BENEATH THE SURFACE by M.A. Stacie
Kyran Reese is a man in control. Driven when it comes to work, focused when it comes to play. From his office to the chalk circle of Metro’s bare-knuckle boxing ring, his only thought is to win. That thirst heightens when Dale Porter enters his life. His brother’s assistant should be off-limits, but her witty comments and sarcastic comebacks have him desperate to get her between the sheets. After receiving an unexpected left hook, Kyran gets exactly what he wants, though he makes the rules very clear.
When Dale agrees to Kyran’s relationship stipulation of no labels, she’s sucked into a whirlwind of lust, money, and underground boxing. The agreement to keep their lust away from the office is discarded when rules are molded to suit their ever-increasing attraction. Dale fights her growing affection, trying to hide it even when the world around them spirals out of control. All too soon she realizes she can’t hide her true feelings any longer.
Kyran begins to wonder if he’s finally met his match, and with his family falling apart before his eyes, he turns to the two things he knows will keep him sane: boxing and Dale. Those crutches can’t last forever, and when Kyran finds it harder to function he is left with a decision he never thought he’d have to make.
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At times Dale was a hot mess, but she was great leading lady for Kyran. Did you write her after someone you know, or did she just evolve with the story?
M.A.:
"Dale’s definitely not after anyone I know. When I started to plot Beneath the Surface I knew the female lead needed to give as good as she got, especially when it came to Kyran. I think there are many times she opened her mouth before she engaged her brain, and that usually got her into trouble.
"Dale’s definitely not after anyone I know. When I started to plot Beneath the Surface I knew the female lead needed to give as good as she got, especially when it came to Kyran. I think there are many times she opened her mouth before she engaged her brain, and that usually got her into trouble.
Sometimes I see some of myself in her. I have a habit of expecting certain things from people I know and when they don’t act in such a way I don’t know how to respond to it. I think Dale does this so often with Kyran and that’s what mixes her emotions up. She thinks she understands him, but as we see by the end of the book, Kyran wasn’t exactly what she thought. There is so much more beneath his rigid surface.
I tried to keep her emotions realistic, imagining myself in the situation and the emotions that I would. Sometimes that was easy, but other situations caused for a bit of a poll with my friends. They’re always up for answering my questions and helping me with a new project. Most of them felt similar things to myself, which reconfirmed my characterisation of Dale.
I enjoyed writing each of them, though Kyran certainly gave me something to sink my teeth into."
*****
My interview with the delightful M.A. Stacie!!!
I couldn't help but notice the name of quite a well-known, and when I say well-known....I mean allllll over!!.....soccer player in the dedications in the front of your book. When we imagine tattooed anger-ball and CEO, Kyran Reese....should we be visualizing someone like.......oh, say, David Beckham perhaps? After all, HIS combo tats and temper are quite notorious too!
M.A.: Yes, Kyran was spawned from watching David Beckham bring the Olympic Torch down the Thames. I saw his smug grin, his suit, his sexy demeanor and Kyran Reese was born!
I do usually have image ideas of my characters but never normally one as well known as Mr Beckham. I can’t really imagine anyone BUT him as Kyran now.
Kyran seems like such a walking contradiction, where did the concept of this, almost dual personality, hero come from?
M.A.: Good question! I always wanted to write a fighter, but never quite got the right mix. I felt delving underneath those punches was important.
After seeing David Beckham to idea just sort of evolved. He himself is a sort of contradiction with his clean-living contrasts with his tattooed exterior. I love that in people; love how outward appearances can be so different from the person beneath them.
How much of you, or your own life experiences can be found reflected in BENEATH THE SURFACE? Do you ever draw on personal experience in your writing?
How much of you, or your own life experiences can be found reflected in BENEATH THE SURFACE? Do you ever draw on personal experience in your writing?
M.A.: I always think I don’t put anything of myself in the books except my love of tattoos but after looking at your next question I think I’m VERY wrong.
I couldn't help but notice that both Dale and Kyran missed a mother figure growing up. Is that significant in any way?
M.A.: This had never struck me until I read this question, and it had me questioning much of my past publications. Sometimes it’s easier not to have too many characters within the book, but where motherly figures are concerned I suppose I can’t deny what’s in front of me.
I don’t have, and haven’t since I was young, a mother figure. I guess that aspect is difficult for me to write, so I omit it the best way I can.
I should work on that.
What, if any, are the future plans for any of the characters from this book? Any sequels on the horizon?
M.A.: Well, after writing Kyran’s brother, Taylor. I couldn’t leave the man hanging! He needed his own happy ending. So book 2 of the Reluctance series is Taylor’s story. It’s titled, Behind the Scandal.
Book 3 will be all about Trace, Dale’s brother.
All of the characters will weave through the books, so the reader gets to see how a previous pairing are doing. I always enjoy seeing that as a reader and thought I’d try writing it.
I for one am looking forward to any and all of the future books in the Reluctance series, I frankly can't wait! And want to thank you for stopping in!
*****
M. A. Stacie is never without a book or her eReader. A voracious reader, with a love of sexy, yet angst ridden novels, she adores getting lost in new worlds. Her need to write did not grip her until after her second son was born, when her previous rambles became fully fledged stories.
She describes herself as one huge contradiction, and though not the most conventional of hobbies, she counts getting new tattoos as one of hers. Along with knitting, listening to loud music, and playing the Wii with her children. M. A. Stacie lives in the UK with her husband and three sons.
Publisher:
http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/96
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