Tempted By A Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Sandy

Tempted By A Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Tempted by a Rogue Prince
Eternal Mates #3
by Felicity Heaton
Genre: adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance
Release Date: August 9, 2014

Tempted by a Rogue Prince

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release date August 9, 2014

An elf prince on the verge of losing himself to the darkness, Vail is maddened by the forty-two centuries he was under the control of a witch and forced to war with his brother. Now, he roams Hell seeking an escape from his terrible past and the heads of all who bear magic. When demons of the Fifth Realm capture him, he sees a chance to end his existence, but when he wakes in a cell to a beautiful female, he finds not death but his only shot at salvation—his true fated mate.

Captured by the enemy of the Third Realm when the war ended, Rosalind has spent months in the cells of the Fifth Realm with her magic bound, forced to heal the new king’s demon warriors, and haunted by the lives she has taken. When she’s brought to heal an unconscious man, she discovers her only hope of escape has come in the form of her worst nightmare and the first part of a prediction that might spell her doom—a devastatingly handsome and dangerous dark elf prince.

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: TEMPTED BY A ROGUE PRINCE is the third instalment in Felicity Heaton’s Eternal Mates paranormal romance series. This is demonic elf prince Vail and light witch Rosalind’s storyline.

Vail had been held captive and controlled by a dark witch for over four thousand years and the atrocities he has committed have left a black mark so dark upon his soul that he prayed for death. Imprisoned by the new king of the Fifth Realm, Vail fights against the torture and pain only to be healed by a woman he feels the need to both soothe and destroy. With each encounter Rosalind and Vail’s connection to one another grows stronger but it is Vail’s emotional turmoil about the past that both frightens and attracts Rosalind like a moth to a flame.

TEMPTED BY A ROGUE PRINCE follows the imprisonment, torture and eventual escape of three people whose lives have crossed paths once before. Rosalind is Vail’s fated mate but she is also a reminder of the woman who destroyed Vail’s humanity and his ability to distinguish between right and wrong. It is a story that is graphically violent and emotionally heartbreaking. Vail has been betrayed time and again, and the memories of the people whose lives he has destroyed will be carried with him for all times.

A good portion of the storyline is told through the internal dialogue of each of our leading characters. Vail is torn between wanting to kill Rosalind and protecting her from harm while Rosalind hopes to heal the mind of a man whose belief in himself has been damaged beyond repair. The nature of these thoughts was slightly repetitive reminding the reader about the hell that our characters had endured.

Felicity Heaton’s storylines are imaginative, passionate, heartbreaking and intense. TEMPTED BY A ROGUE PRINCE is a little darker with its graphic imagery of one man’s suffering and slide into hell. Vail and Rosalind’s escape will force them to depend on one another for survival but also force them to take a deeper look within their heart and soul.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

Excerpt

Rosalind kept some distance between them as she rounded the slab, her gaze fixed on him the whole time, monitoring him for a sign he might attack her. He began writhing again, fitful jerking movements that rattled the chains that held him pinned to the slab with his arms above his head, stretched out like a piece of meat on a butcher’s block.

Bastard demons.

The male snarled low in his throat, as if he knew her thoughts and seconded them. He looked so savage coated in dried blood and dirt, and felt more dangerous than ever. She flicked a glance at the bent steel bar and the grooves in the solid stone. More dangerous than she had thought possible.

Rosalind kneeled beside him on the stone flags.

He snarled again, his eyes rolling back in his head as he sniffed, inhaling deeply. He rocked his hips and her cheeks heated. He was growing hard in his wrecked black trousers. She averted her eyes, pretending she hadn’t noticed, and diligently kept her eyes away from that area of his anatomy, not wanting to ponder why he had reacted in such a way to her scent.

She reached out to touch his bloodstained hands. He growled and grew more restless, twisting on the stone slab and pulling at his restraints.

“Shh,” she whispered, unsure whether he could hear her and whether speaking to him was wise when he was in this condition.

Would her presence and the sound of her voice make him better, or worse?

He hated witches. He had looked at her with murder in his eyes.

She couldn’t leave him though or let him continue to suffer, and it wasn’t because she was a captive in this cell with him or the orders the demon had given her. The sight of him suffering, lost in whatever strange place had hold of him, caused an ache in her chest that compelled her to help him.

“I won’t hurt you. I swear it.” She reached out to touch his hands and he hissed at her, flashing fangs. She barely dodged his attack, falling backwards as he launched his head forwards, his teeth clacking as they struck each other and not her flesh.

He grew wild, bucking off the slab and yanking on the manacles that bound his wrists. She wanted to reach for him but instinct held her back, warned her to let him wear himself out. He had tried to bite her. Mother earth. She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at him, her heart developing a new ache. What dark power gripped him that he would attack her when she was only trying to help him?

He began to settle again, his movements becoming less frantic, weaker as his strength faded.

“I will not hurt you. I know you can hear me. I am only going to heal you.” Rosalind moved back to her knees beside him and swallowed hard.

He slumped onto the bench, the tangled threads of his black hair sticking to the sweat on his brow.

He looked fragile, but she wasn’t going to let that deceive her. This man was deranged.

What sort of male could have not only moved with her healing spell ricocheting through his body and all the injuries that had remained, but managed to find the strength to bend thick steel bars and rake deep grooves into solid stone with only his nails?

Not a sane one.

Many of the dungeon’s residents had been here long enough to have gone mad and were normally noisy at night, but last night they had been silent while this man had raged.

They had feared he would escape. The guards had feared too, exchanging meaningful glances as they punished her.

She had feared too.

This male had come here insane.

What was he?

She had thought vampire before, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Rosalind reached slowly towards him. His lips were bloodstained too, a dark spot of it gathered by the corner of his hard mouth. Had he tried to bite the bars, or had the guards struck him to subdue him?

His eyes flicked open and locked on her.

She tensed, her heart pounding, fear pressing her to withdraw her hand before he attacked her. She kept it hovering in the air between them, refusing to let him bully her into shrinking away from him.

“Hello again,” she whispered, keeping still and giving him time to adjust to her presence. He continued to stare at her, deep into her eyes, his blue-grey ones flat and dull. Lifeless. “They brought me to heal you. It seems you, um, hurt yourself.”

He exhaled softly and blinked. A good sign? Mother earth, she hoped so.

She hadn’t expected him to remain calm on hearing her voice. She had expected another replay of him attempting to break free of his bonds, most likely so he could kill her.

“I need to touch you to heal you.”

No response.

During her time alone in her cell after her punishment, she had mulled over their entire first encounter, and had concluded that he hated anyone touching him. She had been entertaining theories about it all day. It wasn’t because she was a witch. He hadn’t known that at the time.

“Can I touch you?” She wasn’t willing to risk her limbs by attempting to do such a thing without his consent.

He clenched his fists and gave a curt nod.

Rosalind took it as a green light, noting that he had steeled himself, mentally preparing for her touch.

She shuffled closer, biting down on her tongue when her ribs protested and each mark on her back burned beneath her black dress.

“Harmed you?” he croaked, his voice gravelly and deep. His eyes searched hers. “Heard you… cry. You hurt?”

The stilted manner of his speech spoke to her of the incredible pain he endured, agony that she could see in his eyes, yet he was asking about her instead.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, stifling the memories of her punishment, and forced a shrug. “No worse than usual.”

“Usual?” Black eyebrows dipped low, narrowing eyes rapidly gaining a dark edge and obsidian blotches amidst the stormy blue-grey of his irises. What was he? “Beat… often?”

He grated the words out from between clenched teeth and she saw his fangs were down. Maybe he was a vampire, or another form of fae. There were many in the world and a lot of them could take on a human appearance.

“It no longer bothers me.” She plastered on a false smile, one she hoped would stop him from asking about it. “But… they do it often.”

He growled so low that she only felt it as a rumble through her chest and then strained against his manacles, becoming so agitated that she feared he would hurt himself again. His face screwed up, his enormous fangs on display, and he threw his head back and roared as he arched off the dark stone slab.

“You need to calm down.” Rosalind reached for him.

She froze when his eyes snapped open.

Purple.

Her breathing accelerated.

She shook her head.

He couldn’t be.

He stared at her, vivid purple eyes flashing wildly as his lips peeled away from his fangs again. Fangs. Purple. Mother earth, she was going to hyperventilate.

His overlong black hair parted to reveal the pointed tips of his ears and she almost passed out.

Elf.

Rosalind shot backwards away from him. Pain erupted in her side, searing her ribs and stealing her breath together with him. Not a damn elf. He couldn’t be a bloody elf.

She shook her head and huddled into the corner, holding her knees and staring at him as he wrestled with his manacles.

Anything but an elf. Why couldn’t he be anything but an elf?

She went back seventy years, to a magical summer’s day when she had been having tea in the garden with her grandmother. It had all been so peaceful and perfect. Endless blue skies. Flowers in full bloom. Butterflies and bees going about their business. A perfect moment.

Until her grandmother had turned sombre, staring at her in silence and worrying her. Rosalind had asked her what was wrong and her grandmother had looked right into her eyes with ones that swirled like a silver storm and had spoken words that had changed her forever.

In Rosalind’s future would be an elven prince, and after meeting him, she would die.

Interview

TRC: Hi Felicity and welcome back to The Reading Café. Congratulations on a successful 2014. We have a few questions that will hopefully catch us up with what’s happening in your world of writing.

TRC: TEMPTED BY A ROGUE PRINCE is the latest and third release in your Eternal Mates paranormal romance series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Felicity: Tempted by a Rogue Prince is the third book in my Eternal Mates series and follows on from the second book in the series, Claimed by a Demon King. We are still in Hell, but this time we are following Vail, an elf prince who is wandering through the demon realms, maddened by the things that have happened to him and searching for an escape from it. Vail ends up captured by the warriors of the Fifth Realm, and dragged unconscious into the cells where he meets his destiny in the form of a beautiful female born of the same species as the woman who held him spellbound and tormented him for over four thousand years.

Rosalind took part in the war between the Third Realm and the Fifth Realm, fighting on the side of the third. During the war, she was captured by the Fifth Realm, and has been held in the cells of the castle ever since, forced to heal anyone that the demon king commands her to heal, including a handsome unconscious male in one of the cells. When Rosalind realises that he’s not only an elf but an elf prince, and that the prediction she was given by her grandmother might be about to come true, a prediction she’s tried to avoid triggering, she isn’t sure what to do but one thing is for certain—she needs his help to escape the demons.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Eternal Mates series
Click HERE for our review of KISSED BY A DARK PRINCE
Click HERE for our review of CLAIMED BY A DEMON KING

Felicity: At the moment, I have plans to write another seven novels for the series and some novellas. The deeper I delve into this world, the more characters come to me with stories I really want to tell. I want to keep exploring this world non-stop, but unfortunately other series demand my attention and I have to keep stepping away from it to play in those worlds instead.

TRC: What or who was the inspiration behind the Eternal Mates series? Was there a moment that you knew you had an entire new series ready for pen and paper?

Vampire Erotic Theatre

Felicity: The inspiration behind the series was really my other series, Vampire Erotic Theatre, and not only my readers’ fantastic responses to that series but the world I was playing in there. It’s actually the same world as the Eternal Mates series. I had built up a place filled with vampires, werewolves, and other paranormal creatures I hadn’t played with before, like fae. The Vampire Erotic Theatre series was slated to end at book 6, once every hero at the theatre had had his story told, but I didn’t want to step away from that world. I wasn’t ready yet. I wanted to delve deeper into it and I also wanted to bring dark elves into the world of paranormal romance. There was a distinct absence of elves in the PNR world when I was working on the series and when I released the first book. Desire to continue exploring the Vampire Erotic Theatre world and to write elves as paranormal romance heroes… that’s how the Eternal Mates series was born.

TRC: When last we spoke (October 2013) you had just released HER WICKED ANGEL and had revealed that NEVAR’s storyline is next. Would you please tell us something about the premise of HER AVENGING ANGEL (Her Angel #7) set to release in October 2014?

Felicity: It’s really hard to actually say much about Her Avenging Angel without giving away events that happen in Her Wicked Angel. I hate spoilers, so I don’t want to ruin that book for any who haven’t read it. All I can really say is Nevar is still a very bad, very dark and somewhat broken angel, as we’ve seen him in the Interludes series of short flash fiction pieces I’ve been writing for him (they’re available on my website) charting his life between the end of Her Demonic Angel and the start of Her Wicked Angel in the Her Angel series. In Her Avenging Angel, he’s struggling to overcome that darkness and the evil within him, and on top of that he might just be the one angel who can save the world from destruction. Our fate rests in his hands, and needless to say a few of the characters in the series are a little worried about that!

In Her Avenging Angel, we’ll bring the whole gang back together, and meet some new angels who will be the focus of the next big story arc in the series, which will be the Angels of the Apocalypse series set in the Her Angel series world.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Felicity: I’m editing Her Avenging Angel right now, and then I will be writing the first draft of Hunted by a Jaguar, which is the fourth book in the Eternal Mates series. One of the series bachelors, Kyter, is about to find himself in hot pursuit of his mate. Once I have the first draft of that book wrapped up, I’ll be working on the second draft of the first Guardians of Hades story, Ares, for release next year.

TRC: What’s in store for the remainder of 2014?

Felicity: At the moment, I have only one more planned release for 2014, which is Her Avenging Angel, but it might change. My schedule after October is pretty crazy, so I didn’t want to slate any releases for that period, and wanted to focus on getting Hunted by a Jaguar out in January.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Felicity: Thanks for reading this interview! If you’re a reader of mine, I hope you’ve been enjoying my books and playing in my worlds, and that you’ll continue to read the stories I write.

If you’re new to me, then be sure to pick up the first books in some of my series, which are free in ebook. You can find them by searching Felicity Heaton at your favourite online ebook retailer like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo or Google Play.

TRC: Thank you Felicity for taking the time to update your readers . We wish you all the best.

Follow Felicity:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk
Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

Tempted by a Rogue Prince, the third book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot new paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website.

Find out how to enter the Tempted by a Rogue Prince international giveaway (ends August 24th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 6 chapter sample of the novel: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/tempted-by-a-rogue-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php

Felicity is hosting a Facebook release party for Tempted by a Rogue Prince on August 17th, so join her then for amazing giveaways, Q&A, teasers and more. All the details at: https://www.facebook.com/events/532238736898993/

giveaway

Felicity is happy to offer an ecopy of KISSED BY A DARK PRINCE or CLAIMED BY A DEMON KING (Winner’s choice) to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Facebook, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. LIKE Felicity Heaton on Facebook

6. LIKE Felicity Heaton on TWITTER

7. Sign up for Felicity Heaton’s NEWSLETTER

8. Giveaway open Internationally

9. Giveaway runs from August 18 to August 22, 2014

One Night: Promised (One Night Trilogy #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas-Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Sandy

One Night: Promised (One Night Trilogy #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas-Review and Interview with the Author

One Night Promised

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 5,2014

Livy notices him the moment he walks into the coffee shop. He’s heart-stoppingly stunning, with a blue-eyed gaze so piercing she’s almost too distracted to take his order. When he walks out the door, she thinks she’ll never see him again. Then she finds the note he left on his napkin . . . signed M.

All he wants is one night to worship her. No feelings, no commitment, nothing but pleasure. Every defense mechanism Livy has adopted during her solitary life is at risk of being obliterated by this confounding man. He’s obnoxious but well-mannered. He’s a gentleman but aloof. He’s passionate but emotionless. Yet the fascination is so powerful, Livy can’t deny him… or herself.

M awakens something in Livy, something deep and addictive that she never knew existed — and that she fears only he can satisfy. But she senses that behind the fast cars, fancy suits, and posh apartment, he’s aching inside. To have him, body and soul, she’ll have to brave his dark secrets. Delving into his world and breaking down his defenses become her obsession – an obsession that could shatter her heart beyond repair..

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: ONE NIGHT: PROMISED is the first instalment in in Jodi Ellen Malpas adult, contemporary One Night Trilogy erotic romance series focusing on Livy and M-a couple of broken birds whose past and present haunts their daily lives. This is a story where M wants twenty four hours with Livy-no strings, no commitments, no promises for the future. What ensues is a tumble down the rabbit hole for two people whose lives are more similar than not.

The focus of the storyline is the building relationship between Livy and the man she knows only as M-one based on a mutual need and desire but one that also has an expiry date of twenty four hours. M is a man whose obsession with Livy hides a dark secret-one that he isn’t willing to reveal. His personal and private life shall never meet and in this Livy is lost and confused when M wants to know everything about her life but refuses to reveal anything about his own.

The relationship is one of mutual attraction, sensuality and need. M is a man who knows what he wants and he wants Livy for his very own. M is a man with many secrets and issues-issues that become all too clear to Livy with each and every encounter.

Livy is a twenty four year old woman with a past mired in betrayal, regret and abandonment. Seven years earlier Livy’s life took an unexpected turn when she went on the hunt for information about her past. Today, Livy’s past is about to collide with her present and there isn’t anything she can to stop the collision. She is a woman who is quick to run when she perceives betrayal and pain, but in this she is also one to confront some of the issues head on when M keeps Livy in the dark about what has been happening in his world. When Livy goes looking for answers, what she finds will not only shatter her faith in M but shatter her heart as well.

ONE NIGHT: PROMISED is a sensual, seductive and intense storyline about two people who are perfect for one another. They balance one another’s needs and wants but what one wants isn’t necessarily what one needs. Jodi Ellen Malpas pulls the reader into a startling storyline where once secrets are revealed the drama that unfolds will leave you breathless and crying for more.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview

TRC: Hi Jodi and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of ONE NIGHT: PROMISED and the new ONE NIGHT series.

Jodi Ellen Malpas JODI: Thank you!

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Follow Jodi: Goodreads / Website / Twitter / Facebook

JODI: In a nutshell, I’m 34, a mother of two boys and I love losing myself in fiction, mainly my own.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

JODI: Honestly? Me. I wanted to write a story that pleased me 100%. It wasn’t that the story was perfect, it was that I could take things in whatever direction I wanted and pump in every emotion to the point I lived it in my head. The fact that it pleased God knows how many other women was a huge bonus, obviously!

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of your contemporary, adult ONE NIGHT: PROMISED trilogy?

One Night Promised JODI: One Night follows the love story of Olivia and M. Unlike This Man, both of the main characters have a tainted history. It’s also a little darker than this man, and far more action-packed. After writing about my beloved lord, I wanted to capture my readers imagination with an entirely different set of characters. The idea of One Night and the characters of Livy and M snowballed for me. The tagline of PROMISED kind of says it all… One Night Will Never Be Enough.

TRC: Who or what was the inspiration behind the new series?

JODI: My inspiration is always fierce love – the kind that sends you dizzy and makes you lose all reason. I’m also a sucker when it comes to alpha men. Go figure! Now I also have an army of ladies who love my stories as much as me, so I have to add that their enthusiasm now inspires me too.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background) did you encounter writing this particular series?

JODI: My biggest challenge was getting over my worry to please my readers. I know how much Jesse is loved and I know people will compare him and M. They are so different, and I meant them to be. I’d be silly to try and recreate The Lord. There’s only one Jesse and it should stay that way. M, on the other hand, brings a new dimension to the term “alpha male”.

One Night Denied TRC: ONE NIGHT: DENIED is the second instalment set for release in November 2014. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

JODI: PROMISED is focused mainly on Olivia and her history. When we move into DENIED, we know a lot about Livy, and not so much about M – except one very important thing. DENIED is mainly centred around M and his story, plus their growing but turbulent relationship.

TRC: Do you think the revelation of M’s business profession will come as a shock to most readers?

JODI: I think the signs are there and I intended them to be. Some have been utterly shocked, others have said they suspected early in the book. That particular revelation wasn’t meant to be a huge bombshell, though I’m glad some have been truly stunned by it. The way the exposure is approached by both Livy and M is more of a shock.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the characters of Livy and M which actors or models would best represent your ideal image?

JODI: HA! As with This Man, I’ll never disclose my muses. I think it’s important for my readers to build up their own perfect fit. I don’t want to spoil their imagination with my ideal image, just in case it isn’t theirs.

TRC: The final instalment in your popular THIS MAN trilogy was released in July 2013. Have you considered releasing a novella or short story to catch the readers up to date on Ava and Jesse’s life?

This Man Series

JODI: No, I haven’t. I don’t think I could write a short story!

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

JODI: A bit of both. For the most part, I direct the characters and storyline, but when you’ve developed characters and fleshed them out, as silly as it sounds, they have personalities. There are often times when I sit and wonder how a character would react to the situation I’ve put them in, in which case, they direct me.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

JODI: Your first sentence: I’ve always said this! This is why I don’t think I can write a short story. I need room to develop the characters, let my readers get to know them. That’s when I believe you get that connection between you readers and your characters, and a true investment from your readers in the fictional world you’ve created. I’m in no position to give my take on why some writers fail to do this. Every writer captures someone’s imagination – just some more than others.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

JODI: I walk away from the laptop, usually after blankly staring at it for a while. It could drive you insane if you let it. I return the next day and generally find I can roll again.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

JODI: No one. I don’t think I’d have any friends if I blasted them with the stuff that flies around in my head! I always finish a book before I let anyone take a peek – usually my friend Kate. Then, of course, my agent.

TRC: What three things would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

JODI: I feel like I’ve achieved so much already in my short career. As long as I continue to consume my readers, I’ll be happy ☺

TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?

JODI: If they don’t know, there’s a reason 😉

TRC: On what are you currently working?

JODI: I’m taking a short break after what’s been a really intense writing and editing schedule. I’m not sure how long I’ll force myself to stay away from the laptop. Probably not long at all! I have a few ideas racing around and I’m itching to dive in.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

JODI: Only how grateful I am to all of my ladies for their continued love and support. #mushy!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favourite TV Show – Sons of Anarchy

Last Movie You Saw – Dallas Buyers Club

Favourite Musical Group – Too many!

Dark or Milk Chocolate – Dark! And it has to be Green and Blacks 😉

Secret Celebrity Crush – Which one?!

Last Vacation Destination – Like a proper vacation? Madeira, and that was too long ago!

Do you have any pets? A Beagle. Prince Loui – or Lucifer when he’s being a nuisance

Pet Peeve – Bad Manners

TRC: Thank you Jodi for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the new release and the new series.

JODI: Thank you, Sandy ☺

About The author

In October 2012, Jodi Ellen Malpas burst onto the e-publishing scene with her first novel, This Man. The erotic story of Ava O’Shea, a young interior designer, and Jesse Ward, the handsome playboy who knows no boundaries was a hit with readers and industry tastemakers alike. It quickly began its climb up the bestseller lists as fans urged their friends to read it. Malpas continued Ava and Jesse’s bestselling story with Beneath This Man and signed on with Forever/Grand Central Publishing to publish the third installment, This Man Confessed. In July 2013, This Man Confessed debuted solidly in the #1 spot on The New York Times E-Book Bestsellers List.

Now, with ONE NIGHT: PROMISED (Forever; August 5, 2014; $7.99/$15) Malpas is set to launch her second erotic romance trilogy—available in both e-book and trade paperback formats—that is sure to leave readers breathless for book two.

ONE NIGHT: PROMISED centers on Livy, a waitress who lives a rather quiet and solitary life. But all that is about to change. Livy notices him the moment he walks into the coffee shop where she works. He’s heart-stoppingly stunning, with a blue-eyed gaze so piercing she’s almost too distracted to take his order. When he leaves, she thinks she’ll never see him again. Then she finds the note he left on his napkin . . . signed M. All he wants is one night to worship her. No commitment, no strings, nothing but pleasure. Every defense mechanism Livy has adopted during her solitary life is at risk of being obliterated. The fascination is so powerful; Livy can’t deny him . . . or herself. Delving into his world becomes her obsession—one that could shatter her heart beyond repair.

Set in London, ONE NIGHT: PROMISED has all the elements that Malpas’s fans love about her novels: a relatable heroine, a mysterious and complicated hero, and of course steamy passion. Readers won’t have long to wait for the rest of Livy and M’s store either. The second book, One Night: Denied is scheduled for November 2014 and the final installment will out in early 2015.

The Containment Zone by Danielle Singleton-Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Sandy

The Containment Zone by Danielle Singleton-Review and Interview with the Author

The Containment Zone

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 29, 2014

When a disease pandemic sweeps the nation, people in the United States start dying in unprecedented numbers. As the mysterious illness spreads like wildfire, killing nearly 90% of the population, leaders in the region and around the world scramble to figure out how to respond. In a highly controversial move, the borders of the United States are closed and no one is allowed to enter or exit the country. What happens next – inside and outside the “containment zone” – tests the bounds of both medical science and human nature. In this compelling novel, author Danielle Singleton raises the questions people are too afraid to ask – and then answers them in thrilling fashion.

••••••••••••••••••

The Containment Zone is not my usual read, but I found it quite entertaining. It’s basically an apocalyptic type story, without romance, more science and adventure.

The premise is a really scary but good one; a disease that ravages the USA in a matter of weeks killing 90% of the population. How’s that for tingling excitement! It almost feels like you could watch this story on a TV or movie screen. There’s a lot of science in it and global politics.

One of the storylines in this was those who eschewed the MMR vaccine for themselves and their children, like the Amish, and some other religions, and yes, even good ole “hippy” types; they were the only ones to survive the disease, except those out of the country at the time. I also appreciated the way many characters brought God into the storyline of this one.

It was interesting to see the politics evolve as the USA was used as the “Containment Zone” and the entire country was quarantined, a truly massive effort – but well written.

I don’t want to do spoilers on how this was resolved, but it involved a global effort to isolate and find the cause of the disease as well as a vaccine to keep it from spreading…ironic yes, since it was the MMR vaccine that caused the mutated disease to kill so many. It’s a very thought provoking story in many ways. Lots of hard decisions on the part of the world leaders and local survivors.

Much of the story is dedicated, and well done, to how quickly the disease spread. Also, the way governments cooperated to blockage the USA, our own overseas troops and equipment used to help do this. All coordinated by NATO, whose military head was one of our generals (a wonderful man).

A whole town of heroes in Shining Light, Texas survived and gave their all for their country!

As I said earlier, reading this I could easily see it as a TV movie or series…hmmmm.

I would have loved to have more development and time with some of the characters, but with an event this quick and deadly…
So, if this kind of excitement and interesting thriller is your thing, pick this up and have yourself a really good read!

Copy supplied by author for an honest review.

Reviewed by Georgianna

Interview

TRC: Hi Danielle and welcome to The Reading Cafe.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Follow Danielle: Goodreads/ Twitter//Website/Facebook

Danielle Singleton Danielle: Something about myself…hmm. Well, I live in Atlanta with a fantastic “roommate” (my dog, Gus). I’m also only about 30 minutes away from where my parents, sister, and nephew live, and it’s really nice to have my family nearby. Family is very important to me.

TRC: You are a lawyer by trade and education. Have you ever had the opportunity to apply your education and background to any of your storylines?

Danielle: I haven’t written any legal thrillers or anything like that, but I definitely think my education has helped with my writing. Law school taught me a lot about how to write and convey a story to the audience, and it also taught me the importance of research. I spend a lot of time researching for my books to make sure they’re as realistic as possible.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Danielle: I’ve always liked telling stories, but I’d say that two of my childhood teachers most influenced my career in writing. I was really lucky to have those 2 great English teachers while in school, and they taught me not only how to write but also how to appreciate and apply the intricacies of literature to my own stories.

TRC: When not writing, what do you like to do to relax?

Danielle: I go running with my dog on most days and I also really like to watch and play sports. During the summer, my free time is often spent at the lake.

TRC: THE CONTAINMENT ZONE is your April 2014 release. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Danielle: Sure. The Containment Zone is a thriller that fits into the apocalyptic fiction category. An epidemic sweeps the United States and kills so many people that the United Nations closes the US borders. The book centers on what happens after the border is closed…how people inside and outside the “containment zone” react to the crisis.

TRC: Where did the idea for a pandemic storyline originate?

Danielle: I wanted to write a story about government overreach, originally. Something about how a government mandate went wrong. My imagination kicked into gear from there and I ended up with a vaccine program wreaking havoc. I know…it’s a bit of a strange way to arrive at a pandemic storyline!

TRC: Are any of the characters or the premise based in reality or a combination of reality and fiction?

Danielle: The character of the British prime minister has a lot of Margaret Thatcher in her (not very creative there!). None of the other characters are based in reality, though, and the premise isn’t either. I do often make the characters have the same names as people I know, but I use their names randomly.

TRC: What do you want your readers to take away from this particular book?

Danielle: That it’s a great book and everyone should read it! Haha. Just kidding (well, sort of…). In all seriousness, I hope readers take away two things. One: that life is precious and can be taken away at any moment, so they should live with no regrets and never take tomorrow for granted. Two: so-called “ordinary” people can do extraordinary things – never underestimate the difference one person can make.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background, medical) did you encounter writing this particular story?

Danielle: The Containment Zone has a very broad scope. It’s about a pandemic that threatens the globe, and I struggled to adequately convey the magnitude of the situation while keeping the plot and characters compact enough that it wouldn’t be confusing for readers. That was definitely my biggest struggle. I was lucky to have some family and friends with professional expertise in medicine and the military who I could go to with any research questions.

TRC: What are your thoughts on writing a series and ending an instalment with a major cliff hanger?

Danielle: I think cliff hangers can be good as long as they’re done well. I don’t like it when you can tell that the story was better suited to be one book and the author chops it in half just to have two books rather than one. I wrote a series, the Joseph series, that has a surprise at the end of the first book (not a cliff hanger, though). But I think readers in general like series because they can get to know the characters better.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Danielle: A little bit of both, I think. I have a firm, detailed outline of what I want the story to be, but within that the characters will often develop in ways and do things that surprise me.

Danielle: Conveying the emotions of the characters is definitely one of the hardest parts of writing fiction. I think a writer has to start by developing the characters enough that readers feel like they know them…so that, in the mind of the reader, Josiah Jones or Lucy Rodgers or whoever it may be is less of a character and more of a person. It’s also important to develop the world that the characters live in. What does the room look like? Smell like? What does the food taste like? How is the weather? The readers need to be able to put themselves into the story, and they can’t do that if they don’t know what that story’s world is like. I think writers fail by focusing too much on plot and not enough on characters and setting, leaving the characters too one-dimensional for the readers to be able to relate to them.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

Danielle: Like I mentioned earlier, I have a solid outline that I build out, but within that I don’t write in any particular order. So if I get blocked in one area of the story then I can bounce over to another area and work on that. If I’m really, really stuck on any given day, then I’ll work on character development or research or something that I know I can always
use more of but that doesn’t require too much creativity.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Danielle: My mom is probably my main sounding board while I’m still putting the story together. In the editing stage, though, I have a Reading Committee of about 5-6 people who help me with not only grammar but also research and things like character and plot consistency.

TRC: What three things would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

Danielle: In relation to my writing career, I’d like to:

(1) publish at least 3 more books

(2) have my first bestseller

(3) get to a point where I can focus solely on writing and not have a “day
job.”

TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?

Danielle: I’m ambidextrous.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Danielle: I’m working on my 5th book, which is a paranormal fiction story.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Danielle: Thank you so much for having me for an interview! I love getting to interact with readers this way!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – pizza

Favorite Dessert – ice cream

Favorite TV Show – Downton Abbey

Last Movie You Saw – “Skyfall” (James Bond)

Favorite Musical Group/Song – George Strait…he has too many great songs
to pick just one favorite!

Dark or Milk Chocolate – I’m allergic to chocolate.

Secret Celebrity Crush – Bradley Cooper (we both went to Georgetown!)

Last Vacation Destination – Charleston, SC

Pet Peeve – people who use poor grammar

TRC: Thank you Danielle for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of THE CONTAINMENT ZONE. We wish you continued success and look forward to many more storylines.

Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper-Review, Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Sandy

Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper-Review, Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Better Homes and Hauntings

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

RELEASE DATE: June 24, 2014

When Nina Linden is hired to landscape a private island off the New England coast, she sees it as her chance to rebuild her failing business after being cheated by her unscrupulous ex. She never expects that her new client, software mogul Deacon Whitney, would see more in her than just a talented gardener. Deacon has paid top dollar to the crews he’s hired to renovate the desolate Whitney estate—he had to, because the bumps, thumps, and unexplained sightings of ghostly figures in nineteenth-century dress are driving workers away faster than he can say “Boo.”

But Nina shows no signs of being scared away, even as she experiences some unnerving apparitions herself. And as the two of them work closely together to restore the mansion’s faded glory, Deacon realizes that he’s found someone who doesn’t seem to like his fortune more than himself—while Nina may have finally found the one man she can trust with her bruised and battered heart.

But something on the island doesn’t believe in true love…and if Nina and Deacon can’t figure out how to put these angry spirits to rest, their own love doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance.

••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS is a stand alone, paranormal romance storyline from the amazing mind of Molly Harper. A ghost story with humor, sarcasm, friendship, love and a HEA, our intrepid crew have been hired to update and renovate the nineteenth century Whitney family owned mansion-known as Crane’s Nest- on a private island near the New England Coast.

Better Homes and Hauntings follows landscaper Nina Linden, billionaire Deacon Whitney, organizer Cindy Ellis, architect Jake Rumson and Deacon’s cousin Dotty Whitney as they forage through old diaries looking for clues to the death of Catherine Whitney-the original wife of Gerald Whitney –presumably murdered by the man that she loved. The stories surrounding the ghostly spirits that haunt the old mansion come to life as each of our characters will fall victim to memories of the past.

The storyline focuses on the building relationship between Deacon and Nina-a relationship that is plagued by nightmares, ghostly apparitions and someone else’s memories. We follow organizer and cleaner Cindy as she toys with the affections of Deacon’s best friend and architect Jake-a man who doesn’t recall the first time he met the vivacious Cindy Ellis; and the eccentric Dotty Whitney-a woman who is determined to write a biography of Gerald and Catherine Whitney-the original inhabitants and owners of Crane’s Nest whose reputation and deaths have followed the Whitney family legacy to the present day.

Molly Harper pulls the reader into a storyline of ghostly hauntings, angry spirits, mystery, possession and missing family heirlooms. As the ensemble cast of friends begins to uncover the secrets of the past, the spirits will step up their game until one of them finally breaks-possession is a nasty way to seek revenge and the truth.

BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS is an entertaining storyline of mystery, suspense and romance where the ghosts of the past refuse to move on. It is a story of one family’s tainted past; a past that has haunted the descendants throughout the years and a past that is seeking revenge for a murder that was never solved.

Molly Harper’s remarkable storylines blend humor, love, friendship and family in a lively, spirited and clever presentation that everyone will enjoy.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview

CATCHING UP with Molly Harper at The Reading Café

Follow Molly at : Goodreads/Website/Facebook/Twitter

TRC: Hi Molly and welcome back to The Reading Café. Congratulations on all of your success since last we talked.

Molly Harper MH: Thank you for having me!

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

MH: I had a number of really fantastic English teachers when I was in high school. I was a weird, smart aleck kid with no apparent talent. I was a decent student, but I couldn’t sing, couldn’t draw, and despite being a six-foot-tall freshman, couldn’t play a sport to save my life. So the usual avenues that kids have to get praise and attention in school were unavailable to me. (In the case of sports, really, REALLY unavailable.)

But my freshman English teacher, Mr. Werner asked us to write an introductory essay so he knew something about us as the year started. I called mine, “Fence Posts and Tree Stumps” and wrote about the dinner table debates I had with my Dad about politics, news, science, etc. Mom told us that Harpers should argue with fence posts and tree stumps, because only inanimate objects could survive the circuitous, endless discussion. Mr. Werner loved it and had me read it aloud to the class. That was something I had never done before, sharing my writing with non-relatives. Like many girls my age, I had my Secret Notebook of Horrible Unicorn Poetry, but it was hidden beneath many Christopher Pike paperbacks under my bed.

Mr. Werner told me I was funny, and had a unique voice, like Erma Bombeck. And once I looked Erma Bombeck up in the library and realized he’d paid me a compliment, I started thinking about writing as a possible career. I’d always written stories, but it never occurred to me that I could make a living with it. There weren’t many published authors in Paducah, Ky.

But, knowing the odds of becoming of a full-time novelist weren’t awesome, I read more of Bombeck’s essays and looked into degree programs that would help pursue a career as a newspaper reporter. I wanted to write columns like Bombeck and Dave Barry and Lewis Grizzard, people who didn’t necessarily teach their readers life lessons, but made them laugh and brightened their day.

Throughout high school, that little spark of writer’s hope was encouraged by Mr. Werner, Mr. Toy, Mrs. Rafferty and Mrs. Campbell – wonderful English teachers who put up with a considerable amount of snark to help me find my writing voice and polish some pretty rough grammatical skills. I still live in the small town where I grew up. Every once in a while I see them, and I’m sure to thank them and tell them what a profound influence they’ve had on my life.

TRC: When not writing, what do you do to relax?

MH: I started studying martial arts about a year ago. I started with Brazillian jiu jitsu and recently earned my yellow belt in karate. (So I now have the fighting skills of your average seven year old.) It’s a cool bonding activity for my family as my husband has studied karate for most of his life. He’s black belt and teaches at the school where I am a student, along with our daughter, Darcy, 9.

Darcy is about four belt rankings above me and LOVES that she is better at something than her mom. When we spar in class, she shows me no mercy. It’s a humbling experience to be punched in the face by your pre-teen under sanctioned circumstances.

I am bruised. So very bruised. But we have a lot of fun and it’s a chance to spend time together. How many families can say, “We spent a couple of hours learning nunchuk techniques on Tuesday.”

And I like the idea that if confronted, I have at least a twenty percent chance of survival. Before starting classes, there was an excellent chance I would trip over my own feet and knock myself unconscious while running away.

TRC: Are any of your characters similar in nature or personality to you or anyone you know?

MH: I was pretty shameless about injecting my own personality into Jane Jameson. We have the same fondness for Jane Austen, the same social clumsiness, the same tendency to spout random trivia when nervous. But unlike me, Jane tends to make rash and emotional decisions when in crisis. I’m more of a hyper-rational over-thinker when panicking.

I don’t know anyone like the vampire Dick Cheney. Which makes me sad.

TRC: June 24, 2014 marks the release date of your latest novel BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

MH: This is my first standalone paranormal romance and my first haunted house story, so I am doubly excited. I ventured past my Southern comfort zone and set the story on a remote island off the coast of New England. The Crane’s Nest is a Gilded Era mansion that never quite thrived as a family home as Gerald Whitney, the business tycoon who built it was accused of murdering his wife shortly after it was completed. The murder mystery and inevitable stories of hauntings and family curses followed the Whitneys throughout the generations. Deacon Whitney, a social media mogul who has managed to rebuild his fortune, wants to restore the house to its former glory and finally put the supernatural rumors about his family to an end. The team of experts he assembles to remodel the house is contracted to live there over the summer while the work is completed, a measure he had to take after mysterious noises and cold spots chased away previous teams.

Landscaper Nina Linden is hired to rehabilitate the gardens and she sees it as her chance to rebuild her failing business after being cheated by her unscrupulous ex-partner. She never expects that her new client would see more in her than just a green thumb. But Nina shows no signs of being scared away, even as she experiences some unnerving apparitions herself. And as the two of them work closely together to restore the mansion’s faded glory, Deacon realizes that he’s found someone who doesn’t seem to like his fortune more than himself—while Nina may have finally found the one man she can trust with her bruised and battered heart.

But something on the island doesn’t believe in true love…and if Nina and Deacon can’t figure out how to put these angry spirits to rest, their own love doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance.

TRC: HOW TO RUN WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF was your December 2013 release in the Naked Werewolf series. How many books do you have planned for the series?

Naked Werewolf Series

MH: As of right now, there will be three books in the series. HOW TO RUN is the third. But you never know what could happen.

TRC: Have you considered a spin off for the Naked Wolf series similar to Nice Girls and the Jane Jameson series?

MH: Sure, if the idea ever came up, I could see that happening.

TRC: What are your thoughts on writing a series and ending an installment with a major cliff hanger?

MH: Sometimes, it’s necessary, particularly if you’re writing a thriller series. I’ve never done it because I’m not really a “cliff hanger” writer. But as long as the author has plans to continue the series and no major health problems, I don’t see how it’s a bad thing.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

MH: It’s a mix of both. I start with a basic outline of what I want in the plot and then write the first and last chapters. Anything that happens in the middle is directed by character and my sick, twisted sense of humor.

MH: I think the reader needs to see a little kernel of themselves in the character, something sympathetic so they can root for the character or at least feel compelled to find out what happens to him or her. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean the character is likeable. You can hate a character and still want to know how they end up. (The J.R. Ewing Principle.)

I think some writers make the mistake of trying to explain the character’s emotions in detail instead of just letting them happen. It’s a classic “show, don’t tell” issue that I struggle with sometimes, too.

TRC: What three things would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

MH:

I would like to finish the young adult manuscript I have been torturing for the last six months.

I would like to break onto a bestsellers list.

I would like to speak in public without getting really nervous.

TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?

MH: I am addicted to sushi, as in, having it for lunch at least twice a week. I started a pretty serious diet a few years ago and it meant a complete nutritional overhaul. I had to replace the stuff I was eating with food that wouldn’t kill me someday. And sushi became my indulgence. I could eat green dragon rolls every day.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

MH: I will be writing several more spin offs to the Half Moon Hollow series. I could tell you what they’re about, but then I would have to send Ophelia after you.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

MH: If you enjoy audiobooks, BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS will be released by Audible on the same day that it is released in print and ebook.

Also, my Half-Moon Hollow Christmas short story, I’M DREAMING OF AN UNDEAD CHRISTMAS, will be available in ebook on November 3, 2014.

And third book in the Bluegrass contemporary series, SNOW FALLING ON BLUEGRASS, will be released on September 22.

TRC: Thank you Molly for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS. We wish you all the best.

giveaway

Molly and her publisher are offering a signed paper copy of BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

Better Homes and Starbucks

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Like Molly Harper on Facebook

6. Giveaway is open to USA only

7. Giveaway runs from June 23 to June 27, 2014

Secrets and Sins: Raphael by Naima Simone-Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Sandy

SECRETS AND SINS: RAPHAEL by Naima Simone-Review and Interview with the Author.

Secrets and Sins Raphael

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 28, 2014

When Greer Addison finds her future husband in bed with another woman, she runs…right into the arms of dark and dangerous Raphael Marcel. Angry and hurt, she throws caution to the wind and spends a hot night with the sexy security specialist. But when her fiancé is found dead, Greer becomes the main suspect of a crime she can’t remember.

Raphael is stunned and suspicious when Greer shows up on his doorstep claiming she’s carrying his baby. Worse, she’s the target of a stalker bent on making her pay for a murder she doesn’t recall. As Raphael begins to trust Greer, they must race against the clock to uncover a killer…..because Greer’s memory is returning.

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: SECRETS AND SINS: RAPHAEL is the third instalment in Naima Simone’s contemporary, adult, erotic Secrets and Sins romance series but can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. This is Raphael Marcel and Greer Addison’s story. Raphael is the tatted and pierced bad boy and co-owner of Liberty Security Services and Greer has been targeted by an unknown source.

The focus of the storyline is Greer’s protection and the building relationship between Greer and Raphael. Following a one night stand with the sexy Raphael, Greer walked into a gruesome murder scene-her ex fiancé was dead and she was the prime suspect. Four months later, Greer broke down and hired Raphael as her personal security guard but many things had changed for Greer in the ensuing months and Raphael soon learns that Greer is pregnant and he is the father.

Naima Simone pulls the reader into a storyline of murder, mystery, suspense and romance. The world building continues throughout the series with the inclusion of Raphael’s three brothers in arms (or a family of love) including Malachim, Gabriel and Chay. The four best friends are connected by a past mired in abuse and revenge but throughout their lives they have always had one another’s backs and hearts.

The relationship between Raphael and Greer is a not quite friends to lovers storyline that is overshadowed by numerous death threats and abduction attempts on both Raphael and Greer. Someone wants Greer dead and the list of possibilities continues to grow-from her ex fiancé’s family to someone close, Raphael can’t deny that someone Greer knows has targeted her for destruction. Greer comes from wealth but her dysfunctional family dynamics finds Greer alone and struggling without emotional or financial support.

SECRETS AND SINS: RAPHAEL is a fast paced, intriguing and compelling storyline. The intimacy between our leading couple is sexual, sensual and passionate. As Raphael works to uncover the who and why behind the threats against Greer, Greer will discover that the only people she can depend upon are those that have been there for her from the very start and the man with whom she has fallen in love.

Secrets and Sins series.

Reading Order
1. Gabriel
2. Malachim
3. Raphael

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview yellow:black

TRC: Hi Naima and welcome to The Reading Café.

Naima: Thank you so much for having me here today!

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Follow: Website / Facebook /Twitter

Naima Simone Naima: Sure thing! I’m a domestically-challenged wife and mother of long-suffering husband and two children. I’m an identical twin—the nicer half—and a preacher’s kid. A Yankee transplant to the south, Vin Diesel’s DL lover, a destroyer of Cherry Cokes and Symphony chocolate bars, and a devout Nalini Singh worshipper. And oh yes! A romance author! ☺

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Naima: 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, St. Elmo’s Fire, Oxford Blues—every 80s movie that made me believe happily-ever-afters aren’t just for pretty, popular, skinny cheerleaders. Made me believe shy, nerdy, curvy, slightly awkward girls like me can have the hot, desired, cool guys they dream of. And how cool is it that I can give them the HEAs? On paper at least. LOL!

TRC: When not writing, what do you do to relax?

Naima: I love to veg out in front of the television, watching hours of ID Discovery and reading. With a ridiculously huge, you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yo’self bag of sour cream ‘n onion potato chips. And yes, I can do all three at the same time.

Secrets and Sins Raphael TRC: RAPHAEL is the latest release in your SECRETS AND SINS adult contemporary series focusing on four friends who share a dark past. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Naima: Absolutely! A socialite spends a hot night with a sexy security specialist after she finds her fiancé in bed with another woman, and now she’s pregnant, suspected of her ex’s death, possessing no memory of the crime, and stalked by a vengeful assailant who desires retribution…and her life. That was my elevator pitch. ☺

TRC: Are any of the characters or the premise based in reality or a combination of reality and fiction?

Naima: Actually, Raphael Marcel, the hero in my newest release SECRETS AND SINS: RAPHAEL, is based on a real person. When I was in the middle of writing the first book in the series, GABRIEL, my father told me about this young guy he knew at the gym where he worked out. The guy was tall, ripped, wore a black skully, had tattoos all over his arms and chest…just looked like a thug. One day, while my father was lifting weights, the FBI came in looking for him—the other guy, not my dad. ☺ Later on, when he arrived to work out, Daddy informed him the Feds had been there asking about him. My father said, the guy grinned and confessed he might be in trouble because of some illegal hacking. I thought that was AWESOME! I mean, come on. Looks like a thug but is freakin’ brilliant? What an interesting character. And sexy, too. I love a skully on a man. LOL! So I went back to my book and completely changed Raphael’s character to reflect this man from the gym.

TRC: If you could virtually cast your four leading men which actors or models would best represent your ideal image?

Secrets and Sins series.

Naima: Oooh. *rubbing hands together gleefully* I love casting my heroes! Let’s see… For Gabriel, Sebastian Stan. Y’know, the guy who played Bucky Barnes on Captain America? Sigh. For Malachim, Gabriel Aubry—before he got lumped up by Halle Berry’s current man. Henry Cavill for Raphael. And Travis Fimmel for Chay. Yes! An award winning cast here!

Secrets and Sins Cast

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Naima: There are four books in the series. One book for each friend. I confess, I’m going to miss them when I’m finished. *sniff sniff*

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background) did you encounter writing this particular story and series?

Naima: The most time-consuming challenge—but by no means was it a hardship—was researching the city of Boston. The series takes place there, but there are so many neighborhoods that make up this beautiful city. And each one has its own characteristics, personality, and flavor. So I spent a lot of time making sure I was as accurate as possible. Several of the authors I’m friends with live there, so they helped tremendously with my questions. And thank goodness my editor used to live there, too! She corrected me a couple of times. ☺

TRC: How do you keep your plot unpredictable without sacrificing content or believability?

Naima: ID Discovery and Criminal Minds. LOL!! Seriously though, writing romantic suspense allows me to play with some seriously disturbed characters. Imagining their motives, actions, and personalities kept the plot unpredictable…because they are.

TRC: What are your thoughts on writing a series and ending an installment with a major cliff hanger?

Naima: I love writing series, because even if it’s just cameos, I get to continue the story of the previous characters. As well as give the secondary characters, who I’ve come to love just as much, their HEAs. I’m not a huge fan of ending an installment with a major cliff hanger…I think those cliff hangers from Dallas back in the day might’ve traumatized me. Do you know how long I had to wait to find out who shot J.R.??

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Naima: It’s definitely a collaboration. I love characterization, and by the time I start a book, I know them, their history, their issues, their flaws and strengths. So when the book starts to veer off the plotted plan, I trust it because more often than not, that detour will stay true to the character and end up in a great scene that I didn’t see coming. Afterward, I’ll have a celebratory cup of coffee, sit back, and go, daaay-aaam. That’s good. LOL!!

Naima: We have to let go and become totally immersed in the character—their fears, joys, and sorrows. No, I may not have ever been abandoned by a parent, but I do know what it feels like to not be accepted, to need affirmation, to have self-esteem issues and doubts. I can tap into that pain, longing, and anger, draw on it, and pour it into the book. It’s about letting go and not being afraid to re-experience emotions that lifted us to the very heights of happiness and then turned around and ripped us to shreds. Our first crush or love. Our first heart break. The first rejection. The loss of a loved one. Even the elation and victory of selling a first book after laboring so hard. I think as long as we’re not afraid to feel, we can write deep emotion.

TRC: Writers Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writers block?

Naima: Boy, do I know how real it is. LOL! Sometimes I just have to power through. An author once told me, You can edit s**t, but you can’t edit nothing. LOL! So true, so true. If I’m not on a deadline, and the words just aren’t coming, I step away from the computer, go take a nap, read a book, or watch ID Discovery. Just step back, gain some perspective and space, and then go back and try again. Usually, it works. Oh! And pray. ☺

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Naima: I am so blessed to have two of the absolute best critique partners evah! Debra Glass and Jessica Lee. Between the two of them, I can always work out a plot or snafu. They are my literary angels! LOL!

TRC: What three things would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

Naima: My pastor would be appalled right now, because he had us write this out about a year ago. And, yeah, I didn’t. *grin* Let’s see… Meet Nalini Singh. Take a family vacation overseas—I’ve been out of the country, but not with my husband or kids. And be successful and comfortable in a career I adore.

TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?

Naima: When I was ten, I ate a worm on a dare after my sister, cousins, and I read the book, How to Eat Fried Worms. No, it didn’t taste like chicken…

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Naima: Well, the fourth book in the Secrets and Sins series, CHAYOT, is in editing. Yay! And I’m my current WIP is a contemporary romance involving blackmail, revenge, and a marriage of convenience. And sex. LOL!

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Naima: Yes! Thank you so much for the opportunity to visit with The Reading Café! And thank you to every reader who has supported me with buying my books, funny comments on Facebook, tweets, and emails. Not only has it been a total ride writing for you, it’s been a blast getting to know you! Love you! Huge tackle hug!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Shrimp egg foo yung and hubby’s stuffed mushrooms

Favorite Dessert
Strawberry cake

Favorite TV Show
Modern Family

Last Movie You Saw
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Awesoooome!!)

Favorite Song
Come Up Here by Jason Upton

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk…especially if it’s a Symphony chocolate bar!

Secret Celebrity Crush
Can’t use Vin, because he’s not a secret. Umm…Charlize Theron. She’s gorgeous. I love my husband and aaaalll that he has to offer me, but yeah, she’s gaw-geous!

Last Vacation Destination
Cork City, Ireland

Pet Peeve
Off the top of my head, my pet peeve is when a certain person who shall remain nameless *cough* husband *cough* comes home with the Tupperware said person carried to work and drops it in some obscure place that I don’t find until days later. And by then it’s growing something that looks like it belongs in a Hogwarts laboratory and smells like it could make me invisible to zombies. That’s off the top of my head. Other than that? Smacking. Just put me in a room with a recording of someone smacking and I will tell you my social security number, bra size, and age!

TRC: Thank you Naima for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulation on the release of RAPHAEL: Secrets and Sins. We are
looking forward to reading CHAY’s storyline next.

Naima: Thank you! I’ve had a ball! ☺

Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2) by Tammara Webber-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Sandy

Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2) by Tammara Webber-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Breakable
Contours of the Heart #2
by Tammara Webber
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, romance

breakable May 14

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

About the book: Release Date May 6, 2014

He was lost and alone. Then he found her.
And the future seemed more fragile than ever.

As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: BREAKABLE is the second instalment in Tammara Webber’s contemporary, new adult Contours of the Heart romance series. The storyline is told from alternating first person POVs –Lucas and Landon-using present day, flashbacks, memories and dream sequences. The story told from Lucas’s POV parallels the timeline in EASY (Book 1) and beyond; the story told from Landon’s POV covers the early years with Landon’s (Lucas) family, friends, school and the tragedy that destroyed it all.

Part of the premise follows Landon (Lucas) in the aftermath of the tragedy. We get up close and personal with a young boy/young man whose family has been destroyed; whose father is unable to cope; and a life that begins to spiral out of control. Landon struggles to survive in a world believing himself responsible for everything that happened.

Lucas’s POV follows the EASY timeline where our hero wars with his attraction to Jacqueline and his need to protect her from everyone including himself. The reader is pulled into the mind of a quiet, reserved genius who pushes away the memories and demons of the past by getting lost in his studies, his jobs, his volunteer programs and his need for the one woman he cannot have.

The world building follows several intersecting timelines that crossover between EASY and BREAKABLE. The secondary characters, especially in Landon’s (Lucas) early years are colorful, abrasive and dramatic. The reader will begin to understand the mind of a young boy as he battles the guilt that eats away at his heart and his soul; how the people in his life formed the building blocks of anger, revenge and temptation; and how a family friend would come to the rescue of a young man on a destructive path of violence and failure.

Tammara Webber writes a remarkable story that will captivate your mind; a story that is emotional, passionate and dramatic about a troubled boy who would grow up to be a responsible man but in between faces a life time of heartache and pain. BREAKABLE takes a closer look into the thoughts and emotions of Landon Lucas Maxfield as he endeavors to survive in a world of guilt and shame and, the one woman who will make it easier to acknowledge that a thirteen year old boy is not responsible for the sins of the past.

Reading Order
1. Easy
2. Breakable

Copy supplied by the publisher (Penguin)

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview beige

TRC: Hi Tammara and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of BREAKABLE, book two in your New Adult Contours of the Heart series.

Tammara: Thank you. ☺

Tammara Weber TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Tammara: I wrote my first romance novel at 19 (and threw it away after deciding it wasn’t good enough – without showing it to a single other person!). I went back to school in my thirties and went to work as an undergrad advisor after I graduated. I wrote two more “shelf novels” before writing the first book I published, making Easy the seventh novel I wrote. I’ve been married more than half my life, have three “new adults” of my own, and recently – my first grandcat.

TRC: Who or what influenced your foray into writing?

Tammara: I’ve always written. You could say that Go Dog Go was the most influential book of my life. It was the first one I tried to imitate by writing/coloring a story of my own.

breakable May 14 TRC: BREAKABLE is the second storyline in your Contours of the Heart series. Is BREAKABLE a combination of a prequel storyline and a parallel version of EASY told from Lucas’s POV?

Tammara: Yes.

TRC: What was the factor(s) behind writing the storyline from Lucas’s POV?

Tammara: When I wrote EASY, Lucas didn’t “speak” to me very much. I knew his deception, but I didn’t know his past. I literally got halfway through writing the first draft before I knew what happened to him. I had a vague idea – but nothing concrete until I woke up with it. My husband was getting ready for work, and I opened the bathroom door and blurted it out to him. We were both horrified. I thought Lucas would open up to me more after that, but nope. He was quiet until nearly a year after I published EASY. Once he finally started telling me his story, I had to write it.

TRC: EASY is the first storyline in the series. What or who was your inspiration for the premise? Is the story based in reality or a combination of factors?

Order Links: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

EASY Tammara: All my stories are a combination of many factors – some real, some pure imagination. I was sexually assaulted in my early twenties by a friend/classmate; there was no Lucas for me. I didn’t tell anyone for 12 years, at which point I told my best friend. That telling was an important turning point for me – the point where I consciously realized, fully, what had happened to me. The point where I realized that misjudging that guy’s character didn’t mean I was at fault for the rape. It meant I was unlucky. It also meant I was a survivor.

TRC: How has your life changed with the success of EASY?

Tammara: It’s turned upside down – in positive but sometimes unsettling ways. I was always the supporter of my husband’s career. I had no desire to go to college after high school, but I worked at the university as a secretary to put him through. He never objected to anything I wanted to do, however, even when I did a 180 (like deciding I wanted to go to school after all). If I wanted to stay home with the kids, or work, or take classes, it was all good. By the time I wrote EASY, I’d completed a degree in English and was working for the university. Our oldest child had completed a theatre degree from NYU, the middle one was about to graduate with a BS in biology, and the youngest was finishing high school. Having a financially successful career as an author was sudden and unexpected for me (and him!), but came alongside other transformative life shifts. Maybe it was a good thing that at the time, I didn’t know how to separate all the crazy, lol.

TRC: When writing, how do you keep the plot of your novels unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

Tammara: I actually don’t worry at all about keeping the plot unpredictable. I go straight for believability. Life is unpredictable. If I write realistically, I’ve got the problem of predictability covered as well as can be expected. ☺

TRC: When writing a novel, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Tammara: The characters direct the writing.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is ability to pull the reader into the story so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

Tammara: I can only go by the emotions I feel when I write. If a character is supposed to be sad or grieving, and I’m not tearing up or outright crying, I’m doing something wrong. My favorite scene of EASY is the sorority meeting. I had chills running all over my body when I wrote that scene. I cried when I finished it. I knew I’d hit the emotion I meant to hit, as close as my ability could take it, because I felt it. As writers, we’re sometimes deadline-rushed or too focused on making something happen in a scene. I sometimes skip scenes and come back when I’m in the right mindset to write them.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

Tammara: I quit writing – take a walk, or read, or grab my husband and go get coffee, lunch or a drink. I bring a pad and pencil and we discuss where I’m stuck. Usually, stuck means it’s time to back up and go a different direction, even if it’s a small change. I make notes and come at it with fresh eyes later or the next day.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Tammara: My husband is my brainstorming partner and my first reader. If something doesn’t work or doesn’t sound authentic, he says so. I have critique partners (other authors) to work with once I’ve got the words down.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Tammara: I tend to think about what I plan to write for several weeks, brainstorming story ideas and making notes, before I begin writing. Sometimes I toss ideas out and start over. Once BREAKABLE is launched, I’ll be able to begin concentrating on the next project.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – TexMex

Favorite Dessert – chocolate cake

Favorite TV Show – Walking Dead

Favorite Entertainer – my son, Zachary ☺

Last Movie You Saw – Divergent

Dark or Milk Chocolate – dark

Secret Celebrity Crush – Robert Downey, Jr.

Last Vacation Destination – Texas Gulf coast

Pet Peeve – people who cut in line

TRC: Thank you, Tammara for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the success of EASY and the release of BREAKABLE.

Tammara: Thanks so much for having me.

Tammara Webber is author of the New York Times bestselling New Adult novel Easy, the first novel in her Contours of the Heart series, and the Between the Lines series. She is a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life. Before writing full-time, she was an undergraduate academic advisor, economics tutor, planetarium office manager, radiology call center rep, and the palest person to ever work at a tanning salon. She married her high school sweetheart, and is a mom to three adult kids and four very immature cats. Connect with her online at tammarawebber.blogspot.com, twitter.com/tammarawebber, and www.facebook.com/TammaraWebberAuthor.

BREAKABLE Buy Link:

http://widgets.penguin.com/Pages/affiliateLanding/index.aspx?isbn=9780425266861

EASY Buy Link:

http://widgets.penguin.com/Pages/affiliateLanding/index.aspx?isbn=9780425266748

Giveaway beige

Tammara and her publisher are offering a paper copy of BREAKABLE to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. LIKE Tammara Webber on Facebook.

6. The giveaway is open to USA only

7. The giveaway runs from May 13 to May 18, 2014

Pure Heat (Firehawks #1) by M.L. Buchman-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Sandy

Pure Heat (Firehawks #1) by M.L. Buchman-Review, Interview and Giveaway

PURE HEAT
Firehawks #1
by M.L. Buchman
Genre: contemporary, action, special forces, romance

Pure Heat

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 6, 2014

These daredevil smokejumpers fight more than fires.

The elite fire experts of Mount Hood Aviation fly into places even the CIA can’t penetrate.

She lives to fight fires…

Carly Thomas could read burn patterns before she knew the alphabet. A third-generation forest fire specialist who lost both her father and her fiancé to the flames, she’s learned to live life like she fights fires: with emotions shut down.

But he’s lit an inferno she can’t quench…

Former smokejumper Steve “Merks” Mercer can no longer fight fires up close and personal, but he can still use his intimate knowledge of wildland burns as a spotter and drone specialist. Assigned to copilot a Firehawk with Carly, they take to the skies to battle the worst wildfire in decades and discover a terrorist threat hidden deep in the Oregon wilderness—but it’s the heat between them that really sizzles.

************************

REVIEW: PURE HEAT is the first instalment in M.L. Buchman’s contemporary, romance, action Firehawks series-a spinoff from his successful Night Stalker series. I have not read the previous series and although this is a spinoff, it can be read without any difficulty or frame of reference from the original storylines. This is former smokejumper Steve Mercer and Carly Thomas’s story. As the Oregon wildfires begin to engulf everything in their path, the experts of Mount Hood Aviation will discover they are looking at more than just a fire fight but possibly a terrorism threat from within.

The focus of the story is on a group of close knit elite fire experts-jumpers, helicopter pilots, fighters and, the struggle to contain the wild fires that have grown in intensity and danger. We are introduced to Steve Mercer-a former smokejumper-whose career was cut short from a near fatal injury that destroyed any chance of ever jumping again. With a new path in the war against wildfires, Steve is pulled into the close knit family of fire experts who risk their lives on a daily basis. To add to Steve’s struggle, Carly Thomas is a career wildfire expert from a long line of heroes but an expert who has seen her fair share of suffering and loss. It will take the pushing of his fellow firefighters to show Steve that Carly is worth the struggle-her cool demeanor hides a shattered heart.

M.L. Buchman writes a compelling and intriguing storyline where the world building is awash in technical terminology and jargon from the world of aviation and firefighting expertise. At times, the storyline appeared to lose focus in the vast amount of background particulars and history behind some of the ‘real life’ wildfires as well as the infinite details of the helicopters and firefighting machines but M.L. would steer the story back on track and pull the reader into an intense storyline where our characters struggle to keep the fires-of both their heart and the land- under control.

The secondary characters are colorful, intriguing, and passionate about what they do. The scenery is wondrous in its glory; the fire is staggering in its power; and the intimacy between our leading couple is sensual, heartbreaking and intense. We are pulled into the action, the mystery and the lives of those who face their mortality –day in and day out.

PURE HEAT tells a story about the heroes who fight the fires and risk their lives. It is a story about two people who fall in love under extreme circumstances-drawn together by a mutual need and understanding about what it is to lose and carry on. It is also a story about the wildfire devastation that destroys so many lives; destroys so much wildlife; and destroys the land upon which we live. And it is a story about the potential for terrorist activities that go unnoticed in a land that reaps it beauty and languor from nature and everything is has to offer.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview orange:black

TRC: Hi Matthew and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of PURE HEAT –book one in your new Firehawks series.

ML Buchman ML: THANKS! It’s really exciting as an author to see a new series start off.

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

FOLLOW: Goodreads / Website / Facebook /

ML: I’m a full-time writer with 25 novels in print (mostly in romance). During my 25 years as a corporate project manager (IT, law, and construction), I have also rebuilt and raced a 50’ sailboat, designed and built 2 houses, and flown and jumped out of airplanes. I also quilt. And I’m one of “those” parents: don’t get me started on my kid because I’m so proud of her I’ll never shut up. Did I mention that we earned our Taekwondo black belts together before she went to college? (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

TRC: What or who influenced your foray into writing?

ML: I started writing fiction in July of 1993 while on a solo, around-the-world bicycle tour. I didn’t intend to write fiction, but it certainly came out that way. I can trace my absolute love of the written word back to my third-grade teacher, the life-changing Mrs. Kaye. She turned me into a voracious reader, it just took another 25 years before it turned into a need to tell stories myself.

TRC: PURE HEAT (May 2014) is the first release in your new Firehawks series-a spinoff from the Night Stalkers. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

ML: The premise is (tiny spoiler) that Emily Beale got pregnant in The Night Stalkers book #4, Take Over at Midnight. So, she and Mark retire to form a new team as they fly for Mount Hood Aviation. This is a helicopter wildland firefighter outfit…who also happen to fly special mission for the CIA on occasion. (This is actually based on a real company not fifty miles from where I was living at the time.) My aerial firefighters find unexpected problems in the forests. They are also welcome to enter countries where the CIA needs information but they can’t send any military assets. Firefighters are always welcome. The problem is that they sometimes get in over their heads and must call in The Night Stalkers to help out.

TRC: Several of the Night Stalkers characters (Beale/Henderson: Kee) have secondary roles in PURE HEAT. Will most of the previous storyline characters play an active role in the new series ?

ML: Beale and Henderson are permanent fixtures in the Firehawks series (not saying they won’t pop up now and then with the Night Stalkers). Will the whole cast wander through? Uh, probably not. Will the cool reader cookies continue? Absolutely. I love revisiting favorite characters as much as the next person.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series ?

ML: Firehawks was conceived as a 3-book series…to start. I think in series, long ones. The Night Stalkers is already 4 books traditionally published, 2 more contracted, and 3 holiday short novels, and I have ideas for many more. I don’t see either series ending anytime soon. I did just end a 5-book Seattle-based contemporary romance series named “Angelo’s Hearth.”

TRC: There is a wealth of technical language, references and background information about fighting fires, flying helicopters and more. What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background, historical etc) did you encounter writing this particular story and series?

ML: I work very hard to make my books as realistic as possible, balanced against making it approachable for my readers. The single biggest challenge by far is dancing that thin line between exciting romantic suspense and realistic tedium. I don’t want to create a research book, I want to create a thrilling romance set against realistic situations.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in this storyline, which models or actors best represents your ideal image?

ML: That’s easy. I always cast my books. Sometimes just a random photo, but Pure Heat was cast with Charlize Theron (her The Italian Job character) as Carly and a young Michael Biehn (from the first Terminator movie) as Steve.

TRC: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT is the September 2014 release and fifth installment in your Night Stalkers series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

ML: The first four Night Stalkers books are all based in a four-seat attack version of the Black Hawk called a DAP. The next two are in the smallest helicopter in the American military arsenal, the MH-6M “Little Bird.” Like these small, fast, lethal helicopters, the women who fly them are also quick and dangerous. The recurring character Trisha O’Malley from the first 4 books will be bringing her special skills and serious dose of attitude to the “Little Bird.”

TRC: Now that the spinoff series has been released, do you plan to continue writing the Night Stalkers and if so, how often will we see a cross over between the two series?

Night Stalker Series

ML: Absolutely! I love the Night Stalkers series. Will the firefighters get snarled up into a Night Stalkers book? That’s a cool idea. Thanks! Will the Night Stalkers continue to wander into the Firehawks series? Big Time!

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

ML: I start with an immense amount of research which I continue right through the writing. I make the world as realistic as possible. I may compound problems, but they are real-world. They are made unpredictable by the compounding of problems and by the uniqueness of each of the individual character’s response to the those problems. I do clean them up to make them more approachable; what these folks do, both Army and wildland firefighters, is utterly amazing and far more dangerous than anything I can capture on paper.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

ML: I direct the characters by throwing crap (challenges) at them—sometimes I really, really rain on their parade. It is up to that character’s past experience and future dreams to determine what they do with that challenge and how they grow from it. It’s sort of a co-writing process.

ML: I have a friend who says that character is opinion. Well, what’s opinion? It’s the setting filtered through the character’s emotion. If the character doesn’t feel, experience, grow from what is going on around them, how can you expect the reader to connect to the character. Where does it come apart? When I “the all-knowing author” step in and try to tell the story rather than allowing the character their opinion.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

ML: Don’t believe in it. Project block, sure—which I find mostly happens when I try to force characters to do things they wouldn’t. But if I’m stuck on one project, I can always work on another.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

ML: My first reader, magician, brainstormer, research librarian, wonderwoman…uh, that would be my wife.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

ML: Firehawks #3 is in process right now. And as I just finished my “Angelo’s Hearth” series, in June or July I’ll be launching a “Chef Romantic Suspense” series. (Still working on the series name.)

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

ML: You can keep track of new releases by signing up for my newsletter at: mlbuchman.com

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Pasta

Favorite Dessert
My wife’s apple pie –it’s awesome

Favorite TV Show
Castle, Top Chef, and Project Runway (all equal)…Star Trek Next Gen when it was on

Last Movie You Saw
Saving Mr. Banks

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Dark

Secret Celebrity Crush
Jodi Foster (don’t care, I’ll watch her act in anything)

Last Vacation Destination
Vancouver, B.C.

Pet Peeve
Cynics

TRC: Thank you Matt for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of PURE HEAT.

ML: THANKS To not miss a thing, sign up for my newsletter at mlbuchman.com

Giveaway Black and Orange

M.L. Buchman and Sourcebooks are offering a paper copy of PURE HEAT to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Giveaway is open to US and Canada only.

6. Giveaway runs from May 2 to May 7, 2014, 2014

The Bottom Line (The Ladies Who Lunch #1) by Sandy James-Review,Interview and Giveaway

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Sandy

THE BOTTOM LINE (The Ladies Who Lunch #1) by Sandy James-review, interview and giveaway

The Bottom Line
The Ladies Who Lunch #1
by Sandy James
Genre: contemporary, romance,
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Bottom Line

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 6, 2014

When life gets tough and love is hard to find, four friends take their troubles to lunch. Surviving a failed marriage and an illness that almost takes her life, high school teacher Mallory Hamilton needs the Ladies Who Lunch more than ever . . .

After a year of upheaval, Mallory has had her fill of change—with one exception. Her house is a disaster, and she wants it fixed. Hiring a contractor to finish the projects her ex-husband started will help her banish the past so she can return to the life she had before everything went awry. But her contractor is sexy, sweet, and single, which threatens the peaceful, solitary life Mallory has planned for herself.

Ben Carpenter has had a hard time raising his daughter without his ex-wife’s help. His new client’s projects will give him the extra income he needs, not to mention afternoons alone with a gorgeous woman. Though their attraction is undeniable, Ben sees the fear and pain hiding in Mallory’s beautiful eyes. But how can he help her if she won’t let him in? Ben can fix just about anything—but can he fix Mallory’s broken heart?

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: THE BOTTOM LINE is the first instalment in Sandy James’s contemporary, romance series focusing on a group of female teachers who meet every day at lunch to discuss life, love and growing old. This is Mallory and Ben’s storyline-one the focuses on a second chance at love for both but not before heartbreak and misunderstanding push the couple apart.

Sandy James writes an engaging story where one woman has faced a life altering situation and survived. Hoping for a new direction, she hires local contractor Ben Carpenter to remodel her house and in doing so finds that she begins to remodel her life. Ben and Mallory are immediately attracted to one another but Mallory is hiding a secret-one that even many of her fellow colleagues are unaware-and it is a secret she fears will push Ben away when the truth is revealed.

This is a friends to lovers storyline where second chances are complicated when past issues are left unresolved. Mallory’s private and personal ‘problems’ drive a major portion of the storyline and in this there is a constant struggle about decisions, revelations and between friends. Although her friends mean well and are very over protective, there comes a time when everyone must make their first solo venture into the world of dating and love. The sexual tension between Mallory and Ben is palpable; their love making is sensual, romantic and not over the top.

The secondary characters are colorful and become our heroine’s constant source of support and turmoil. The world building focuses on the friends and colleagues who gather each day for lunch and on weekends at the local church singles dance.

THE BOTTOM LINE is a compelling story about one woman’s struggle and the decisions she must make with regards to her future. It is a story where past betrayals are a constant reminder and sometimes the present may be all you have. It is also a story about two people who have been given a second chance-for love and life-and their hopes that a future together will be loving and long.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview

TRC: Hi Sandy and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of THE BOTTOM LINE.

Sandy James Follow Sandy at : Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Sandy: I’m a teacher, a job that’s becoming more challenging by the day thanks to “the powers that be.” It wasn’t my intended profession. I always believed I’d be a lawyer. But children came faster than my husband and I expected, so I chose a career that would give me more time with my daughter and son. It was the right decision, something I’m reminded of every time I step in front of a class.

Somewhere in my late twenties, I started having odd physical symptoms ranging from thyroid problems to rashes to swollen joints to horrible fatigue. After years of having no idea what was wrong, to the point everyone—including me—believed I might be a hypochondriac, I was finally diagnosed with lupus. I make a point of mentioning it on my website, during interviews, and whenever I conduct workshops, because I think it’s important to show other lupus sufferers that you can still have a productive life despite this damned illness.

TRC: How do you handle the pressures of being a high school teacher and writing romance on the side?

Sandy: My children are both grown, married, and living their lives, which means my nest is empty. My husband and I moved to a smaller home last summer. It’s been such a great change. The place is so easy to clean, and with just the two of us, there’s not nearly as much to do. That helps considerably. Being a teacher actually helps my writing career since we’re off in June and July. Our school also dismisses at 2:30, which gives me a lot of afternoon time to write.

TRC: You and your husband own a small racing stable of Standard bred Harness horses. How did you venture into the Harness racing business?

Sandy: When Jeff and I were first married (back in the Stone Age), we lived in Chicago. The only person we knew there was my cousin. At the time, she was married to one of the best harness drivers in the country. Since we began to spend a lot of time together, Jeff and I learned to enjoy the sport.

Around his fortieth birthday, he started researching owning a horse. He’s such a great guy, I wanted to help him chase the dream. So after he explained it all to me, I went to the bank to get a loan to help him buy that first horse. It’s become such a great part of our lives. Not only do we both love the animals, the people in the racing world are such a kick to be around.

TRC: Have you ever considered a series focusing on horse racing?

Sandy: I actually wrote Murphy’s Law to share my love of harness racing with my readers. The horses also appear in All the Right Reasons. But I have a new series my agent is pitching to editors right now that goes back to the track! (Shameless plug—Both those books are in The Damaged Heroes Collection, which is only 99 cents for all five books right now.)

TRC: THE BOTTOM LINE is your May 2014 release in The Ladies Who Lunch series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Sandy: There’s a lot of my life in this series. I have eaten lunch with my own “Ladies” for several years, so it seemed like a great tribute to them and their friendship to include that kind of relationship in my stories.

The Ladies Who Lunch is a group of four teachers who are tightly bonded. The reader gets to see life through their eyes. I love that the heroines are different ages (in their twenties and thirties) and have such distinct personalities.
The Bottom Line explores the issue of what it’s like to be a breast cancer survivor. Two of my own “Ladies” have weathered that choppy ocean, and I tried to honor their strength and grace in the character of Mallory.

TRC: Are any of the characters or the storyline premise based in reality?

Sandy: In some ways, all my characters have a basis in reality. I never model a character after a distinct person, but when I have a friend, relative, or student who has a distinct personality or trait, I often incorporate that into my characters. The only heroine who I can say is “me” is Jackie Delgado from Turning Thirty-Twelve. I channeled myself quite strongly into her.

Signed Sealed Delivered TRC: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED is the next instalment in The Ladies Who Lunch Series. Would you please tell us about the premise and whose storyline it will be?

Sandy: Juliana gets the spotlight in Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Her story heats up very quickly when she starts to explore the possibility of leaving teaching for a more lucrative job, a crossroads many teachers face. At a real estate seminar, she meets Connor, a man who inspires her in many, many ways.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Sandy: The series is four books—one for each of my Ladies. Any expansion on it would be about the small town in which they live, Cloverleaf, Illinois. I love writing about small town life! This town is based loosely on my in-laws’ hometown of Mt. Carmel, Illinois.

TRC: What are your thoughts on writing a series and ending an instalment with a major cliff hanger?

Sandy: I think it’s horrible! One thing I believe readers depend upon is a writer to leave them satisfied at the end of a story. A cliffhanger is almost cruel to readers!

I also like writing “closed” series. Two of mine—The Ladies Who Lunch and The Alliance of the Amazons—are limited to four books. There’s a distinct ending to each of the books, and the last book wraps up all four of the stories as well.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Sandy: Sometimes I think the characters are more in charge than I am. I always have a plan in mind, but writing can become such an adventure. For example, Ross in Murphy’s Law and Free Falling is named after a former student who wanted me to give a villain his name. I tried to make Ross a bad guy, a shyster lawyer in Murphy’s Law. I honestly tried. But the fictitious Ross would have none of it. He was such a good character and nice guy he became the hero in Free Falling.

Sandy: The characters have to be “real” to the writer. I think my background in psychology helps me tremendously in creating realistic characters. To achieve this, a writer needs to feel what the characters are feeling. I know when I’m writing happy scenes, I’m in a great mood. Writing black moments almost always makes me look at life in a pessimistic way. I ride the same roller coaster every character rides throughout a story.

Where do writers fail? Whenever a character is so wooden she becomes cliché. I’ve read a few stories where the heroes or heroines were all but cardboard, because nothing they did or felt seemed authentic. As I said, knowledge of psychology is the best tool, which is why I started teaching psychology workshops for authors.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

Sandy: I need to knock on wood as I say this, but I’ve never had writer’s block. When my agent started selling books on proposal (three chapters and a synopsis) rather than as a completed manuscript, I worried whether I’d be able to write with my “back to the wall.” Turns out that deadlines are highly motivating for me!

There’s always a touch of anxiety in my writing process, but I attribute that to my being such a superlative Type A personality. I like being busy. I love being super busy. But the baggage to that is there’s always an element of anxiety involved.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background) did you encounter writing this particular story and series?

Sandy: The Ladies Who Lunch might be a tightknit group of friends, but their situations are unique. I’ve had to research breast cancer treatments, the process of breast reconstruction, how to sell real estate, home renovation, adoption law… You name a topic, it probably pops up in The Ladies Who Lunch. Of course, variety is the spice of life. Right?

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Sandy: I’m blessed to have wonderful critique partners, all of whom are published authors. Cheryl Brooks is well-known for her Cat Star Chronicles, Nan Reinhardt writes great stories with mature heroines, and Sandra Owens has some marvelous historical romances close to release. I also have a friend/critique partner/cheerleader in Leanna Kay. The two of us have worked together since the very first book I wrote back in 2006.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Sandy: I just wrapped up Sealing the Deal (Ladies Who Lunch book 3) and have shifted back to my historical series, Safe Havens. The fourth book will revolve around Kayla and Drake, characters introduced in Redeemed (book 3). Kayla has a major secret, one that is going to follow her to White Pines. Hopefully, my new horseracing series will find a good home soon! Then it’s “full steam ahead” on those books!

TRC: What three things would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

Sandy: I want to make the USA Today or NYT bestsellers’ list so badly! I’m trying to do my best to get word out there about my books through reviews and interviews (thanks again for hosting me today!), and hopefully, my momentum will continue.

As much as I enjoy teaching, I would love to be able to transition into being a full-time writer. The lupus makes being a good teacher a little tougher every day. The fatigue is the worst. If I could write full-time, I wouldn’t have to wake up so early, and if I needed a quick nap, I could take one.

TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?

Sandy: I don’t have an abundance of self-esteem. I was overweight as a child, and I lived in an isolated neighborhood, so I didn’t know most of the kids at school the same way they all knew each other. I often felt like an outsider, and I was teased a lot for being chubby and not “fitting in.” I was also a horrible nerd, which only hurt my chance of being popular in any way, shape, or form. My first true friends came in junior high, and I’ve always been grateful to Angela and Karen for helping me start down the road of learning to like myself.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Sandy: I just want to thank my entire family for their unending support. Getting a writing career off the ground isn’t easy, and without them, I’d never be where I am today.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Snow Crab

Favorite Dessert
Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
The Walking Dead

Last Movie You Saw
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk! Dark is yuck.

Secret Celebrity Crush
Robert Downey Jr.

Last Vacation Destination
New York City

Pet Peeve
Students acting stupid in the locker bank

TRC: Thank you Sandy for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best.

Giveaway-Blue:Black

Sandy is offering the following giveaway package. There will be three (3) winners.

First Prize: One lucky commenter will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card

Second Prize: Two lucky commenters will receive an ecopy of THE BOTTOM LINE by Sandy James

Sandy James prize

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. LIKE SANDY JAMES on Facebook.

6. The giveaway is open internationally wherever Amazon is available.

7. The giveaway runs from April 24 to April 30, 2014

The Reading Cafe

One stop pertaining to books and more

Tag Archives: Author Interview

Tempted By A Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Tempted By A Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Interview and Giveaway

One Night: Promised (One Night Trilogy #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas-Review and Interview with the Author

One Night: Promised (One Night Trilogy #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas-Review and Interview with the Author

The Containment Zone by Danielle Singleton-Review and Interview with the Author

The Containment Zone by Danielle Singleton-Review and Interview with the Author

Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper-Review, Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper-Review, Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Secrets and Sins: Raphael by Naima Simone-Review and Interview with the Author

SECRETS AND SINS: RAPHAEL by Naima Simone-Review and Interview with the Author.

Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2) by Tammara Webber-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2) by Tammara Webber-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Pure Heat (Firehawks #1) by M.L. Buchman-Review, Interview and Giveaway

Pure Heat (Firehawks #1) by M.L. Buchman-Review, Interview and Giveaway

The Bottom Line (The Ladies Who Lunch #1) by Sandy James-Review,Interview and Giveaway

THE BOTTOM LINE (The Ladies Who Lunch #1) by Sandy James-review, interview and giveaway