I’d like to thank SJ Maylee for being my first debut author and for our chat messages that have encouraged me and given me someone to talk to who understands the in’s and outs of being an author.
SJ has shared with us her journey to publication. She is the first, hopefully not the last.
So thank you and very welcome SJ,
Thank you, Evie for having me here today. I’d like to share with you my journey to publication. It’s a long and tumbling story. From a young age, reading was an escape for me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had characters in my head and I played around with their stories. Insecurities got in my way and kept me from writing any of it down. A couple years ago, the drive to know my characters and finish their stories became such a bright light that I had no choice but give it a try.
Once I started, I devoured everything I could find on the craft of writing. I’ve never been so hungry for knowledge. Yes, I wanted to write, but I didn’t know anything about how to do it other than what I’d picked up by reading hundreds of books. Fortunately, reading is one of the best teachers. Without knowing it, I’ve been studying the craft all my life. However, this journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Nothing was going to happen overnight. I had to decide for myself over and over again to keep moving forward.
It’s a daunting task to sit and write and the zillion other things that go along with it. Discipline has been my friend and I’m still working on honing my focus and routine. My determination has been my best friend. I haven’t taken a day off of this journey since I started. Besides hard work it does take a certain amount of good luck, good timing, and guts.
Hitting send on a submission is one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. After spending countless hours with a story you care a lot about it and the waiting is the worst. I’ll never forget the day I received my acceptance from Evernight Publishing for TAKING CHANCES. I’ve read that email so many times. I still look at it often. I love that email. It tells my insecurities to be quiet. It’s helping me right now while I wait to hear on what I hope will be my second published story.
I love that I titled my debut TAKING CHANCES, because that’s what I did from day one. I took a chance.
Below I’m sharing a bit about my debut. You’ll find all the details, the blurb, an excerpt, links to where you can buy Taking Chances, a little bit about me, and all the places you can connect with me.
Thank you so much for having me today, Evie.
Taking Chances
(The Love Projects #1)
by: S.J. Maylee
Genre: Erotic Romance with D/s
Length: Novella
Published: August 23, 2013
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-77130-533-4
TAKING CHANCES BLURB:
Lydia’s father walked away from her when she was eight. She’s struggled to not let him affect her, but fears she wasn’t loveable enough to make him stay. Jake wants to love one woman, but after scaring the last woman he met outside of the club, he doubts he has the right. She protects her heart by sticking with her fantasies, and he lives by a set of rules that excludes women who choose a vanilla lifestyle.
The two will be kept in a conference room working together until their special project is complete. If Lydia and Jake hold tight to their bland lives, they’ll always yearn for love that is out of reach. But together they can find common ground, passion, and a reason to take chances. Once they discover the grand possibilities of the love they desire, they find themselves in the very place they tried never to be again, facing unguaranteed love.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18337826-taking-chances
TAKING CHANCES EXCERPT:
“Look at me, Lydia.”
He pushed her. “Why?” She shifted her gaze and hit him with her direct stare.
“Thank you. I needed to see your eyes.” He reached out and swiped a lock of hair from her face. He tucked the strand behind her ear, and let his finger drag down her face to her shoulder. All the while his gaze captured hers, not letting go. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m okay.”
“Okay? Hmm, maybe I should do something to improve your mood? What would you say to that?”
“Here?” she gasped and quickly turned to look out the door.
He grabbed hold of her shoulders, lifting her slightly off the floor.
“Yes, here.” He brought their bodies together, claimed her lips and swept his tongue through her mouth, awakening her sexual hunger.
She felt wanted. She felt claimed. Images from the night before swam in her mind. Silly challenges from the office mean girl were all forgotten. He set her down and nipped at her lower lip.
“We have a lot to do today. Unfortunately we cannot go any further, now.” He stepped back behind his desk as casually as if he’d just greeted the mail man.
“But you would want to?” Still looking at the papers on his desk, she didn’t think he heard her. She took a step closer. “You would repeat last night?”
Her words stopped him. His gaze searched her face. Placing his hands on the desk he leaned forward and said, “Lydia, I fully intend to further explore your body and mind. After all, there are a few places I haven’t yet completely inspected.”
Her mind ran through what he had done to her last night, and there was only one place she could think of. Warmth fluttered through her face.
“Now, that is a beautiful sight.” He returned to his papers. “I’m going to have to keep thinking of ways to shock you simply to see you blush again.” With the papers properly sorted, his attention returned to her. “Is Gina a problem?”
Gina was a lot of things, but she’d never thought of her as a problem. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t be afraid to put her in her place. She likes that more than she lets on. She’s the type to push so she can be pushed back.”
“I hadn’t thought of her that way. Interesting.”
“Let me know if she becomes a problem.” His gaze drilled into hers, not letting her escape.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” His posture remained controlled, but the smirk couldn’t be missed.
She added her own version of the devilish grin, which ignited another blush before she even spoke. “Okay, Sir.”
“Trouble.” He stalked towards her and ruthlessly swept his hand under the hem of her skirt to press firmly along her panties. His lips pressed to her ear. “Hot and damp.”
The palm of his hand pressed on her clit, and he bent his knuckles, sending the tips of his fingers past the edge of her panties to drag along her slit.
“Be careful what you say to me, sweetheart, or you’ll shatter my control.” With one last drag of his fingers, he pulled away and walked from the room.
TAKING CHANCES BUY LINK:
Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/taking-chances-by-s-j-maylee/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Chances-Love-Projects-ebook/dp/B00EPWDHP4
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taking-chances-sj-maylee/1116840328
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-takingchances-1269898-147.html
S.J. MAYLEE BIO:
S. J. Maylee fell in love with storytelling at a young age and with it came a deep-seated desire for everyone to find their happily ever after. She’s finding the happy endings for her characters one steamy story at a time.
When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her caring for her garden, laughing with her two young sons, or dancing to her husband’s music. She’s a PMP (Project Management Professional), Nia instructor, and coffee addict.
As a writer she has a tendency to break hearts, but she always glues them back together.
Blog: http://SJMaylee.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SJMaylee
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SJ-Maylee/339463696094996
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/110475431453091174566/posts
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7224328.S_J_Maylee
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sjmaylee/
eviejayne 
