Inner Goddess: The Bad Boy with the Golden Heart

pearls

Welcome to the Inner Goddess stop on the Romance ... My Way Blog Hop! We are talking about our favorite trope in romance. For me, it's the allure of the bad boy with the golden heart.

In Lisa Renee Jones' Inside Out series, there are actually two such heroes: Mark and Chris. Sara must choose between the two, and first we saw her POV. But now the author is releasing novellas which give us insight into both males' perspectives. Releasing in just 10 days is His Secrets: Chris' POV.

Chris is a leather wearing, motorcycle driving artist. Super rich, he is beyond caring what society thinks he should do or how he should dress. He is intensely sexual, passionate about all that he does. And he gives a large amount of his money and time to charity. He stands up to protect innocence. Letting Sara in means losing some of his tightly held control on his life. It means facing his inner demons and exposing to them to the light.

His Secrets

Inside Out Series, eNovella 3.1

by Lisa Renee Jones

Releasing February 24, 2014

Pre-Order links:

Amazon BN

An Inside Out story, Chris's POV

In a world where my only escape has been my art, Sara has been the light in my darkness. And there is darkness, the kind of inky black that can bleed from my life to hers.

She doesn't see it. She doesn't understand what I've shown her. And my

biggest fear is that soon...she will.

Inner Goddess reviews of His Secrets:

from TinkNCognito: Another great short story by Lisa Renee Jones. This time we peek inside the mind of Chris Merit, our hot and handsome artist who is in love with Sara. We get a glimpse at the dark side he keeps telling Sara about and we get more insight into his relationship with Amber. We see more of Tristan and love hating Isobel even more. But we all know Sara is stronger than Chris gives her credit for. And of course we get some great sex scenes to get the blood boiling. What a fun addition to the series.

from pearls: The Inside Out series tells us Sara's story of her journey, and along the way we meet fascinating characters like Rebecca, Mark and Chris. The novella's give us glimpses into the minds of their minds, giving the reader a fuller picture of what is happening around Sara. Chris has always been the secretive, self-loathing bad boy. He took Sara to Paris to reveal his secrets. In this novella he is stripped with no barriers or curtains to hide behind. The ugliness of his past and the desperate fear it overshadows his future with is laid bare for us to see. Like Rebecca's story, the story jumps as it would in a journal accounting. It is raw feeling more than organized plot. An emotional journey for Chris and readers alike.

TV Show and Casting

The Inside Out series is in development for cable television with the fabulous producer Suzanne Todd at the helm. Suzanne has worked on projects such as Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp, Must Love Dogs, Austin Powers, Lethal Weapon and many more!

So where does the show stand?

I was just in Hollywood and I had the pleasure of meeting with many of the brilliant minds involved in the process. It was pretty surreal to sit there and talk to these talented folks and have them know my characters the way I know them. Truly amazing.

It’s been fun learning the process of a cable TV show in development. There is no pilot. There is simply the process of someone writing the first 8-10 episodes. If those scripts are approved, then a staff of writers to carry on the show will be hired, and casting begins for the first season. Also, unlike movies, as we’ve seen with 50 Shades, casting isn’t something that is talked about for a year and then finally happens. In general, when a cable station orders a show to production, things move fast. So once you hear the news, it will get exciting at lightning speed. I hope to be able to share that news VERY soon!

That said, I am beyond thrilled that the producers of the show, Team Todd, are excited to engage fans in the process. They watch my Twitter and Facebook and enjoy seeing the fan suggestions for casting. They even watch fan-made videos! When I was in Hollywood, they shared their excitement about involving readers and fun ideas like VIP casting chats for readers.

They’ve set up an email newsletter list to better connect with the fans. To take part, just email REBECCA@TEAM-TODD.com and say I WANT TO BE AN INSIDER

And yes, feel free to post your casting ideas on my Facebook page. The producers LOVE seeing them and I'll repost them to my main page. I look forward to taking this exciting journey with all of my readers!

About the series: http://www.lisareneejones.com/inside-out-series/

About the TV Show: http://www.lisareneejones.com/inside-out-series-tv-show/

The Origin of the Series

How it all began…Sara's POV

One day I was a high school teacher on summer break, leading a relatively uneventful but happy life. Or so I told myself. Later, I’d question that, as I would question pretty much everything I knew about me, my relationships, and my desires. It all began when my neighbor thrust a key to a storage unit at me. She’d bought it to make extra money after watching some storage auction show. Now she was on her way to the airport to elope with a man she barely knew, and she needed me to clear out the unit before the lease expired.

Soon, I was standing inside a small room that held the intimate details of another woman’s life, feeling uncomfortable, as if I was invading her privacy. Why had she let these items so neatly packed, possessions that she clearly cared about deeply, be lost at an auction? Driven to find out by some unnamed force, I began to dig, to discover this woman’s life, and yes, read her journals—-dark, erotic journals that I had no business reading. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I read on obsessively, living out fantasies through her words that I’d never dare experience on my own, compelled by the three men in her life, none of whom had names. I read onward until the last terrifying dark entry left me certain that something had happened to this woman. I had to find her and be sure she was okay.

Before long, I was taking her job for the summer at the art gallery, living her life, and she was nowhere to be found. I was becoming someone I didn’t know. I was becoming her.

The dark, passion it becomes…

Now, I am working at a prestigious gallery, where I have always dreamed of being, and I’ve been delivered to the doorstep of several men, all of which I envision as one I’ve read about in the journal. But there is one man that will call to me, that will awaken me in ways I never believed possible. That man is the ruggedly sexy artist, Chris Merit, who wants to paint me. He is rich and famous, and dark in ways I shouldn’t find intriguing, but I do. I so do. I don’t understand why his dark side appeals to me, but the attraction between us is rich with velvety promises of satisfaction. Chris is dark, and so are his desires, but I cannot turn away. He is damaged beneath his confident good looks and need for control, and in some way, I feel he needs me. I need him.

All I know for certain is that he knows me like I don’t even know me, and he says I know him. Still, I keep asking myself — do I know him? Did he know her, the journal writer, and where is she? And why doesn’t it seem to matter anymore? There is just him and me, and the burn for more.

IF I WERE YOU Excerpt

Rounding the corner, I enter the hallway, and Chris is suddenly there in the narrow passage with me, pressing me against the wall, his powerful thighs framing mine.

My hand goes instinctively to his t-shirt-clad chest. I am immediately aware of the intimacy of the touch, of my body’s reaction to the man who has betrayed me. “Don’t shove me against another wall and try to intimidate me, Chris.”

“I’m not trying to intimidate you. I was protecting you, Sara.” His hands move to my waist, scorching me, and my reaction to the sizzling touch is instant. I cover his hands with mine, trying to control what he does next, but it doesn’t help. Now, my hands are on his hands and his hands are on my body.

“Call it what you want,” I ground out, “but you had no right to do what you did.”

“He had to know he couldn’t manipulate your dream. Money, and my many resources at your disposal, does that.”

His words knock my anger and my breath away, and confusion consumes me. His actions and his words conflict at every turn. “Why would you help me? You said I don’t belong in this world.”

“Because I won’t watch him gobble you up and destroy you.”

I remember his words, and understand now that he wanted me out of this gallery, not this profession. “Because he’s a dark, messed up, arrogant asshole who will play with my mind and use me until there is nothing else left of me I recognize.”

“That’s right.”

“And yet you say you’re worse.”

He stiffens and cuts his gaze, seeming to struggle before fixing me in a turbulent stare. “I am, Sara, which is why you should run as far away from me as you can. And I should step back and let you.”

“Then why aren’t you?” I whisper.

His eyes hold mine, and what I see there, the depth of his desire, overwhelms me. He flattens his palm on my belly and I tremble beneath the touch, and he has to feel it too. “Because,” his voice low, seductive, his hand traveling up the center of my body, “I can’t stop thinking about you, and everything I want to do to you, everywhere I want to touch you.”

His hand presses to the swell between my breasts, and my nipples ache with a wish he would touch them. His boldness ignites something sultry and dark inside me, a side of me that defies the good-girl school teacher who is appalled I haven’t stopped this. I want him. I want him here and now, and any way I can have him.

And when his gaze lowers to my mouth and lingers, I know he is thinking about kissing me and I have never wanted to be kissed so badly in my life.

“Do you taste as good as I think you do?” he asks, but he doesn’t wait for my reply.

Suddenly, his fingers have tunneled into my hair and he’s dragging my mouth to his. I am all soft submission, yielding to the moment, to the man. I melt into him, welcome the hardness of his body pressed to mine. And when his tongue presses past my lips, a long, wicked caress, I taste his hunger, his need. There is possessiveness to his kiss, to his hand on my back, molding me closer. I am lost in the ache that has become my need for this man, this stranger I cannot resist. He says he’s protecting me; he says he’s dangerous. I am conflicted, and sure I should be angry with him, but I am completely incapable and unable of processing why.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Were-You-Inside-Out-Series-ebook/dp/B0095VKZUK

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-were-you-lisa-renee-jones/1112622048

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15717721-if-i-were-you

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and facebook daily.

Website - http://lisareneejones.com

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaReneeJones

Twitter- http://twitter.com/lisareneejones

Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/lisareneejones

Instagram- http://instagram.com/lisareneejones

GoodReads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73977.Lisa_Renee_Jones