Contest for a $20 Amazon or BN Gift Card! (see details below)

Thanks for inviting me to be a guest blogger, Delilah! I’m thrilled to be here interviewing one of my favorite characters, Roxanne Monet, the enticing and unsinkable heroine who dominates Playing the Game, a recent winner of the International Digital Award for best contemporary romance novel. First a word about Roxanne—as the story begins, she’s been accused of marrying her husband for his money, then murdering him. But of course, she’s really a nice girl.

Rox: Great intro. Are you inviting the readers to my execution later?

SQ:  I’ll ask the questions. So, why are you being accused of taking your late husband’s life for the money?

Rox:  It couldn’t be for the money. I gave it all back—and there were millions in the estate. So now I’m broke. Plus I lost my job and my mother-in-law is out to get me…

SQ:  What do you mean she’s out to get you?

Roxanne:  She’s hired a private detective to dig up dirt on me so she can convince the police to charge me with murder. She’s the girl trying to take over in this story…

SQ:  Did you do it?

Rox:  Readers, the author is only “playing” dumb.

SQ:  Answer the question.

Rox:  No one murdered poor Donald. The police are calling his death an accident, but I really believe it was suicide.

SQ:  So what is this GAME you’re playing with the hunky basketball superstar Barry Dennis?

Rox:  The Game of Seduction. Impossible to lose….unless…

SQ:  Unless what?

Rox:  Unless one of us loses our heart—but that’ll never happen.  I’m too jaded about men and he’s too single-minded about being the best to let anyone distract him, including his daughter, Lindy.

SQ:  What about his daughter?

Rox:  Lindy breaks my heart.  It’s such a tragedy. I can’t help being there for her and getting too involved even while Barry struggles with the tragedy.

SQ:  What about the tragedy?

Rox:  I can’t talk about it. (sniffle)

SQ:  Okay—take it easy. What can you tell me about your connection with Barry?

Roxanne:  XXX.  And I don’t mean three kisses–That’s the Sensuality rating.

SQ:  Is it true you spent time in jail?

Rox:  I’m not answering that on the grounds that it may incriminate me.  But forget about jail–the real crisis moment is …

SQ:  BZZZT!  You ever hear of the word SPOILER?  Interview Over.

Playing the Game is the first in the “Playing” series all about sports and romance. And the sport of romance.

Rated:  Spicy!

Contest!  Enter to win the contest by commenting on the excerpt and joining Stephanie Queen’s newsletter mailing list!  Include your e-mail address.

Excerpt from Playing the Game:

“Damn it,” Roxanne muttered. Her drink had splashed on her dress. The crowd was dense. Looking right, and then left, at the partygoers around her, she took a surreptitious glance down to inspect the damage.

A very large, dark, wet spot spread over her left breast. Luckily it was only ice water. Or maybe not so lucky, on second thought. She watched in horror as the red silk material clung to her skin.

“Double damn. My nipple is showing!” This time she forgot to keep her comment under her breath.

“Now that I’d like to see.” The man appeared from nowhere, towering beside her. He watched her reflection in the floor to ceiling window.

The heat of embarrassment ignited her face. The man was no gentleman. Her embarrassment turned to anger in a flash. She jutted her breast out for him to see.

“You can look all you want,” she dared, wanting to shift the discomfort to him.

She thought she’d succeeded, until the signature dimpled half-grin split his face.

“I’m Barry Dennis.” He held out his free hand for her to shake. He held a bottle of beer in the other. The famous lopsided smirk remained in place.

“Must be my lucky night.” She ignored his hand.

He laughed.

Biting her lip, she reminded herself to behave professionally. He was the star attraction at this gala and they were both there to raise money for a good cause.

“I’m Roxanne Monet.” She shook his hand. She eyed him, wondering if he’d dare to say something about her nipple.

“I know who you are. I watched you get fired from your job at the TV studio a few days ago. You were supposed to interview me.” Unrestrained amusement shone in his eyes now and his grin widened. She was really starting to dislike this guy.

Author Bio

Stephanie Queen is a romantic at heart, a writer by nature, and has the soul of a cheerleader. She enjoys creating stories where her rose-colored world-view comes to life and the good guys always win. Spending most of her life in New England, she’s attended many of the area colleges, including Harvard, and even earned a couple of degrees along the way. Although she lost count of all the jobs she’s had before she settled on being a Novelist, her favorite was selling cookies as a Keebler Elf.

Other novels by Stephanie Queen include the romantic comedy, The Throwbacks and The Hot Shots, books 1 & 2 in the Scotland Yard Exchange Program series, and the romantic suspense novel, Between a Rock and a Mad Woman. All are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, KOBO and Smashwords.  For a list and links to buy books, visit SQ’s website at www.StephanieQueen.com , or on Facebook and follow her @StephanieQueen on Twitter.