Spotlight & Giveaway: Playboy by Katy Evans

Posted July 30th, 2018 by in Blog, Spotlight / 51 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Katy Evans to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

 

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

 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

A gambler.
A gallerist.
A bet.
And a game changing weekend in Vegas…
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“Do we have a deal?”
“Hmm?” He drags his thumb across his lip.
“About friends?”
“Deal,” he husks out.
The mood is ruined.
I killed it on purpose.
“But Wynn?” The next second Cullen smiles a wolfish smile. “I’m the sort of friend that kisses his friends on the mouth. Fair warning.”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • Playboy is the 5th book in my Manwhore series, one of my personal favorite series.
  • Wynn is the last of the three friends to find love, and she’s almost given up on love when she meets Cullen – who turns that idea upside down, and challenges it spectacularly!
  • This book and characters obsessed me! I hope you enjoy this book and characters like I did!!

 

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

Cullen and Wynn have an instant connection.
He’s intrigued by her.
She’s intrigued by him, and a little intimidated by him, too!
They have banter, chemistry, and turns out that they “know” each other through acquaintances….
When they meet again at his brother’s wedding, their connection and attraction keeps building until they can’t resist making a bet that although very simple, will change their lives more than they know – especially more than SHE knows.

 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

The first scene where they meet in the underground game could be sexyyyy.

“I’ll raise,” Silver Eyes finally says, jumping in at a convenient time. He commands attention and gets it. The other players sit up and take notice.
My date stutters, “I … I can’t call you … I’m out of chips.”
Silver Eyes slowly slides his gaze back to me, his expression unreadable. “The girl.”
My eyes widen.
My date looks at me wide-eyed too.
My heart thuds.
I scramble to my feet but Carson grabs me by the elbow. “He wants you to stay here,” he hisses. “He’s forcing me all-in.”
“By the looks of things, he’s forcing me all-in.” I lower my voice. “Look, I don’t care who—”
“I’ve got a great hand. Please?” Carson discreetly shows me his cards. He’s got a full house. He sounds desperate, and I feel bad. At the same time, I’m mad. This dude is out of his league.
“Please, Wynn.”
And the jackass now remembers my name.
So I sit.
There’s an unspoken exchange between Mysterious Gambler and the old guy. The old guy shakes his head disapprovingly then folds. “If you say so.”
I don’t hear any other words pass between them.
The guy across the table makes me nervous. He’s not looking at me right now and is instead eyeing Carson, but I can’t stop looking at him—Silver Eyes. He’s got that kind of mouth that is set but makes you wonder how it feels, and a hard jaw, and … stop it, Wynn! You’re off men, remember? Except for sex, and you’re not going anywhere near Casanova over there!
I chew on my lower lip, acting as if the guy across the table doesn’t nerve-wrack me as he seems to nerve-wrack my date.
Once everyone folds, except Carson, my date shows his hand, and the guy turns over his cards and crosses his arms. He’s got a straight flush. Aces high.
I blink.
What the hell just happened?
My date lost? And sold me to this guy in the process?
The guy’s eyes glimmer in victory. “Want to bring that chair over here?” he asks me, nodding slowly at his side.
I really don’t know what I got myself into, but I decide getting out of it is my best bet. So I stand and spin around to leave, telling Carson, “I am seriously not …”
Silver Eyes stands, comes around the table, and suddenly his chest is a wall I’m about to crash into as I try to leave.
“Stay,” he says, his voice low, his hand curling warm and strong on my wrist.
Every part of me feels that touch.
I jerk my hand back, feeling singed and a little concerned about his effect on me.
He’s so tall I need to crane my neck back to look up at him.
“Look, my date may have offered me up, but I didn’t agree to this.”
“Name your price,” he says.
And god, he smells really, really good, like soap and cologne and the scent of a winner.
“Price for what?”
“To park your gorgeous ass on that chair, right next to me, and play.”

 

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

Because it is sexy, it is fun, it is real, it is just what falling in love feels like!

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned for 2017?

I’ve just finished the 3rd in my Manhattan series, Becka’s book, and I’m hoping to release in September. I’m also working on two first books of a new series, and hope to finish Iris later in the year as well. Excited about all my projects and sharing them with you soon!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: Giveaway! 1 signed Playboy paperback up for grabs, open Internationally. Good luck, everyone!!

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What is one of the things that most attract you to a guy when you meet him? Is it his attitude or personality, that he is confident, or funny, or smart? Or is it his looks? His eyes, hands, smile?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from Playboy:

He’s watching me with a frown as he starts the car. I glance into his eyes and wonder what he’s thinking before he faces the street and we’re on our way.
“Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” I ask.
“No.”
“Just no?”
He shoots me a sidelong glance and runs his eyes over me again. “Definitely no.”
I flush.
“So we’re really heading to Vegas,” I say to break the ice.
“Looks like it.”
I press my lips shut and twist them to keep from saying anything else.
“Tell me how you really feel. What do you really think of me?”
His question surprises me. I don’t know how I feel about him, or why his looks hold me a little bit captive and his gaze makes me a little breathless.
People don’t really know how addictive love is until they fall. Once you’re in, you crave the feeling like a drug and you feel lost without it. It’s a feeling I have no intention of revisiting.
But this silver-eyed distraction is tempting.
“Nothing is holy or untouchable to you. You’d bet your mom if anyone would take her, I bet.”
“How much would you bet on it?”
My brows fly up in surprise. God, he’s incorrigible. I swat his arm, nearly bruising my fingers. “Stop trying to make me fall into your addiction.” I laugh. “You’re crazy. Why do you like it?”
He shrugs. “Pushes all my buttons, I guess … Most of them anyway.”
“And the ones it doesn’t, all those Vegas cocktail waitresses take care of?”
One eyebrow cocks, and Cullen shoots me a dubious glare. “You sure you’ve never been?”
“I know all about Vegas without ever setting a foot in Sin City.”
We head to the airport, and he parks the car in front of a massive white airplane with a black-and-silver stripe down the side. Cullen steps out of the car as a pilot walks swiftly to the passenger side and swings open the door for me.
My jaw is hanging somewhere around the floor as I gape at the gigantic plane. I force myself to snap it shut as Cullen draws me forward, slipping his hand in mine. It feels too surreal, to be this girl, to follow a guy who’s a little bit dangerous and a little bit mysterious and all too hot into his plane. The plane, the guy, that are taking me away from it all.
For once I want to have fun. Be free. Stop this ache in my chest. Fill the hole with whatever I can find. I’m not thinking about who will win our bet. I’m just glad to get out of the city. Glad to get out of my head. Glad to give my heart a breather.
“After you.” Cullen motions to the stairs as the pilots bring our suitcases to the back of the plane.
I gulp because, let’s face it, I’ve never been in one of these before. I can’t believe how comfortable it is to avoid the hassle of airport security.
I board the private jet. There are eight leather seats, all about as wide as first class seats on a commercial airline, each with a small TV and shiny mahogany table before it. I don’t know which to pick, so I plop down in a seat facing the front, while Cullen lowers himself on the seat beside mine. I strap my seatbelt and exhale, and when our eyes meet, I feel a little woozy.
He’s wearing dark jeans—and the way he sits stretches the material by the muscles of his thighs. His package is a little too large and obvious.
I drag my eyes upward, intending to look away, but my gaze is snagged by the indentations of the muscles of his abs, visible under the black long-sleeved T-shirt he wears. He’s still in black, every part of him dark and tempting and very much unlike what I’m used to.
Emmett was blond, and he was a food-loving chef who loved to experiment. This guy, on the other hand? He looks quite the opposite. Dark as the devil, and something about his apparent need for control makes me think he is very disciplined in everything. Even, crazy as it sounds, gambling.
“Nice,” I say, motioning to the plane.
“I like nice things.” His eyes roam over me.
I look away as I try to recover my breath, something he seems adept in fucking up for me. “How many times have you lost this plane?”
“This particular one?” He cocks his head thoughtfully. “None. A few like this?” His eyes narrow even more. “About six times.”
“What do you do when you lose it? Fly commercial?”
“I borrow money and win me another. A better one.”
“Is that what you do when you lose a woman too?”
“Of course.” He answers in that same mocking tone I’m not sure means he agrees or not. Then he shifts forward, his gaze unreadable as he looks deeply into me. “Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
Silence. My heart drums a little faster as Cullen lifts his hand and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and the skin he grazes with his fingertip burns.
“Maybe,” I say.
“We’re taking off in two, Mr. Carmichael,” the co-pilot says.
“Good,” he answers to the co-pilot without taking his eyes off me. I meet his gaze and wonder what’s going on. He irritates and excites me at the same time—and this is a first for me.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

It started as a game.
We flirted. We played. Most importantly—we won.
Then I discovered who he was: Gambler. Famous playboy. Silver-eyed player who never plays to lose.
…And my best friend’s soon-to-be brother in law, Cullen Carmichael.
He needed a good luck charm, I needed a distraction.
So we made a gamble and set off for Vegas—but pretty soon—I was in too deep.
My heart, soul, and body weren’t supposed to be part of the deal.
But somewhere between big wins and long nights, my house of cards started to tumble.
What was this devil with those piercing eyes doing to me?
I’d given up on love, but the wicked, all-in Cullen Carmichael was upping the ante and wouldn’t stop until he’d won it all.

*This book contains characters from the Manwhore series but can be read as a complete standalone.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Katy Evans is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over a dozen novels, starting with her blockbuster debut romance, Real. She writes sexy contemporary romances with smoldering hot alpha males.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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51 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Playboy by Katy Evans”

  1. Mary Preston

    I think it’s a bit of everything. Most of all if he looks me in the eyes when he is talking to me. Giving me his full attention.

  3. Sonia

    One of the first things I notice is the smile and his sense of humor 😀

  4. Laura Lovejoy-Brunk

    Personality and a sense of humor …if you can carry on a conversation, whats the point. Looks only go so far. You could have the most beautiful man, and he’s dumber than a box of rocks.

  5. Heather Snyder

    Hmmm… Obviously, it’s his eyes and smile. Then I look at his confidence, sense of humor, and personality.

  11. janinecatmom

    I always go for personality. Looks or how they dress can always change or be deceiving. But a good personality is usually never changes.

  12. Joy Tetterton Avery

    I love confidence and strength. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. Love eyes, smile and hands.

  13. HEATHER SCULLY

    Usually guts and a sense of humour. I mean…if they’re afraid to approach me…they won’t last very long in my world. I’m a biter. Lol ❤

  14. Karina Angeles

    I’m attracted to muscular arms. If I talk to him he MUST have pretty teeth and make me laugh.

  15. Kathleen O

    For me it’s the eye’s and smile. After all they are the window to the soul and I usually know by both of these whether I am going to like the person.

  21. Jami Birnbaum

    He must have a great sense of humor (especially if he wants to hold his own with my family) and strong hands wouldn’t hurt…

  23. Lilah Chavez

    Personality! I must have someone who can make me laugh! especially my dark ( or what my daughter says “lame” ) humor.

  25. Shay Alford

    Before I married I always went for the cocky good looking bad boys, but when I married my husband, it was his personality & he has a ❤️ Of gold!

  28. Caro

    At first, it’s looks (Tall, broad shoulders, etc.). As I get to know him a little, personality hopefully goes with those looks, lol. (Funny, smart)

  29. Nancy Luebke

    At first it’s looks, clean cut shows he cares about his appearance..Then his personallity. A little tall, and muscles are nice., A sense of humor.and honesty.

  30. Marsha Bachmeier

    Eyes are the first initial thing that will attract me to a guy. Followed by strong forearms! 😉 I love to laugh, so if he’s funny, that’s a turn on. I’m also quite shy and very much an introvert (in addition to having anxiety,) so I need a man who has confidence to make up for me lack of.

  32. Juli Hall

    I’m not going to lie, it’s all about his look, but if he doesn’t have a good personality I move on

  33. Colleen Capelle

    Eyes, smile, & personality 🙂 I like a good sense of humor too

  35. Barbara Bates

    I look at his smile and his eyes;also like a good sense of humor!

  41. erinf1

    attitude, a great sense of humor, kind, and a great smile 🙂 thanks for sharing!

  42. Shannon Capelle

    I think its always a combination for me eyes,smile, looks then his personality has to be just as good and have a sense of humor is a must I hate tempers!!

  43. isisthe12th

    First thing i guess looks I would have to be attracted to him. Thank you

  48. kermitsgirl

    Smile is always first for me (I have a thing for nice teeth). Second is his humor. If you can make me laugh, I’ll be your friend forever and that’s the first step to romance in my book.

  51. Terrill R.

    I first notice his physicality. My area of study is the human body and I can appreciate a well-cared for physique, but that only goes so far. Decency and a sense of humor takes prominence soon after.