Blurb:
Dr. Erin Taylor would rather be strapped to a gurney in her ER than prowling Jacksonville’s newest nightclub in a tight dress and high heels. Forced to do that very thing after losing a bet to a friend, she’s surprised by the sparks flying between her and sexy police detective Sean Rembert.
Sean is supposed to be scoping the bar for leads that might help him catch a serial killer, not letting his neglected libido lead him astray. But the minute he sees the gorgeous blonde headed his direction, all thoughts of work go out the window. Until he discovers Erin is a possible target.
Their connection is red-hot and undeniable, but Erin is in serious danger and Sean will do anything in his power to protect her. Passion explodes between them, then a secret destroys it. Can they overcome the hurt and resentment to find their way back to each other before the killer closes in?
Sean is supposed to be scoping the bar for leads that might help him catch a serial killer, not letting his neglected libido lead him astray. But the minute he sees the gorgeous blonde headed his direction, all thoughts of work go out the window. Until he discovers Erin is a possible target.
Their connection is red-hot and undeniable, but Erin is in serious danger and Sean will do anything in his power to protect her. Passion explodes between them, then a secret destroys it. Can they overcome the hurt and resentment to find their way back to each other before the killer closes in?
There was something different about Erin, something that didn’t quite mesh with the sex-kitten outfit. The clothes didn’t suit the girl who wore them. She was smart, quick on her feet. She was flirty, but not in an over-the-top, in-your-face kind of way. She didn’t reek of expensive, over-applied perfume and there wasn’t a piece of flashy jewelry to be found on her. Her makeup was tasteful and minimalist. Even her nails were bare of polish, trimmed short and neat.
The pulse at the base of her neck beat rapidly too, belying her calm outward demeanor. Why would a woman who looked like her—who could have any guy in the place with one crook of a finger—be nervous talking to him? It didn’t add up.
“I’m not sure yet,” she said. “I’ll answer that after we’ve talked for a bit.”
He grinned to hide a wave of disappointment. “Okay, I guess that’s fair.”
“Married?” she asked.
The directness of her question caught him a little off guard, since they were flirting with each other, but then he knew there were women out there who wouldn’t be deterred by the presence of a wedding band, or the indention left behind by one hidden away in a pocket. Some of them even sought married men out. She wasn’t one of those women. There was no doubt in his mind if he said yes, Erin would spin on her high heels and leave him choking on her dust.
“No. You?”
“Oh, God no,” she said, as if she found the idea repulsive. “Ever been?”
“Got close once. Caught her in bed with our neighbor and his brother.”
Erin grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, it hurt for about a day, until I realized they’d done me a huge favor. How ’bout you? Ever been close?”
“No,” she said, glancing down at the drink she held in her hand.
“How’s that possible?”
“I’m a workaholic.” She tapped her temple with a finger. “Kind a have a hard time shutting down, ya know?”
Sean got that. He suffered from the same affliction. “What do you do?”
Her mouth twitched before she took a sip of her drink. “What do you think I do?”
So they were going to play that game. Well, all right then. Normally he wasn’t into games when it came to women. It turned him off faster than a light switch, no matter how beautiful she was. It would take a hell of a lot more than that for this woman to turn him off.
Sean let his eyes drift over her body again, cataloging every curve and freckle. He’d been good up to this point, keeping his gaze trained on her face like a gentleman should, when he wanted to stare at her chest till his eyes bled.
“Lingerie model?”
She smirked. “Not even close.”
“Mechanic?”
She laughed then, a deeply genuine sound that made him want to feel it with his mouth pressed against her throat. “That’s closer than you might think. What about you?”
He grazed the back of her hand with his fingertips. “Wait a second. You dodged an answer.”
“Did I?” she asked, feigning innocence. “I’d rather ask you questions.”
He sighed and shook his head in frustration. Maybe he had to pass some crazy female test. “I’m a cop.”
Her eyebrows shot up, something like wonder filling her eyes. “Cool! Can I see your badge?”
He reached into his front pocket and pulled it out, flipping it over in his palm. When she pursed her lips and nodded, he tucked it away.
She leaned closer until their shoulders touched, lowered her voice to a sexy murmur. “Are you wearing a gun right now?”
Good thing the bar didn’t allow smoking inside. He breathed deep, catching her soft scent. She smelled like…honey? He’d be willing to bet she’d taste like it too. Everywhere.
“Yeah, I’m packing.” Christ, was that ever a loaded statement, considering his dick had been half hard ever since she’d walked up to him.
Her eyes turned smoky. “Oddly, I’m quite turned on by that.”
It was Sean’s turn to laugh out loud at her directness. She sure didn’t pull any punches. He wanted to kiss her right then and there, among other things. “Well, that’s a new one.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she blushed. “Seriously? A woman has never said the thought of you packing heat is a huge turn on? What’s wrong with the women you’ve dated?”
For one thing, none of them were anything like you. He grew somber, studying her incredible smiling face. The desire to get closer to her was palpable, both physically and intellectually. “You want to get out of here? Go grab a cup of coffee someplace quiet, so we can talk some more?”
Her pretty lips parted to reply. Unfortunately, that was when all hell chose to break loose.
The pulse at the base of her neck beat rapidly too, belying her calm outward demeanor. Why would a woman who looked like her—who could have any guy in the place with one crook of a finger—be nervous talking to him? It didn’t add up.
“I’m not sure yet,” she said. “I’ll answer that after we’ve talked for a bit.”
He grinned to hide a wave of disappointment. “Okay, I guess that’s fair.”
“Married?” she asked.
The directness of her question caught him a little off guard, since they were flirting with each other, but then he knew there were women out there who wouldn’t be deterred by the presence of a wedding band, or the indention left behind by one hidden away in a pocket. Some of them even sought married men out. She wasn’t one of those women. There was no doubt in his mind if he said yes, Erin would spin on her high heels and leave him choking on her dust.
“No. You?”
“Oh, God no,” she said, as if she found the idea repulsive. “Ever been?”
“Got close once. Caught her in bed with our neighbor and his brother.”
Erin grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, it hurt for about a day, until I realized they’d done me a huge favor. How ’bout you? Ever been close?”
“No,” she said, glancing down at the drink she held in her hand.
“How’s that possible?”
“I’m a workaholic.” She tapped her temple with a finger. “Kind a have a hard time shutting down, ya know?”
Sean got that. He suffered from the same affliction. “What do you do?”
Her mouth twitched before she took a sip of her drink. “What do you think I do?”
So they were going to play that game. Well, all right then. Normally he wasn’t into games when it came to women. It turned him off faster than a light switch, no matter how beautiful she was. It would take a hell of a lot more than that for this woman to turn him off.
Sean let his eyes drift over her body again, cataloging every curve and freckle. He’d been good up to this point, keeping his gaze trained on her face like a gentleman should, when he wanted to stare at her chest till his eyes bled.
“Lingerie model?”
She smirked. “Not even close.”
“Mechanic?”
She laughed then, a deeply genuine sound that made him want to feel it with his mouth pressed against her throat. “That’s closer than you might think. What about you?”
He grazed the back of her hand with his fingertips. “Wait a second. You dodged an answer.”
“Did I?” she asked, feigning innocence. “I’d rather ask you questions.”
He sighed and shook his head in frustration. Maybe he had to pass some crazy female test. “I’m a cop.”
Her eyebrows shot up, something like wonder filling her eyes. “Cool! Can I see your badge?”
He reached into his front pocket and pulled it out, flipping it over in his palm. When she pursed her lips and nodded, he tucked it away.
She leaned closer until their shoulders touched, lowered her voice to a sexy murmur. “Are you wearing a gun right now?”
Good thing the bar didn’t allow smoking inside. He breathed deep, catching her soft scent. She smelled like…honey? He’d be willing to bet she’d taste like it too. Everywhere.
“Yeah, I’m packing.” Christ, was that ever a loaded statement, considering his dick had been half hard ever since she’d walked up to him.
Her eyes turned smoky. “Oddly, I’m quite turned on by that.”
It was Sean’s turn to laugh out loud at her directness. She sure didn’t pull any punches. He wanted to kiss her right then and there, among other things. “Well, that’s a new one.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she blushed. “Seriously? A woman has never said the thought of you packing heat is a huge turn on? What’s wrong with the women you’ve dated?”
For one thing, none of them were anything like you. He grew somber, studying her incredible smiling face. The desire to get closer to her was palpable, both physically and intellectually. “You want to get out of here? Go grab a cup of coffee someplace quiet, so we can talk some more?”
Her pretty lips parted to reply. Unfortunately, that was when all hell chose to break loose.
Buy Link:
Available at Loose-iD
GETTING IT RIGHT
As a writer, I owe it to my readers to be as completely
authentic with my characters as I can possibly be. This means I have to do my
research, and no, looking something up on Wikipedia won’t really cut it. Occasionally it might suffice for a minor
detail, but if I want the reader to believe in my story and my characters, I
have to dig a little deeper than that. This is especially important when it
comes to my hero’s and heroine’s profession.
For me, one of the most important aspects of drawing a
reader in and keeping them turning the pages is believability. Showing them I
know what I’m talking about. That I didn’t just pick a random job out of a hat
and make up a bunch of nonsense to go along with it. Nothing will jar me out of
a story faster than a lack of effort in getting it right by the author. It’s
lazy writing, and it’s disrespectful to your reader who most likely paid money
to read your work.
In Heart Trouble, my hero, Sean, is a police detective, and
my heroine, Erin, is an ER doctor. Those two professions share a few
similarities—long work hours, exhaustion, frustration, sometimes even blood—but
they are in no way interchangeable. I couldn’t have Sean sewing up a cut on
someone’s arm any more than sending Erin after a bad guy with a gun.
Now I will say that when writing cops, you do have a little
more wiggle room than you do with doctors. Cops, especially detectives, spend a
lot of time policing themselves, if you’ll pardon the pun. They get assignments
and they have a set of ethics they’re supposed to abide by, rules they have to
follow, but there are no specific guidelines they can use to solve every case
because each one is different. In other words, it’s easier to write cops. It
also helps if you have cop friends who are willing to answer lots of questions
and be interviewed occasionally, which I do.
Doctors, on the other hand, have no room for error. So when
I chose to saddle Erin with being an M.D., I knew I was going to have to really
up my research game if she was to be believable. I had to ask questions, write, ask more
questions, tweak, confirm facts and procedures and instruments.
There’s one particular scene early in the book where Erin
has to act quickly. She’s at a bar with a friend, out of her element, she’d
just met an incredibly hot cop, so she’s swimming in a fog of lust, then bam! I
hit her over the head with an emergency. She couldn’t ignore it and pretend she
was somebody else just so she could keep flirting with Sean, now could she? No,
because if she did, you the reader would roll your eyes so hard you’d sprain
your eyeballs. You would lose the momentum of the story too. And if by chance
you still kept reading and she approached the medical situation all wrong—like
say performing an appendectomy with a spork—well, then I’ve truly let you down
and I deserve to lose you as a reader.
I guess I could’ve avoided having Erin do anything remotely
doctor-like, but for me that’s taking the easy way out. I want you to
experience her in all of her glory saving lives, because that makes you
empathize with her later when she’s tired or cranky. It might make you more
willing to forgive her for certain character flaws as well, because she has a
few. After all she’s human underneath those wrinkled scrubs.
I hope you like Erin and Sean in Heart Trouble, and I hope I
honored both their noble professions. They work hard and love harder. I think
they’re relatable that way. And at the end of a long hard shift, they just want
a soft place to land and a warm body to share it with.
Thanks for reading!
Jenny
Jenny's Bio
I started reading when I was four, thanks to a babysitter who found out the only way to get me to sit still (and shut up) was to put a book in my hand. By the time I entered kindergarten, I’d blown through just about every Little Golden Book ever printed. Ten years later, much to my mother’s dismay, I found her stash of paperback romance novels. She tried to divert me back to something more chaste by buying me Harlequins, but I still snuck copies of her Kathleen Woodiwiss’s and Johanna Lindsey’s when she wasn’t looking. Shanna, The Flame and the Flower, and Fires of Winter will always hold special places in my heart because they introduced me to roguish heroes, headstrong heroines, and the trouble they could get into together.
I live with my family in a swampy little corner of north-central Florida, close to the Gulf of Mexico and the historic Suwannee River. It’s hot, humid and full of mosquitos, but I wouldn’t trade it for… actually, I would trade it for a cottage on the beach somewhere in the Keys.
In addition to my website, I can be found saying inappropriate things on Twitter as @JennyLynwrites; on Goodreads; and Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/
I live with my family in a swampy little corner of north-central Florida, close to the Gulf of Mexico and the historic Suwannee River. It’s hot, humid and full of mosquitos, but I wouldn’t trade it for… actually, I would trade it for a cottage on the beach somewhere in the Keys.
In addition to my website, I can be found saying inappropriate things on Twitter as @JennyLynwrites; on Goodreads; and Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/
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