Mastering MJ

I first met this author a few years ago when she asked for beta readers for her current WIP. I jumped at the chance! Since then, I have gotten to know MJ and fall madly smitten with the talented author. This weeks Author Spotlight shines MJ O'Shea.

M.J. O'Shea has been writing romance since algebra class in sixth grade (when most of her stories starred her and Leonardo DiCaprio). When she's not writing, she loves listening to nearly all types of music, painting, reading great authors, and on those elusive sunny days in the Pacific Northwest, she loves driving on the freeway with her windows rolled down and her stereo on high. 

Where you do live?

 I live in Tacoma, which is near Seattle and a decent sized city on its own:)

Favorite childhood memory? 

Hawaii. We went there a few times every year when I was still in school. I loved it. I still do, but don't get to go that often.

Do you have a full time job besides writing?

Unfortunately. My family owns a commercial painting company. We run it together. I also teach piano lessons part time.

Dog or Cat person? 

Dog for sure. 100%.

Heels or Flats?

Flip flops? lol. I love heels but I can't wear them anymore.

What was the first story you ever published?

 Unintended. It's going to be revised and re-released as soon as I can.

When a plot bunny comes to mind, does it come to you in pieces or can you see the full story? 

 Pieces most of the time. Sometimes it starts with just a character. I wish entire books miraculously jumped into my head! that would be amazing:)

What inspires you to write? 

Lots of stuff, songs a lot of the time, film characters, random information I pick up...a lot of times secondary characters inspire their own story.

Where do you write? 

I have an office...well,I will when the walls are back up. I write there. I have to be in that room. I get way too easily distracted to do the starbucks thing, and I'd fall asleep in my bedroom:)

The recently released book Stroke! gave the readers a glance at the life of a rower. Have you ever rowed before?

Yep! I rowed and swam in high school, and stuck to rowing in college. I think I actually gave the main character my old seat in the story. I forget.

MJ's latest release, Coming Home is due out April 9th. Coming Home follows Tallis Carrington and James Barry. As a fan of MJ's work, I have to say that Coming Home has been one of my favorite works by her. Fans are in for a treat with the tale of Lex and Tally.

Purchase Here

 Here's an excerpt to wet your whistle...

The coffee shop was in one of those turn-of-the-century brick buildings that seemed to line the streets of small towns all over Washington. From the outside, the place looked cheery and inviting, nestled among the renovated lofts at the far end of Old Main. A good sign, Tally hoped. The door was flanked by two potted Italian cypresses and inlaid with stained glass. There was a quaint hand-painted “open” sign dangling from a hook near the top. The hinges squeaked when Tally pushed it open, but even the squeak was oddly homey.

Inside the shop was even better. Warm and fragrant, the air drew him in and enveloped him. The walls had been painted spring green and decorated with framed black and white photographs of the surrounding beaches. Miles of old woodwork and wainscoting gleamed glossy white, and the floors were stained a warm cherry color. He longed to sink into one of the soft, cushy armchairs and close his eyes for about a week. But he couldn’t. He had work to do—and at that moment, his work was convincing one damn business in his wretched hometown that he wasn’t the big loser they all seemed to think he was.

Tally heard a shuffling sound coming from behind the high granite-topped counter.

“Hello?” he called tentatively. “I’m here to fill out an application.”

There was a small crash and a muffled “shit.”

Tally leaned over the counter to see what all the fuss was. There was a man kneeling on the floor trying to hold a halfway slit bag of coffee beans together while at the same time balancing a stack of white plates with his knee so they didn’t crash to the floor and break. Tally fought laughter as he leaned over to right the stack of plates.

“Thank you so much!” came a relieved voice… a relieved voice that made Tally’s heart pound in his chest, throbbing and trying to be noticed as if it were saying “pay attention to this one.” The rest of his body responded in that one short moment, hardening, quickening, coming to life. Tally gave himself a mental slap on the wrist. Really. Not the best time for that.

The man started to stand, turning slowly with the slit coffee bag still balanced on his thigh.

“Hey, not a problem. My name is—” Tally’s voice stuck in his throat, like he was some little kid with his first crush. The other guy’s name must have been gorgeous—sandy hair somewhere between brown and blond, a little shaggy and curling at the ends, big hazel eyes with long curly lashes and a mouth that Tally could have spent hours kissing. Tally wanted to drool. He stuck out his hand and tried to repeat himself. “My name is—”

After one look at Tally, the stranger’s beautiful face had gone from friendly to scathingly irritated in a matter of nanoseconds. “Yeah, I know who you are. I don’t really think I need the help after all.”

Not another one. Tally started to panic.

“Listen….” He paused, hoping for a name.

“Lex,” the man supplied grudgingly.

“Listen, Lex,” Tally repeated. “I know everyone in this town hates me. Obviously even people I’ve never met. But I really need a job, and you wouldn’t have had an ad in the paper if you didn’t need someone to help you. Couldn’t it maybe be possible that you might put aside whatever it is that you’ve been told about me and my father and just take a chance that maybe I’ll be a good employee?”

Lex cocked his head to the side, regarding Tally silently. Talk about nerve-wracking.

“Everything I know about you tells me you won’t.”

Tally backed away toward the door. “It was a long time ago,” he mumbled. “People change. Even me.” Or maybe people were never really what they seemed.

Lex gave him one more long pensive stare, completing Tally’s humiliation. Everyone who remembered him hated him, and it seemed that his reputation had spread to gorgeous strangers as well. He wanted to crawl back to his grandmother’s house and hide in his room to lick his wounds. Was I really that bad? He reached for the handle on the paned- glass door.

“You know what?” Lex’s voice surprised him. He froze. “Fine. I’ll give it a try. Not like I’ve had any other takers.” The last part was mumbled, but Tally heard it just the same. “I start early. Five on weekdays, six on Saturday and Sunday.”

“That’s okay,” Tally said quickly, ready to agree with nearly anything.

“Do you know how to make coffee?”

“No, but I worked in restaurants for years.” Please let that be enough.

“I’m not going to want to tell you how to do things twice.”

“I learn quickly.” Tally hated to feel hope welling in his chest, but it was there—faint yet insistent. As grudging as beautiful Lex seemed to be, there was finally someone willing to give him half a chance.

“Then I’ll see you in the morning. Five. Not even a minute late.”

“I’ll be here,” Tally answered. “But don’t you need me to fill out an application—or at least a tax form?”

Lex looked at Tally for a long moment, confused and unblinking, then it seemed to dawn on him what Tally was talking about, and he turned, flustered, to rifle through a drawer. “Just bring this with you tomorrow,” he muttered, thrusting a thin sheaf of papers at Tally.

“I will,” Tally assured Lex with a tentative smile. That wasn’t so bad, he told himself. Now I just have to get through tomorrow.

Because of Tally's past, he seems like a hard person to like at first. What can we expect from him?

 You can expect that he's not what he seems to be at first, and that perhaps he's changed quite a bit from when he was younger. He's a little damaged and sad, but he wants to find people who care about him.

This story deals a little with bullying in school. Were you ever bullied?

 No, I actually wasn't, but I saw a lot of it as a teacher and I did my best to put a stop to it without making things worse for the bullied kid.

Will this book be a stand alone or would you be willing to come back to Rock Bay? 

That's an easy one! I've already written the second book (Drew's story) and am busily outlining the third. I'd tell you who the main character in that book is, but he doesn't show up until the second one so it wouldn't make sense:)

Lex is a coffee shop owner...what's your favorite coffee like beverage? 

I looooooove coffee. anything mint or raspberry. I love almond too. And frappucinos. Don't tell Lex I go to Starbucks. lol.

 MJ has been kind enough to give away one copy of Coming Home to a lucky reader, leaving their name and email address. You have until Monday April 9th, 9am to leave a comment. Good luck!! 

A special thanks to MJ O'Shea for stopping by!! 

MJ can be found via blog, website, GoodReads, and BabesInBoyland. 

Other note worthy works by MJ O'Shea

Purchase Here

Purchase Here