Ready
for a little more Harlequin DARE? I’m so happy to have my fellow DARE author
and all round fabulous New Zealander, JC Harroway with me to talk about her
latest DARE, One
Night Only!
About
JC Harroway
Lifelong
romance addict JC Harroway lives in New Zealand. Writing her very real
obsession with happy endings and the endorphin rush they create. You can follow
her via her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The romantic vs the cynic.
Chemistry is all they have in common!
New York lawyer Ash has moved
to London to escape his demons – and one red–hot night with gorgeous stranger
Essie is the perfect distraction! He's ready to forget about her
entirely...until she walks into his office for her first day at work. She's a
romantic, seeking her happily–ever–after – he's a distrustful cynic who can't
commit. Could a sexy fling be the best mistake of their lives?
Read
a little…
Essie slipped her hand into
the back pocket of his jeans, her fingers pressing into his tightly toned
backside. Where had her uncharacteristic bravery come from? The desire for
something more than the dribs and drabs she’d tolerated from her no-good ex?
Her ex’s idea of foreplay had
been a mandatory squeeze of the boob. And to her shame, she’d accepted such
lazy, shoddy attention.
All the more reason to explore
a one-night stand with the drool-worthy, confident American. She’d gain some
much-needed experience in the one-night-stand stakes, and hopefully score
herself the kind of orgasm that only existed in her world as a mythical
will-o’-the-wisp, and afterwards they’d move on having both had a good time.
Unless Ash was a serial killer, it was a win-win situation. She absorbed the
foreign, heady thrill of his big warm body next to hers. Not that it was
cold—her shivers originated purely from anticipation.
The best kind of shivers.
She sucked in a stuttering
breath—she’d never felt more reckless. And, if she was honest, she also felt a little
embarrassed. There was no law that stated that, before her twenty-fifth
birthday, she should have experienced at least one night of no-strings sex,
but, as she touted herself as something of a relationship expert, didn’t she
owe it to the readers of her relationship psychology blog to experience what
all the fuss was about?
Ash’s hand looped around her
shoulder. She reached up and clasped his fingers. They grinned at each other,
Essie’s belly jolting in time with her excitable pulse.
No serious scientist could
rely solely on academic theory. She could finally verify her years of extensive
research with some cold, hard, scientific data.
Surely he must be able to hear the blood whooshing through her head?
Because in practical terms,
what did she really know about relationships, especially the functional kind?
Her face fell at the momentary
wobble. Her one serious boyfriend during uni had left her practically swearing
off the opposite sex for good on the grounds she clearly couldn’t spot a decent
relationship candidate if he was stark naked in front of her wearing a pick me, I’m a safer than houses bet
hat.
A trait she’d inherited from
her mother perhaps… The woman had, after all, procreated with Essie’s lying,
cheating, deserting father and spent many years playing second fiddle to his
actual wife, his real family.
Not that Essie had known all
that back then. She’d simply been a girl who desperately missed her beloved
father while he’d worked overseas for long stretches of time. Clearly she and
her mother shared a desperate-for-love vibe that usually sent men running.
But Ash wasn’t running.
And she wasn’t looking for a
relationship. Just sex. She’d gleaned from Ash’s subtext that, like her, he was
only interested in a one-night thing. She shoved the buzzkill thoughts from her
mind, focussing on the specimen of manly perfection beside her. Exotic Ash. A
gentleman. Funny, intelligent, and interested in what she had to say.
So different from her ex, and
she’d wasted two years in that flawed relationship.
Her throat tightened.
Perhaps she was ready for a
change. It was, after all, the eve of a brand-new chapter of her life—her new
job working for her until recently estranged half-brother began tomorrow. Or
perhaps it was just charming, sophisticated, sexy-as-sin Ash with his
crinkle-eyed smile, his quick wit and his tales of New York that earned him a
place at the top of Essie’s bucket list.
Nothing at all to do with his
muscular physique and his dark good looks, which were enough to attract smiles
and stares everywhere they’d gone today. And she instinctively knew, as if it
were stamped on her overworked ovaries, that Ash would be phenomenal between
the sheets. High-calibre screaming orgasms—another experience sadly lacking
from her rather pathetic repertoire.
Let’s talk…
Avril: Can you share with us how the story of One Night Only unfolded for you?
JC: Believe
it or not, this story originated from a seed of true events. Last year I
visited London and not only did I see a sexy stranger sitting in the sun with
his eyes closed, my phone also died while I was trying to take a photo, and
someone else kindly offered to take a photo for me. Put those two together and
I had the seed for the meeting between Ash and Essie. Of course, this is also
the third book of three linked books, so the story had to evolve from there.
Ash is Harley from Her Dirty Little Secret's sister.
Avril: What’s the one standout JC Harroway trademark?
JC: I'm not really sure I have one! I am passionate about promoting consent in a positive way in my books, so I consciously try to make the sexy times full of Yes, yes, yesses! And with my medical background, I'm all about safe sex, even when it's fictional! So My heroes and heroines always look out for each other.
JC: I'm not really sure I have one! I am passionate about promoting consent in a positive way in my books, so I consciously try to make the sexy times full of Yes, yes, yesses! And with my medical background, I'm all about safe sex, even when it's fictional! So My heroes and heroines always look out for each other.
Avril: What do you look for in a romance heroine?
JC: I
love my heroine in One Night Only, Essie. She's such a fun character—bubbly and
smart—and she doesn't take herself too seriously! Also she's not afraid to
encourage Ash, our hero to laugh at himself either, probably what makes him
fall for her! As
a general rule, for me, heroines need to know what they want and not be afraid
to go out and get it. When I'm creating my heroines, I think of the type of
woman I would have as a friend— someone to have a glass of wine and a laugh
with.
Avril: What’s coming up next?
JC: I
have three DAREs out in 2019. My Faulkner Brothers series, which is set in
Chelsea, London and based on three single brothers who run a hotel empire. Lots
more yummy, suited, sexy heroes…
Avril: Can you give us five books in your TBR pile?
JC: The
most recent five books on my kindle are….
Destroyed,
Jackie Ashenden
Under
Pressure, Lori Foster
Sinfully
Mine, Kendall Ryan
True
Refuge, Annabelle McInnes
Getting
Lucky, Avril Tremayne
So
romance, romance and a bit more romance!
JC is giving away a copy of One Night Only - print or e-book, your preference. To go into the draw, tell us your favourite type of heroine and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!
