shoulders, trying to remain composed, she leans in, “I don’t like you, either, Croix. I hate you.”
“Oh, yeah? Then prove it.” Before I know what I’m doing, I reach out, pulling her into me, my mouth on hers. We’re dueling in a battle of lust-filled hate. It’s a punishing kiss etched with lust and need. Biting my bottom lip, she groans, giving it back to me as much as I’m doling it out. Lips catch on teeth. Tongues entwine and fight for who’s on top. My hands run up and down her sides, and I can’t help but try to memorize every curve as I go along.

Readers should read this book …

Readers should read this book because it isn’t your typical office romance. It’s the perfect little twist. If you’re like me, you’ve read a lot of books where the CEO is the hero and he’s a jerk who falls for his lovable, quirky assistant. The assistant who finally tames the big bad alpha boss.

In this story, Wynter is the boss (because who doesn’t love a lady boss) and Weston is her columnist. I wanted the balance to be different. So I’ve given you a sweet, hilarious enemies to lovers read that will make you laugh and sometimes yell at these two quirky little characters that take a little longer than most to find their perfect person.

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

If you’ve had a chance to read Second Chance Rescue, you’ve met Mia. A quirky, mermaid color haired lady with a bartending passion and a weed problem. Well… her story is coming this November and I cannot wait until she finally meets the world. I’ve been keeping her under locks since last year, so I think it’s about time.

I’m also working on book two in my Moonshine Springs Series, expected release of Spring 2020. These characters are real, flawed, and they’ve got a mess of a story coming soon.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $10 Amazon Giftcard and an ebook copy of my most recent novel, Written in the Sand.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What tropes would you love to see me write in the future? Asking for a friend… ok, I’m totally that friend!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Melting Wynter:

“Wait!” I almost yell.
Another tear slides down my cheek. “Please, don’t go… Don’t leave me.” I hold myself around the middle.
“Tell me why.”
It comes out as barely a whisper. “Because you belong with me. You’re mine, not hers.”
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” The crease at the corners of his lip turns up.
My tear covered face finds his. “Because you’re mine, Weston Croix. You’ve been mine from the beginning.”
“What are you saying?” He strides back toward me, boxing me in.
“I was wrong, okay. I’m fucking terrified of this, of us. Of love.”
“What are you the most afraid of, Wynter?”
“I don’t want to hate each other. I’ve seen my parents yell at each other for years. There’s no love there, Weston. What if I can’t do it? What if I’m not capable of loving you? What if I’m too broken?”
“You’re not broken. You’ll never be broken to me. We’re not perfect in so many ways, except the one that counts. Perfect for each other. And, Wyn… you are certainly capable and if sometimes you fall short, I’ll pick up the slack for you. Because sometimes I’ll fall short and you’ll have to pick up my slack too.” He cups my cheek with his palm and I gravitate in the warmth of it.
“How do you know?”
“Did you or did you not care when you found out how the people at work felt?”
“It hurt like hell.”
“Exactly, Wynter, and you wanted to fix it, right?”
I nod, yes. He raises a hand over my chest. “See, that right there tells me everything I need to know. You care. You have the biggest heart in there, waiting to open up and give itself away. Give it a chance, though. Give me a chance.”
“I’m so sorry, Weston.” My voice is filled with raw emotion. Fear flashes across his face again, and I grab his hand. My hand shakes, and I rub my thumb over his knuckles, trying to reassure both of us.
“Explain it to me, Wyn.”
“I told you. I’m scared. Scared of becoming them.” My eyes find the floor, but somehow I find a reason to press on. Him. “It’s not an excuse. I know that now. I’ve…wanted no other man the way I want you. The feelings overwhelm me. Consume me. I’ve become addicted to you and giving you the power to break my heart or hate me scares the ever living shit out of me.”
Pulling me into his arms, he holds on tight. I let mine slide around his waist, my tears yet again coating my cheeks.
He rests his chin on my head, breathing me in. His fingers twirling in circles on my back, calming me instantly. I pull away, looking up at him. “Let me say the rest.”
He nods, not saying anything else.
“We’ve been enemies since the beginning… but somewhere along the way our souls started speaking the same language. Dragging each other in deeper and deeper as the days trailed on and my traitorous heart started falling for you. I tried to fight it. I pushed you away so I didn’t mess us up and cause you pain, but each second you were away from me it felt like I was shattering a little on the inside. You’d pull me in time and time again, and I’d want to stay there. But then I’d remember that I didn’t know how to love you properly and I withdrew.”
“Oh, Wyn.” My name whispers on his lips. We’re broken. Two souls crying out for one another yet being kept apart.
“Will you ever be able to forgive me, West?”
“I’ve already forgiven you.”
“But why…” I search his eyes, looking for an explanation.
“Simple, I love you, Wynter Carlisle.”
Three tiny whispered words. Eight brief letters that would forever change my life.
I can almost feel it. Like a steady breeze, holding firm, fluttering around us and never letting go.
Sliding my arms up around his neck, I lean in like I’ve done time and time before, but this time feels different. Infinitely more intimate. I cling to him desperately, like a lifeline.
“I don’t deserve you, Weston Croix.”
“You’re right.” He looks at me, our foreheads melting together. He presses a small kiss to my nose. “You deserve so much more and I will spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much. Our happily ever after may have started a little fucked up and twisted, but it’s our own fairy tale.” His voice shakes with emotion. I lean in and let my lips press against his. Enjoying the smooth, slow burn of his kiss. He kisses me back, leaving nothing but passion and love between us.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Weston Croix
Okay, so I might have a few playboy like tendencies. That tends to happen when you fall in love and don’t end up with the happily ever after of your dreams. I built a wall around my heart and decided to have a little fun instead.
Now, I’ve found myself falling for the ice queen herself. Did I mention that she’s also my editor-in-chief?
She’s not interested in me or being an us, but when our best friends start dating, we can no longer escape our insecurities or the fire burning between us.
I guess I’m just going to have to turn up the heat and melt her heart.

Wynter Carlisle
I’ve got the perfect job, an apartment in NYC’s elite 425 Madison high rise and life as I know is great.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that people are fickle and love isn’t always permanent. I’m the only one I can always count on, well except for my best friend Addison.
I had a plan to protect my heart. That was, until Weston – the cocky columnist who works for me…in more ways than one.
Can we really break down our own barriers or will our destiny go up in flames? We’re about to find out.

After all, 425 Madison is the perfect place to fall in love!
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads |

Meet the Author:

J Marie is a hopeless romantic with a serious Chipotle addiction. When she isn’t searching for her next book boyfriend, she’s writing him. Although she has West Virginia roots, she currently resides in Ohio with her husband and rescue dog, Sir Cooper Ryder. When she’s not writing, she can be found curled up on the couch with Cooper and a cup of tea, reading her favorite authors next book!
Website | Facebook | Twitter | | Instagram |