THE BAD BOY’S GIFT by Sara Daniel is the first book in the hot new series of small town romance novellas, The Bad Boys of Regret Hollow. When the bad boy returns to town to claim what’s his, will he be able to resist the love he thought he left behind?

​Former bad boy, now famous artist, Zane DeMonde laughs off an engraved invitation to return to Regret Hollow, the same town that booted him out fifteen years ago. When he discovers the woman who once broke his heart is putting his professional reputation at risk by selling his old paintings, he’s no longer laughing. He’ll do anything to stop her, even return to town … even put his heart in jeopardy again.
 
High school art teacher Julianne Truman's last chance to save her beloved art department from budget cuts is to sell the old artwork Zane gifted her. Her heart breaks to remove the final traces of him from her life, but she needs to finally move on from the love she never got over.

Julianne’s life belongs to her students, and Zane’s only goal is to protect his art. But the moment they wrap their arms around each other, their old attraction flares to life hot enough to incinerate them and their best intentions.

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | All Romance eBooks

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Follow the Release Day Blast on March 29th and enter to win a Kindle Fire from Sara Daniel!

We are thrilled to have fan favorite Elley Arden here on the blog for an exclusive interview about her upcoming release, MARRIAGE BY DESIGN.  Elley gives us the inside scoop on MARRIAGE BY DESIGN.

BP: Can you tell readers, without using the blurb, what MARRIAGE BY DESIGN is about?

EA: MARRIAGE BY DESIGN starts off with heroine Angie Corcarelli, who is a carpenter and the owner of her late-father’s carpentry business, learning the historic row homes that she’s been wanting to buy and renovate are being torn down to make way for a highway. As fate would have it, the highway project is headed up by construction engineer Stuart Perrault, who just so happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Angie’s best friend-turned-sister-in-law. This is an enemies-to-lovers story with Angie hell bent on stopping the demolition of those homes, and Stuart in the impossible position of trying to calm her down so the project goes off without a hitch. There’s also a good dose of family drama thrown in—and of course some steamy sex.

BP:  Oh, that sounds awesome, love the enemies-turned-lovers aspect.  MARRIAGE BY DESIGN is the second book in the Designing Love series. Can you give readers who are new to this series a series overview?

EA: The Designing Love series is first and foremost about the lengths people will go for their families. In this case, the books focus on the large Italian-American Corcarelli family, who are described as “Jersey Shore” without the booze by a secondary character early on in the first book. They are loud, proud, loyal, and passionate. They make me laugh a lot too.

BP: They sound like a great family to be a part of.  How would you describe the setting of MARRIAGE BY DESIGN?

EA: MARRIAGE BY DESIGN is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, specifically urban areas that are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, like Lawrenceville and Bloomfield (Pittsburgh’s Little Italy). These are neighborhoods with narrow streets and alleys lined with rowhouses, where you’re just as likely to see an eighty-year-old woman with a cane in one hand and a loaf of Italian bread in the other as you are a young professional couple parallel parking their BMW. And let me tell you, the restaurants are second to none. 

BP:  I adore the cover for MARRIAGE BY DESIGN, it is so charming and heartwarming. Can you tell us about what inspired you to write contemporary romance? 

EA: I write contemporary romance because I think there’s inspiration to be had in stories that are relatable. I like my heroine in particular to be someone the reader can look up to and even aspire to be. That’s why the longer I write the more independent and unorthodox my heroines become. I really believe it’s time for women to see and hear about other women who are breaking gender roles and loving the results. If you like women who feel at home in a man’s world, then you will love my books.

BP: Tell us about the characters in MARRIAGE BY DESIGN, are any of them like you or anyone you know in real life?

EA: All of my characters are infused with physical characteristics or personality traits that I’ve observed in real life. However, my characters come to life shortly after I create them, and they take on their own mannerisms and behaviors. By the time the book is done, the similarities to me or real life people have been obliterated.

BP: Tell us more about your hero, Stuart, what about him makes him a "hero" for MARRIAGE BY DESIGN?

EA: Stuart Perrault is a great guy! He pays serious attention to other people’s thoughts, feelings, and circumstances, so it’s no wonder he started a non-profit organization to build low- and no-cost housing for people who have lost their homes in fires and other disasters. But what really makes him “hero” material to me is the way he treats the heroine. I love a man who knows how to take care of a woman while still celebrating her strength and independence.

BP: And Angie, what about her makes her "leading lady" material and a good fit for Stuart? 

EA: A heroine should be someone who is admirable and not because she’s beautiful or rich. She should stand for something or stand up for something at some point in the story—even if she’s struggling to find her way early on. My heroine Angie Corcarelli fits the bill. She adores her family and wants to make their lives easier, and she’s willing to fight for the underdog. Of course, she struggles to find balance and often ends up giving too much of herself, like we all do.

BP: Which scene in MARRIAGE BY DESIGN was the hardest to write and why?

EA: The shower scene in MARRIAGE BY DESIGN was the hardest scene I’ve ever written. It was nearly impossible to keep Angie and Stuart from having sex when all I really wanted was a deeply sensual scene that was as sexy as it was emotionally satisfying.

BP:  Turning to a bit different topic, as an author, you're also a reader. Do you have any favorite authors, anyone you would fangirl over?

EA: *laughs* not sure if I fangirl or not, but my favorite authors are the ones who have left the biggest impressions on me: Judith McNaught, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Rachel Gibson. These are really my only “auto buys.” Unfortunately, Judith hasn’t written anything new in many years. The good news is I don’t mind rereading the twenty-something-year-old paperbacks that line my book shelf. 

BP:  Do you have any advice for readers who are aspiring authors?

EA: Write. It’s so overly simplistic, but it’s the most important thing you can do. Put your blinders on when it comes to everything else. I spent the first year of my career as a published author trying to read every book that made ripples in the marketplace, trying to build a vibrant social media platform, trying to make the right connections, trying to better my craft based on what this person said and that person said, blah, blah, blah. I ended up hating writing. I lost my heart and soul. It took shutting most everything out to find the joy again. You’re a writer for a reason. You should be writing more than you are doing any other career-related task. Those other things are definitely important, but they are useless if you aren’t writing anything.

BP: Can you share any awards/honors you have won for your writing?

EA: I entered one contest early in my writing career: The Central Ohio Fiction Writer’s Ignite the Flame Contest. I won first place. I guess you could say I’m batting a thousand. 

BP: It's clear that your characters in MARRIAGE BY DESIGN, and the Designing Love series, are all about family and community. Are you involved in any community/charity organizations in real life?

EA: I’m woefully uninvolved at the moment. The past two years have been a whirlwind of deadlines while raising three teenagers and a puppy. One of these days I’ll get back to regular attendance and participation in the organizations I love. 

BP: Raising teenagers is certainly being involved in a community--it takes a village *wink*.    One last question. How can readers connect with you and learn about your books?

EA: My website is the best place to learn more about me and my books. You can check me out at www.elleyarden.com.


Thank you so much Elley for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to chat with us here at Barclay Publicity.  It was a lot of fun.  MARRIAGE BY DESIGN releases on August 11, 2014 and stay tuned, as we will be announcing the blog tour line up for MARRIAGE BY DESIGN soon!

Author Bio

Elley Arden is a born and bred Pennsylvanian who has lived as far west as Utah and as far north as Wisconsin. She drinks wine like it’s water (a slight exaggeration), prefers a night at the ballpark to a night on the town, and believes almond English toffee is the key to happiness.

Charming characters. Emotional stories. Sexy romance.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

She did it again! Another fabulous read from Ashley C. Harris. ONE NIGHT IN HEATED SNAPSHOTS is a collaboration between Ashley Harris (Author), Cameron Yeager (Editor), and Amber Harris (Cover Designer). Readers will love the chemistry between Beth and Sterling in this impressive, steamy read. Barclay Publicity will be scheduling the release tour for January so stay tuned for more info on this sizzling release. For now, we're going to kick things off with a special first look. Please enjoy this exclusive excerpt from ONE NIGHT IN HEATED SNAPSHOTS.

Excerpt 1: Skin on Skin

Beth made the mistake of meeting Sterling’s smile as he took a step two inches closer to her. He was silently laughing and she wanted to deck him. Tara snapped a few shots. “Ok, this isn’t smoldering at all. Can you guys, like, touch?”

Another step and Sterling placed his hand behind her back, his fingers making her shiver. He placed his other hand on her hip and moved closer still as Tara instructed him. Their foreheads were nearly touching as Beth tried to avoid his deep gaze.

Gosh, this cretin doesn’t just have a six pack or an eight pack, it’s like he has enough muscle indents to make an actual twelve pack! As if that wasn’t all, his shoulders and arms were long and strong.

“Beth? Hello, Earth to Beth.”
She snapped her head up, embarrassed she’d totally zoned out.

“Will you do it?”

“Do what?” Beth asked. Wasn’t she surely doing enough?

 “Take your shirt off,” Tara insisted.

“No way!” Beth snapped, taking a big step back out of Sterling’s arms.
“Come on, you’ll have a bra on which is practically like a bathing suit and that way I can get a picture of bare shoulders touching bare shoulders. Your face won’t be in it, promise.” “What’s the matter, perfect Bethany,” Sterling whispered. “Are you afraid?”

Anger pulsed through her. The nerve of this guy. No, she wasn’t so much of a good girl that she was afraid; in fact she happened to be wearing one of her deep blue Victoria Secret bras that had the greatest push up effect. She just didn't think Sterling deserved to see her in it. But after his insulting challenge about her being too perfect and nervous, she made a thoughtlessly quick choice and peeled her shirt off, shocking Tara and Sterling both.

“My face ends up in this and you’re dead,” she told Tara as Sterling just openly stared, his gaze traveling from her cleavage to her face. Really, as if he hasn’t seen a full chest before. Beth secretly prayed she looked sexy. Oh, please God.

The way Sterling walked up to her was definitely different this time, it was like he was hesitant to touch her for a moment. And then there it was again, his warm, rough touch running down her spine. They looked at each other, two people who always got under each other’s flesh and refused to back down.

About ONE NIGHT IN HEATED SNAPSHOTS:

On the eve of Beth's college graduation, she is given the opportunity of a lifetime; an overnight, all expenses paid photography trip that will take her from New Jersey to the hot sands of Miami Beach. This adventure could land her the top magazine job she's been dreaming about … that is if the most adorably handsome but most annoying guy on the planet doesn't get in the way.

Sterling Johnson, Beth's neighbor, is the hot, college swim champion whose music and loud partying keeps his entire dorm up half the night. Where he goes, crazy swim fans follow. He could get any girl he wants … except for the perfect and career focused Beth.

When Beth leaves for the photography competition, she's shocked to see Sterling on the plane. As the heat of Miami threatens to scorch the feelings these two have been hiding for each other, will Beth’s dreams of winning be realized, or will Sterling’s revengeful plans ruin everything?

Published: Dec. 16, 2013
Words: 30,380 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781310341779
Genre: New Adult

Get your copy at Amazon | Smashwords

About Ashley C. Harris

Author and film director Ashley C. Harris resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. When she is not hard at work writing or dreaming up new indie films she spends her time working out, reading the bible, and going on breath taking adventures with her sister.

The seed for becoming an author started budding for Ashley in the third grade, when she wrote her first hundred page book during her class's quite time, her teacher couldn't believe it and voiced over her that surly she'd become an author someday. Those words never left Ashley and she has been writing ever since.

Ashley loves to create young adult, science fiction, fantasy novels, and is currently working on her first steamy romance... with more to come.

Connect with Ashley: Website | Twitter | Facebook