Today we are really happy to welcome back author Laura Kaye here at Book Lovers Inc in celebration of her newest release One Night with a Hero, the second installment in her very sexy and successful The Hero series. Both Stella and myself had absolutely loved the first book in this series, so when we heard the news about this book, we were beyond excited! And with good reason I might add! But let’s leave it to Laura to tell us all about her newest story and don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the giveaway info.

Stella: Hi Laura, welcome back to BLI, so nice to see you again, especially for the release of One Night with a Hero, the second story in your the Hero series! And I think I speak for Anna as well when I say yay! Thanks so much for writing Brady’s story!

Laura: Aw, yay! You’re so welcome! And thanks for having me back again!

Anna: Can you please tell us a bit about your newest release, One Night with a Hero?

Laura: I’d love to! One Night with a Hero is the story of a one-night stand that turns into a lifetime love for two lonely and badly damaged people. Here’s the blurb:

He wants just one night…

After growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, Army Special Forces Sgt. Brady Scott vowed never to marry or have kids. Sent stateside to get his head on straight— and his anger in check—Brady’s looking for a distraction. He finds it in his beautiful new neighbor’s one-night-only offer for hot sex, but her ability to make him forget is addictive. Suddenly, Brady’s not so sure he can stay away.

…what they need is each other.

Orphaned as a child, community center director Joss Daniels swore she’d never put herself in a position to be left behind again, but she can’t deny herself one sizzling night with the sexy soldier who makes her laugh and kisses her senseless. When Joss
discovers she’s pregnant, Brady’s rejection leaves her feeling abandoned. Now, they must overcome their fears before they lose the love and security they’ve found in each other, but can they let go of the past to create a future together?

Stella: Could you introduce Joss and Brady, the heroine and hero of One Night with a Hero? 

Laura: Here are Brady and Joss’s first impressions of one another:

Brady: She shook her head and looked at him, all hint of those tears long gone, the bright green of her eyes still stunning. In bare feet, she stepped into the grass and closed the four- foot gap between them. Brady’s gaze was torn between watching her curvy body move and reading the ink that decorated the side of her foot. Her body won out, the way the thin cotton shirt shaped around her full breasts capturing his attention. She stopped in front of him, and his body went on alert, shoulders tense and muscles tight—not out of fear, but out of anticipation. The tats, the piercings, the hard wariness in her gaze, and the challenging tilt to her chin gave her a tough edge that was just shy of beautiful, but man was he was more than sold.

Joss: Sailor boy. The nickname tugged at Joss’s cheeks. Tall. Built. Light-brown hair kissed by the sun with a hint of blond. All that lean, bare muscle. The way his running shorts had hung low enough to reveal the cut of his hips. Sex on a freaking stick. And a soldier to boot. Bet he looked seriously fine in his dress uniform. Panties probably dropped at the mere sight—thongs, too. Maybe even like the one she was currently wearing.

Anna: Both Brady and Joss are two deeply emotionally wounded characters. What challenges did the fact that you had to “handle” two characters with their own set of scars in the same story pose?

Laura: Actually, in this story, it worked out really well while I was writing, because the things they fear are what make the other person their worst possible match. And that created great conflict that often wrote itself.

Anna: Did you know that someone like Joss would be perfect for Brady while writing Her Forbidden Hero, or her character was something that came later, while you were brainstorming/writing along the way?

Laura: When I was writing Her Forbidden Hero (Heroes #1), all I knew about Brady’s love interest is that she badly wanted a family of her own while he never wanted to marry or have children. Everything else about her came to me as I sat down to write the first chapter of One Night with a Hero.

Anna: In both your novels of The Hero series, you touch on the very delicate subject of domestic violence. How difficult was it to handle such a sensitive matter in your stories and find the perfect balance between realistic yet not too dark for the story?

Laura: I definitely was working to strike a balance between the reality of Brady and Alyssa’s childhoods and keeping the focus on the love story. It helped that some of this came from my own background – my father was an alcoholic, though not abusive – so I
could write about some of the situation from personal experience.

Stella: If One Night with a Hero was made into a movie, who would be your dream cast?

Laura: Love this question! Brady would be played either by Kellan Lutz or Channing Tatum, and Joss by Joss Stone. Funny thing about her name – when I first started writing One Night with a Hero, the heroine’s name was Jess, but it never felt right. When I knew the character would have pink highlights, I searched google for “woman with brown hair and pink highlights” – and these pictures came up that perfectly depicted what I was seeing in my mind. And these pictures were of Joss Stone, and it was then I realized why Jess never felt right.

Stella: Can you summarize One Night with a Hero for us twitterstyle?

Laura: A one-night stand turns into a lifetime love for an emotionally damaged SF soldier & an edgy tattooed childcare worker #OneNightwithaHero

Stella: What shall we expect from you, what is next on your schedule? Will there be more books in The Hero series? And whose stories will it/they be?

Laura: I have so much going on in 2013! The last two Greek-mythology-inspired Hearts of the Anemoi books (South of Surrender is next, and releases in May), the last two Vampire Warrior Kings novellas, and the first book in my new Hard Ink series (November 2013).

There will also be more Hero books! And I’m announcing here on Book Lovers Inc. for the very first time which hero book 3 will feature: From One Night with a Hero: Will, 2-year-old Claire’s dad, a firefighter and prior Army enlisted

No details on when it will release yet, so stay tuned!

Anna: Christmas time is coming, what would be Brady’s gift to Joss for Christmas? Does he have anything special in mind?

Laura: One of the things he’s giving her is a set of keys – a physical representation of his promise that, before he deploys for Afghanistan in the spring, he’ll buy her and their son Nicky a house, something Joss has never had but always wanted

Stella: Can you share with us one of your own holiday traditions or a favourite holiday memory? (Or a special family Christmas recipe?

Laura: I’ll share one of each:

A tradition: The first Christmas my husband and I lived together, we were dirt poor. My husband had a small artificial Christmas tree and a few ornaments, but nothing for the top of the tree. So, using a Healthy Choice frozen meal box and some aluminum foil, I made a star tree-topper. 20 years later, we’re still using that cardboard star.

A recipe (this will tell you a lot about me…): Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
Purchase package(s) of Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough in the flat, pre-shaped/perforated format, each package makes approximately 24 cookies
Scissors, to cut open package
Cookie sheets
Spatula

Cut open packaging and remove tray of perforated cookie dough
Do not leave cookie dough sitting out too long or it will soften and be harder to break apart
Break off pre-shaped piece of dough
Place on cookie sheet approximately two inches apart
Bake according to package instructions
Let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating or packaging
Claim they are homemade 😉

About the author:

Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Laura’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura grew up amidst family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with storytelling and the supernatural. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Visit Laura
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Blog | Newsletter Sign Up

About One Night with a Hero

He wants just one night…

After growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, Army Special Forces Sgt. Brady Scott vowed never to marry or have kids. Sent stateside to get his head on straight—and his anger in check—Brady’s looking for a distraction. He finds it in his beautiful new neighbor’s one-night-only offer for hot sex, but her ability to make him forget is addictive. Suddenly, Brady’s not so sure he can stay away.

…what they need is each other.

Orphaned as a child, community center director Joss Daniels swore she’d never put herself in a position to be left behind again, but she can’t deny herself one sizzling night with the sexy soldier who makes her laugh and kisses her senseless. When Joss discovers she’s pregnant, Brady’s rejection leaves her feeling abandoned. Now, they must overcome their fears before they lose the love and security they’ve found in each other, but can they let go of the past to create a future together?

Buy it at
Amazon | Barnes and Nobles | Books on Board | Kobo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Laura has generously offered a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card to one lucky commenter

This giveaway is open to all!

All you have to do is ask Laura a question.

(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).

Giveaway ends on Saturday, December 29th, 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

About Anna

Anna is a psychologist from Greece.You can almost always find her with a book stuck under her nose,so it's no wonder that all her friends make a joke of her.Apart from reading she dreams of the day she'll be able to travel around the world!Anna also blogs at Books to Brighten your Mood.

• View all posts by Anna →
• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook