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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Guest Post with Author Tracy Solheim and Giveaway

Meet author Tracy Solheim.

Author Tracy Solheim has written her share of best sellers and note-worthy books. Unfortunately most of them line the shelves of dusty government offices around the world never to see the light of day. She hopes to change that with her series of contemporary romantic fiction novels published by Berkley Books.

“I guess you could say I’m a frustrated sports writer at heart, but I love writing—and reading—books centered around sports. I can thank my dad for that. He introduced me to Dick Francis novels when I was a teenager and I was hooked. I am also a big fan of the happily ever after endings of romance novels, so it was only natural that I combined the two elements in my fiction debut.”

Places to find Tracy:


THE ART OF CREATING A SECRET BABY

I love the concept of secret babies. (Author’s note: Just to clarify, I love secret babies that are in books. Secret babies in real life, not so much.) As I was saying, the plot twist of a secret baby is one of my favorite in the romance genre to read. Writing one, particularly in contemporary romance, is a lot trickier than it sounds, however.

The first hurdle in crafting a good secret baby scenario is to make the whole accidental pregnancy believable in an era when our characters should be practicing safe sex. In the case of my upcoming book Foolish Games, I used the double whammy of a broken condom and migraine medicine that rendered the heroine’s birth control ineffective. Overkill? Maybe. But either one of these scenarios on its own might not result in pregnancy, so I decided it was best to make the plot as strong as possible. I’m thorough that way. Just ask my kids!

Next, it was important to me that the “encounter” between the characters not be interpreted by the reader as cheap or meaningless. I didn’t want readers to think either Julianne or Will were shallow or reckless. Sure, it’s easy to write a guy who has no trouble with meaningless sex—it’s kind of in their DNA, right? But I wanted Will to be different. That’s why I made him the product of a one night stand. He was illegitimate himself and therefore, really cautious. It’s harder to make the heroine not come off as being…well, “easy”. In Julianne’s case, I simply made her a hot mess of neuroses. Really, she didn’t know what she was doing. Wouldn’t we all love to use that excuse once in a while?

Finally, there’s the whole “secret” part of the plot. What incentive does Julianne have for keeping her son a secret from his high profile—not to mention, wealthy—professional athlete father? It’s not like jocks aren’t fathering kids with multiple women fairly regularly. Seriously, there’s actually a website devoted to coming up a list of the top ten most…um, shall we say, prolific, Baby Daddies. The title holder? A pro basketball player who has fourteen children with ten different women! In Julianne’s case, she has the most fundamental reason—among others—for keeping her son’s paternity a secret: embarrassment over a one-night stand. I figured most of us women could relate to that one.

So there you have it, my secrets to the secret baby plot. Many authors have pulled it off using a variety of scenarios. Do you have a favorite book with a secret baby plot? I’d love to read it!


SOMETIMES THE BEST DEFENSE IS A STRONG OFFENSE….

Bridal gown designer, Julianne Marchione knows better than to lose her head at a client’s wedding. But much to her embarrassment, a mix of migraine medication and a smoking hot football player lead to a steamy one night stand resulting in a surprise pregnancy. Julianne has every intention of leaving her NFL hookup far in the past until her son, Owen, is born with a life-threatening blood disorder that requires a transfusion—and Julianne is not a match.

Will “William the Conqueror” Connelly grew up tough shouldering the stigma of being a bastard child born on the wrong side of the tracks. He refuses to let any child face the same discrimination. When he finds out about Owen, he’s furious that Julianne kept his son a secret. But when he sees her again at the hospital, he realizes that his feelings for her go far beyond anger.

Will insists that Owen recuperate at his home in North Carolina, and he’s adamant that Julianne become his wife—even if it’s only a temporary marriage in name only. But will their simmering attraction ever lead to a real connection? Or are they just playing foolish games?

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | iTunes |
Check out the Out of Bounds series:
Click for info.


Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:
  • 1 $50 Amazon Gift Card + signed copies of Game On and Foolish Games

To Enter: 
  • Leave answer Tracy's question: Do you have a favorite book with a secret baby plot?
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Tracy Solheim & Romance Wrangler for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

39 comments :

  1. I've read a few over the years, but the last two I read was Engaged with the Boss by Elle James and Daddy Bombshell by Lisa Childs.

    Thanks for the giveaway,

    Elizabeth Gray

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  2. No, I don't have a favorite book with a secret baby plot; I have many favorites :)

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  3. Cannot wait to read this one!! Love the secret baby plot!

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  4. I don't really have a favorite 'secret baby' plot book though I've read a few. Truthfully, I wasn't thrilled with the way it was handled in those books. Keeping a father away from his child and a child away from his/her father has to be for a pretty good reason (even in fiction) and in both instances I wasn't thrilled with the reasons the women picked. This book and series do sound good and I'm more than willing to give this 'secret baby' plot a chance. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.

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  5. I really liked Game On. There is something about the redemption of a bad boy that makes my heart sing. Being a football lover myself (Go Falcons!), I'm usually not so invested in the personal lives of the guys on the field, but I love that I get to experience their lives fictionally at least in sports romances.

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  6. I liked Secret Maneuvers by Jessie Lane. It had a great secret baby storyline. Thanks for the great giveaway chance!

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  7. So many good ones out there it is hard to pick just one but one of my favorites is by Melody Anne - The Tycoon's Revenge. Your books are new to me and I am excited to give them a try. Thanks for the post.

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  8. Very entertaining post. I agree that secret babies in real life are not the best, but are rather entertaining in romance novels. My favorite is Most Eligible Bachelor by Empi Baryeh. The condom broke and the hero knew, but he didn't inform the heroine. I would have wrung his neck if I could have. But it all worked out well in the end.

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  9. What popped in my mind was Scarlet - sequel to GWTW
    Scarlet had a daughter she kept secret from Rhett

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  10. Having a brain fart and can't think of any! But Tracy's book sounds fantastic :) Thanks for sharing!

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  11. There were probably some in the past, but none were believable. The broken condom theme has always been hard for me to believe since I am familiar with the condom testing procedures and know they rarely break. Normally pregnancies occur due to people putting them improperly, or taking them off improperly so they leak.

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  12. it's been a while since I've read a book with a secret baby, but I do remember that the Maitland Maternity series had a abandoned baby plot that ran thru the series.

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  13. I do not actually. I'm not a big fan on secret baby but it would have to really depend on how the story goes. I rarely read any books with a secret baby plot

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  14. I have never read anything with a secret baby plot, but the book blurb sounds really cool!

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  15. I cannot recall reading one before.

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  16. I remember an early one where he thought the baby was someone else's Then the baby fell and cried and he picked up the baby and he had his eyes.

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  17. For some reason, this is one of my favorite tropes. I will definitely have to check out Foolish Games. Probably one of the most entertaining books I read with a secret baby plot was Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec - the hero and heroine are both drunk at a frat party and don't exchange names. Meanwhile, he's not a student there, and when she tries to track him down, she can't find him because no one at the party actually knew him, and she doesn't have his name. They run into each other by accident 4 years later.

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  18. I don't have a favorite Secret Baby plot, but I'm open to finding and reading more.

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

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  19. No, can't say that I do, but I like all kinds of storylines so I'm open to it.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

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  20. Love love love these covers! :) Mine would be Nobody's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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  21. I love secret babu books. I'm a sucker and any time I see one I've got to read it. I don't have a favorite one but I'll be read this one it sounds great.

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  22. No. I don't remember reading any like that at least not lately.

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  23. I just finished Eileen Dreyer's Barely A Lady the first of her Drake's Rakes series. It has a secret baby, but in a totally different way than any other one I've read.

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  24. Can't think of any at the moment actually...

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  25. I like the secret baby plot, but can't think of a favorite! I enjoyed the blurb and the interview. I look forward to reading these. They sound really good.

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  26. very nice plotline.. looks like a good read.

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  27. Toni Aleo's Trying to Score comes to mind... Thanks for the great interview

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  28. The Shattered Hearts Series by Cassia Leo. secret baby Abby!

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  29. No, I still don't have a favorite 'secret baby' plot book, but i read a few about that plot though.

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  30. I can't think of a favorite with a secret baby plot. I can think of one particular story that I enjoyed that did have a baby plot, it just wasn't a secret. LOL

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  31. No I don't have a favorite secret baby story but I love sports stories with heros the need healing thru the love of a good woman. This gounds great :-) Thanks for the giveaway

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  32. I like the book Nobody's Baby but Mine. It's got football players and a secret baby! Double whammy! If you haven't read it, you really should. It's by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
    Thanks for the giveaway, too ; )

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  33. looking forward to read ur books, Tracy :)
    thx u for this giveaway...

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  34. No...I don't have a favorite book with a secret baby plot. Enjoyed reading the post on this book & look forward to reading it soon. Thanks for this awesome giveaway!

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  35. Sounds like a great read!!
    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!

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  36. SMH. I don't think that I have read a book with a secret baby plot.
    Thanks for hosting the giveaway. Fingers crossed to win.

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  37. I liked Macy Beckett's Surrender to Sultry. Great story.

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