Spotlight & Giveaway: Ricardo’s Collisions Edward Sledge & Christina Sledge

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Edward Sledge & Christina Sledge to HJ!

Hi Edward Sledge & Christina Sledge and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Ricardo’s Collisions. The Desire Family Saga: Part One!

Hello HJ Readers! We are excited to share our new book with you!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Years after disappearing from Brooklyn, disgraced businessman Ricardo Desire is found dead in his home. A glimpse of Ricardo’s past reveals a salacious love triangle and double life. In the aftermath of his death, the lives of those he knew begin to unravel.
Olena Jackson is the detective assigned to the high-profile case, and the more she digs, the more lies and bodies she uncovers.
Although Ricardo is gone, for the people left behind, the collision course is just getting started.

Please share the opening lines of this book:

” I can’t believe this is happening to me. I remember my father
once told me to watch out for the people who I love the most because
those are the ones who will hurt me, and I think he was right.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Working Title of the book: The Man That Didn’t Want to Die
• Song List is on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UBYokPL4jsaOYHAcOX0NI?si=34KL3x0rRTyaDnoJf1796Q&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1&nd=1
• As a married couple, our love life influenced many of the steamy sex scenes in the book.

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

Ricardo Desire is the title character that gets murdered at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book unfolds the collisions caused by his death. I was surprised that he was a good hearted man even though he had conflicting emotions for two women.

Olena Jackson is the detective assigned to solve Ricardo’s murder. She uncovers other murders during the course of her investigation. She is a straight laced detective caught in the collision course.

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

We would use the scene when Ricardo’s double love is revealed and his mistress and her two young sons find out he has been lying to her. It is an emotionally charged scene that is the ending of the love triangle Ricardo created.

Scene:
We arrived home and told our mother about the game.
“We met Renee today. And for some reason she said that Ricardo
was going to see her and Tracy tomorrow night,” Greg said.
“What the hell are you talking about, Greg?”
“I guess before he leaves for work.”
My mother was livid as she looked at us.
“RICARDO! RICARDO! I know them. They are sisters who
worked with your father and Ricardo at the meat company. I used to
talk to them at the annual company picnics.”
Ricardo came out of the room with the suitcases he traveled with
for work. He stopped in front of my mother, who was standing at the
front door with us behind him. If any drama was going down, we were
tearing him up. No longer was any man hitting our mother.
“Ric. I love you to death, and if I could, I would get a divorce in a
heartbeat and marry you. Tell me what Tracy has over me. I can’t lose
you, and you know you’re the best man I ever had. You told me that you
and Tracy separated, and you have been trying to have her sign the divorce
papers! You were lying to me all this time? For two years,
Ric? Do you even have a traveling position at work?”

My mother became overwhelmed with shock and a surprised look
like she solved a mystery. She placed her hands over her wide-open
mouth.
“Oh no! Of course, you don’t. You’ve been staying
with me and Tracy! For two years, Ric? I can’t believe this.”
Ricardo stared at her and said in a low, strong voice,
“I love you. I have loved you since I first saw you. We have history
together. Time went by, and I fell in love with Tracy, and we got married
and had two kids. I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t fully leave my family.
I’m so much in love with both of you.”
“ Get all your stuff and get the hell out!”
Ricardo had no words for her. My mother ran past us and into her
bedroom. She was crying and throwing things.

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

That it is a steamy page turner full of twists and turns. The reader will be begging for part two.

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

Ricardo’s Collisions The Desire Family Saga Part Two and Part Three of the series.
It will be a trilogy and upcoming box set.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Open Internationally.

To enter Giveaway: Follow our instagram account https://www.instagram.com/sledgehousemedia and comment on the attached IG post Book Club Reading Schedule with a ‘HJ’   

Giveaway expires Saturday 10/16 at Midnight.

Excerpt from Ricardo’s Collisions. The Desire Family Saga: Part One:

“I was a happily married man, and I
wanted her badly. She was my first love,
the one who left me at a park bench as I still craved
to see her face. I hated that she was married,
especially to a loser like her husband. The sad part
was I only could see her once a year at the picnic,
but I thought about caressing and making love to her
all the time. I thought about her even
while I was having sex with my wife. Yes, I thought
about licking every place on that woman’s body
while I was making my wife orgasm. I think my
wife knew I was thinking about another woman,
but she never said anything. I admired my first
from a far. I followed her on her job, watched her arrive
home, and I even studied her husband’s work
schedule and movements just to know things to
say to throw him under the bus when I was
ready to make my move.

Ironically, I knew I wasn’t
that kind of guy and I sure didn’t want to be.
I loved my wife but lusting over my first love overwhelmed
me.

Both were my addictions and my
temptations.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Years after disappearing from Brooklyn, disgraced businessman Ricardo Desire is found dead in his home. A glimpse of Ricardo’s past reveals a salacious love triangle and double life. In the aftermath of his death, the lives of those he knew begin to unravel. ​Olena Jackson is the detective assigned to the high-profile case, and the more she digs, the more lies and bodies she uncovers.
Although Ricardo is gone, for the people left behind, the collision course is just getting started.

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

Meet the Author:

Edward Sledge is an United States Army veteran and holds an B.S. in History from Georgia Southern University and a M.S. in Social Science from Towson University. Edward is an Amazon best selling author. He wrote his first book, The Story of Christina and I, his memoir with his wife, Christina Sledge in 2021. His second book and debut fiction murder mystery is Ricardo’s Collisions. He also co-authored an essay with Christina, Our Marriage: An Essay

Christina is an Amazon best selling author. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Christina Sledge holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Computer Science from Temple University and a Master’s degree from The George Washington University School of Business. Christina is a believer in life long learning and has completed studies at Harvard University, New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts, Savannah State University, Syracuse University and University of Georgia.

Christina wrote and published her first book in 2021, The Story of Christina and I a memoir that she co-authored with her husband, Edward Sledge. Their second book is a debut fiction, Ricardo’s Collisions is a romance murder mystery. She also co-authored with Edward, an essay Our Marriage a #1 new release on Amazon
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