Callie What’s a girl to do when she meets a man who claims the heart that she’s already given to someone else? My boyfriend is everything I’ve ever wanted, he’s perfect, but when I met Joe ... I can’t even describe the intensity of my attraction to him. I’d never experienced anything like it before. Since then, it’s become something so much deeper and I’m finding it impossible to ignore what I feel for him. I know I’m already with the man I should be with, yet I want Joe. I can’t seem to get my head and my heart to agree on this. I’m not about to cheat and I won’t just drop the man I love. But what do I do about Joe?
Joe Tattoos, bikes and women – that’s been my life for the last two years and it suited me just fine. Until the day I swerved to avoid a raggedy old VW Bug heading my way, hit the sidewalk, and ended up sprawled on my back. I came around to a pounding headache and the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen. Don’t know if it was the effect she had on me, or the accident, but I somehow managed to let her go without exchanging information, more importantly numbers. Maybe it would’ve been better if things had stayed that way. Maybe then I wouldn’t be caught up in this dilemma. I should do what most guys would do and pursue her, regardless of her being in a relationship. Trust me, it’s tempting. The problem is, I’ve been on the receiving end of a situation similar to this, so I know the hurt I could cause and I don’t think I can do that. But I want Callie. I want her bad.
When Callie and Joe met, neither were prepared for the sequence of events that would follow, or the impact of the choices they would go on to make.
If only is book one in the Captured series. Adult Contemporary Romance. This series is not intended for those below 18 years old due to graphic sexual content and use of language.
I knew from the start that I should stay away from Dane, and I would have – if he’d stayed away from me. Astoundingly sexy with a consuming presence of unspoken command, he enthralls me to the point of almost being incapable of rational thoughts, almost being incapable of resisting him. My hands want to explore him. My tongue wants to taste him. My body begs to experience him. I crave him. Now he’s starting to intrude on a level that’s harder to fight. I know what he wants from me. I also know that Dane is not the type of man you expect to keep.
Dane
Things are never straightforward with women like Brooklyn. She’s not the kind whose bed you can slip out of and walk away from without ‘special connections’ or ‘emotions’ expected or offered. She’s the type of woman I prefer to keep my distance from, but like an undersexed, hormonal idiot, I still pursued her. I swear getting turned on by her is like getting turned on for the first time in my life. Now I have her in my grasp, but I know where this will lead. And I’m never the one that gets hurt in situations like this.
A woman who has barely put her broken-self back together and a man who turned his back on love a long time ago. When Dane and Brooklyn first met it appeared to be a simple case of lust between two opposites, but it was the beginning of an intense, emotional journey that would bring forth the pain they both attempted to leave in their pasts, and an encapsulation of feelings neither welcomed but were powerless to stop. Sometimes in life there is no choice but to take a risk.
*Release takes place in the months leading up to the end of If Only (book one in the Captured series), and includes major spoilers from Joe and Callie’s story.
*This book contains graphic sexual content.
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Fun Facts from Louise J
- If I met Callie I’d want to be her, seriously! She’s everything I’d want to be if I wasn’t me. Her quirky style & hotness, her friendly nature, and her confidence are magnetic. She’s tiny in size, but huge in personality and presence. The girl on the cover, at that angle, is an incredible fit to my vision of Callie, and the model’s expression perfectly represents some of Callie’s emotions during If Only. All I had to do was have some minor alterations made, and there she was. That picture isn’t there just because it’s a pretty girl with pink hair; that is my Callie.
- If I met Brooklyn I’d be floored by how stunning she is and mesmerized by her talent as a professional dancer, but we’d talk and I’d realize how thoroughly well I connect with her. So much so that writing her was the most natural, effortless thing. Publishing her, and putting her out there for judgment, was, and still is, beyond hard for me. Even after all these months since publishing Release, I question whether I held back at all with her so I could protect her. I don’t think I did hold back, I hope I didn’t, but that only makes me feel more protective of her. The image on the cover wasn’t picked without thought; the model’s physique, the amount of skin on show and the limited light and shadows represent Brooklyn’s sensuality, confidence and vulnerability.
- If I met Joe I would literally require restraints to stop me from attempting all kinds of very sexual things on him. *Louise J fans herself* He is so damn beautiful and entirely masculine at the same time; it isn’t an exaggeration when Callie describes him as such. He has the body of a sex god, and I particularly love his taut midsection and hips. That sounds kind of random, but my interest seems to gravitate to that area. Add his incredible ink, and I’m on the floor in a gooey puddle of horny fangirl. He’s traditional in many aspects and has the loveliest heart. I’m crazy about Joe.
- If I met Dane I’d be scared. He is hot beyond words, and that’s down to his manner and appearance. Standing too close to him would be impossible, I’d have the urge to run and hide. I wouldn’t be able to look into those amazing hazel eyes; they are so intense, I’d literally fall apart. With the body of a top athlete and the impact of all that ink, he is just astounding. I love him hard! He’s quite an old soul and a tower of strength, even when he’s struggling through his issues. I fell for him every time he spoke during Release.
It doesn’t get better for me than being in a scene where both Joe and Dane are present, regardless of whose POV it is. Just the mention of their names excites me. (I have a secret crush on Adam ;) So, when he’s there, too, I’m even happier)
- There are so many favorite lines and moments that I have in each book, most of them too spoiler-ish, but two (relatively safe lines) include:
‘My heart wants to run, but my legs can just about walk’ – Callie, If Only
‘Crying in front of someone who loves you doesn’t make you vulnerable’ – Dane, Release
- Baker Beach in San Francisco features in Release. Brooklyn goes there with her friends, and there’s talk of the nude part near the rocks. When I wrote that scene I had no idea that I would visit Baker Beach and go further than simply seeing a naked guy. Not only did I see some random nude dude on a beach, on a cold day when I was dressed in jeans and a thick cardigan, but the random nude dude offered to take a picture of hubby and me with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. We posed while a naked man stood taking our picture. Yes, I looked where I shouldn’t have been looking, you would have too. Then, he offered us the chance to have our picture taken with him. So, I have a picture of me and some random nude dude on Baker Beach. I didn’t even get his name.
- There’s a point in If Only when Callie drives to and from San Francisco and Arizona. I’ve done that drive – actually, my husband did the thirteen hour drive (with no sleep, so props to him), and I got to completely connect with the emotions Callie felt going to and from Arizona. It was amazing. We even passed a kombi, though it wasn’t groovy like Roberta. You’ll meet Roberta when you read If Only.
- A rattlesnake makes an appearance at one point during If Only. I totally stole that from my own life, only, unlike Callie who had the guts to take a picture, I didn’t. I hid in the house while my husband took the shot. Isn’t that what husbands are for?
- One song planted the initial tiny seed of an idea that led to If Only; I Never Knew by Roger Sanchez. That one book unintentionally became a four book series. From the series came two standalones. From one of those standalones came the trigger of inspiration for my 2014 paranormal romance series. All this from one song. It’s never ending. What a crazy ride this is?!
Playlists
If only
Inspirational tracks
I never knew by Roger Sanchez feat. Cooly’s Hot Box
(An old-school classic that I will never fall out of love with – this planted the very first tiny seed that was at the core of the story that became If Only; undisclosed love between friends)
Here without you by 3 Doors Down
(This is Joe’s song. I can’t hear it without thinking about him; I used it to connect with him during a particular point in the story)
Featured tracks
U-Turn by Usher
Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
Summer Love by Justine Timberlake
San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) by Scott McKenzie
Love Me Do by The Beatles
(I can’t get no) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
My First Kiss by 3OH!3 feat. Kesha
Release
Inspiration tracks
I Wanna Know by Joe
Naked and Sacred by Robert Miles feat. Maria Nayler
(This is Brooklyn’s song)
Featured tracks
Single Ladies by Beyonce
Love Hangover by Diana Ross
Feenin’ by Jodeci
Come With Me by Keith Sweat ft Ronald Isley
Every Little Thing I do by Soul For Real
Author Bio
Louise J has always been a daydreamer, but never considered writing a novel until days before typing the first words to If Only. Joe and Callie (and Gerard) appeared in a dream and her mind has never been her own since then, and she’s never alone. When she’s not writing she spends a lot of time missing out on huge chunks of conversation, movies, and TV shows thanks to many wonderful, but highly invasive characters bouncing around in her head, showing her their stories. In the name of research, those fabulous characters have led her to parts of the world she never would have dreamed of, and, as a result, has gained some of the most amazing memories. The rest of the time Louise J is trying to be a good wife to the greatest husband she could ever have asked for.
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