Books and Other Spells: Book Tour: Conflict of Interest by Allyson Lindt Interview & Giveaway

BLURB:

Kenzie propositions a sexy stranger in a coffee shop to prove to herself she’s capable of taking a risk. She doesn’t expect him to be sitting across from her the following Monday as her newest client. Even worse, she can’t stop thinking about what might have happened between them on a personal level if it weren’t for their professional relationship. He knows how to push her buttons, and she doesn’t want him to stop.

Scott has built his software company from the ground up to escape things like stuffy old men telling him how to behave, so he loathes his board of directors ordering him to make the public forget he doesn’t have a verbal filter. When his new publicity manager is the almost-fling he never expected to see again, he seizes the opportunity to have fun and still pretend he’s complying with the board’s edict.

Giving in to desire could mean both their jobs, but each “one last time” always leads to another. Now they have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to indulge this conflict of interest.

EXCERPT:

“Do you want a lift?” Scott asked.

Her footsteps slowed, and she pulled away. “In the love van?”

He spun to face her, not sure what to make of the comment. She’d nicknamed his car? Fascinating. “Excuse me?”

She nodded at the Escalade in the back of the parking lot. “That one’s yours right? The Game God license plate? The tinted windows meant to keep out even the most penetrating light?”

She knew what the G4M3G0D on his plates meant. She was full of entertaining surprises. He bit back the urge to joke about the word penetrating. “That’s it, but love van, really?”

She fell into step beside him again. “No one’s ever accused you of that before?”

“Not to my face. Interesting assumption.” He moved closer, letting his bare arm brush hers.

“No worse than deciding I was reading some bodice ripper inside.”

He stopped at his SUV, spinning to face her and leaning back against it, one foot propped up on the rubber strip running along the bottom of the door. He looped his thumbs in his pockets. “Fair enough. We’re even on the inappropriate assumption front then?”

She kept her distance but didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. “I didn’t know we were keeping score.”

A gust of wind tore through the parking lot, whipping her ponytail into her face. She hugged herself and shivered as the clouds devoured the last traces of direct sunlight.

He forced his hands to stay by his side, biting his tongue before he could offer to warm her up. Or ask if she’d like to be the one biting his tongue. “Someone’s always keeping score.”

INTERVIEW:

Where did you get the idea for the novel?

A: The very original idea for Conflict of Interest was a little different from the final story. In my head, this brilliant idea was that two strangers would keep running into each other in a coffee shop, each with their own problems in the outside world, and eventually realize they trusted and relied on each other more than most of the other people around them.

Once I tried to figure out the details, though, it coalesced into something a little different. A coffee shop meeting turns into something intense, hot, and one time only, until the two realize they have to work together the following Monday.

Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?

A: Conflict of Interest was a very last minute title. The story was called Latte Liaisons when I started writing it, and even when I went to submit it, I was calling it Dressing Down. Conflict of Interest was kind of a last minute decision, but it worked and it stuck.

Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?

A: I’ve always appreciated a good love story, but never got into romance when I was younger because the people in the stories weren’t the people I wanted to be. And then I realized I could create my own geeky but confident heroes, and competent heroines to keep up with them, and I was hooked.

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

A: I love meeting random readers and other authors. While I can’t list a specific instance here, hearing from someone I really respect and admire that they ‘love my voice’ is pretty much the ultimate awesome in my career right now.

What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?

A: I have a review copy of The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead. It’s the sequel to Gameboard of the Gods which I read last year and absolutely loved. This one is just as incredible, and I’d rather be finishing that right now than pretty much anything else. And I would be if I didn’t have to pay the bills.

What is your writing process?

A: This changes from book to book. The short version—get an idea, mix and knead it until it rises, and bake it into something recognizable. There’s usually lots of coffee, hand written notes, music, and long drives filled with lots of pondering and mentally sketching out scenes.

At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say?

A: I’ve only recently had any physical books to sign, but I’ve already discovered it’s difficult to be unique. I prefer to write a note, and I’m still trying to come up with something catchy that I can always use as a fallback. I’m not there yet, but some day it may come to me.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

A: I like my day job. I’m not madly in love with it, and I still plan on giving my notice once writing is paying the bills, but I really do enjoy what I do, and with any luck, it’ll be my job until that happens.

How do you react to a bad review?

A: Not well. But privately. Always privately. I may send a link to a close friend I trust, and I definitely whine about it to my sweetie. Regardless of what ‘they’ say, I believe that it takes a certain level of passion to write this kind of story, and that can’t just be severed once the book is available publicly. If I didn’t love the stories, I wouldn’t have written them.

But I also know not everyone will like what I do, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I don’t believe in arguing, or defending myself, or anything like that. And I appreciate everyone who reads my books, even if it doesn’t turn out well in the end.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

A: Dancing, singing (to myself, in the car, with the radio turned all the way up), and much refreshing of my Amazon author rankings :D And working. One of these days I’ll have a release day off, and on that day, I’ll go insane not knowing what to do with myself.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She prefers that her geeky heroes come with the alpha expansion pack and adores a heroine who can hold her own in a boardroom. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.

Find Allyson Lindt

Website: http://allysonlindt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allyson-Lindt/116062025108551

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllysonLindt

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7024176.Allyson_Lindt

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/allysonlindt

Buy Holding Her Close:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DFTUP94/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DFTUP94&linkCode=as2&tag=itsalwabothej-20

Buy Conflict of Interest:

Liquid Silver Books: https://www.lsbooks.com/conflict-of-interest-p782.php

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CKYEPK0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00CKYEPK0&linkCode=as2&tag=itsalwabothej-20

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conflict-of-interest-allyson-lindt/1115273894?ean=9781931761857