A warm welcome to author Sue Brown joining us today to talk about new release “Slow Dating the Detective”.
Check out the guestpost and Excerpt below!
Welcome Sue 🙂
This is the tale of a writer having to admit defeat, or a phoenix rising from the ashes. Slow Dating the Detective is out today, the third in the Cowboys and Angels series. If you’ve noticed there’s been a long delay between the Secretly Dating the Lionman and Slow Dating you’re right. I’d written thirty thousand words and gave it to a friend as I’d ground to a halt. Verdict – it sucked lime green donkey balls. Once I stopped pouting, I tried to recover the story but to no available. Mikey and Ramon weren’t going to work for me even as a redemption story. I had to start again. I’m going to try their story in the future but I need to rethink their characters. If an author thinks they’re unlikeable, I know readers are going to agree.
One of the hardest things I do as a writer is admit failure on a story. I’m sparse on description and always struggle to make word count. Scrapping words is like losing something precious. Losing 30k was like cutting an arm off. What was I going to do? I’d focused my ideas on Mikey and Ramon. I didn’t have new guys at all. I had to start from scratch. It ended up being great fun, taking two new guys and putting them in the Cowboys and Angels world. At first you think they have no history with the bar and the boys, but of course they do.
This time I left the angst behind (mainly) and aimed for humour, which is why my guys meet under a neon lion wearing a jockstrap. Keenan and Nate worked like a charm and begged to have their story written. It also reminded me that Speed Dating the Boss was written with a light-hearted touch, and it was good to keep that.
My editor comes from the area I’m writing, which is great because I’ve never been there. I’ve been able to say ‘X needs a house like this. Where would he live?” and she’s been able to give me something useful as a house layout which is local to the area. I know it seems odd to set my story in an area/city/country I don’t know, but I always wanted Cowboys and Angels to be set in Brooklyn. Of course, she was quick to tell me where I’d got it wrong too. Love you, Liz.
I’m thrilled to say Publishers Weekly liked Slow Dating the Detective too. It’s taken me nearly a decade to get in the trade magazines and I’m revelling in it. Yes, I might just be showing the review to everyone and boring them to tears. I still get thrilled by reviews, even after nearly a decade. From a reader, a blogger or a trade mag, each review is valued. One of my first reviews in Amazon was someone saying, “This is pants!” That’s the British usage meaning rubbish. Honestly, that made me laugh so hard I scared the dogs. I still quote it as a review that stayed with me forever.
Slow Dating the Detective may not be the book I meant to write, but I’m really glad it’s the one I did.
Blurb:
A gentle bartender might have what it takes to mend a relationship-phobic detective’s broken heart… but first they have to admit they’re dating.
Keenan Day could kick himself for letting the hot, dark-haired stranger he met outside a strip club get away. Instead of a phone number, he gets a punch in the face—from the boyfriend of his prospective employer at the Cowboys and Angels bar. When two cops come to check up on him, one is the sexy stranger, Detective Nate Gordon.
The initial attraction hasn’t cooled, and though Nate is leery of commitment, one hookup turns into another until they’re seeing each other in everything but name. After a recent nasty breakup, Nate balks at being part of a couple, and Keenan agrees, even though that’s all he’s ever wanted.
Just as they reach a standstill, a crisis shows them what their friends have known all along—they’ve already moved way past hookups. Now they just have to decide how to move forward.
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“You okay, man?”
The low drawl made Keenan open his eyes. The sight that greeted him made the last hour worthwhile. A solidly-built guy, maybe in his late thirties, faced him. He wore tight jeans that cupped his ass and a shirt made of a thin material that stretched across his pecs, leaving an interesting curl of hair peeking out of the vee of the shirt. His hair was close-cut, and his stubble made Keenan want to rub his cheek against it to feel the burn. He was shorter than Keenan, but only by an inch, so Keenan wouldn’t need to bend his head much if they kissed.
The frown that gathered between the guy’s thick dark brows made Keenan realize he was fixated on the guy’s lips and hadn’t answered his question.
“I’m all right,” Keenan said hastily. “Just tired.”
The man looked up at the building behind him. “You’ve just come out of there?” His lips twitched, and it wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking.
“I’m not a stripper,” Keenan said hastily. “My sister’s in there with her friends.”
“And she dragged you along?” Now the man wasn’t bothering to conceal his amusement. “What did you do to upset her?”
“You’ve got a sister?”
“Three sisters,” the man corrected, “and they’re just as devious. Thankfully two of them are back home in Wyoming, so I only have one to deal with here.”
“You’re a lucky man,” Keenan assured him. “I thought you weren’t native.”
“What gave it away?” the man drawled.
Keenan laughed. “I’ve got three sisters too. This one hasn’t forgiven me for leaving her to deal with the old ladies at our aunt’s eightieth birthday party.”
The man winced. “Dude, you’re gonna be paying for that for a while.”
“She’s brought me to a strip club full of screaming women. I’m damn sure I’ve paid my dues.”
“She could have brought you to a club full of women strippers.”
Keenan was about to answer when he realized what the guy had said. Huh. Was he that obvious? Well, no, he wasn’t. Then he realized his silence was enough of an answer. His sister wasn’t the only one who was devious. He gave the guy a long, cool look.
“You’re observant.”
The guy shrugged. “Sometimes.” He held out his hand. “I’m Nathan Gordon. Nate.”
“Keenan Day.”
Nate wrinkled his brow as though something bothered him, but it cleared just as quickly. “Good to meet you, Keenan.”
His hand was warm and firm. He held on to Keenan’s for longer than was strictly necessary, and Keenan felt its loss when Nate let go. He was about to ask Nate if he’d like to go for a drink when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it, but it buzzed again. “Dammit, I’m sorry.”
“Your sister?” Nate asked as Keenan dug out his phone.
Sarah’s face smiled from the screen. It was an innocent smile and totally fake. Keenan had been meaning for a long time to change that photo to something more appropriate, like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Cranky middle-aged author with an addiction for coffee, and a passion for romancing two guys. She loves her dog, she loves kids, and she loves coffee; in which order very much depends on the time of day.
Links:
Sue’s website: http://www.suebrownstories.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suebrownstories
Author group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/suebrownstories/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/suebrownstories
Email: sue@suebrownstories.com