Stephanie Evanovich heats up the summer....plus a book giveaway

This past year, I read Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich and totally loved it! (See my review.) So I was more than excited when I found out that Stephanie had another book coming out, this time about the secondary characters from BGP: Chase and Amanda. Today is the pub day for The Sweet Spot, so she's here to celebrate with us by talking about something else that's really hot....summer! Thanks to HarperCollins (William Morrow), summer is about to get a lot hotter for THREE lucky US readers who win her latest novel! (And since it's a prequel where events are referred to in Big Girl Panties, you can easily read this one first!)

I recently met Stephanie at BEA and she's absolutely wonderful in person! Very friendly and enthusiastic, just like how she comes off online. The best part was that she knew who I was before I even told her my name! #authorcrush

Stephanie and I have a few things in common. She's from New Jersey and I lived in New Jersey for a couple of years. She performed improv comedy and I took improv classes. We both have two sons. And best thing of all...we share a birthday! (I knew there was another reason why I like her so much!)

This Asbury Park native began writing fiction while waiting for her cues during countless community theater projects. She attended New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts and acted in a few small-budget movies. Now a full-time writer, she is an avid sports fan and holds a black belt in tae kwon do. If her last name sounds familiar, it's because she's the niece of Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum series.

Visit Stephanie at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

When I go to the beach, I MUST bring these three things: 
A towel - for the obvious reasons. A beach umbrella - because I'm sometimes lazy with the sunscreen. And a book.

Favorite ride at an amusement park: 
Roller-coasters, hands down! I will ride them until I'm 80, or they give me whiplash...whichever comes first.

Did you go to camp as a kid? Day or overnight? Favorite memory from camp? 
I did go to a day camp one year, but I resented it. I grew up on the Jersey shore and looked at it as a lot of wasted beach days.

What is your favorite way to cool off? 
The ocean. It's just not summer until a giant wave face-plants me onto the ocean floor and gives me a sand-filled, bathing suit wedgie.

Time to barbecue...what will you be grilling? 
I love a good shish kabob. Veggies and succulent meats all living in harmony on a stick. Yum.

Favorite movie that takes place in the summer: 
Bull Durham. It's got baseball and Kevin Costner talking about open mouthed kisses - yowza. And that scene with Ebby Calvin Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) singing about women "getting wooly" still cracks me up.

Thanks to Stephanie for visiting with us and HarperCollins for sharing her book with our readers.

~Introduction by Melissa Amster

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends July 13th at midnight EST.