Hello AJ and thank you for having me again at
Tattered Pages! I’m providing an excerpt for your readers today from my latest
release, Heart of Design. It is the
first in my Love, California Style
romance trilogy about three career women who have it all going on in their
business, but who seem to have problems when it comes to men and their personal
life. Heart of Design focuses on
Sophia Hartland, a brilliant interior designer working her hardest to land a
big Hollywood client. But, when she meets Ian O’Connor, he’s got more in mind
than just paint and flooring. Heart of
Design is available at all major ebook retailers, and would make a great
vacation read, so grab your tablet and towel, and hit the beach with Ian and
Sophie!
~ * ~
The peace was
interrupted by my cell phone ring, and I answered automatically without looking
at the caller ID. “Hello, Hartland Interior Designs.”
“Sophia, luv, is
that you?” The sexy Irish accent played across the phone lines, sending shivers
down my spine. My chair slammed back down onto four legs, and I promptly
dropped the phone.
Crap! “Ian! Just a
minute!” I fumbled, shoving the chair back, and scrambled to get the cell,
which had skidded along the hardwood floor underneath my desk. Sirius, my black
Lab, sensing a game, jumped up to get in on the action. Tail wagging and
barking, he thrust under the desk next to me in search of the toy. “Ian, I’m
coming! Minor technical difficulties. Don’t hang up!” I shoved Sirius back,
taking a few excited licks along the way, and finally found the red mobile in
the far corner behind the wastebasket. “Hello, are you still there?” I held it
to my ear. Fortunately, it hadn’t landed upside down and hung up on him.
“Still here,
luv.”
As I clambered
out from underneath the desk, I came up too early and cracked my skull on the
underside. “Oof!”
“Is everything
okay? Maybe I should ring back later.”
“No, no. It’s
fine.” When did my life turn into a Lucy skit? Rubbing my head, I gave up
trying to play it cool and decided to level with him. “Sorry about that. The
phone slipped out of my hand and slid into the deepest dark corner under my
desk, and I’m such a klutz I whacked my head crawling out from underneath it.”
I sucked in a breath and worked to get my act together. “Enough about me, what
can I do for you, Mr. O’Connor?”
“Why so formal,
Sophia? I prefer you call me Ian.”
I swore I heard
laughter in his voice. Great, he probably thinks I’m a total dork. “Okay,
Ian, then please call me Sophie. Only my mom calls me
Sophia, and when she does, it usually means I’m in trouble.”
“Are you
trouble, Sophie?”
The opening was
the size of a Mack truck, and I drove on through. “I can be trouble. Are you
looking for some?” I said in a sultry voice.
“Are you
flirting with me?”
I sat up
straighter. What was I thinking? This is a potential client, not a date!
~ * ~
Title: Heart
of Design, first in the Love,
California Style series
Author: Ellen Butler
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Release Date: July 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4405-8364-3
Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy
Sophie Hartland has recently turned 30, and is five years
out from a confidence crushing divorce. She’s sworn off men in favor of making
her interior design business a success when her best friend introduces her to LA Heat’s hot, new star, Ian O’Connor.
He’s one of Hollywood’s beautiful people, with an Irish accent that makes
Sophie’s toes curl. Ian hires her to renovate his home, and at their second
meeting he initiates a scorching kiss that knocks her socks off. Even though
she would love to drop down and go for it on the funky kitchen floor, Sophie
sticks to her guns and enforces her “no dating clients” rule.
The tabloids portray flirtations Ian as Hollywood’s latest
playboy who has women falling at his feet, and Sophie refuses to be another
notch on his bedpost. But Ian isn’t the type to take no for an answer, and he
finds Sophie a refreshing change from the actress wannabes trying hop aboard
his new gravy train of success. Using his charm, he tries to persuade Sophie to
break the rules.
Can Sophie ignore her traitorous libido and hold Ian off
for the next five or six weeks until the renovations are finished? Or will she
cave in to his pull on her heartstrings, and end up doing the knicky-knacky on
the new velvet sofa? More importantly, can she protect her heart in this game
of wills?
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY!
Signed Hard Copy of Ellen’s Novel Poplar Place & $5 Starbucks Giftcard
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Heart
of Design is her third release in 9 months. You can find her
first two releases, Poplar Place and Second Chance Christmas at Amazon and
other major eBook retailers. Professionally, she belongs to the Virginia
Writer’s Club, the Northern Virginia Writer’s Club, and is a founding member of
the Tempting Romance blog. When she’s not writing, Ellen is either, running
around after her children, decorating a neighbor’s house, or holed up in her
favorite lounge chair reading. Ellen is an admitted chocoholic and confesses to
a penchant for shoe shopping. Book club questions for Ellen’s novels can be
found on her website.
Website: www.ellenbutler.net
Twitter: @EButlerBooks
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