Back in 2013, when
I became a top 10 finalist in Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write competition,
I was assigned a Harlequin author mentor – and I hit the jackpot by landing the
ridiculously talented Amy Andrews, who is not only a great writer, but an
amazing supporter of the newbies in the industry. I’m understandably ecstatic,
therefore, to welcome Amy to Get Lost in a Story. Amy is an award-winning, USA
Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romance and medical romance.
Her books are always sexy, always sassy, always fabulous. Her latest novel, Playing the Player – the third in her
Sydney Smoke rugby series, published by Entangled – is just out.
Amy is an award-winning, best-selling
Aussie author who has written sixty plus contemporary romances in both the
traditional and digital markets. She is a USA Today best-seller who writes
books that feature lots of sex and kissing. She likes to make her readers
tingle, laugh and sigh.
She loves good books and great booze although she'll take mediocre booze if
there's nothing else. At sixteen she met a guy she knew she was going to marry
and she did. They’re still together. They have two grown kids who are
stretching their wings to far flung shores.
She lives on acreage on the outskirts of Brisbane with a gorgeous mountain view
but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of Tuscany.
After a long history with crappy guys, high school teacher Em Newman is
going man-vegan. Four months of revirginization has opened her eyes to her
doormat imitation but, baby’s got spine now, and some smooth-talking—even if he
is sinfully hot—rugby player, won’t be adding her as a notch anytime soon.
Lincoln Quinn loves rugby, women, and poker. And he likes to win at all
three. When his team mates bet him he can’t break through Em’s resolve, he’s
more than up for the challenge. But this lady has a shoebox of stipulations
before she’ll even go on a date with him, much less use that mouth for kissing
instead of giving orders.
Something’s gotta give but this time Em’s not settling. And Linc’s
questioning everything he ever knew about matters of the heart.
Read a little, buy the book...
Linc rang Em at
the same time he had the day before. Every part of him ached from a morning of
gruelling training, but in a good way. The kind of way that made him grateful
for his fitness, that made him feel alive. And pumped.
Pumped to make
this phone call. Pumped to hear Em say yes.
“Hi, Em Newman
speaking.”
She had one of
those teacher’s voices. Firm but kind, with just enough
fuck-with-me-and-I’ll-send-you-to-the-principal edge to keep a guy in line.
That kind of voice that had never really worked on him when he’d been in high
school, but then he’d never had a teacher as sexy as Em Newman, either.
He might have
turned up more often if he had.
“I think I’ve
been going about this all the wrong way,” he said, picturing her sitting at her
desk, her mouth pressing close to the phone receiver so she wasn’t overheard.
“I’ve been going
for traditional names. But it’s not Ermintrude. Or Emma. Or Emily or Emmeline.
So I’m thinking now your parents might be hippies, and it’s actually something
like Ember. Or Emerald.”
There was a long
pause then a deep sigh. “Why do you care?”
“I want to be
able to call you by your real name.”
“Well, the kids
call me Miss Newman.”
Linc chuckled.
“Oh. Don’t tempt me.”
Another heavy
sigh. “Are you just going to ring me every lunch hour?”
“Sure. If I have
to.”
“Don’t you
have...push-ups to do? Or something? Balls to kick. Tries to score?”
He grinned.
“Training finishes at twelve, and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m trying
to score right now.”
“Linc...” He’d
have to have been deaf not to hear the exasperation in her voice. “I have
papers to mark.”
“You are hell on
a man’s ego, Miss Newman.” He loved the way “Miss” rolled off his
tongue, and a dozen dirty thoughts about naughty teachers with crazy curls
bending over to help a student with a problem, their shirts gaping to reveal
pretty bras flitted through his head with a predictable effect on his dick. Who knew
teachers could be such a fucking turn-on?
Certainly not a
guy who’d spent a good portion of his life avoiding them at all costs.
She snorted. “I
have a feeling your ego couldn’t be brought down with an elephant gun.”
He laughed, not
even bothering to try and dissuade her from the accuracy of her statement. “The
Nerd Chicks are in town on Friday night.”
She didn’t say
anything for a beat or two. “You know who the Nerd Chicks are?”
“I do now.”Linc had spent a
long time online last night trying to come up with something that’d blow Em’s
mind. He’d finally found An Evening with the Nerd Chicks. Apparently
they were three women with science backgrounds who ran a popular YouTube
channel discussing all things science and had taken their show on the road.
“We should go
together.”There was
another pause, but he thought he could hear her breath hitch.
“Top marks for
trying, Linc. But it’s sold out. It sold out in about half an hour.”
“Lucky for you I have two V.I.P. tickets.”
He definitely heard her breath this time. Hissing slowly out in a long
exhale. “Thank you but...no.”
“No? Did I mention you get to meet them afterwards?”
A soft noise that sort of sounded like a whimper or maybe even a low growl
caressed his eardrum. “I said no.”
But it was the most unconvincing no Linc had ever heard. He could practically feel
her conflict. “Come on, Miss Newman,” he pressed. “Why deprive yourself?”
“Because, Linc,” she muttered, her voice terse, “afterwards I’ll
probably fuck you in your ridiculously sexy car.”
Linc’s pulse spiked at her direct prediction. Even if she had sounded utterly
depressed over it. He laughed. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. What if I promise to not let you fuck me in my car? Or anywhere
else?”
It wasn’t going
to win him the bet—but he really didn’t give a fuck anymore. Linc just really
wanted to take her to the show. Because she obviously wanted to go.
She snorted. “I
can be very persuasive.”
Buy it on Amazon.
Let's talk...
Avril: What’s the
attraction of rugby?
Amy: To be honest I’m
*not* a sports person at all although I had accidentally written a couple of bigger
books with heroes who were sports stars. Not sure how that happened really… But
anyway, my Entangled editor approached me about a rugby series they wanted me
to write. I said hell yes, without batting an eyelid. I knew squat about rugby
(other than that weird kind of osmosis we have in Australia for any sports that
involve balls and full body contact) but I also knew that sports romance was
very popular and writing about buff men in tight uniforms wasn’t going to be
any kind of hardship.
Avril: How does being an
Aussie influence your writing?
Amy: I guess any writer
brings their own life experiences including where they’re from, to their
writing. I don’t think being an Aussie influences my writing necessarily, I
think I’m the sum of my parts and everything I am influences how I write.
Avril: What are some of
the most common comments reviewers make when talking about your books?
Amy: Reviewers tend to
either love or hate my books. But for those who do love them they usually say
that I can write funny, hot *and* emotional. Which I love. If you can make a
reader laugh, cry and tingle in all the good parts then that’s a huge
compliment.
Avril: How easy is it to
switch between contemporary and medical?
Amy: Not that difficult
really. After all, medicals are just contemporary romances set in a medical
world. I used to grapple with the medical to romance ratio when I first started
but I honestly haven’t thought about it in years, each story seems to find its own
balance without any conscious engineering.
Avril: Who are some of
your favourite authors and what do they have in common?
Amy: All my favourite
authors are women who write funny. If you can make me laugh then you have me
for life (which is one of the things I love about Avril’s books!). Writers like
Jennifer Crusie, Rachel Gibson, Victoria Dahl, S.E.P. and Helen Fielding from
an international perspective. From this side of the pond Kelly Hunter, Sarah
Mayberry and Ainslie Paton. Also my sister, Ros Baxter. Yeh, she’s my sister
but man her books always crack me up. I’ve also found a couple of new-to-me
Aussie authors last year who I adored. Madeline Ash and Eve Dangerfield are
awesome writers and know how to bring the funny too!
Avril: What does 2017 hold
for you?
Amy: A lot! Four more
rugby books. A fire fighter and a bull rider for Tule Publishing. The second
book in my Limbo series and a bigger medical romance set in a rural locale is
in the works too.
Avril: As a romance
reader, what’s your pet hate?
Amy: Women who giggle in
books. Grown women don’t giggle. Unless it’s a trait you want to give to a character
to demonstrate how annoying they are, then you’ve nailed it.
Thank you so much for inviting me on the blog
Avril. What Avril didn’t mention though, dear readers, is what I told her after
I first read her SYTYCW story. I was supposed to give her advice and feedback on
the book. Instead I said - this should already be published, you don’t need me!
I was not remotely surprised she was contracted soon after! But I was very
proud and excited for her.
A question from Amy:
Are you a sports
fan? If so what’s you favourite?
If not, what would you rather be doing!
Tell us in the comments and enter the giveaway to win an Amazon Kindle copy of the fabulous first book in Amy's Sydney Smoke Rugby Series, Playing By Her Rules.
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