Author Spotlight + Giveaway--Jillian Jacobs

Welcome to the final Author Spotlight on Mondays for 2014! Jillian Jacobs is back with a new release! Check out Ember’s Center from The O-line series and be sure to comment for a chance to win a signed print copy of Ember’s Center and a Green Moose Productions fridge magnet!

Blurb: She spent her life fighting for middle ground, and now that she’s found it, she’ll fight for her life.

Ember Brooks yearns for an end to the dark chapters of her life—abusive mother, negligent father, teenage trauma, and sibling suicide. Determined to escape her traumatic past, Ember is finally headed for solid ground, gathering strength and balance with the help of her trusted counselor and friend, Xander Kane.
Still reeling from the death of her brother, Ember finds solace when Manchester Marauders center, Owen Killion goes on the offensive and barrels into her life. Both on the football field and off, Owen is sure-footed and confident. With his domineering presence and reliable nature, he alters her game-plan. But for a girl continually left on the sidelines, can she leave her heart on the line?
When Ember is the victim of increasingly dangerous incidents, and Xander changes the course of their relationship, once more her life spirals out of control.
Ember trusts Owen to guard their love, but when someone else is calling the shots, can they reach the end zone or will they fumble?

Short Excerpt:
Ember braced a hand against Xander’s chest. The blows kept coming, and too many questions whirled through her aching head. Where was Owen? Did he believe these lies?

Will I go to prison?

Xander wrapped her in his arms. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll take care of you.”

“I’m so confused.” Where had this stomach bug come from? Why was she standing in the women’s restroom speaking to two men? Perhaps, she was still dreaming. “I’m not feeling so well.”

“I know.” Xander dropped a kiss against her temple. “We’ll work things out.”

She sighed. Of course things would work out. Owen wouldn’t believe her capable of such a thing, would he? And what had Xander said about meds? What meds? She’d stopped taking drugs over two years ago. Trust her father to come back and create this whirl of chaos. And yet, deep down, hadn’t she always known something like this would happen? Fairy tales weren’t real. In real life, the heroine’s glass slipper splintered under pressure, and all she had left was a bloody foot.

Buy links:
http://bit.ly/EmbersCenteriBooks
http://bit.ly/EmbersCenterARE
http://bit.ly/EmbersCenterAMZ
http://bit.ly/EmbersCenterBNNook
http://bit.ly/EmbersCenterKobo

Interview:
Mellanie: Give us some insight into your main character, Ember Brooks. What makes her special?
Jillian: At the beginning of the story, Ember is suffering from the loss of her younger brother.
After moving beyond her troubled childhood, she focuses on becoming a model employee and healthy individual, both mentally and physically. Fighting past insecurities, she develops a relationship with a pro-football player, but various roadblocks interfere with her budding romance. Ember is a survivor, strong on her own. She doesn’t need anyone to complete her or provide her happiness. Every time she’s knocked down by life, she gets back up stronger than before. She represents a resilient, educated woman.

Mellanie: Is there a message in your novel you hope to convey to your readers?
Jillian: That not every home life is perfect, and trying to find your normal can be difficult. As a woman, believe yourself worthy of everything. Most importantly, even if you don’t like someone or something, try to love them anyway.

Mellanie: What draws your main characters to each other and keeps them apart?
Jillian: Owen is drawn by his need to shelter Ember. She, on the other hand, wants to finally take the reins in her own life. She also has to take credit for all her positive changes, and not get bogged down in the past. Owen helps her take each step forward, but a foe steps in, holding him back.

Mellanie: How did you come up with the title?
Jillian: It’s a bit of a play on words since Owen plays the center position for a pro-football team. But Ember also needs to find that one calm in the storm of her chaotic life. Her center.

Mellanie: What new stories are you working on?
Jillian: I’m in the final chapters of the second book in my paranormal Elementals series. This will feature Flint and Violet. Fire’s Field is the title.
In my head, I’ve also outlined the storyline for the second book in the O-line series.
I can only work on one story at a time, which makes my product a little slower, but keeps me from mixing up character names and storylines.

Bio:

In the spring of 2013, Jillian Jacobs changed her career path and became a romance writer. After reading for years, she figured writing a romance would be quick and easy. Nope! With the guidance of the Indiana Romance Writers of America chapter, she’s learned there are many "rules" to writing a proper romance. Being re-schooled has been an interesting journey, and she hopes the best trails are yet to be traveled.
Water’s Threshold, the first in Jillian’s Elementals series, was a finalist in Chicago-North’s 2014 Fire and Ice contest in the Women’s Fiction category.
Jillian is a: Tea Guzzler, Polish Pottery Hoarder, and lover of all things Moose.
The genres she writes under are: Paranormal and Contemporary with suspenseful elements.

Links:
Website: www.jillianjacobs.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenMooseProd
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorJillianJacobs
Tsu: https://www.tsu.co/JillianJacobsAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833245.Jillian_Jacobs

Thanks for visiting, Jillian and readers! Remember to comment by midnight (EST) on Wednesday, December 31, for a chance to win a signed print copy of Ember's Center! See you next year!!!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!