Checking It Twice (The Carlisles #3) by Meg Harding
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Meg Harding here today.  Welcome, Meg, and thanks for agreeing to answer our author questions and talk about your latest release, Checking It Twice.

Thanks for interviewing me today, Melanie! Checking it Twice is the third in my Carlisles series, and we’ve finally reached the point where the twins are getting their HEAs. Dorian’s the first to fall, and he breaks a lot of his rules in the process.

• Where do you normally draw your inspiration for a book from?  A memory, a myth, a place or journey, or something far more personal?
  1. My inspiration for Checking it Twice came from hockey, pure and simple. I love the game, and it’s inspired me to branch into sports romance. A lot of hockey players tend to date models, so I thought doing a twist on that would be interesting.
• Are you a planner or a pantzer when writing a story? And why?
  1. Pantzer all the way. If I plan beforehand I feel like I spend too much time thinking, “Well, I said I was going to do that and if I want to do what I have planned next I have to make this bit work the way I planned…” It’s a vicious cycle.
• Contemporary, supernatural, fantasy, or science fiction narratives or something else?  Does any genre draw you more than another when writing it or reading it and why does it do so?
  1. When it comes to reading, I’m a fantasy/supernatural girl all the way. Give me werewolves and other worlds, and I’m over the moon. I like the aspect of being put in the mindset of an alternate reality. As for writing, I’d really like to branch into supernatural and fantasy, but contemporary has been calling to me.
• If you had a character you’ve written you would write differently now at this time in your writing career, who would it be and why?
  1. It’s not so much I’d write the character differently as I would add his perspective. I’d want to show Flynn’s side of things, from The Last Favor. I based him off Sherlock, but I think not giving him a voice of his own allowed that to kind of slip.
• Can a author have favorites among their characters and do you have them?
  1. Definitely. Sometimes there’s just that one character that hits a little closer to home. I do have favorites among my characters. I don’t think I could pick an overall favorite however, but I’m awful at that kind of thing.
• If you were to be stranded on a small demi-planet, island, or god forbid LaGuardia in a snow storm, what books would you take to read or authors on your comfort list?
  1. I’d take a Wrinkle in Time—it was a favorite of mine growing up and it remains one to this day. I’d also take Speaker for the Bees, not really a book but a fanfic that makes my heart do really weird things. If I got into the list of all the fanfic I would take, I’d be here all day, so I’ll end with this series which is the best thing to ever exist, all right.
• How early in your life did you begin writing?
  1. I’ve got notebooks somewhere with half finished stories dating back to when I was like seven. If I have a say, they’ll never see the light of day. Def not my best works lol.
• Were you an early reader or were you read to and what childhood books had an impact on you as a child that you remember to this day and why?
  1. I grew up taking turns reading with my mom. She’d read to me, and then I’d read to her, back and forth for hours. I was and still am obsessed with Nancy Drew (my dog is named Bess after a character). Inkspell blew my mind and made me cry so many tears. Eragon… broke my heart that one did.
• If you were writing your life as a romance novel, what would the title be?
  1. Can this be anymore awkward? ~ I’d like people to say it in a Chandler Bing voice.

Blurb

Closeted professional hockey player Eric Belanger is falling hard for an out-and-proud male model. He’s unable to resist Dorian’s charm and pushing personal boundaries he never thought he’d cross. But Dorian is the kind of guy who deserves someone who isn’t afraid to be himself. Eric’s fears about what coming out will do to his career clash with the future he hopes to build with Dorian. He knows he’ll eventually have to make a choice.

Dorian Carlisle knows better than to date a man who wants to keep him a secret, but there’s something about Eric he can’t ignore. So he’ll take the risk, and it’ll be all right, because this isn’t a forever romance. He’s happy to live in the moment. But somehow, at some point, feelings sneak up on him and he’s not okay anymore. At a breaking point, Dorian must also make a decision. Their time together will either be the start of something wonderful or nothing more than a happy memory. 

Excerpt

Somehow Dorian’s name got tossed into the ring for a winter clothing line spread in some sports magazine, and now he’s on a set in downtown New York City with five big, hulking hockey players. A few of whom are pretty damn hot, and the majority of whom aren’t American. He can admit he’s a sucker for an accent, and it’s a little distracting.

Jackson, his brother, flicks his nose. He stops staring at the tall European guy who’s talking to the tall French Canadian, who has his shirt off and an abdomen that Dorian would pay to be able to lick. He scrunches his face up at his brother, mimicking the judgey look being thrown his way. He can’t believe Jackson took this job. Isn’t it bad enough that he has to work with Denver—his twin—more often than not?

“What was that for?” he asks, gaze already trying to return to the guys. He can’t help it. He’s innately wired to appreciate beautiful things.

“I’m trying to do your makeup, and you’re making it difficult. Stop looking at the toys you can’t touch and look at me.” Jackson grabs his chin and tilts his head just so, wielding eyeliner in his other hand like it’s a weapon.

Dorian pouts, sticking his bottom lip way out. “You don’t know. I could touch them.” In my dreams.

Jackson gives him a stern look, which is ridiculous since he’s a year younger. Dorian should be the one giving the parental stare-downs. “Hands to yourself. Professional athletes are never a good idea. Now open your eyes wide and don’t blink.”

It takes a lot of self-control to not sneak glances at the hockey players while they get dressed and their makeup gets done. And well, he just doesn’t have that control. So he manages a peek or two. The whole process is a lot of clothes coming on and off, muscles flexing, watching stylists run their hands through gorgeous hair. It’s like being in a candy shop and getting told you can’t have anything. So not fair.

Dorian can list on the fingers of one hand the things he knows about sports, and all of it mostly has to do with what the balls look like and the overall purpose of them: score goals. It’s not that he’s not interested—well, okay, he is—but he just doesn’t have the attention span for it. He’s done jobs with plenty of athletes, both male and female, and their sports sound interesting enough when they talk to him about them. It just doesn’t translate to him watching it.

His lack of interest isn’t normally a problem, but athletes are a peculiar lot, and sometimes that makes working with them difficult. They have a hard time understanding the shoot isn’t about them. It’s about the photographer’s vision. The designer’s vision. It’s about serving a purpose. And then there are the times where it’s like they’re speaking a whole other language.

Like now.

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About the Author

Meg Harding is a graduate of UCF and Anglia Ruskin University. For as long as she can remember, writing has always been her passion, but she had an inability to ever actually finish anything. She’s immensely happy that her inability has fled and looks forward to where her mind will take her next. She’s a sucker for happy endings, the beach, and superheroes.  In her dream life she owns a wildlife conservation and is surrounded by puppies. She’s a film buff, voracious reader, and a massive geek.

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