Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - M.J. O'Shea

M.J. O'Shea is here! Are you squealing? We can't hear you! C'mon a little louder! The unicorns are ever so excited to have M.J. here to party with us. And she not only brought a sweet ficlet, One Hour, but she's going to gift TWO lucky winners for her giveaway. Oh, we think we can hear your squeals now!

One Hour 

by 

M.J. O'Shea 

One hour…

“It’s not even New Year’s. This is ridiculous,” I looked down at the letter in my hands. “I’m not going to go.”

There was chaos in the hallway, NYU students packing up to go home for the summer. I was one of them soon, leaving in the morning for the long drive back to Omaha.

“Go.” My roommate had more of a sense of adventure than I did. “You’ve been pining after shower guy all goddamn semester and turning down dates. You need some mystery.”

“I haven’t been pining. I’ve just been busy…”

“Go.”

Fifty minutes…

The note said, “Meet at Times Square. Midnight.  I’ll find you.”

It had been slipped under my door right after I’d gotten back from my last dance class of the year. Freshman year. It had gone so fast. I opened the note, expecting nothing – a goodbye or an e-mail to keep in touch.

When I read what it said my pulse started spinning out hard and fast before I got myself in check. Mystery meeting in the middle of the night. Right.

Thirty minutes….

 Midnight. Times square. What a cliché.

Didn’t explain why I was on an uptown train sweating through every stop, hoping I’d make it on time. There weren’t very many people on the train but still every stop seemed to take forever, watching the empty stops and the second hand click by.

Ten minutes…

The street was still crowded with tourists and after-show wanderers. I fought my way to the center of the square. Nobody would ever be able to see me… probably should’ve known better than to wear black. I was sweating, nerves and sticky sweaty June heat. And I had to wait…wait…wait. It seemed like forever.

One minute…

This is stupid. Why am I here?

I had boxes to pack and things to do and –

Oh. My. God.

Thirty seconds…

It was him, the guy from the dorm showers that I’d looked at day and night, too scared to even try to say hi. He was right there in front of me in a hat and a tank top and he looked so adorable. My stomach jumped hard into my throat. He walked right up to me, inches away and smiled.

Five

“Hey,” he said.

Four

“Hey.” What was this? He reached over and took my hand.

Three

“So, I have a question…” He bit his lip like he might be as nervous as I was.

Two

“What is it?”

One

“Can I kiss you?

+++++

About M.J. O'Shea:

M.J. O'Shea has been writing romance since algebra class in sixth grade (when most of her stories starred her and Leonardo DiCaprio). When she's not writing, she loves listening to nearly all types of music, painting, reading great authors, and on those elusive sunny days in the Pacific Northwest, she loves driving on the freeway with her windows rolled down and her stereo on high.

Author Links: 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

The unicorns thank M.J. O'Shea for stopping by with this gift. Don't forget to let her know what you think about "One Hour" in the comments. And now onto...

Would you like a chance to win a copy of M.J. O'Shea's latest, "X Marks the Spot"? This contest is open to two winners--one winner will get an autographed paperback copy, the other winner an eBook copy (it is open worldwide) Imagine having a book with M.J.'s signature in your hot little hands!

Jack Hunter is always on a quest for lost art, ancient manuscripts, and anything else that’ll romance the millions of viewers who watch his show each week. He hasn’t always hit pay dirt in his searches though, and a string of empty global treasure hunts has left his show on the brink of cancellation. Jack needs a white whale, a holy grail, nothing less than a miracle to revive his career.

Aloysius “Alo” Green likes his ivory towers. He’s content to study from the comfort of a university library and publish papers nobody other than academics will ever read. But coded letters pointing to hidden Nazi treasure fall into his hands, and while colleagues warn him to keep them to himself, Alo can’t stop obsessing. He makes a huge mistake and publishes a paper on his find, ignoring the danger doing so will bring.

Jack is sure he’s struck gold when his assistant brings Alo’s paper to him. Alo wants nothing to do with Jack or his televised treasure hunt. But after Alo is threatened, it appears Jack is his best bet to silence those who seek to use him to find the vast wealth first.

By trusting Jack, Alo might’ve saved himself… or made his worst decision yet.

To enter to win "X Marks the Spot", please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc. BMBR will contact the winner privately for their mailing address)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/14/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.