Reese Ryan On the Bad Boy Love

Let me introduce you to Reese Ryan!

One of my favorite parts of being on Teatime Romance is being able to promote local-to-me authors. I met Reese Ryan a year ago through my chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina. Reese is the sweetest girl with a sassy sense of humor. Today, I’m delighted to get to share you with news of her second book with Carina Press, Love Me Not. For sexy contemporary romance with reformed bad boys, look no further than Reese’s excellent Bad Boys Gone Good series. I’m endlessly curious (ie, nosy) about the attraction of bad boys, having married a sweet, rather beta hero myself. (Shush, all of you laughing because you know MrMonroe has me totally wrapped around his finger.)  Reese stopped by to eat some scones and drink some tea with us, all the while dishing about her series.

1. I’m so glad to have you in my Heart of Carolina chapter. How long have you been in North Carolina?

Thanks, Erica! My family moved to North Carolina from Cleveland, Ohio a little more than four years ago. We absolutely love it here and it’s been such a pleasure getting to know everyone in the Heart of Carolina Chapter.

Confession: I fell in love with the pink on this cover.

2. Congratulations on your release of Making the First Move! How exciting. Where did you draw inspiration from for this story?

I wanted to write a story that dealt with the compromises that are part of finding that forever love and the unrealistic expectations we sometimes have that make disappointment inevitable. My heroine struggles with unreasonable expectations for herself and for her relationships. When she finds the man who seems perfect for her, he has a dark secret and some serious baggage. She must decide if loving him is worth the risk.

3. Making the First Move is part of your series Bad Boys Gone Good. Can you tell us a little more about the premise of this series? How will your books be interconnected?

The series features the bad boys we love–handsome, sexy, with lots of secrets–yet they’ve matured a bit and learned some hard lessons. They’re at a different place in their lives.

The books are connected because the characters stem from other books in the series. The heroine in Book 2 of the series is Jamie Charles who is the best friend character in Book 1. Another secondary character from Book 1 is the heroine in the proposal I’m currently working on for Book 3.

And this is one of my absolute favorite contemp covers.

4. I hear you have a release coming out in December. Tell us a little bit more about what we can expect from Love Me Not.

Love Me Not is darker, edgier and a bit sexier. It’s about a struggling artist and part-time bartender, Jamie Charles. She finds refuge from the painful secrets of her past in her art, and prefers living on the edge–without the complications of love–until she encounters charming ad exec, Miles Copeland, who is harboring his own dark past, and is determined to have her heart.

5. Oooh, you know I love the dark! Our readers love to hear stories of your first sale. How did you get involved with Carina Press?

I’d pitched another digital-first press with good success. That opened this market up to me–an avenue I hadn’t considered. I sent queries to Carina Press and a few other digital publishers. In the end, I chose to go with Carina Press.

6. What works do you have in progress?

Right now I’m using NaNoWriMo to complete a novella that I’m proposing as Book 3 in the Bad Boys Gone Good series. I’m also working on an interactive, choose-your-own ending romance for another publisher.

7. That sounds super exciting. What made you choose to write contemporary romance?

Although Pride & Prejudice is my very favorite book, I primarily read contemporary fiction. Writing historical fiction requires a lot of research and futuristic fiction requires the building of complicated worlds. Both prospects would be dangerous territory for me.

8. Oh, girl! I’m a huge Austen lover. Lastly, the question we ask all Teatime Romance guests—if you were trapped in a burning building and could only save 5 books, which ones would you choose?

Ooh! Good question! I’m going to go with:

1. My Jane Austen Seven Novels collector’s edition–which still has the plastic on it.

2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen–Love that book!

3. Good Hair by Benilde Little–reminds me…I want to read this again.

4. 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter–a great story.

5. You Don’t Know Jack by Erin McCarthy–the book that made me fall in love with ultra-hot romances.

Thanks for stopping by, Reese! I’m super excited for your new release Love Me Not on December 30th. For now, readers can check out Making the First Move on  Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Reese can also be found at her website, reeseryan.com.