LOVE IRRESISTIBLY cover (and a giveaway!)

Please note: the giveaway is now closed. Winners will be announced shortly.

Yep, it’s here.

This has been a big week for me–not only did I turn in Love Irresistibly to my editor (whoo-hoo!), but Berkley finalized the cover.  Want to see?

I think the art department did another great job with this one– I love that red dress! (You may even see that in the book…)

Here’s more info about Love Irresistibly:

HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…

A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.

AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.

A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love . . .

Want to know more? How about a wholly, completely unedited excerpt:

“Do you have some sort of court order to do this?” Brooke asked Cade.

“No.”  Seated across the desk from her, flanked by the two FBI agents, he appeared unconcerned with such pesky details.  “But I can get one, if necessary.”

From his self-assured tone, Brooke had a feeling that Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan was a man who was used to getting his way.  He certainly looked the part, with his tall, athletic build, angular jaw, dark brown hair, and cobalt blue eyes. He was remarkably good-looking—she would have to be a fool not to notice that—and she had no doubt that this played very well for him both inside and outside the courtroom.

“You probably could get an emergency judge to grant you an order allowing you plant a few bugs in the restaurant,” she conceded.  “But you would still need someone on the inside to make sure your target sits at the right table.”

“It would be very difficult for us to pull this off without your help.”

At least he could acknowledge that much.  “Before I’d even consider agreeing to this, I need to know who the target is and what that person or persons is being investigated for.”

Cade shook his head. “I’m afraid the nature of the investigation is confidential.  As for the identity of the target, after we have your agreement to cooperate, we’ll provide you with that information at the appropriate time so that you know who to seat at the bugged table.”

For Brooke, however, this point was not up for debate.  “I have a responsibility to protect Sterling’s interests, Mr. Morgan, and that includes the safety of its employees and customers.  For all I know, your target is an organized crime boss, a drug kingpin, or some other sort of dangerous criminal.  What if these two men discover that the table is bugged?  What if they identify Agent Huxley and his fake date as undercover agents and pull out guns and start shooting people?  Can you imagine the liability I’d be exposing the company to if someone got hurt and I’d had advance notice that there was a potentially dangerous sting operation going down in one of our restaurants?”

Cade considered this point.  “I can’t reveal the nature of our investigation,” he said finally.  “But I can assure you that neither of the two men who will be at Sogna on Sunday night are considered dangerous.  Nobody’s pulling out guns and starting a shoot-out in the middle of your restaurant.  This isn’t the O.K. Corral.”

“I’d still like the names.”

His blue eyes held hers boldly. “You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Parker.”

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t.”

“Hmm.”  He stretched out in the chair, looking effortlessly handsome and every bit the successful trial lawyer in his tailored gray pinstripe suit.  “Now, normally, this would be the point when I’d have to give you the tough-guy speech about how, if you were to reveal to anyone the confidential nature of the information I’m about to give you, you could be charged with obstruction of justice and face a possible felony conviction and imprisonment.” He flashed her a dashing grin. “Luckily, though, since you’re a lawyer and obviously know that already, we can skip over the tough-guy stuff.  Which is nice, because that part of the conversation can get really awkward.”

Maybe it was the fact that Brooke, admittedly, was having a bad day.  She’d been dumped by the Hot OB, had just spent three hours on the phone haggling with the Staples Center lawyers over every tiny, miniscule part of their hospitality deal, and had done it all on two measly bites of a chicken taco and a melted strawberry-mango smoothie.  She was tired, hungry, and had, up until ten minutes ago, been looking forward to the first weekend in a long time where she did not have to work.  So, yes—she was, perhaps, feeling extra-cranky because of circumstances that had nothing to do with anyone sitting in that office right then.

But Cade Morgan was seriously beginning to piss her off.

He’d come to her office, seemingly to ask for her help.  Now he was threatening her with obstruction of justice charges—and most annoyingly, he was doing it with a smile.

So she returned the favor.  “That is nice, Mr. Morgan.  Because in response to your tough-guy speech, I, in turn, would’ve had to give you my tough-girl speech, about where, exactly, federal prosecutors who come to my office looking for assistance can stick their obstruction of justice threats.”  She smiled ever-so-charmingly. “So I’m glad we were able to sidestep that whole ugly business. Whew.

Although her attention was focused on Cade, out of the corner of her eye, Brooke could see Agents Huxley and Roberts looking at the wall and ceiling, seemingly trying to hide their smiles.

Cade looked momentarily caught off guard, the first time since he’d waltzed into her office, then his eyes flashed with something else entirely.  Amusement, perhaps.

That annoyed her even more.

 ***

Here’s the giveaway part: To celebrate having turned in the book, (yep, still whoo-hoo!), I’m giving away five copies of About That Night, the book in which Cade first appeared on the Chicago FBI/US Attorney scene. Winners can choose either a signed paperback or a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo ebook. The giveaway is open internationally, and will remain open until 9pm CST on Thursday, September 20th. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below.

Love Irresistibly can be pre-ordered at: Amazon (paperback or Kindle), Barnes & Noble, BAM or Powell’s. (More pre-order links, including one for Nook, to come as they become available.)

And don’t miss two more great giveaways!

Through Thursday, drop by Speaking of Audiobooks at the All About Romance blog, where one winner will win all three FBI/US Attorney series audiobooks. (Something About You, A Lot Like Love, About That Night.) There’s also an interview with myself and Karen White, the narrator, who shares some great behind-the-scenes thoughts on how she did the voices for the heroines of the books (and Jack). All you have to do to enter there is leave a comment.

Second, Karen is giving away copies of the A Lot Like Love and About That Night audiobooks over at her blog. (And if you’ve never listened to an audiobook before, both these giveaways are great chances to try some out for free!)

Good luck everyone!

ABOUT THAT NIGHT audiobook available today!

For all you audiobook fans, fans of the FBI/US Attorney series, and/or fans of billionaire-heir ex-con heroes (I never get tired of saying that), I’ve got good news: the About That Night audiobook releases today! I’m so excited that Tantor Audio is is releasing the series in audio format.

Here’s the new cover art for the audibook:

Isn’t she a sassy one? Love it.

The book is narrated by Karen White, who did an awesome job with the Just the Sexiest Man AliveSomething About You, and A Lot Like Love audiobooks.  Want to hear a clip of the book?  Here you go: ABOUT THAT NIGHT audio clip

The audiobook is available from Tantor Audio, and is currently 50% off. (Yay!) No clue how long that sale lasts, so if you’re interested I’d check it out soon. You can also purchase the book through Audible.com.

In addition, Speaking of Audiobooks is running a giveaway this week in which one lucky winner will receive all three FBI/US Attorney audiobooks. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the All About Romance blog. In addition to the giveaway, there are interviews with both myself and narrator Karen White–which includes some very cool behind-the-scenes info on how Karen does the voices for the heroines in the series (and Jack).

Happy listening!

 

 

Video Interview

Hey everyone! I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile–a video interview I did with Morgan at RT BookReviews Magazine. In it, I talk about a few–ahem–problems I had trying to write About That Night with a newborn baby, writing dialogue, the research I do for the FBI/US Attorney books, balancing family and work, and how my AUSA friends probably wonder if I even went to law school.

Thanks to RT BookReviews for the interview!

RT convention photos (don’t laugh)

Okay, so if you haven’t realized this about me already, I’m the worst about taking photos at these writers’ conferences.  But I had an amazing time at the RT BookLovers convention, connecting with both readers and other authors, so I thought I’d share the little I have.

First, let’s start with the good stuff.  Here’s a great photo taken by Benita, a reader who dropped by my table at the book signing.

Next, I grabbed this picture off Twitter that was taken by Beth Kery, when a bunch of us went downtown for dinner.  That’s Nalini Singh in the background there, getting ready to steal some of my frosting.

 

And now for the one photo that I took, the one time I actually remembered to pull out my phone and take a picture.  I think this speaks volumes about me:

A piece of chocolate cake as big as my head.

Seriously, it was that huge.  That’s Louisa Edwards’s hand there, for scale.

So there you have it, the photo journal of my RT experience.  I met lots of awesome readers, hung out with super-cool readers, found out that About That Night made the NY Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and ate lots and lots of chocolate cake.  Oh, and then my dad stopped by the book signing as a surprise and told people coming up to my table that he’s my dad and that I’m a “really nice person.”  (Thanks, Dad!) Then he ran off to get a book signed by Sue Grafton.

All in all, a pretty great four days.

Edited to add: Yay! After posting this, another reader, Maria, emailed me the following two photos for my collection. For those of you who haven’t been to an RT or RWA conference, the first photo gives you a glimpse of what one looks like.

 

 

New York Times! USA Today! (And a thank you)

So here I am, at the RT BookLovers convention in Chicago.  Yesterday, after finishing up a workshop on sexual tension, I saw that my editor had called with the AMAZING news that About That Night made both the New York Times (#26 in ebook) and USA Today (#89) bestseller lists!!!!  I think I was speechless for a moment or two–a rare occasion, indeed–before the cheering began.  And then, while calling my husband, I may or may not have told a bunch of perfect strangers in the elevator that my book made the NYT and USA Today lists.  (Luckily, they cheered too, or that would’ve been really awkward.)

It goes without saying that this is all because of you guys, all you awesome readers who bought the book this past week.  For that I’m thrilled beyond words.  All the emails and tweets and Facebook comments you’ve sent about About That Night have been great–it’s wonderful to hear that so many of you have enjoyed the book.  Yay for Smug Dimpled billionaire heir ex-cons!

The New York Times list hasn’t posted yet, but here’s the USA Today list for anyone who wants to check it out.

Thanks so much, everyone. I’m over the moon.