Spotlight & Giveaway: The Hookup Dilemma by Constance Gillam

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Constance Gillam to HJ!

Hi Constance and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Hookup Dilemma!

 
Welcome!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

A commitment-phobic food critic with trust issues must fight to save her grandmother’s neighborhood from her one-night stand, a wealthy, workaholic architect who needs this project to save his ill father’s failing business.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Elliott Quinn needed a drink–or six. He’d been holed up in his father’s office all week. Again. He needed–no, deserved–a break. After all, today was his birthday.
Dropping his satchel on the polished marble floor of the building’s entry, he shrugged out of his suit jacket, ripped his tie from around his throat, and stuffed the offending item into his jacket pocket.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The elderly are dangerously funny
• The hero and heroine don’t know they are on opposite sides of a legal issue when they first meet.
• The woman who’s caught the minister’s eye doesn’t want to be caught.

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

It’s lust at first sight for both. The hero loves the heroine’s curves but immediately falls in love with her wit.
The heroine falls in love with the hero’s scent, hands, and butt.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Hot, steamy, sexy, provocative, tender.
 

The First Kiss…

The scent of whiskey fanned across her face as his tongue touched first one corner of her mouth then the other before skimming along the creases of her lips. She parted them to let him in, and his tongue danced with hers, sucking, biting, then soothing.
Goose bumps skittered over her skin. Her breath labored in her chest. Jesus…

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

The emergency room scene is my favorite.

Rashida pushed through the masses waiting in the Emory University Hospital’s emergency room like a scythe cutting through grain. She’d caught part of the midday news and seen her grandmother and some of her cronies marching on Millhouse Road and then caught the report of the pedestrian struck by a car at the scene of the protest.
The television commentator hadn’t released the pedestrian’s name. Her grandmother’s frantic call filled in the rest. Mrs. McClain, her grandmother’s neighbor, had hit Elliott with her car.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

The beach scene.

Darkness gathered. The pounding of the surf took the place of the blood rushing through his veins. He could stay here forever, but he didn’t know how Rashida felt. “You want to go back to the campsite?”
“Not yet. It’s so much cooler out here.”
“We’ll probably be able to stay for a while.” He’d hoped that she’d want to stay here, so he’d place their blanket well back from the water and the high-tide mark.
“Good.” She wriggled her derriere into his crotch. He closed his eyes and willed his body not to respond. His cock wasn’t listening.

Readers should read this book …

It’s a love story, but it’s also about families, their inner conflicts, and the love that holds these families together.

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

I’m currently working on two books.
One is set in the world of The Hookup Dilemma.

The other is a story about an ex-soldier (female) who suffers from PTSD. She returns to her small Southern town–the last place she wants to be.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away two advance reader copies of The Hookup Dilemma to two lucky individuals.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you ever fallen in love with someone who is absolutely the wrong person for you?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Hookup Dilemma:

Elliott moved deeper into the room full of Atlanta Symphony donors. Classical music provided background to the cacophony of voices that filled the space. He shook his head at a passing waiter with a tray of champagne flutes. He needed something stronger. Smiling and nodding to people in his path, he made his way to the bar.
Once armed with his whiskey, he searched the room for his hostess. He found Deidra Cloyd holding court at the French doors that led outside. He could have waited for her to make the circuit of the room, but he wanted to do what he’d come to do and get the hell out.
And what he’d come to do was meet Zoning Commissioner James Hartwell. Erickson called in favors and learned Hartwell planned to attend this fundraiser. Elliott’s dad had asked him to seek out Hartwell and put a plug in the man’s ear about their project. It was not how Elliott liked to do business, but he was doing this for his father. No matter how distasteful.
Deidra Cloyd had been a friend of his mother’s. She’d tried to keep in touch after his mother’s death, but his father’s briskness severed that connection.
When he reached Mrs. Cloyd’s side, she presented her cheek for a kiss. “Elliott, when I heard you were coming, I was beside myself.”
“It’s great to see you.” The warm, spicy scent of her perfume brought back memories of sitting at his mother’s feet playing as she and Deidra laughed and gossiped together. He realized those were the only carefree memories he had of his mother with someone other than himself.
Deidra placed a bejeweled hand on his arm. “It’s wonderful to see you.”
He could have sworn she had tears in her eyes. Damn. A knife twisted in his gut. He hated using her and her gala this way.
“I heard Marcus had a heart attack. I’m so sorry.” Her hand fluttered to her throat. The light from a multitude of chandeliers reflected off an emerald-cut diamond ring. “How is he?”
“Getting better every day,” Elliott lied. “And as cantankerous as always.”
“And you? You’re well?”
“Doing great.” Another lie.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

What happens when a random hookup turns into the ultimate dilemma?

Rashida Howard has never been a one-night-stand kind of woman, but she has good reason for making an exception with Elliott after meeting him in a bar. Cliché? Yes. Utterly amazing? Absolutely. Regrets? None.

Elliott Quinn is a workaholic. The one night he decides to break his routine, he has an encounter with the woman of his dreams. But no matter how amazing they are together, work will always come first.

Both of their lives get turned upside down when they find themselves on opposite sides of an ongoing fight between Elliott’s company and Rashida’s community. Though their chemistry is undeniable, neither of them will risk their integrity…or their heart.

And just when they think they might have found a solution that benefits both sides, they uncover a secret that will change everything.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Constance Gillam is an award-winning author of young adult fiction as well as a 2008 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist for adult fiction.

She loves writing about diverse characters and cultures and has a soon-to-be-released #ownvoices book—The Hookup Dilemma from Entangled Publishing.
Constance also writes the award-nominated Lakota crime suspense series, featuring John Iron Hawk, an Oglala Sioux tribal police captain, and his lover, Zora Hughes.

A former scientist, she traded in her lab coat to write fiction—a long-time dream.

She lives in Atlanta with a husband who doesn’t mind taking up the household slack as she creates stories about crime, intrigue, and love.

They have three adult children and a part-time dog (long story).
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