Mevember Giveaways, Day 14

Today's giveaway is a super special project that changed the way I wrote because it gave me a purpose to tell the stories I wanted to tell.

And it all started with reality TV.

Back in the early 2000s, I was a bit of a Reality Show junkie. The hopeless romantic and inner Drama Queen in me gravitated to things like the Bachelor/Bachelorette and even Rock of Love, VH-1's "reality" show starring Poison's front man Brett Michaels.

Sure, he was already suitably matched and it was all for show, but a rock star seeking a romance in front of the cameras? Sign me up. And bring popcorn.

Naturally, when I revived my romance writing career in 2007, I this was where I wanted to play because it was also right around the time I was pretty damn bitter that there were no girls on ANY of these shows that resembled someone who looked like me.

Such a thing was (and still kinda is) unthinkable.

So, I decided to think about it.

This birthed LOVE PLUS ONE, my "reality" show romance starring a thicker chick named Shannon.

Shannon McKenna was an insecure mess when I found her, and how could she not be? She worked in the entertainment business which, in 2007, wasn't as body positive as it attempts to be today. Which is honestly only about 10-15% better than it was 13 years ago.

Sure, we have Lizzo, but have there been any fluffy girls on the Bachelor yet? 

I have no idea. I gave up on all that after I wrote LOVE PLUS ONE. This scratched that itch so well I no longer had to watch standard casting beauties compete over guys we couldn't guarantee wouldn't dump them after the cameras stopped rolling, despite how beautiful and desirable they happened to be.

 LOVE PLUS ONE is a book where I attempted to change the conversation, starring a gal who never wanted to be a part of the conversation. She was a shy, insecure writer who thought she wasn't quite yet good enough to put herself out there before the masses (cuz, write what you know.) When her creative idea gets hijacked from a duplicitous coworker, her solid Cinnamon Roll best friend (and hottie) Jake Dalton convinces her to fight for the due credit she deserved. Through a series of events, this lands the both of them in front of the cameras, starring in a dating reality show where Jake merely *pretends* to date his bestie and she works undercover as a mole to root out the best possible match.

It's love, plus one. Get it?

This friends-to-lovers tale is both sweet and romantic as Jake realizes this bounty of beautiful women around him only makes him long for the one he wants most.. and she didn't come from central casting. But it's gonna take a helluva lot of courage to cross that line, especially when you truly love the person you count on as a friend, and you don't want to ruin anything with the weirdness of rejection and unrequited love.

Still, the heart wants what the heart wants. And sometimes... it even gets it right, by wanting someone who can reciprocate those feelings.

Will they? Won't they? That's the fun of finding out. And why I love romance so gosh darn much.

This is also where we get to meet Jorge Navarro for the first time, the fairy glammother that finds the true beauty of Shannon hidden behind all her mousy layers. Given Shannon's sister was a true, classically accepted beauty, she never felt the need to compete. She wouldn't have dared. But Jorge changes all that within his silk-draped, incensed infused kingdom. He'll go on to do this many, many, many more times in the Groupieverse, cuz he's a master at it. These days, he's even doing this for royalty.

Shannon has a lot to learn in LOVE PLUS ONE, and learn it she does... before popping up again in FIERCE and THE FULLERTON FAMILY SAGA.

In fact, one could argue that this first book was the foundation upon which the Groupieverse was built. Not bad for a self-contained romance written as a sly social protest against rigid beauty standards, that just so happens to fit neatly within a traditional rom-com structure so you never realize I'm trying to tinker with the way you think.

It's an ambitious little baby, and I love it so.

If you haven't read it, here's your chance. Today for free, enjoy LOVE PLUS ONE.