Teaching Officer Lonesome

1-Tell the readers a little about yourself.

Hi!  I live in Southern Oregon with my husband and two little girls.  When I'm not writing, I'm reading, watching movies, or hanging out with my friends and family.  I'm a pretty average Joe :)  

2-As an author, do you take time to read? If so, what do you like to read and who is/are your favorite author/s?

I'm such a book worm.  I blame my parents for that.  They taught me and my siblings to love reading from a very young age.  I can remember spending hours and hours in our rocking chair, reading in front of the fire.  My dad would keep adding more logs to the fire, smiling the whole time.  He knew that fostering this love of reading would be a lifelong gift for us.  And he was right.

I like to read the kind of stories I like to write.  Romantic suspense and paranormal romance.  But I also love mysteries, true crime, chik lit and books on the craft of writing.  Stephen King's On Writing is one of my all time favorite books.  I have an autographed copy!  My pride and joy :)

3-How do you stay motivated when the Muse is uncooperative?

Ugh.  That's a toughie, as all writers know.  I think for me, reading is one of the best motivators.  Reading a great story makes me want to write one.  I also get in the mood to write after watching a really good movie.  Especially ones with a sexy hero or two.  Yummy!  

Sometimes I get a little burned out when my characters or storyline is being uncooperative.  That's when a day off from writing really works wonders.  I've found that I need to give myself a chance to miss it a little.  And I do.  I can't go for more than a few days at the most, or I start to climb the walls.  Then I'm ready to get back at it and the words usually flow much better.

4-If you could go anywhere in the world on a romantic getaway, what would you do and where would you go?

Oh, boy.  Italy.  Everything about that country seems romantic to me.  The wine, the rich European history, the beautiful countryside.  Maybe it's also because one of my favorite movies is Under The Tuscan Sun, and Marcello is such a hearthrob ;)  Frances is a writer and rediscovers her gift when she moves to Tuscany.  Such a great story.  

5-What is the hardest thing for you to write?

I hate transition scenes.  They're a necessary evil, but seem so boring to me.  I struggle to write them in a way that'll still keep my readers interested.

6-If you could live the life of one of your characters who would you be?

What a great question!  I think I'd be Josie from A Death That Lingers.  She's married to an abusive rock star and ends up leaving him to go back to her small home town in Kansas.  She starts a brand new life running her family's antique shop on Main Street and falls in love with the local chief of police (a total hunk).  The only problem is, she ends up being haunted by a very persisent and angry ghost. 

I really love everything about Josie's life (even having to deal with a ghost).  Even though she's moved back to a sleepy, midwestern town, there's never a dull moment for her there. 

7-The tag line on my blog is ‘Indulge Your Inner Romantic.’ What do you do to indulge?

Great tag line!  I like to indulge in time with my best friend.  Once a week we go out for a girl's night, have wine and see a movie.  It's so nice to spend quality time with my husband, but seeing my bestie is like the cherry on top of the sundae.  She balances me out, makes me a happier, more fulfilled person.  That's a healthy indulgence, I think.

A sexy cop with a broken heart is about to be taught a lesson.

Hope Marlow is a twenty-two-year-old seasoned vet when it comes to steamy one-night stands. Hope has had a hard life. From the wrong side of the tracks and abandoned by her mother, she finds herself trying to raise her little sister on a salary that barely pays the bills each month. She's tough, jaded, but when she's pulled over one sweltering summer afternoon for not using her turn signal, she meets her match in a sexually inexperienced cop twice her age.

The day Jack Malone stopped Hope is one he can't forget. It's more than the way she looked in the miniskirt and hot pink tank top, it's her confidence that keeps coming back to haunt him. But Jack is still reeling from his wife's death a year ago, and Hope represents things he thinks he can't have with a woman—passion and a new beginning. Plus, there's the fact that she's practically half his age.

Hope sees things differently. The age difference doesn't bother her, but while Jack craves an emotional connection, Hope has no interest in that. She's an expert at pushing her emotions aside, and she knows that if Jack would let her, she could teach him how fulfilling lust alone can be. With that in mind, she sets out to seduce the sexy cop.

It's only during their first night of passion that they both discover how much they've been missing.

Content Warning: contains sensual sex and some explicit language

About The Author

For Kaylie Newell, storytelling is in the blood. Growing up the daughter of two gifted writers, she knew eventually she’d want to follow in their footsteps. While she’s written short stories her whole life, it wasn’t until after her kids were born that she decided to shoot for the moon and write her first romance novel. She hasn’t looked back since!

Kaylie lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, two little girls, an elderly Chihuahua mix, and two indifferent cats.

She would love to hear from you! You can find her at:
Website: http://www.kaylienewell.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KaylieNewell
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KaylieNewell

Excerpt

Before her knees could touch the linoleum, Jack grabbed her and pulled her up again. "I don't even know you, Hope. And you don't know me. Don't you think there's something off here?"

"No."

He grunted.

"Well, I don't," she said. "You're a guy. Guys like sex. They understand it. They relate to it. It's how you operate. Lucky for you, I happen to speak guy."

The beginnings of a smile touched his lips. "I don't operate like that. I don't just sleep with random women. I need more than this."

More than this. Hope considered herself pretty tough. She was young, but she'd seen a lot. Her father's abuse, her mother's abandonment, extreme poverty. She'd seen her fair share. But despite that, hearing those words coming from this man, hurt. A lot. She wasn't good enough.

She dropped her hands and stepped back. "I see."

He must have recognized the look on her face, because he immediately reached out again. She pulled away and sat heavily on the couch.

"That's not what I meant."

She bit the inside of her cheek, unable to look at him. "I know what you meant. And that's okay. It really is."

Liar. It's not okay. It's never going to be okay. The steel wall around her heart magically gained another layer as she made a bitter mental note. It's official. Sexy, older soccer dads who look fantastic in their work uniforms, and who also happen to be handy around the house, are off your list, missy.

Jack bent down and took her hands. When she tried to pull them back, he tightened his grip. "Will you listen to me for a second?"

She stared at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. When he touched his fingers to her chin, they were warm and calloused, rough and sexy. He raised her head gently until she had no choice but to look him in the face.

"That's not what I meant," he said, his voice low. "You're a beautiful young woman. Any man would be lucky to have you."

She clamped her teeth together. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry.

"I didn't mean I need more than this." Emphasizing the last word, his eyes fell, lingering for a moment on her breasts. "I meant I need more in the form of a relationship."

"A relationship?" She searched his face for any sign he was joking, but found none. He really was too good to be true. "Seriously?"

"Why's that so hard to believe?"

"I've just never met a guy who actually wanted a relationship before sex." She smiled a little, but he remained serious.

"I don't think sex should be a casual thing. I think you should love someone first. Or at least have feelings for them."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she wondered if she could convince him otherwise. She happened to know sex could be mind-blowing even if you weren't head over heels in love.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

He sat back on his heels. "Shoot."

"How many women have you been with?"

His face colored, even through the thick, dark stubble which prickled his neck and jaw. "That's none of your business, Hope."

"I think it's relevant to the conversation we're having."

"I'm not discussing this with you."

"Maybe you should."

He was quiet for a minute, and so was she. They stared at each other for a long moment before he spoke again.

"I'm flattered. I really am. But I'm too old for you."

"You think you're too old for me. I feel differently."

He smiled in a way that said he was done talking about it. "I'm too old for you. But I'd like to be friends. Do you think we can manage that?"

Sure. Whatever.

Sticking his hand out to shake, he was suddenly Officer Malone again. The aloof and businesslike cop who had stopped her last week for the blinker thingy.

"Sure," she said, feeling like a little girl with a hopeless crush. "Friends."