Welcome to another edition of Marvelous Monday Reads, pumpkins! Today I’m featuring Lee Piper and her hot new romance novel Rock My Body (Mondez Book 2). And now, here’s Lee to answer some questions!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING PROFESSIONALLY

I’ve been writing professionally for two years, though spent my entire childhood and adolescence writing. It was the only way I could make sense of the changes and experiences I was going through at the time; I guess it was therapy in a way. I stopped writing once I graduated university – life got in the way – and picked up a pen ten years later after my second miscarriage when I once again needed a way to make sense of my world.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTIONS FROM PUBLISHERS AND EDITORS?

I cry. Seriously. It’s so hard not to take rejections personally because books become an extension of who we are as people. We put so much time and effort into them, we breathe and live these stories, so it’s really difficult not to think that a rejection – no matter how kindly worded – isn’t a reflection of our self-worth.

So I let myself feel sad, I wallow in it for a while and then, when I can finally look at the rejection from a more objection perspective, pick myself up and move on. After all, my books aren’t going to publish themselves.

HOW DO YOU MAKE TIME TO WRITE?

To be honest, I’m still struggling with the whole work/life balance thing. I’ve got a four month old and have a toddler as well, so it’s difficult to find a time when I’m not completely exhausted outside of work.

Before I had my second child though, I would dedicate two hours before work and about an hour afterwards for my writing which worked brilliantly. This meant I was able to write Rock My World in about five months.

WHAT OR WHO INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE?

Other writers inspire me. The fact that there are so many ridiculously talented people out there who can transport readers to another world through the turn of a phrase, is truly mind blowing. And it doesn’t stop there. Every word chosen has been so carefully thought out, edited and then edited again. There’s so much blood, sweat and tears behind every book published and this willingness to share a part of oneself with the world, is beyond brave.

Music also has the same effect. And I’m talking the heavy rock kind – the louder the better. For every book I write, I have a soundtrack. Cog’s The New Normal was the album which I listened to religiously while writing Rock My World. Whereas Dead Letter Circus and Twelve Foot Ninja (all awesome Aussie bands btw) are what I’m listening to at the moment when writing the third in the four part Mondez series, Rock Me.

IF YOU COULD GIVE NEW WRITERS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Write what you know. The written word is more authentic when it comes from personal experience, though that’s not to say you can’t embellish it to suit your own purposes. For instance, at the beginning of my first novel, Rock My World, the heroine, Grace is a bitter, broken young woman who finds trusting people really difficult. These emotions were exactly what I was drowning in after losing my second child. I was therefore able to ‘method act’ my way through the storyline to ensure her actions/interactions were credible and realistic. However, that’s where the similarities end. She also talks before she thinks – often with hilarious results – and has the mouth of a sailor which isn’t me at all!

Riley Sears promises herself never to fall in love unless it’s going to end in an engagement ring and a white picket fence—her medically diagnosed anxiety skyrockets otherwise.

Enter Dominic Mondez, the hottest guy ever to grace pecs and abs. He propositions Riley with a cocky yet tempting offer of the best sex of her life—his words. However, after learning he’s a manwhore who never sleeps with the same woman twice, Riley’s decision becomes remarkably simple.

No. Way. In. Hell.

He is a commitment phobe; she needs commitment. End of story.

Sadly, traversing the murky waters of friends without benefits isn’t simple, especially when he’s lead guitarist of local rock band, Mondez. Riley is also cautious of his tempestuous nature, womanising ways and—even worse—inexplicable jealousy. He is bad for her in every possible way.

Bad, bad, bad.

If only her body would listen.

Story Excerpt

He was watching me, I could feel it. My body sensed him long before my head did and started tingling. Everywhere.

Oh, holy mother.

Just the thought of him made my heart pound. Traitorous thing. It merrily rammed against my ribcage as soon as I pictured his tall, muscular body and dishevelled, russet hair. My fingers itched to reach out and delve through the soft strands—they remembered what it felt like to tug down on them as he groaned into my open mouth—but I shifted in my seat and sat on them instead. I wasn’t going down that road again, hell no. I was done. D.O.N.E.

A low chuckle cut through the muted sounds of heavy rock music emanating from inside, its gravely sound resonating with my downstairs department, causing a deep blush to stain my cheeks.

Clearly, I wasn’t fooling anyone.

What in the name of sweet baby Jesus is he even doing here?

I tried so hard to focus on what Sebastian was saying. Thankfully, he held up his end of the conversation despite my unexpected inability to formulate any words. We’d been sitting together for a while without a single awkward pause so I nodded, smiled, and even laughed when required. To be fair, it was a pretty decent pick-up attempt. Well, until he showed up.

Blue eyes burned my skin.

You don’t own me, you don’t own me, you don’t—

I swallowed, steeled myself and then glanced across the beer garden.

Own me.

Dominic was leaning against the wall, his black, button-down shirt almost bursting at the seams. I blamed those insanely strong pecs and biceps. Honestly, they were huge. And the way his dark blue jeans hung enticingly low off narrow hips… Well. It should be illegal. He was going to give someone—aka me—a cardiac arrest if he wasn’t careful.

I shook my head. With a bottle of beer in one hand and a buxom blonde in the other— this one looked nastier than most—the guy was the physical embodiment of everything I despised. Truly.

If only my body would listen.

Raising the drink to full, kissable lips, he tipped his head back, piercing gaze still locked on me. He then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a flicker of emotions I couldn’t identify crossing his face when he noticed my breath catch.

The girl must have registered his distraction too because she started rubbing herself up against him like an overly aroused limpet. Gross. He broke contact with me and looked down at her, a dark smile tugging his lips. After murmuring something in her ear and slapping her on the behind, she giggled. I looked away, that familiar painful knot forming in my stomach once more.

Damn you, Dominic Mondez. Damn you to hell.

Where to Buy

Evernight Publishing | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | iTunes

About the Author

Lee Piper is a lover of books. She often juggles reading seven novels at a time for the sheer joy of it. At the grand old age of five, Lee decided to become an author, however found a limited market for her unicorn stories. So, high school English teacher it was.

At thirty-two, and grieving the loss of her second miscarriage, Lee turned to novels—Kylie Scott, to be precise—to escape the pain. This then inspired her to write Rock My World, the first in a four-part contemporary romance series, and her debut novel became an Evernight Publishing bestseller within the first two weeks of publication.

Lee lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her drummer husband, cheeky daughters, and one very crazy dog.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads Author Page