When It's All Said and Done by Denise N. Wheatley Book Tour and Giveaway :)
When
It's All Said & Done
by
Denise N. Wheatley
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Savvy,
fun-loving writer Leslie James dreams of one day joining Limelight
magazine’s writing staff. In the meantime, she keeps her
journalistic skills sharp with Blissful Beauties, a beauty blog that
celebrates all women.
Leslie’s
passion for writing takes her mind off her current relationship
status: Single. She’s okay with leaving love out of the equation,
until she meets Michael—a handsome, sexy single father and sports
journalist with everything Leslie could want in a man. At the urging
of her supportive, sassy best friend Crystal, Leslie befriends
Michael but insists that they remain strictly platonic, but Michael
has other plans. He’s determined to make Leslie his lady for life,
and as their undeniable chemistry begins to sizzle, Leslie is
powerless to resist him.
But
their budding romance is abruptly cut short when Michael’s ex-wife
suddenly resurfaces, wanting to rekindle their relationship. Will the
love Leslie has for Michael ever be enough to truly win his
heart?
Reader
Alert! Leslie James is at her wits’ end when it comes to love. The
minute she decides to throw in the towel, gorgeous and charming
Michael Allgood comes along. Mesmerized by this fine specimen of a
man, and against her better judgement, Leslie decides to give him a
chance—but she regrets that decision when his greedy ex-wife Mia
suddenly shows up on his doorstep. Can Michael prove to Leslie that
his intentions are good and he wants a love with her that’ll last
forever?
To
My Readers: I’ve been a lover of romance for as long as I can
remember. WHEN IT’S ALL SAID & DONE is fun, contemporary
romantic comedy that’s very close to my heart. As the novel came to
fruition, I found myself wanting to be friends with the smart, savvy,
beautiful women in the book and date the handsome, strong, sexy, men!
My goal was to tell an entertaining story that embodies matters of
the heart and would leave readers thinking about these colorful
characters long after the final chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it
as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Once
Michael finished cooking breakfast, he and Leslie headed into the
living room to watch college basketball. The twosome chatted about a
little bit of everything as they ate. And then, just when they sat
their plates down on the coffee table, Michael turned to Leslie. “I
love you,” he said softly. She
stared blankly at him, thinking she must’ve misheard him. “You…what?” “I
love you.” Leslie’s
chest began to tingle, and her eyes teared up a bit. The sweet,
sincere look on Michael’s face was beyond words. She was positive
that she’d never felt this way about anyone before in her life. “I
love you, too.” Michael
wrapped his arms around her. He leaned in, and she closed her eyes,
waiting to feel the soft, warm touch of his lips. And then, just when
the tip of his nose gently brushed against hers, she heard the sound
of keys rattling outside of the door. Michael
stopped abruptly. “Did you hear that?” “I
did. It sounds like somebody’s coming in.” Michael
jumped up and walked over to the door. Before he could turn the knob,
it flew open, and Tyler came running inside. “Daddy!
Daddy!” he yelled. “Hey,
what’s up little man!” Michael said, picking him up. Leslie
stood up, smiling and waving at Tyler. Then she walked around the
couch and waited nervously for Michael’s mother to walk in. She
hadn’t expected to meet his mom this soon, especially under these
circumstances. "Hello
Michael,” a sexy-sounding female voice said. It sounded nothing
like his mother. Leslie
watched as a beautiful woman carrying a designer suitcase appeared in
the doorway. It was, in fact, not
Michael’s mother. It was his ex-wife, Mia. Leslie’s
entire body went numb. She eyed Mia, noticing how tall and
curvaceously thin she was. Her jet black wavy hair cascaded down her
back. Her deep bronze complexion was flawless. Her hazel eyes were
dazzling. And she acted as though Leslie was invisible considering
she had yet to acknowledge her. The
atmosphere suddenly became tense and awkward. Leslie didn’t know
what to do, so she looked over at Michael. He seemed to be just as
shocked to see Mia as she was. When Mia reached out and tried to
embrace him, he took a step back. “What
are you doing here?” he asked. “Your
mother called and told me the wonderful news about your sports
casting job! Instead of calling to congratulate you, I decided to
come home and give you my well-wishes in person!” “Home?”
Michael asked cynically. “Yes,”
Mia replied confidently. “Home.” Leslie’s
eyes widened. She could not believe what she was seeing or hearing.
She struggled to keep her cool. Waited to be noticed. To be spoken
to. Introduced. Something.
But since that didn’t seem like it was going to happen, she cleared
her throat, forcing Mia to acknowledge her presence. “Oh.
Hello. I didn’t see you standing there.” Yeah
right. “Hello,
I’m—” Leslie began. But before she could continue, Mia
interrupted her and turned back to Michael. “I
didn’t realize you had company. Your mother told me you were here
alone.” Michael
looked at her in disbelief. “How did you get the keys?” “Your
mother gave them to me,” Mia smiled. “I stopped by there first to
see her and pick up Tyler, and told her not to mention that I was
coming home so I could surprise you.” “I’m
sorry,” Leslie interrupted, feeling as though a bomb might go off
inside of her. “As Michael said, I’m Leslie.” “Hello.
I’m Mia. Tyler’s mother.” The
smirk on Mia’s face said it all. She obviously felt as though she
had the upper hand here. Leslie
looked down and saw a wedding ring set sitting boldly on Mia’s
finger. She hoped that it was from a new husband and wasn’t the set
that Michael had given her. “Come
on mommy! Come see my room!” Tyler insisted, clutching Mia’s leg. “Okay,
here I come!” Mia then turned to Michael. “Your daddy has some
things to take care of out here anyway.” Before
following Tyler to his room, Mia turned to Leslie with a beauty
pageant smile on her face and waved. “Nice
meeting you…Lindsay was it? Take care,” she said dismissively
before walking off in her fancy designer stilettos. Leslie
didn’t bother to respond. She was too irritated to even open her
mouth. Instead she turned to Michael, struggling to maintain her
composure as she stared at him silently and waited for him to handle
the situation. “Sweetheart,”
he began, holding his hands up, “I swear I didn’t know she was
coming here.” “Oh,
I get that. I’m just wondering why you haven’t asked her to
leave.” “Well,
Tyler’s here…so…” “Sooo...you’re
not going to ask her to leave?” “Well…I
just don’t want to make a scene in front of our son.” Leslie’s
heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach. “Michael, you do know
what’s going on here, don’t you? How ironic that the minute you
don’t get an NBA contract, she leaves. Then the minute you get a
sports casting job on a major network, she reappears.” “I
know…But Mia is Tyler’s mother, and he’s so happy to see her. I
don’t feel comfortable asking her to leave right now. It would
break his heart.” Leslie
felt a lump forming in her throat. She looked into Michael’s eyes,
wondering what all this meant for the two of them. She was afraid
that if he let Mia stay, then somehow that could drastically change
things between the two of them. “So
you’re going to let her stay?” Leslie asked quietly. “I
don’t have a choice. Please understand that, Leslie, Please…” Loud
laughter between Mia and Tyler came booming from his bedroom. Leslie
felt completely defeated. She got it now. Mia was back. So it was
time for her to leave. “Why’d
I do this?” she asked herself out loud. “Why? I knew
better…” “Leslie,
please don’t say that,” Michael insisted.
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of romance, happy endings and the art of storytelling. She used to cry as a three-year old child when her mother read to her because she so badly wanted to read the books herself! Once she learned, Denise constantly had her nose in a novel (especially the ones she’d sneak from her mom’s bookshelf). She’s been writing for as long as she can remember and draws inspiration from Chicago, the city where she was born and raised, as well as Los Angeles, which is one of her favorite places in the world. Denise has published several books and novellas with Simon & Schuster, Red Sage Publishing, eXtasy Books and independently, has written screenplays and teleplays, and has ghostwritten for some of your faves. When she isn’t sitting behind her computer, you can find Denise in a movie theater, on a tennis court, watching true crime television or chatting on social media.
Tell
us what When
It’s All Said & Done
means to you and what you’re hoping readers will take away from the
story.
I’ve
always been a lover of romance and enjoy writing it just as much as I
enjoy reading it. When
It’s All Said & Done
is fun, contemporary romantic comedy that’s very close to my heart.
As the novel came to fruition, I found myself wanting to be friends
with the smart, savvy, beautiful women in the book and date the
handsome, strong, sexy, men! My goal was to tell an entertaining
story that embodies matters of the heart and would leave readers
thinking about the colorful characters long after the final chapter.
What
are five of your favorite quotes from When
It’s All Said & Done?
- “Michael, I know it’s not your fault that she came here, but it will be your fault if she stays.”
- “If this night has to end now, then I’d love to see you tomorrow.”
- Right before she closed her eyes, Leslie looked down at her left hand and decided that maybe an emerald cut diamond would better suit her….
- But as Ann Landers once said, if you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that are missing. If you don't have love in your life, no matter what else there is, it's not enough.
- Then she turned back around and walked out the door, knowing that when it was all said and done, she would be entering this next phase of her life with absolutely no regrets.
What
makes a good story?
For
me, a good story involves an element of romance. That, along with
creating strong, interesting, relatable characters, while developing
a thoughtful, interesting plot that will keeping readers guessing,
makes for an awesome storyline.
Do
your characters seem to hijack your books or do you feel like you
have the reigns of the stories?
My
characters absolutely hijack my books lol! A perfect example would be
the protagonists and antagonist in my novel The
Road to Bliss.
When I began writing that story, I had a solid idea of how it would
progress and how things would end. But as I wrote and the storyline
developed, certain characters pulled me in a different direction,
which completely changed the course of the narrative. I don’t want
to give too much away, but let’s just say my main character Timber
West did not end up with the man I thought she would.
How
do you handle writer’s block?
When
I get writer’s block, the first thing I do is grow patient with
myself, understanding that I’m just not on a roll that day or week.
If I spend a whole day on one paragraph, then so be it. I’m just
glad to be making progress and moving forward. Another tactic I use
during those periods of writer’s block is to just write whatever
comes to mind without judging it. No matter how terrible the words
may seem, I just write. And usually when I go back and edit what I’ve
written, it isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. I also like
to tinker with photography and graphics programs (usually to create
promotional pieces for my work) or dabble in another project when I
burn out. It’s therapeutic and helps get me back on track.
Do
you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I
like to write with noise. Nothing too loud, but I always need a
little bit of activity in the background. As strange as it may sound,
total silence can be disruptive me when I’m trying to write.
Let’s
play ten questions in ten seconds. Go!
1.
Favorite Author: Terry McMillan
2.
Favorite Book: Butterfly
by Kathryn Harvey
3.
Sweet or Salty: Sweet
4.
Dream Vacation: Paris
5.
Music or Silence: Music
6.
Plotter or Panster: Plotter
7.
Vanilla or Kink: Kink
8.
Morning Bird or Night Owl: Night Owl
9.
Half Full or Half Empty: Half Full
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
Thank you so much for posting my novel, and best of luck to the giveaway entrants! <3
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