Spotlight & Giveaway: More Than Rivals… by Susannah Erwin

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Susannah Erwin to HJ!

Hi Susannah and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, More Than Rivals…!

 
I’m so excited to be here! Thanks for having me.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

More Than Rivals… is the first book in a two book duology called Heirs of Lochlainn. Keith Lochlainn is a multimedia tycoon with an extensive empire who has recently received dire medical news. His only child, Jamie, died a year ago, leaving Keith with no heir…until he discovers that Jamie, during at time when they were estranged, had sold his sperm to help pay for college, resulting in two adult children. Keith decides to set up a competition to determine which grandchild should inherit his entire estate by giving each child a business opportunity to complete.

More Than Rivals… is Anna’s story. An interior designer from Ft. Lauderdale, Anna had no idea she was related to Keith Lochlainn. Now she’s in charge of selling Lakes of Wonder, the Lochlainn Company theme park – only her adversary across the table is her one night stand from the night before. This is the book if your favorite tropes are rivals to lovers, family secrets, forced proximity.
 

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

She craved Ian Blackburn. As a friend, as a business rival, as her teacher in theme park negotiations – she’d take him any way she could have him, even temporarily, even for a stolen moment in a stalled gondola.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

As people might guess from the Disney theme park photos on my social media, I am a theme park fan! I grew up in Southern California and I have family in Florida, so I’ve been going to the Disney parks since before I can remember (my parents still talk about how the Big Bad Wolf tried to comfort me when I was toddler, only for me to scream louder – I discovered my love of alpha villains later in life!). So More than Rivals…, while very much focused on the romance, gave me a chance to show off all the fun facts I’ve learned about theme park over the years. For example, did you know theme parks use a specific color nicknamed “go away green” to paint buildings and other objects they don’t want visitors to notice? More Than Rivals… also gave me the chance to design my own theme park and name my own lands, which I really enjoyed.

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

Anna and Ian meet at a VIP party at the theme park. He knows she is entrusted to be the Lochlainn Company negotiator in the sale of the theme park, but Anna is unaware that Ian is the potential buyer. Ian is charmed by Anna’s bubbly personality, although he thinks she might be playing him as a negotiation ploy; for her part, Anna is enthralled by Ian’s confidence. And they both find each other very, very attractive…which leads to an explosive one night stand.

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

I always need a glass of wine nearby when writing sex scenes, or even when finding a snippet to share! And since it’s too early for wine where I am, here’s the start of Anna’s and Ian’s one night stand:

She used her elbows to prop herself up and met his half-lidded gaze with a smile. “Well?” she said. She kicked off her slip-on shoe—very glad she was no longer wearing her sandals with their multiple buckles—used her right foot to caress his calf through the fabric of his trousers. “We only have one night. Are you going to stand there and look? Or are you going to put those hands to a better use?”

Readers should read this book….

If they’ve ever dreamed about owning their own theme park – and being locked inside (with the person of their dreams) overnight! I loved writing Anna’s and Ian’s journey to happily ever after and the romance is front and center, but this is also a story about the pressures of living up to family expectations versus choosing your own destiny.

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

More Than Rivals… is available as a stand-alone ebook or it’s available in a two-in-one volume with Seven Years of Secrets, which is the second and last book in the Heirs of Lochlainn duology! Seven Years of Secrets is Declan’s story, who is the other Lochlainn heir, and it is an enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance.

I have two more books coming for Harlequin – stay tuned for details!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I have five signed copies of the two-in-one print version of More Than Rivals…and Seven Years of Secrets available for US addresses only! Or if you prefer, I have the ebook version available. International winners, I am thrilled to send you the ebook.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: It’s summer! Obviously, one of my favorite summer activities is going to a theme park. What is your perfect summer vacation activity?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from More Than Rivals…:

Coming to Ian Blackburn’s room was a mistake. Anna was sure of it. She should have trusted her first instinct and asked bell services to deliver the jacket to him. But lately, she didn’t have a great track record of being right about…well, anything.

Interacting with Ian was like was staring at an enormous open box of jigsaw puzzle pieces, but the cover was missing so she had no idea what picture she was supposed to form.

Like now. She had no idea how to read him. His gaze was narrowed, but a faint smile played on his lips. “Are you quizzing me on how well I know the attractions industry?”

“Just picking your brain,” she demurred. Earlier, she’d been racking her brain why Ian approached her. Now, she decided, perhaps fate was the reason. She needed a crash course on how Lakes of Wonder operated, since the Lochlainn Company executives had decided not to educate her in advance of the meeting tomorrow, and the universe had provided an instructor. “I’m all ears. What else do I need to know?”

He regarded her, a speculative light in his eye, then he smiled. “Okay. I’ll bite.” His left arm brushed hers as he raised his hand to indicate a point in the distance. “Theme park 101 it is. Let’s start with…see the tall structure in the center of the park? You know what that is, right?”

She scoffed. “That’s easy. That’s the Lighthouse of Amazement.”

“That’s the name. But do you know what it is?”

“A tall lighthouse?”

He turned to face her, leaning his left shoulder against the window. A smirk played on his lips as he bent his mouth close to her ear. She shivered. “That’s the weenie,” he said, and straightened.

His breath was warm and her nerves were on red alert, simultaneously craving him to come nearer yet apprehensive he would—because if did, she would have to be honest with herself about what she hoped would happen by coming to his room. She had to blink a few times before she fully processed his words. “You have to be kidding. Weenie? As in…” She indicated the Lighthouse, lit up in the distance. “It is rather phallic, I suppose.”

A bark of laughter escaped him. He glanced down at her, the gleam in his eyes intensifying. She wanted to bask in his heat, like a cat finding a sunbeam. “As in the treat used to train dogs,” he corrected.

“Oh.” She hoped the warmth flooding from her checks to her chest wasn’t visible in the room’s dim light. “It doesn’t look like kibble.”

He gave her the same assessing stare as he had earlier on the terrace. She resisted the urge to check if a unicorn horn truly had sprung out of her forehead. Then his smirk deepened. “It’s named that because dog trainers use weenies to draw dogs’ attention. Park weenies are designed to draw guests’ attention. Weenies at the center, like the Lighthouse, keep people moving further into the park so the entrances don’t become crowded.”

His eyes reflected the neon glow of the park, the pinpoints of light beckoning her closer. She immediately understood the concept. “Ah. That’s how the park gets guests to move from one place to another?”

“Testing me on techniques used to capture guests’ attention?” He indicated her hoodie. “There are several ways. Bright colors, for example. People are drawn to them.” His gaze dipped to her mouth, his dark eyes becoming pools of black. “As you know. Your pink lipstick makes it difficult to focus on anything else.”

His rough-edged words caused an instant rush of heat between her legs. She couldn’t look at him for fear of betraying how much he was affecting her. No doubt he would laugh if he knew. He probably entertained late-night guests in his hotel room all the time, beautiful, sophisticated guests who knew how to banter and lightly joke. People unlike her. Or, at least unlike her before the Knock.

She drank deeply from her flute despite knowing better. Champagne shut off her critical thinking centers. But the cool liquid was welcome as the room’s temperature seemed to be increasing. “Is that why you wear monotones?”

His eyebrows rose. “Me?”

She drained her glass and set it down, turning to face him. “If people wear bright colors to draw attention, then those who wear dark colors—like you—must be dressing to avoid it. Right? I mean, Batman doesn’t hunt criminals dressed in neon yellow.”

He snorted. “I suppose dark clothes would be better at night. If one were a stealthy superhero, that is.”

She looked down. Her flute was full again. “Considering my glass was empty fifteen seconds ago, I’d say stealth is something you excel at.” She raised her gaze to him. “So? Is that why you dress the way do? To avoid detection?”

“Are you asking if I fight crime in my time off?” he said, topping off his own glass. “Sorry, no.”

She looked at him from over the top of her flute. “I think I’m right. Not that you have a secret identity that fights crime, but you want to avoid attention.”

“Really.” His tone was dismissive, but for the first time his gaze wouldn’t fully meet hers. “Why would I do that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you know bright colors would alert your prey and you wouldn’t be able to get close enough to them otherwise.”

He didn’t respond, but his fingers tightened on the stem of his glass.

Anna’s success at work relied on reading her customers’ body language. Often, a client would outwardly express delight or enthusiasm, but there would be something in their stance—feet braced as if preparing for impact, shoulders a half inch higher than normal—that told her their internal reaction was something quite different. Ian continued to lean against the window, no change discernable in his position, but his gaze now studiously contemplated the brightly colored lights of the theme park below.

Maybe Ian wasn’t as enigmatic as she thought. She smiled as she held out her half-empty glass. “Is there more? This is the best champagne I’ve had in…ever.”

The sharp light returning to his expression, he poured what was left of the bottle into her glass. “There is. And you’re incorrect.”

“No, I’m sure this is the best champagne I’ve tasted.”

His half-smile dented his left cheek. “No. About colors. Theme parks use shades of green or blue to cover buildings and objects they want guests to ignore. The colors blend into the vegetation or the sky. The guests’ eyes slide over them.”

“Hmm.” She considered his words as her limbs turned heavy, the stress that had kept her shoulders rigid and her jaw tight for the last several weeks now dissipating. The alcohol, she knew. Considering her dinner had consisted of nothing but desserts containing enough sugar to keep a bakery in business for a week, it was a miracle she wasn’t drunk. But she wasn’t, not yet, just warm and relaxed and slightly fuzzy around the edges. “Blues and greens might redirect guests’ eyes, but only during daylight. After sundown…one needs dark colors to go unnoticed.” She widened her eyes in mock horror. “Until it is too late for the unsuspecting.”

His smile deepened as he opened a new bottle of champagne. “You make me sound like a vampire.”

“So far, I’ve only seen you after sundown. Maybe you wear green and blue during the day. Or maybe you really are a vampire and can’t go out in the sun.” She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. She wasn’t sure if she had the flirting thing down pat, but she would prattle on about any subject if it meant his gaze stayed riveted on her. “Are you?”

He topped off her newly empty glass. “Interesting question. What do you think?”

She took a sip. The new bottle was different. The champagne was brighter, more acidic. Bolder. Like she should be perhaps? Maybe this was where she truly belonged, drinking champagne with a man who exuded danger—not to her physical well-being, but to her mental equilibrium. As it was, he was already occupying far more of her brain space than someone she just met should be. Or rather, that was how she would have reacted before the Knock. Now? She caught his gaze. “I think whoever you bite would enjoy it very much. Even if they regret it in the morning.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

One shocking discovery will give them wealth, power and delicious passion in award-winning author Susannah Erwin’s decadent 2-in-1 volume…

More Than Rivals…

She’s sleeping with the enemy…and doesn’t know it!

Anna Stratford’s just discovered she’s the heiress to the Lochlainn empire. Now she’s been thrown into a world of wealth, decadence and corporate espionage—not to mention fireworks with too-tempting theme park mogul Ian Blackburn. Their searing night together is almost perfect, except that Anna’s sleeping with her newfound family’s enemy. But is Ian falling for her…or manipulating her?

Seven Years of Secrets

He’s offering her everything she could ever want…including himself

Seven years after a sizzling fling that ended in crushing betrayal, Declan Treharne offers journalist Mara Schuyler the opportunity of a lifetime—if she can trust him. But Mara doesn’t know that Declan is one of the Lochlainn heirs. And now their rekindled passion is about to face the ultimate test of ambition and greed…
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Meet the Author:

Susannah Erwin writes fun, sexy, escapist romances about strong-willed, ambitious people who just can’t help falling in love. She is a former Hollywood studio executive who gladly traded in her high heels and corner office for yoga pants and the local coffee shop, where she composes her tales of luxury, scandal, and heart-pounding emotion. Her first novel, Wanted: Billionaire’s Wife won the Golden Heart™ award from Romance Writers of America and was published by Harlequin Desire. More Than Rivals… and Seven Years of Secrets are her fifth and sixth novels for Harlequin. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and one very spoiled but utterly charming cat.

You can find her on Facebook as @SusannahErwinAuthor, on Twitter as @SusannahErwin, and on Instagram as @SusannahWrites. Or visit her website at www.susannaherwin.com.
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