Spotlight & Giveaway: Risky Restoration by E.F. Dodd

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author E.F. Dodd to HJ!

Hi E.F. Dodd and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Risky Restoration!

 
Hey there! I can’t wait for you to meet Kez, Jackson and the rest of the gang in Risky Restoration!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Risky Restoration sends Kez Walsh on a long overdue journey to get closure with her ex from law school. Five years ago, he broke her heart and she’s been treading water in the dating pool ever since. Now, he’s engaged to someone else and she needs to see it for herself to believe it. She factored in the heartache that could result, but not the chance meeting of Jackson, a sexy guitarist that throws her plan into disarray. Will she get closure with her ex, or tumble headlong into the start of something new with Jackson?
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“I have news,” I said to Rae. She’d beaten me to Elizabeth’s, a small Italian place conveniently located between my law office and her PR firm. As usual, we skipped a table, opting for the red-topped stools that lined a scarred wooden bar by the door.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

The bug scene is drawn from a real life experience I had with my college roommate. The two of us were trying to be sneaky and watch the baseball team practice from a parking lot across the street. We were in my car, which had a convertible top. The bug attacked and neither of us could function well enough to get out of the car. While we screamed in terror and scrambled to escape, a construction worker had to help us get out . . . even though the top was down and our seatbelts weren’t hooked.

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

At the start of the book, Kez feels stuck romantically. Her last real relationship was with her ex and when that imploded, she blamed him for everything. As the book continues, she starts to question whether the fault lies with him, or if it’s something a little closer to home. Is her hang-up with her ex, or is it something more that’s keeping her from taking a chance on Jackson?

Jackson, on the other hand, is entirely comfortable pursuing something with Kez. He’s one hundred percent all in from the jump, which scares the crap out of Kez. Because it makes her confront the real reason she’s so protective over her heart.

As far as surprises, I was surprised by how much I loved the character of Rae. She’s just so funny and unfiltered that she leaps off the page. Every woman needs a friend like her, someone who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, but only does it because she cares so much

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

To me, the most important scene in the book for an audition is when Kez and Jackson meet. That is the start of their chemistry, so the actors auditioning would have to be able to hit that underlying current of attraction. Without it, the rest of their story doesn’t work.

Snippet:
He grinned. “Playing it close to the vest, I see. Well, if you’re looking for something to do tonight, I’m going to Tonic with a few friends of mine. Should be a good time.” His gaze was so intense, I
felt the heat of it along my skin. “If you come, I might even tell you how I got that nickname.”
“Tonic?” asked V.
Without looking away from me, he answered, “Yeah, it’s a little speakeasy, nothing fancy, but it has good drinks and a decent band. You should come check it out.”
“That sounds—” Rae began.
“We’ll see. You never know what could happen between now and then.” I said, trying to ignore flips and dips of my stomach.
“I think you’ll show,” he said bluntly, fingers teasing down the sides of his glass as he watched me.
“Oh, you do, huh?” I concentrated on keeping my breathing even and not showing any reaction to the challenge he’d thrown down. He might think he was God’s gift, but I’d be damned if I’d
feed into that by fawning over the man.
“Yeah, I do,” he said arrogantly.
Even as I tried to resist it, I had to admit his confidence was sexy as hell. I felt the pull of attraction between us. This guy could be a player of the highest order, but I was sorely tempted to suit up for the game.

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

I’m not sure who said it first, but I remember Emma Stone saying in an interview once that “Life is short, eat the cupcake.” That’s some excellent advice and, I would phrase it this way as it pertains to this book. Just because you got tagged with a pretty nasty uppercut the last time you were out there in the dating world, don’t let it keep you from getting back out there and taking a chance. Take the leap, accept the invitation to coffee, or drinks or whatever and just see what happens. Maybe it will be your next great romance, or maybe it won’t be anything more than a pleasant hour or so of conversation. But if you don’t go, you won’t know.

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

The sequel to Risky Restoration is currently in developmental editing, with the hope to release it in May/June 2022. It’s Rae’s story, which introduces the reader to the man who broke her heart and who is now determined to redeem himself. It was so much fun to write and I hope that translates into the reading!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Free hard copy of Risky Restoration and fun E.F. Dodd tote bag. U.S. Only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Did googling an ex ever bring you the closure you wanted, or did it dredge up more questions?

 
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Excerpt from Risky Restoration:

I said nothing, opting instead to just stare at him. A white dress shirt stretched across broad shoulders, its sleeves fitting snugly over impressive, but not steroid-induced, biceps. Beneath his cuffed shirtsleeves, tattoos wound around his forearms. Dark jeans sheathed long legs and covered the tops of scuffed boots. Even though he was sitting on a barstool, his feet were flat on the floor. I took in his dark beard, barely sprinkled with white. It wasn’t made up of mismatched patches of scraggly hipster whiskers, nor was it pretty-boy stubble that never materialized into anything other than a slight shadow of scruff. It was an honest-to-God beard, thick and lavish—what a fully evolved man, not a boy, grew. Unruly dark hair curled over his collar. He stared back at me over cheekbones that could cut glass. This guy was sex on legs.

“I think you have something on your face, Kez,” Rae said.

I snapped out of my stupor. “What?”

V giggled. “I’m pretty sure it’s drool.”

They high-fived across the table. Amused, Erica asked, “Should I go ahead and pour then?”

Suddenly, it was like I’d walked a thousand miles across a desert my throat was so dry. Clearing it, I said, “Yes, please.”

When she poured just enough for a taste, Rae said, “Unless you’re in the habit of putting boxes of Franzia into bottles with that label, there’s no need for a tasting.”

Chuckling, she poured us each a glass and set the bottle on the table. “I’ll bring some snacks over for you ladies, if you want.”

“Is he one of them?” Rae asked as she nodded toward the bar.

“Please, Rae,” said V. “That man is not a snack. He’s an entrée, although the hair and the beard are a bit much for my taste.”

“I’d settle for having him for dessert,” I said.

Two sets of eyes focused on me. “Well, well,” said Rae. “Look whose ovaries are showing!”

I raised my glass toward the bar and smiled at him in thanks. He returned the toast and drank from his own glass. A bourbon, I noticed, neat with no ice.

Tossing a few bills on the bar, he stood up and made his way over to us. My belly gave a little flip as I watched him walk over. It was more of a prowl than a walk. There was no strutting, just a languid movement of limbs that caught a woman’s attention—this woman in particular. His long legs made short work of the space between us, and within moments, he was standing across the table from me.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Typing your ex’s name into a search engine is always a crapshoot. But like any gamble, it can pay off big if you find out the idiot who left you is now thirty pounds overweight and missing a tooth from an unfortunate breadstick incident. The downside is that you could find out the worthless S.O.B. is still attractive and, even worse, getting married to someone else.

Kez Walsh should’ve cashed out when her last search turned up nothing on her ex, Miller Thompson. But, instead, she goes all in after yet another failed attempt at dating and moving on. Only this time, she turns up a wedding website featuring Miller and his new bride. How is it possible for him to have moved on to the point of marriage while she’s still mired in dating hell? What better way to answer that question than to crash his upcoming high school reunion?

Through a combination of tequila and groveling, she convinces her two best friends to join her on the trip. Only she doesn’t count on meeting sexy and successful Jackson on their first night there. He isn’t spooked by her unorthodox reason for being in town, and doesn’t hesitate to let Kez know he’s the man she needs. Jackson, and her undeniable and unexpected attraction to him, means Kez has to choose between hanging on to the past, or finally moving on.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

A fan of all things Halloween, but terrified of scary movies. Lover of fresh flowers, with the notable exception of carnations. Don’t expect a woman to be flattered by the same flowers you paid $1.00 for back in junior high on Valentine’s Day. I’m a true romantic, which is to say I find flaws unexpectedly beautiful and think life is at its best during the in between moments you don’t find on FaceBook or Instagram. I’m lucky enough to share my life with someone who agrees reclaimed is better than new, antiques always trump contemporary and it’s a close call who should be saved first from a burning building – us, or our English Bulldog. I’m new to the writing game, but I love it and the respite it provides not just me, but also, I hope, my readers.
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