Sometimes Life Delivers a Left Hook...

Blurb: Harley “Hard to Handle” Handleman is another hunky fighter dude. Personal misfortunes have kept him from gaining a title belt, and now that he has another shot, he’s determined that nothing will get in his way.
Especially not a woman.
But then, Harley hadn’t counted on tangling with Anastasia “Stasia” Bradley.

Ann: Got an early copy of the book and gobbled it up.

Lori: Yay! Glad (or rather THRILLED) that you liked it.

Ann: My pleasure, believe me! But naturally, now I’ve got some questions. In Simon Says, the previous book in this series, Harley got hurt and couldn’t compete against Simon for the championship belt. Although this series isn’t really about the fighting, but rather the fighter outside of the ring, Hard to Handle picks up where Simon Says left off. I wondered what would happen – how you’d pit one hero against another for superiority.

Lori: Yeah – can’t do it. LOL. That’s why I had to work it out. Simon is still a champion, and Harley does eventually get his shot, but I couldn’t let the two of them duke it out. In real life, it happens all the time and the guys stay friends. But in a romance novel... well, you know, all the guys are champions!

Ann: Works for me, and for your books. The stories may be about fighters, but they’re NOT about fighting. They’re romance, pure and wonderful.

Lori: I hope so! I just like to use the backdrop of the fighting world because any athlete who can train as these guys do, and compete at the level they do, is a natural born Alpha. And I LUV me some Alphas. But Alpha does NOT mean jerk.
I think my heroes are controlling in their efforts to protect the heroines, and macho in the respect that they know what they can do, but they’re also nice and considerate and capable with all aspects of life. They’re not muscled up thugs.

Ann: Very true. Thugs make lousy heroes. Alpha males, coupled with strong females, make for sizzling love. Your males are to die for. Which reminds me—I enjoy seeing characters from your other books appear in your new one. For instance, in Hard to Handle, there was a scene with Dakota and a real jerk. She really…oops, don’t want to spoil it for everyone. But I sure grinned. Married life didn’t take off her edges.

Lori: Nope. Dakota is who she is – meaning she’s still giving Simon fits. But she gets along well with Anastasia, Harley’s new lady love.

Ann: Probably because they’re both so independent.

Lori: I’d have a hard time writing a “needy” woman. And can you imagine Harley with a woman who didn’t have a backbone? It’d never last. For me, that’s part of the fun – pitting two strong willed people together, and making them work out the kinks.

Ann: Speaking of secondary characters... now that Barber is so nicely settled with his own secondary romance, are you finished with the fight scene?

Lori: Not just yet. I have at least one more fight book I’ll write. In fact, it’s the next one I’m working on. But it’s going to be different for me. It’ll be a time travel of sorts, with Michael - better known as Mallot – going into the future. I’m looking forward to diving in! I can promise it’ll be fun.
But in the meantime... :::biting my nails:::: I hope readers enjoy Hard to Handle.

Ann: They will, Lori. Hard to Handle is impossible not to love. So everyone who is reading this, go out and nail down your copy of Lori’s latest treat. You’ll be smiling!



Lori: To anyone who reads the book, I'd love to know what you think, how this story compares to my other romances, both in this series, and in other series.

I'd also like to know what you like - and even what you dislike - about this series.
Are the fighters working for you?

Do tell!

Thanks everyone, and special thanks to Ann Maxwell / Elizabeth Lowell.
I really, really appreciate that you read the book, and did a recap for our site.

You're the best!