Unlike the rest of his con artist family, professional poker player Logan prefers to keep his hands clean, but unless he wants his sister wearing orange for the next decade, he’s going to have to get them dirty. The con he’s blackmailed into wouldn’t be that bad if his mark wasn’t such a spitfire. Drew is sharp-tongued, sexier than a Royal Flush, and she hates his guts. Sparks fly, secrets unfold, and Logan finds himself wondering who hustled who.
The jerk-off who’d verbally assaulted Drew the day before had the nerve to slide into the booth across from her.
“Let’s start over,” he said, sliding a paper cup across the table in her direction.
She gave him a quick once over. His sleek, dark brown hair and Ramones T-shirt cemented his bad boy image, not to mention the leather motocross jacket. She knew his type.
Except, there was something about him that set him apart. An intensity in his eyes that sent tingles all the way to her toes.
Ugh. Was her coffee dosed? She didn’t do the bad boy thing. She didn’t do the boy thing period. Not that she did the girl thing, either. Dating required more of a bullshit tolerance than she possessed. Not to mention free time. Which did not exist in her world.
Every day her alarm went off at 6:45, allowing her to hit the snooze twice before she crawled out of bed. By 7:50 she had showered and chosen an outfit. Hair. Make-up. Leaving her ten minutes to get her things together and make it across the square to the coffee shop.
No later than 8:30, she planted her ass in the only window booth and spent an hour sketching designs to enter in the Emerging American Designer competition. Tomorrow was the deadline for applications. If she didn’t have her collection illustrated, matted, packaged, and postmarked, she could kiss her dream goodbye.
“I’m kind of busy right now,” she said, turning back to a sketch of an evening dress inspired by the moss that dripped from the oaks in the square.
“That’s kind of your thing, isn’t it?” he asked. “Busy. In a hurry. Running people over in your stilettos. Pushing your way to the front of the line.”
She glared at him. She did not run over people or push to the front of the line. Some might see her as a little strung out. But those people didn’t know her. “You don’t know anything about me and my…things.”
He chuckled. “But I am curious. About your things.” His lips parted to reveal flawless teeth, a flicker of a smile in the depths of his eyes.
Her stomach lost equilibrium and she got woozy for a minute—like she’d stood up too fast. Her body was a frickin’ traitor. It would be nice if it got on the same page as her brain, who understood that this guy was a worm.
“Look, I don’t come here to get hit on,” Drew said, slathering on the iciness thicker than buttercream. She turned her attention back to her sketchbook and made a fluid motion with her graphite pencil, creating long, flowing hair on the croquis.
“Oh, good. Then you won’t be disappointed when I don’t ask you out.”
Her eyes widened so much she almost burst a blood vessel. He was quick, she’d give him that. She bit the inside of her lip. Do not smile. He’s the enemy.
She picked up another pencil and then cringed at the red stroke she swept over the page. Blue! She had picked up a blue pencil. Or thought she had. The color pencil in her hand was undeniably red. Which made her think of murder. And she had the perfect victim.
Hustle Q&A
What was the inspiration for this book? Because this book developed from wanting to write a book for the best friend of the FMC in my first book, and she was a real spitfire who wouldn’t make time for romance, and kept people at arm’s length, I had to come up with a MMC that not only wouldn’t be scared off by her, but who also would intrigue her. There had to be an adventure at the heart of the story, and I wanted her to have a moment where she regretted opening her heart, so I thought what better way for her to feel betrayed than to find out he was a con artist and she’d been his mark.
What comes first for you: the title or the story? The story. The title is always so hard for me.
Speaking of titles, how did you come up with your book’s title? My original title was actually a line from the end of the book, but when I made the choice to publish as a Vella story, I wanted something catchy and succinct. I wrote down all the action verbs that I could think of that represented my story, and I settled on Hustle.
Are you a planner or a pantster? Pantser for the first chapter, plotter for the rest.
How long did it take you to write this beauty? I wrote it years ago, so I can’t remember exactly, but I think maybe three months max?
What did you learn about yourself while writing this book? It helped me find my writer’s voice. I strongly identify with the FMC, so I could go deep into her emotions and reactions.
Obviously, this book is absolutely perfect, but what would you like to improve on as a writer in general? I’d like to get better at writing MMCs who are more guarded.
What do you want people to take away from your book? Nothing too deep. There’s this vibe I get after watching a movie with super unique and vibrant characters, like Ocean’s Eleven, or Pirates of the Caribbean, and I want my readers to feel that when they read my books.
What do you love most about this book? I love how the MMC understands the FMC’s attitude is her way of protecting herself, and therefore he doesn’t take her temper personally, and gives it right back to her, which surprises and disarms her.
Lastly, what do you want to say to your potential readers? I love to hear the ways in which my stories touched people, so please never hesitate to reach out, or let me know in the Vella comments or reviews.
Mary grew up on the Chesapeake Bay surrounded by a cast of extraordinary women who inspired her and taught her there was no limit to her potential. She studied fashion design and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts, before luring the hero of her real life love story back to her sleepy little harbor town in Maryland. Living life at a slower pace, the characters that had been lurking in the depths of her imagination pushed their way to the surface. Her stories blend the ardent lives of every day folks and the unconventional troublemakers and heartbreakers who cross their paths.
Q&A With Mary Cain!
Obviously, the natural first question is to ask you what got you into writing. But my real question is: what made you decide to publish?
Big daydreamer, here. Since I can remember, I have always gotten lost in my own mind, creating stories, but I never thought about writing them down until after college when I had more time to read for pleasure. Once I’d written my first manuscript, I wanted feedback. I wanted to know if it was entertaining. That led to joining a critique group, and when I was certain it wasn’t garbage, I started shopping it out to literary agents. I had one offer to represent me, and I revised my manuscript based on her suggestions, then off it went to publishers. Unfortunately, my agent passed away shortly after my manuscript went on submission. It really derailed my plans, and I was getting a lot of requests from critique partners to do freelance developmental editing for them. I got really caught up in doing that for a few years, and learned a lot about the areas of my own writing I could improve. One day it just hit me that I needed to jump into publishing, or I was going to keep putting it off indefinitely.
Did you ever publish the first book you wrote? If yes, tell us about it. If not, tell us about it anyway!
No, I actually haven’t yet. The book I’m publishing right now in serial form on Kindle Vella is the second book I wrote, and it’s a spinoff of that first book. I do plan to share my first book, but I have plans to replot it first. It’s a contemporary romance, with a treasure hunt that pulls the FMC and MMC together. Those characters actually appear in Hustle, my Vella story, but as secondary characters.
What is your favorite part of writing?
Writing the first chapter. I am a plotter, but I let my first chapter evolve organically, and plot the rest of the book after that.
What do you want your readers to take away from your work?
I want them to have fun reading it, for it to be an escape into a world of unique characters and circumstances.
If you could give any piece of advice to aspiring authors/writers, what would it be?
Read other writer’s manuscripts and learn how to give good feedback. It will help you improve your own writing.
What does your writing set-up look like?
Oof. I guess I don’t really have one because I write wherever I can. Sometimes, that’s my couch. Other times, it’s on the sidelines of my son’s wrestling practice.
Lastly, give us some of that good ol’ shameless self-promo. What can we expect to see from you in the future?
I plan to keep writing Vellas in the same series as Hustle, and I also have a contemporary romance series that is set in a fiction town on the Chesapeake Bay.
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Ivy Whitaker 