Nerds in love

With: Maggie Wells

Congratulations to "Blue Falcon", the winner in Maggie's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!

I admit it, I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to all things related to outer space. I blame Star Wars. I was nine when the first movie hit the theaters, and I saw it at least three times at the old Castle theater in my hometown. My husband is a fan of the original Star Trek series. Together, we are nerds in love.

But it isn’t just fictional space that intrigues me. I love the real deal, too. Each time we have a spectacular moon, I run outside in my socks. If there’s an eclipse, I’m poking pinholes in paper. One of my favorite internet memes is the shot of Pluto taken by New Horizons with the caption that reads, “Your Mom thought I was big enough.”

I had a lot of fun writing my newest release, LOVE & ROCKETS. My hero, Jake Dalton, is an astrophysicist and an aerospace engineer. A chance meeting with a former schoolmate’s science-loving daughter sets him on a path to exploring a strange new world—love.

Here’s a taste of LOVE & ROCKETS

Smart is the new sexy…

They say if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, but it’s not the sauce at The Pit BBQ that has Darla Kennet breaking a sweat. The sassy single mom has waited tables in Mobile for years to support herself and her daughter, Grace, and she’s never let anything get her rattled…until now.  Somehow, handsome aerospace engineer Jake Dalton has gotten under her skin.

Although they went to school together, Jake doesn’t remember much about Darla. Back then the brainiac future rocket scientist always had his head in a book. But now that a chance meeting has him helping Grace apply to space camp, he’s been pulled into Darla’s orbit. And it isn’t long before Jake and Darla have a heated meeting of their own celestial bodies. The trouble is, Jake wants more. Convincing cautious, fiercely independent Darla to trust him with her heart just may be his most challenging mission yet…

Excerpt:

“Listen, why don’t you come to dinner one night?” The suggestion was out there before she’d given any thought to the state of her freezer. She grimaced as she realized what slim pickings she had to offer, but the invitation was out there now and there was no taking it back. Straightening her shoulders, she forced a tight smile. “You can talk to Grace and see if you might want to work with her, and I’ll have the chance to make things up to you.”

“You don’t have to make anything up to me.”

His chivalrous dismissal of her rude behavior was a relief, but she had a live one on the line now, and she wasn’t going to give up until she landed him and served him up on a plate for her little girl. Even if she’d have to pull an Internet search on how to make ramen noodles into something not quite so ramen-y. Now that she thought about it, there might be an open package of pasta up behind the quinoa she kept meaning to cook. She could spring for a jar of sauce and maybe a loaf of bread. Gracie liked all forms of Italian food.

Though they’d hugged and made up for the most part, Darla was aware she hadn’t been entirely forgiven. She would have to make things right as far as Grace’s chances at winning the Space Camp scholarship. Serving up the esteemed Dr. Dalton as a side dish would go a long way to getting her back in her daughter’s good graces. Anything to avoid spending the weekend attempting to coax a pre-teen out of the awkward silent treatment thing she’d picked up recently.

Wrinkling her nose in an attempt to look sheepish, she leaned in close and pitched her voice low. “I have to make up to Grace. She was a little put out with me for chasing you off.”

Jake leaned back and looked her in the eye. “Was she?”

“Nothing fancy. I’ll make dinner and you two can form your own save the midget planets society.”

“Dwarf planets,” he corrected, as she knew he would. “And they’re not endangered.”

“I know. They don’t get the respect they deserve,” she replied gravely. “Think about it. I’ll put your order in.”

She turned on her heel and headed back toward the kitchen. For good measure, she added a little extra sway to her step. Because sometimes a mother had to do what a mother had to do.

Giveaway:

How about you? Do you dream of shooting through the stars, or are your feet firmly planted on the ground? Comment below, and I will gift one winner with digital copies of Coastal Heat #1, GOING DEEP and Coastal Heat #2, FLIP THIS LOVE!

Author Bio:

By day, Maggie Wells is buried in spreadsheets. At night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, you only have to scratch the surface of this mild-mannered married lady to find a naughty streak a mile wide. She has a passion for college football, processed cheese foods, and happy endings. Not necessarily in that order.

Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST November 23rd. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.