Eyecandy Monday: Claire from Hollywood Ever After by Sasha Summers

Because it takes a lot of work to make Mondays fun, we at Inkspell decided to start a blog feature we like to call Eyecandy Monday. Each Monday we will feature the characters from one Inkspell novel and share with you all the fine details and tasty tidbits we can dig up about these interesting and well written main characters. We want to revisit some of our favorite hotties from our favorite stories! As we revisit our eyecandy, we are sharing with you an excerpt to wet your appetite about the character and the story. After all, you can't get enough of book eyecandy! 

Claire Collins:The heroine for Hollywood Ever After is a very relatable woman. She’s celebrating her 35th birthday on a trip – the first she’s taken on her own since her messy divorce. But she’s looking forward to a low key break, with lots of rest and relaxation. Claire’s vacation is full of surprises. Meeting Josh changes everything. Yes, she’s still a single mom to two great kids. But he makes her feel like a woman – one who might be worthy of love.

Excerpt:“Mr. Wiley. He’s been totally checking you out.” She poked me in the side when I went rigid. “Told you you looked hot!”

“Where did that come from?” I blushed fiercely. “He’s so…” I paused as I ran through a mental checklist of all the things Josh Wiley was: handsome, thoughtful, talented, and intense. “Young,” I finished.

“He’s twenty-eight, hardly a kid and totally legal. He’s not a big ladies’ man around town, but he’s been seriously eyeing you.” She arched an eyebrow. “Not that I’m saying insanely gratuitous sex with an energetic and virile young man with no strings is what you should do. I’d never say that.”

My entire face and every inch of exposed skin grew hot. “You’re shameless.”

“Maybe.” She smiled, then changed the topic. “Are you cold?”

I shook my head, my mind racing to keep up with her.

“So what have you been thinking?” She regarded me over the rim of her drink. “About life? Your plans?”

“Well…” I considered. “Continuing as I have for now. The school would like me to teach full time next year.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “But that’s not what you said you wanted. And an elementary teacher’s salary can’t go far with two kids.” She regarded me with slightly narrowed eyes. “You could come to work here. I happen to know people. That helps. There’s also the possibility of getting published or optioning a manuscript. You’d get paid, pretty well, too.”

“Getting paid to do something you really enjoy? Seems almost criminal.”

Victor’s voice interrupted our conversation. “So I’m a criminal?”

He was followed by a few others, and Josh.

I tried, without much success, to keep from eyeing Josh, who sat gracefully on a chaise across from me and Shannon. Directly in my line of sight.

I smiled, shaking my head. “No, I—”

“She was trying to convince me not to pay her to do a job that she’s perfectly suited for.” Shannon shrugged.

“Never say no to money.” Victor added, “Unless it’s for something illegal.”

Shannon quipped playfully, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe not illegal, but there are some things that are just so wrong.”

“So illegal activities, or things that are so wrong they should be illegal?” I raised an eyebrow in question, sipping my drink.

“Sounds like a solid foundation for career development,” Josh said, looking slightly horrified by the line of conversation.

Victor handed Shannon a drink. “Have you heard the sequel buzz?”

Shannon winked at me. “Uh, no, I’m working hard to pitch this project I’m psyched about.”

“Really?” Victor leaned forward.

“Just in the outline stages for film right now, but it’s a character piece. A severely broken woman escapes her prison, becoming empowered in her circumstances and taking control. No butt-kicking or anything, just an awakening to self-worth.”

“Could be fascinating,” Josh countered, his eyes coming to rest on me now and again.

I stared into my glass and tried not to have a panic attack. I listened to her take on my life. “It’s been done before. Sounds boring to me,” I mumbled, more loudly than I’d intended.
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We hope this story gets you ready for the release of Hollywood Holiday on December 7th! 


All she wants for Christmas is for Hollywood to love her again. But once she meets him, her Christmas list changes.

Jen’s only Christmas wish: Hollywood falling back in love with her. Meeting ex-Marine Gunner was a bonus. She likes that he isn’t impressed by celebrities or the movie biz. She likes that he’s funny and sweet … and drop-dead gorgeous. And she loves that he has no idea who her alter-ego is: Jen Fleming, Hollywood bad-girl and paparazzi target number one. Why ruin an amazing affair when he’s leaving after the new year? 
 
But the closer they get, the harder she falls, and the more she wants to tell Gunner everything. Especially once he shares his secret with her. 

Her new Christmas wish: Gunner accepts and loves her for who she really is.