Spotlight & Giveaway: Written with Regret by Aly Martinez

Posted May 24th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 61 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Aly Martinez to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Aly and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Written with Regret!

 
Hi! *Waves* Thanks so much for having me!
 

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

Written with Regret is a roller coaster ride full of twists and turns. Successful businessman Caven Hunt finds a baby girl abandoned on his doorstep by his one-night stand. Once a reluctant father, Caven adjusts to fatherhood pretty easily. But, four years later, when the child’s mother, Hadley, comes back he’ll stop at nothing to keep he away from his daughter. Only then does he realize that they have far more in common than a child. As the past comes back to haunt them both, they must learn to cope with the pain and guilt they both still carry, all the while doing what is best for their daughter.
 

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

Despite her past, I love how strong and determined Hadley is. This really sums her up…

“For Rosalee, I would beg and plead with this man for the rest of my life, but I wasn’t going to be on my knees for him while I did it.”

 

What inspired this book?

I have tons of things that inspired me. But if I list them I will ruin alllllll the twists. HA! This is one of those books that it’s best to go in blind.

 

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

Caven was easy from the start. I wouldn’t call him a playboy by any stretch of the imagination. He had far too much baggage to be prowling for women all the time. He was a twenty-nine year old man with absolutely no intention of ever becoming a father. And yet, his daughter manages to wrap him around her finger so fast.

 

What was your favorite scene to write?

I love the scene where Caven is coming to terms with being a father. The nurse brings her in and he’s totally panicked.

“You want to hold her?” the nurse asked.
“Uhhhh…I think I’m good for now. Actually, maybe I should watch that video again.”
“Oh, come on now. This one doesn’t bite.”
With wide eyes, I swung my puzzled gaze her way. “Do some of them bite?”
Laughing softly, she scooped the baby into her arms. Then she propped it on her shoulder before whispering in her ear, “Your daddy’s funny.”
Daddy. Jesus. What the hell was happening?
“Go ahead and hop up on the bed and get comfortable. I’ll hand her to you. She just ate, so she should be snoozing for a while.”
I flashed Ian one last pleading look, suddenly hoping he had reconsidered that hundred-million-dollar offer, but his only response was a chin jerk toward the bed.
Shit. Okay. I could do this. I was a grown-ass man. She was a tiny baby. It could be worse. She could have been one of the biters.
“Should I, uh…take off my shoes or anything?”
The nurse rolled her eyes with a smile. “Just get on the bed.”
After sparing one last longing glance at the window, I climbed up.
Swear to God, my back had barely hit the upright bed before the nurse plopped that child on my chest.
Instinctively, one of my hands went to the baby’s butt and the other to the back of her head, but that was literally the only instinct I had. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I called as she started to walk away. “What am I supposed to do now?”
She grinned and shrugged. “Get to know your daughter.” As she walked to the door, she called over her shoulder, “As soon as you get that paperwork finished, I can start on getting you guys out of here. The doctor will be in to give her one last look before you leave, but give me a buzz if you need anything.”
Had it not been for the fact that I was balancing a child on my chest with both hands, I would have given her a buzz right then.
I looked to Ian. “She’s just going to leave us alone with her like that?”

 

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The prologue. It’s about a devastating mall shooting in which an eight year old girl is alone and terrified. I sobbed through the entire thing.

 

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

This is 100% a TRUE Aly Martinez catastrophic romance.

 

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

There is no right way to fall in love. It’s not always boy meets girl, fall in love, get married, have a baby. Sometimes life is the biggest obstacle for a couple.

 

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

Next up will be the long awaited FALTER from the Guardian Protection series.

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: Signed paperback of Written with Regret (INT) and $10 Amz GC

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: I love a good single dad book. Especially a daddy with his little girl. What’s your favorite trope in Romance.

 
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Excerpt from Written with Regret:

I hadn’t thought about Hadley much over the years. Not surprisingly, the cops had never found her, and if I was being honest, I didn’t care if they ever did. The fiery hate I had for that woman was only tolerable because of the way I loved our daughter. No. Strike that. My daughter. Hadley didn’t factor into any of that.
When Rosalee was three, she’d asked if Alejandra was her mommy after watching some silly cartoon on her iPad. It had broken my heart, because not only did she not have a mother, I didn’t even have an explanation for why.
The truth—Your mommy was a selfish bitch who didn’t care about anyone but herself so she abandoned you and never looked back—seemed a tad harsh for a child. So I went with a slightly gentler approach and told her, “Well, there are all kind of families in the world. Some kids have two daddies, some have two mommies, and some have a mommy and a daddy, but the extra special ones? They just have a daddy who loves them double as much.”
Alejandra had given me a disappointed scowl, which I’d strategically avoided by tickling Rosalee into exhaustion.
No. It wasn’t my finest parenting moment. One day, she’d realize that I lied and I’d have to find a way to tell her the truth. But that day could wait. Hopefully forever.
I cleared my throat and removed the necklace from the box. “No, this isn’t my mom’s. That one was lost a long time ago. I had this one made just for you. It’s identical to hers though.” I draped it around her neck, clasping it with bumbling thumbs.
“It’s so pretty,” she whispered, toying with the heart.
Dodging the crown, I kissed the side of her head. “Just like my Rosie Posie.” I walked back around to my seat. “Now, am I forgiven for being late?”
She aimed a bright, white smile my way. “Maybe. Did you remember to get the pony?”
I tipped my head to the side. “I was supposed to get a pony?”
Panic contorted her round face, which was more little girl than baby now. “Yes! You promised you’d get one for my party. I told Molly and everything.”
I abandoned the joke when her eyes started to fill with tears. “Hey, hey, hey. Relax. Of course I got the pony. She’ll be here at two, so you’ll have her to yourself for a whole hour before your friends get here.” I scooted my chair around to sit beside her and placed a donut on her plate. “Stop stressing. Okay? The party is going to be great. Molly, Ava, and Paisley are coming. Plus about fifteen other kids from your gymnastics and dance classes. We’ve got plenty of food and flowers on their way. And before you even ask, yes, you can decorate the door.”
“Did you remember the goodie bags?”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “Your faith in me is insulting. Of course I remembered the goodie bags. I personally filled them with cigars and whiskey.”
“What!”
“I’m joking. Every bag got two glow-in-the-dark bracelets, a pack of scented markers, one lip gloss, and enough candy to ensure no parent will ever allow their child to come back to our house again.”
She smiled, which made my mouth stretch too. I’d do anything for that smile—this included spending my Friday night filling two-dozen glittery, pink bags with over a hundred dollars’ worth of junk that would all be in the trash can by the end of the weekend.
“Did you get the unicorn cake?” she asked.
“Not yet. I’m supposed to pick it up at noon. I have a few more errands to run too, like picking up the balloons and ice. I texted uncle Ian though, and he’s going to come over and help you and Ale decorate. Okay?”
“Okay, but if he tries to bring Star Wars stuff, I’m not inviting him to my next party.”
I laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll be sure to warn him. Now, what do you say we stop worrying about the party and just eat our breakfast? It’s Rosie Posie Day. And on Rosie Posie Day—”
“We eat sweets,” she finished for me.
“All day long.”
She giggled, and instead of tearing into her donut, she climbed into my lap, sliding her plate over next to mine.
When she was younger, she’d insisted on sitting in my lap at every meal. Alejandra had told me that it was a bad habit to form. I didn’t mind though. I loved being close to her just as much as she loved being close to me. Over the last six months, she’d been doing it less and less, opting for her own chair at the table rather than my thigh. It was bittersweet. I missed my baby girl who needed me for everything, but I was so damn proud to see her growing up and embracing her independence.
But I didn’t care how old she got. If she wanted to crawl into my lap and eat her birthday donut every year for the rest of my life, I’d sit there, smiling like a maniac in an ugly banana tie, eating one with her.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Every little girl dreams of the fairytale. The one where the white knight rushes in to save her from the clutches of evil. They fall in love, have babies, and live happily ever after.

By that definition, my life should have been a fairytale too.

When I was eight years old, Caven Hunt saved me from the worst kind of evil to walk the Earth. It didn’t matter that I was a kid. I fell in love with him all the same.

But that was where my fairytale ended.

Years later, a one-night stand during the darkest time imaginable gave us a little girl. It was nothing compared to the pitch black that consumed me when I was forced to leave her with Caven for good.

At the end of every fairytale, the happily-ever-after is the one thing that remains consistent. It wasn’t going to be mine, but there hadn’t been a night that passed where I hadn’t prayed that it would be hers.

I owed Caven my life.
However, I owed that innocent child more.
And that included ripping the heart from my chest and facing her father again.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |

 

 

 

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61 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Written with Regret by Aly Martinez”

  3. Mary Preston

    I love them all, but a marriage of convenience story would be a great favorite.

  6. clickclickmycat

    I like friends to lovers. I also like the single dad, but he has to be a widow. Most divorced men with kids have them just to spite the mother and they have the money to do it.

  10. laurieg72

    My favorite romance trope is marriage of convenience. People thrown together for their personal reasons. They end up working and living together. Over time their feelings change and respect turns into attraction and then chemistry takes over leading to a HEA.. It fits so many different scenarios and time periods.

  13. Jennifer Shiflett

    It changes depending on my mood, but my top three are single parent, enemies to lovers, and second chance.

    • Mel Bowers

      Single parent – friends to lovers as many moons ago I was a single mum

  15. Courtney Kinder

    My favorite trope is enemies to lovers, but I do love single dad also. Sounds like a great read! Thank you!!

  18. joab4424

    I like single dad romances the most, especially when it’s a surprise baby. But I also like the friends to lovers trope.

  22. HEATHER SCULLY

    I do live single daddies. I actually love one now IRL. Lol But I also love enemies to lovers as a trope, or anything forbidden, because the chemistry tends to be so explosive with such strong feelings at play. ❤

  25. Colleen C.

    Love single dad books… also love secret baby, amnesia, and mistaken identity

  40. erinf1

    I love enemies to lovers – that dawning horror that they like each other 🙂 thanks for sharing!

  46. Pamela Conway

    I enjoy many & it depends on the author & story. Book sounds good!

  57. Celeste HERRIN

    I really like enemies to lovers. I love your takeaway on this book that there is no right way to fall in love!