Spotlight & Giveaway: Tempted by Her Greek Island Bodyguard by Michelle Douglas

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Michelle Douglas to HJ!

Hi Michelle and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Tempted by Her Greek Island Bodyguard!

 
Hi, Sara, thanks so much for having me here!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Janie’s parents are both ridiculously famous, which makes her famous by default. She decides to use that fame for the good of charity by taking part in a reality TV show to restore a rundown villa on the Greek Island of Corfu. But when she receives a series of threatening letters, she’s forced to replace one of her building team with undercover bodyguard Zach. Zach is far from impressed at being given this “babysitting” assignment, but sparks fly between him and Janie despite their best intentions. Throw in the dreamy location, balmy nights and forced proximity and it’s enough to turn anyone’s head. A fling should be out of the question, but neither of them can stop thinking about one. And if they do succumb, what will happen when they have to return to the real world?
 

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

Janie has been dubbed “Plain Jane” by the media (because she’s not as beautiful as her parents), and I love Zach’s reaction to her when they first meet.

Her nose wrinkled. It definitely wasn’t plain. It was kind of cute. And while the face it graced might not be considered conventionally beautiful, it was…
Sweet?
Full of character?
Sexy. The word whispered through him, making things inside him clench in unfamiliar ways. His blood heated and a pulse in his throat burst to life.
‘What the hell are the press thinking?’ he burst out. ‘You—’ he pointed a finger at her ‘—are not plain.’

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Many moons ago (we’re talking over a decade ago at least), I wrote a blog post where I’d listed a series of titles I’d made up and then asked readers to vote on their favourite. I can’t remember now which (of my silly titles) won, but Bodyguard to the Plain Jane stayed with me. Every now and again I’d wonder who the characters were and what the story was about. Tempted by Her Greek Island Bodyguard was my answer to that question.
• I’ve never been to the Greek Islands, but the research was so much fun. I watched The Durrells, the Mamma Mia movies, and explored lots of tourist sites and tourist blogs on the internet, and explored Corfu using the street view on Google maps. If I ever get a chance to visit one Greek island, Corfu would be the top of my list.
• I love having a theme song for a book. There were three songs I played a lot while I wrote this book: (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, Every Breath You Take by The Police, and You Can Talk to Me by Stevie Nicks. Whenever I hear one of those songs now I’ll forever think of this song.
• In my mind, Janie’s very famous parents are Elvis Presley and Keira Knightley (not in temperament, but in terms of how famous they are and how recognisable they are to the general public).

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Besides the fact that Zach finds Janie attractive, he’d been expecting a spoiled socialite. When he discovers she’s hardworking, smart and driven, he can’t help but admire that and be drawn to her. As for Janie, she’s instantly attracted to Zach physically, but has sworn off men. Even though she knows he doesn’t want this assignment, he’s professional, is determined to keep her safe, and he’s kind as well. She can’t help but find his sense of honour appealing.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

There were several, LOL. I do love Janie’s and Zach’s first kiss.

‘Janie.’
Her name sounded like a plea on his lips. And when he stared at her like that…
She reached for him and his mouth landed on hers—a sensual assault that had her standing on tiptoe and begging for more. He wrapped her in a heated tenderness that had a moan gathering in the back of her throat. Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer and his groan of approval weakened her knees. She’d have fallen, but his arms held her firmly against him, refusing to let her fall.
He kissed her with a slow and thorough precision as if memorising every line of her lips, as if committing them to memory—unhurried and with a quiet relish that curled her toes…and had a crick starting up in her neck. The man was so tall!
Without breaking the kiss, she pushed him into a chair and straddled his lap. Bracketing his face with her hands, she held him still while she explored his lips with the same slow candour he had hers. The hands at her waist tightened, the fingers digging into her flesh as if it took all his strength to hold still for her.
When she nibbled his bottom lip with her teeth, though, that passion unleashed and he dipped her over his arm, his mouth fierce and possessive, and one hand slid beneath her thigh to pull her hard against him and all she could do was hold on as heat and need swamped her and she found herself trying to crawl into his body.
Long moments later his lips lifted from hers and he straightened, breathing hard. She wanted to protest, but the expression in his eyes wasn’t horror or regret and it eased the fear that had flared in her chest. Lifting trembling fingers, she touched them to her mouth, unsure if her lips would ever feel the same again.
Drawing her to him, he wrapped her in his arms, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, his chin resting on her head.
‘What are you doing?’ She was incapable of speaking in anything above a whisper.
Their chests rose and fell in unison. ‘Hugging you.”

Readers should read this book….

If they love an emotional high-stakes romance, exotic locations, and a touch of quirk.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Secret Fling with the Billionaire releases in December/January. It opens with the heroine fleeing from the paparazzi, and when she leaps onto the hero’s narrow boat she literally crash lands at his feet, LOL.

I’m about to start my next book (it doesn’t have a title yet), which will be a second chance story that I’m thinking I’ll set in Venice (because how romantic is Venice?). Happy sighs.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: The winner will receive a signed print copy of Tempted by Her Greek Island Bodyguard (open internationally)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you watch reality TV? Other than The Great British Sewing Bee and the occasional renovation makeover show, I rarely watch them. But I’d love to know the shows you enjoy!

 
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Excerpt from Tempted by Her Greek Island Bodyguard:

This is Zach and Janie’s first (less than auspicious) meeting

His nose curled. ‘Apparently I have to babysit some pampered little daddy’s girl while she swans around some frivolous socialite scene spending a fortune on hats and shoes while throwing the odd penny to some unnecessary charity or other.’ He had visions of endless garden parties and black-tie events and—
Oh, God. ‘Just kill me now.’
Logan’s laugh hooted down the line. ‘You watch your back, mate. From all accounts those society madams can be deadly. Which daddy’s little girl in particular?’
‘Plain Jane.’
He used the press moniker without thinking. Because he was still incensed at being pulled from the South American job. And as a displacement activity, because beneath everything ran a deep fear that all was not well with Sarge, and if anything happened to the older man…
The delicate sound of a throat clearing in the doorway had him swinging around. He froze. He’d have cursed except his throat had seized up.
Jane Tierney stood in the doorway, one delicate eyebrow arched. And seeing her for the first time with his own eyes, rather than via random photographs splashed across the papers, plain wasn’t the first word that came to Zach’s mind.
She hip-swayed into the room. ‘I’ll wear the daddy’s girl comment, and I’ll own to many attempts at swanning—which I almost have down pat, thanks for asking—but I draw the line at unnecessary charities.’ Turning to survey him once more, she sank to the sofa and crossed remarkably shapely legs. ‘And, just so you know, I don’t like hats.’
Logan swore at the other end of the line, clearly hearing her words too. ‘You smooth this over and make it right, Zach. Her father has influence—a lot of influence. Don’t mess this up for us.’
‘Roger that.’ He stuffed his phone in his pocket and tried to formulate an appropriate apology.
She leaned back, for all the world as composed as a queen. ‘Mr Cartwright, I presume?’ She had a voice like warm honey and sin, and soft caramel eyes that momentarily danced.
He swallowed and nodded, resisting the urge to run a finger around his collar. She deserved an apology and he needed to make it good.
The laughter melted from her eyes and while he hadn’t thought a smile graced her lips, it melted from them as well. She folded her hands in her lap—the fingers long, the nails short and square. ‘The Plain Jane comment, though, should’ve been beneath you.’
He dragged a hand down his face. It really should’ve been.
‘I’m sorry, Ms Tierney. That was inexcusable. I was angry about something totally unrelated to you.’
‘Except for the fact that you apparently now have to babysit me.’
Fighting a wince, he forged on. ‘And worried about someone I care about.’
‘Sarge?’
How long had she been standing there?
‘I directed all of that at you, unfairly. Just…venting. But none of that changes the fact that I shouldn’t have said it.’
She blinked.
‘I’m truly sorry. I hope you’ll accept my apology and let me start again.’
Sarge had said this job meant a lot to them—so it meant a lot to him. Zach couldn’t mess it up. If he did, he’d never convince the older man that he hadn’t sabotaged the assignment on purpose. His hands clenched. He might be as stubborn as his partners accused him of being, but he wasn’t selfish. At least, he hoped he wasn’t.
Jane Tierney stared at his clenched hands and a frown marred the smooth skin between her eyes.
‘I’m appalled at my lack of professionalism. It won’t happen again, I swear.’
She leaned back, her shoulders loosening. ‘Oddly enough, I believe you.’
A pent-up breath eased out of him. Jane Tierney was the daughter of music legend Joey Walter and lauded actress Colleen Clements. Those two, while no longer married, were rarely out of the papers. To call this family high-profile was an understatement. Their daughter mightn’t court the media but she had no hope of avoiding it, no matter how much of a low profile she tried to keep.
‘Very well, you’re forgiven.’
He almost collapsed at the relief and a devilish dimple appeared in one of her cheeks and it made him think she’d deliberately drawn out his punishment to make him suffer.
If that were the case, it was no more than he deserved. But things inside him sharpened. He’d now need to keep a close eye on her. Not everyone he worked with reconciled themselves to the need for a bodyguard. And if he was being thrust on her against her will, she might try and give him the slip at every available opportunity.
She might not be in any actual danger, hiring him might be a precautionary measure as it was in ninety-five percent of these cases, but he had every intention of treating the assignment as seriously as any other.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

HER PROTECTOR 24/7!

Out of her comfort zone, Janie’s signed up to compete on a reality TV show to restore a Greek island resort! It’s for charity, but her overprotective father has hired former army commando Zach to be her bodyguard and teammate. It’s obvious Zach couldn’t be more annoyed about his “babysitting” assignment. Only, as the friction between them sparks into tempting attraction, both must confront why they’ve always shunned relationships. And what happens when they return to the real world?
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Meet the Author:

Michelle Douglas is a is an award-winning author who has been writing for iconic romance publisher Mills & Boon since 2007, and believes she has the best job in the world. In 2019 she completed a Creative Writing PhD in Popular Romance and Feminism. She’s a sucker for happy endings, heroines who have a secret stash of chocolate, and heroes who know how to laugh. She lives in a leafy suburb of Newcastle on Australia’s east coast with her own romantic hero, a house full of dust and books, and an eclectic collection of 60s and 70s vinyl.
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