BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – The Borrowed Boyfriend
AUTHOR – Ginny Baird
GENRE – Romantic Comedy
PUBLICATION DATE – March 15, 2016
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 286 pages (print)
PUBLISHER – Winter Wedding Press
COVER ARTIST – Dar Albert
THE BORROWED BOYFRIEND
ISBN: (e-Book) 978-1-942058-14-4
ISBN: (Print) 978-1-942058-15-1
BOOK SYNOPSIS
A fun romantic comedy and a classic beach romance!
From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author GINNY BAIRD, a heartfelt and hilarious tale about two lost souls finding their way to each other.
Allison Murphy spends a week in March with the same group of girlfriends each year. What started as a college spring break tradition morphed into an annual reunion, ultimately encompassing boyfriends and husbands. Only Allison hasn’t brought along a love interest in years, inspiring the others toward goodwill efforts at fixing her up. Faced with the prospect of yet another beach week mismatched with a virtual stranger, Allison’s roommate Kate suggests a shocking alternative. Allison can “borrow” Kate’s handsome and successful boyfriend for the trip. The trouble is Grady O’Brien stands for everything romantic idealist Allison is against. He’s a ruthless businessman who will stop at nothing to get ahead. What Allison doesn’t understand is just how far Grady is willing to go…
Wine industry entrepreneur Grady O’Brien knows an opportunity when he sees one. Allison Murphy runs a boutique wine label design company, while Grady heads up a firm that buys those sorts of businesses out. When Grady’s girlfriend unexpectedly must attend a conference and their vacation plans are cancelled, she encourages Grady to accompany Allison to the beach instead. Grady agrees to participate in the ruse of playing Allison’s boyfriend with a secret agenda in mind. He hopes to pave the way for acquiring Allison’s Bella Fortuna Wines by winning favor with its pretty owner and her friends. The one thing Grady doesn’t count on losing in the bargain is his heart.
BUY & TBR LINKS
EXCERPT
The waitress arrived speedily with their check and laid it on the table before hustling away to refill another customer’s coffee.
Grady was quick on the draw with his wallet.
“Here,’” Allison protested. “Let me!” But when she snapped open her purse it tipped sideways on the table then somersaulted onto the floor. Allison stared aghast at the mound of personal belongings that had landed on the carpet by her open bag that gaped wide like a landed fish. There in a heap were her wallet, a pack of tissues, lipstick, sunglasses, a chewing gum container, assorted wrappers, the ibuprofen bottle and…
“Eeek!” She dove onto the grimy carpet and got down on her hands and knees, scraping it all together.
Grady’s head dipped below the table. “Can I help you down there?”
Allison stared in mortification at the blatant box of condoms clutched in her hands, then tried to cover the label with her fingers. “Er, no thanks.”
Grady’s forehead rose. “Looks like you came prepared.”
“These aren’t mine!” she blubbered. “Actually, they’re yours!” Her face steamed. “For you!” That hadn’t come out right at all. What she meant was Kate had asked her to buy them for him, or for Kate and him! Oh, she didn’t know!
Grady grinned and her heart hammered.
“Sorry, Allison. I’m taken.”
CHARACTER BIOS
GRADY O’BRIEN – Wine Entrepreneur – Age 32
Tall, dark and sexy Grady O’Brien doesn’t play games that he can’t win. So when he signs up for a week of playing Allison’s fake boyfriend with a covert mission of taking over her company, he confidently predicts success. Of Irish decent and with slate blue eyes, Grady has faith in his powers of persuasion. He’s made a mint running a huge wine wholesaler, and keeps his 6 ft. 1 in. bod buff by restoring the 1920s Craftsman style house he bought and with rugged hiking and camping expeditions into the mountains. But beneath his tough exterior, Grady harbors an ultra personal secret—one that even his girlfriend Kate doesn’t know. Only the woman who can unlock it can find the way to his heart. Is it possible that person is someone who is his polar opposite? The totally free-spirited, disorganized and emotional Allison Murphy?
ALLISON MURPHY – Wine Label Designer and Small Business Owner – Age 29
Pretty and talented Allison Murphy has long blond hair, bright blue eyes and an artistic bent. She runs her own wine label design company, and due to some personal history has an extreme dislike of all things “big business.” This includes people like the very arrogant, yet admittedly hot, Grady O’Brien, who is obviously used to getting his way both on and off the job. Still, she’s in a pinch so agrees to let him play her boyfriend for the annual beach week she spends with her overly eager matchmaking girlfriends. They’re always trying to fix her up, but Allison doesn’t believe true love can be orchestrated that way. When the right guy comes along—as delivered by the fates—she’ll just know it. What Allison never expects is to find herself developing real feelings for the object of her pretend affections: the strong, sure and temptingly attractive Grady O’Brien.
AUTHOR BIO
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author Ginny Baird has published novels in print and online and received screenplay options from Hollywood for her family and romantic comedy scripts. She writes heartwarming contemporary romance about single women facing everyday challenges. Known for featuring holidays and family themes in her work, Ginny frequently portrays the struggles of single parents or others who've given up on finding true love.
Ginny has two novella series, The Holiday Brides Series (holiday romance) and The Summer Grooms Series (summer romance), a Romantic Ghost Stories series (paranormal ghost romance), and additional single titles available. She is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author, a Top 10 Best Seller on Kindle, NOOK and iBooks, and a #1 Best Seller in several Romance and Women's Fiction categories. Visit Ginny's website www.ginnybairdromance.com to learn more about her and her books.
Interview
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
What inspired you to write your first book?
Do you have a specific writing style?
How did you come up with the title?
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
How much of the book is realistic?
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
What books have most influenced your life most?
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
Interview
Where are you
from?
I
was born in Wilmington, Delaware, but raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. We
moved there when I was four, and I stay until graduating from high school.
Tell us your
latest news?
I’m
excited to have just finished a new romantic comedy novel, The Borrowed Boyfriend. This is my first time writing an Irish hero
(Grady O’Brien), and I had such fun with him, and his sweet Irish grandmother,
Abigail, who makes a few appearances. The Irish theme is fitting, since the
novel releases close to St. Patrick’s Day.
When and why
did you begin writing?
I
started writing poetry as a child and then wrote more in high school. By
college, I was writing for the weekly campus paper. I always knew I wanted to
write fiction, but it took me a while. I had to work a few day jobs to pay the
bills along the way first.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Probably
when I got my first “paid” compensation for my writing. I had an article
published in a parenting journal and they sent me a check for something like
$20.00. I was so excited I took the whole family (husband and kids) out to
dinner… Er, yes, at a fast food restaurant. But, still! It was a moment.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My
first romance novel was inspired by a trip to the Optometrist with my young
daughter. The glasses guy was very hot, and I decided he deserved a story! LOL.
That book, Real Romance, is about a
shy romance reader who meets the real-life hero of her dreams. She’s as blind
as a bat and meets him (you’ve got it…) while picking up her new eyeglasses.
Do you have a specific writing style?
My
writing style varies slightly, depending on whether I’m writing mysteries or
romantic comedy. The rom-coms have more physical comedy and laugh-out-loud
moments, whereas the mysteries involve a higher degree of suspense. In both types of writing, I include lots of
heartfelt emotion though.
How did you come up with the title?
I
was thinking of the phrase “something borrowed…something blue….” as it pertains
to weddings, and it occurred to me that borrowing someone’s boyfriend would be
something pretty novel. When Allison gets talked into borrowing her roommate
Kate’s boyfriend Grady for a week, in order to save face with her old college
friends, it presents a fun and unique hook.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
That
true love is out there… just not always in the places you expect to find it.
How much of the book is realistic?
Pretty
much all of it, particularly for those who have led adventuresome lives!
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Since
I’m such a klutz, I often include real-life things that have happened to me in
my books because I think they’re funny. There’s a scene in a restaurant between
Allison and Grady, where her purse tumbles onto the carpet and some of her most
personal (and embarrassing) items spill out. I had that moment on one of my
first dates with my husband. Fortunately, I lived to laugh about it!
What books have most influenced your life most?
It’s
difficult to say which books have influenced me most, because I’m always the
most influenced by the books of the moment! Right now, I’m reading lots of
Sophie Kinsella (not her Shopaholic books, but the stand-alones), and I can’t
get enough of her British sense of humor. She is truly a stellar writer.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Sophie
Kinsella. J
What would you
like my readers to know?
That
I’d love for them to sign up for my newsletter! I’m now offering monthly prizes
to my subscribers. They can find the sign up link and a complete prize list at
my web site here:
Thank
you for hosting me on your blog, and for the wonderful interview questions.
TOP TEN BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES
Ginny Baird – Author of The Borrowed Boyfriend
- Bridget Jones’s Diary
- Under the Tuscan Sun
- The Princess Bride
- The Princess Diaries
- Cinderella
- Confessions of a Shopaholic
- Marley & Me
- Rebecca
- Wuthering Heights
- Gone with the Wind
GIVEAWAY PRIZES
5 e-book copies of romantic comedy MY BEST FRIEND’S BRIDE (Mobi/Kindle or ePub)
This event has been organized by
Thanks so much for hosting me on your wonderful blog today! I really loved the interview and Top Ten questions. Lots of fun! Best wishes, Ginny
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