Excerpt from GUARDING HER HEART by: Negeen Papehn I’m yawning and rubbing my eyes as I head into the empty gym. The silence that meets me is a welcome sound. I’m not a morning person, and I prefer to push my limbs to their limit without anyone around to watch me. I throw my ear pods in and crank up the volume so it’s loud enough that I couldn’t think even if I wanted to. I lean over the treadmill, taking a second to stretch before I start the machine. It takes a few minutes until I’ve raised the speed high enough that the pounding of my feet against the belt is in perfect time to the music. I’m so lost in my sprinting that I almost trip when Travis’s unhappy face appears beside me. “Shit!” I stumble, my hand slamming on the red emergency button, slowing my treadmill to a stop. “You scared the crap out of me.” “Sorry,” he grunts. His face is twisted with frustration. “What are you doing here?” His question sounds more like an accusation. “Working out,” I answer, raising a brow. “Forget something?” He taps his foot, and the sound fills the gym….
Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Negeen! We are so happy to have you here today. Please tell us about yourself and your new book, SET TO MUSIC. Hi everyone! Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here. A little bit about me…I’m a born and raised Cali girl so I have no clue what real seasons are. I’m a wife and a mother of two rapidly growing boys, one who’s about to go into high school, and honestly, I have no idea how that even happened. I’m an Iranian daughter. If you haven’t read my books yet, you’ll understand what that means when you do. And I’m a dentist by day. I know, totally makes no sense alongside a romance writer, but hey, I like to be different. There’s just something about a rock star romance! What drew you to writing about this fun romance trope? I mean, rock stars, what’s not to love? But truth be told, Anthony was created out of my unhealthy obsession with Nicky Jam. I’m thoroughly obsessed with his music, even though I can only really understand half of what he’s singing. My Spanish can carry me in a conversation, but it’s no match…