Alannah Lynne chats about Savin' Me. Comment to win big!

It’s the second week of my Spring has Sprung blog event. So glad I’m hosting this. Why? Because talented writers keep popping in. This week, it’s my pleasure to welcome Alannah Lynne. She'll be dishing out about her latest release, Savin’ Me. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free Ecopy of Savin’ Me and a $4.50 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press.

Savin’ Me

Kat Owens can't believe her luck. Her new job was supposed to be a fresh start - one that would lead to a position she's coveted for years. Instead, it reunites her with the man she's spent the past thirteen months trying to forget.

Only a fool would let Kat slip away. That was Erik Monteague's realization upon waking - alone - after an impassioned night with Kat. But Fate has brought her back into his life, and he'll stop at nothing to rekindle their smoldering attraction.

Neither is prepared for the emotional fallout that follows when they act upon their explosive passion. Erik's feelings for Kat force him to confront the painful past that has haunted him for ten years. Kat much choose between a promotion and love, while knowing love might not be enough to save Erik.

SKY: Welcome, thanks for joining me this week!

ALANNAH: Thanks for having me!

SKY: Tell me, what inspired this story?

ALANNAH: Savin’ Me was the first story I wrote. I kept hearing, “Write what you know,” so I wrote a story based on the unusual circumstances of how I met my husband. The problem: Great romance, zero conflict. LOL Three complete rewrites later, the only thing that remained of the original concept was the names and the professions of my characters. And no, I didn’t meet my husband in a bar and have a wild one-night stand with him a year prior to us “officially getting together.” LOL!

SKY: What makes your heroine fly off the pages? I’d love a glimpse of who she is!

ALANNAH: Kat is a driven advertising executive determined to prove she’s capable of being the Vice President of Client Services. However, her true desire is to work in for a non-profit organization. Her family has always made her feel foolish for wanting to work with “the downtrodden,” as they call them. So, she goes to work every day, driven to succeed in a career she doesn’t love. Erik helps her recapture her true nature and be who she really is.

Kat Owens took in the scene surrounding her.

This is it.

Her new life. A new town, new job, new friends, new everything. All for the opportunity of becoming Vice President of Client Services for Sinclair Marketing Group. Funny, but standing within striking range of the ladder’s top rung didn’t feel like she’d thought it would. Somehow she’d pictured herself being light as a feather and floating on air. Not weighted down and miserable.

Maybe it was the stuffy clothes and uncomfortable shoes. Maybe it was the pantyhose cutting her lu-lu in half—it was difficult to feel light and airy when important body parts were at risk of permanent damage.

It might be those things, but deep in her heart she knew it was more than all of that.

SKY: I liked that, well written! What makes your hero worth knowing─lusting over?

ALANNAH: This is hard to answer because I love everything about Erik. He has a wicked sense of humor. He loves to tease Kat. And he’s determined to get what he wants--Kat. But he’s also deeply wounded and I really wanted him to have his HEA (that’s why I kept rewriting this story until I got it right). I couldn’t give up on him. (I picked this excerpt because it shows his playfulness and determination to make Kat squirm.) Kat has just found out that she’s taking over Erik’s account and this is their first meeting.

Looking slightly shell-shocked and definitely rattled, Kat took a deep breath, then became all business. “I’ve gone over your past campaigns and put together a list of questions. I mostly want to make sure I’m clear on your target audience, objective, positioning in the marketplace, competition and our overall strategy.”

Erik nodded. “Go ahead.” Focusing on business seemed to calm her, so he sat back and waited for her to begin.

“Okay, let’s talk about your target.”

Erik tilted his head slightly to the side and met her gaze head-on. “I thought I’d made that clear at the open house. You’re my target.”

Kat sucked in a startled breath and flicked a quick glance to the door. Apparently determined to avoid any conversation of a personal nature, she said, “Okay, let’s talk about our objective. Obviously, to sell more boats—”

“That’s one of my objectives.” He grinned as he watched Kat jot something down on her notepad. He had the sneaking suspicion it had more to do with where she would direct him to go personally, than it did with the direction of his business. Damn, she was hot when irritated.

“All right, let’s talk about positioning.”

He lowered his chin and looked at her suggestively. “Positioning?”

The pulse in her neck began to leap and flutter while her breathing became choppy. He shouldn’t be pushing her like this, since she was clearly uncomfortable with anyone knowing they had a past, but he didn’t seem able to stop.

He sat up from his reclining position, leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. “I’ve got a great idea. Why don’t you come with me to the plant? You can see how things work, see the finished product.” He dropped his voice a notch. “See anything you want.”

Kat’s eyes widened. “I—”

“That’s a great idea,” Rusty said as he dumped the portfolio on the conference room table.

Offering his fist to Erik for a quick knuckle rap, he added, “Erik, good to see ya.”

As Rusty hustled out of the conference room, Kat dropped her head onto her crossed arms on the table. The heaving of her shoulders let him know she was doing some heavy breathing, and he smiled.

Oh yeah, she’s pissed.

He stood and walked around behind her chair. Wrapping his fingers over her shoulders, he began massaging the tension out of them. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Does three o’clock work for you?”

She raised her head slightly. “Like it matters if it does or not.”

It would be a death sentence to laugh, so he bit his lip and, trying to sound as sincere and caring as possible, said, “Of course it matters. Is three-thirty better?”

He wasn’t certain, but he thought her heard her mumble “bastard” before saying, “Three is fine.”

SKY: Sweet! Loved that. Thanks so much for visiting and sharing!

ALANNAH: Thank you!! I love interacting with other writers and readers, it’s my favorite part of the job!

Interested in learning more about this fantastic author? Visit Alannah at her website.

Like blogging? Join Alannah at her blog.

Purchase Savin' Me here.

Thanks so much for visiting. Don’t forget, for a chance to win a free Ecopy of Savin’ Me and a $4.50 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press, leave a comment by Friday, April 23rd,12 PM EST!

Best Regards,
~Sky