Today I am so pleased to welcome Charlie Cochet to Joyfully Jay. Charlie has come as part of the GRL Blog Tour to talk to us about her upcoming release, Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts. She is sharing an exclusive cover reveal, an excerpt, and a  great giveaway. Please join me in giving Charlie a big welcome!

So first off, here is the cover….

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts book cover


Excerpt

[Quinn] turned his attention back to Danny. “Do you know how I can get hold of your friend? I tried calling his cell and knocking, but I’m thinking he might not be home.”

“Oh, he’s home. He just has a habit of popping in his earphones and forgetting about the rest of the world. I’ve got a spare key.” Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He removed one and held it out to Quinn. “He can just give it back later.”

Quinn hobbled over and took it from him with a frown. “I hope you’re not in the habit of giving strangers the key to your friend’s apartment.”

grl blog tour“You’re not a stranger.”

Danny smiled, and Quinn wondered if there was something Danny knew that he didn’t.

Okay. “You sure he won’t mind?”

“Nah. He’s cool.”

There was that wide, knowing smile again. Quinn peered at him only to receive a salute from Danny before he disappeared inside his apartment. Hopefully Spencer wasn’t as weird as his friend. Quinn turned and made his way back to his neighbor’s apartment. He tried knocking again, but when he received no answer, he inserted the key and turned the knob. Warily he let himself in, closing the door behind him, and scanning the room, surprised by the trendy gadgets and movie-related decor. Aside from the trinkets and canvas prints of movie posters, the room was nicely decorated in blacks, grays, and whites, with bold splashes of red. It was the exact same layout as his but looked much nicer. It was kind of shameful. He’d been living in his apartment for years, and it still looked like he’d moved in recently. His apartment was less minimalistic and more “didn’t really have the time to care.” His younger sister was always trying to convince him to let her decorate, claiming the place was an insult to aesthetics and her designer’s palette. Whatever the hell that meant.

“Hello?” He turned to his left where he knew the medium-sized kitchen would be. What the—

Quinn gaped in disbelief.

Spencer—or he assumed it was Spencer—was dancing around in nothing but a short apron covered in superheroes and tight Captain America boxer briefs, the blue and red shield painting a very convenient target on his ass. It was a cute ass; Quinn would give him that. Shame that ass was attached to a crazy person. The guy was tall and slender, with brown hair sticking up at all angles. Rick was right. His neighbor could use some of his mom’s cooking. Quinn could bench the guy with one arm tied behind his back.

Quinn’s leg was throbbing, but he was mesmerized by the spectacle before him. Suddenly he was hit by an onslaught of disturbing flashbacks from last year’s Pride, specifically his manwhore cousin dragging him up and down South Beach, gyrating against anything that moved while sporting a pink tutu, neon yellow heels, and nothing else. No one needed to see their family members half-naked and suggestively sucking on a penis-shaped ice pop. The image would forever be seared into his brain. He’d have bleached his eyeballs if he’d thought it’d do him any good.

“Holy shit!”

A loud clatter startled Quinn from his unsettling thoughts, and his brows furrowed when Spencer dove behind the counter. The room fell into silence. Quinn waited.

And waited.

“Uh, hello?”

Nothing.

Had the guy knocked himself out? Frankly Quinn wouldn’t be surprised. Gritting his teeth, he got himself moving, hobbling around the kitchen island counter. His mouth opened to speak, then closed. Spencer sat on the floor with his back to the counter, knees drawn up, with a spatula clutched to his apron.

“You okay?” Quinn was really starting to worry about the guy’s mental state. He tried to pick up on any signs of instability. After all, how well did one really know their neighbors?

Captain America—pre-transformation—looked up at him, big green eyes widening. “Oh, hey there, neighbor. I, uh, was just looking for, um….”

“Some pants?” Quinn offered.

“Yeah, must’ve left them….”

“Somewhere else.” Quinn carefully moved back as Spencer got up.

“Yep. So you’re here for your meds? I mean prescription.”

Quinn nodded and placed the key Danny had given him on the counter. “Your friend Danny let me borrow his key. I tried calling, but I guess you were… busy.” He looked at the lit-up oven and then the ingredients on the counter. “Baking cakes.” His gaze went back to his half-naked neighbor. “In your underwear.”

“Brownies, actually. Also, I’m doing laundry.”

“And you only own one set of clothes?” Quinn asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

Spencer let out a nervous laugh. “Right. Um, I’m baking brownies in my underwear while listening to my iPod. I do that. Let me get you your pills.”


Blurb

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts book coverJulian “Quinn” Quinetro, a gruff, tough Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he’s looking for is a little peace and quiet to recover—difficult to achieve with his large Cuban family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash, but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.

Dreamspinner Press eBook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6637


Bio

Charlie Cochet author photoCharlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.


Giveaway

Charlie has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Thursday, July 23rd at 11:59 pm EST.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
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  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.