NO PLAYER REQUIRED by JoAnn Sky

My Best Ideas….

People often ask me how I come up with the idea for my story, or for specific scenes. Many times, they grow from real life experiences. An event occurs, and a specific moment from that event plants a seed.  For example, my neighborhood is host to bands of wild horses every year; they simply take up residency, coming and going from our front yards, snacking on our grass. Several years ago, my kids and I took a special interest in one particular horse who seemed to have trouble being a part of the band. Over the course of the summer, as we watched this horse try to find his place, the idea of including the wild horses in my next story was born. This horse’s struggle – and the characters’ paralleling struggles–was the basis for NO COWBOY RQUIRED, book 1 of my current series.

Another example is my first children’s book, SANTA’S DOG. It is based on the true story of our first rescue dog who, by all accounts, was sent to us by Santa. Seriously! You can check out more about this special pooch on my website: https://www.joannsky.com/

With my new release, NO PLAYER REQUIRED, one of my favorite scenes was inspired by a night out with my girlfriends. We were throwing axes at this place in downtown Reno and unanimously decided that it would be a great first date. Well, that was an idea I couldn’t resist for my new book!  Below is a portion of the scene.  I hope you enjoy it!

NO PLAYER REQUIRED by JoAnn Sky

He watched her take a deep breath. She was agitated; that much was clear. So was he. His hips, right where her hands had been, were still tingling and hot, as were places a bit lower, too. It had been a light touch. Almost a poke, really. Nowhere near a caress. Dios mío. He couldn’t remember the last time a simple touch had affected him this much.

He almost wished they could turn back the clock two minutes. Things had flowed so well between them the past half hour. Sure, they’d only covered things like music and movies, but the banter between them had been casual and natural as she began to let down the barriers she’d built around herself. He knew she was having fun. Surprisingly, so was he. He shook his head. She wasn’t even his type. Not that he stuck to one type, per se. He liked to keep his menu options open. His tastes changed, it sometimes seemed, with the weather.

He watched her position herself and throw. Thunk. Another bull’s-eye. Of course. Maybe if he’d paid attention to her stance as opposed to her ass, he’d have gotten the hang of things earlier.

GIVEAWAY!!!

I’m so excited to be here today. I’d like to offer a choice eBook of one of my romances from the Biggest Little Love Story series + a $10 Amazon gift card.

NO PLAYER REQUIRED by JoAnn Sky

Billionaire casino magnate Rafael “Rafa” Salord is forced to exchange caviar for cowboy boots when he’s sent to “grow up” and run his father’s newly acquired casino in the middle of nowhere downtown Reno. When he crosses paths with feisty Destiny Morson, he starts to wonder if that nonsense about love-at-first-sight might actually be true. Maybe it’s time to trade in his playboy status and bet on something more.

Social worker Destiny Morson has always had good reason for keeping romance at arm’s length. After finding out that her business partner ran off with the community-raised funds from their non-profit, she’s ready to swear off people completely. So when the sexy casino executive seems interested in helping her with her woes, she can’t help but mistrust his motives, no matter how he makes her burn…

From a night out throwing axes to supporting Destiny’s charity, Rafa stops at nothing to win over the gunshy woman he can’t get out of his head. He’s determined to break through her tough exterior, and Destiny slowly lets her guard down. But after a night of passion in his penthouse suite, things at the casino go sideways for both of them, forcing them to decide if the past is enough to prevent them from a future together.