Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. I have a guest today and she’s sharing her latest release with us! Her name is Laura Heffernan and her latest release is titled, “Reality Wedding!” Check it out below!
Lights? Camera? Action! In this irresistible final installment of the Reality Star Series, one woman’s dream wedding may be about to turn into a reality nightmare…
Synopsis
SAY ‘I DO’—OR ELSE
When Jen Reid escaped a reality TV cruise with her relationship intact—if not her hair—she swore she was done with the cameras for good. Sure, she and Justin met,
had their first kiss, and got engaged with tape rolling, but manufactured drama and ruthless producers have shaken them up more times than she can count. With Jen’s reality-themed bakery just getting started and her brand-new lawyer fiancé in a pile of debt, they’re a long way from glitz and glamour, and that’s fine by Jen. Until the Network calls and tells her that unless she says “I do” to a wedding special, Justin will be out of a job.
Now Jen has two weeks to plan an all-expenses-paid “dream wedding”—and dodge the tricks and traps of a showrunner happy to mess up her future in the name of ratings. Luckily for Jen, she’s got plenty of experience with cake and popcorn. But when real-life drama and reality TV twists collide, the cliffhangers may just follow her right down the aisle . . .
Praise for Reality Wedding:
“The third book in Heffernan’s Reality Star series is such a fun and entertaining read, as Justin and Jen – and all the drama that seems to follow them everywhere – are back. Will they get married is the big question here, and will reality TV have any part. Heffernan will keep readers guessing, as the story has some twists to it. With lots of drama, a bit of humor and a sweet romance, this series is as addicting as reality TV. Fans of Sophie Kinsella might want to give this series a try.”- RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
Available now from all major retailers. Order today!
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Excerpt:
“Justin, I can’t hear you. Where are you?”
“Airport…on.”
I fought the urge to chuck my useless phone across the room. “What? Justin, I can’t understand anything you’re saying. We’ve got a terrible connection.”
The phone went dead. I called him back immediately, but nothing happened. The several voicemails he’d left shed no additional light on anything: a lot of static, a couple of broken airline announcements in the background, crowd noise, and one that sounded like a butt dial from the men’s room. Awesome. My concern grew with each uninformative message. All the texts were variations of “Please call me ASAP.”
Heart pounding, I dialed Sarah’s number. The call went straight to voicemail. She should be on a plane, not at the bakery, but I dialed the landline, anyway. The phone at Sweet Reality rang and rang until the line started buzzing. Since the shop should be open, getting no answer made me even more nervous.
I was still standing in the kitchen, staring out over the pool, when Rachel entered wearing her swimsuit. “You okay? One of the producers said they heard yelling.”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“Well, that clears things right up.” She tilted her head at me, eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Justin called, but the reception was all wonky, and it sounded like there was some issue with his sister. I tried to call Sarah, too, but her phone’s off. I hope she’s okay.”
“Hold on a sec. He said there’s a problem with Sarah?”
“Yeah.”
“When are they supposed to be flying in?” Rachel pulled out her phone and started tapping. “Do you have the flight number?”
“He was supposed to fly out of Florida a few hours ago. When he called, I thought his flight landed early, but he was apologizing and sounding stressed. It doesn’t sound like they were on the plane. Should I go to the airport, just in case?”
Rachel kept tapping, a grim look on her face. Then she held her phone out to me. “No, Jen, I don’t think you should.”
I snatched her phone out of her hand. Then all the wind rushed out of me. She’d pulled up a news site. HURRICANE CARA STRANDS THOUSANDS. Below the headline, a picture showed a Florida airport, absolutely packed with people.
He said Cara, not Sarah.
“I’m sorry, Jen,” Rachel said, “but I don’t think Justin’s flying in tonight. According to this site, he might not be able to get a flight for days.”
“What about Atlanta? Can he drive to Atlanta? My family’s flying through there.”
She tapped a few more times, biting her lip. I found the answer on my phone right when a low murmur told me Rachel saw it, too.
All flights canceled. My entire family stranded.
My heart sank. Just when things finally started to go right, when I started to think the whole wedding might not be a complete disaster, my groom wasn’t even coming.
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Be Sure to Check Out the First Two Books in the Reality Star series!
AMERICA’S NEXT REALITY STAR
Millennial Jen auditioned for a reality show hoping to win the $250,000 cash prize. With puzzles, games, and more, this show is right up her alley. But when she meets co-contestant Justin, she finds herself questioning what really matters. Can she trust that his feelings for her are real? Or is it all a showmance put on for the viewers?
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After her brief brush with fame, Jen’s ready to start a new life: New location, new roommate, new boyfriend, new business. But when a killer competitor threatens to put her new bakery out of business before the grand opening, Jen steps back into the spotlight to snag a show-stopping recipe. Can she save her bakery without destroying her relationship?
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Praise for the Reality Star series:
“America’s Next Reality Star is one sweet, sexy brain-candy read! You won’t be sorry you indulged.” —Leah Marie Brown, USA Today bestselling Author
“Smart, witty, and really freaking good, America’s Next Reality Star is a fun read that has you cheering from the first paragraph through the last page. Laura Heffernan spins an entertaining tale, expertly mixing the main character’s real life events with the reality show’s challenges. With enough drama to not only satisfy fans of reality TV shows, but readers who thrive on a good story with humor and romance, this book is a perfect read.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“Reality TV fans, this is your book! Laura Heffernan captures all the drama and over-the-top craziness in this fun and flirty romance.” —Amy E. Reichert, author of Love, Luck, and Lemon Pie
“If you like sweet contemporary romances with a reality show theme, then you are going to enjoy Heffernan’s Reality Star series. Her second book, Sweet Reality, takes place about 16 months after the first and features the same great couple, Justin and Jen. These two are likeable and relatable characters and there is more romance in this one than there was in the first. There is also an interesting cast of secondary characters. Heffernan does a wonderful job with character development and painting vivid scenes. There are also some cute and funny moments that makes this book a worthwhile and entertaining read. If reality shows are your guilty pleasure, give Heffernan’s Sweet Reality a try.”- RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
About the Author:
Laura is living proof that watching too much TV can pay off. When not watching total strangers get married, drag racing queens, or cooking competitions, Laura enjoys board games, travel, board games, baking, and board games. She lives in the northeast, where she spends far too much time tweeting about reality TV and Canadian chocolate.
Connect with Laura:
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Website | Newsletter
Interview with Laura:
Reality Wedding is the third book in your Reality Star series. Tell us a bit about it.
In the first book, Jen auditions for on a reality show because she needs money to pay a medical debt she got as an undergrad. She’s not looking for love, especially after finding out about her cheating ex, but things change when she meets co-contestant Justin. Are his feelings for her real, or is it all part of an act for the show? The second book follows Jen on a reality cruise, where she reunites with old friends and foes.
For the series finale, Jen and Justin swore they were done with reality TV, but the Network has called and essentially blackmails them into doing one final series. They’re getting married anyway, so it doesn’t seem like a major hardship, except for the fact that the Network will do anything to up the drama and increase their ratings…
This book was a lot of fun to write, because I got to really dig into what a desperate Network might do for ratings, and the wedding setup allowed me to bring back many of my favorite characters from the earlier books. At the same time, you don’t need to have read the earlier books in the series to enjoy it.
How did you prepare to write this book?
Mostly, I watched a lot of wedding-themed reality shows. Four Weddings, Say Yes to the Dress, Rich Bride, Poor Bride. And I watched extensive Bridezillas back in the day, which is the kind of show that sticks with you. There’s very little of my own wedding in this book, but I was able to draw a bit from the experience, which also helped.
Where do you live? Upstate New York. It took some time to get used to the not-awesome weather, but I prefer the snow and cold to the oppressive heat of the California town where I grew up. You can always put on another sweater. The opposite, alas, is simply untrue. Now, one of these days, I should learn to build a snowman…
How long have you been writing?
I wrote my first short story when I was five, so, um… not that long? J Over the years, I’ve started a few blogs, published a few non-fiction articles (under my maiden name), things like that. I’ve got dozens of books I started over the years and never got around to finishing. After I got married and moved to New York in 2013, I started pursuing writing seriously. I can’t believe it’s been five years already since I said to myself, “Look, it’s time to stop stalling and finally write that book.”
So, how many books have you actually completed?
Once I got started, it was like opening the floodgates. America’s Next Reality Star was my first completed manuscript, finished in 2013. Reality Wedding is my eleventh, and I’ve finished two others since.
Wow! Any plans for all the others?
Some of those manuscripts will remain locked in a deep, dark drawer forever. Either because the genre wasn’t right, or the timing wasn’t right, or because the story didn’t work out the way I wanted. The most recent two will be published as part of the Gamer Girl series, which will be released by Kensington in 2019. There are a couple I’d like to revise and hopefully share with the world sometime after I finish the Gamer Girl books.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Board games, mostly. And we’re having a baby in a few months, so cleaning out stuff, setting up the nursery, learning how to keep a child alive…
Which authors have most influenced your work?
My biggest influence would have to be Sophie Kinsella. She was the first romantic comedy author I discovered, and I devoured all of her books. Becky Bloomwood is such a great main character, as aggravating as she can, because she’s not perfect. She’s deeply flawed, but in a way that makes you want to root for her, and at the same time, you don’t feel bad laughing at her mishaps.
Early Jane Green was also a big influence. Her first books really helped establish the genre, and to me, reading them is essential to seeing what works. And I’m a big fan of Emily Giffin, especially Something Borrowed and Something Blue.
Thanks for stopping by Laura and sharing your new release with us!
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