Giveaway and Guest Post with author Jessica Lauryn and her book Dangerous Proposals

Happy Saturday everyone!!  I hope you are out enjoying all this unusually hot weather are having and staying safe!!  Today I have Jessica with me and she is going to tell us a little about her book.  Take it away Jessica:

Thanks so much for having me, Nikki!  I’m thrilled to be featured on Close Encounters with the Night Kind, and I’m very excited to be giving away one free e-copy of my latest release Dangerous Proposal!  Here’s a little about the story…

At nineteen, Alec Westwood nearly committed the most horrific of crimes—murder in cold blood—and narrowly escaped the assigned task with his life. When a stunning young woman crosses his path wearing the insignia for the underground organization that recruited him, he vows not to let fate get a second chance. But when the enchantress gives him a kiss that leaves him spellbound, Alec realizes the power she holds is greater than all his strength and fortitude combined…

 Gets you excited, doesn’t it?  So, just why is it that we love romances so much?  Is it the suspenseful plots, the detailed descriptions, the heroes that make us melt like puddles?  Trying to find the answer, I thought back to two of the first romances/couples that I was swept away by, both at the age of six.  Disney’s The Little Mermaid’s Ariel and Eric, and Days of Our Lives’ Jack and Jennifer.  Of course, cartoons and soap operas are geared toward very different audiences (at least, they’re supposed to be!).  But what really captured my attention in both cases, and ultimately made me fall in love, were several of the same elements.  Worlds larger than life.  Heroines determined to reach their goals/win their man.  Heroes that are brave and inexplicably irresistible.  And a story I wanted to see again and again.

In romance novels, unlike in other genres, we’re guaranteed a happily ever after.  It’s what we long for as we flip through pages of turmoil, frustration, and sometimes tragedy.  (Oh yes, and don’t forget amazing sex!)  Knowing things are going to come together for the hero and heroine gives hope during the dark moments, and direction as the plot takes its twists and turns.  We’re reading to see two people we’re invested in get their happily ever after, to enjoy the “forever” reward of a romance that has stood the test of trials and will presumably continue to do so, ‘til death do the characters part.

For many of us, finding “the one” brings completeness and happiness, a feeling as though we have truly found our other half.  For others, finding “the one” is simply a dream.  A dream that has remained with us all our lives and will remain with us still as we continue along our journey, always searching.  For others still, the idea of finding “the one” is simply a myth, something we’ve stopped believing in, perhaps because we’ve been hurt by someone or simply have to see in order to believe.  Though I daresay that ALL readers of romance believe in the idea of at least finding “the one.”  If not, then perhaps it is the idea that maybe one day they could believe.  In turn, this keeps them picking up one great book of love, lust and passion after the next.

There are many great elements of romance novels—too many to count!  But the reason I keep reading them up (and writing them!) is that I long for the hope they provide as I wait to find that one special romance.  If innumerous heroes and heroines can find their happily ever after, I’ll find mine too.  It’s a wish (and a love!) that I carry with me long after the last page is read.

  For ten agonizing years, Alec Westwood has been keeping a secret from the world. At nineteen, he nearly committed the most horrific of crimes—murder in cold blood—and narrowly escaped the assigned task with his life. When a stunning young woman crosses his path wearing the insignia for the underground organization that recruited him, he vows not to let fate get a second chance. But when the enchantress gives him a kiss that leaves him spellbound, Alec realizes the power she holds is greater than all his strength and fortitude combined…

On the run from her psychotic fiancé, Lena Benson vows to forge a new life, even if that means befriending a witch, and practicing the craft of the devil. But when her new friend Jack tells her to stay away from Alec Westwood, the man she believes her fiancé hired to track her down, and the handsome stranger she kissed in a tavern, Lena vows to take matters into her own hands. Alec may have the charm, but she’s calling the shots this time, even if that means resisting the man responsible for giving her the most intimate kiss of her life, a man who’s eyes and touch rob her, literally, of sense…    

 Jessica is offering a copy of the book to one lucky commenter!!  Just fill out the rafflecopter!!

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