Blog Tour: Playlist & Giveaway: Screwball by Linda Morris

Passion dominates the diamond in the second novel in this fun and flirty baseball romance series by the author of High Heat.

Paul Dudley, president of the Plainview Thrashers, is spinning out of control. Preserving his family’s baseball legacy in these tough times takes everything he’s got, and constant clashes with his father have left him struggling for authority over the team and even his own future. So when sports reporter Willow Bourne, a one-night-stand from a year ago, walks back into his life, he knows he can’t give into his feelings for her—no matter how strong they are.

Willow never expected to see Paul again, and she’s got her reasons for keeping her distance. Except the more time she spends around Paul, the harder it is to hide her secrets—or stop herself from falling head over heels.

As the sparks between them fly, Paul discovers what Willow has been concealing from him, leaving him with a difficult choice—keep the team his top priority or make his own legacy by following his heart…

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GW6sK1

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1O1EC4J

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1JFa9FA

iTunes: http://apple.co/1NQ9iYV

Playlist:

Thanks for having me here today! Here's my playlist for Screwball, the second book in my Hard Hitters series, set on a small-town, minor league baseball team, the Plainview Thrashers:

"Small Town," John Mellencamp. What better song to kick off a playlist for a book set in Plainview, Indiana, by Mr. Small Town Indiana personified, John Mellencamp?

"My oh my," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. A lovely ode to the longtime announcers for the Seattle Mariners, Dave Niehaus, but it's really all about those things that baseball taps into. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, generations rooting for the hometown team, passing on traditions and stories of great plays, great victories, and heartbreaking near-misses. (Bartman Ball, anyone?)

"All Men Are Liars," Nick Lowe. An ironic choice, because in Screwball, it's the heroine who is somewhat, um, truth-challenged. (But for a good reason, of course!) But this is a great song anyway, even if the gender is wrong. (And why was Nick Lowe not a huge star, by the way? One of the mysteries.)

"I Want You Back," Jackson 5. With apologies to Guardians of the Galaxy, I need this song for this soundtrack too. Paul and Willow meet only briefly for the first time, but it's powerful enough to create a shockwave that ripples through the rest of their lives. Paul wants Willow back, but for her, things are complicated…more complicated than he knows.

"You Do Something to Me," Paul Weller. One of the great melancholy love songs, it captures the mixed emotions and ambiguity of love. "Dancing through the fire, just to catch a flame."

"Never Let Me Go," Stacey Kent. A wonderful song by a young jazz singer with the potential to become one of the greats. "Because of one caress, my world was overturned. All my bridges burned by my flaming heart."

"To Zion," Lauryn Hill. The greatest, most realistic song I know about parenting, "To Zion" talks about the shock and confusion of an unintended pregnancy, but also the joy that can come with embracing it.

"Let's Stay Together," Al Green. Hey, this ought to be on every love story's playlist. A pure expression of the determination to stay together through thick and thin, which is what romance is all about, right?

Linda Morris Bio:

Linda Morris is a writer of contemporary romance, including High Heat, the first book in the Hard Hitters series; Melting the Millionaire’s Heart; The Mason Dixon Line; and Nice Work If You Can Get It. She writes stories with heart and heat, along with a joke or two thrown in. Her years of Cubs fandom prove she has a soft spot for a lost cause.

Links:

Website: www.lindamorrisbooks.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindamorrisbooks

Twitter: @LDMorrisWriter

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ldkmorris/

Giveaway:

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Release Day Launch: Excerpt & Giveaway: Screwball by Linda Morris

It’s release day for Screwball by Linda Morris!! I am so excited that this fantastic contemporary romance! Check out the except she’s sharing with us and the fantastic giveaway!!

 

Passion dominates the diamond in the second novel in this fun and flirty baseball romance series by the author of High Heat. 

Paul Dudley, president of the Plainview Thrashers, is spinning out of control. Preserving his family’s baseball legacy in these tough times takes everything he’s got, and constant clashes with his father have left him struggling for authority over the team and even his own future. So when sports reporter Willow Bourne, a one-night-stand from a year ago, walks back into his life, he knows he can’t give into his feelings for her—no matter how strong they are. 

Willow never expected to see Paul again, and she’s got her reasons for keeping her distance. Except the more time she spends around Paul, the harder it is to hide her secrets—or stop herself from falling head over heels. 

As the sparks between them fly, Paul discovers what Willow has been concealing from him, leaving him with a difficult choice—keep the team his top priority or make his own legacy by following his heart… 

Buy Links: 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GW6sK1 

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1O1EC4J 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1JFa9FA 

iTunes: http://apple.co/1NQ9iYV 

 Exclusive Excerpt: 

Willow is down on her luck. She's recently lost her job and boyfriend all in one go. Her friend Kendra takes her to a club in St. Pete, Florida, to cheer her up: 

“Come on. My treat.” Kendra squeezed her hand. “You need a pick-me-up.” 

“Not sure a twelve-dollar cocktail is going to solve my problems, but thanks for the thought.” 

“Come on, hon. Give yourself a chance to cheer up.” Kendra led the way through the crowd. 

The two women got plenty of looks as they moved through the nightclub. Usually, leers from guys she didn’t know creeped Willow out, but not tonight. Tonight, they were a boost to her badly battered ego. 

They entered a long hallway with large leather-lined booths separated by wispy white curtains. Crimson velvet wallpaper lit with colored lights made for a trippy effect. 

“We’re in the booth at the end,” Kendra said. 

The two slid into the booth and Willow scanned the drink menu. “Ten bucks for something called a Sazerac?” She couldn’t afford this place. Not that she could afford any place, considering that she had lost her job and was living on savings, unemployment checks, and an occasional assist from her parents. Whee! She was twenty-five and on top of the world. 

“Don’t get it. It tastes like lighter fluid with sugar in it.” 

She wrinkled her nose. “Duly noted.” 

A loud yell from the booth across the hall caught her attention. A raucous group of guys, young and mostly good-looking, was flirting with their waitress. Without meaning to, Willow caught the gaze of one of the guys: Quiet. A little older than the rest. An island of intensity amid the liquored-up party people. 

He has nice eyes. 

She didn’t want to notice anything about a guy right now, but his eyes asked to be admired. They were equal parts gray and blue, bearing an expression she recognized because her face had worn it so often recently. The stranger wore the look of someone trying to hide something—but what? Sadness? No, more like discontent. He wasn’t doing a very good job of it. 

She ordered a beer and drank half of it before she had the courage to let her eyes wander in the man’s direction again. 

He was still watching her. 

Her stomach tightened, but she couldn’t have said whether from excitement or unease. She raised a brow, determined not to look away this time. His lips curved, and the sight took her breath away. He didn’t smile easily, she could tell. It looked like a reluctant one at best, but it lightened the shadow in his eyes. 

The easy feeling lasted until he rose and walked toward her. Her pulse erupted. 

Get ahold of yourself. He’s a guy in a bar. What’s he going to do to you? 

He walked right up, never glancing at Kendra, only at her. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.” Her voice came out calmer than she felt, thank God. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” 

A standard line she’d heard a hundred times. So why did it send a shiver of anticipation down the back of her neck when he said it? 

She gestured to her beer. “Got one already.” 

“I see.” He nodded, not letting that half-quirk of a smile disappear. “Then, in that case, I have no choice but to ask you to dance.”

Linda Morris Bio:

Linda Morris is a writer of contemporary romance, including High Heat, the first book in the Hard Hitters series; Melting the Millionaire’s Heart; The Mason Dixon Line; and Nice Work If You Can Get It. She writes stories with heart and heat, along with a joke or two thrown in. Her years of Cubs fandom prove she has a soft spot for a lost cause. Links: Website: www.lindamorrisbooks.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindamorrisbooks Twitter: @LDMorrisWriter Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ldkmorris/ 

Giveaway:

 

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