Spotlight & Giveaway: Partner Track by Cat Wynn

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Cat Wynn to HJ!

Hi Cat and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Partner Track!

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Partner Track follows the story of Perdie Stone an often over-looked plaintiffs’ attorney who’s trying to make partner at her firm. After besting younger hotshot defense attorney Carter Leplan on a big case, the two are snowed in together. Riding high off her win, Perdie sleeps with the irresistible Leplan thinking she’ll never see him again. But when she returns home to Charleston expecting a promotion, she discovers that Leplan has been hired at her firm instead taking the position she was gunning for.
 

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

“Why’re you here?” She turned her head to get a good look at his profile offset by the white-blue Charleston sky whipping by them.
His smile faded and he scrubbed his hand down his mouth. “On a scale of one to ten, how irritating would it be to say I couldn’t tell you?”
She pursed her lips. “I’d say you’re gonna need a bigger scale.”

“Carter Leplan has ruined my pussy, and I’ll never forgive him for it.” Perdie shoved a tortilla chip with guac into her mouth, salted flecks sprinkling down her soft cotton V-neck.[…]
“I know, baby girl, but it’s only been two weeks. Less time than the kale’s been in the fridge.” Lucille sucked down a frozen pineapple margarita and signaled a server for two more.

She thought from the heated look in his eyes that his mouth might come down hard onto hers and they’d push against each other in some kind of manic, frantic desire for connection.
But none of that happened.
Instead he lowered his gaze to her hand, took it in his own, and lifted her palm to his mouth. She regarded him with curiosity as he held her hand gently at the wrist, then kissed the sensitive center of her palm with an open mouth, his tongue lashing at the flesh.
She gasped. It was positively Victorian.

What inspired this book?

Partner Track actually started out a totally different concept and then organically evolved from there. Originally, I was inspired by the idea of a female plaintiffs’ attorney who was always lost (Perdita means lost woman in Latin) but keeps accidentally running into a fancy defense lawyer who’s obsessed with maps. The last name Leplan is actually just le plan or the plan. Meaning, he’s a guy who always has a plan. He always follows the path. But while the names stuck around, it turned out I didn’t really need the high concept. Perdie and Carter were already so much at odds personality-wise that the conflict was baked in.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

Characters surprise me all the time! I’m not the kind of writer who makes mood boards or anything super tactile like that. Usually, I have to elbow my way into their elusive little minds by the sheer act of writing. Painful, but worth it…until their actions write me into a plot bind and then I get super annoyed, lol. Brains, am I right?

What was your favorite scene to write?

My favorite scenes were the snowed-in-at-the-house scenes. The story is set in Charleston which also happens to be where I live and a few years ago we actually were snowed in for a few days. I found it really fascinating because the city came to a halt. I’m originally from the Chicago ‘burbs so a little snow has never slowed us down. But Charleston is a different story – we were not prepared! I love the idea of two people being tucked away together without any distractions from the outside world. And I also love the contrast between the warmth and coziness of the inside to the icy cold, snowy landscape. But much like the snow on the ground, their cozy oasis is fleeting!

What was the most difficult scene to write?

I’m tempted to say all of them because at times finishing a novel can feel like an insurmountable endeavor. I think any scenes that happen after the midpoint can be the most challenging as a writer since you don’t want to lose momentum with your story and therefore lose your readers’ interest. Much like the heroes in my books, I aim to please from start to finish.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

Yes, in many ways I’d say this book showcases my writing style which I’d describe overall as cheerful but irreverent. But also, as a writer, you’re style is always growing and evolving so I’m sure the more books I put out in the world the more my writing style will mature. I don’t know! Watch this space and find out.

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

First and foremost, I want everyone to have a good time. I’m writing to give people (and even myself) an escape from the monotony and humdrum of life. Romance serves many different purposes in people’s reading lives, but I want this book in particular to go down like good Champagne.

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

Currently working on all kinds of fun stuff including the next in the series after Partner Track which follows the story of Lucille and Noah. I also have a short story coming out in an anthology in June.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One (1) mass market paperback copy of PARTNER TRACK by Cat Wynn. (Open to US and Canada only).

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Who’s your fave fictional lawyer? (And why is it Robert Downey Jr. from Ally McBeal — Kidding, kidding.)

 
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Excerpt from Partner Track:

She waved a hand, pushing it out of her view. “Stop it. Stop it. This is madness. I don’t want to see your text messages, for god’s sake, that’s none of my business. You owe me nothing. Especially now. You said we were at a stalemate. You said we should stay away.”
He rolled his shoulder against the wall to face her profile, absently reaching out to thumb the hem of her dress. Her body gravitated towards his touch. “I lied.”
His words ran down her spine with a crackle.
Then, her eyes fluttered closed as his hand crept up the side of her thigh, the shimmery white material at the hem of her dress slipping over the flat of his hand. “I’m a liar, Perdie. I saw you with Max Goodridge and… How could I let you walk away? But if you tell me to go, I will. Say the words, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Time stood still. The glide of his calloused fingertips scraped small circles over the skin of her outer thigh.
“How much have you been drinking?” he asked. Her breath hitched as his hand swept over the top of her leg and now grazed near her inner thigh, tickling her with the same hypnotic, circular motion.
Her voice came out breathy. “Only a little. You?” She tensed her jaw, raising her chin as his hand came so close to the juncture in between her thighs. Almost there.
“Not a drop.”
She pushed out a hot lungful of oxygen she didn’t know she was holding when he leaned in next to her, his breath warming the shell of her ear, the heat from his body radiating off him and onto her.
“No panties?” he said as his touch dragged inward.
A finger slipped into the folds of her pussy, moving in slow, steady strokes. She shivered but not from the cold.
“Bad, Bad Girl. Wet already? It’s like you were waiting for me to come and find you…”
“You couldn’t even stay away for a week.” Her words were punctuated with stabs of pleasure, her head falling back against the brick as his fingertips began their steady, confident work against her body. “Even after you swore you would…” An early wave rose up and fell, her nipples beaded to aching points, his hot touch heightened by the nip of cold air.
“I’ll be around you for as long as you’ll have me.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Making a case for love has never been so complicated in this fresh, funny rivals-to-lovers romance.

Perdie Stone needs just three things in life: Her forever best friend, Lucille. Their adorable rescue pug, Bananas. And last but not least, a coveted partnership at her Charleston law firm.

A partnership she more than deserves when she goes head-to-head with hotshot Ivy League attorney Carter Leplan on a big case and comes out on top. She didn’t think anything would feel better than beating the annoyingly gorgeous lawyer at his own game, but that’s before a freak storm leaves them both stranded.

Together.

In the last hotel room.

With only one bed.

It’s a one-night stand Perdie isn’t soon to forget…especially after Carter turns up at her firm and slides right into the job that should have been hers. And right back into her life—a life she thought she had all figured out.

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Meet the Author:

Cat Wynn lives in a cozy house in Charleston, SC with her long-time partner and two geriatric rescue dogs. She writes late at night on an old couch that should’ve probably been thrown out five years ago. She’s a shockingly good time at parties provided the snacks are good. You can test this theory by inviting her to your wedding. Sign up for Cat Wynn’s newsletter here: catwynnauthor.substack.com
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