Reviews by Crystal: #GiveAway - Flight Risk By Barbara Valentin

Flight Risk

An Assignment: Romance Novel, Book 4

By Barbara Valentin

Interview:

Crystal: Today I have the pleasure of hosting Barbara Valentin. Welcome Barbara! I am so excited to have you visit today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Barbara: I’d be happy to! I write the bestselling Assignment: Romance series (Gemma Halliday Publishing) while working full-time to support my five boys. The first book in my series, False Start, earned a starred review from Publisher’s weekly which named me an Indie Star of 2015. I reside in the Chicago area and am looking forward to the day I can afford to write full-time. Thanks in advance for your support! ;)

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Barbara: My favorite scenes take place when Aubrey and John spend their first day together, testing boundaries while still building attraction. Here’s a sneak peek:

"Where to now?" Aubrey asked as she wadded up what remained of her lunch and deposited it in a nearby trash can.

"You'll find out when we get there."

So juvenile.

John headed for the Navy Pier exit. With the midday sun rising higher in the sky, the lakefront began to toast. So did her cheeks when she watched him tug off his sweatshirt as he walked. The white fitted T-shirt he had on underneath left little to her imagination.

A tumble of excitement, exasperation, lust, and dread welled up in her as she joined him.

"You're like a kid in a man's body, you know that?"

An incredibly hot man's body.

He stopped and faced her. "And did you know that most people who suffer from phobias have a hyper-developed need for control?"

"Are you implying that I'm a control freak?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm not implying it. I'm stating it, rather explicitly."

She pointed at him. "There. You did it again."

"What?"

Aubrey quoted back what he had just said. "Who talks like that?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Well-read adults?"

Of which you seem to be neither.

She kept walking.

"What are you getting so huffy about?" with another of his penetrating stares.

After a moment of silent reflection, she replied, "I don't like not knowing where I'm going."

At this, he held out his hands as they walked along. "Did I call it, or did I call it?"

She turned and grumbled, "Jackass."

Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?

Barbara: I work in downtown Chicago. While strolling down State Street on my lunch hour last summer, I skirted around some scaffolding and got doused with a bit of icky, sudsy water from a window washer's bucket. Later that same week, window washers were stationed at my building…some mighty hunky window washers. Afraid of heights as I am, I was careful to not get too close to the window, but still…a story was born.

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Barbara: Book #5 in my series, tentatively titled Order Up. Each of the books in my Assignment: Romance series feature a heroine who works at the Chicago Gazette. While this book is mainly about Nancy Braley, the assistant food editor, like my other books, subplots involve characters from previous books.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?

Barbara: No, with a full-time job and a busy home life, I have to squeeze it in when I can (after everyone goes to bed, on my train ride into work, etc.).

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Barbara: Because I’m too chicken, I had to find out who amongst my friends had jumped out of an airplane so I could get their first hand account. The fascinating fact I learned was that my oldest had actually done a tandem jump (at 23)! I have to admit, I was glad he told me after the fact. I would’ve been a nervous wreck otherwise.

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Barbara: I’m a big fan of Kristan Higgins, but have recently discovered Karen Doornebos. Her Jane Austen fan fiction novels are so much fun! Beyond the romance genre, my favorites include F. Scott Fitzgerald and W. Somerset Maughm.

Crystal: Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Barbara: No. I love writing romantic comedy because it suits my voice and I enjoy the challenge of tying up all the loose ends and leaving the readers with the warm fuzzies.

About the Book:

When Aubrey Thomas, a phobic travel writer, must choose between jumping to what she considerers certain death from a skydiving static line or sinking even deeper into debt in the unemployment line, she scrambles to find someone—anyone!—who can help her overcome her debilitating fear of heights.

Enter John Trelawney, a charming window washer who thinks nothing of dangling by a cable fifty stories up and claims he can cure her. Everything about John makes Aubrey nervous... including the way her heart kicks into overdrive whenever he's around. But, at the end of her rope, she takes him up on his offer.

Can he really help her get over her fear of heights? Or will Aubrey find
herself free falling...possibly even in love with him?

Romantic Comedy / Chick Lit

Gemma Halliday Publishing / 233 pages

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Excerpt: