Wednesday Spotlight with Lynne Roberts

Hello and welcome to Wednesday Spotlight! Today’s featured guest is Lynne Roberts. Lynne is here to chat with us about her hot off the press release of

AFTER HOURS
Published by the Wilder Rose Press

Let’s have a warm welcome for Lynne Roberts! As Smooth by Carlos Santana plays on the stereo, Oliver escorts Lynne into the parlor with a few smooth moves of his own. Pulling her close, he glides her across the cherrywood floor, gazing into her eyes while singing in her ear. When the song ends, he leaves with a departing wink.

Sharon: Have a seat in front of the roaring fire. So, how are you, Lynne?

Lynne: Forces her gaze away from the departing Oliver. “Much better now, thanks. And very glad to be here.”

Oliver saunters in, pushing the sterling silver caddy. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee fills the room. With great pizzaz, he sets dainty napkins on the coffee table, cups and saucers and a plate of chocolate covered pretzels. Pouring coffee into two cups, he locks eyes with Lynne.

How do you like your coffee, love?

Lynne:”Strong and hot. Thank you.”

Sharon Thank you, Oliver. That will be all. Oliver struts off to the bookcase for his copy of After Hours. Plucking a fountain pen from the Queen Anne desk, he presents it to Lynne. If I might be so bold as to get your autograph, Lynne? He pumps his biceps.

Lynne:”My first autograph! This is so exciting.” Signs her name with a flourish.

Sharon: Oliver, is something burning in the kitchen? Sigh. Good help and all that. Well, one of these days. So, Lynne. Let’s dish about After Hours. Sounds like a real scorcher. Hmm. Tell us a little background.

Lynne: The initial spark for After Hours came when I was at a stoplight taking my daughter to school. This male walked across the cross-walk. No, he prowled across that street, and I watched… until I realized he was heading to the high school. I vacillated between wanting to watch him until he was out of sight and wanting to wash out my eyes. He couldn’t have been older than 17. But that got my imagination going, and that is the number one tool of the writer. From there, I determined a beginning, middle and end and started writing.

Sharon: And that’s all it takes for writers, isn’t it? A spark to get us going. Now, how about a sneak preview:

Thunderous applause explodes through cyber space.

Blurb: Elle Simpson doesn’t deny that the new intern is sexy as hell but he’s also ten years her junior--and she doesn’t date men from the office. Of course, dating isn’t what comes to mind when David Nelson enters a room. When Elle’s boss assigns her to work an important account, she’s thrilled—until David volunteers to help.

Working one on one with her desirable new assistant is bound to test the limits of her restraint.

Everything about Elle, from her professional savvy to her hot body, turns David on, but first he has to unravel her mixed signals. After a few late nights alone with Elle in the office, David is at the end of his tether. It was hard enough during the day; keeping his hands off her after hours is proving impossible.

Excerpt:

Some men simply walk across a room, but not David.

Elle Simpson watched from her office as the new intern, his hips moving in a predatory
roll, strolled to the copier and stood with his back toward her. No, not David. She felt the color rise in her cheeks as her gaze traced his body, from the dark hair just curling at the nape of his neck, past wide shoulders, to the dangerous-looking narrow hips and an ass made for grabbing. Her body warmed and her inner thighs began to tingle.

David turned, as though he could sense her scrutiny, and flashed a smile that could short-circuit a city. Hell, it certainly did a number on her. Elle swallowed, hiding behind a noncommittal nod, and hoped she gave the impression she was too busy for pleasantries. Damn. She needed to be more careful.

After many years with the company, she’d earned her reputation as a dependable, hardworking,
no-nonsense kind of woman. She grimaced. What would her fellow employees think if they knew every time David Nelson walked in the room, Elle’s synapses stopped firing as all the blood left her head to settle between her legs? She shifted on her chair and the friction caused her pussy to ache, reminding her of its neglected state.

Evidently finished with the copier, David gathered his papers and walked back to his cubicle. Elle tilted her head to better watch him walk down the hall. A damn sexy man. Perhaps he’d been born with some sort of exclusive hip design. It would explain the fluidity of movement.

Elle shrugged. One thing was certain—when David walked into a room, or out of it, he had her undivided attention. She didn’t think he was trying to be sexy, or if he was, the effort had become, well...effortless. There was just something in the way those well-oiled hips moved that made her wonder what else they could do.

Sharon: Well, now. This sounds like a very hot read. No wonder Oliver is in there burning the house down while reading it! My goodness. So tell us all about this young and sexy intern.

Lynne: David is young, but old enough to know what he wants and what he wants is Elle. He’s just not sure if she feels the same about him. He’s tired of dating women who don’t quite know what they want out of life, or who are still into the club scene. He wants a woman who knows what she’s doing. That woman is Elle.

Sharon: And now tell us about Elle. What drives her? What’s earned her a fine reputation in the company?

Lynne: After her husband died, Elle threw herself into her career and raising her daughter. Once her daughter went off to college, she discovered her career didn’t quite fill the silence. She wanted more, but she wasn’t quite sure what, until she met David.

Sharon: And the hot intern is ten years her junior. Let’s talk about that. How do you address the age difference through each point of view?

Lynne: Elle had to get over some insecurity and self-imposed rules before she could let go and look past the number. David didn’t have as much of a problem. His only fear was rejection. Would she want him?

Sharon: And how about you, Lynne. Do you think age should be an issue for either gender?

Lynne: Ten years ago, I would have told you I’d never date a younger man, but as I’ve… matured, I’m not closed to the possibility. LOL So no, I don’t think age should matter as long as both parties are consenting adults. I was 20 years younger than the man in my last relationship. So a man 20 years younger? Why not?

Sharon: Absolutely. Too much emphasis is sometimes put on age.

Oliver is back, humming to the Santana hit. Poised above his head on a silver tray is a chocolate cream pie in a Graham Cracker crust. Placing it on the table, he slices and serves, feeding the first bite to Lynne. While waiting for her to stop drooling, he refills the coffee and pumps his biceps.

Lynne: Yummy. Thank you. One just can’t get enough chocolate.

Oliver struts off, a jaunty deliverance to his step.

Sharon: Now let’s talk about Lynne Roberts. You have five children? My goodness. Tell us how you fit everything into your busy life? When do you find time to write?

Lynne: Now that my youngest is in pre-school, I write like mad in the morning and edit in the evening after dinner. Even so, you have to make sacrifices, one of mine is a spotless house. So you know, if you ever get tired of Oliver, I could use him.

Sharon: (rolls her eyes) And you love to tinker in the garden with veggies and flowers. With spring hopefully around the corner, my favorite will be blooming. The lilac. What do you like to plant?

Lynne: Everything! I love to garden. I have a small vegetable patch where I grow salad. LOL. You know: lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, green onions and such. As I’ve gotten busier, I’ve learned to appreciate a low maintenance plant, so I have more hydrangea and geranium than I used to. I also have a lilac. They bloom around the same time as my citrus trees and fill the back yard with an amazing scent combination. Did I mention I have 8 fruit trees? Yeah, it gets hectic around July.

Sharon: Mmm. I love fruit trees, and there is nothing like home-grown tomatoes and green beans. So, what’s next for you in the writing world?

Lynne: I have a short under consideration right now and I’m preparing a novella for submission—which means I’m finishing the dreaded query and synopsis. I also have two novellas with beta readers that I will be submitting before summer vacation.

Sharon: Well, our hour is just about up. But before you leave, you must indulge me with a favorite legend or superstition. I collect them from all my guests. Do you have one to share?

Lynne: Oh, my grandmother had lots of superstitions. I’d love to share one: When you leave a house, always go out the same door you came in or you’ll bring unwelcome visitors to the home.

Sharon: And finally, my three trivia questions. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? If you could star in any literary film, which would it be and why? And last but not least, who would you want playing your romantic hero?

Lynne: If I could live anywhere in the world… I’m a west coast girl. I’d live near the beach with the forest in my backyard.

Do they make literary films any more? I think I’d like to play the female lead in a movie made from any of The Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Why? The actors they hire to play any of the brothers would be drop dead gorgeous. Spending your day surrounded by hunky men? I’d suffer through it. As far as my romantic lead, this almost seems to contradict the last answer, but I have a secret crush on Jared Leto, so I’d have to say him.

Sharon: Thank you for joining me today on Wednesday spotlight. It’s been a pleasure. Now let’s all run out and get our hot little hands on After Hours. Where can readers purchase your books and get in touch with you?

Lynne: You can purchase my books at The Wilder Rose Press and you can find me at my website http://lynneroberts.net or my blog: http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. Please stop by and say hi! I’d love to hear from you.

bio:
Lynne Roberts wrote her first story out of frustration at the age of 11 because,
darn it, Gone with the Wind just couldn’t end with Rhett and Scarlett not together.
She honestly believes in love, which makes her a hopeless romantic and she’s definitely
a sucker for a happy ever after.

She’s been writing professionally since 2005 and is now published by The Wilder Rose Press.

A hopeless coffee-addict, when she’s not writing, editing or reading—which isn’t often—you can find her in the garden or with her five children.