Spotlight & Giveaway: Unexpected Expectations by Lauren Helms

Posted August 21st, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 51 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Lauren Helms to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Lauren and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Unexpected Expectations!

 
Hello!! I’m sooooo excited to be here today!
 

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

What started as a $10 raffle ticket turned into a vacation in Vegas and a whole lot of expectations that Kevin & Lucy didn’t see coming. After all, 425 Madison is the perfect place to fall in love. #LuckyPenny
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The sound of the phone in front of me gives me pause for a moment. Even though the caller on the line won’t be able to see me, I plaster a smile on my face, take a quick breath and pick it up. My smile isn’t fake when I answer, but it grows as I glance at the Caller ID and see it’s one of my favorite residents.
“Concierge desk, Lucy speaking, how can I help you this evening, Mrs. Jenkins.” My tone is light and genuine.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • I knew Kevin had to have a super interesting story when I first wrote him in his brother’s book, Boyfriend Maintenance.
  • Lucy’s take on lucky pennies is the same as my own. If you find a penny and it’s not headed up, flip it over and leave some good luck for another.
  • My husband tells people that I leave cookies or sweets on the plate with bites taken out of them. TOTALLY not true, I always break them in half and leave the other half for later. So I thought it was a great “bad habit” for Lucy to have that drives Kevin nuts.
  • I’ve never actually been to Vegas so I did a lot of research. Let’s just say I already have my Vegas vacation planned.
  • My mom used the term “Love Glove” in a family Marco Polo back when I was writing this story so I knew I had to use the term in my book. It in fit perfectly as something Kevin would say in the heat of the moment.

 

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

Kevin loves how happy and friendly she is. He mentions early on in the story how he doesn’t believe that she can be grumpy, only sunny and smiley.
 

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

Fun, exciting, unexpected, impassioned, & strenuous.
 

The First Kiss…

Kevin is saying goodnight to Lucy after their first, real date. It’s sweet but also full of passion. They’ve both had a thing for each other for a while, so the force is strong between the two.

“I don’t give him the chance to reply before I push up onto my toes and kiss him. As our lips touch, and it feels as if a fire was lit between us. I kiss him again, and it’s all he can take before taking control.
A low growl emits from his throat as he pulls me into him. Dropping my hand for the first time since we left the restaurant, his fingers plunge into my hair. The kiss quickly turns into molten-hot passion, and his lips on mine were now my favorite thing in the world.”

 

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

The morning after…
They are in Vegas, their lives have just changed forever and they wake up and have to face the music. I love this scene because it came together so effortlessly. It’s by far my favorite scene between Kevin and Lucy.

I palm a full, heavy breast, and it’s glorious. Attempting to open my eyes again only proves that I need an Advil stat. If I’ve got any chance of scoring again, I want to be able to enjoy it.
Lucy stirs next to me, a soft moan, and her body shifts under my hand. I give her a good squeeze with as much pressure as I can muster.
“Argh. Where the fuck is that light coming from? Turn it off. Turn it off now.” Her voice is raspy with sleep and damn if it didn’t just give my dick another reason to wake all the way up.
“It’s outside. The light. Have to get up and close the curtains to get rid of it. I can’t. Move. Right. Now,” I groan my broken words.
“Because you are groping me? My boob will still be here when you get back.” She buries her face into the pillow, her next words muffled, “Why do I feel like death?”
“Because we clearly died. What the hell happened last night?” I question as I try to mentally and physically psych myself up to get up and close the blinds.

 

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

The night they win big in Vegas for sure, and of course, the morning after (the scene I love so much).

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Lucy, you fucking won 28 million fucking dollars,” Kevin is laughing and yelling. Tears well up in my eyes and threaten to spill over. He turns me in his arms, so we are face to face.
“Baby, you just fucking won. This is fire. You are fucking fire!” He’s ecstatic, and then my tears splash onto my cheeks. There is a crowd gathering around us, but I can only see Kevin.
“Why are you crying, Lucy girl? You just became a millionaire.” He cups my cheeks, wiping away my tears.
“I’m in shock. I can’t believe this just happened,” I stammer.
 
He leans in and kisses me. “Well believe it, baby.”

 

Readers should read this book …

If you love rags to riches romance. Also, if you love seeing a hero work his ass off to fix his mistakes with his lover.

 

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

I’m writing in the Cocky Hero Club world, so I’m getting ready to start writing my book, Cocky Gamer.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: $10 Amazon gift card + digital copy of Boyfriend Maintenance (my first book in the 425 Madison Ave series)

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you won a million dollars, what would you do first?
(Pretend you’ve already been smart and hired an accountant or financial planner!)

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Unexpected Expectations:

“It’s just a notebook, not a dairy. And for the record, if I kept a dairy, it would not be something I flashed around in public. That would be locked up tight in the top drawer of my nightstand in my room,” I deadpan. He chuckles.
I take a drink of my water, and then explain my obsession with note-taking. He nods and smiles as if he finds the whole thing entertaining.
“So you create bucket lists?” he asks.
“No, not exactly. Lists, yes. Notes, all the time. I don’t have some grand list of big experiences I want to accomplish, which by my definition is a bucket list,” I tell him.
“Alright, let’s see it.” He reaches his hand out over the table before us. Our food hasn’t come yet, so what the heck. I turn and dig it out of my purse.
His fingers brush mine as I hand him the tiny notebook. A zing of heat courses through my fingertips up my arm. I pull my eyes away from where our fingers meet and see a flash of heat in his eyes. He feels it too. He smirks as he takes the notebook, opening it up to a random page.
I briefly think about anything that could be embarrassing but decide it doesn’t matter. This will either scare him away or not. I hope he sticks around.
“Hmm,” he says to himself. His face scrunches. “Is this a menu for Thanksgiving?” He looks up at me, and laughter dances across his features.
I blush. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I clear my throat. “Yeah, someday, I’m going to host a big Thanksgiving dinner, and that’s what I’m going to make.”
“Alright, fair enough.” He flips a few more pages. Nodding, a chuckle here and there. He’s going back and forth, taking it all in.
“Do you have a pen?” He puts out his hand again.
Taken back, I lean back in my seat, “Of course I have a pen.” Without masking the disdain on my face, I turn to fetch my favorite pen. A deep belly laugh falls from his lips and heat pools between my thighs.
Wordlessly, I hand him my pen. He takes it, sure to graze my palm with his fingers this time. “I’m sorry, Luce, I didn’t mean to offend you. Of course you’d have a pen.”
I nod. He flips to the next blank page and jots something at the top. A header to match my others. “What are you doing?” Excitement surges within that he’s adding his own flair to my pages.
“We are starting our own list.” He lifts it up so I can read his slanted, messy scrawl.

How to Spend Our $5,000 Raffle Winnings
I read it again, my brows pinching. “I don’t understand.”
“When we win that raffle from that lady at 425, we need to have a plan on how we are going to spend the money.” He turns the notebook back toward him, sitting it down, readies or readying his pen.
“Alright. 5K is a lot, but it won’t go that far. We can have some fun, but not get into too much trouble with it.” He studies me. “How are we going to spend it?”
Okay, I dig this game. He seems to get some of the reasoning behind my notes and lists. I tap my lip, thinking. If I suddenly had that kind of fun money. Which honestly, I don’t remember a time I had money that I could just have some fun with. And idea pops in my head, and I don’t even think twice before sharing it.
“Vegas. We should go to Vegas.” My smile is huge, I know.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that, but I dig it. Vegas it is.” His surprised expression fades into excitement as he scribbles it down. “I say we get a suite, not just a hotel room.”
“Yeah, let’s just go all out, we gotta stay in a casino. There has to be a breakfast buffet too.”
“When you say “all out” do you mean, like, Hangover style? Tiger and all?”
I giggle. “No, not that far. Let’s just say experience Vegas like normal people.”
“Fair enough.” He looks up right as our food arrives.
We continue to talk about all the things we would want to do in Vegas if we went. The whole idea of running away to Vegas on a whim both excites me and makes me nervous. I don’t know Kevin well, but I want to get to know him. The idea of a getaway with just the two of us strikes an invisible match deep under my skin.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Kevin
With everyone around me settling down, I’m happy to continue living my life single and carefree.
That is unless I can convince the concierge, Lucy Wilson at 425 Madison to finally take me up on that offer to go out on a date.

She’s beautiful, friendly, and her compassion for each and every one of the residents is admirable. Something tells me that she doesn’t see herself that way at all though.

This is why I’ve made it my mission to break her out of her overly cautious shell starting with a lucky penny and a $10 raffle ticket.

It was all supposed to be a little fun but when a large dose of lucky graces us, everything suddenly becomes unexpected.

Lucy
He thinks I don’t see him, but I do. Oh yes, I’ve been aware of the all too good looking Kevin Harper for quite some time now.

The thing is, I’m not sure that we have enough in common and I sure don’t have the free time for a social life between my job and school. Dating? That’s pretty far down on the list of things I’d like to check off – not by choice.

That is until Kevin convinces me that a little fun is good for the soul.

What started as a $10 raffle ticket turned into a vacation in Vegas and a whole lot of expectations that neither of us saw coming.

I always believed in fairy tales, but I wonder if what we have is too good to be true. I can only hope that it’s true what they say…

After all, 425 Madison is the perfect place to fall in love.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Lauren Helms is a romance author her nerdy and flirty contemporary words. Lauren has forever been an avid reader from the beginning. After starting a book review website, that catapulted her fully into the book world, she knew that something was missing. While working for a video game strategy guide publisher, she decided to mix what she knew best–video games and romance. She decided to take the plunge and write her first novel, Level Me Up. Several published novels later, Lauren, with her book bestie, also formed PR company, Forever Write PR, to help other authors promote their books.

Lauren lives in Indianapolis, Indiana sharing her love of books and video games with her own Gamer Boy husband and three little kid nerds who will hopefully grow up to share the love of things that united Lauren and her husband on their own happily ever after.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | | Instagram |

 
 
 

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51 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Unexpected Expectations by Lauren Helms”

  1. Lilah Chavez

    Definitely a house, with some land attached that way my dogs have all the room to play.

  3. Jeanna Massman

    I would build a house for my daughter and her family with a swimming pool.

  4. Mary Preston

    I would buy my dream house on the coast. Can’t think of travel just yet.

  5. Sonia

    I would invest in stocks and they buy a nice quiet property on the outskirts of town.

  11. Mya Murphy

    I would move.. I’m in New Jersey..high taxes, pollution.. No brainer.

  13. Didi

    Buy a modest but cozy house with yard and eco car. I’d save the rest for emergency fund. 😉

  16. Karina Angeles

    Travel. I’d take a tour of Scotland, Ireland, and England, visit the hot springs in New Zealand, and eat at a little cafe in Italy.

  18. Rita Wray

    I would meet with my two children and pay all their bills and payoff their houses.

  21. SusieQ

    I would take a trip around the world (assuming Covid-19 was under control).

  22. Pammie R.

    Pay off bills. Buy a nice RV and head for parts unknown for a few months. Invest some. Clean house.

  24. Kathleen Bylsma

    Set up a reunion with ALL my family! We’ve not been all together for years and there are so many of the babies I’ve not meet, nor the spouses….

  26. Joy Avery

    Replace both my husband and my cars since we only have one working between us right now.

  36. Glenda M

    Pay off all my bills, set up trusts (as no doubt recomended by my financial advisor and tax lawyer), make some key donations – mostly to animal rescues and charities, and finally take a vacation.

  39. Anita H.

    I would be looking for a new house if I ever come into a million dollars!

  42. [email protected]

    Love your cover .Can’t wait for that book.If I won I would buy a small house ,New car or truck.My son ,daughter and granddaughter a new car .Set aside money for my 2 great granddaughters.Go on a road trip and see all of the United states.Then I would buy a book store .

  45. Ellen C.

    Fix up our house and do something for family. Invest the rest for retirement.

  48. susan atkins

    If I won a million dollars I would get a good financial advisor and then I would change my phone number

  50. EC

    After the important stuff in my eyes, I think it would be something small, like maybe a new electronic device.