Guest Post with Author Jamie Farrell and Giveaway

Meet Jamie Farrell, author of The Husband Games.

Jamie Farrell writes humorous contemporary romance. She believes love and laughter are two of the most powerful forces in the universe. A native Midwesterner, Jamie has lived in the South the majority of her adult life. When she's not writing, she and her military hero husband are busy raising three hilariously unpredictable children.

Find Jamie at:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Thanks so much to Dani for having me here to celebrate The Husband Games today!

One of the questions authors get asked a lot is, “Where did you get the idea for that character/book/plot line/scene?” Usually, my answer is, “I don’t know.” Whether because it just sort of plopped out of my brain fully-formed, or because I wrote the scene so long ago that I honestly don’t remember, since a book sometimes takes me a year or two to fully develop and write, it’s usually the truth.

But The Husband Games?

I can tell you exactly where I got the idea for this book.

In February 2012, I was standing in my kitchen, talking to a friend on the phone. She was telling me an unfortunate story of something her husband had done (again) to make her mad (again) and I remember thinking, “Sheesh, if there were Husband Olympics, SuperHubby would kick her husband’s rump. My guy would totally take gold.”

And it was so perfect, I shrieked out loud.

Right there in the middle of the conversation.

My friend stopped. “Uh, Jamie?”

“I’ve got it!” I shouted. “Brilliant!”

“I know you’re not talking about my husband,” my friend said dubiously.

“I’m going to write a book,” I told her. “It’ll feature husband Olympics. They’ll compete to be named Husband of the Year. It will be epic.”

“Uh, Jamie?” my friend said again. “Don’t you usually write books about people who aren’t married yet?”

“Technicalities,” I said.

And my little brain went to work, spinning and spinning for a couple weeks. Bliss was born, the most married-est town on Earth. I googled my little heart out to find other marriage festivals. (And failed – it seems wedding festivals aren’t very popular. Who knew?) Then I chatted with a few writer friends and they were awesome and helped me brainstorm plots (thanks, Kelsey and Maria and Lisa and Pam!), and soon, I had my heroine: a divorced woman living in the Most Married-est Town on Earth.

Finding my hero wasn’t as easy, though. That’s part of why it took so long for the book to fully ferment. CJ is one of those characters who doesn’t like to open up. He also wasn’t real keen on letting me know what he wanted long-term from his life. But we came to an understanding, and I think both CJ and I are happy with my version of his story. :-) And now, so is Natalie.

These two characters—and the whole world of Bliss—were a great experience for me. I’ve been having a lot of fun working on book two in the Misfit Brides of Bliss series, about Natalie’s sister Lindsey and her country rock star hero. I love Southern boys, which is probably obvious if you’ve read Southern Fried Blues (my debut novel about a divorced Northern lady and her redneck rocket scientist hero), and I’m excited to be bringing one of those Southern boys up North. I’ll have more details soon, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy Natalie and CJ in The Husband Games!

Since Bliss is a little town with a fun little festival, tell me – what’s your favorite festival?

After Natalie Castellano’s marriage imploded on the field of the Husband Games in Bliss, Illinois, the Most Married-est Town on Earth, the last job she expected to inherit was planning the fiftieth anniversary of her hometown’s unique Games. But with her mother’s unexpected passing, that’s exactly what Natalie’s doing. And the position demands that she play nice with CJ Blue, the man who ultimately caused Natalie’s marital demise.

Winning Bliss’s Husband Games and being crowned Husband of the Year was the brightest spot in CJ’s short marriage. Since his wife’s untimely death, he’s taken himself around the world, hiding from his grief. But now, family obligations have him trapped in Bliss, where he’s been invited to participate in the Games and humiliate himself in the name of closure. The whole town wants him to play. The whole town, except one. And he can’t decide what bothers him more—that Natalie doesn’t think he belongs in the Games, or that she’s right.

These two would make great enemies. But all games aside, the more they find themselves in close quarters, the harder it is to deny their mutual attraction. She’s battled Bliss’s bridal brigade, and he’s jumped out of airplanes and soared over waterfalls, but now they’re both facing the biggest risk of all: taking another chance on love.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes |

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 signed copy of The Husband Games

To Enter: 

• Please answer Jamie's question: what’s your favorite festival?
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Jamie Farrell for sponsoring this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway