Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Take the Fall by Marquita Valentine

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Tasty Book Tours, for Take the Fall by Marquita Valentine.  Please leave a comment or question for Marquita  to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter the tour wide giveaway, for a Loveswept Prize Pack, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow all of the stops on Marquita’s tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your chances of winning.   

Me:  Having started out as an “Indie” writer who self-published, what do you feel is the best and worst thing about signing a contract with one of the “Big 5” publishing houses for your new books? 

Marquita:   The best thing is that I get to work with such an amazing company that enjoys publishing books that their readers are interested in reading and becoming life-long fans of authors. Since I went into this with a specific goal of reaching new readers, there is no worst thing about my decision to work with a traditional publisher. J

Me:  You’ve only been a published author for 3 years but you already have 29 books under your belt – how have you been able to manage this incredible pace?

Marquita:  It’s a lot of hard work, but this is a business and I run it like one. Some of my books, though they weren’t the first books I’d written, I already had ready to go when I decided to go Indie. The rest of my backlist is due to the fact that I’m comfortable writing at a rather fast pace and write novels of varying lengths.

Me:  Would you say you are more of a “panster” or a plotter and what is your typical writing day like?

Marquita:  I’m a plotser—a combination of both—which means I plot but rather loosely and let the characters do their thing. My day—er…I’m a huge procrastinator… horribly so and I can do everything but write in a given day. However, once I’m in the zone, I can write for hours on end. I think my personal record was 25k in one day. I don’t recommend doing that every day though. LOL.

Me:  Which of your books would you like to see become a movie and which actor/actress would you like to see play the lead parts?

Marquita:  All of them? LOL. That’s hard to narrow down, but I’ll try. I’d love to see Love So Irresistible—it’s about a Navy SEAL suffering from PTSD and a music teacher. For the actor, I would like to have Scott Eastwood or Garret Hedlund.  For the actress, I would like Jessica Alba. 

Me:   When you are writing, do you listen to music in the background that inspires your writing or do you need complete and total silence in the background?

Marquita:  I don’t listen to anything while I write because I pretty much tune everything out while I write.

Quick Get To Know You Questions:

1.       Favorite thing about living in a small town in the South? The people

2.       Favorite take- out food? Sushi

3.       Where in the world would you like to travel to for “research” for a book?  Or a location that’s on your “bucket list? UK

4.       Sandals, cowboy boots or heels? Heels

5.       Sweet or unsweetened tea? Sweet

Take the Fall

By Marquita Valentine

Take the Fall, Book 1

Publisher:  Loveswept (Random House LLC)

Release Date:  July 21, 2015

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Length:  178 Pages

ISBN:  9781101886502
ASIN:  B00QE1J5KU

Buy Links:  Amazon | B& N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher | Google Play

About the book:

Fans of Abbi Glines and Katy Evans will adore Take the Fall, the first spinoff novel from Marquita Valentine’s New York Times bestselling Boys of the South series. In this emotional new romance, passions run hot as a rugged, brooding Marine rekindles an old flame.

As a teenager, Seth O’Connor went to jail for a crime he had nothing to do with. He took the fall to protect the girl he loved, but the cruel realities of prison hardened him. After doing his time, Seth shuts her out and enlists in the Marines—until his grandmother’s funeral forces him to come home and face Rowan Simmons once again. The woman she’s become puts all his high-school memories to shame, and Seth wants her more than ever. Can he be honest about why he denied her for so long?

After Seth pushed her away, Rowan swore that no man would ever hurt her again. But the boy who broke her heart has become a sexy Marine, capable of fulfilling her every desire—and now that he’s back in town, old feelings are simmering to a boil. Rowan wants to stay strong, even as her body surrenders to his expert touch. She only hopes that by taking him back, she can finally help heal the wounds that drove them apart.

A girl wearing a plaid skirt and a white shirt with the ends tied in the middle of her very impressive cleavage steps in front of our cars. The headlights shine right on her as she flashes a seductive smile.

Her hands shoot up into the air. “Ready?” she shouts.

Tony guns his engine, his maniacal laughter louder than anything. The sound makes my skin crawl. Actually, Tony himself makes my skin crawl. He’s twenty-nine years old and still hangs out with the high school crowd—that’s fucking weird.

“Shut the fuck up, Johnson,” Jase shouts, flipping the other driver off. Then he turns to me. “Two turns left, then a hard right, before a quarter-mile stretch.”

I flex my fingers and nod. Jase cranks up STP’s “Dead and Bloated.”

“Go!” Plaid skirt girl’s hand drops down.

I hit the gas and manage to break out in front of Tony’s Camaro.

“No braking in the turn,” Jase shouts.

I nod. My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel. Adrenaline pumping, I shift gears, and the Mustang shoots forward.

Jase bangs on the dash. “Two car lengths ahead. You can do this, O’Connor.”

I’m equal parts exhilarated and terrified I’ll screw this up. What if I lose?

“Get out of your head, Seth. Nothing good in there right now.”

I slice my gaze to Jase, and then back at the road. The hard right is up next. “I got this.”

“Don’t say shit like that,” Jase grouses over the music. If I hadn’t been driving, I’m pretty sure he would have smacked the back of my head to emphasize his point.

Tony suddenly pulls up beside me, and I blink. “Where in the hell did he come from?”

“Pay attention.”

Tony edges ahead of me. The right turn is only a few hundred feet away. I let up on the gas a little and Tony surges. His taillights are in my peripheral now.

“Why the fuck are you slowing down?”

Because Tony’s speeding up, and he’s going to spin out on the turn. “Trust me.”

Jase blows out a hard breath, and I can practically hear his teeth grinding. If this doesn’t work, then Jase will hand me my ass. And I like my ass; I like sitting on it. More specifically, Rowan likes my ass. I like it when she digs her fingers into my cheeks when I’m inside her.

“Fine,” he bites out.

Tony and I make the hard right. His car spins out, making a wider half circle than needed. 

That’s my cue.

“See. Ya.” I downshift and stomp on the gas pedal.

Jase’s Mustang rolls across the finish line, engine purring. I barely pull up the e-brake before jumping out. Banging the roof of the car, I let out a yell. The crowd goes wild, some groaning because they didn’t bet on the rookie.

While Rowan collects the money we won, I do a little victory shuffle.

Jase joins me, his smile as wide as mine, but he doesn’t celebrate like I do. That’s fine with me; I don’t care how damn goofy I look or sound right now.

I just fucking won my first race. And Tony Johnson’s Camaro is mine.

Mine.

I don’t bother to pay any attention to Tony as he parks his Camaro a short distance away.

He probably needs a little time to find the pink slip to sign over to me and cry.

Poor bastard.

Rowan jogs to me, looking fine as hell in her tiny shorts and tank top. There’s lace at the top, highlighting the best-looking pair of tits I’ve ever seen. And by the way she’s smiling at me, I know I’ll be getting up close and personal with them tonight.

“I’m so proud of you,” she squeals, launching herself into my arms.

I bury my face into her hair. She smells and feels so damn good that my skin gets all tight. “Does this mean I can sneak into your room tonight?” I whisper in her ear.

She nods. “I’m gonna show you such a good time, lover boy.”

I straighten, taking her gorgeous face in my hands. “You know I love you, right? I’d do anything for you.”

Her nose wrinkles, freckles dancing across it as she does. “I love you, too, Seth.”

I know she does, but sometimes it feels like the love I have for her is like air or water—something I can’t live without. I have no idea what I’d do if I couldn’t have Rowan in my life.

Die, most likely.

“Fuck you, Tony. I’m not a cheat.”

Rowan’s head turns and so does mine. A few feet away, beside Tony’s car, he and Jase are shouting at each other. Fingers are pointing and Tony’s shoving against Jase’s chest.

I start to go and join in, to see if I can help diffuse the situation, but Rowan grabs my arm. “Don’t. Let Jase handle it.”

I frown.

“Not that I don’t think you can handle it,” Rowan quickly adds, mistaking my frown for displeasure at her words.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say, then kiss her forehead. “I’ll stay right by your side until Jase needs me.”

Rowan steps closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. She grinds slowly against me, barely moving against my hardening dick. “I need you. We could find a dark corner.”

Picking her up, I head in the opposite direction, away from the crowd and the argument. 

Rowan’s legs wrap around my waist. She kisses her way up my jaw, stopping at my ear to nibble. My eyes start to water.

“Slow down, wildcat.”

In response, she starts sucking on my earlobe. Rough brick bites into my hands when I hit the wall of an abandoned factory. Rowan tugs at my shirt, helping me pull it up and over my head. I cup her breasts, feeling her nipples harden.

“You looked so hot driving,” Rowan breathes. “I want to ride you while you drive us around. I want to feel you so deep inside . . . and the vibrations from the engine will make me come so hard.”

My heart slams against my chest. This girl . . . God, she knows how to amp things up. 

“Tomorrow,” I promise. “You wear that skirt I like and no bra. I’ll let you do whatever the hell you want while I drive.”

Rowan giggles and I smile, then stare into her eyes. “I really love you.”

“Why do you keep saying that?” She tilts her head to one side. “I know you love me.”

“Because after my conversation with your brother, I—”

“FIGHT!”

“Oh my God,” Rowan says, shoving at me. “Put me down.”

I let her legs slide down, and turn. Jase and Tony are going at it. Punches are being thrown and there are grunts, curses, and shouts. It’s too dark and the guys are built too much alike to see who’s whaling on who the most.

“I need to—”

Rowan hands me my shirt, and I kiss her. Hard. “Don’t let that perv hurt my brother, Seth.”

Pulling the shirt on and letting it fall, I stride in their direction, my heart slamming against my chest. “I won’t.”

Marquita Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Holland Springs and Boys of the South series, having sold more than a quarter of a million books around the world. 

She’s been called “one of the best new voices in romance” (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been praised as “sexy, fun, and slightly addicting” (The Book Queen). 

When she’s not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high-school sweetheart, Marquita Valentine lives in a seriously small town in the south with her husband, two kids, and a dog.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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