Breaking His Rules – Alison Packard

One Week and Counting! (And Another Excerpt)

Published on September 1, 2014 by Alison PackardLeave a comment

The countdown has begun. Just one week until Breaking His Rules is released! In anticipation of release day, I thought I’d share another excerpt.

“Jake. There’s something I have to tell you.” Melissa pointed a pale pink-tipped finger at him. “It’s important.” She paused to stare deeply into his eyes and when her tongue stroked her lips with a soft sensual lick, Jake had to fight the urge to lower his head and do what he’d wanted to do all night. Taste that tempting mouth of hers.

“You gotta fight for your right to party.” Her impish smile and the sound of the elevator doors opening snapped him out of the sexual undertow that had almost pulled him under and he guided her out of the elevator and onto the carpeted hallway of the second floor of the hotel. “I love that song,” she added, oblivious to the effect she was having on him.

“Yeah. I could tell by the way you were belting it out in the truck.” Jake pulled the room key card from the back pocket of his jeans as they reached their room.

“Thanks for letting me pick the radio station.”

He let go of her to slide the card into the card reader and open the door. “You’re welcome.”

“Whoa, Nellie.” Melissa clutched at his arm as she swayed to the side. “Sorry. It’s the shoes,” she said as she steadied herself.

“I think it’s the tequila shots.”

“No. It’s the shoes,” she said emphatically as she let go of him and moved into the room. “I don’t normally wear heels this high.”

Jake grinned and shook his head as he closed the door and tossed his keys and the card on the dresser. Melissa’s tolerance to alcohol was much like that of his brother, J.T., who after a couple of beers was pretty much toasted. Odd for a guy J.T.’s size, but true nonetheless.

“And you normally drink two beers and four shots of tequila?”

“It was only three shots.” A cute frown furrowed her brow. “I think.” She flung her purse on the bed and put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. Her eyes raked boldly over his body. “You know what? I bet I could teach you to dance.”

“I know how to dance. I’m just not good at it.”

“That’s because you don’t practice.” She snapped her fingers and did a little shimmy. Jake’s breath jammed in his throat at the sight of her full breasts bouncing under her form-fitting top. “You can’t improve if you don’t shake what your mama gave you.”

Breaking His Rules will be released on September 8, 2014 and is currently available for pre-order at the following e-book retailers:

Breaking His Rules ~ Another Excerpt and a Giveaway

Published on August 24, 2014 by Alison Packard9 Comments

With release day quickly approaching (can you believe summer’s almost over?) it seemed like the perfect time to share another excerpt from Breaking His Rules and, of course, do another giveaway!

It was after ten when Jake pulled up to the curb in front of her townhouse. The porch light was on and bathed the small garden and walkway near the front door in a warm golden glow. Inside, the house was dark. Paige was either upstairs in her bedroom at the back of the unit, or she’d decided to spend the night with Rob.

“You talked to Gentry, didn’t you?” Melissa asked the question that had been on her mind ever since she’d seen Trey head toward the men’s room not long after Jake had done the same thing.

“We had a brief discussion.” Jake’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I didn’t lay a hand on him. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“The only reason I’d worry is because I wouldn’t want you to get into any trouble because of me. Him, I couldn’t care less about.”

“My father taught us to respect women. What Gentry said to you was out of line. I took it upon myself to call him out on his behavior.”

“I guess he thought I’d be flattered that he found me attractive.”

“His success has gone to his head. He’s got women panting after him all the time and he takes advantage of that situation on a daily basis, according to J.T.”

“Well, he picked the wrong woman tonight. I wish I would have had the nerve to deck him. Paige would have done it in a heartbeat.” She sighed. “Paige thinks I need to stand up for myself more. She says I always turn the other cheek and let people like Shauna and Denise get away with insulting me.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes,” Melissa admitted, with a tentative nod. “I was always heavier than all the other kids. When they made fun of me it was easier to pretend it didn’t matter instead of confronting them.”

“But it did matter, didn’t it?”

“It hurt.” Her heart clenched at the thought of those painful times. “A lot. Luckily, I had Paige. I don’t think I would have gotten through school if she wasn’t there with me. She fought my battles for me. No one would dare say a word to me when she was nearby.”

“You’ve never struck me as the kind of person who wouldn’t stick up for herself.”

“That’s because you don’t really know me.”

“I think I do.” Jake reached up to brush a lock of hair from her cheek, and then quickly lowered his hand. “That strength you think you don’t have is there. Inside you. One day you’ll figure that out.”

Breaking His Rules will be released on Monday, September 8, 2014 and is available for pre-order now at the following e-book retailers:

And now for the giveaway! Just leave a comment on this blog post and win an e-book copy of one of my books: Love in the Afternoon, The Winning Season, A Christmas for Carrie or Catching Heat OR you can choose a print copy of either Love in the Afternoon or The Winning Season. The contest is open internationally and will close on Friday, August 29, 2014 at 9 pm PST. Good luck!

An Excerpt from BREAKING HIS RULES (plus a giveaway!)

Published on August 3, 2014September 2, 2014 by Alison Packard27 Comments

The countdown to the release day for Breaking His Rules has begun! To kick things off, I’m sharing an excerpt from the book and giving away a rare print copy of my second book, The Winning Season.

“I went to my cousin’s bridal shower earlier today.” Jake looked up, relieved to find that she hadn’t appeared to notice him staring at her breasts. Good. Now he just had to remind himself not to do it again. He shouldn’t be thinking anything other than professional thoughts about her. Friend or not, Melissa was his client and therefore strictly off-limits. “She’s getting married next month at Pebble Beach.”

He let out a low whistle. “Beautiful, but from what I know of that area, pricey.”

“My aunt and uncle are very well off.” Melissa pushed her cup to the side and folded her arms on the table. “You know how I told you she always made fun of my weight when we were kids?”

Jake nodded, remembering their conversation of a few months ago. “She sounds like a witch.”

“She is.” Melissa sighed. “I overheard her and her friend talking about me in the ladies’ room.” She gave him a wan smile. “And you know what they say about eavesdroppers never hearing good of themselves. Well, it’s true.”

“What did she say?”

“That I was too fat to be a bridesmaid and that even if I’m able to get a date to her wedding, it’ll probably be with some loser.”

Jake tamped down his anger. He’d struggled with his weight when he was younger and knew only too well how cruel some people could be. Leaning forward, he reached across the table and put his hand on Melissa’s arm. He tried not to notice the satiny smoothness of her skin but failed and quickly withdrew before the warmth of her skin could tempt him to linger. “Don’t let her get to you, Melissa. She’s not worth it.”

“That’s what I told Paige when she suggested we sabotage the wedding ceremony.”

Jake couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve only met your sister twice, but that’s exactly what I’d expect her to suggest.”

Melissa smiled, then quickly sobered and gave him a determined look. “I’m going to that wedding even though it’s the last thing on earth I want to do.”

“Do you have a date?” he asked, more interested in Melissa’s private life than he should be. She’d never mentioned a boyfriend, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone. Even at her heaviest—as she’d been when he’d met her—she was an attractive woman.

“No. But I have this off the wall—” She stopped mid-sentence, stared at him for several seconds, then she shook her head and laughed. She had a good laugh—melodic and sexy at the same time. “Never mind.”

“Never mind what?” he asked as he leaned back.

“It wasn’t important.” She tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks turned pink under his scrutiny. “Okay. Okay. I was thinking about hiring an escort for the wedding. Someone super-hot. That would shut my cousin up for good.”

“Hire an escort?” Jake asked, surprised she’d go to such lengths—especially when she didn’t need to. He grinned as the perfect solution to her problem materialized in his head. It was the least he could do for a friend. “I have a much better idea and it won’t cost you any money.”

One delicately arched brow rose. “What’s your idea?” she asked, with a hint of trepidation.

“Not what. Who.” He pointed to his chest. “Me. I’ll be your date for the wedding.”

BREAKING HIS RULES will be released on September 8th and is available for pre-order at the follow digital retailers:

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And now for the giveaway: To win a print copy (or e-book version if you prefer) of my second book, The Winning Season, just leave a comment below. The giveaway is open internationally and will close on Friday, August 8, 2014 at 9 pm, PST. Good luck!

The giveaway is now closed.

The Writing Process Blog Hop

Published on June 29, 2014June 29, 2014 by Alison PackardLeave a comment

Crystal Perkins, up and coming New Adult author of Gaming for Love (and my friend), tagged me for this blog hop. See the author I tagged below (another talented friend, Heather Lire), who will post her answers on her blog next week.

1. What am I working on right now?

At the moment I’m working on final edits to my upcoming release, Breaking His Rules. The fifth book in my Feeling the Heat series, Breaking the Rules will be published on September 8, 2014 by Carina Press. If you read Catching Heat, then you probably remember J.T. Sawyer’s brother Jake, the owner of a gym called Jake’s Joint, and Melissa Atherton, whose quest to change her life led her to join Jake’s gym and sign up for his personal training sessions. Jake has an ironclad rule against getting involved with his clients, but his attraction to Melissa just might have him rethinking that particular rule.

Breaking His Rules started out as a novella, but I’m happy to report that a novella wasn’t long enough to tell Jake and Melissa’s story. It now comes in at over 70,000 words!

2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?

This is a tough question to answer. I believe every single author is unique. What I mean by that is each author has a different voice, or their way of telling a story. I’d like to think one of my strengths is to inject my stories with humor, as well as emotion. I love writing a series because it gives me (and the readers) a chance to revisit the characters they fell in love with in previous books.

3. Why do I write what I do?

This one’s simple. I write what I love to read. Contemporary romance has always been my go-to genre, so it just made sense that when I decided to start writing, I’d write contemporary. My first book in the series, Love in the Afternoon, is an homage to soap operas (which I grew up watching), and my second book, The Winning Season, is a sports romance. Soap operas and sports wouldn’t seem to go together in a series, but somehow it worked, and I couldn’t be happier to combine two things I love in one series.

4. How does my writing process work?

I have a pretty simple process. Once I decide on the characters, I write a loose outline of the story and then just start writing. For me, planning out every single scene or detail is too restrictive. I love it when I’m writing and something that never occurred to me pops into my head and takes the story in a direction I never thought it would go.

Because I also have a full-time day job, my writing time is limited to after work and weekends. Like a few of my author friends (Tera Lynn Childs, I’m looking at you), I can’t write in Starbucks or other public places. I need complete silence to concentrate. And I’m not sure if this is odd, but I actually like working on revisions because it’s a second chance to make the story and the characters shine.

Next week, the lovely Heather Lire will be answering these same questions on her blog. Heather’s first book Second Chance at Forever is a wonderful story of lovers reunited. Read about it, and her writing process on her website.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Breaking His Rules

Published on June 8, 2014July 12, 2014 by Alison Packard4 Comments

A lot of readers have asked about my next book and now I can finally share the details with you! For those of you who were hoping Jake Sawyer (J.T.’s brother from Catching Heat) would get his own story…your wish has been granted.

Losing fifty pounds is an incredible achievement. But for Melissa Atherton, progress doesn’t come with praise—a scathing comment from an evil cousin at a bridal shower threatens to crush her new self-esteem. Who will she bring to the upcoming wedding? Showing up without a date would be humiliating. It just isn’t an option.

Personal trainer Jake Sawyer was attracted to Melissa before she lost weight, but her progress has him floored. When she admits she plans to hire a male escort—and why—his heart all but breaks. Melissa’s come too far to be knocked down, especially by her own family. He’ll go as her date…and figure out a way to keep his hands to himself.

But when a steamy hotel room encounter takes them both by surprise, Jake balks. He’s sworn never to date one of his clients, not again. And Melissa can’t bear to be just friends with the man who treated her so tenderly, even if it was only for a weekend. Jake’s helped her see she’s strong enough to stand up for herself, but will she find the strength to pursue the only man who’s ever seen the real her?

Breaking His Rules will be released on September 8, 2014.

Pre-ordering now available:

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