Spotlight & Giveaway: Trading Places by Emily Duvall

Posted September 29th, 2023 by in Blog, Spotlight / 40 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Emily Duvall to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Emily Duvall and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Trading Places!

 
Check out fun facts about my new Rom Com!
 

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

10 Things I Hate About You meets the eighties comedy Trading Places when a socialite and a blue-collar mechanic trade lives.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Here’s how things stand.
No one’s puked yet. The group of influencers do their thing in pink lace lingerie. Some lap sitting is involved. Tight skin with some boob showing does the trick in the face of distinguished men and open shirt collars.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • This book took me down a few research rabbit holes! In searching for the ultimate, expensive shower, I stumbled across something known as a “horizontal shower.” Soon as I came across this image, Lexi’s bathroom was complete. This outlandish bathroom accessory was the piece I needed to rub practical, cheap Evan the wrong way.
  • Evan’s grumpy about cat ownership, but has a gray fluffy beast named Bowser he puts up with for his niece he’s raising. The real inspiration for Bowser came from Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros., a game connecting back to my youth. I loved the idea of inserting a little bit of old school into Evan using a video game the rest of the world knows about, but that Lexi was “too cool” to ever play.
  • Lexi and Evan attend a function at the Hillwood Estate. This gorgeous museum and gardens is a real place in their neighboring Washington D.C. The home used to belong to the real-life socialite and philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post.
  • There are actual listings on Craigslist for people interested in doing house swaps, very similar to life swaps, but yes, it’s a real thing.
  • Social media is considered a side character in Lexi and Evan’s story. This was done on purpose. Their bet is public, which meant it was important to keep their followers in the mix.

 

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Ahh, yes, first looks and attraction hooks. Lexi and Evan are more like hate at first sight. Lexi is spoiled and lives an unstructured life while Evan is set in his ways and a rule-follower. They make plenty of wrong assumptions about each other which gets in the way of their underlying attraction. But when they start to see the other from a different point of view their mutual dislike melts into heart-stopping, sizzling need.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Slow-burning, teasing, steamy, sweet, & vulnerable
 

The First Kiss…

Is one of my favorite scenes in this book! I am a sucker for swoon-worthy, “first kiss” moments. Lexi and Evan reach a boiling point with their lack of getting along, and their moment keeps building and building until they just go for it in a small space and neither plan for it.
 

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

Quick scene set-up. This is a special moment between Lexi and Evan’s twelve-year-old niece, CeCe. They are hanging out, just the two of them, and Lexi is caught up in the moment, giving her POV.

We’ve been at it for an hour, first each of us walking around one another on eggshells and then, joking freely and making comments. After a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries and an assortment of tiny pastries, CeCe eases into it all. Shy at first, then beautiful, with awkward limbs yet to settle into a deeper graciousness. The depth of her struggles is reflected in her eyes, but she is a good kid, has a good sense of herself all because of Evan.

Does he know how good he is with her?

He must have sacrificed everything to get her to this point. My gut wrenches as I compare our lives. My cheeks turn cool. Evan will never get his twenties back. I can’t shake the thought and shrink like a flower after the sun goes down. Could I ever be there for someone like Evan is for her?

 

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

I can’t say too much without giving this away, but this idea was with me in the very first draft. It involves Evan doing something very fish-out-of-water. This is from his POV.

She [Lexi] gives a halfhearted eye roll and leads me to follow the receptionist. This place has too many closed doors and secretive music. The room we’re shown to is spacious, with windows overlooking the city. Oversized leather chairs are set up like the massage chairs in the mall. Staff wearing all black work from stools at the base of small foot tubs.

 

Readers should read this book …

If they want something different, to be entertained with a story which is meant to be a ride with unexpected twists, turns, and a whole lot of heart.

 

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

I don’t have a new release planned at the moment, but I am working on another romantic comedy.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: $10 Amazon gift card!

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Ooh, yes! If you could swap lives with someone for eight weeks, who would you pick?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Trading Places:

There’s a surprising amount of waiting around. When they finally arrive, the pair of officers get out of their vehicle and walk over to us, assessing the accident. The guy I hit is next to me. My side-eyed glance roams up his shoulder, curious to get another look. He catches me staring, and I turn my focus to my Audi’s crumpled hood.

“Good evening, folks.” The officer headed in our direction has a clipboard tucked beneath his arm. His partner stays back doing another walk around the cars. “Is anyone hurt?”

The other driver clicks his phone, getting the last picture. “No one’s hurt,” he says without asking me. My hand rubs the back of my neck from the sting of whiplash. “She ran a red light.”

“He didn’t move on green.” The impact happened so fast and this guy is quick to throw me under the bus, inspiring me to ramp things up with a healthy dose of self-protectiveness.

The officer holds up a firm hand. He gives me his attention. “Move your cars out of the lane of traffic, then we’ll talk.”

Maneuvering in heels around the broken headlights, I get in my car and turn on the engine. Assuming the driver is going to pull ahead, I step on the gas, but he backs up. I lay on the horn as his bumper hits my car and he jerks around in his seat. I press the horn. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

We both pull our cars over to the side without further incident and barrel out, trying to reach the officers first. I better get there before this jerk can lie about what happened. “I’ll start with you.” At least there’s one gentleman. Ladies first, thank you. “I’ll need your driver’s license—”

“Excuse me, officer?” The rough voice behind has me angling my head to his face as he moves to stand next to me. “Here’s my info.” He lowers his gaze to mine. I was wrong about his eye color. They aren’t run-of-the mill green. Struck by the evening light, they showcase green the color of a forest grove, with long inky black eyelashes. Eyes watching me with a gleam of I beat you to it. His jaw is gloriously firm and the layer of stubble solidifies his need for a shave. My nose turns up at his scraggly ponytail.

I step in front of him, accidentally wobbling on my heel. A firm hand presses on my lower back, steadying me and disappearing. To my annoyance, the officer takes his license first. “You’re Evan Bailey?”

“Yes,” Evan responds, turning his back to me like I might steal his identity. He flashes a disgruntled but boyish look over his shoulder. “Could you step aside?”

I move away, staring at his back. The name Evan suits him. He’s blunt in a way I’m not used to from the men in my circles. He’s not showing the slightest bit of chivalry. We might be ten seconds into our dislike for each other, but I pick up on his habit of rubbing his hand under his jaw. Guess I will wait until Evan’s done and be ready with a glare each time he nonchalantly looks over his shoulder at me.

The officer ignores my impatient sighs. I need to check how many people shared my money-throwing video, because it has to be more than the ones sharing my humiliation. A month later, the officer finally turns to me. “Ma’am? You’re next.” He collects what he needs.

When it looks like we are near the end of the fender bender fiasco, I order an Uber with a dispassionate sigh. Are there really no luxury options available? “I’ll come back for my car another day.”

“Ahem.” Evan clears his throat and points to the street sign directly in front of my car.

No Parking Saturday 8:00 p.m. – Monday 8:00 a.m.

My shoulders sag. Damn the city’s parking rules.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

From the outside looking in, socialite Lexi North’s life looks decadently perfect, right down to her diamond-dusted nails. But you know what they say about glass houses… When one night goes horribly wrong―with the whole world watching―she’s challenged to swap lives with the salty, albeit gorgeous, man she rear-ends with her car.

For mechanic Evan Bailey, life is definitely not a party. There’s no “daddy’s credit card” for fixing up his family’s auto shop, raising his too-precocious-for-anyone’s-good niece, and getting his accounts from deep in the red to black. Which is precisely when opportunity―and celebutante Lexi North―smashes into his life.

But what should have been an easy bet gets a whole lot harder with the inexplicably hot chemistry between them. Now the only way for either of them to get what they want is to go for broke…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Emily Duvall is an award-winning contemporary romance author with a soft spot for cranky, stubborn heroes and heroines who have it all figured out until they don’t. She’s a West Coast girl at heart married to her East Coast husband and has two children who love to hover around her computer the moment she sets out to write.
Website | Facebook | Instagram |

 
 
 

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40 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Trading Places by Emily Duvall”

  3. Mary Preston

    I’m the same. There is no one I would want to swap with. My life is my own and made to my liking.

  4. Latesha B.

    I’d like to trade places with someone really smart and make a discovery that is helpful to the world.

  5. Nicky Ortiz

    I’m not sure but I wouldn’t want anyone living in my body.
    Thanks for the chance!

  7. Jeanna Massman

    I think I would like to change places with the last winner of the lottery!

  10. Janine

    I don’t know who it would be, but it would be someone who gets to travel. I just want to take a vacation.

  13. Pat Lieberman

    Again having a problem posting. Hope this one goes thru. I would not like to change places.

  15. Pamela Conway

    I don’t know, maybe someone who travels a lot so I’d get to visit some different places.

  17. Sue G.

    I’d trade with Taylor Swift. First….tall and thin! Second because she is seeing Travis Kelce. Not only is he good looking, but he’s also from my hometown!

  20. Daniel M

    nope, what would that person do to your life when you return? asking for disaster

    • Shannon Capelle

      Id have to say my daughter who works in a bakery its been my dream!

  24. SusieQ

    Taylor Swift. She’s young, wealthy, talented and currently dating a hot football player.

  26. Glenda M

    Can I swap during the summer with someone who lives in a place where temps aren’t over 100F every day but it is nice enough to do things outside?? Maybe Scotland or Ireland? Oh I’d have to be able to take my animals and hubby so that’s probably a deal breaker. LOL

  27. Amy R

    If you could swap lives with someone for eight weeks, who would you pick? Someone taking a luxury European trip

  29. Joye

    I have been trading places with someone all my life-my twin sister. Too involved to relate all the story about the first time we pretended we were the other and fooled our dates! Needless to say it was a disaster. We kept forgetting to be the other person. Had those 2 college guys soooo confused.
    Not a good idea to be someone you are not. Besides each one of us is unique in being oneself.

  33. Pammie R.

    Someone who has money. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but enough that if they need/want something, I could buy it. Also that person has to be nice enough to not go nuclear on my life.

  34. Patricia B.

    I would like to trade places with a travel writer. I would go to all the places in my bucket list and write the articles about them with tips for travelers who have physical restrictions but still want to get around and see what they can.

  37. Janie McGaugh

    Maybe my younger self to make different decisions but, otherwise, no one.