She Can Scream-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway with Melinda Leigh

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Sandy

She Can Scream-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway with Melinda Leigh

SHECANSCREAM_BANNER

About The author

Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. A life-long lover of books, she started writing when her youngest child entered first grade as a way to preserve her sanity. in 2007, she joined Romance Writers of America, learned a few things about writing a book, and decided the process was way more fun than analyzing financial statements. It was time to get serious about making her hobby a career. She began submitting her work in 2008. In 2009 she signed with an agent, who sold Melinda’s debut romantic suspense novel, SHE CAN RUN, in 2010 to Montlake Romance.

SHE CAN RUN released in November 2011 and became the #1 Bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense. SHE CAN RUN has been nominated for a 2012 Thriller Award for Best First Novel.

Melinda is also an avid martial artist. She holds a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and teaches women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house in the suburbs with her husband, two teenagers, a couple of dogs and one neurotic cat with an inexplicable fear of ceiling fans. With such a pleasant life, she has no explanation for the sometimes dark and disturbing nature of her imagination

Interview

TRC: Hi Melinda and welcome to The Reading Café.  We would like to start with some background information.  Would you please tell us something about yourself?

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Melinda Leigh Melinda: I’m a mom, a dog lover, a martial artist, a writer, and a complete geek.

TRC: Your bio states you hold a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and teach women’s self-defense. What was the precipitating factor (for you) to study this line of martial arts?

Melinda: I actually started taking karate when my children were small. The karate studio offered a special discount for parents. A decade later, I’m the only person in the family still involved. It’s the best exercise. As a writer, I spend many hours sitting in a chair, and when I finally get up, I can’t get the story and characters out of my head. Karate is mentally and physically demanding. Full concentration is required, which makes it the perfect brain-clearing and stress-relieving exercise.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest mistake women make as it pertains to their personal physical protection?

Melinda: Complacency. Many women believe it can’t happen to them. Women need to be aware of their surroundings at all times and think about their personal security. They must realize that physically, they are the weaker sex. Women of all ages, races, and socio-economic groups are attacked every day all over the world.

TRC: SHE CAN SCREAM is the latest release in your romantic suspense ‘She Can’ series.  Would you please tell us something about the premise?

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Melinda: The plot of this book formulated as I scrolled through my Facebook feed and saw person after person “checking in” wherever they were at the moment. I immediately thought of the safety issues with reporting one’s whereabouts on a constant basis or posting personal information on any social media account. How easy does this type of posting make it for a possible attacker to find someone?

TRC: Can the books be read as stand alone storylines or do the plots and premises over lap with each successive installment?

Melinda: Every book in the She Can Series is a stand-alone read. Characters might make cameo appearances, but the plots do not overlap.

TRC: SHE CAN HIDE is scheduled for March 2014. Will you please tell us something about the premise?

Melinda: You can’t run from your past without first facing your personal demons.

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

Melinda: I haven’t planned that far into the future, but I have two more books in the back of my head. We’ll see after that.

TRC: Who or what was the influence behind the ‘She Can ‘ series?

Melinda: When I wrote SHE CAN RUN, I hadn’t planned for a series of books. But I loved the characters of this small town and wanted to give them more adventures.

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

Melinda: I’ve always been much more mathematically inclined than verbally gifted. As such, I approach plotting a book as a group of linear equations that must all intersect at the same point. Now everyone can see why I proudly wear my “geek” label.

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

Melinda: I’ve had a number of personal emergencies crop up while in the middle of this last contract. So far, I’ve been lucky and have been able to meet my deadlines by working pretty much nonstop for weeks at a time. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the full support of my husband and kids. Someone has to slip food under the door and remind me to shower.

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 writers fail in this endeavor?

She Can Series

Melinda: Every character must have a personal stake that readers can identify with, and it’s the writer’s responsibility to see that each character’s arc is developed throughout the course of the story. A writer has to put herself into the character’s position and think hard about how it would feel to experience that particular crisis.

TRC: Do you direct the characters or do the characters direct the storyline as you write?

Melinda: A little of each. I plan the major plot points of my books out before I write them, but sometimes characters have better ideas as the story progresses. I’ve learned not to plot out every little event and not to lock myself into the storyline I’ve plotted. Deviations from the plan are OK and often make the book stronger.

TRC: If you could select one reality TV show to be a contestant, which show would your chose and why?

Melinda: I don’t watch reality TV. I watch very little television, and when I do, I want a story. My latest obsession is Falling Skies.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, friends and family; with whom do you bounce ideas and why?

Melinda: My fifteen-year-old son has been a great help with several plot issues. I also bounce idea off my husband and my friend, Kendra Elliot, author of The Bone Secrets Novels Hidden, Chilled, and Buried.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Melinda: I’m writing two projects at once, a first for me. I’ve just started a new book starring Conor Sullivan from the Midnight Series. I’m also working on a novella for the She Can series.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: ice cream

Favorite Dessert: ice cream

Favorite TV Show: at the moment, Falling Skies

Last Movie you saw: A movie marathon with the family: Despicable Me 2 & The Sea of Monsters

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Yes

Favorite Flower: Daisy

Last Vacation Destination: The Bahamas

Secret Celebrity Crush: It’s no secret. I’ve had a crush on Tom Selleck since the Magnum PI days.

Pet Peeve: putting dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher. Seriously, how hard it this?

TRC: Thank you Melinda for taking the time to answer our questions.  Congratulations on the release of She Can Scream.

Series Spotlight

SHE CAN RUN
She Can…#1
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: November 2011

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She Can Run Elizabeth was a young widow with two small children when she met Congressman Richard Baker. Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…

Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.

She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

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SHE CAN TELL
She Can…#2
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: December 2012

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She Can Tell A horse trainer’s homecoming turns deadly when a vicious stalker, a cold murder case, and a hot police chief threaten to expose family secrets that a killer wants to keep buried.

After a terrible accident ends her riding career, horse trainer Rachel Parker returns to her hometown to a hostile welcome. Her efforts to rebuild the family farm are hampered by her sister’s domestic crisis and a violent vandal who threatens Rachel’s new business and her life. She is also blindsided by the undeniable and unwanted attraction she feels for hot police chief handling her case. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her…

As his investigation uncovers the turbulent past Rachel keeps carefully hidden, Police Chief Mike O’Connell finds himself with too many suspects and too many feelings for his fiercely independent victim. His desire for Rachel is a conflict of interest that jeopardizes everything he stands for. Long buried family secrets, a skeleton, and a corrupt local official with a grudge against Mike complicate the case, but the escalating violence against Rachel convinces him he doesn’t have much time. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches twenty-five years into the past—before her stalker strikes again

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SHE CAN SCREAM
She Can…#3
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: September 13, 2013

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She Can Scream In one moment, high school teacher and single mother Brooke Davenport interrupts a vicious assault, saves a young woman’s life, and attracts the attention of a serial killer.
Sixteen years ago, Brooke lost her roommate to a brutal murder. Now she teaches women’s self-defense, still trying to heal from the guilt and grief that plague her. Convinced the predator knows his victims and is stalking his prey online, she is determined to find him before he strikes again. Her brother’s friend, Luke has the computer expertise to help. But Brooke’s unexpected desire for Luke complicates her investigation, and her fixation with the case provokes a deadly reaction from the killer.

Injured in terrorist bombing overseas, computer expert Luke Holloway is still haunted by flashbacks of his young assistant’s death in the explosion. But Luke can’t refuse the request of a deployed friend to look after his sister, Brooke. Taking on responsibility for Brooke’s safety threatens Luke’s tenuous recovery, especially after he develops feelings for her that transcend a promise to a friend. When Brooke saves a young girl from a brutal assault and becomes a killer’s obsession, Luke vows to protect her at all costs.

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SHE CAN HIDE
She Can…#4
by Melinda Leigh
Release Date: March 2014

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She Can Hide From the moment Officer Ethan Hale pulls Abby Foster from icy waters, he senses there’s more to her than meets the eye. Abby has no memory of the accident that submerged her car in the frozen river. Three years ago, Abby was kidnapped and abandoned in a well for a week. The botched police investigation nearly killed her. Abby had moved to the mountains of Pennsylvania for a fresh start, but when it becomes clear that this car crash wasn’t an accident, she knows the violence from her past has caught up with her.

But Abby’s former assailant was convicted and imprisoned, so who else wants her dead?

Ethan uncovers a fresh string of murders tied to Abby’s past. Someone is trying to kill her, and this time the stalker seems determined to finish the task. As the killer grows bolder, Abby begins to trust Ethan enough to share the truth, her heart, and her life. But to stop the murders, Ethan must make a decision that could jeopardize it all.

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Rafflecopter Giveaway

Melinda is giving away the following prizes at the end of her tour:

GRAND PRIZE: $25 Amazon card, plus a signed copy of SHE CAN SCREAM

RUNNER-UP: a signed cop of either SHE CAN RUN or SHE CAN TELL

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Blog tour Schedule

Click HERE for the complete blog tour schedule.

Death on a Dig by Lois Browne-A Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Sandy

Death on a Dig by Lois Browne-A Review and Interview with the Author

Death on a Dig

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 12, 2013

Death on a Dig takes place primarily in the Oaxaca valley, in central Mexico, on an archaeological dig. When a neighbour begs Gwen Madden to drop everything and head to Mexico to search for her missing daughter, Gwen has her own compelling reasons for accepting the challenge.

Within 24 hours she is tracking Alicia Lester’s last known activities, exposing lies that others have unknowingly – or perhaps deliberately — ignored and hunting a trove of stolen artifacts.

The investigation of a disappearance becomes the investigation of a murder. Equally disturbing are the warnings to Gwen that the first body may not be the last.

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REVIEW: Death on a Dig is a suspense/mystery novel. The main character is Gwen Madden, a middle aged woman, recently divorced with two step-daughters she has raised from small children.

The prologue begins with the abduction of an unknown woman. Chapter One begins with Gwen’s post-divorce celebration, with some lady friends who presented her with a Swiss Army knife as a gift for her future adventures. I’m a little unclear on why she stayed with a man who it seemed was always depressed and lonely and raised his two little girls as her own if she didn’t want a family…but that’s probably just me! Anyway, that sets up the basis for her being able to travel. She is approached by the mother of a former university friend of her daughters, saying that her daughter Alicia was missing from the dig site she had been working and she was hoping she could get Gwen to go to Mexico to look for her. The other woman couldn’t leave her ailing mother to go herself, but would gladly pay Gwen’s expenses if she would go.

As residents of Canada, the mother had already contacted the government agency and asked them for assistance, but since it was found that Alicia had left on her own and had her passport it was too soon to do anything but a simple inquiry. Gwen tried to tell her that people more qualified should do this as well as the police, but Alicia’s mother just wanted someone to go personally and see if they could find out anything, she felt time was of the essence and her daughter was in danger. She didn’t expect Gwen to confront anyone, just ask around to see if she could find where Alicia may have gone. Gwen, wanting to travel and having not enough resources to do so on her own as yet, reluctantly agreed.

This mystery has some unusual turns and twists. It builds slowly introducing characters and building suspicions. There is ancient treasure involved and stolen artifacts, as well as the kidnapping and a couple of murders. You follow Gwen along on the trip as she tries to find the trail and what may have happen to Alicia. I won’t spoil it by revealing the whole story, but it’s an adventure you need to take yourself.

If you like mystery, intrigue and danger, Death on a Dig, is a great read to take you away. Its pace is good, there is no actual romance but lots of mystery and danger to keep you on your toes! It’s well written, a little complicated, but certainly entertaining!

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

Interview

TRC: Hi Lois and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information. Please tell us something about yourself?

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Lois Browne Lois: I’ve spent my life writing, first in journalism and then in corporate communications. I often thought about writing fiction and even started a few stories, but I was never motivated to do the hard work of completing anything.

I’ve also done a lot of travelling in my life, and in recent years I’ve written travel blogs for my family and friends. I’ve always found writing very satisfying, even if not always easy, and it wasn’t until I retired and didn’t have that outlet anymore that I was finally motivated enough to take up writing fiction.

TRC: Your bio states that you have travelled many places as well a spending five years in Mozambique as an international volunteer. Would you please tell us of your experience in Mozambique and what brought you to this country?

Lois: Restlessness was at the start of that journey. I didn’t think life in my 30s was very challenging. I was active in the anti-apartheid movement at
the time and Mozambique, which had recently gained its independence from the Portuguese colonialists, was looking for volunteers. I applied and was accepted.

I arrived there in 1980 and stayed nearly five years. Mozambique was trying to bring education and health care to a population that was more than 95% illiterate, if you can imagine that. It was also leading the political struggle among African nations against the apartheid state in South Africa. At that time, Nelson Mandela was still in prison and his release was years away.

I worked as an English-language journalist for the national news agency and the national radio. It was fascinating and inspiring to begin with, but as South Africa launched an undeclared war against Mozambique, I saw the country’s attempts to build its social and political structure being destroyed.

By the time I left, a lot of its initiatives to bring some level of prosperity and autonomy to the Mozambican people had been crushed.

TRC: *Death on a Dig* is your July 2013 release and first book in the Gwen Madden Mystery series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Lois: Gwen Madden is a middle-aged woman who has raised two step-daughters who are now at university. Her marriage is over and she is desperate to make changes in her life. In this first adventure she is offered a all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico to look for a university student missing from an archaeological dig in Mexico and she takes it. She finds the change she is looking for plus lost stolen artifacts and murder. In subsequent adventures I expect her desire for adventure and her need for money will be the primary motives for putting her between a rock and a hard place in various corners of the world.

TRC: Who or what was the influence behind the premise of Death on a Dig? How much of the storyline is based in reality or a combination of fiction and real-life?

Lois: The only reality is the setting and my own fear of a life that never changes. From that I was able to imagine the motivation that would prompt Gwen Madden to follow wherever the challenge led her, no matter how dangerous.

TRC: How much influence have your travels affected your storylines and novels?

Lois: A fair bit. Everywhere I go, I imagine what a great setting it would be for a murder. I hiked Hadrian’s Wall in northern England last year. It’s windy and a bit wild with lots of opportunity to find yourself rounding the corner of a Roman ruin only to discover a corpse. I also spent time in Florence, Italy last year in and out of numerous beautiful, dimly lit museums and churches, some with steps down to near deserted, low-ceilinged, multi-crannied crypts, any one of which could easily hide a number of dead bodies. And the paintings and statuary and jewelry of great value would provide more than enough motive for murder.

TRC: What difficulties or challenges (e.g. logistical, research, etc) did you encounter writing Death on a Dig?

Lois: I wrote a lot of it from my memory of the times that I have travelled in Mexico. I think the first time was in 1976 when I spent six weeks in the Oaxaca Valley, which is where *Death on a Dig *is set. I was there again most recently a couple of years ago when I lived in San Miguel de Allende, just north of Mexico City for two months, taking painting classes and improving my Spanish. All that helped with the setting. The only other challenge I can think of is making sure that details like describing the countryside accurately for the time of year, and these days the Internet helps a lot with that.

TRC: How many books do you plan for the “Gwen Madden Mystery series”?

Lois: I don’t really have a plan. I’m working on a Gwen Madden short story at the moment and have a very basic outline for a novel or novella – I haven’t yet decided how long it will be. I can imagine another two or three books after that. I’d love to set one in Slovenia. I spent a couple of months there last year, mostly in the capital of Ljubljana and its history and architecture would make a great setting.

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

Lois: I think it was Raymond Chandler who said that whenever your plot stalls, have a couple of guys with guns barge into the room. I don’t know if I’ll ever use that precisely, but I do try to follow the spirit of it. I’m writing murder mysteries, after all, so I feel I have quite a lot of leeway.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a panster (write by the ‘seat of your pants’)?

Lois: Primarily a plotter. It’s only if I have an idea of where I will end up that I can relax and enjoy getting there. However, I have just finished a noir-ish short story called *Amends for the Dead *that I am serializing on my web site loisbrowne.com. I wrote that by the ‘seat of the pants.’ I had just finished *Death on a Dig*, and after two years of writing and rewriting, I wanted to be writing something else. *Amends for the Dead *was the result.

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 writers fail in this endeavor?

Lois: I think a writer has to see in their mind’s eye how characters manifest their emotions and describe that. ‘He looked afraid’ isn’t as effective as ‘His eyes widened. She heard his sharp intake of breath.’ It takes practice and conscious thought. I’m constantly on the lookout for ways I can improve my writing in that respect.

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

Lois: I don’t at all. If I happen to be walking with a friend and we’re passing a spot where I was thinking of placing a body, I might mention it, but only if we’re actually on the subject. I’m superstitious. It’s as though there’s a finite amount of energy for each writing project, and every word I utter about it uses up some of that energy. Writers write, they don’t talk about it.

TRC: If you could select one reality TV show to be a contestant, which show would you choose and why?

Lois: I’m probably most suited to Amazing Race, since I’ve had lots of experience getting around unfamiliar places where I don’t know the language. But the show I would have most enjoyed is *Project Runway*, even though I can’t sew and I spend a lot of time in T-shirts and jeans. I loved the fabrics and the bitchiness – a great combination.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Lois: I’m almost finished a Gwen Madden short story called *In The Early Hours*. When that’s published, I’ll start on a Gwen Madden novel. I’ve also got a short story for free on Smashwords, *Murder in the Clubhouse*, set in the world of girl pro baseball players of the 1940s, and I wouldn’t mind writing another couple of those.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Lois: I have two web sites – my mystery web site http://www.loisbrowne.com and my *Girls of Summer *web site, http://intheirownleague.wordpress.com, dedicated to my only non-fiction book and my continuing research on the women who played pro baseball in the 1940s and 1950s. As I mentioned, it has inspired a series involving girl detectives so mystery readers will like it. Please visit and think about Following me.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
BBQed ribs

Favorite Dessert
Pecan pie

Favorite TV Show
Inspector Lewis

Last Movie you saw
All’s Well That Ends Well directed by Joss Whedon

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk Chocolate

Favorite Flower
Hibiscus

Last Vacation Destination
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Secret Celebrity Crush
George Clooney

Pet Peeve
Cellphone users who turn public space into their personal telephone booth

TRC: Thank you Lois for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of Death on a Dig.

Crash Into Me by K.M.Scott-A Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Sandy

CRASH INTO ME by K.M.Scott-A Review and Interview with the Author

Interview

TRC: Hi K.M and welcome to The Reading Café.

We would like to start with some background information. Please introduce yourself to our readers?

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K.M: My name is K.M. Scott and I’m a contemporary romance author. I’ve been a writer for years and a published author for two under my other pseudonym, Gabrielle Bisset, but Crash Into Me is my first contemporary and my first novel under the K.M. Scott name.

TRC: What was the deciding factor in venturing into another genre of storytelling and novels?

K.M: I’ve read contemporaries for a long time, but for whatever reason, my muse was feeling paranormals, so I pursued that genre. That’s not to say I’m not continuing writing those, but I’ve had a story in my mind for a few years that just hadn’t had the right feeling for me until earlier in 2013. One day, though, it was like lightning struck and I began writing what would eventually become Crash Into Me.

TRC: CRASH INTO ME is the first installment (August 28 release) of your new series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

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K.M: The three books in this series will be called the Heart of Stone Trilogy. The trilogy is a contemporary romance based on what some many see as the backbone of many fairy tales: Wealthy prince (in this case, hotel owner) falls for a regular girl in what seems like a fated romance. I threw in a twist to the story, though, which makes it unique.

TRC: Do you consider this particular genre New Adult or Adult fiction?

K.M: I believe it’s Adult, but since the female protagonist is 24 years old, it fits into New Adult also.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series? And will Tristan Stone be the focus of the series?

K.M: All three books in the series will be centered around the couple of Tristan Stone and Nina Edwards.

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

K.M: I’ve always pictured Tristan as at least 6’2″, dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, and well-built, so Henry Cavill would be a great match for him (although I think he’s shorter than that and has blue eyes). As for Nina, I can picture Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries as Tristan’s love interest.

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

K.M: I think about what I’d want as a reader. For me, that’s the secret to making sure my plots make sense while entertaining people. Especially when I’m writing contemporary romance, I want to make sure that the plot is believable.

Blood Craving TRC: You also write at Gabrielle Bisset. What upcoming plans do you have for the Sons of Navarus series?

K.M: The Sons of Navarus are at a tough spot in their fight with the Archons. They’ve lost one of their own, and in Blood Craving, the next book in the series, another Son, Sion, will have to help the woman he secretly loves as she works on the Prophecy of Idolas. Kali’s got some demons, though, and when they intersect with Marc Verrater’s new drug he hopes to use to enslave all vampires, she’s going to go through some things and the only one who can save her is Sion, the one Son who is more machine than anything else. There’s also that new baby Noele and Ramiel are raising, and readers can expect great things from that little guy.

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

K.M: I tend to be a pretty strong director, but there have been times when the characters seem to take over the story. When that happens, I need to sit back and decide if where they’re going is what’s right for the story.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a ‘panster’?

K.M: I’m a committed plotter. I know the beginning, middle, and end to every book and every series before I begin writing it. That said, things can and do change (see the answer above about unruly characters LOL). However, I always have a very strong idea where things are going. It does make it hard, though, since I know how the story plays out and can’t talk about it until everyone else gets to read the books.

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 writers fail in this endeavor?

K.M: They say that if the author cries while writing a scene, the reader will too. I think this is true. It’s easy for readers to tell if the author is putting their emotions into the work. For me, I like to write what I call vignettes, often very small scenes within the story that pack a huge emotional punch. They tend to be what readers remember from the story when they talk to me about the plot. So within the book are these vignettes that resonate with readers. I’ve read stories that don’t pull the reader in and I’ve found it’s usually because of the old telling, not showing idea. Sometimes it’s just that there are too many dialogue tags pulling me out of the action, while at other times it’s just that I don’t feel like I’m there for the action but that I’m being told about it.

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

K.M: I’m a firm believer in walking away if it isn’t there. I can’t force it or it won’t work and I’ll just have to rewrite it all anyway. So I walk away and return when I feel right about it. That’s usually within a week or two, but sometimes I have to leave a book for a longer time (I had to leave the 4th book in the Sons series, Blood Prophecy, for months because I was fighting what I knew had to happen.)

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

K.M: I’m a crazy woman when it comes to details. Nothing bothers me more than reading something and knowing the author didn’t take the time to research. After researching the details for Crash Into Me, I can now say I know well what the inside of a Jaguar F series car looks like, precisely how to tie a Windsor knot, and enough about Venice to know I need to get there asap!

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

K.M: I have an editor and a close friend who listen to my ideas, each for different reasons. My editor is great with helping me flesh out the details, and my friend is just interested in my writing and listens patiently while I babble on about this story and that.

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

K.M: It’s a real juggling act. I have a full time job and I home school my son, so any time not dedicated to those two areas is left for eating, sleeping, and writing. My house is usually very messy since taking care of the house usually loses out to one of the other areas. My son is a great kid, though, so he helps a lot.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

K.M: I’m writing the second book in the Heart of Stone Trilogy, Fall Into Me, and I’m working on the 5th book in the Sons series, Blood Craving.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

K.M: Just that readers can find me on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/kmscottauthor and my blog at authorkmscott.blogspot.com I love hearing from readers, so stop by and say hi!

Follow KM: Website / Google Plus / Facebook / Goodreads

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food--pizza

Favorite Dessert--anything with caramel

Favorite TV Show--Person of Interest (love Mr. Reese!)

Last Movie You Saw--Iron Man 3

Dark or Milk Chocolate--Milk

Secret Celebrity Crush--Henry Cavill

Last Vacation Destination--Las Vegas

Pet Peeve--Lying

TRC: Thank you K.M. for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of CRASH INTO ME.

K.M: Thanks, Sandy!

Review

Crash Into Me
Heart of Stone #1
by K.M.Scott
Release Date: August 28, 2013

Crash Into Me

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 28, 2013

What would you give up for everything?

Tristan Stone was powerful, commanding, sex incarnate. And he wore it all so well. From the moment his mesmerizing gaze met mine, I had no choice but surrender to everything he was. His power. His decadence. His passion. He was all I never knew I needed.

He wanted to possess me, and I wanted to be his everything. All I had to do was accept what he offered. But everything has a price.

The world he gave me fulfilled my wildest dreams, but would that be enough when the past crashed into the present?

••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: CRASH INTO ME is the first installment in K.M.Scott’s new contemporary New Adult romance series. K.M. Scott is the penname of author Gabrielle Bisset (Sons of Navarus) and CRASH INTO ME is her first foray into the New Adult genre.

CRASH INTO ME focuses on billionaire and reluctant hotel magnate Tristan Stone and Art History graduate Nina Edwards. Following their ‘accidental’ meeting at a gallery showing, Tristan offers Nina a six month contract position as the art procurer for his chain of Richmont Hotels throughout the world. But what began as a business arrangement soon becomes something more. Before the six months are over Nina will transform the quiet, unsmiling recluse billionaire into a man who will break her heart in more ways than one.

The premise follows Tristan and Nina’s building relationship from employer and employee, to friends and lovers. But Nina soon becomes troubled by the small alarm bells that keep going off every time the darker side of Tristan is exposed when Nina steps over an imaginary line where jealousy begins to rear its’ ugly head. The small signs of possession and his need to control start mounting and Nina is unsure just how far the relationship will go before something or someone gets hurt.

The storyline is told from Nina’s POV. We are witness to her thoughts and desires, and there is no doubt that Nina is falling in love but it is Tristan’s ulterior motives that will leave the reader questioning his intent and action. And in the end, the true nature of the beast will be exposed and life for Nina and Tristan will never be the same.

The writing style is simple and the storyline is slow to build, but I never felt that we really got to know our leading couple before they immediately jumped into a relationship where Tristan controlled every aspect of their daily lives. Tristan and Nina both have a history of loss but their connection to one another runs deeper than anyone could have imagined.There is heartbreak and sorrow and you know that Tristan hides a deep, dark secret.

Tristan is an enigma. He is dark, almost cold and his personality never quite shines through on the pages of Crash Into Me. The storyline is character driven and because it is told from Nina’s POV, we never really get into the head of the man who controls the strings.

K.M. takes the reader on a virtual tour from America to Venice and we will discover there is a softer side to our hero Tristan Stone. The building of the sexual relationship is quick to develop as there is a definite mutual attraction between Nina and Tristan- one that will prove to be a heartbreaker for both.

If you are a fan of the Crossfire or FSOG series style then Crash Into Me will be a familiar storyline but one with a twist at the end of book one. I hope we get to see a different side of Tristan-perhaps a storyline perspective from his POV because whatever has been going through his mind, is definitely going to push the storyline forward.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Fueled by K. Bromberg-Blog Tour and Interview with the Author

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Sandy

Fueled by K.Bromberg-Blog Tour and Interview with the Author

Fueled (Driven Trilogy #2)
by K. Bromberg
Release Date: August 2013
Blog Tour and Interview with the Author

Interview

TRC: Hi Kristy and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the success of the Driven series.

K Bromberg Kristy: Thank you so much for having me! It’s all still a bit surreal that people are reading about the voices talking to me in my head—and liking them no less!

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

Follow: Website/Facebook/Twitter /Goodreads

Kristy: I am a working mother that lives in Southern California with my husband and three young children. I spend my days wrangling children, driving them to and from practice and school all the while doing my “real” job before tucking them in and spending time on my “dream” job of being an author.

Driven TRC: DRIVEN is your May 2013 release and first book in the Driven Trilogy. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Order: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /

Click HERE for our review of DRIVEN (Driven #1) by K. Bromberg

Kristy: Driven is a book that revolves around the irrefutable attraction between two people who appear to be opposites but have more in common than one might think. They find each other at a time in their lives when they need each other the most despite either of them thinking that. The story follows their battle of wills, the challenge and chase, along with seven little boys that will steal your heart.

TRC: Are any of the characters or situations in the storyline based in reality or an amalgamation of your imagination and current headlines?

Kristy: None of the characters are based from reality. They all reside strictly in my imagination.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in the series, which models or actors would be represent your projected image?

Kristy: That’s a hard question because I don’t think I’d ever find that image I have in my head of Colton or Rylee in real person. Yes—someone can have dark hair and green eyes…but it’s not Colton. And besides, even if I did know someone, I prefer not to say because I don’t want to ruin one of my readers’ images in their heads—does that make sense? For instance, everyone disagrees who should play Christian Grey—and in all honesty, I don’t think they’ll ever cast the correct person because in my head he is an image only I have conjured up.

Fueled Cover TRC: FUELED is your second installment and August 2013 release in the Driven Trilogy. Please tell us something about the premise?

Order: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

Click HERE for our review of FUELED.

Kristy: Fueled is the journey of Rylee and Colton. As the story unfolds we see a myriad of things: forgiveness, understanding one another, the building blocks and sometimes knocking down of the foundation of a relationship. Their growing love (well, what Rylee would define as love) is tough. It’s not always easy or pretty—especially when you have baggage that you bring to the table like they do—but Fueled is their story and aabout figuring their place together in the midst of all of it. Oh, and you also get to see things through Colton’s eyes for several chapters.

I’ll finish by saying that Fueled is a roller coast of extreme emotions. If you thought Driven made you feel, Fueled will make it seem like the kiddie ride.

TRC: Many of the recently popular adult series, once labeled as trilogies, are now going beyond into 4, 5 and 6 books. If the DRIVEN series continues to be a success, will you continue the storylines e.g. novellas or full length novels, or have you an ending in mind for the series?

Kristy: When you read the last page of Crashed, Rylee and Colton’s story will be told in completion. I promised that from the beginning and will stick by that. I will say that I’ve pondered writing a short novella that goes back and covers a few events between the last chapter and the epilogue…but we’ll see how I feel when I finish writing Crashed. I’ve been questioned if I plan on writing any spin-off books of other characters such as Haddie or Becks…there are possibilities there but I’m focusing strictly on Crashed right now and giving Rylee and Colton the respect they deserve by writing a story that will knock your socks off.

TRC: FUELED is a storyline that is heartbreaking, frustrating, painful and a roller coaster of emotions. 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 writers fail in this endeavor?

Kristy: Wow! Tough question. In my case, I just write how I think I would feel in a situation, luckily it works (or at least that’s what I’m told by readers). I think part of drawing people in, and it’s just how I do it, is I throw grammar out the window (it drives people crazy—especially my editor). Thoughts and emotions that run through your head are not always complete. Sometimes they are repeated or incomplete. That’s how I write. When Rylee is angry I write it short, sharp sentences clumped together. When she’s content, it’s more fluid with longer sentences that are more flowery. That’s just me though—I’m super wordy and I have a habit of saying the same thing in different ways in a short span so the editing process is longer for me. So in short, I think an author needs to write how someone really thinks/talks/feels when they are in the emotion they are trying to portray.

I think author’s fall short when they don’t invest time in building their characters. When a reader is invested in the character, it’s easier for them to relate and feel the character’s plight.

TRC: Will you tell us how YOU were able to handle the more disturbing and heartbreaking aspects of this particular storyline? Did you get emotionally involved with the events of this novel?

Kristy: Of course I am emotionally involved in the storyline since these people are my creation and I most definitely care about them. I think as an author you look at things a little differently—of course the emotion is engaging—but my focus is how to make you feel that emotion…how to draw you, the reader, in. What actions or descriptions are going to make you react and feel. It’s one of those things that when you are in the middle of a situation you aren’t as affected as someone on the outside, looking in.

The funny thing is that I’ve read the story during the editing process so many times that I’m kind of numb to the emotion in it now…and I forgot how powerful some of the scenes were until I started hearing from the bloggers who were reading their ARCs. Their reactions were pretty eye-opening to the honest and raw emotion in the book.

TRC: Rylee and Colton’s ‘catharsis’ scenes are fraught with tears, anxiety and misunderstanding. What do you believe will have to happen before our
couple is able to move forward?

Kristy: I think in order for Colton and Rylee to move forward, all of the cards need to be thrown on the table. In Fueled, the reader sees a lot of the cards or can make intelligent inferences from things, but that doesn’t mean the other character does. For instance, Fueled has some chapters that take place from Colton’s POV. We see his thoughts and know things about him that Rylee can guess at but doesn’t whole-heartedly know. So I think that everything needs to be laid out bare – souls, hearts, fears, pasts—and that will allow them the fortitude and trust to move forward.

TRC: CRASHED is the third installment. Have you started writing and if so, can you hint at the storyline or is it best to remain secretive at this point? 😉

Kristy: Crashed is heavily outlined but not written yet. I released Driven and Fueled three months apart…luckily Fueled was basically written when I published Driven or I would have never finished it in that short amount of time. Editing takes forever and I never took into account the time consumption of marketing the books…so when I finish up the promo stuff for Fueled, I’m diving head first into Crashed…I’m antsy to get writing again! With that said, I’ve spent a lot of time with the computer glued to my fingertips as of late, and I’m going to take a little time to play with my kids a little more because I’m starting to have that mother’s guilt creep in that I’m not doing enough with them…if that makes sense.

TRC: Do you have a projected date of release for CRASHED?

Kristy: In my head, yes—but I am not saying yet. I’d rather give a date I know that I can hit rather than give one now and keep moving it because that’s frustrating to readers. I’m being realistic that the holidays are coming up soon and family comes first so I need to make sure they are taken care of…but rest assured, Crashed is getting written. I don’t want to rush something out that is less than par just to finish the book in a set time frame.

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

Driven series

Kristy: I like to think that I direct the characters but I think a bit of both happens. There are plenty of times that I have a scene set a certain way and all of the sudden the character does or says something in my head that’s completely off course. It’s those times that I start typing furiously to catch up to my thoughts because the character screams at me to do something else—and usually, those end up being the best parts of the book.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Kristy: I’m definitely a plotter—You have to be when writing a trilogy because you have to weave ribbons in Book 1 that will take hold and come to light in Book 3. I think my outline for Crashed is something like 78 pages written in longhand. But here’s the thing, no matter how detailed an outline, when I write, sometimes the best things in the book happen on the fly as I mentioned before…all of the sudden they hit and then I go backwards to make it work.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, car racing lingo) did you encounter writing this particular story/series?

Kristy: I had to research some terms. There is a scene in Fueled where Colton is testing his race car and he’s throwing out jargon—I definitely had to research the terms but it wasn’t anything too detailed. I did have to research how the boys would react in certain situations in order to stay true to the trauma/experiences in their lives. Luckily I’ve had some readers who do this for a living and they’ve contacted me and helped out with terms or reactions to circumstances.

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

Kristy: No one. I know. It sounds odd but I don’t really have anyone here that I bounce anything off of. At home I have three small children and a husband. To them, this world doesn’t really exist other than me sitting with the computer glued to my fingertips. I’ll mumble something to my Mom every now and again but other than that, most people don’t even realize that I write. For instance when I published Driven, only three people even knew I wrote it before I hit publish if that tells you anything.

I will say that this time around I had beta readers—some bloggers and some other people that I met online through groups that had experience beta reading for other authors. That was a big help because I received some feedback on what worked or didn’t work for them while reading it…so in theory, I bounced some ideas off of them. I ended up making some revisions off of their comments, but other than that, no one really.

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

Kristy: That’s the best thing about a plot…it can change and adjust as you’re writing. I’ve left enough open threads in both Driven and Fueled that I can always move or adjust things in Crashed if I need to. Sometimes when you write, the plot evolves differently that I had never expected. Look, almost every story has been told out there a million times—as an author you have to try and make the same tried and true plotline and twist it enough to make it unique. It’s not always an easy thing to do.

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

Kristy: That’s a very good question. My husband says it’s like I have three jobs—my real job (day job as a bookkeeper), running the house and dealing with the kids, and then my writing. When I first started writing Driven, my husband was travelling constantly for work so once the kids went to bed and talked to him on the phone, I’d write. Since then, he’s switched positions so that he can be home more and now I find that balance very difficult. I try to write once everyone goes to bed, but sometimes that’s hard because my brain doesn’t function when I’m tired (and I’m not a coffee drinker). Luckily my two youngest will start preschool three days a week in the next month and so for the first time in almost eight years, I will have some days where the house is empty. After doing my work for my ‘real’ job, then I’ll try and use that alone time to crank out some pages without interruption.

TRC: If you could be a contestant on a reality television program, which program would you chose and why?

Kristy: Jeopardy. I have quirky knowledge and I retain things really well so I can answer a lot of the questions that make my husband go “How in the hell did you know that?”

TRC: What are your thoughts on book reviews-good or bad?

Kristy: It would be easy to say that I take both with a grain of salt, but I’d be lying. Of course good reviews make you feel validated in your writing and bad reviews eat at you and make you wonder what you could have done differently to make them like the story…but in reality, not everyone is going to like the same thing. There are going to be haters and there are going to be people that try and jump on the love train—so you really do have to take it with a grain of salt. I will say though that some of the toughest reviews I received from blogs made me a better writer when it came to Fueled. I didn’t dismiss their comments but rather looked at them objectively and tried to see how I could make the story better. Regardless, as an author you have to write for yourself first and foremost or else your story is not going to come from the heart.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Kristy: I am currently working on Crashed. Once I finish that I have a stand alone that I’ve started called Strike Out that is more New Adult with a twist of explicit that I think will surprise some people.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kristy: Just that I’d like to thank all of the readers for their astounding support when it comes to Driven and now Fueled. I’m floored on a daily basis that somewhere in the world someone is reading something I wrote and liking it enough they are telling a friend or posting a review on Amazon for it. It’s a very surreal feeling, so I want to make sure to thank them…and say I really hope they love Fueled and that I surpassed the expectations they set for it.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food:
pizza

Favorite Dessert:
cheesecake

Favorite TV Show:
I’m so busy writing at night I don’t watch much TV anymore, but I’d have to say Grey’s Anatomy is one I try not to miss.

Last Movie You Saw:
Despicable Me 2 (can you tell I have young kids?)

Dark or Milk Chocolate:
dark

Favorite Flower:
dahlias

Last Vacation Destination:
camping at the beach

Pet Peeve:
pretention and chewing with your mouth open

Secret Celebrity Crush:
Can I tell you how hard this one is? I’m rather picky….My gosh….I’m going to step aside from the typical Channing Tatum, David Gandy’s because that’s everyone’s answer….I like Ben Affleck. There’s something hot about him – the mixture of good dad, intelligent, creative, not too pretty boy….that’s sexy to me.

TRC: Thank you Kristy for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the success of DRIVEN. We cannot wait to see where you take Colton and Rylee next.

Kristy: Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know me! I hope you enjoy Fueled!

Excerpt

He breaks from the kiss with a tortured groan and pulls away from me. “Colton,” I murmur, “let me take care of you.”

“Not here,” he tells me, smoothing my skirt down and smirking as he stuffs what’s left of my panties further down into his pocket. “I want to hear you scream out my name when I take you. I want to hear it when you fall apart from the things I’m going to do to you, Rylee. I want to claim you. Make you mine. Ruin you for any other man that dares to think of touching you.” He grimaces from the conviction of his words.

“You already have, Colton,” I breathe out without thinking, reaching out to place my fingertips to his lips. “I’m yours…” My voice trails off as he stares at me, his jaw working overtime as he absorbs the words I’ve said.

A ghost of a smile mixed with an uncertain disbelief plays on his lips before shaking it away and pushing it aside. “I—we can’t continue here with what I want to do, but this,” he says, motioning to me and the wall, “will tide me over.” He flashes a quick grin at me before grabbing my hand and climbing the last flight of stairs.

I follow him, knowing my heart and body are far from recovered from that little episode. Haddie’s words flash through my head, and I can’t help but disagree with her. When it comes to Colton, I don’t just have it bad. I’ve drowned, been consumed, and am utterly and undeniably his.

Series Spotlight

DRIVEN
Series: Driven #1
by K. Bromberg
Release Date: May 2013

Driven

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca

Rylee Thomas is used to being in control. But she’s about to meet the one man that just might make her enjoy losing it…

I am the exception to the rule.

In a world full of willing women, I’m a challenge to the roguish and achingly handsome Colton Donavan. A man used to getting exactly what he wants in all aspects of life. He’s the reckless bad boy constantly skating that razor thin edge toward out of control, on and off of the track.

Colton crashes into my life like a tornado: sapping my control, testing my vulnerabilities beyond their limits, and unintentionally penetrating the protective wall around my healing heart. Tearing apart the world I rebuilt so carefully with structure, predictability, and discipline

____________________________________________________

FUELED
Series: Driven #2
By K. Bromberg
Release Date: August 28, 2013

Fueled Cover

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

What happens when the one person you never expected suddenly happens to be the one you’ll fight the hardest to keep?

Colton stole my heart. He wasn’t supposed to, and I sure as hell didn’t want him to, but he crashed into my life, ignited feelings within me that I thought had died forever, and fueled a passion that I never knew could exist.

Rylee fell out of that damn storage closet and into my life. Now I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. She’s seen glimpses of the darkness within me, and yet she’s still here. Still fighting for me. She is without a doubt the saint, and I am most definitely the sinner.

How is it the one thing neither of us wanted—neither of us anticipated that fateful night—has us fighting so hard to keep?
He steals my breath, stops my heart, and brings me back to life again all in a split second of time. But how can I love a man who won’t let me in? Who continually pushes me away to prevent me from seeing the damaged secrets in his past? My heart has fallen, but patience and forgiveness can only go so far.

How can I desire a woman who unnerves me, defies me, and forces me to see that in the deep, black abyss of my soul there’s someone worthy of her love? A place and person I swore I’d never be again. Her selfless heart and sexy body deserve so much more than I’ll ever be capable of giving her. I know I can’t be what she needs, so why can’t I just let her go?

We are driven by need and fueled with desire, but is that enough for us to crash into love?

_________________________________________

Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway runs from 12 AM CDT (US), August 28th to 12 AM CDT (US), September 6th

Prizes – (1) $50 Amazon gift card, (4) $25 Amazon gift cards, 5 e-copies of Fueled, 2 signed paperback copies of Driven

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

Click HERE for the complete FUELED tour schedule

BLOG TOUR ORGANIZED BY: Sinfully Sexy on Tour Promotional Services

The Ballerina and The Fighter by Ursula Sinclair-A Review and Interview with the Author

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Sandy

THE BALLERINA AND THE FIGHTER Book 1 by Ursula Sinclair-A Review and Interview with the Author

The Ballerina and the Fighter

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: July 1, 2013

I travel through life dancing.

All I ever wanted to do was dance, as did my best friend. We’d made so many plans together, but one night an explosion changed it all. Only one of us survived, and I promised myself I’d succeed for us both. And I did, until an accident almost ruined my career, but Maze came back into my life when I needed him most. He pulled me out of the depths of my despair. But could I save him now?

I travel through life fighting.

It had always been Ivy; from the first moment I saw her leaping through the air like she had wings to lift her from the ground. But she was my dream, something I wanted more than anything else in my life. I promised myself I would stay away from her. Violence followed me everywhere and I tried to keep her far away from it. She was my point of illumination in the dark tumultuous world I lived in. But I could not stay away from her. Not when I knew she needed me. As much as I needed her. But could she accept me as I am?

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: The Ballerina and The Fighter is the first book in Ursula Sinclair’s new series of the same name. Written in the New Adult genre, the storyline focuses on two people-Maze and Ivy- who met five years earlier and caught up with one another after their careers have taken off. The story is told from alternating POVs.

The storyline begins with a prologue where Maze and Ivy are first introduced. It is summer vacation and Ivy and her BFF Shelly are spending the holidays at the shore. Ivy meets Maze-an up and coming MMA fighter and a summer romance ensues. But a tragedy will befall Ivy and her personal life becomes fixated on dance and success. With Maze off to Japan to train, Ivy will pursue her career as a professional dancer. In the initial stages of the storyline the characters are under eighteen years of age and the story reads like a young adult novel.

Fast forward five years, and in the interval, very little communication between Maze and Ivy has occurred. When Maze returns to America and finds Ivy as the lead ballerina for a dance company, he wants nothing more than to rekindle what they started years earlier. But Maze has a few secrets-his life as a MMA fighter is not always legal and above the law. When the reality of his lifestyle puts everyone he loves in danger, Maze must make a decision-walk away from the MMA or walk away from the woman he loves.

The writing style is simple but it felt like there were two distinct styles throughout the story. There are a few problems with grammar, spelling and overall cohesion which can be corrected with a good editor. At times I felt like I was being told a story-not invited in. There are several life altering situations that brought drama and tension to the plot.

The character development is interesting. Ivy and Maze both had some issues-in fact-Maze had a habit of leaving without so much as a good bye or KMA and Ivy was willing to accept Maze without so much as an explanation as to why he keeps disappearing. The attraction between the couple cannot be denied but their actions left me wondering about the reality of the situation. Should they not have had some communication with each other in the intervening five years? But this is a novel of fiction and questionable actions are what make up the storyline.

The Ballerina and The Fighter by Ursula Sinclair is a short story that introduces the characters and some of the background information in the series of the same name. Overall, the storyline premise is interesting. It had promise but I wanted (needed) to feel a deeper connection to the characters and their stories. I hope the second installment delves a little deeper into the character development and their backstories. Perhaps some information about the ‘missing’ five years and how it has affected both of their lives.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview

TRC: Hi Ursula and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of The Ballerina and the Fighter We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Ursula: I’m the mother of two college age daughters, that just sounds so weird to think much less to write. lol. But my oldest will be a sophomore in the fall and my youngest a freshman. Thank God they’re only a few hours away by car otherwise there’d be a problem. lol I’ve been married for 23 years to a wonderful man. I’m an avid reader and a writer of contemporary, fantasy, and sci/fi sensual romances. Which I write as LaVerne Thompson but I also write romantic suspense and new adult contemporary under the pen name Ursula Sinclair. To date I have 21 books published, two of them I self-published.

TRC: You are an intellectual property attorney by degree. Why the shift to writing romance and fantasy storylines? Have you ever had the opportunity to use your law degree for your own novels and writing?

Ursula: Yep in another life I was an IP attorney, my speciality was trademark law. It’s not as big a shift as you’d think from law to writing storylines, there are many authors who are recovering lawyers such as myself. lol. I spent fifteen years writing briefs and many times I’d use my creative side to lay out the facts so the judges would see things my way. It’s not unlike writing storylines. And yep I have used my legal background, but the funny thing is the one story I have where both the h/h are lawyers I have yet to finish and I started it years ago. lol I might have to pull that out and dust it off soon.

TRC: Would you please tell us about your alter ego-LaVerne Thompson and what we can expect from LaVerne in 2013?

Ursula: hahahahaha I’m working on two things I’d like to finish by year’s end under LaVerne the re-release of Come To Me a contemporary romance that was first released about 3 years ago but I’ve added quite a bit to it and will self-publish it by summer’s end. There’s also a sci/fi I’m co-writing, The Other Side, but that won’t be done this year. The other project is to finish book 2 in my Children of The Waves series, Sea Storm a fantasy romance for Decadent Publishing. But as Ursula I also want to finish if not release Book 2 of my ballerina story, by the end of the year.

THE BALLERINA AND THE FIGHTER is your latest release. Would you please tell us something about the storyline?

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

Ursula: The title says a lot about it. It’s the story of a young ballerina, Ivy, who meets a young man, Maze, who’s a MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. But the kind of fighting he does is truly underground, unsanctioned by any legitimate organization and run by the Chinese mafia. They first meet when they were 17 and 19 but they’re young just beginning their careers, unsure and circumstances part them. Five years later Maze comes back into her life but he’s even more involved in dangerous activities and she’s this successful ballerina who dances with a premier ballet company. Maze knows his life is not for her, he tries to protect Ivy from the darker side of his life by staying away, but Ivy gets hurt and then nothing will keep him away. Ivy for her part is drawn to Maze from the beginning and hurt by the way he’s constantly pushing her away. But at the same time she’s been with him twice now when violence found him. While she fears that part of his life she’s not pushing him away. As different as their worlds are they are actually a lot alike. Both driven, focused and dedicated to their crafts.

TRC: Who or what was the influence behind the storyline? Were any of the characters or the storyline based on reality or an amalgamation?

Ursula: My youngest is a classically trained ballerina. I’ve been involved in the world of ballet for 15 years so I know it quite well and always wanted to write a story about a ballerina. I know what they’ve gone through to excel. The fall I describe in the story is one that actually happened but the rest of the story all from my imagination. I always knew my ballerina’s story but wasn’t sure about her hero, so kept it on the back burner knowing his story would come to me when it was ready. Then one day on-line I saw this ad for an MMA tournament and that’s when I knew my ballerina had to have an MMA fighter by her side. I love MMA. I grew up watching Bruce Lee, Kung Fu anyone. lol I know dating myself. There are other similar stories that influence the world I’ve created here, but Maze’s world stems from Enter The Dragon and an amalgamation of that type of fighting.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading roles in The Ballerina and the Fighter, which models or actors would best represent your ideal image?

Ursula: That’s easy Maze is Cam Gigandet, have you seen him in Burlesque or Never Back Down? My ballerina is a little harder to peg. I actually searched for stock pictures of ballerinas/dancers for use on my cover but none had that firebird leap I mention in the book with the dexterity and height the model is doing on the cover. So I used a shot of my daughter. But if I had to cast someone it would be Misty Copeland a soloist ballerina for ABT (American Ballet Theatre).

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

Ursula: lol I tried that once, directing my characters and they had a mutiny. So nope never trying that again. My characters tell me what to write and I go along for the ride.

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

Ursula: I just think of what I’ve read before and do something else. Yes boy meets girl and we all know they end up together, maybe, eventually, lol. But it’s the emotional journey they take us on that makes it different and worthwhile. Yeah sometimes it comes off as unbelievable but not impossible. lol Like Maze fighting off three guys with knives. It’s not impossible for a highly skilled trained fighter to do. Just like it’s not impossible for a ballerina to continue dancing on pointe, that’s on the tips of her toes even though he/she is in great pain. That I’ve seen happen more times than I’d like.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a panster (write by the ‘seat of your pants’)?

Ursula: I’m more of a panster. Love living in my head. But there have been a storyline or two where I had to not so much plot it out but make notes of all the characters and how they fit into the frame work of the story in my head.

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 writers fail in this endeavor?

Ursula: Great question. When I write if I find myself grinning, I know I’ve hit something within myself that will touch others reading those words. And when I laugh out loud I know I’ve struck gold, same with when I’m writing and getting all teary eyed and rushing to get through the scene so I can re-read it to see if it has the same impact on a read through. I guess a writer must also be able to experience the emotion that they’re trying to pull from the reader. I think a writer fails to pull out the emotion from their characters or a scene if when writing it or reading it over they feel nothing. If as a writer I’m reading what should be an emotional scene and I don’t stop and say ‘damned that’s good or damned that’s hot’ neither will my readers. When I write I have to open myself up emotionally otherwise it’s just words on a page and the reader takes it that way.

TRC: Many writers bounce ideas with family and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Ursula: Sometimes my husband, he’s come up with an idea or two. But I have a great group of fellow writers I can call on to mull thoughts and ideas through: Stephanie Williams my partner in crime, Scarlet Hunter, VR, Kylie Gray.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Ursula: Right now Book 2 for The Ballerina & The Fighter and later today Sea Storm.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Ursula: Thank you so much for having me. I loved these questions. If anyone wants to know more about me or my work please visit me at :
Website/ Twitter / Facebook/ Goodreads

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Unadulterated chocolate

Favorite TV Show: ooohh I have 2- Scandal and The Big Bang

Last Movie You Saw: Man of Steel

Dark or Milk chocolate: lol dark

Favorite Flower: Peach colored roses

Secret Celebrity Crush: No secret Johnny Depp

Pet Peeve: Drivers who don’t know right turn on green have the right of way.

TRC: Thank you Ursula for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of The Ballerina and the Fighter. We wish you all the best.

Kathleen Tessaro-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Sandy

Kathleen Tessaro-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

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Kathleen Tessaro

TRC: Hi Kathleen and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the success of The Perfume Collector.

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

Follow Kathleen: Goodreads /Website

Kathleen: I’m fairly dull; I was raised in Pittsburgh, a very poor and rebellious student, managed somehow to get into drama school then traveled to England to study acting in the middle of the second year of my drama program. I stayed in London for the next twenty-three years, married and divorced several times, had numerous odd jobs, realized I was not cut out for the life of an actress (I’m appalling), and was at a very dead end in my life when someone suggested I put pen to paper. Then, clearly, I got lucky. I’ve published five novels now and am working on my sixth.

TRC: You lived a good portion of your adult life in England and in 2009 returned to the USA. If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you like to live and why?

Kathleen: I’d move back to London. It’s an amazing, very eccentric, sophisticated and culturally vibrant place.

TRC: THE PERFUME COLLECTOR is your latest release in the historical fiction genre focusing on two women-one from the 1920’s and the other from the 1950’s. Would you please tell us something about the premise? (See my review below)

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Kathleen: The story concerns a young woman in 1950’s London who receives a letter one day from a law firm in France informing her that she’s the sole beneficiary in a will by a woman she’s never heard of, Madame Eva D’Orsey. Convinced there’s been a mistake, she travels to Paris only to learn the inheritance is real. In searching for clues as to her connection with this woman, she discovers that Eva was a muse to a very talented but difficult perfumer, Valmont. The rest of the story is revealed in the three distinctive fragrances Valmont created to honor her.

TRC: What or who was the inspiration behind The Perfume Collector and the leading characters?

Kathleen: I knew that I wanted to write a book where perfume and the connection between scent and memory was a central theme. The basic premise came from a conversation I had years earlier with a friend of mine, a woman in her fifties and a member of the English aristocracy who confided in me that when she was twenty-one, she suddenly inherited a flat in Paris from a man she’d never heard of and the impact that event had on her life and identity.

TRC: Are any of the characters or situations in the storyline based in reality or an amalgamation of your imagination and current headlines?

Kathleen: The main storyline I’ve just described came from real life but I also discovered a lot of inspiration about perfumers and perfume creation during my research. The character of Madame Zed, who created Mon Peche (My Sin) for Lanvin in 1924 was a real person – a mysterious Russian woman who formulated perhaps as many as fourteen perfumes for Lanvin before disappearing completely after the success on My Sin. Who she was and what happened to her were two questions I couldn’t leave unanswered in my novel.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in the series, which models or actors would be represent your projected image?

Kathleen: When I imagine Lambert I think of Michael Fassbender, Roman Duris for Valmont, Marion Cotillard for Eva, and Claire Foy for Grace.

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

Kathleen: I tend to start out with a strong situation and the characters grow out of that. For example, what if you inherited a flat from a stranger? What if you were a female alcoholic in 1933? What if you found a book in a second hand book store that promised to transform your life?

TRC: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Kathleen: I think of myself as a flounderer or perhaps a stabber-in-the-dark. I start out with an idea and a fairly clear plot and then as I write the book, things shift completely. That’s part of the fun but also the scary bit. The story you end up with is often different from the idea you had in the beginning. You have to be willing to go along for the ride.

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

Kathleen: I wrote a completely different ending that no one liked. Then I had to go back and unpick it and start again. It was a bit demoralizing but a lot of writing is like that – you try and fail and then try again. Constructive criticism is hugely valuable. You have to be willing to sacrifice whole chapters, characters and themes in order to make a book function, and trust that there’s more where that came from.

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

Kathleen: I have a number of writer friends I depend upon and of course my editors and agents.

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

Kathleen: I don’t think about it from that point of view. After you’ve done a fair amount of research, you realize that real life is far more outrageous than any plot you can come up with. So I simply focus on telling the story. And of course the story alters as you go along. For example in my new book, set in Boston in 1933, one character has a hangover at work. She opens a desk drawer of one of her colleagues and finds a Benzadrine inhaler. Before my research, I didn’t know that amphetamine inhalers were sold over the counter to clear nasal passages and of course were highly addictive. As soon as I found that out and put one in a desk drawer, I had a whole new plot line to thread into the story – of a young woman who becomes addicted to an over the counter medication. So you see, it’s all a crap shoot!

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

Kathleen: I fail at both.

TRC: If you could be a contestant on a reality television program, which program would you chose and why?

Kathleen: Maybe Project Runway….I can’t sew or design but I’d like to meet Tim Gunn. I often wish he would visit me at my desk while I’m writing and tell me to “make it work”.

TRC: If you could select a decade or ‘era’ other than NOW, at which time period would you have liked to have lived and why?

Kathleen: I’m researching the 1930’s right now, so that era is interesting to me. But as a woman, the idea of living in the past is very mixed. I can’t help but feel blessed to be alive in an age when I have ready access to health care, contraception, freedom of choice, education, career opportunities, political power….the more I study women’s positions even in the recent past, the more I’m struck by the huge limitations they were forced to live with and the enormous battles we’ve had to fight to get where we are. So, despite the nostalgia of the past, I don’t want to got back – only forward.

TRC: What are your thoughts on book reviews-good or bad?

Kathleen: No book is perfect. That said, the more you’re exposed to reviews, the more you realize that readers bring their own agendas to the experience, an agenda that often has little to do with you or your work. In that respect, its quite freeing. You have to find your own value and believe in your work independently of what others think.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Kathleen: It’s a novel set in an antiquarian shop in Boston in the early 1930’s during the Depression, called Rare Objects. I’ve got a struggling young woman with a secret to hide, some extremely rare Greek artifacts that have been smuggled into the country and a very dangerous love triangle.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kathleen: Thank you for having me and for supporting my books! Of all the reviews I encounter, the ones from genuine readers (who read for the sake of reading) are the most helpful to me and the most enlightening.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: tomatoes

Favorite Dessert: ice cream, any flavor

Favorite TV Show: Sherlock

Last Movie You Saw: The Way Way Back

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Milk, preferably with hazelnuts and raisins

Favorite Flower: white sweet peas, white roses, white hyacinth

Last Vacation Destination: London

Pet Peeve: people who spit in public

Secret Celebrity Crush: Helen Mirren

TRC: Thank you Kathleen for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the success of The Perfume Collector. We wish you all the best.

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Kathleen and Harper Collins are offering one hard cover copy of THE PERFUME COLLECTOR to five (5) lucky readers at The Reading Cafe.

NOTE: There will be up to 5 (five) winners with this giveaway

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. Giveaway runs from August 22 to August 27, 2013.

4. Giveaway is open to USA only.

Review

Please note: This is a reposting of my review of THE PERFUME COLLECTOR by Kathleen Tessaro

THE PERFUME COLLECTOR by Kathleen Tessaro

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released May 2013

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London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a young newlywed, eager to make a success of her marriage. However, with her intellectual curiosity and her unladylike talent for advanced mathematics, she finds the routine of elegant luncheons and exclusive parties among post-war London’ s social set more tiresome than exciting.

When Grace receives an unexpected inheritance from a woman she’ s never met, she finds herself suddenly in Paris, embarking upon a journey to discover not only the identity of her mysterious benefactor but also the hidden secrets of her own past.

In a story that takes us from New York in the 1920s to mid-century Monte Carlo, Paris and London, Grace discovers a world filled with the evocative, intoxicating power of perfume; an obsessive, desperate love between muse and artist; and a trail of dark memories that may mean she isn’t the person she thinks she is at all

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: THE PERFUME COLLECTOR is a fictional storyline that covers a tumultuous time in the lives of two women: Grace Monroe is a newly married woman in the 1950s whose sole purpose is to support her husband at social events and business parties. The other is Eva-a young teen in the 1920s who will learn first hand that there are people willing to take advantage of a naïve and innocent girl. And in the end, lives will be destroyed, reputations ruined and one woman will discover that her entire life has been a lie. Starting over will bring about a new set of ideals and revelations where she will discover the real person inside. The Perfume Collector is one woman’s story of self-discovery and independence brought about by a stranger with a gift and a story that has yet to be told.

We follow Grace as she embarks on a journey that will question the direction of her current life. When an unexpected inheritance from a stranger is thrust into her possession, Grace sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding the money and the woman from whom it was bequeathed. Most of the storyline premise is told in flashbacks and recollections from two specific eras.

The storyline alternates smoothly between the 1920s and 1954; from New York to London to Paris. Eva is a young girl, barely a teen, who must grow up quickly when life presents many opportunities and choices. She will find herself in debt to a man who neither loves her nor wants her, but a man who is in desperate need of something only Eva can supply. Hoping to repay the debt, Eva learns that she has lost so much more than her freedom but herself. This particular part of the storyline is darker in content and premise.

The character and world building are fluid and reflects the ideals and beliefs/emotions of the eras. Kathleen Tessaro pulls the reader into a storyline that tantalizes the senses: from sight and sound to the scents of rain and seduction-you can almost smell the very essence of the perfume. We watch as two women grow into themselves but one will eventually lose the battle when the sins of the past catch up rather quickly.

The Perfume Collector is a well-written, colorful storyline with a predictable plot but one that will keep your interest until the very end. The story builds on the premise of Grace’s hunt for information regarding the woman who named her as soul beneficiary and heir to a large estate. Along the way, we are introduced to a number of characters from past and present whose very existence has affected Grace’s life in 1954 and the one woman who is able to connect the timelines and stories together.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Sandy

Personal Asset by Kelsey Browning-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway

Personal Assets BlogTourBanner

INTERVIEW with Kelsey Browning

Kelsey Browning writes sass kickin’ love stories full of hot heroes, saucy heroines and spicy romance. Originally from a Texas town smaller than the ones she writes about, Kelsey has also lived in the Middle East and Los Angeles, proving she’s either adventurous or downright nuts. These days, she hangs out in northeast Georgia with Tech Guy, Smarty Boy, Bad Dog and Pharaoh, a Canine Companions for Independence puppy. She’s currently at work on the next book in her Texas Nights series and The Granny Series. Give her a shout at Kelsey@KelseyBrowning.com or drop by www.KelseyBrowning.com. For info on her upcoming releases, subscribe to her Sass Kickin’ News.

Interview-RED

TRC: Hi Kelsey and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of PERSONAL ASSETS.

Kelsey: Thanks so much for having me!

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

Kelsey Browning Kelsey: Oh, that’s an open invitation for a girl from Texas who can talk your ear off. I’m a Virgo, have a psychological allergy to green peas and am raising a puppy for Canine Companions for Independence. (How’s that for brevity and sneaking in more than one thing??)

TRC: Your bio states that you have travelled all over the world. Which destination was your favorite ? Which destination was the least attractive or favorite? Why?

Kelsey: Wow – tough question. I tell people the most beautiful place I never knew I wanted to visit is Sri Lanka. The people are incredibly friendly and their country is gorgeous even after the tsunami in 2005. Last summer, we stayed at a guesthouse in Arugam Bay that had been almost wiped out in the storm and then rebuilt after.

Least favorite…probably Kuwait City. We were living in the Middle East at the time and Kuwait City was an even more even more stark landscape than the city where we lived. While in KC, we stayed in a hotel that had been completely bombed out in the first Gulf War. They had a glass case that held a huge shell casing, a melted telephone and other evidence of the bombing. Interesting, but eerie. Very eerie.

TRC: PERSONAL ASSETS is your latest release. Would you please tell us something about the book?

Kelsey: Personal Assets is a contemporary romance about a sex therapist who wants to shake things up around her small Texas town and a man who’s recently returned to his hometown to restore classic cars. Allie propositions Cameron to a no-strings affair, and he can’t believe the town’s princess would stoop to sleeping with the kid of the town drunk. But Allie is trying to find her inner bad girl, and in the process, finds love with a man who has to learn she doesn’t want him to take care of her.

TRC: How many books do you plan for the TEXAS NIGHTS series? Will any or all of the storyline characters interact with each successive novel?

Kelsey: There are four books in the Texas Nights series. I originally planned three, but a new heroine emerged from book two. Readers will be introduced to six of the main characters in Personal Assets. In Running the Red Light, readers will be introduced to Ashton Davenport and her hero. Of course, readers will see all the characters in each book, but the focus will be on the current hero and heroine. Readers can find out more about the other books in the Texas Nights series here.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (e.g. logistical, research etc) did you encounter writing this particular storyline?

Kelsey: The biggest challenge I had at the time I first wrote Personal Assets (several years ago) was I was living out of the US in a Muslim country. If the country’s government considered a website too explicit, it would be blocked/censored from view. That sometimes made it hard to research sexual topics – LOL.

TRC: Are any of the characters or experiences based on events in real life? Or are they an amalgamation of many characters and your imagination?

Kelsey: Oh, I think our subconscious is always collecting and then developing characteristics based on what we’ve seen. We just don’t know it—and can’t always recognize it—on the surface. What I have found, however, is that my books have a common theme around reconciling yourself with home and homecoming. I’m originally from a small town in Texas and I have a real love/hate relationship with the place. I left for college when I was 18, and although I visited, I never lived there again. I think I’ve been trying to reconcile myself with my original home and my adult homes ever since.

TRC: If you could change something about yourself personal or professional, what would it be and why?

Kelsey: I’d wave a magic wand and give myself a big old helping of patience.

TRC: Who or what has been the biggest influence in your life and why?

Kelsey: Too many people to name, probably. But here are a few:
My mom – everything happens for a reason
My dad – you can do anything you want
My husband – always find a reason to say yes
My sister – we’re stronger than anyone can imagine

TRC: Is there a question that you would like to be asked in an interview, but nobody has asked? If so, ask away!

Kelsey: Yow – I used to ask this all the time when I interviewed people. It’s harder when it’s turned back on you. How about What did you love most about writing the Texas Nights series? Characters, characters, characters! I’m a totally character-driven writer. And shh…don’t tell anyone I said this, but secondary characters are often more fun to write than the hero and heroine because the author doesn’t have to be so darn careful with character arc and relationship arc. It’s easier to just let things fly with the secondaries!

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

Kelsey:
Write and publish another 25+ books
Live overseas again
See my son off into his own fabulous world
Become a better storyteller
Return to public speaking

TRC: What are your thoughts on book reviews-good or bad?

Kelsey: I think reviews allow authors to glean important tidbits about what readers love about their work. They can also discover what’s missing in their writing. But I think an author can’t take every word to heart. Not all books are made for all readers. I have to keep that in mind.

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

Kelsey: I have a plotting group—made up of authors Tracey Devlyn, Adrienne Giordano, and editor and all-around-girl-Friday, Theresa Stevens. I’d be lost without them. When I need technical help—like how to get out of a locked storage closet door—I go to my husband, who’s an engineer. He rocks at that kind of stuff.

TRC: If you could be a contestant on a television ‘reality’ program, which show would you like to be a participant and why?

Kelsey: Yikes, is there a reality show about drinking coffee and wearing PJ bottoms? If so, that’s the one I want. Don’t know that I could do it, but Tech Guy (my husband) and Smarty Boy (my son) have a yen to go on Survivor.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Kelsey: I’m currently working on edits for Problems in Paradise—the third book in the Texas Nights series, writing Designs to Die For (#4) and working on the release of In For a Penny, a humorous women’s fiction/cozy suspense I co-wrote with the amazing Nancy Naigle. It’s the first book in The Granny Series and will be out in November. Here’s the tagline, just to give readers a taste of that series: They’re just like Dirty Harry—only over 50, female and from the South!

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kelsey: I love to hear from readers, so feel free to shoot me a note at Kelsey@KelseyBrowning.com!

LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food – Is Chardonnay a food?
Favorite Dessert – Just one? Fine, tiramisu
Favorite TV Show – Castle
Last Movie You Saw – Despicable Me
Dark or Milk Chocolate – Dark. Oh, who am I kidding?? BOTH!

TRC: Thank you Kelsey for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best with PERSONAL ASSETS.

Kelsey: Thanks so much for y’all’s hospitality!

______________________________________________________________

Personal Assets
Texas Nights #1
by Kelsey Browning
Release Date: August 26, 2013

Personal Assets

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

Sex therapist Allie Shelby has the professional credentials, but she could use a bit more practical experience. Finding the right man to bring out her inner bad girl is tough in a population-challenged Texas town. So when sinfully sexy Cameron Wright rolls back into Shelbyville, Allie wastes no time inviting him to join her in some hands-on research.
But while her personal life heats up, Allie’s business is about to crash and burn. And she has to convince Cameron that she’s one princess who’s not looking for a prince to ride to her rescue.

giveaway

There are TWO ways to WIN with the PERSONAL ASSETS Blog Tour

Kelsey Browning - Wine Charms Kelsey is offering -1 set of Texas Themed Wine Charms- to one lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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

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

3. Giveaway is open to US and CANADA only

4. Giveaway runs from August 20 to September 1, 2013

Rafflecopter Giveaway White and Red

One lucky person will WIN a Bed Lounge Pillow (US only)

bedlounge pillow

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the Rafflecopter Giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

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Lindsey Piper’s BLOOD WARRIOR (Dragon Kings)-Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Sandy

Lindsey Piper’s BLOOD WARRIOR (Dragon Kings) -Interview, Blog Tour and Giveaway

Dragon King Series
by Lindsey Piper

A fierce and sensual new paranormal romance series features demonic gladiators, ruthless mafia villains, and a proud race on the brink of extinction.

Interview

TRC: Hi Lindsey and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the success of the “Dragon Kings” series.

Lindsey: Thank you, and thanks for inviting me to stop by!

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

Lindsey: Up until recently, when I was keeping my pseudonym all cloak-and-dagger sekrit, I would’ve been really vague. Now that CAGED WARRIOR and BLOOD WARRIOR are out, I can shout it loud! I’m Carrie Lofty, primarily known as a historical author but soon moving into New Adult contemporary, too. I also co-write erotic romance as Katie Porter. I live in the Chicago area, love Lake Michigan, and live for every possible day I can spend at Six Flags Great America. One day I’ll be one of those crazy people who base vacations on theme parks, just to try out newer, more extreme roller coasters!

TRC: You quickly released three successive novels in your new Dragon King series. Would you please tell us something about the premise of each of these novels.

Click HERE for our review of THE DRAGON KING series.

The Dragon Kings

Lindsey:
THE SILENT WARRIOR (April 2013)
A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter will do anything to escape his mounting debts. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak. (A $.99 digital prequel novella.)

CAGED WARRIOR (June 2013)
He fights for glory and for the privilege of continuing his bloodline, as the godlike Dragon Kings face extinction. She fights to rescue her son—the only natural-born Dragon King in a generation—from a sadistic scientist. As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, they learn that in their violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.

BLOOD WARRIOR (July 2013)
A lone assassin is set on revenge against the woman who’s haunted his dreams and made him into his own personal assassin. But the woman known as the Sun is a peacemaker, trying to unite two halves of her fractured clan. These mortal enemies become fiery lovers on the run. From the Himalayan foothills to the Highlands of Scotland, they discover passion, trust, family, and how love can heal the most headed hearts.

TRC: How are all of these novels interconnected and will we see each of the previous storyline characters make an appearance in successive novels?

Lindsey: Yes, the characters recur throughout! Many people have said that you don’t need to have read the prequel novella “SILENT WARRIOR,” for example, to understand CAGED WARRIOR, but that it’s fun to see where that novella’s hero and heroine, Hark and Silence, wind up after the conclusion of their romance.

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

Lindsey: So far there’s the novella and three novels, with the last being HUNTED WARRIOR, due out in summer 2014. The entire trilogy culminates in HUNTED WARRIOR, while opening the whole world to new possibilities as their long-dead deity, the Great Dragon, returns…

TRC: What or who was the inspiration behind the Dragon King series?

Lindsey: I was busy watching shows like “Spartacus” and movies like Warrior, thoroughly enjoying the idea of arena fighting. (Notice that I said the idea of arena fighting. I wanted to keep it strictly fictional and within the romance trope, so I never go so far as to say I became a full-fledged UFC fan.) Following the RITA nomination I’d received for NIGHTFALL, which I’d co-written under the name Ellen Connor, I had been toying with the idea of writing a paranormal of my own. Thrown in a few decades’ obsession with the X-Men and poof!

But the real key that made me need to write it was a line from a song by the British band Bat for Lashes: “And when the battle was won, I was promised my son.” That was the thread that tied all those flashes of inspiration into one story, which eventually became CAGED WARRIOR, the first of the “Dragon Kings.”

TRC: If you could virtually cast the lead characters for the Dragon King series which models or actors best represents your ideal image?

Lindsey: I always cast my heroes and heroines, from Robert Downey Jr. to Australian hiphop dancers no one’s ever heard of (here, at least). But I never tell! I don’t want to ruin anyone’s expectations with vastly different images they’ve already imagined in their minds.

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

Lindsey: In paranormals, it’s all about worldbuilding and character. But then again, it’s probably that way for every genre! No matter the plot and needing to keep it unpredictable, an author has to work within the frame he or she has established regarding the worldbuilding—be it underground cage matches or Victorian Scotland or modern-day Vegas. (I’ve done all three and more!) Content and believability must come from characters who behave consistently and a world where the reader can sink in without being jerked out by inconsistencies.

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

Lindsey: I can’t direct the characters once they’re established in my mind, or I run the risk of moving them around like puppets. It needs to read organically. So I start with characters. If I get them right from the start, the plot makes sense because everything flows from the believability of the hero and heroine.

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?

Lindsey: A writer needs to sink deeply into the emotions and perspectives of their characters, which isn’t always sunshine and roses—not in my books, at least! There needs to be resonance and dimensionality that convinces a reader to cheer for lovers to find their happy ending, even if those lovers are of another color, race, orientation, kink…or species. We romance readers thrive on emotion. If you fall short on that score, you fall short on telling the story.

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

Lindsey: Personally, writer’s block is when my expectations of perfection slam up against the realities of (initial, first draft) imperfection. I love revisions, as a book gets shinier and shinier. I’m a grit-my-teeth first draft writer. I also get distracted by new ideas, which can add to a block. “But…but…that new idea seems so much cooler! I want to work on that!” It’s just another form of procrastination.

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

Lindsey: Worldbuilding! My editor ordered me to watch “Game of Thrones” and read Kresley Cole. Now I’m a huge fan of both! Then I sat with a legal pad in Starbucks and wrote fifty hand-written pages. It was a whole world in one notebook. Making it consistent was one goal. Making it my own was another.

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

Lindsey: I co-write as Katie Porter with a historical and contemporary writer named Lorelie Brown. She has been my best friend and critique partner for about seven years now, and we’ve been writing together for three. I can’t get through a book—and sometimes I can’t get through certain scenes—without picking her brain for ideas!

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

Lindsey: I have an incredible husband who’s supported me since I started my serious push toward publication in 2006, and my children learned very early that when I’m wearing my headphones, I’m working. They’re pretty decent (ten year old) cooks. Support from my parents has also been wonderful. Balance…that’s the tricky part. I always take on more than I should, and I micromanage to my own detriment. But that’s still part of the learning process as each new stage of my career adds new challenges. No matter the chaos, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Lindsey: Three things at once! As Lindsey Piper, I’m working on HUNTED WARRIOR, the third in the “Dragon Kings” series. Co-writing as Katie Porter, we’re wrapping up the third in our sexy “Club Devant” Series, set in a New York City burlesque club. That’s called WATCH AND WAIT, out in January. Lastly, as my “real” self, Carrie Lofty, I’m writing a New Adult romance titled BLUE NOTES. That’ll be out from Pocket in February!

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Lindsey: Just to thank you again for inviting me to stop by. I appreciate it!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food Enchiladas

Favorite Dessert Chocolate cheesecake

Favorite TV Show Game of Thrones

Last Movie You Saw The Conjuring – OMG, so good!

Dark or Milk Chocolate Dark, preferably with sea salt.

Secret Celebrity Crush Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Last Vacation Destination Does Atlanta count, where RWA Nationals was held? Or London, where my husband family lives? As for an actual vacation…um…

Pet Peeve People who make snacks or meals and leave the kitchen a mess!

TRC: Thank you Lindsey for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best with the Dragon King series.

Lindsey: Thank you!

Series Spotlight

Silent Warrior

SILENT WARRIOR

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

The Dragon Kings, Prequel Novella
Publication Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
ISBN: 978-1476713250

A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter will do anything to escape his mounting debts. Although rivals on the streets of Hong Kong, they find common ground when seeking their clan’s stolen idol, but for vastly different reasons. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak.

________________________________________________________________

CAGED WARRIOR

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

The Dragon Kings, Book 1
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
Print ISBN: 978-1451695915

Ten years ago, Audrey MacLaren chose to marry her human lover, making her an exile from the Dragon Kings, an ancient race of demons once worshiped as earthly gods. Audrey and her husband managed to conceive, and their son is the first natural-born Dragon King in a generation–which makes him irresistible to the sadistic scientist whose mafia-funded technology allows demon procreation. In the year since her husband was murdered, Audrey and her little boy have endured hideous experiments.

Shackled with a collar and bound for life, Leto Garnis is a Cage warrior. Only through combat can Dragon Kings earn the privilege of conceiving children. Leto uses his superhuman speed and reflexes to secure the right for his two sisters to start families. After torture reveals Audrey’s astonishing pyrokenesis, she is sent to fight in the Cages. If she survives a year, she will be reunited with her son. Leto is charged with her training. Initially, he has no sympathy for her plight. But if natural conception is possible, what has he been fighting for? As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, Leto and Audrey learn that in a violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.

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BLOOD WARRIOR

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

The Dragon Kings, Book 3
Publication Date: July 30, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
Print ISBN: 978-1451695922

As a young man, sarcastic, violent Tallis Pendray believed the Dragon Kings’ survival depended on a prophecy delivered in dreams by a woman named “the Sun.” His role has been to complete inexplicable, even reprehensible tasks. First, by murdering a priest, he united his fragmented clan in their hatred of him. Dubbed “the Heretic,” Tallis fled his family’s Highland estate. Now disillusioned, he seeks revenge on the woman he holds responsible for two decades of exile.

Telepath Kavya Indranan is a charismatic, seductive cult leader born to a prominent family. However, she grew up terrorized by the ominous threat of her powerful, insane twin brother. On the run and hiding among the poor, she witnessed the destruction wrought by her clan’s centuries-old civil war. Maturity nurtures Kavya’s determination to end the cycle of bloodshed. Those who follow her call for peace have nicknamed her “the Sun.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Lindsey is giving away the following prizes when the tour ends:

GRAND PRIZE: $25.00 Gift card to Amazon, an eBook of SILENT WARRIOR and paperbacks of CAGED WARRIOR & BLOOD WARRIOR

2ND PLACE: 5 winners will each receive a paperback of CAGED WARRIOR or BLOOD WARRIOR (winners choice) and SWAG

3RD PLACE: 5 winners will receive an eBook of SILENT WARRIOR

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

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