I love hosting debut authors on the blog, and we’ve got one with us today. Contemporary romance author Robin Covington has dropped by to tell us about her new book, A Night of Southern Comfort. I’ve read it and I can tell you it’s really good – sexy good! She’s been getting great reviews, and the book is climbing up the bestseller lists.
Without further ado, let’s turn things over to Robin!
You Can Go Home Again
I’m from Danville, VA, a small town surrounding the Dan River and punctuated by the rolling hills of the Piedmont. It was the kind of town you read about in nostalgic books and television shows and movies. I lived on the same street as my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and within walking distance of a family general store where we would get ice cold coca-cola in those little green bottles and a moon pie. Everybody knew my name and who my people were.
But, that place doesn’t exist anymore.
Like all things from childhood, the town has aged, changed, matured and improved over the years. We both wear our wrinkles and gray hair very well. *grin* But, it’s different and no matter how many stories I tell my kids or the Main Man—it only existed in my mind.
Until now.
When my book, A Night of Southern Comfort, popped into my head I knew it was about a woman who was looking for small, slower-paced location to start her new life. But, I also knew it was about a man—one of four—who had left their small town many years ago but were now forced by circumstance to make their way back home. I knew that the Danville of my memory could live once again.
So, I created Elliott, VA. It’s small, with a central diner, bouffant-haired gossipy women, farms, Main Street, and surrounded by the mountains. A wonderful place to force Jackson Cantrell and his buddies to consider the question of whether you can come home again—or if you want to.
In Elliott, Jackson not only faces his past but also meets his future in Dr. Michaela Roarke and that is where it gets really fun.
Stop on by.
Sit a spell.
Welcome Home.
One night of passion…
Detective Jackson Cantrell never imagined that one night with an irresistible stranger would turn his life upside down. He’s spent years living in the shadows, but Dr. Michaela Roarke awakened a passion inside him he’d buried years ago.
He never expected the woman would turn out to be the governor’s daughter…and his next assignment. The governor blackmails Jackson to secretly watch over Michaela and protect her from a stalker, or kiss his dream job at the FBI good-bye. Swearing to keep things strictly professional, Jackson moves in with Michaela. Too bad his heart can’t keep the same promise.
But when the stalker’s attacks quickly escalate beyond mere photographs to bodily harm, Jackson must race to save Michaela’s life. And he’ll have to figure out how to keep her once she discovers his lie.
I would love to see ANoSC reach the Top 100 list on either Amazon or Barnes and Noble and I’m running a contest on my blog to hopefully get it there. If I reach the target, I’ll give away a $100 Amazon or B&N gift card to a lucky winner. Please visit me on my blog!
Vanessa, here. What a great contest! Robin is also giving away a copy of A Night of Southern Comfort to one of my readers. Just tell us what you love about small towns for a chance to win! But before you do that, sit back, relax, and read this yummy excerpt from Robin’s book!
Mr. Sex-on-a-Stick took his last shot and accepted the congratulatory thumps on the back from his friends. He didn’t smile in response, just quirked his full, sensual lips and turned to face her head-on with an expression full of hot promise. Catcalls and low whistles from his friends drifted across the crowded bar.
Come on, handsome. Don’t let me strike out at my first real bar pickup.
The breath she didn’t realize she was holding whooshed out as he separated himself from his friends and headed over to her. His movements were precise, controlled, and deliciously predatory. He possessed the confident demeanor of either military or law enforcement. He definitely wasn’t a paper-pushing warlord or a politico. Years of experience trained her to spot those guys a mile away. No, his mask of control was one born of the need for survival, much like hers.
Okay, big boy. You let me peek behind yours and I’ll let you peek behind mine.
He stopped in front of her, his thigh brushing her leg and setting off a series of sparks underneath her skin. His chocolate brown eyes met hers, filled with the assurance of decadent possibilities.
Michaela opened her mouth and shut it again. Now that he was here, she had no idea what to say. What would Angelina do? Channel your inner Jolie.
She cleared her throat. The result was a sultry, sexy voice she didn’t know she possessed. “May I buy you a drink?”
He glanced at the glass in her hand and nodded.
“A Southern Comfort.” She spoke in the general direction of the bartender, unable to tear herself away from her companion. “Neat.”
He slid onto the stool next her, his leg still against hers and her temperature hovering near the boiling point. He leaned on the bar, creating their own intimate circle as the noise of the busy bar faded into the background. His lips curved into a slight smile.
“Is there something funny?”
“No. Not at all.” His deep voice rumbled in her ear, his warm breath grazed her cheek. “I didn’t take you for the whiskey type.”
“And what type am I?”
He leaned back, examining her ice-blue satin, strapless cocktail dress and matching Manolo Blahnik pumps. She squirmed in her seat as her body responded to the desire pulsing between them.
“Honestly?” He cocked his head. “You strike me as the chardonnay type. A proper drink for a proper lady.”
She laughed. Any other night, his description would have been close to the mark. “Whiskey’s a drink of control and power.” She took another sip and caught his stare over the rim of her glass.
“I see.” He lifted his glass and downed the contents, then turned his full attention back to her. “So…why are you drinking alone?”
“I’m not drinking alone. Now.” Michaela gestured toward his drink and ordered him another when he nodded.
“Okay, so you’re here…?”
“Celebrating my new life.”
“Aahhh.” He lifted his glass to her in salute. “Let me be the first to say that your ex-husband is an idiot.”