*Giveaway & Guest Post* Murphy's Law by Jennifery Lowery *Lyrical Press*

Murphy’s Law
By Jennifer Lowery

Blurb:

Home is the last place Jon Murphy can go. After being held captive in Tazbekistan, he returns to the States only to find he can’t face his mom and sisters with what he did while he was a prisoner, so he retreats to the mountains.

Widow Sara Sheldon has made a lifetime of mistakes and is now running scared from her husband’s powerful family, who are determined to take her daughter away from her. When her little girl goes missing in the Rockies, Sara enlists the only help she can find: a gruff recluse with tracking skills to admire and a body to covet.

A storm strands Sara and her daughter at Murphy’s cabin, leaving her no choice but to hope her in-laws don’t catch up while she plans where to run next. Murphy resents the invasion of his privacy, but can’t seem to keep his mind--or his hands--off Sara. How can she stand to look at him, with all his scars? He’s not nearly as honorable as she might think…only enough to make sure she’s safe, and then he’ll go back to being alone, the way he should be.

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual content

A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance

Ladies and Gents of the Lair, please put together a warm welcome for Ms. Jennifer! I have given the Lair for the day ;) Enjoy! And be sure to get to the end... there is a giveaway offer!

Hi Cecile and all you fabulous readers out there *waves* Thank you so much for having me today! My contemporary romance, Murphy’s Law, released this month so I’m very excited to be here! Thank you so much for sharing it with me!! 

This book is very special to me. Not only because it is the story of my heart, but because I signed the contract with Lyrical Press on my birthday! Yep! It was the best birthday ever!

Murphy’s Law was the third manuscript I ever finished. I wrote it never expecting it to see the light of day. I knew I was lacking GMCs in my characters in my writing and I wanted to learn so I set my mind to character building and learning the craft. I bought Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation, Conflict and it changed my life! And my writing! Murphy’s Law was my attempt to build deeper characters. Hence, my practice run and the reason it was never to be read by anyone but myself, lol.

But, something happened as I began writing Murphy and Sara. I fell in love with them from page one and just couldn’t stop writing! They haunted my dreams. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Couldn’t stop writing. I finished the first draft in only a couple months (80k). The more I wrote the more I fell in love with them. The more I learned.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I messed up. Big time, lol. This manuscript went through six edits before I signed a contract. Ah, the life of a pantser, but I love it. Completely. I don’t want you to believe that I just read a book, sat down and wrote a book that sold. Absolutely not!! Blood, sweat and tears went into this book and I don’t regret one single moment of that journey. Murphy and Sara were so worth it. I hope when you read their story that you think so too!

I was lucky enough to final in the Golden Heart with this manuscript back in 2006 and final in another local RWA chapter contest with it. But that was before the edits that finally got it contracted almost eight years after I wrote it.

So my advice, don’t ever give up on the story of your heart or any of those stories you have hidden under your bed or in a drawer!! It just may be the story you sign a contract for on your birthday. So don’t give up! Follow your dreams!

Thank you for having me today, Cecile!! I just want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn’t be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support! 
All my best, 
Jennifer

Excerpt:

Copyright 2013, Jennifer Lowery

All rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.

Murphy sat at the kitchen table, half in the shadows created by the soft light glowing above the stove, hair tousled from sleep. Naked to the waist. A bottle of amber liquid sat in front of him, an empty glass in his hand. Her gaze landed on his muscled shoulders and trailed across his tanned chest. So much for getting him out of her mind. Now she had the real thing to dream about. Looking at the dark hairs that veed down his chest and disappeared behind the table, she decided he’d been right. He was a dangerous man.

She tore her gaze away from temptation and looked at the granite lines of his face. Beneath the hardness of his expression, something haunting lingered. Drawn, she circled the table to the opposite end.

Murphy met her eyes with coldness that should have sent her running for the safety of her room, but she remained standing in place. He wanted to chase her away. This time she wasn’t running.

“Mind if I join you?” She grabbed a glass and from the cupboard and reached over his shoulder for the bottle.

His hand snaked out and wrapped around hers, preventing her from pouring a drink.

“I mind,” he growled.

“Well, get over it. I need a drink.”

Scowling, he let go of her hand and allowed her to pour a glass for herself. She refilled his glass next, set the bottle on the table, moved to the chair beside him and sat, lifting her glass.

“Cheers.” She brought the glass to her lips. His gaze as she drained the glass made her fight the urge to cough as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. Seconds later she felt the familiar warming sensation as it numbed her insides. Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away and reached for the bottle.

Murphy held it away from her. “What are you doing?”

“Having a drink. I’m not in the mood for warm milk tonight.”

His eyes darkened and narrowed. “You don’t strike me as the drinking type.”

She wasn’t, but tonight it sounded good. Maybe it would soothe away her problems and make her forget how screwed-up her life was. Talking about Kent earlier had brought back painful memories. She didn’t want to feel that misery anymore.

“Maybe you don’t know my type,” she said.

He studied her closely for a moment before rubbing a hand over his face. “Go back to bed, Sara. Sleep it off.”

“I don’t want to sleep it off. I’m tired of thinking about it.”

Maybe it was the whisky, or his naked chest, or the part of her that had been dormant for six years coming back to life. More than anything she wanted to discover it with Murphy, her strong, scarred hero.

She rose to her feet. He watched warily as she stepped in front of him and positioned herself between him and the table. He leaned back in his chair and sent her a thunderous look.

“You and I are alike in many ways, Murphy,” she said softly. “We’ve both lost pieces of ourselves we can’t ever get back and it has forced us into a life of loneliness and solitude. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being alone.”

He pinned her with a hard glare. “I’m not what you want. Go back to your room before I do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”

His harshly spoken words sent little electrical shocks through her body.

“I’m tired of people telling me what I want.”

Author Bio:

Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer.  Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side. 

Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn’t be happier to share her passion with her readers.  She loves everything there is about romance.  Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines.  She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.  

Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children.  When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. 

Find Jennifer:

Author Website   Facebook   Twitter   Romance Recipes

Buy Murphy’s Law:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

Lyrical Press

Ms. Jennifer has been very kind to let me giveaway an

eCopy of Murphy's Law!

Just go to the link for the details!

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