One Good Man
by Marie
McGaha
New
Adult Contemporary Romance
Categories:
Action/Adventure, Comedy, BBW
Publisher:
Dancing With Bear Publishing
Release
Date: November, 24, 2012
Heat
Level: Sweet
Length: 188
pages
Buy Links
Description
Allison
Hamstead thought it was love. Finally, after all the years alone, someone loved
her in spite of the fact she was fat! Not that her size had ever kept her from
being successful, but it had kept her far from personal relationships. She’d
heard all of the fat jokes ever told, all of the things
people in her office said behind her back, and she didn’t miss not having a
boyfriend, or dates, every weekend. Did she? But now she was in love and she
couldn’t wait to introduce him to her best friend, Sarah. And what a mistake
that had turned out to be! It wasn’t long before the love of her life and her
best friend were living together, and Allison was humiliated.
Starting
over is never easy, but Allison is determined to do just that and moves far
from Chicago to the warm waters of Biloxi, Mississippi where she accepts a
position at one of the floating casinos. For the first time in her life Allison
feels like she’s truly at home. She loves her job, she loves her boss, who is
like a father to her, and she loves being a part of all the excitement going on
around her. Except for one little thing…
Her
boss’s eldest son, Stephen is probably the most handsome, gorgeous, and sexy
man she’s ever laid eyes on… and he knows it! And for some reason he acts
interested in her. Then her mother comes to visit and winds up dating her boss.
Her accounts start showing large amounts of money missing. And her ex shows up
unannounced and says he wants her back. Can anything else possibly go wrong?
Absolutely!
About the Author
Marie McGaha is an author, editor
and publisher at Dancing With Bear Publishing, a Christian publishing company.
While most of her time is spent editing manuscripts, she does try to find time
for her passions. First, the love of the rest of her life, Nathan, whom she has
been married to for almost thirteen years, and loves to spend time with riding
motorcycles. They are both members of The Patriot Guard Riders. Second, Marie’s
passion for shoes has filled several closets, so she decided to start her own
shoe line, Girls Got Grit. She and Nathan also like to spend time spoiling
grandchildren, traveling, and just being together. “Nathan is my best friend,
and I am very blessed to have him as my husband too,” Marie says. And everyone
who knows them says it’s quite obvious these two are living out their own
romance novel.
Connect with Marie McGaha
Website: http://www.mariemcgaha.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DWB_Publishing
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dwbpublishing
Excerpt:
“I almost forgot to thank you
for my room. I didn’t expect you to provide one for me.”
“You’re welcome. We thought
that since you were here for a thirty-day probationary period, there was no
reason for you to have to worry about finding a place to live. If it works out
for everyone involved, you can find a place when the thirty days is up.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Jason looked up as a man
approached the table.
“I thought you had gone
home."
“I was just on my way out, so
I thought I’d stop by and meet your new assistant.”
“Stephen Collins, I would like
to introduce Allison Hamstead. Allison, this is the First Mate and my brother,
Stephen.”
“Nice to meet you, Big
Al," Stephen said with a grin, shaking her hand. Forcing Jason to move
over, he sat in the booth with them.
“We spoke briefly on the
phone," she told him. “But it’s nice meeting you too…Stevie." She
shortened his name deliberately. He only raised an eyebrow, but Jason chuckled.
“I think she’s already got
your number there big brother," Jason laughed, as the waitress set their
dinner and drinks on the table.
The waitress looked at Stephen
and grinned. “You want anything, Stephen?”
He grinned back and took a
long, slow look up and down.
“Not right now, Heather,"
he drawled, “but thanks for askin’.”
“Anytime," Heather said
as she wiggled away.
Jason shot his brother a
stern look.
“You shouldn’t be flirting
with the waitresses in front of Allison, she’ll get the wrong impression.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve got
the wrong impression about your brother at all," Allison commented, not
sparing Stephen another glance.
Stephen laughed out loud and
Jason grinned.
“Allison, I think you’re going
to be around here for quite a while. There aren’t many females who can resist
my brother’s charms." Taking a bite of pasta, he muttered, “Whatever they
may be," loudly enough for Stephen to hear.
“Come on Jase," Stephen
said as he elbowed his brother. “You know it’s harmless, I never let it go past
the flirting stage with the waitresses.”
“Only because Captain would
kill you if you did.”
“Be that as it may, I still
keep my hands to myself." He shot Allison a wink, finished his drink, and
set the empty glass on the table.
“Allison, it was nice meeting
you. I hope you’ll decide to stay on in spite of your low opinion of me.”
“Thank you, but I don’t have a
low opinion of you." She smiled innocently, and looked up at him as he
stood.
“Really?" He grinned
wolfishly down at her.
“Really. To have a low opinion
of you would indicate that I have put forth the effort to care enough to have
an opinion of you. Rest assured that I do not." She went back to her
ravioli.
“Ouch!" Stephen laughed
as he walked away.
“Congratulations, Allison. You
are the first woman to ever work here that didn’t fall all over herself to get
my brother to notice her," Jason told her with a chuckle.
“I’m glad I didn’t offend you,
Jason. Although I should have thought
before I said anything. Men like that just sit wrong with me.”
“Tell me what kind of man you
think my brother is," Jason said as he wiped his plate with a piece of
buttered sourdough bread.
“Well, you know, he’s the
charming type that thinks he’s every woman’s dream, and all he has to do is
snap his fingers for her panties to fall off." She looked up at Jason as
she suddenly realized what she’d said.
Tell us about
yourself:
I’m an author, editor, and owner of Dancing With Bear
Publishing, a Christian publishing company. I write sweet romance, Bible
self-help, and Bible study non-fiction. I live in SE Oklahoma in the beautiful
Kiamichi Mountains and love it. I’m from California, way up north near the
Oregon state line, and it’s of course, absolutely gorgeous there, but Oklahoma
has always felt like home to me and I can’t imagine ever moving back to Calli.
I do enjoy getting to go out there to visit my children and grandchildren, but
I never stay for too long. I miss Oklahoma!
Is there a genre you
haven’t written in that one day you’d like to tackle?
Genre? What’s a genre? lol I rarely write in just one genre
What was the first
book you ever published?
It was called Love
Remembers, and the company that published was horrible and I was brand new
to e-books, e-publishing and everything else “e-”! I was used to the old days
of using a typewriter, boxing up the mss. and mailing it in, then waiting weeks
for the rejection letter! lol It’s a good story, but it seriously needs editing
and they didn’t, but thankfully, I got out of the contract and the book was
pulled. Funny story: My mother stopped by a book store and asked if they had
any of my books, so the guy looks my name up on the computer and tells my
mother there is one called Love Remembers,
so she went to the shelf and found the book. It was marked at $85! My mother
told the man it was way over priced and he said it was out of print so it was
$85 take it or leave it. She left it. I told her the next time she goes in
there to tell him the author said it’s crap and throw it away!
What is your writing
day like?
Since I opened the doors of Dancing With Bear Publishing, I
rarely have time to write for myself. But my work days are pretty lax. I have
coffee, the TV’s on, one or more cats are asleep next to me, while my dog,
Harley Davidson, is asleep between my feet, and the laptop is open. I know,
it’s tough, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!
Which one off the top
of your head?
Satin or Lace? Both
Hot or Cold? Cold
Camera or Canvas? Camera
Denim or Leather? Both.
I ride a motorcycle so I wear leather chaps over my jeans.
Talking or Texting? Talking,
except today. I have laryngitis.
Irish or Italian? Irish
Thunder or Lightning?
Umm, thunder is the result of lightning, so I have to say both!
Dark eyes or Light
eyes? Dark
The sound of a
heartbeat or a crackling fire? Both
Sleeping bag or Bed? Bed
– I don’t do camping!
Dinner or Movie? Dinner
Wine or Beer? Neither
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Holding hands or
Holding his attention? My husband is very romantic and we even hold hands
while driving in the car.
Mountains or Beach? Both.
I was raised in Humboldt County in northern CA where the mountains crash into
the sea, so I love both.
Rain or Sunshine? Rain
Picnic in the park or
Dancing in the club? Neither. I actually prefer a picnic in the woods by a
creek, which we do as often as we can.
Silk sheets or Cotton
sheets? 1,000 TC Egyptian Cotton
Tell us about your
new release.
One Good Man is a
contemporary sweet romance set along the Gulf shores of Biloxi, Mississippi,
where I lived in the late 70’s. Bear and I went back there in 1995 and I was
shocked by how much it had grown and changed, and how many floating casinos
there were. Then, after Katrina hit and everyone was focused on New Orleans, I
saw pictures of Biloxi, and it made me cry. But that brought the story line for
One Good Man to life.
Our heroine, Allison is a BBW and even though she is smart
and has a good job, her social life is all but dead. When she meets her best
friend, Sarah, who is a size 2, Allison begins to feel better about herself.
Especially when Sarah takes Allison shopping so her closet is up-to-date, and
then Sarah convinces Allison to go to the clubs with her. For the first time in
her life, Allison has a social life and she’s having fun. Then she meets Wesley
and they fall in love, then move in together, and then… everything falls apart
and…
You’ll have to read the books to find out what happens next!
What kind of hero is
Stephen?
He is everything a woman could want and more. Of course,
he’s good looking, with broad shoulders, and seems to be a playboy, but he’s
also a man who will be faithful, loving and devoted when he finds the right
woman.
Was there someone
famous he resembled when you wrote him? Or is he based off someone you
personally know?
All my heroes are based off either my late husband, Bear, or
my husband, Nathan. They have a lot of the same core traits and I use that with
my heroes. When Bear and I first met, he was a weight lifter and he was built.
So I do use his looks quite a bit, although both my husbands have long hair
which I love, but generally my heroes don’t.
What are your favorite
hero traits that you cannot resist?
Eyes so dark they look black, or eyes so blue it hurts to
look at them. My youngest son Cody got the dark hair with eyes so blue it hurts
to look at them. So sometimes I do use his looks in my heroes.
What part of the male
physique captures your attention?
The “eyes” have it! But a quick grin and quick wit is also
great.
As an author and
essentially the “creator” of your hero, do you find yourself attached to him in
a personal way? (Can you admit to loving him?)
Definitely. How can you write a romance that feels real to
the readers if you don’t love your own characters?
If you could actually
meet the hero of one of your books, the exact man you’ve conjured up in both
looks and personality, which one would it be and why?
Wow, hard to choose just one. All of my heroes are the type
of man I want to be in love with, so I don’t think I could choose just one.
Tell us what kind of
heroes you prefer to write about.
Of course, the looks, but I like mischief, those good bad
boys that make your heart skip a beat. But on the other hand, they are kind,
loving, understanding, sensitive and thoughtful – but never show it to anyone
but me.
Does your heroine, Allison,
take after you? Or is she someone you wish you could be?
She does have some of me. I spent my whole life overweight,
was teased in school, and my mother never passed up a chance to point out how
skinny my sister was and if I just had the will power, I wouldn’t be
overweight. I was just as self-conscious as Allison, tried every diet like she
did, but I wasn’t as down on myself as Allison, nor did I worry about men the
way she does. And I didn’t take quite as long as Allison does before I gave the
man who pursued me a chance to catch me!
Out of all your
books, do you have a favorite?
That’s a tough one. I love all my books and I love all my
heroes.
In Cross The Line,
an interracial historical romance, the hero, Noah, is a runaway slave rescued
by an Indian tribe. He’s tall and well-built from all the work on the
plantation, but he’s smart, his mother secretly taught him to read, and his
sole ambition is to make sure Carrie, the heroine, is cared for, even though it
means leaving her because an interracial relationship could mean death for both
of them.
In Comes An Outlaw, a historical western, Jake is our hero
and he’s so loveable, everyone who read it told me they swooned over him! Yes,
they actually said swooned! And there
is no length Jake won’t go to in order to take care of his lady love, including
going toe-to-toe with an entire Indian tribe!
But I guess the one I love the most is Dancing With Bear: A Love Story, which is a memoir about my life
with my late husband, Bear. He was my life and it’s still hard to believe he’s
gone. He was the love of my life and when he died, he took a huge part of me
with him. I still cry over him, and I miss him so much it feels like my heart
is being ripped from my chest. But I try to remember the time we had together,
all the silly things he did, and how he loved me.
Enter at each participating stop for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of "One Good Man" from Marie McGaha". Contest is tour wide and ends June 12. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
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Thank you so much for hosting One Good Man, I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteMarie McGaha
Fun interview, fun to learn more about the author.
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