This is a hot-hot-hot read, so be ready!

The book is Rough and Ready (Outlaw Warriors Book 2) by Cathleen Ross, a Hot Contemporary Romance.

Before special ops soldier Hugo Boudreaux can move on, he has one last thing to do–fulfill a wartime debt to the friend who saved his life. He must infiltrate a vicious Louisiana MC club to stop their next illegal weapons shipment and send the president to jail. What he didn’t plan on was ending up an unwilling bodyguard to the man’s daughter–innocent and attractive nurse Alice Kaintuck.

Alice wants a normal life with a nice guy. But her rough-edged bodyguard is the sexiest man she’s ever met. Suddenly she can’t stop thinking about just how hot he makes her. Before she knows it, she’s tumbling into his muscular arms…though she’ll be damned if she’ll fall in love with a man as dangerous as her father. Only Hugo doesn’t make love, he consumes her and turns her life upside down with his carnal, erotic sex. Dreams of nice guys vanish when her enemy becomes her obsession…

Each book in the Outlaw Warriors series is STANDALONE:
* Snatched
* Rough and Ready

“You know New Orleans can be dangerous at night?”

“You’ll be safe. I’m well armed.”

She moved her hands up and cupped his cheeks. “Don’t you use me as bait to hurt anyone. You might get off on fighting, but I don’t. Promise me.”

“You think I’m falling for you, sweetheart? Getting all territorial?”

“Of course not.”

“You really should give up lying.”

“It’s not a lie. Do you think I want a life like Momma? I don’t go for wild, itinerant men.”

“Sure you don’t.”

Her heartbeat thumped in her chest. “The army womenworked for you because there was no commitment. Youmade it clear, this is a fling. I get that. I’m enjoying this forwhat it is. I know it’s not going to last.” He is my road to hell.

No way am I going there.

Something tightened around his mouth, but he didn’t comment. He pulled on a smart black jacket even though the evening was steamy, and she suspected by the way it hung heavily in his hands that it contained weapons.

“I think your civilized veneer is thin. You may have quit the army, but you’re still doing your job.”

“What do you mean?”

“It isn’t that you think I’m beautiful,” Alice said shrewdly, determined to disarm him for a change. “You want to rescue me like you did in the bar when we met. The adrenaline gets you off.” She saw the shift in his expression the moment she said the words.

He shrugged, and his face closed down. “I fought for a living; I didn’t rescue.”

Chatting with the Author

Cathleen Ross likes to write about the quirky side of life. She thought she was a “Sweet” writer until she was asked to write her first erotic story, sold it immediately and she never looked back. Her first novel, Man Hunt sold to Black Lace (Penguin/Random House). Man Hunt became the number one best selling erotic novel on the Publisher’s website in 2006 and has been translated into German. She also loves writing historical stories. Highlander is the first in her Highlander Forbidden Fantasy series. When she is not self publishing she writes for Entangled Publishing. Her first novel for Entangled is Snatched for the Scorched line, due out in September 2018.

Hi Cathleen and thank you for being here today.

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I wrote the first book, Snatched, in the Outlaw Warrior series and my editor wanted a second. I didn’t really want to focus on the Biker culture though this was part of the second book. Instead, I wanted to look at what it is like returning to a normal culture after being an elite soldier. My hero Hugo wants to fit in back home, but he’s come from a wealthy but difficult background and he’s carrying a deep abiding anger. My heroine, Sweet Alice I call her, is the nurse daughter of a dangerous biker President. All she wants is to fall in love with a normal hardworking guy, marry and live the nice picket fence kind of life. Instead, she meets Hugo who has the job of being her bodyguard.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?

I love the south and in particular New Orleans. I did quite a lot of research into biker culture, soldier culture but a lot of this story comes from my imagination. Entangled’s Scorched line is their sexiest line, so my editor asked me what sexy trope I wanted to write. I’d just had a hysterectomy and sex was far far far from my mind, so my editor came up for one for me. Rough Sex. Luckily I have a good imagination.

What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?

My book is a lively sexy read with highs and lows. I want my readers to relax and enjoy.

Did you always have the reins of the story or the people in it tried to take over?

I always see the hero first in my stories and then the heroine. My editor has me do a goal, motivation, conflict with internal and external motivations sheet before I write a word, so I know the people before I start writing. My hero’s father used to bash the hero’s mother. Although there is none of this in the book, my hero is wounded because he was too young to stop it, left home, joined the army and sent money back to his mother so she could leave. That backstory made my hero who he was – a protector. When I’m writing, the people are very real to me. I feel their pain, their love, and I want them to have their happy ending.

What are you working on now?

I’m heading off to Scotland to follow the trail of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander as research for my next series. I love Scotland and its history, so my next book/s is going to be about Scottish Lords and Ladies. It’s a different change of pace after writing Outlaw Warriors for the Scorched line.

What was your job before you started writing full time?

I was an Assistant Principal of an Adult English College at twenty-nine years old. I write full time now, which I love.

What started you on the path to writing?

From the time I was a teenager I wanted to write romance. I wanted to be published with Harlequin Mills and Boon. I achieved this goal. As I’ve become older, I like to write in different genres. I get bored easily, but I love research and did a lot of it in my two degrees, so I’m starting to choose difficult subject areas and I’m writing longer historical books. I can see this consuming my time in the future.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

I always have a word count in mind to achieve. I start my day with walking the dog for up to two hours, so he’ll come home and sleep while I work. I tend to prepare lunch and eat at my desk and work through until about five. If I’m under deadline pressure, I’ll have a break, cook dinner and then work at nighttime, but it’s important to build time in for family. Now my daughter has her own life, I also work weekends.

How do you keep from resenting your duties when you have to stop writing to take care of them?

I build my housework and shopping into my day. I’m very organized. My husband notices I get resentful if I haven’t achieved wordcount. He’s a workaholic himself and a sports fanatic, so he understands commitment. His work keeps him busy too, so it’s okay as we’re both doing long hours.

What do your friend and family think about your being a writer?

I joined Romance Writers of Autralia about twenty years ago and most of my friends are writers or creative people. When I wrote my first erotic book and it was published in 2001, people were shocked. It was a best seller in England too. Since 50 Shades came out, people just accept I write romance.

If you were 80 years old, what would you tell your children?

That I was never boring and to watch out I don’t chase the young orderlies around in the nursing home, if I get dementia.

To learn more, please visit http://www.cathleenross.com
Email address for readers: contact@cathleenross.com