Spotlight & Giveaway: The Summer Wedding Hoax by Jami Rogers

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jami Rogers to HJ!

Hi Jami and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Summer Wedding Hoax!

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

The Summer Wedding Hoax is about two best friends who fake date through a summer of weddings. Ava, who just returned to her hometown following a breakup, is doing it to avoid being set up by her family and Will is doing it because this could be his last chance to win the girl who has only ever seen him as just a friend.
 

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

“We should fake date for the summer.”

Our gazes collide, and for the first time ever, the look he gives me makes my heart beat faster.

Playing fake boyfriend to the woman I’m crazy about. Smart, Will, real smart.

“Have fun explaining us to your brother next week in your meeting.” She uses air quotes when she says meeting and laughs. “He knows we are up to something, so good luck
keeping this a secret.”

I know what I want, and I want Ava. She’s the woman who makes me want to work twice as hard to be a better man. Her smile is the only smile I see in my dreams, and I’m not going down without a fight.

What inspired this book?

Oh, probably every fake dating romance out there and Hallmark. The Summer Wedding Hoax is the perfect blend. The fact that I would love to own my own coffees shop / bookstore might play a part, too.

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

Will and Ava were both the easiest to write and the hardest. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s true. Originally, I’d planned for Will’s book to be the last in the series. So, when it came about that he was going to be book two, it was hard to switch my bryan from one brother to the other. I had to scramble and flush out his character. How quickly he and Ava came about was pure joy. They were meant to be together and I was meant to write their story when I did.

What was your favorite scene to write?

The meet-cute is always my favorite, but since Will and Ava have known each other since they were kids, I’d say the scene where they see each other for the first time after a few years is my favorite in this book.

I’m trying to pluck the blackened bread from the toaster as I climb onto my counter to turn off the alarm—super safe, I know—when my front door flies open. A shirtless Will in gym shorts comes barging in with a yellow Labrador running right at his heel. They both stop to stare at me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, slipping off the counter and smacking my knee on one of the lower cabinet handles.

Ouch!

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” He scratches the top of the dog’s head as he watches me. “I’m the property owner, and your smoke alarm was going off. I’m
here to make sure you don’t burn the place down or make it so we both have to move out before I can take my morning shower.”

“So you just barge in?”

“Yes. It’s the middle of the night. What did you expect me to do? Leave you to burn to death?”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The first chapter. I bet I wrote three or four versions until I found one that fit Ava perfectly.

If I started crying right now, I’m positive the officer standing outside my car window would rip up my ticket. Well, almost positive. Luck hasn’t exactly been a thing for me lately.

“Ma’am, are you aware of how fast you were going?” he asks. His attention is on my driver’s license, so it gives me a few seconds to focus on his whole salt-and-pepper doppelganger look of Harrison Ford. I tilt my head to get a better look. Is that Harrison Ford?

“Ma’am?”

“No, sir, I don’t remember.”

His eyes narrow as he looks me over slowly. “Hmm, well, where are you in such a hurry to?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say I was in a hurry.”

His left brow rises, and he stands up straight.

“I’m headed home. To Melody, Wyoming,” I answer quickly. His expression is so stony, I’m not sure if he’s waiting for a story or for me to just answer his questions.

“Family emergency?”

“Nope. Just moving home.”

He nods at my back seat.
“Is that why your car is packed so full that you can’t see out the rearview mirror?”

“Can I get a ticket for that?” I twist to look at my entire life packed into my blue Volkswagen Atlas SUV. It’s the only thing I own to my name. “I just didn’t have a hitch on my car to rent a U-Haul, and making more than one trip would have been fine had I told my parents or brother I was coming back, or even my best friend, Will. But no one knows, and I’m already at a loss of what to tell them. I mean, I can’t—”

“Ma’am, let me just go run your license and plate and I’ll have you on your way.”

He walks off before I can say more.

I hadn’t meant for all of that to come out as some starter sob story, but I’m kind of glad it did. I glance to the rearview mirror, but of course I can’t see him. Instead, my gaze lands on the boxes smashed together. The toaster oven and air fryer aren’t even in a box, and the groceries I do have, well, I should have taken the cooler.

“Just take it with you. I can buy a new one.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Come on, Ava. It’s a six-hour drive. The food will go bad.”

“I’ll stop and get my own. It’s really okay.”

“Alright. But are you? Okay, I mean.”

I shrug. “Yeah, why not?”

He copies my shrug. “Because a lot has changed in the last week for you.”

“Just me?”

“Fine. Us.”

I nod, grab my keys, and slide the box of food off the counter and onto my hip. “I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

I let out a small laugh.

See him around, my butt.

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

Yes, this book fits my writing style perfectly. It’s not as steamy as most of my other books, but the flow and connection between Will and Ava have made this book easy to write. I felt like I really found my groove with these two and writing a fake dating trope is now a staple in each of my series.

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

Honestly, I want them to just feel good by the end of it. To be happy they chose to read it and that they look forward to the last book in the series and more of my books. I write to put a smile on someone’s face and if this book does it, then my goal is a success. If it perks them up for the upcoming spring/summer wedding season, that’s perfect, too!

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

I’m working on a series titled Lust or Bust. It’s much steamier than this series. In fact, my next release, The Write Choice, is on June 20th and the hero in that story is Ava’s brother. You do not have to read this book to read his book. His book is part of a completely different series, but you do get snips of him in The Summer Wedding Hoax, so I highly recommend reading both.

My next release after that is the last book in the Evergreen series. It comes out on October 19th, 2023.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ebook copy of “The Summer Wedding Hoax” + 3 Tule ebooks of the winner’s choice

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: How many weddings have you been to in one summer, and which one was your most memorable? One year, my husband and I had six weddings to go to and the most fun was the one he was a groomsman in. It was in a museum where we live. We danced and laughed a lot. The guests were so much fun and so friendly. It was a blast!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Summer Wedding Hoax:

CHAPTER ONE
Ava

If I started crying right now, I’m positive the officer standing outside my car window would rip up my ticket.
Well, almost positive. Luck hasn’t exactly been a thing for me lately.
“Ma’am, are you aware of how fast you were going?” he asks.
His attention is on my driver’s license, so it gives me a few seconds to focus on his whole salt-and-pepper doppelganger look of Harrison Ford. I tilt my head to get a better look. Is that Harrison Ford?
“Ma’am?”
“No, sir, I don’t remember.”
His eyes narrow as he looks me over slowly. “Hmm, well, where are you in such a hurry to?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say I was in a hurry.”
His left brow rises, and he stands up straight.
“I’m headed home. To Melody, Wyoming,” I answer quickly. His expression is so stony, I’m not sure if he’s waiting for a story or for me to just answer his questions.
“Family emergency?”
“Nope. Just moving home.”
He nods at my back seat.
“Is that why your car is packed so full that you can’t see out the review mirror?”
“Can I get a ticket for that?” I twist[…]”

Excerpt From: Jami Rogers. “The Summer Wedding Hoax.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

There’s nothing fake about this relationship, but that’s news to both of them.

Everything is falling into place for Will Evergreen. In a few short months, he’ll be moving out of his Wyoming hometown to launch his own business and finally step out of his brothers’ shadows. Will’s more than a cute, former whiz kid and will prove it by growing the family enterprise. Then Ava Robertson, the woman he failed to forget, comes crashing back to town. Suddenly, packing up is the last thing on his agenda.

Moving home isn’t the future Ava planned for herself, but when the job market forces her to do just that, she turns to the childhood buddy she left behind. Will isn’t the same boy she remembers. He’s all man now, so when her mother’s idea of moving forward means matchmaking, Ava begs Will to play the role of doting boyfriend.

Will agrees, but he’s keeping a secret. They’ll spend the summer attending weddings and family events as a couple, but he won’t let the one get away again—even if it costs him his future.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N |  Kobo
 
 

Meet the Author:

Jami Rogers writes romance novels because she loves love and wants to share her passion with the world. She published her first novel in 2015 and continues to write romance as both a Tule Publishing and Indie author.

She lives in Wyoming with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. Her husband does 90% of the cooking in their house. Not because she’s busy—she’s just simply a bad cook.