Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Shannyn Schroeder and Giveaway

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Guest Post with Author Shannyn Schroeder and Giveaway

Meet Shannyn Schroeder, author of Something to Prove.

Shannyn is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”

So she did.

That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to where she is today—agented with a debut ebook coming out with Kensington in late 2012.

She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

Places to find Shannyn:

Something to Prove – Meet the Hero: Colin O’Leary

Colin O’Leary is the oldest of six children. When he shows up in my first book, More Than This, we learn that he’s been away from his family for three years. He left town right after his father died. Everyone assumed he left because Dad left the family bar to Ryan, Colin’s younger brother. In truth, Colin left because he felt like he couldn’t step up to be head of the family. He screwed up a lot when he was younger and almost cost his family the bar. He didn’t take learning the business seriously, but Ryan did. Colin ran because he didn’t want to continue to be the family screw-up.

Colin is an all around good guy. He’s got an easy smile and he’s a great conversationalist. This makes him a natural bartender. He loves being behind the bar interacting with customers. The business end still doesn’t interest him, but he knows he needs to learn in in order to reach his ultimate goal: owning his own bar.

Colin also spends a lot of time trying to rediscover his place in the family. They all managed fine without him for three years and they still treat him like he’s the same man—as if he hadn’t changed at all. Most of his siblings welcome him, but he has quite the battle getting Ryan to trust him. He feels the need to prove himself to Ryan more than anything. He wants Ryan to know that not only can he help run the family business, but also that the family can count on him. He’s home for good.

In addition to wanting his own bar, Colin is also looking to settle down. Although not in a hurry for it to happen, he sees two of his younger brothers and a childhood friend all getting married and having kids, and he wants some of that for himself.

I had a blast writing Colin. He was easy to put on the page because he’s an easy going kind of guy.

Two ambitious people team up to prove themselves to their families—and find there may be more to their partnership than just business…

Elizabeth Brannigan is determined to show her father she’s capable of running the family business. Saving his struggling Chicago bar seems like the perfect project. But she’ll need a little help dealing with the rough crowd. Who better to assist her than the handsome co-owner of a thriving Irish pub? Of course, with so much work to do, there are bound to be a few late nights…

Colin O’Leary’s father passed away before he could prove to him that he wasn’t a screw-up. Now he wants to show his brother he’s responsible enough to own a bar of his own—and Elizabeth may be able to help him. But when their professional aspirations clash, tempers—and passions—flare. Are they mature enough to mix business with pleasure—or will they have to choose between the two?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes |

Check out the O'Leary's series: