LOVE, EXES, AND OHS
He may very well be the
perfect ex...
Isaac McKnight has had
enough loss in his life to know never to take anything for granted. So when the
perfectly-imperfect-woman-for-him puts an end to their relationship out of the
blue, it's Isaac that makes sure they remain friends. Now a year later, whether
it's at his gym or her brewpub, or the dog park they visit every
weekend--though neither of them own a dog--he and Xoey are steadily getting
sucked deeper into buddy-zone galaxy, with its dangerous proximity to
watch-me-settle-down-with-someone-else abyss. It's a reality he's resigned
himself to. That is...until one drunken confession changes everything.
But she's looking for the
perfect oh...
For Xoey Montenegro,
history has taught her that sometimes, it's Prince Charming who vanishes
without a trace. And fairytale love? Highly overrated. Heck, give her a real
and perfect 'oh' over that fantasy any day. So as far as rock-solid
tequila-fueled plans for her love life go, coming up with a match-finding
formula based on the qualities of the men responsible for her three most epic
ohs seems brilliant. Except for the fact that one-third of her genius little
man-quation is all about her friend Isaac. Actually, more than a third if Xoey
were being honest with herself--which she's not. Because full honesty would
require thinking not just about how perfect Isaac really is, but also about how
perfect the fourth epic oh she's kept buried deep in her past once was.
An easy enough thing to
keep ignoring...until her past isn't past tense anymore.
Amazon = http://amzn.to/1GHml7z
B&N = http://bit.ly/ExesOhs_BN
iBooks = http://bit.ly/ExesOhs_iTunes
Google = http://bit.ly/ExesOhs_GooglePlay
Kobo = http://bit.ly/ExesOhs_Kobo
©
2015 Violet Duke
EXCERPT
CHOICES
CHOICE
#1
Xoey pulled
back and smothered a grimace when she saw it was Sienna’s blind date fix-up for
her, aka Mr. Octopus Hands. Great.
“Griffin,
hi. How are you?” she offered genially.
“Can’t
complain,” replied an even louder than she remembered Griffin, who had on a top
shelf whiskey slap-happy grin on his face as he swung his glance from her to
Isaac. “So you two are dating now? Congrats.
Small world. Though I guess I
shouldn’t be surprised since you both know Quinn and Luke.” He slung an arm around Isaac’s shoulder. “I don’t say this often but in this case,
it’s the truth. I couldn’t have lost out
to a better guy.”
Lost
out? Griffin hadn’t even been a contender.
Her thoughts
must have been showing through on her expression because Isaac’s mouth twitched
up into a tiny grin.
Xoey found
herself smiling as well, momentarily giving Mr. Octopus Hands a pass for everything
he’d done to earn that moniker. He had
her and Isaac smiling again. That had to
count for something. So she smiled
politely as he continued to disprove the myth that folks don’t actually talk like they do on TV crime
shows.
“I’m telling
you,” continued Griffin. “This guy is
the greatest. He saved my ass more than
a few times back in business school. Am
I right?” He triple-patted Isaac’s cheek
in that mafia sort of way.
Huh, maybe
the guy was just handsy with everyone.
Suddenly, his ass-pats the other week didn’t seem quite so offensive.
“Anyway,
I’ll let you two get back to your date.”
Griffin gave
her a long lost hug. “Xoey, it was so great
catching up with you.”
Catching up?
She wondered
what the atmosphere was like on his happy little planet. Must be nice.
Another lip
twitch came from Isaac.
Man, her
poker face clearly needed work.
“And
you.” Griffin did a cheesy
double-pointing thing at Isaac. “You,
call me so we can go grab drinks one night with all the guys. We miss you, man.”
“Yeah, of
course. I’ve been pretty broken up about
that, too.” Isaac mimicked the
double-pointing thing, and Xoey just barely held back a burst of laughter
One more
triple-pat on Isaac’s cheek and he was off.
“You know, I
really have no idea why I chose you over him.”
Isaac
chuckled.
“Oh crap,”
she sighed. “He’s coming back this
way. I think the GPS on his space ship might
be broken.”
Isaac’s
shoulders shook with even more quiet laughter.
“Christ, I’ve missed that quick mind of yours.”
ABOUT
VIOLET DUKE:
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a
former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other
side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and
USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers across the major
eretailers both in the US and internationally. When she's not writing or
feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects
with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the
directions first, and cooking 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face
of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into
creatively fun trouble in Hawai'i alongside her two cute kids (daughter Violet
& son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.
Find the latest on her books and fan giveaways at www.facebook.com/VioletDukeBooks
1. Who do you most
relate to out of all your Cactus Creek heroines?
Honestly, there’s a little bit of me in each of them. I’m a damaged but hopeless romantic like Dani
(Chocolate & Beer); I’m a helicopter mom who enjoys being a ball-busting
business woman like Quinn (Diamonds & Spades); and I’ve had my fair share
of tragedies while still believing in hope and happiness like Lia (Tussles
& Takedowns). I think I’m the most
like Lia on the inside (not just because of her ties to MMA) but because of how
she views life. But if you ask my
friends, hands down, they’d say I’m the most like Xoey (Exes & Ohs). She has predominantly guy friends, she
becomes a hilarious 'genius' when she’s drunk, and she believes wholeheartedly
that we should all be “unafraid to jump into love ass first.” *grin*
2. If you could cast
anyone to play in a Cactus Creek Movie who would you pick?
Love, Chocolate, and Beer
-- For Dani, I’ve always pictured Chyler Leigh (when she
first started Grey’s Anatomy), but now that I’ve seen Pitch Perfect 2 and
developed a massive girl crush on Anna Kendrick, I have to go with her. LOL!
-- Jensen Ackles. He
has that ridiculously hot guy next door look about him with eyes I get stupid
over, and an unforgettable presence. A
lot like how I imagine Luke to be.
Love, Diamonds, and Spades
-- If Katharine McPhee (I LOVE her in Scorpion) was blond,
I’d say she’d be a lock for Quinn but since she’s not, I’d say without a doubt,
Dianna Agron. Bonus that she plays a
Quinn on Glee. ;)
-- Paul Walker.
Effortlessly good looking, bluntly romantic, intensely focused. With a sexy, masculine smile and giant heart
you can’t help but fall for. Yep, that’s
Rylan.
Love, Tussles, and Takedowns
-- I mostly pictured old school kung-fu movie actresses when
writing Lia’s martial arts scenes, but in the broader sense, in my mind, I saw
Maggie Q (fellow local girl from Hawai‘i – woot!). However, I have this this thing about
Hollywood cross-casting Asians (I’m Japanese and can always tell when they cast
a non-Japanese actress to play a Japanese role). LOL!
So since Maggie Q isn’t of Chinese descent like Lia is, I’d say it would
be a tie between Kelly Hu (my husband crushes on her big time) and Kristin
Kreuk.
-- Justice Joslin.
Holy moly. He makes scruffy look
so freaking good. Everything about him
reminds me of Hudson. And yes, I made
sure to study every single inch of him to make sure. :)
Love, Exes, and Ohs
-- Elsa Pataky.
Totally. She’s got the same
exotic Spanish look as Xoey and she's beautifully tough. Plus, she’s married to Thor. So...yeah, that raises her in the awesome
plane that I believe Xoey exists on.
LOL!
-- Josh Duhamel. He
has that quiet sexiness and innate kindness that Isaac is all about – the kind
that sneaks up on you and never lets go...he just looks like he’d wait on his
best friend to fall in love (and lust) with him. Like Isaac does.
3. What do you love
most about the Cactus Creek series?
That the folks in Cactus Creek are so down to earth, but
fantastically original at the same time.
The town is just so weird and quirky (which, wildly accurate rumors
would claim I am as well). And the main
characters are all fun and real -- I just want to become best friends with all
of ‘em! My fans tell me that each of the
couples' stories are so different from each other. I LOVE hearing this. The Cactus Creek cast is definitely a motley
crew, and they each fell in love in such unique ways. I think that's also my favorite part of the
series -- that I've gotten to fall in love in so many different ways through
the characters' stories.
4. Which couple do you
have a soft spot for in the Cactus Creek series?
Ack! Wow, this one is
hard. Dani & Luke have been with me
as a couple for the longest -- I wrote them long before I wrote my first series
(the Can’t Resist series). Isaac &
Xoey’s story burrowed into my heart the fastest (almost as far back as Dani
& Luke) and developed the most the more I got to know them. Rylan & Quinn was actually a fan favorite
who I delved into more by rabid fan request, and when I did, good lord, I fell
hard for Rylan. But I think I’d have to
say I have the softest spot for Hudson and Lia.
Those two have had such rough lives, and they’re both such amazingly
good people. I admire them, and think
that as a couple, they inspire me even more.
5. You are releasing
a brand new series, The Unfinished Love Series.
What are you most excited for readers to know about this release?
The tagline of the series is: Four brothers, each fighting
for their second first chance at love.
Years be damned. And that’s what
I’m most excited about. Readers meet the
Spencer brothers (Caine, Gabe, Max, and Drew) in Tussles & Takedowns (and
the oldest brother Caine again in Exes & Ohs). But in this new series,, they get to see a
whole, intensely romantic side to them in the Unfinished Love series. The couples’ storylines are more emotional
than my other books, and in a way fuller as well since each couple in this
series gets two books. If my first
series (Can’t Resist) and my second series (Cactus Creek) had a romantically
complex, slightly rebellious, ruggedly tender offspring, the Unfinished Love
series would be it. *grin*
FOR ALL:
Thanks so much for having me on your blog!! I always LOVE chatting with bloggers and fans
over on my Facebook page so stop by one of these days! I make it a point to have my FB page be
creatively fun and utterly random most days.
So far, I've been highly successful.
:)
xoxo
V
No comments:
Post a Comment