Wager of Hearts Series

Love or money?

When three billionaires—a powerful CEO, a celebrity quarterback, and a bestselling novelist—find themselves drinking together one night, they realize they have much in common: modest backgrounds, dazzling wealth, and a lack of real love in their lives. Tired of being pursued for their money and power, the billionaires make a high-stakes wager. To win, they must find women who love them for the men they are, not their market portfolios. Follow three wealthy, jaded bachelors—and the strong, savvy women who just might change their lives—in my sophisticated and sexy Wager of Hearts series, set in the bright lights of New York City.

Fun facts about the Wager of Hearts series

• Trainor, Archer, Miller: all their names end in an –er sound because I wanted to signal immediately to the reader that these men are doers. They pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps through hard work and their own talents, not by riding on another person’s coattails. My heroes labored long and hard to achieve their success and now they deserve the reward of authentic love.

• The name of the exclusive club where my three heroes meet is the Bellwether Club. My editor and I went through dozens of possible names for the venue before we hit on the perfect one. Bellwether’s literal meaning is a male sheep that leads the rest of the flock, usually wearing a bell around his neck. However, a bellwether has come to mean a strong person who leads others and also an indicator of future developments or trends. My heroes are all leaders and innovators in their fields so the term fit them well.

• The first two books have the same meeting scene in the bar of the Bellwether Club as their prologue. The action and dialogue remain identical in both, but the point-of-view changes to the hero of each book. It was a fascinating writing challenge to retell the scene with completely different internalizations each time. The same words can have widely varied interpretations. One character notices body language another doesn’t. And of course, I can always end the scene in a slightly different place. That’s a handy little writer’s trick.

• The founder and owner of the Bellwether Club is Frankie Hogan. A self-made billionaire herself, she created her club when no other clubs would allow her to join. Now membership in the Bellwether Club is highly sought after amongst the rich and powerful. I wanted to give such a woman a worthy name so the folks at Kindle Love Stories ran a contest for me: nominate a real person in your life whom you admire. Frankie is named after one reader’s grandmother. When the reader was twelve, her 71-year-old grandma took custody of her and raised her. Now that’s making a difference in someone’s life!
• Did you know that Luke Archer was originally a hockey goalie, whose career was loosely based on Martin Brodeur’s? I love hockey, and I’m a New Jersey Devils fan, so I really wanted to write about Marty’s brilliance between the pipes. However, my agent was a competitive figure skater in her youth and had to share the practice ice with hockey players. She informed me that there is nothing romantic about hockey players and strongly recommended that I choose a different sport for Luke to excel in. Since I always listen to my agent, Luke became a legendary quarterback. Honestly, I liked the change because I am a huge fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars series, so this seemed like a fitting tribute.