Spotlight & Giveaway: All We Were by Elisabeth Grace & Michelle Lynn

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome authors Elisabeth Grace & Michelle Lynn to HJ!

Hi Elisabeth & Michelle and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, All We Were!

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

This books is the first book in an angsty contemporary romance about a set of characters who come from a difficult past–one of whom is able to beyond their past tragedies and the other who isn’t.

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

We like this one because it sums their story up in this book pretty well: “Sometimes I think I love you as much as I hate you.”

What inspired this book?

The idea for this book first took root when El heard Charlie Puth’s song Attention in the car one day.

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

We flesh out the characters between the two of us pretty well before we even begin writing. In this case we had the idea for the book about a year before we started writing it so we knew them pretty well by then so there weren’t many surprises.

What was your favorite scene to write?

There’s a part in the book where one of the characters makes a big change. That was a satisfying scene to write after everything that had happened up to that point.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

I wish I could share the details, but for spoiler reasons I can’t. But for those who read the book it will likely be pretty obvious.

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

We also write together as Piper Rayne and under that pen name we write strictly rom coms. Anything we write under our own names has more angst to it and heavier topics overall. I think the writing style is pretty similar in both instances but the subject matter and level of emotional turmoil is a departure from what we’ve been doing the past couple of years, but more reminiscent of what we did on our own before we began writing as Piper.

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

We’re currently wrapping up the second book in this duet, All We Are which releases on April 25th.

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

We’re currently wrapping up the second book in this duet, All We Are which releases on April 25th.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Signed Paperback of ALL WE WERE (The Ex-Factor Duet) by Elisabeth Grace & Michelle Lynn

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Excerpt from All We Were:

Chapter One
Jimmy
Newspapers slam down in front of me, one after the other, sending loud thumping sounds throughout the silent conference room.
My elbows rest on the boardroom table, fingers threaded through my dark hair, eyes squeezed shut so I don’t have to read what’s printed. A quick internet search of my name this morning told me all I need to know.
“HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN BOY IN BAR BRAWL!”
“THE REGULATOR DOES BAD!”
“THIS IS OUR NEXT SUPERHERO BOX OFFICE STAR?”
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Bernie glares at me from the end of the long mahogany table, leaving the papers in front of me like a grenade with the pin pulled.
I blow out a sigh and glance at him. His white polo shirt stretches over his protruding belly and his slacks are creased at his groin. It’s obvious my actor-behaving-badly stunt pulled him away from his early morning tee time.
He’s the head of the movie studio. People probably call him for permission to take a shit. So when one of his up-and-coming stars has a run-in that makes the press, he’s the first to get the call.
His beet-red face and the slightly crazy, enraged look in his eye makes me wonder if I’ll recover from this fuck-up. Maybe the grenade with the pin out is my career, not the papers.
“The other guy swung first. What the hell was I supposed to do?” I argue.
My agent, Keane, clears his throat next to me. It’s a warning not to poke the bear, but it’s too late for that.
They couldn’t squeeze any more bodies in this room if they tried. My agent, my publicist, the studio’s PR reps, the director of my next film, and Bernie. The only one missing is my manager, and that’s only because she’s fixing someone else’s screw-up. Time is crucial. We have to figure out our plan of attack about the mess I created.
“What’s the media’s take on what happened?” Bernie directs his question to his PR goons.
The middle-aged woman with a few streaks of grey in her hair speaks first. “Most aren’t sure what to think. A couple of the blogs have picked up on the fact that Lilah Robbie was there and are speculating that the fight probably had something to do with her.”
Everyone in the room looks at me for confirmation. I sit silently, not wanting the reaction that’ll come if I agree with the woman across from me.
“Why don’t you tell us exactly what happened, and we can figure out a way to spin it in your favor?” Kyra says in a reassuring tone. At least my own PR rep is on my side.
“It’s pretty simple. A group of us went out last night and some guy was bothering Lilah.”
Groans and sighs commence around the table, but I continue anyway.
“He didn’t much care for when I asked him to leave her alone and threw a punch at me.” I lean back in my seat with my arms folded over my chest.
Everyone waits for Bernie’s response. Of course they do. His word is like a messiah’s in Tinsel Town.
“Let me guess,” he says, leaning in, palms flat on the table and spearing me with his gaze. “What you mean is that Lilah was high as a kite or shit-faced drunk, shaking that tight ass of hers on the dance floor, and some guy came on to her. You decided to act like her daddy and intervene.”
God, I hate this guy. He’s such a dick. But he’s a dick who holds the power to end my career with one phone call.
“Should I have just watched while some douchebag took advantage of her?” I ask, trying unsuccessfully to keep the bite from my tone.
“What you should do is stay the fuck away from her! She’s going to drag you down with her.” Bernie loses the last of his composure, and all eyes fall to the table.
I chew the inside of my cheek and fist my hands to control my temper. I can’t help my impulse to protect Lilah. It’s an automatic response whenever someone tries to take advantage of her. The need is practically ingrained in my DNA.
“Look, I’ll issue an apology, and by tomorrow, the press will be on to someone else’s mistake,” I say.
“I have a better idea,” the other PR person for the studio says. We’ve met before. I think his name is Jake or something. “Why don’t we issue a statement saying that James saw someone taking advantage of a drunk patron in the bar and intervened on her behalf? That way we’re painting him as the hero rather than an instigator.”
There’re a few rumblings around the table while they confer.
“What if the press asks if the patron in question was Lilah?” Keane asks.
“We redirect. Say we want to maintain the individual’s privacy, that it doesn’t matter what the woman’s name was because she represents all the women in this country who have to put up with unwanted attention from the other sex.” Jake’s an intelligent guy. Why does he work for Bernie?
“That might work,” the female PR rep for the studio says.
We all turn our heads in Bernie’s direction. His chest is heaving, and he looks as if he’s trying to rein in his temper.
“Fine,” he says. “Let James’s PR people release the statement.”
I hate when they talk about me as though I’m not in the room, but I realized a long time ago that all I am to them is a fucking means to an end, the end being profit in their pockets.
“Any more shit like this and I don’t care whether you’ve known her since you were sucking on your mom’s tit. You’re gonna cut all ties if you want to stay on this movie.” Bernie points at me as if I’m a child.
Staying silent goes against everything in me, because I will never cut her out, but I have no choice, so I nod. Lilah will always be in my life. She’s my best friend and I love her, but it’s more than that. We’re… well, we’re complicated.
“I’m serious, James,” Bernie drones on. “This reboot is a big deal. I can’t have The Regulator in the headlines for being on the wrong side of the law.”
I push back from the table and stand. “It won’t happen again.”
Without another word, I leave the room. I’m pissed off and I don’t even know at whom. Myself for getting in the fight in the first place? Lilah for once again putting herself into a situation I needed to get her out of? Bernie for trying to dictate how I live my life? Who knows. But right now, I’m pissed off at the world and need to get the hell out of here before I say something and spur one of Bernie’s legendary tantrums.
I exit the building and the Los Angeles sunshine beats down on my head. I squint until my eyes adjust.
As soon as I’m in my car, I dial Lilah’s number. She doesn’t pick up, so I dial it again then fire off a text, asking where she’s at. When I don’t get an answer, I toss my phone on the leather passenger seat, trying my best to ignore the steady and constant worry that pricks at the back of my neck like a tattoo needle.
The responsible thing to do would be to go home and sleep. I was up late last night, and tomorrow is my first costume fitting for the movie that starts shooting next month. I shouldn’t chance the paps clicking a photo with Lilah and me.
Leaving the parking lot, instead of turning left to head to my place, I turn right.
Screw Bernie. Screw his reps. Screw my people.
Lilah comes first.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Will I ever stop hurting the one person who’s never hurt me?

I’ve done things I can never undo.
No matter how much I wish I could, sometimes the wounds I inflict are too deep, too catastrophic, too septic to heal.
As I look into the eyes of the only man I’ve ever loved I know I’ve gone too far. I’ve finally crossed the line.
Even if he knew my reason for doing this, he’d never forgive me.
He always puts my needs before his own.
Now it’s my turn to protect him.
None of that matters though because the betrayal and disgust in his eyes comes from deep within his soul. There’s no coming back from this.
He will forever be tormented by what he’s seen, and he will never forgive me.
The last fragment of my heart to hold out hope that we’d share a future, withers and dies.

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42977859-all-we-were
 
 

Meet the Author:

ABOUT ELISABETH GRACE:
USA Today Bestselling author, Elisabeth Grace, has a soft spot for romance novels with happily ever afters and a hot spot for alpha males! She currently lives outside Toronto, Canada with her hubby and two small children. Life is busy, but never too busy for a good story and to share her love of reading and writing with others.

For more of the lowdown feel free to visit her author website at http://www.Elisabeth-Grace.com
 
ABOUT MICHELLE LYNN:
Michelle moved around the Midwest most of her life, transferring from school to school before settling down in the outskirts of Chicago ten years ago, where she now resides with her husband and two kids. 

She loves all thing romance and cries at happy endings! 

Visit her at www.michellelynnbooks.com