Welcome, Katee! We’re so glad you’re with us today to answer some quick questions about Forbidden Promises and The O’Malleys series!
How much of each of the O’Malleys’ stories did you know when you started the series?
Not much! Haha. I knew every bit of Teague and Callie’s story, and a dose of Carrigan and James, but the rest of the series was really up in the air. I knew the order of the books beyond the second one, but that was it. I even had Keira paired with Liam originally.
Hmmm…yeah, I could totally ‘ship them 🙂 I AM a fan of Liam.
How much of the series has developed as you continue writing?
The biggest change that altered the series was Dmitri. He didn’t exist before I started drafting the second book, and then he just sort of become this huge presence that slowly took hold within the series as the opponent the O’Malleys had to come against again and again. Once he showed up in book two, I realized that Cillian’s heroine was Dmitri’s half-sister, and so on. I also didn’t reckon on Jude MacNamara. He was 100% a surprise at the start of Forbidden Promises.
Ahhh…but he’s definitely the BEST kind of surprise! Man bun and all 😉
But…if you’re coming up with their stories as you go along, isn’t that kind of risky? What if you write yourself into a corner…or two…or three? (This is a worry that would keep me up at night…though of course, I’m not Katee Robert!)
The biggest corner I painted myself into was actually in Forbidden Promises. I knew Sloan left Boston behind, and I knew she found her guy in the new place, but I couldn’t figure out how that would work out and keep the tone of the series. It was far too large of a coincidence to have a random hit man occupying the house next door, so I started toying with ideas of who he could be. In the end, it hit me right between the eyes—what if the MacNamara family we keep hearing reference to didn’t actually die out? And what if the last surviving son had made it his life’s work to eliminate the Sheridans the same way his family was eliminated? Talk about kismet! I even foreshadowed it in the earlier books on accident. It’s kind of funny how the mind works sometimes. My writer brain knew how Jude would tie in before I did.
That’s awesome! I love how that ended up working out so well…though you could have told me that it was all planned from the beginning and I totally would have believed you!
About Katee Robert:
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.” When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram
Title: Forbidden Promises
Author: Katee Robert
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever
Series: The O’Malleys
Page Count: 336 pages
Format: Digitial and Print
ASIN: B01KT7YSJM
ISBN-13: 9781455597031
Synopsis:
Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.
Sloan O’Malley just left her entire world behind-her family, her wealth, and even her real name. For the first time in her life, she’s free. She can live the “normal” life she’s always wanted. A life without fear. But there’s nothing safe about her intensely sexy next-door neighbor.
Jude MacNamara has no room for innocence in his life. Only revenge. Still, he’s never been able to walk away from the forbidden, and Sloan-who is every inch of pure, mouthwatering temptation-has forbidden written all over her. Only after it’s way too late does he discover the real danger: claiming Sloan as his puts a target on her back. To protect her, Jude is willing risk everything . . . and to hell with the consequences.
Download at:
Amazon → http://amzn.to/2oQ7Ikw
B&N → http://bit.ly/2nWvcFc
iBooks → http://apple.co/2mxsWi0
Kobo → http://bit.ly/2mxvcG9
Excerpt:
“I won’t hurt you, Sloan. I promise.”
There was no logical reason for her to trust him, but he’d been careful with her up to this point. Perhaps he’d be careful with her with what came next. She nodded mutely, watching as he rolled on a condom that he’d retrieved from his pocket. Her body hummed in anticipation and trepidation, but she didn’t let it show as he moved back to join her on the bed.
Jude palmed her between her legs, his big fingers exploring her. It didn’t seem possible that he could spark pleasure with a few specific touches, but it didn’t take much to have her relaxing, letting him once again take the lead. He kissed her neck. “Feels good, huh?”
“Well, I—oh.” Her eyes went wide when he pushed a second finger into her. It stretched her, the feeling not entirely pleasant at first, but he merely waited, pulsing the slightest bit, until pleasure took hold once more. She clutched his shoulders. “Kiss me again. Please.”
“You don’t have to ask twice.” He took her mouth like he owned it—like he owned every part of her. Jude slid between her legs, his body rubbing deliciously against hers. His hard length slid through her wetness, creating a friction that sparked a tide of desire deep inside her. Again? I couldn’t possibly…
He nipped her bottom lip and then soothed the slight ache with his tongue. “Ready?”
There was no mistaking his meaning. She nodded. Despite the earlier orgasm and how good it felt to have him moving against her, she was so incredibly empty. Instinct had her hooking a leg around his hips and arching up to meet him, needing more, so much more.
Jude reached between them, and then he was at her entrance. He kissed her, tongue twining with hers as he pushed into her, just a single inch. It was too much and not enough and she couldn’t help but thrash, pinned in place by his big body, overwhelmed by her helplessness and what he was doing to her. “Jude, I—”
“Shh. I’ve got you.” He rolled, taking her with him. One second she was on her back, finding it hard to breathe, and the next she was straddling him where he sat with his back against the headboard.
Sloan looked down, daunted by the sheer size of him. “I don’t know if this is going to work. You’re too big.”
He laughed, deep and full-throated, the sound rolling through her like the tide. “You can take every inch of me, sunshine. I promise you that.”
Review:
Oh, this series.
Ms. Robert gives us the most impossible scenarios–makes us want to see couple together that are made up of the last two people on earth who should ever be together, makes us think that an HEA is going to be impossible, and then somehow still manages to deliver one. I have no clue how she does it, but OMG, does she ever have me hooked.
Jude and Sloan’s story is no exception. These two are all wrong for each other–never should work–but yep, they totally do. I mean, I knew she’d get them together somehow in the end, but even at 85% still wasn’t sure how she’d ever manage it…which is exactly how she keeps me turning the pages like an addict.
I see what you did there, Ms. Roberts. And yes, your not-so-subtle hints about who the last two single O’Malleys are going to be hooking up with is going to have me hitting that “to-read” button oh-so-fast…
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Other Books in The O’Malleys Series”
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
THE WEDDING PACT
AN INDECENT PROPOSAL
UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION (Coming soon!)