I have another Beachwalk Babe with me today, please welcome Ashlynn Monroe, promoting her exciting new release Reality Hero!
Thank you so much for hosting me! I loved writing this book and I hope that readers will enjoy reading it as much as I adored the process of writing it. I am working on a novella sequel to this novel, Ella’s story. Enjoy Reality Hero, I can’t wait to hear what you think. I love reader email at authorashlynnmonroe@gmail.com!
Blurb
Dina Dell's career as a television producer has hit bottom. Desperate to save her job, she comes up with the idea for a reality show called I Want to Date a Superhero. But the only superhero bachelor she knows is the only man she's ever loved—Zane Blair.
Zane was once a normal human, but a traumatic childhood incident mutated him, along with Dina's sister and their friends. Dina was the only one who escaped without any superhero abilities. And while she might be the "normal" one, that only left her feeling like more of an outcast.
Her lack of powers put Zane in danger. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before someone used her to get to him, she left, breaking both their hearts in the process. After all the pain she caused him, will he be willing to help her now?
Then an old enemy emerges, putting Dina's plans on hold. When her superhero friends are the ones who need help, Dina just might learn that sometimes little Miss Average can be a hero too.
Content Warning: graphic sexual content
Release date: 6-17-13
Sub-genre promoting (Contemporary, Paranormal, SciFi, etc): Fantasy/Superhero Romance
Buy Links: http://beachwalkpress.com/reality-hero/
Website Link: http://www.ashlynnmonroe.com/
Excerpt
Dina Dell sat
in the conference room waiting anxiously. A huge lump began forming in her
throat. She knew things weren’t going to go well, yet she held hope old Ervin
might be feeling generous. Her past hip and innovative programming ideas had
once made her his most valued employee. Now she was hanging onto her job by a
thread. That’s how the television business is: unforgiving. She was the
mastermind behind top rated shows such as Kid Exchange and Please,
Someone Marry my Mother.
Unfortunately,
the wellspring of creativity had run dry. For the last year, every show she’d
produced had been ratings disasters, if her productions had even been lucky
enough to air at all. Dina saw the writing on the wall, and with the network
making major cuts to combat the economic slump, she knew the axe was coming
down…on her head.
Watching the
wily old codger walk toward the room through the opaque glass, even without
seeing his face, she knew he was on the warpath. His body language said it all.
His fists were clenched and his shoulders were tight. He lumbered down the hall
as if he were preparing for murder—the murder of her career. Ervin threw open
the door with dramatic flair.
“My Cat is
in Charge? Really? Really and truly? Dear God, Dina. You honestly thought
this was going to make good television? Who’d ever watch this? What happened to
that brilliant brain of yours? Did you have a head injury? Did you have a
stroke? Did someone hit me in the head, and this is all some
coma-induced nightmare? What could possibly keep me from canning your sweet
little ass right now?”
“Well, the
sexual harassment lawsuit over your ‘sweet ass’ comment for one, and two, I
have an idea that’ll blow your mind. I swear it. This one will put the network
on top again. When the big boys hear the premise, neither of us will ever have
to worry about our jobs again.” She paused and took a deep breath. Sweat ran
down her face, but she resisted the urge to swipe at it, just in case he didn’t
notice. Oh God, can he see that I’m lying? “That whole cat thing was
just to get your attention for this. I swear the network will be kissing your
ass after this airs.” Dina was lying through her teeth. She had nothing
that she could produce. Her only idea was one she could never actually use
without destroying people she cared about. The cat thing was the most creative idea she’d had in
months. Plenty of people loved cats. Someone would want to watch a show about
families letting their furry feline make major life decisions. Oh fuck, that
is awful. Crap. Hold it together, girl. The old man can smell fear. She
gulped in another lungful of air.
He cocked a
bushy, gray eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. Waiting. She took a
breath. Folding her hands, she put them in her lap so he wouldn’t notice them
shaking. Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly. It was time to pull out the
dramatics. She’d been around enough TV personalities to have picked up a thing
or two about acting. Okay, maybe if I lie well, he won’t send me to spend
the rest of my life living on the street and rambling incoherently about my
glory days working in television. The desperate thoughts sent her heart
racing. She opened her eyes and regretted it. Ervin was staring at her. He
still hadn’t said a word, but she could see curiosity in his expression. Good.
He’d taken the bait, too bad she had nothing to reel him in with.
“I respect
you, Ervin, but I’ll take this idea to another network if you don’t want to
hear it.”
His eyebrow
rose. “Okay?”
He was giving
her one last chance. She opened her mouth to condemn the one person who really
mattered to her. Her mouth went dry and she shut it. Biting her lip, she closed
her eyes. There was no more waiting, she had to do it, even if this idea cost
her what was left of her soul. She looked up at her mentor.
“What if I
told you I had a superhero who was willing to star in a new show? Would you
want me to run with that?”
His watery
eyes bulged, then he recovered and a scowl replaced his shock. “You’ve made
this network some serious money, but that’s in the past. For the last year,
you’ve been a harbinger of series death. Whatever you’ve touched around here
has turned to steaming piles of…crap. Your ideas stink. Once upon a time, I
called you the Queen of Reality TV. What happened to my amazing, rising star?
Why are you pushing terrible, idiotic, horrible programming? Everything you’ve
done lately makes me want to stick sharp pencils in both my eyes so I can’t see
them, and scratch off my ears so I can’t hear them. Then I’d rip the hair out
of my head so the pain can distract me from the memory.” His face was turning
from red to purple. She cringed. This graphic assessment of her talent left her
queasy. He glared at her before opening
his mouth, as if to speak, then closing it again. The old man ran a hand
through what was left of his straggly gray hair and pinned her with a less than
friendly look. She tried to stand her ground, but under the weight of her
mentor’s ire, she crumbled. Her shoulders slumped, and she couldn’t meet his
eyes.
“If I didn’t
respect you so much, and love you like the daughter I’m glad I never
had, I’d have put you out of here six months ago. I put my sweet ass on
the line for yours this morning with the network, so don’t screw me. I swear
this cat thing made me want to stick a firecracker up my nose and blow my head
off.”
She winced,
Ervin was never one to spare feelings, but ouch…harsh. His dramatic criticism
felt completely deserved. He was right. She did suck. The old coot’s face was
still red from his tantrum.
“If this
thing works out, I’ll be the queen again. So cool off before my only supporter
has a massive heart attack and dies. Just think about your wife, and how
much she’d like to spend your life insurance money.” The words seemed to calm
him down, but not much.
“You’re
giving your only supporter the heart problems, so last chance, kid. Turn the
dung into gold or you’re fired.” He whirled around, leaving the same way he
came in: abruptly. She could almost see him wiping her self-respect off his
shoes as he marched away. If she screwed up this time, her career was finished.
Dina genuinely worried about his health. For all his bark, he wasn’t a bad guy.
He’d given her a good start in the industry. She’d been the one to screw it all
up.
Dina sat
quietly looking at the blank, smooth tabletop. She nibbled her lip and fought
back tears. She had the perfect idea, but it was going to be a hard sell. Oh,
it’d be easy to get the network interested, they’d love it. Old Ervin would
respect her again. Masses of television viewers would praise her. Yet she’d
hate herself…probably until she died. The only person who could star in this thing
was the one person she loved the most. He was the only person she’d ever
intentionally hurt. The person who could save her was the one who’d given
Diamond City almost everything, and now she was going to ask for one last
thing—his heart.
Thank you for having me over!
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