From Fake to Forever
by Jennifer Shirk
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
BLURB:
Sandra Moyer’s
preschool is struggling, so she reluctantly agrees to let super-famous actor
Ben Capshaw research a role there. Ben’s always joking around, never serious,
but there’s something about the buttoned-up, beautiful Sandra and her young
daughter that makes him want to take life more seriously. But Sandra won’t
trust him—what if it’s all an act, research for the role? As the lines between
make-believe and reality blur, Ben will have to decide if love is worth casting
aside the role of his life for a new role…that could last a lifetime.
BUY LINK:
EXCERPT:
From the corner of her eye, Sandra
Moyer noticed a tall, bearded man leaning against the playground fence and
automatically tensed. Because she was a single mom and alone, her paranoid
nature already labeled him a felon, although technically he was doing nothing
wrong. In fact, come to think of it, he had a pretty nice body with those
real-life Hulk arms and broad chest. She didn’t know what that made her for
noticing something like that about a man she assumed was on some Family
Watchdog list, but the phrase “cheap and desperate” came to mind.
Since when did I start ogling the
physiques of strange men?
Her shoulders wilted as she brooded
over that question. She obviously needed to get out more. She needed to just
get out. The problem was she didn’t see herself doing that any time soon. Her
self-esteem had hit rock bottom and hadn’t been able to locate its way back up
since the day she’d found Steve cheating on her with one of his costars.
An unpleasant picture of her
ex-husband lip-locked with a Julianne Moore–type redhead popped into her mind,
and she shuddered.
Actors. Did their profession ever
mesh with reality?
The answer to that was a resounding
no. Unfortunately, she’d learned that one the hard way. Steve had even thought
she’d understand the main reason he had the affair was for the publicity and
what it could do for his career and income. Like that was supposed to make her
feel so much better about it.
“Mommy, I want to play in the
sandbox.”
Her daughter’s voice pulled her from
those depressing thoughts, and she gratefully looked down. “Okay, honey. Just
five more minutes, though.”
Hannah squealed and dashed through
the playground as fast as her little legs could run. Sandra couldn’t help but
smile. Life was so simple when you were four. The little things kept you happy.
And why not? Four-year-olds didn’t think about paying the rent or overdue
bills. Things that were constantly on her mind ever since she’d opened the
preschool with her sister. No, the only thing you worried about at that age was
whether Mommy would give you ice cream if you didn’t eat your string beans.
She’d kill for that kind of stress
again.
Unfortunately, the thought of
homicide had her eyes traveling back to the well-built man she’d been ogling
earlier. He was tossing around a football with a young boy now. Nothing
illegal, but something was off. She had a sixth sense when it came to
protecting her daughter, and right now it was telling her something big. Like
he’d just gotten out of prison. It must have been a whopper of a sentence, too,
judging from the long, scraggly hair and the kind of beard and mustache Santa
Claus would envy. She never made a habit of associating with men who looked
liked convicts, but there was something familiar about him…
She doubted he had a child enrolled
in her preschool. Story time at the public library? She highly doubted that,
too. He didn’t exactly look like the loving Father Knows Best type, considering
that fire-breathing skull on his calf wasn’t designed to instill tenderness. At
least he was out spending time with his son, which was a lot more than what her
daughter was getting from her own father.
As if her thoughts had been
telepathically sent out, the man in question cast a lingering gaze over in her
direction. And he smiled.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Oh, no, don’t even think about it.
Don’t you dare come over here. She fumbled to put her sunglasses back on and
almost punched out a lens. Please stay where you are. He’d better be a jolly
person being his usual overly friendly self and not just leering at her. But
she laid odds on the latter.
What was it with her? She could
attract a creep from the next state over without even trying. A talent she’d
gladly relinquish.
She flopped down on a bench. Opening
her purse, she yanked out a book and hid her face behind it. If she pretended
to be engrossed in reading, maybe the man would reconsider trying to strike up
a conversation. Yeah, that’s all she needed—some ex-con cozying up to her.
Confident her glasses hid her eyes, she lowered the book a half inch and sneaked another peek. Tall, Dark, and Scraggly had his back to her now. Relief enveloped her. Thank goodness, she thought, slowly letting out a breath.
One deadbeat per lifetime was
enough.
AUTHOR BIO:
Jennifer
Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her
with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows
romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She
writes sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing, Avalon
Books/Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the
RWA 2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE
ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden
Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Giveaway:
$25 Amazon or B/N GC
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2 comments:
Thanks so much for having me! <3
How long does it typically take to complete writing a book?
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