Tag Archives: Suddenly You

Guest: Sarah Mayberry Tames the Bad Boy

Hi friends! We’ve got awesome author Sarah Mayberry visiting with us today! Whee! (You’ll have to forgive me on the timing – I ended up being the Thanksgiving cleaning bitch, so it took quite some time.) If you’ve never read Ms. Mayberry’s books before let me tell you that you are in for a treat!
So you definitely don’t want to read my babbles – so without further ado… Sarah!

Taming the bad boy

It’s not much of a secret that most of us love a bad boy. There’s something about bringing a powerful, decadent man to his knees that is pretty damn appealing! I’ve written a few bad boys in my time – troubled, taciturn men struggling with alcohol and bad memories, or unrepentant playboys who hide their fears beneath a round of partying. The hero of my latest book, Suddenly You, is a different kind of bad boy. Harry is that delightful, playful, sexy-as-all-get-out guy you see at the bar playing pool with his buddies. He’s got a great body, makes people laugh, and has no trouble at all charming women out of their underwear. Harry loves women – but he doesn’t do commitment. Why would he, when he has a smorgasbord on offer? And why would he take anything about life seriously when it’s really just one big party?

As you can probably tell by all of the above, Harry has a lot of growing up to do. He’s fortunate enough to come from a solid working class family. He’s been loved all his life and never had to face real adversity. He hasn’t had to think about what he values or why. He’s been content to simply cruise along, enjoying himself. It takes Pippa to make him question his devil-may-care lifestyle. As a single mum, her plate is more than full and she doesn’t have time for a good-time guy like Harry. She’s paddling very hard to keep her head above water so she can care for her baby daughter, Alice.

So when sparks begin to fly between these two, there are lots of reasons why they shouldn’t fall into bed. Harry and Pippa don’t let that stop them, though. And every step of the way, they tell themselves and each other that it’s not serious…even when it is.

I don’t want to give too much away, but Harry steps up to the plate in more ways the one. He understands that the party is over, and that there are more important things that beers with the boys and late nights playing pool. Things like comforting Alice when she’s cranky and helping Pippa cope with the many challenges in her life. The problem is, Pippa has bought into Harry’s party-boy routine. She believed him when he said he wasn’t good long-term material. So he’s got a real battle on his hands to try to convince her that this is real for him and that she and Alice are what he wants.

I had an absolute ball writing this book. Harry was so much fun to write, and Pippa was so down to earth and good intentioned – if a little prideful sometimes. I loved pitting them against each other and watching things unfold. I really loved bringing big, bad, strong Harry to his knees!

I’d love to hear what you think the appeal of the bad boy hero is. Do you think, like me, that it’s seeing him brought to his knees by the love of a good woman? Or is it something else?

I’ll be giving away 3 copies of Suddenly You today, so comment to be in the running. Looking forward to chatting with you!

Did you see that?! Three commenters will win Suddenly You! Sarah Mayberry is one of my favorites authors! And I recommend her to anyone who is first trying out category romances. <3