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Saturday, February 28, 2015

Guest Post with Author Shae Ross and Giveaway


Shae Ross was born and grew up in Ferndale, Michigan. After graduating high school, Ms. Ross attended Michigan State University and continued her education at Detroit College of Law. Prior to 2014, she spent the majority of her career practicing corporate law, running a successful business and engaged in entrepreneurial ventures.

After having one too many stressful days at the office, Ms. Ross began to consider pursuing her lifelong dream of writing. Armed with an English degree, an interest in historical settings and a huge collection of romance novels, Ms. Ross put pen to paper and began converting the characters in her head to ink. She soon found herself happily immersed in a new working world that included heroes and heroines, agents and editors, and a multitude of secondary characters.

Ms. Ross currently writes in the new adult and historical romance genres and lives with her husband and three children in Holt, Michigan.



Trash Talk, $200 Million and Turf Love--How I came up with the idea to write “Pretty Smart Girls – Lace Up”.

It was my birthday, August 31, 2013 and my husband and I were at the University of Michigan football game. Now I have to admit, I am not a passionate sports fan. In fact, there’s a picture on my facebook page of Julie Andrews smiling and spinning around on the top of her “Sound of Music” mountain, captioned: “This is me, not caring who wins the football game”. I love being at ‘The Big House’, singing the National Anthem, feeling the vibration of the fly over, and eating the hot dogs, but beyond that…I got nothin’. So on that beautiful day at the end of August, after the glow of the first quarter hot dog wore off, what’s a romance author to do?

I started thinking about the long-standing rivalry between my alma mater, Michigan State and the University of Michigan, which my husband attended. A huge percentage of the population in Michigan identifies with one of these Universities and generally trash talks the other. I would go so far as to say, it’s one of our favorite pastimes. Here two examples:

1.What does a State grad call a U-M grad? The boss
2. Why did the U-M grad cross the road? Because they thought someone on the other side didn’t know where they went to school.

Funny, right? All the stereotypes, labels and trash talk, got me thinking; wouldn’t it be fun to write about a State girl and a Michigan guy and incorporate some of the competitive heat and jaw dropping humor into the book. Hmmm…

At half time that day a presentation was made recognizing Real Estate Mogul, and Michigan alumnus, Stephen M. Ross. Mr. Ross had pledged a donation of $200 million dollars to the University of Michigan, doubling the size of any donation in University history. Wow! Hail team Ross! This act of incredible generosity led me to think about how lucky students are to have mentors willing to invest in their education. That thought became the second inspiration for “Pretty Smart Girls – Lace Up”, which tells the story of three Spartan women and three Michigan men competing in an entrepreneur competition sponsored by a successful New York business man.

The third inspiration in the story comes from my own experience. I am a Spartan girl in love with a Michigan man. It can be done! To steal a partial quote from one of my favorite pretty smart girls, Cher, “If grass can grow through concrete, love can find you…” On August 31, 2013 it found me happily rooting for players on rival turf, and plotting my debut novel, “Pretty Smart Girls – Lace Up”.

Go Green!



Team Ryan

Ryan Rose and her fellow Spartans are finalists in a high-profile entrepreneurial competition. They're competing for life-changing money and for their futures. They have a solid plan to win. All they need to do is trounce the competition: rich frat boys from an archrival university. Easy, right?

Team Jett

Jett Trebuchet's first mistake was not realizing that Ryan and her friends were the competition. His second was expressing his unabashed confidence in his team’s ability to win. After all, everyone knows the only thing MSU does better than U of M is produce beautiful, easy women…oh, and he almost forgot to say “dumb.” And boy, does his team pay for that one.

Game On

As each side tries to game the other, something else seems to be getting in the way—attraction. Now Ryan and Jett must keep their teams from getting distracted by the opposite sex...and each other. All is not fair in love and war when it comes to winning this game.

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

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:
  • 1 $25 Amazon Gift Card

To Enter: 
  • Please leave a comment or question for Shae.
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Shae Ross for sponsoring this giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

68 comments :

  1. Fun story line, looks exciting and story which will keep you draw in :)

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    1. Hi Lisa! Thanks for your interest and for entering the PRETTY SMART GIRLS give away!

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  2. This book sounds wonderful. Just went and 1-clicked it! Thanks for the info.

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    1. Hi Sue! Thanks so much for the click! I hope you love the book and good luck with the give away!

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  3. What did you like most about writing this book? Would you be friends with either character in real life?

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    1. Hi Alina! I truly loved everything about writing the book. I love the relationship that develops between the lead characters, Ryan Rose and Jett Trebuchet. I loved writing the dialogue between them and creating two characters that are well-matched in wit, intelligence, competitive spirit and sense of humor. I would be friends with both characters in real life! Thanks for the question and I hope you get a chance to read PRETTY SMART GIRLS!

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    1. Hi Brandi! I am so glad you are excited about the book! Thanks & good luck!

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    1. Me too Theresa! Go green :) Thanks & good luck with the giveaway!

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  6. Thank you so much for the post and giveaway! Fingers crossed. :-)

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    1. You are welcome, Lindsey! I hope you enjoy the book!

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  7. You are a new-to-me author. I enjoyed reading about you and this book...sounds really good.

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    1. Hi Karen, nice to meet you! I am so happy that you are excited to read PRETTY SMART GIRLS. Thanks for your interest!

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  8. Sounds fun. Nothing like a little competition to heat things up :)

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    1. You know it! Thank you, Amber, for your interest & good luck!

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    1. Hi Rita! Thanks for your interest & I hope you enjoy PRETTY SMART GIRLS!

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  10. Congratulations on your new book. A little competition is always a good thing.

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    1. Thank you so much, Kim. I totally agree about competition! I appreciate your interest!

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  11. Great book! Can't wait to read the next one in the series. Thanks for the giveaway!!

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    1. Hi Evelyn, I am thrilled to tell you that I am working on the sequel as we speak! Thank you for your kind words & stay tuned!

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  12. I love rivals to lovers books. This sounds like a hoot and a half. Humor and tension are a sure fire way to grab my attention and keep me locked on a story.

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    1. Hi Sebella, it sounds like you are really going to love PRETTY SMART GIRLS. I am so excited for you to read it! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm!

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  13. Looks great! Can't wait to read this one! :-)

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    1. Hi there! I am so excited for you to read it! Thanks for your interest & good luck!

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  14. Sounds like an interesting and exciting story and I'm looking forward to reading it.
    Thanks

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    1. Hello! I am so glad you decided to pick up PRETTY SMART GIRLS. Thanks for your kind words!

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  15. Awesome.. my question to you is what do you have lined up for summer plans?

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    1. Hi Steve! I live in Michigan and we have had the worst winter. I am staring at my patio right now from my kitchen window and our patio table is still half buried in snow. One of our absolute favorite things to do in the summer is have our friends and neighbors over, sit on the patio by our outside fire, laugh and drink wine! That's my plan so far. Thanks for your question.

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  16. The book sounds like such great fun! I'm from Iowa so am familiar with your state universities and we of course have the interstate rivalry between ISU (my alma matar), U of I, and to a lesser degree, UNI and Drake. My son is an ISU Cyclone and his live-in girlfriend is a rabid Hawkeye (U of I) so yes, two from rival state universities can coexist!

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    1. Hey Glenda! That's hilarious, so you know exactly what I am talking about with the divided house! All in good fun right;) I am so happy to hear when my readers connect personally with the story. Thanks for your interest!

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  17. Congrats to Shae on the new release! I also went and purchased this! I love that these aren't just "beautiful" people, but smart! I love that their competition is academic and school rivalry based . Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Erin! Thank you so much for buying PRETTY SMART GIRLS! It sounds like you are going to love the characters and the theme. Enjoy!

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  18. Congrats on the new release! Can't wait to read it!

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    1. Thanks so much Sherelle! Good luck on the giveaway!

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  19. I can understand the concept behind this story, Shae, because I live in Michigan. I was raised near U of M and now live near MSU. LOL I stay out of the conflict because I went to EMU. ;-)

    Marcy Shuler

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    1. Hi Marcy! I just love to hear that fellow Michiganders are reading my book (you and I are practically neighbors)! And LOL about staying neutral, SMART girl!

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  20. My grandpa is from Michigan and would appreciate this :)

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    1. Hi Natalie! How cool! Thanks for stopping by and for your interest!

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  21. I'm always amazed at how a story comes to fruition. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hey Laney, I am so thankful for your interest in my book! Good luck!

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  22. Thanks for the chance

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    1. Hi Maria! You are very welcome. Thank you for your interest & good luck!

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  23. I always like to know what sparks a story.

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    1. Hi Mary, I'm glad you liked the back story on PRETTY SMART GIRLS! Thanks for your interest & good luck!

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  24. Looks great! Can't wait to read this one

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    1. Hi Irma! I am thrilled that you're going to read PRETTY SMART GIRLS! I appreciate your interest!

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  25. i love the book's blurb
    thx u for the chance of win :)

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    1. Hello! You are so welcome. HUGE thanks to you for your interest!

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  26. Oh it sounds really good! I always love the team rivals! We have had that in our family and we have alot of fun with it! Cant wait to see what romance comes!!!

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    1. Hey Laura! It does make family get-togethers fun, doesn't it? I am so happy that you are excited about the book and the rivalry theme. Thanks for your kind words!

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    1. Thanks! I love stories where the characters are rivals or engaged in some sort of competition. I think it gives us a chance to see their true colors! (In this case GREEN AND WHITE and MAIZE AND BLUE).

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  28. I love how you explained how you can up with the idea for this book. I think it is funny as I am not a big fan of football. I even live real close to the UofA in Tucson, AZ. I hear the games and hate the traffic that home games cause. I love the sound of this book.

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    1. Hi Felicia! That's hilarious, sounds like we have something in common! We would rather be reading! I am so glad you are excited to read PRETTY SMART GIRLS. Thanks for your interest!

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  29. sounds wonderful, thank you!

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    1. Hi Amanda! Thanks for your interest in PRETTY SMART GIRLS! Good luck on the giveaway!

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  30. Was a great read...didn't want to put it down. I could really relate to Devi (I also graduated from MSU...go Spartans!)

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    1. Hi Lisa, thanks for your kind words about PSG! That's awesome that you could relate to one of the characters. Stay tuned for more of Devi in the sequel - coming soon! Oh yeah....GO GREEN!

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  31. Thank you for this giveaway!!!

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    1. Thanks for your interest Marcy! Best of luck to you.

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  32. Sounds great! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  33. Not a fan of football either. I keep telling myself to learn the rules of the game since it's such a big deal but I find something much more interesting to do.

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  34. i think this sounds very interesting! a def good read

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  35. sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.

    rounder9834 @yahoo.com

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