Romantic suspense novelist, Jessica Lauryn, returns to "Open Mic Monday" with a DANGEROUS PROPOSITION...and a giveaway of a beautiful bracelet (see picture below post). Yeah, that's right--fun post, great excerpt AND bling! It's your lucky day. Welcome, Jessica!
The heroes in my past
releases—Alec and Lucas—have already begun to let go of their appetites for
power as their stories begin. Alec Westwood, now a small-town doctor as
Dangerous Proposal kicks off, has been fighting to step out of the shadow of
his overbearing, older brother Colin for most of his life. At nineteen,
in an attempt to show Colin up once and for all, Alec accepts an assassin
mission, which he runs from before completing the kill. Lucas Ramone,
hero in Dangerous Ally and former villain in some of my other stories, has been
living in isolation for years, and consequently has had a long opportunity to
let go of his appetite for power before his book begins.
Now, let’s look at Colin
Westwood, Alec’s older brother and Lucas’s former partner, hero in my latest
release, Dangerous Proposition. Unlike his predecessors, Colin’s appetite
for power is at its peak when his story begins. He is now the sole chief
operator of the series’ core focus group, Project Gemstone. And upon
learning that one of his top recruits is missing in action, he keeps all
knowledge and leads regarding his whereabouts to himself, even when the man’s
daughter, heroine Julia Dyson enters the picture. Julia suspects that
Colin is sitting on something big, but Colin doesn’t falter, no matter how
attractive he thinks she is. He refuses to tell Julia the truth, and
instead, makes her an offer that he believes will satisfy her curiosity (and
his desires) while keeping all of the cards in his hands. He asks Julia
to come to New York with him, and search for her missing father—as his
mistress.
According to the
Wikipedia, in politics and social science, power is the ability to influence
the behavior of people. This definition makes perfect sense, when you
think about it. In everything we do, there is a power structure in
place—in business, in government, in family dynamics, in life. It is no
wonder that is it so tempting to heroes—and heroines—to try and amass as much power
as they can. And it is often very interesting to see how a person, or
character, will deal with their obsession for power when they are hit on the
head by one of life’s greatest curve balls—finding true love.
Since love is the central
theme in all of our romance novels, there must be an equally (or almost
equally) opposing force to challenge it. We writers often refer to that
force as conflict. Conflict (which is synonymous with antagonism or
opposition) is what sustains the plot of the romance novels we love, by
presenting our characters, namely the hero and heroine, with challenges they
will have to overcome before they can live happily ever after. Conflict
is often internal as well as external, and it is more than likely that on some
level, internal conflict will have something to do with a character’s personal
struggle for power.
Sometimes a character may
struggle with re-establishing power over their own life, like Lena Benson,
heroine in Dangerous Proposal, who struggles to remain hidden from her maniacal
fiancé. Other times, like with Colin Westwood, they are trying to
maintain their own power, as well as establish power over others. Or, as
is the case with Raphael Ramone, (villain in Dangerous Ally) and other
villains/former villains, they may be trying to amass as much power as
possible, and establish it over everything and everyone they cross.
The quest for power is one
that will probably never be satisfied—in books or in real life—no matter how
much time passes. But fortunately for those of us who love romance, this
theme provides us with an endless variety of stories to tell and enjoy.
After all, what could be more satisfying than reading about a hero who faces
his demons, conquers them, and gains the true love he has been unknowingly
seeking all along?
Excerpt:
As he stepped into the hotel elevator, Colin
loosened his hold on Julia. She was clearly terrified, but he didn’t suppose he
was going to help her any by crushing her to death. Wincing at the sight of her
tearstained face, he pressed the button for the second floor.
The elevator doors closed and he retightened
his hold on her. He stroked her back, which was the same thing he had been
doing for most of the ride there.
He sincerely hoped it was helping. Julia had
stopped shaking, but her lack of chatter indicated that she was still very much
in shock. Though he imagined any woman would have been in shock, had she just
been held in a room against her will.
Only, Julia Dyson wasn’t any woman. She was as
courageous and headstrong a person as he had ever known. Which was why it was
worrying him so much that she hadn’t yet snapped out of her trance.
Maybe Dylan Rossler had done something to her.
Maybe the bastard had hurt her, or worse, maybe he’d taken her against her
will. So help that prick if he had touched one hair on Julia’s head…
Keeping Julia firmly within the groove of his
arm, Colin stepped inside the hotel room and flicked on the light switch. After
shutting the door, he double-bolted it behind them.
Short of a pale complexion, Julia didn’t appear
to be injured. At least, it didn’t look as though she had any bruises. But he
knew he wouldn’t feel better until he saw this for himself. Though it was
completely unethical, he had half a mind to give her a physical. And if he
actually believed he could perform one on her and control himself, he would do
just that.
He led a trembling Julia to the bed. Looking
into her tearful eyes, he knelt beside her, cupping her cheek. It killed him
seeing her like this, killed him even more knowing that he was completely to
blame.
Speaking as gently as he could manage, he said,
“You’re safe now. It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re safe. I’m right here—no
one’s coming after us. No one’s going to hurt you ever again.”
Julia nodded, but she said nothing, causing him
to have a horrifying realization. Maybe something had happened between
her and Dylan Rossler in that room. She’d been dressed when he found her, but
that didn’t mean she hadn’t put her clothes back on afterward, or that Rossler
had bothered to remove them at all.
Feeling as though he were on the brink of an
explosion, Colin said, “Did that guy—I mean—Dylan Rossler didn’t…you and he
didn’t—”
“Of course not! Holy crap, Westwood. What kind
of girl do you think I am?”
“One who clearly has a death wish,” Colin
muttered under his breath.
“Me?” Julia exclaimed. “I went over there to
save your ass. Not the other way around.”
“Which you were obviously doing a phenomenal
job with while you were locked inside that bedroom.”
Her chin squared. “You may have been the one to
kick the door down, but I would have gotten out of that room with or without
your help.”
“If you really believe that, Julia, then you
really are naïve. Do you realize what Dylan Rossler would have done if I hadn’t
gotten there when I did? Allow me to clue you in, since you’re obviously not
aware. Because it’s the same thing every other red-blooded bastard at that
party wanted to do to you!”
“You mean”—she bit her lip—“that he—”
“Was planning on having sex with you? Of
course, Julia. Of course those guys thought you were sexy, of course Dylan
Rossler wanted to have sex with you! I’m not blind. I can see what’s
right in front of me. Any man at that party who didn’t want you was either gay
or in a drunken coma!”
Her blue eyes narrowed, and Colin bit his
tongue. He hadn’t intended to say all that out loud. Hadn’t intended to say any
of it, in fact. But he was glad it had happened because he was done holding
back.
There was something between him and Julia. A
need that ran deep and had been building since that night in his bed. Sometimes
it seemed as if it had been longer, particularly at moments such as this when
he wanted nothing more than to toss her onto the bed, rip off that damned
cocktail dress she was wearing, and sample every last inch of her skin.
He’d wanted to keep his desires to himself,
wanted to keep things simple between them. The complications they were risking
were great, and God knew he hated the idea that he might be taking advantage of
Julia when her father was missing. But right now, he couldn’t seem to think
about those things. And after everything they’d been through tonight, he was no
longer sure that holding back was going to be possible.
“Does ‘every other red-blooded bastard’ include
you?” Julia asked, blinking her blue eyes furiously.
Colin took a staggered breath. Narrowing his
gaze, he approached her with two hastened steps. “If you didn’t want me to
behave like a red-blooded bastard, Julia,” he whispered, “then, you shouldn’t
have worn this dress.”
In the course of one disastrous evening,
diamond smuggling kingpin Colin Westwood learns that his best recruit is
missing in action, and that the man has been keeping a secret for years—he has
a twenty six year old daughter. Determined to protect his identity, Colin vows
to find the young woman, and keep her silent at any cost. Intrigued to learn
that she is actually the attractive woman he kissed, he makes Julia an
offer. Come to New York City with him to search for her missing father…as his
mistress.
When Julia Dyson learns her father has been
abducted, she believes his hidden profession may be to blame. But
when she discovers a man’s name in her Dad's caller history, a man suspected of
shady business activity and also her teenage crush, she decides to take matters
into her own hands. She confronts her father's presumed abductor,
resulting in an unforgettable kiss, and his offer of a dangerous proposition
indeed.
Though becoming Colin’s mistress could very well be
her undoing, Julia must choose—give in to her desires, or protect her
already-broken heart…
Social Links:
Facebook FanPage: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Lauryn/245896705433424
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaLauryn_#
The Romance Reviews: http://www.theromancereviews.com/mypageprofile.php?location=JessicaLauryn
ENTER TO WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL BRACELET--US RESIDENTS ONLY
12 comments:
Thanks for stopping by today, Jessica. This is a great series and no one who reads it will be disappointed. (fee free to quote me on that!) :-) Your giveaway is great, too. I wish you every success.
Saw you in FB Group! I shared and re-blogged
Sounds like a great book. I love the idea of power... but power can also be doing something well and feeling successful at it. It is one of our five basic needs. :)
Thanks so much Amber + Renee!
Melissa, you are absolutely right! Without power we'd be nowhere, plus...this series would not exist! ;)
I love Jessica's review, it made me really want to read this book!
I have my fingers crossed boy I can't wait to read this
Good luck to you, ladies, and enjoy!!
Intense excerpt! I loved it!
angelarosebooks@yahoo.com
Sounds like a fabulous an intriguing read!!
Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations, Kristen, on your win!!
Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations, Kristen, on your win!!
Thank u so much ...my address is p.o.box 43 Violet hill at 72584... thank u so much again
Post a Comment