More Than This by Shannyn Schroeder Book Tour

More Than This

by Shannyn Schroeder

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BLURB: 

When a lonely teacher teams up with a handsome bartender for some outrageous acts, they both get more than they bargained for…

Learning her ex-husband is going to be a father, Quinn Adams is determined to have a baby of her own—without the partnership of a man. But her sister and friends believe she needs to focus on herself first, and step out of her comfort zone by completing a list of adventures. Challenge number one is to go on five dates within two weeks. After a few disastrous attempts, Quinn’s ready to give up—until sexy bartender Ryan O’Leary offers his assistance.

Ryan has always been the dependable one in his family, often at his expense. But lately, he’s been longing for a life—and a woman—of his own. The woman he has in mind is Quinn. Though it seems all she wants is friendship, Ryan can’t ignore the explosive chemistry he feels between them. In the hopes of becoming closer, Ryan offers to help out with Quinn’s list. But when she asks him for a serious favor, he’s afraid it will jeopardize his chance to become more than friends.

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EXCERPT:

She tugged her hand away and crossed her arms. Her eyes darted, as if keeping contact was a battle. Her voice lowered a fraction. “You don’t know how hard it is to find a normal date.”

“What makes you think that?” He pushed his palm against the wall next to her head and caught the soft, powdery scent of her perfume. Did it make him an ass that while she talked about dating other men, his thoughts focused on kissing her again?

She shifted and tucked her hair behind her ear. When she looked up again, her face had returned to the usual polite, impassive front. “Come on. I’m in here often enough to see you with all kinds of women. I’m not judging you, but you can’t compare picking the flavor of the week to dating.”

He didn’t address her comments. She was right—he liked women who required nothing from him but a good time. It wasn’t a concept she’d understand. She’d definitely require more. He hadn’t attempted anything more serious since Cassie. “So what’s your plan? Cast a wide net and see what you catch?”

She shrugged. “Indy said it’s all about numbers. I spent a bunch of money to join the stupid dating site. They guarantee I’ll meet someone special. It’s in my best interest to keep trying. Besides, I try to weed out the worst of the bunch.”

His burst of laughter made her jump, so he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, if you think you’re weeding out the bad ones, your radar is broken.”

Her lips pulled back, but it wasn’t quite a smile. “I was born without radar.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Shannyn Schroeder is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”

So she did.

That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to professional author. She came to reading romance later than many, but lives for the happy ending because real life can be depressing. She writes contemporary romance because she enjoys the adventure of new love.

In her spare time, she loves to bake cookies and watches far too much TV, especially cop shows. She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

Web site: http://www.ShannynSchroeder.com

Twitter: @SSchroeder_

Interview:

Since Ryan is a bartender, it made me wonder what your favorite drink was?

I don’t drink alcohol often. When I do have a drink socially, I’m much like my heroine Quinn and order a margarita (There are no surprises there). If I’m looking to really drink, I reach for Jack Daniels – straight up. I’m a whiskey girl.

In my everyday life, Diet Coke is my beverage of choice. Unfortunately, I’ve had to cut way back on that because the aspartame triggers a migraine if I drink too much. I’ve switched to Diet Coke with Splenda at home, but it’s not the same.

Do you think since Quinn is a teacher and surrounded by children, that it is harder for her to break out of her shell when meeting men?

I don’t think it’s her profession that makes it hard for Quinn to meet men. I think the profession suits her personality. The classroom is the one place where she feels in control and unafraid. That shell of insecurity was there long before she became a teacher.

Did you have anyone particular in mind for inspiration when you wrote this story?

I didn’t have anyone in mind when I wrote the story. Characters come to me long before plot does, so I knew who Quinn was before I knew what would happen to her. After I wrote this book, I learned about collaging as a way to learn about characters and although I didn’t create a collage for this book, I did for the next, where Quinn is a minor character. I chose an older picture of Katie Holmes as the placeholder for Quinn.

I have a picture of my collage for the O’Learys here –

http://www.shannynschroeder.com/making-your-muse-work/

(that’s actually 3 books worth of characters)

 If I was a bartender for a day….

*snort *  I would probably get fired before my shift was over. I’m not a very social person. I suck at small talk, but I am a good listener. So maybe if I could get people to talk to me without ever opening my mouth, I might survive. But I also know nothing about mixing drinks. People I serve would either complain I didn’t do it right or be happy because they got drunk quickly.