Piper Vaughn is in the house today to talk a little about her new release, One Small Thing, co-authored with MJ O'Shea. It's a sweet one. :-)
Hi, all. In a couple of days my second co-written book with M.J. O’Shea,
One Small Thing, releases from Dreamspinner Press. Our fans might wonder what I mean by that since currently there are two co-written
Lucky Moon books available from Loose Id, but what I mean is that this book was actually the second book M.J. and I ever wrote together (and our first ever joint paperback!). We went from splitting up chapters in third-person POV in
Moonlight Becomes You to writing different characters in first-person alternating in this book. It was a different co-writing experience for sure, and we’re going to talk about that in another post on this tour, but for now we wanted to share a little information about the book itself, including a decent-sized excerpt, which we haven’t done up to this point.
One Small Thing is set in Delaware and features two main characters (Rue and Erik) and two very important side characters (Alice, Rue’s daughter, and Dusty, his best friend). This book holds a special place for me, and it was really a labor of love on both our parts. I’m hoping people will love it as much as we do. :)
And now here is a little excerpt from Rue’s POV. It takes place about halfway into the story.
~*~
Rue
The next Monday, we were at my apartment. Dusty had come over for a while after class to hang out before he headed off to his shift at The Bean. It had been a bit forced, but things seemed finally to be on a path back to normal. I was relieved. I wished I could say that about Erik and me as well. There was a tension there that hadn’t been there before. Maybe I was making the whole dumb thing up in my head, but there were these moments that were charged, like we’d look at each other and it was so different than it had been—then Erik would do something goofy, or say something about Star Trek, and the moment would disappear like it had never been there in the first place.
It was so. Damn. Frustrating.
Things between him and I were the least awkward when we focused on Alice. If she was between us on the floor, giggling with her little baby laugh while we tickled her or dangled toys for her to bat at, then it was all fine. We could laugh and joke, and those odd moments were no longer hanging between us. Of course we couldn’t always pay attention to Alice. And that was the problem.
Erik and I were eating dinner and making small talk. It seemed to come easier for him than it had originally, despite the random moments of awkwardness that cropped up. He was telling me that he’d finally started to edit his old book and convert it to romance with the help of some very thorough research (and I couldn’t decide if that made me want to laugh or made me hot as hell). I’d made us another bowl of pasta that I mixed with a jar of pesto I’d gotten at the market. I threw together a salad and heated up some green beans. He looked at the table full of green and then looked at me like I’d betrayed him.
I had to chuckle at that. “Try the pesto. You’ll like it. It tastes like pizza.”
“I guess so. The last time you made pasta it was pretty good.” Erik took a cautious bite. “Oh, I do like this.”
“Told you.”
He smiled at me then. A totally not awkward, gorgeous grin that made me smile back. I couldn’t help it.
We finished dinner and got to the serious business of feeding Alice. She managed to get most of the formula into her mouth instead of all over me and Erik. I was happy… until she batted at the bottle and it splattered all over the floor. I was smart enough to have another ready. (I knew my daughter well.) When I went to put it on her little tray so I could wipe her face up, she looked right at me and giggled. Then she batted at my hair and cried:
“Da-da!”
Oh. My. God.
I looked at Erik in awe. He was grinning hugely at me. I bounced around the table, jumping like a moron. I was so thrilled. Sure, it was probably just baby babble, but it sounded like she’d called me dad! I launched myself into Erik’s arms, laughing and smiling. He was smiling too, and had his arms wrapped around my waist in a tight hug.
It felt wonderful. I could smell him, that crazy-good, fresh smell that drove me absolutely nuts, and his strong arms lifted me and spun me around in dizzy circles. I think I might have lost it for a moment.
Whatever high I was floating on just made me act. I didn’t even think before I laid an enthusiastic kiss on his lips. Yeah, I said lips. My first instinct when I was happy was to kiss him, to be as close as I possibly could. So I leaned up and brushed my mouth across his—once, twice, three times, before I dragged him down for more. Our mouths were pressed together for a good five seconds before I realized what I’d done.
I jumped back and looked at Erik, waiting to see horror dawning in his eyes. My stomach twisted in embarrassment, and my insides bloomed with warmth from his proximity.
“I’m so sorry, Erik.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
~*~
One Small Thing releases from Dreamspinner on Friday, May 4th. You can purchase it directly from DSP at the links below, and it will also be available on Amazon, ARe, and other online book retailers shortly after its release.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2905 (ebook)
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2906 (paperback)
The blurb:
“Daddy” is not a title Rue Murray wanted, but he never thought he’d have sex with a woman either. Now he’s the unwitting father of a newborn named Alice. Between bartending and cosmetology school, Rue doesn’t have time for babies, but he can’t give her up. What Rue needs is a babysitter, and he’s running out of options. He’s on the verge of quitting school to watch Alice himself when he remembers his reclusive new neighbor, Erik.
Erik Van Nuys is a sci-fi novelist with anxiety issues to spare. He doesn’t like people in general, and he likes babies even less. Still, with his royalties dwindling, he could use the extra cash. Reluctantly, he takes on the role of manny—and even more reluctantly, he finds himself falling for Alice and her flamboyant father.
Rue and Erik are as different as two people can be, and Alice is the unlikeliest of babies, but Rue has never been happier than when Alice and Erik are by his side. At least, not until he receives an offer that puts all his dreams within reach and he’s forced to choose: the future he’s always wanted, or the family he thought he never did.
~*~
Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea have been writing jointly since January 2011. Their first joint title, Moonlight Becomes You (released August 2011), was Piper’s publishing debut, while M.J. already had several published titles under her belt. Both authors have solo titles available in addition to their co-written projects. You can visit them at:
Babes in Boyland, their joint blog: http://mjandpiper.blogspot.com
Their individual websites:
http://pipervaughn.com
http://www.mjoshearomance.com