Spotlight & Giveaway: Stuck with You by Fortune Whelan

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Fortune Whelan to HJ!

Hi Fortuneand welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Stuck with You!

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

Leena is coming out of a high-profile relationship but won’t admit to her family that she made a mistake. The story begins with Leena in Seattle making the best of her fresh start.

Clark is quitting his job as a hockey player to spend more time with his brother who has a TBI. But said brother hates being fawned over and having Clark around all the time isn’t something he’s looking forward to. He sets up Clark with Leena by renting out his room to her, and Clark comes home to a new roommate.

Clark though is weary of women because of his job, and since Leena just came out of a relationship with another athlete it makes things between them at the very least, awkward. But she doesn’t have enough money to find a new place and Clark doesn’t want to throw her out in the street. Outwardly they pretend to be in a relationship because leaning into the narrative is easier than fighting it.

In the story, they find a lot of love, tenderness and comfort in one another and ending the relationship isn’t something either of them thought would be hard to do.
 

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

One of my favorite lines comes from a secondary character’s interactions with my main characters. To be fair, he did set up Clark and Leena.

“I hate being told what to do. It’s a compulsion. If the doctor recommended I leave, I would’ve insisted on staying.” Danny looked up and his head wagged left and right like he was sorting something out. “But I like to think I’m the person who knows myself best and I need to advocate for me.”

Another is from Leena’s opening scene.

The next time she entered a relationship, she wanted to be settled down and in her own space again—safe and secure. Her ex-fiancé’s cheating burned her more than she expected, and his betrayal cut deep into her heart.
Vulnerability was a treacherous bitch.
She didn’t want to be caught off guard ever again.
Leena hated surprises.

What inspired this book?

I have a fascination with celebrity worship. When I’m not reading fiction, I’m reading celebrity memoirs. This was the obvious inspiration for the paparazzi angle.
But Stuck with You as a concept was born out of the adage, the grass is always greener on the other side, and the belief that because someone is rich and famous, it means their lives are easier or they are people who deserve to be there. There’s an undercurrent of “if only”. People often wonder if only my life was different, if only I had more money, if only my dad hadn’t died, if only my parents were better, or whatever.
Before the story begins, my heroine Leena falls for a baseball player but finds out he’s a jerk, and my hero Clark ended up a celebrity in a job he didn’t entirely love because he needed money to care for his brother.
There’s also this idea of outward projection, of only showing others what we want them to see, whatever the reason might be.
Truly this is about a story about what you can affect or control in your own life and it’s okay if things do go exactly as planned because honestly, they rarely do!
The bike thing though, I live in a small town where people bike all year long, even in winter. I wanted to pay a tiny homage to that!

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

I get to know my characters by writing and rewriting. I spend a lot of time with them on the page. I’m a discovery writer so I find out about my character’s likes, dislikes and life experiences as they tell me. For example, Clark’s love language is cooking and feeding people or that Leena never learned how to drive.

The reason she never learned how to drive was because her dad died when she was sixteen. She’s the type of person who doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone else, so she rarely admits when she needs help and will try to do everything herself. So of course, at the start of Stuck with You, when she finds herself single and alone after moving to a new country, she doesn’t go home with her tail between her legs. She sticks it out and does her best to make a new life for herself in Seattle.

And Clark is this big, tough guy, trying to take care of his brother, but his brother hates it. But without taking care of him, Clark doesn’t know who he is. It’s more than this, it’s not that he doesn’t know, it’s that he doesn’t want his brother to think he’s planning a life without him.

What was your favorite scene to write?

My absolute favorite scene in Stuck with You is the gala from when Leena watches Clark stroll in, to Clark protecting her and Leena sticking up for herself, to the two of them plotting payback.

As she passed the long row of tinted glass doors, the two middle ones opened, drawing with them the warmth of the room, and creating a short, windy vacuum. She paused and gathered her hair together at the nape of her neck. With one hand in the pocket of a sharply tailored Indochina-style wool, silk-blend suit in teal was Clark. And wow. Wow. Teal at an affair such as this was a bold choice, but on him, Christ, she needed to pick her jaw up off the floor.
His dark hair, slicked back off his forehead, and the lobby lighting showed off a tan she hadn’t noticed before. His eyes glimmered like sapphires. Were they always so rich? After living with magazine cutouts of Clark all over her childhood home, she’d recognize that man anywhere. But this one, the living, breathing version of him, was something else, and possessed a certain je ne sais quoi that eluded her.
She turned and walked toward him to ask him the obvious question, what was he doing here? Within moments, bulbs flashed and popped, and with a practiced ease, Clark grinned and posed for the cameras, and he transformed into a different persona. The toothy smile, and the glimmer in his eyes, she recognized but the posing, the minute chin turns, and the straightening of the coat and cuffs were new to her. Questions from behind camera lenses and extended arms holding microphones drowned out all other lobby noise. Spotting her, Clark winked, and in an instant all eyes turned to her. Before anything could come of it, she spun and strolled off, Clark’s eyes never leaving her.
They needed to talk about the status of their fake relationship, but this wasn’t the time or the place.
When she entered the ballroom, a server with a tray of champagne strode past her, and she lifted, one, two glasses for herself. After downing them both one after the other, her mouth was still as parched as the Mojave Desert. She smoothed the front of her dress as she scanned the ballroom. No less than twenty round tables were beautifully set with towering centerpieces of cascading flowers and shimmering golden light.
“Boo.”
She jumped and exhaled before she turned. Clark. The most gorgeous specimen of a man she ever laid eyes on, with whom she was distantly and hopelessly in love with since she knew what hormones were, stood inches from her. The scent of pine, musk, and aftershave assailed her senses. She closed her eyes, needing to regain her balance. When she wavered, he steadied her. And his touch was worse, like fire, and her body awoke in a way she never felt before. There was nothing fake about this. This was real.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The most difficult scenes to write were the ones where Clark is holding in his emotions about his brother.

He placed his hand on Dr. Allen’s arm. “I’m sorry, let me get this straight. You’re the doctor and you ask the patient if he’s sick. And then the patient, my brother, says no, and you confirm his self-diagnosis? Or lack thereof. Am I understanding this correctly?”
Sighing, Dr. Allen said, “It’s not that simple. Danny is awake, responsive, and his vital signs are normal. Beyond that, if he has concerns about his health, then yes, I would investigate further.”
“But I don’t.” Danny hopped off the examination table. “I’m ready to head home. NOW. Thank you, Doctor.”
“But,” Dr. Allen said, “I suggest, strongly suggest, staying close by for at least the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. I didn’t order a CAT scan, so we have no idea what’s happening in your brain. I’m taking you at your word.”
Dr. Allen put the onus on Danny. Clark bit his tongue and silently celebrated this small victory. They exited the examination room together, but Clark didn’t feel like talking.
“Come on, man. Are you still mad about Leena? I tried to apologize to her. I can’t help it if she didn’t accept it. But I did see a picture of you guys holding hands yesterday. This is good, right? Everyone wins.”
“We’re not talking about that right now. You just had a—” He stopped himself. More for his own benefit than Danny’s.
“What? A seizure. You can say it. It’s not a secret, or a taboo subject. I’ve lived like this for almost twenty years, and I’ll live another twenty. If you don’t stop worrying so much, you might drop dead of a heart attack. Now wouldn’t that be ironic?”
“What is wrong with you?”
“Brain injury.”
“Shut u—mmm.” Clark squeezed his fist. Sometimes he wished he could wring his brother’s neck and not be worried he might actually die from it. Clark wasn’t in the mood for jokes, so he kept walking. Danny jogged to close the distance between them. He didn’t say any more, but he kept an eye on his brother’s long shadow on the sidewalk next to his own. As the little brother, he was used to living in Danny’s shadow. Being in the shadows was a dark place to live and made it difficult for Clark to shine in his own light—the professional hockey light he lived in for the last fifteen years was meant for Danny. But walking now, his throat tightened, imagining what his life would be like when Danny’s shadow disappeared completely.
Why did wanting to get on with his own life feel so heavy?
“So?” Danny asked, his hands shoved in his pockets as he walked.
“So, what?” Clark spit. He was so practiced at controlling his emotions, especially where Danny was concerned, he didn’t know what to do with the anger and frustration threatening to explode from the inside out.
His first instinct was to call Deacon, but Danny and Deke had grown closer as adults than they were as children, while Clark traipsed around the world playing hockey and hopping freighters. Anything he told Deke about Danny would get back to Danny as quickly as if he’d told him directly. They had a brother policy of not keeping secrets. Though Clark had slacked off in that department.
It didn’t change the fact Clark needed someone to talk to.
“You should go on ahead. I’ll pick up something for us to eat.” It was the best excuse he could come up with at the moment. His mind swirled with a future which didn’t include Danny, holidays, and birthdays. Clark couldn’t breathe.

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

Stuck with You definitely showcases my writing style. My husband describes some of the passages as direct downloads from my brain.

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

At the heart of the story, it’s about letting life surprise you and that good can come out of things you initially thought were bad.

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

Books two and three are in the chute. The follow up book to Stuck with You is called One Night with You. My hero is Clark’s older brother Deacon who has recently become a single father raising a teenage girl. My heroine is Cheramie, a woman who has lived her entire life under the weighty expectations of her family. It’s a May/December romance between Cheramie who thinks she knows everything, is analytical and data oriented and Deacon who is very much a trust the universe kind of guy.

We meet up again with Danny in book 3, it’s Christmas time and he has an unexpected run-in with his first love, Mabel. I love reunion romances during the holidays. I’m in the middle of revisions for this one, but both these books will release this year as well. One Night with You in July and My Christmas with You in October.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ebook copy of Stuck with You & 3 Tule ebooks

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Clark’s brother Danny hates being told what to do, is there anyone in your life like this?

 
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Excerpt from Stuck with You:

(@TMZ) “Shock Split: Fairytale Romance Between Canadian Nurse and MLB Player Over” 13 May 7:02a. Tweet.
Leena Lopez didn’t like surprises. Scratch that. She absolutely abhorred surprises. For one, they exacerbated her mild-bordering-on-becoming-way-worse anxiety, and two, she preferred to be prepared for anything. Difficult to do in the face of—surprise!
The sudden death of her father ten years ago, ironically brought about because her family yelled surprise! at him on his fiftieth birthday, was enough to last her a lifetime. Between her and her sister Inez, they banned all surprise parties: birthdays, anniversaries, and otherwise. They both wanted to live past fifty.
And she’d mostly successfully avoided all variants of surprises, until a month ago—after she’d quit her job, sold her house, and moved to Seattle—when Leena caught her fiancé cheating on her—not in bed, or in the act, or anything like that. But his face and more, started appearing frequently on a local influencer’s social media accounts especially when he was on road trips. Her name was Charleigh King, and Leena’s fiancé was suddenly Charleigh’s Ozzie. On the surface, the actual breakup was mundane and happened over a quiet dinner. Honestly, Leena should have been prepared for it. She was well acquainted with abandonment. Oz wasn’t the first, and she needed to remind herself that he wouldn’t be the last. But she’d never give Oz or Charleigh the satisfaction of knowing the loss she’d suffered over it. Not only had she lost the promise of a future, she’d lost her home, her friends, and her place on the hospital guild. After her emotions ran the gamut of shock, hurt, self-reflection, anger, and finally resolve, Leena secured a position covering a maternity leave at the hospital—with a recommendation attached to her resume written by her friend Avery Sommer—put a deposit on a short-term sublet at a rock-bottom price, packed her bags, and left the quiet, distant suburbs of Bellevue for the bustling scene of downtown Seattle.
To avoid any subsequent surprises and, by extension, opportunities for abandonment, Leena was avoiding men too. Because one inevitably led to the other: surprise visits from nosy family members, surprise engagements, and surprise pregnancies. Surprise new girlfriends, surprise broken engagements, surprise what-the-heck-am-I-supposed-to-do-nows. Not always in that order. But because of a man, she was single and alone in this city. So she was done with them. The way they looked in their snugly fitted T-shirts; the way they smelled like lemon, pine, and cedar; and the way they looked at her. God, she loved the way a man drank in her curves with his eyes. Leena. Snap out of it. Avoidance, not fantasy. Avoid the fantasy.
She shook herself awake from her man-induced fog. As she did, a blue-eyed, dark-haired, stubbled man held the building entrance door open for her and her bike to pass through. Of course, he was her type, so she didn’t return his smile, or his gaze, but felt his eyes on her until she mounted her bicycle and rode out of sight. There was only trouble to be had getting mixed up with a guy who looked like that coming home at a time like this. Five in the morning was a waking-up time, not a going-to-bed time.
Besides, she had more important things to keep her distracted—focused. Today was her first day of work at her new job, and she’d woken up three hours early to test out her bike commute. To the pre-Oz, pre-living-in-Seattle Leena, three hours might have been excessive. But in her post-Oz world, amateur paparazzi lurked around every corner, waiting for glimpses of her to sell to a website or rag mag like Seattle Stars. This was a reconnaissance mission. Could she ride her bike to work and successfully avoid telescopic lenses? How heavy would the traffic be? Were motorists tolerant of cyclists? To what degree? Would someone in a car recognize her? Were there any road closures or obstructions Google Maps wasn’t aware of? Would the wind be at her back? On a scale of one to ten, ten being Lombard Street, San Francisco, steep, how steep was the hill down to the hospital? An inverse correlation existed between the amount of information she possessed and her blood pressure. On good days, Leena was inquisitive and curious. On days like today, not knowing could have been paralyzing. But as long as her information input was high and her BP was low, she was confident in her decision-making abilities. How people lived their lives on the whims of breezes, she’d never know. Even before she met Oz, she was careful and cognizant of her public image, but now she was nearly militant about it. False and vicious rumors gutted her more than she’d ever let anyone see. As much as possible, Leena adopted what her teenage nephews called being a no drama llama. So far, to varying degrees of success.
This morning, the crisp breeze nipped Leena’s cheeks, bit her earlobes, and combed through the thick curls escaping from the bottom of her helmet. The downhill ride toward the hospital was indeed Lombard comparable, making the uphill trek back home to her apartment building a leg burner. A fair exchange.
On her brown vintage Schwinn, she cruised the dark, deserted streets, meandering around the pools of streetlight which spilled over the sidewalk, gutter, and asphalt. When she arrived at the front entrance of the hospital, she clocked her uninterrupted commute at seventeen minutes. Later when she actually left for work, she’d add an additional thirteen minutes for traffic, looking for a place to lock up her bike, and anything else which could possibly go wrong.
She stood on the sidewalk, straddling her bike, taking in the sterile gray exterior of the hospital. Nothing about it screamed specialized, but she knew two things about this hospital. One, somewhere up there was the renovated children’s wing she had fundraised for but would never see to fruition, and two, many of Seattle’s professional athletes preferred this physiotherapy clinic to all others located in downtown Seattle. Their therapists were the best, according to Yelp and Google reviews.
Since the clinic was an extension of the hospital, its physical therapists were supported by nurses with medical training to offset possible hospital liability issues. PTs studied functional movement and injury rehabilitation, but if a client exhibited medical complications a PT wasn’t equipped to handle, a nurse on duty—like her—assumed responsibility as the trained professional to handle the emergency. The parameters of the new job suited her fine. At her last position in Vancouver, Canada, she spent the entire flu season, October to April, administering flu vaccines. A noble, if not repetitious way to spend her days. She was looking for a little bit more responsibility and just a tiny but more excitement. What other people considered boring, she considered heart-racing.
The sun peeked over the horizon. Finally satisfied with the hospital’s location, impressed with the well-lit, single-bike lock-up sheds, and not a camera in sight, Leena stood up on her pedals and began the uphill trek back to her building where she had lived for the last month. Mostly alone, but she was warned by her landlord that his brother—and her roommate—would be arriving home from his job abroad any day now.
When she arrived at the top of the hill, the clouds above her floated on a bed of pinks and oranges with the sun not far behind. She glanced at her watch, and instead of steering her bike into the front entrance of her building, she sailed past it and whizzed by the still-darkened store fronts and unlit office buildings. There were very few moments in Leena’s life when she truly felt carefree. Finding a too reasonably priced room to rent in a shared apartment in downtown Seattle close to her job was the absolute best she could have hoped for on her limited budget. With solid expectations for her commute later that morning, the few spare moments to enjoy the quiet morning, for her, were heaven.
With the first two most important to-dos checked off her new-and-improved-Seattle-Leena list—she could focus her energy on her next two tasks. The first, creating a social network—in short—making friends to aid her in her final objective, which was to swear off men for the next six months. More if she could help it. But she knew it wouldn’t be easy. The stranger with the blue eyes this morning had distracted her already, and he hadn’t even opened his mouth. But she had to do this. For her. The next time she entered a relationship, she wanted to be settled down and in her own space again—safe and secure. Her ex-fiancé’s cheating burned her more than she expected, and his betrayal cut deep into her heart.
Vulnerability was a treacherous bitch.
She didn’t want to be caught off guard ever again.
Leena hated surprises.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

They’re both starting over. Fate’s determined they do it together.

NHL all-star Clark Dorsey is still at the top of his game, but he’s done with hockey. The night of the championship, Clark announces his retirement and returns to Seattle to spend time with his sick brother and figure out his next move. He needs to unwind, but his interfering brother sets him up by renting half of their shared condo to a beautiful, opinionated and fascinating woman.

Nurse Leena Lopez is done with the spotlight. When her whirlwind fairy tale romance ends in a cheating scandal, Leena’s suddenly broke, alone and hounded by paparazzi in a new city. Desperate to put down roots, Leena says yes when a patient offers her the condo he shares with his Canadian hockey star brother. She can ignore the teenage crush she had on Clark Dorsey—he won’t even be in town.

But Clark arrives and they’re both thrust back into the headlines they’ve been desperately avoiding. Can they figure out how to be alone together? Do they want to?

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Meet the Author:

Fortune’s been writing stories as for as long as she can remember, even penning a murder mystery as a fourth grade project at her very Catholic elementary school. After a hiatus traveling the world on a cruise ship, road tripping to Burning Man in the early 2000s, finance managing a territory for the world’s largest soda shop, and owning both a yoga studio and school, she rediscovered her love of writing while putting together a technical manual.

Fortune, partner Sean, and daughter Matilda live together with two cats and one dog in the Bow Valley. By day she’s a stay-at-home mom, by night she writes contemporary romances, and on weekends, she moonlights as a librarian. Catch up with her on Instagram @fortunewhelan for mountain misadventures and general malarkey.
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