Today I am so pleased to welcome L.D. Blakeley to Joyfully Jay. L.D. has come to talk to us about her latest release, The Power of Peppermint. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

PoPBannerThe Power of Peppermint evolved from my love of May/December romances and my desire to write a feel-good angst-free Christmas story that was just a wee bit tropey.

My main characters might seem like an unlikely couple at first glance but looks, as we well know, can often be deceiving.

Jamison is older and a bit uptight, gruff and overly-cautious while Noah is younger, sweet and charming. But both defy stereotypes and prove that, while opposites do attract, sometimes they aren’t all that opposite to begin with.

The Power of Peppermint is a happy holiday 19k-word standalone novella with a HFN ending.


Excerpt

With the hard drive in hand, he headed around to the side door he knew Abi was more likely to answer and knocked. The clatter of puppy toenails across hardwood and a stomp far too boisterous to have been made by a tiny woman raced toward the other side of the door. Jamison stood aside to avoid what sounded like an impending collision. Instead, the door opened to reveal a vision wrapped—barely—in terry cloth.

With a wriggling ball of fluff tucked under one arm stood a man so lovely, Jamison’s mouth was suddenly dry as the Sahara. He swallowed nervously and watched a drop of water glisten at the edge of a collarbone and trail its way down a trim and compact torso to disappear under the edge of a towel.

“Oh.” He blinked owlishly, realizing he’d been caught staring. “Is, ah, Abi home?”

The nearly naked young man smiled wolfishly and if Jamison wasn’t mistaken, gave a barely perceptible shimmy that loosened the knot on his towel a fraction of an inch further. “One second, I’ll get her. Come inside so I can put this fuzzy demon down.”

Jamison stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Was it his fault that his eyes followed shapely legs and a lovely rounded ass as they sauntered away?

“Abs! Jamison’s here!”

Wait. How does he know my name?

He hadn’t introduced himself. Oh, shit. That’s Noah. Kill me now.

“Oh, for the love of—Noah, put on some damn clothes!” Abi barrelled toward the door, followed closely by a sullen preteen, a dancing yipping dog, and a nearly-naked dreamboat.

Ignoring his sister’s plea, Noah sauntered back toward the door, his eyes glued to Jamison. His towel was in serious danger of hitting the floor and Jamison couldn’t decide whether that would be a good thing or bad.

“You look…” he barely managed, eyebrows aloft.

“I know,” Noah grinned. “The tights and all that makeup really do nothing for me. I do all my best work like this.”

This was Noah, Jamison reminded himself. Just a kid, no matter how delicious a morsel he might be.

Fuck.

“Noah,” Abi rolled her eyes as she stressed her brother’s name, “was just going to put some clothes on.”

Noah feigned a pout and hip-checked his sister. “You’re no fun,” he drawled as he flashed a wink at Jamison and sashayed off toward a bedroom.

“Sorry, Ab. I didn’t realize he was the kid in the elf costume.” Jamison explained. “I guess things were so crazed right out of the gate that we never bothered with introductions until the end of the day.”

“That little shit. He knew damn well you wouldn’t know him from Adam.” Abi took the portable drive from Jamison and ushered him in. “Come sit with me while I finish making dinner for Princess Attitude.” She nodded toward the living room where her daughter, Julia, was slouched on the sofa playing games on her tablet. “I have wine.”

“You better.”


Blurb

The Power of PeppermintThe most wonderful time of the year?

When Jamison Pritchett is roped into replacing the mall photographer at Santa’s Village a week before Christmas, he’s certain he’ll be spending the holidays recovering from a nervous breakdown. A throng of sugar-frenzied kids might be enough to send this uptight photographer back into the darkroom permanently. Inappropriate thoughts about his far-too-attractive—and far-too-young—assistant aren’t helping fight that urge to hide, either.

For Noah Hawkins, adulting is a snap. Too bad relationships aren’t. With his business temporarily closed for repairs, he’s happy to help his sister out of a jam, even if the costume he’s given to wear borders on obscene. Constantly being mistaken for a teenager is no treat either, especially when he discovers his temporary new co-worker is sexy as hell and 15 years his senior.

Can Noah convince Jamison that age is just a number? Or will Jamison resist the gift Santa seems to be handing him on a platter?


Bio

L.D. BlakeleyL.D. Blakeley is a pragmatist with a romantic soul & a dirty mind. She loves horror movies, hot sex, and happily ever afters. She’s easily distracted by shiny things, and is a slightly neurotic, highly ambitious dreamer who enjoys dabbling in photography & pretending she can carry a tune.

In another life, L.D. was a newspaper reporter, an entertainment & music writer, travel writer, website content editor, and a marketing shill. Now she prefers to spend her time writing hot, steamy fiction (with a healthy dose of romance) about intriguing, sexy men. Although she dreams of living some place isolated with an endless supply of wine and an infinite number of titles on her eReader, she currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and their rock star cat.

Find L.D. online: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


Giveaway

L.D. has brought a copy of The Power of Peppermint to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday, December 30th 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.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • 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.
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