Tory Richards's Blog, page 195

I signed up for this Goddess Fish tour because the book c...

I signed up for this Goddess Fish tour because the book cover is, ah, smokin! LOL From the blurb and excerpt it sounds pretty hot, too.


Finding Inspiration aka Things that Turn Me On


Writers are commonly asked where we find our inspiration. I think this is doubly so for writers of erotic romance. A lot of people tend to think we have outrageous sex lives—I can assure you that in my case, I certainly haven't done everything I've written about.

Last weekend, my future sister-in-law had her bachelorette party. We kicked the evening off with a "life-drawing" session, where, you guessed it, we all settled in at easels and sketched the nude man at the front of the room. I'm going to interrupt myself here to note that the model, whose name was Adam, was an excellent specimen of male. Truly excellent. That's the beginning of a story right there.

So, what happens next? And for anyone who's wondering, yes, this is going on my list of inspiration for a future story. Does my heroine approach the model at the party? Does she run into him later on? Does he approach her? Maybe she organized the party and he has her phone number...the possibilities are endless. Why is he modeling? Is he an artist himself? A college student who needs the cash? While I might not have the nerve to jump him myself, it's certainly something I'd daydream about 

Later that same evening, we went out dancing at a jazz club where there was live music. The guitarist was H-O-T, hot, absolutely, positively smoking hot. Part of that was his complete absorption in his music, which added a degree of sexiness and depth to him. Would he show that same absolute intensity when he was with a woman? Hey presto, I have another hero and the beginning of a plot.

At the same club, I noticed a girl dancing by herself. I watched her for a while—being a writer requires a certain degree of voyeurism—and she didn't seem to be there with any friends. She didn't stop to get a drink, didn't pause to flirt. If a guy approached and started dancing with her, she just took it in stride. To my thinking, she was there for the love of dancing.

Um, can anyone else see her hooking up with the guitarist and maybe sneaking off to make music of their own? Two intensely passionate personalities, a love for rhythm...mmm...

How do I find my inspiration? I look for concepts that I find sexy. The extremely male model, the passionate guitarist. A woman so caught up in dance she's unaware of her surroundings. What fantasies do these characters and settings inspire for you?


Bio-
A born reader, Louisa discovered her love of romance at an early age and began sneaking her mother's romance novels by age twelve. A sucker for a happy ending, she was often disappointed by the lead up–not enough sexy stuff. Where was the anticipation, the flirting, the tension? Her solution? Write it herself.


Living in Melbourne, Australia, she is renowned for complaining about the weather and the calories associated with eating ice cream, but has learned to ignore both and enjoy life anyway. Visit Louisa at http://www.louisamasters.com/

Blurb-
With her resignation submitted, Jeannie Price has one last task she's itching to perform before leaving her job. After months of sitting next to hot, sexy colleague Tim Harding, it's time to turn fantasy into reality with a scorching invitation to collaborate on matters of the flesh in Conference Room B. Then she can walk away without regrets.


Tim's dreams of wild, sweaty sex with Jeannie come true when he accepts her offer, but he's stunned to learn she doesn't want to see him again after their steamy tryst. She may be trying to brush him off as just one more item on her To-Do List, but he's determined to convince her there's nothing taboo about inter-office relations.

Excerpt-
"Do you want to have sex in Conference Room B?"


Tim Harding jerked his head up from the cost analysis on his computer screen. Jeannie Price was leaning on the partition between their desks, her dark eyes fixed on his face. He took a moment to admire them as he pondered her words.

"Is this a hypothetical question?" he asked finally. "Because—"

"It's not a hypothetical question. It's an invitation."

Her words slammed straight to his cock. Was she joking? Had she guessed that she was the star of his late-night fantasies? He'd even pictured taking her in the office—okay, he'd imagined the boardroom, but he was flexible.

He swallowed, hard, his cock twitching. She'd been very flexible when he imagined her on his balcony. And in his shower. And...

"I'll tell you what," she said. "I'm going to be working in Conference Room B for the next half hour. You think about it, and if you decide to join me..." She shrugged, and her long brown hair slid forward, drawing his eyes to her breasts. In his dreams, her hair flowed over her naked breasts, her nipples peeking through the locks, and when he drew her down over him, it would swing forward, surrounding them like a silken tent...

She straightened, gathered up her laptop and notepad, and handed him an inter-office envelope.

"This may help you make up your mind."

He watched her walk away, the sway of her hips and the way her dress slid across her ass making him shift uncomfortably.

What will Louisa be giving away?

Louisa will be giving away three $10 Amazon GCs to randomly drawn commenters during the tour and to the host with the most comments (excluding Louisa's and the host's).

Monday Man Candy

10 Excuses Being Late to Work

What's the best excuse you gave your boss for being late to work? Below are ten examples a new career builder's survey came up with.

 Employee:
thought she had won the lottery (she didn't).
got distracted watching the Today show
angry roommate cut the cord to his phone charger, so it didn't charge and his alarm didn't go off
believed his commute time should count toward his work hours
claimed a fox stole her car keys
leg was trapped between the subway car and the platform (turned out to be true)
said he wasn't late, because he had no intention of getting to work before 9:00 a.m. (his start time was 8:00 a.m.)
was late because of a job interview with another company
had to take a personal call from the state governor (turned out to be true)

Around the World with Virginia Campbell!

Exotic tastes from the Amazon Rainforest!
The amazing Amazon rainforest geography covers 9 nations: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The dense Amazonian jungle is home to more than thirty-five hundred species of birds, tens of thousands of different kinds of insects, eighty percent of all species of life can be found in this jungle, and it is speculated that tens of thousands of life forms in the jungle may still be unidentified. Over two thousand species of fresh-water fish are believed to live in Amazonian waters. Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to travel the length of the Amazon river, in 1541-42; he named the Amazon River. It is the second longest river of the world. Starting from Peru it pours into the Atlantic Ocean after traversing a distance of more than 3000 miles. Only the Nile River is longer than the Amazon River. When you think of the rainforest, you probably think of monkeys, jungle plants, big snakes, and lots of rain. You may not think about oil, copper, and gold, but these are found in the rainforest, too! Companies from many different countries are interested in removing things like oil, copper, and gold from the rainforest and selling them in other parts of the world. The wood from certain types of trees in the rainforest, like mahogany, is also very valuable. When these natural resources are removed from the rainforest, companies often destroy or damage the water, soil, plants, and animals there. Another reason the rainforest is disappearing is because of cattle farming. Although cows aren't normally found in the rainforest, some individuals and companies are clearing rainforest land and raising cows on it because the land is relatively cheap. However, the rainforest soil isn't very good for growing the grasses cattle eat; usually after a few years the cattle farmers have to move on to new areas of the rainforest, cut down more trees, and start over again. The Rainforest Site ( http://www.therainforestsite.com/ ) offers many useful and interesting ideas on how to preserve the rainforest and help other worthy causes.



Although rainforests have been around for millions of years--they're the Earth's oldest living ecosystems--they may not be around for much longer. At the present rate of destruction, all the earth's rainforests will be gone in 30 years. And once the rainforest is destroyed, it doesn't come back. 137 species of plants and animals become extinct every day in rainforests around the world. Some uses of the rainforest land are very damaging to the rainforests' survival. However, other products can be "sustainably harvested" from the rainforest and greatly benefit both the native people living in the rainforest and the rest of us in other communities. For instance, did you know that: One out of every four medicines in pharmacies today comes from the rainforest. These include treatments for serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and childhood leukemia. But there's much more testing to be done: scientists estimate that over 99% of the plants in the rainforest haven't even been studied yet for their possible medical uses. Destruction of forests is the second largest cause of global warming. Scientists believe that if global warming continues, it could cause serious problems like floods and droughts in different parts of the world. Rainforests supply yummy foods. Look to the rainforests for Brazil nuts, cocoa, coffee, bananas, yams, and many other foods and spices we enjoy every day. About one million people call the Amazon home. These people's ancestors have lived in the Amazon for hundreds of thousands of years, and the survival of their culture depends on the rainforest's survival.


The Amazon rainforest covers over 1.2 billion acres, or two-fifths of the South American continent. Many pharmaceutical specialists believe that this vast forest could hold the cure to many otherwise incurable diseases such as AIDS, cancer, leukemia and herpes. It is estimated that the U.S. National Cancer Institute has identified over 3000 plants that indicate some sort of promising agents against cancer cells, of which 70 percent of them are found in the rainforest. Furthermore, "twenty-five percent of the active ingredients in today's cancer-fighting drugs come from organisms found only in the rainforest."




More than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests: plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as taking part in the gas exchanges which provide much of the world's oxygen supply. Rainforest plants live in a warm humid environment that allows an enormous variation rare in more temperate climates: some like the orchids have beautiful flowers adapted to attract the profusion of forest insects. Competition at ground level for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants, or even strangle large trees to fight for survival. The aerial plants often gather nourishment from the air itself using so-called "air roots". The humidity of the rainforest encourages such adaptations which would be impossible in most temperate forests with their much drier conditions.



The Amazon rain forest offers an unending variety of plants that are known to have medicinal properties, and more are being discovered each year. Herbal knowledge from the Amazon jungle is gradually making its way to the Western world. Each Amazon tribe has one or more shamans who is quite familiar with the healing power of the local herbs in the Amazon forest. Amazon Indians have known about herbal medicine for thousands of years. Superfoods from various exotic places like the Amazon, and anti-ageing elixirs are becoming more popular. Exotic drinks and beauty products based on indigenous resources from the Amazon and personal grooming items for older men are fast growth areas. Beauty products containing botanicals from the Amazon believed to have strong health benefits have become extremely popular all around the world, and follow the fashion for food and cosmetics using natural ingredients.




There are many different products from the Amazon rainforest. Natural rubber (or latex): used to make many rubber products from electronic components to condoms. Rubber was responsible for the first economic cycle of development in the Amazon rainforest. Natural rubber is extracted from tall trees called "Seringueiras" and still today is a major activity for many families. Brazil-nut: the nut is actually a seed. The Brazil-nut is one of the biggest nuts of the world and is exported all over the planet. Local populations use this nutritious seed to make all sort of food and condiments. Guarana: is a small berry-like fruit that is very sweet and juicy. You can taste it in natural refreshments anywhere in Brazil , they are also used to make sodas. Brazilians are very fond of their guarana sodas and it's something they usually miss when living outside Brazil. Because of that you can find it in any city that has a Brazilian community like Miami , New York or Paris. People use Guarana to stay awake and active in parties and raves, since guarana has an effect similar to caffeine without the problems related to it. Nowadays some companies sell Guarana as a weigh loss substance, although its value for weight loss has not been proven. Acai: another fruit that has a strong taste and purple color is very nutritious and brings energy after consumption. It is used by athletes of all kinds. It hit the Brazilian market outside the Amazon region only in the nineties when professional fighters and gym-addicts start to eat Acai whenever they could. Nowadays you can find juices and ice creams of Acai anywhere in Brazil and is steadily going out to the world market.



Many minerals like iron, manganese, uranium, bauxite, copper, gypsum, lignite, nickel and gold can be found in the Amazon rainforest region. Most of the bauxite used in the world comes from here and bauxite is the primary component of aluminum. Chances are that your aluminum soda can came from the Amazon rainforest. Diamonds and other less valuable gems are mined in the Amazon rainforest. These gems are obtained by river mining, most of it still using manual techniques. The gems are responsible for the great migration of people in the sixties to the Amazon rainforest searching for diamonds and gold. Craftwork: if you imagine hundreds of indigenous tribes you can also imagine how much craftwork like baskets, tapestry, sculptures, musical instruments, body ornaments, primitive weaponry, furniture and rituals related objects you can find in the Amazon rainforest. The variety is so great due to the number of different indigenous cultures. Some professional interior designers use a lot of primitive art for decoration because it's original and there are very beautiful works.



What is the most exotic place that you have ever visited or dreamed of visiting? Do you like to try different and unusual foods from around the world? What is the most unique food that you have ever eaten? Do like to visit museums and cultural centers which feature exhibits from peoples and lifestyles from around the globe? What is one thing that you hope to achieve in 2012? Have a fabulous new year!


Rainforest Trail Mix
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup cashews
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanuts
1 cup dried banana slices
¾ cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried pineapple

Pour items together in a large bowl. Stir until evenly mixed. Serve in small paper cups or plastic
bags. Makes about 10-12 servings


Brazil Nut Brittle

¼ Cup butter (melted)
2/3 Cup packed brown sugar
¾ Cup dark corn syrup
2/3 Cup chopped Brazil nuts

Mix butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Beat until smooth. Place in shallow baking dish and bake in
preheated oven at 375 F for 30 minutes. Allow to cool, then break into small, bite-size pieces.


Amazon Quinoa Soup
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 small onion
1 large tomato–no seeds
1 piece of squash or pumpkin
½ cup of peas
2 garlic cloves – minced
½ cup Quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ fresh chicken
7 cups of water to cover the chicken

Cut carrots, celery, squash, tomato, onion and garlic cloves into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat and stir in the vegetables and quinoa. Cook a few minutes until lightly browned, stirring frequently, then turn off heat. Cover the chicken with water, add salt and pepper and cook for about 30 minutes. Skim the foam off and remove the chicken. Pull the meat off the chicken and discard all the bones. Return the chicken to the broth and add the vegetable and quinoa mixture and ½ cup peas. Cook on high heat for about 10 minutes and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro if you like.


Spicy Shrimp in Coconut Sauce

1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons palm oil or other cooking oil such as annato or peanut
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped broccoli
1/4 coconut milk
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon coriander
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
3 dried red chilies (chopped finely)
1/2 cup rice

Warm oil on medium heat. Add paprika and the onions. Saute over low heat until onions are transparent. Add garlic, coriander, thyme, parsley, cilantro, chilies, and walnuts. Continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Finally add the broccoli, coconut milk, and shrimp. Cook for about 5 minutes (until shrimp are cooked). Serve over rice.


Potato Bread Rolls
1 large potato
1 1/2 teaspoons dry instant yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup of milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups bread flour

Peel potato and cut into 4 pieces. Boil until tender, then mash thoroughly or pass cooked potato through a food mill. Let cool. Bring milk to a boil and remove from heat. Add butter and salt to hot milk. Let cool until just a little warmer than room temperature. In the bowl of a standing mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in 3/4 cup warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add egg, potato, all purpose flour, and half of the cooled milk mixture to mixer bowl, and knead with dough hook on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour and milk and continue to knead for 5 to 10 minutes. The dough should remain fairly soft, and if it seems to be getting stiff, don't add all of the flour. The dough should be smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky after kneading. If dough seems too wet, add a little more flour. Turn dough out into oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place until double in size. Punch down dough and cut into pieces the size of a small tangerine. Roll pieces into a ball shape on a floured surface and place on a greased cookie sheet, about an inch apart. Make a one inch slash in the tops of the rolls with a sharp knife. Preheat oven to 425. Let rolls rise until almost double in bulk. Bake for 5 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. Rolls should have light golden brown color when ready. Tip: To make loaves: Bread can also be divided in half and shaped into two loaves, and baked in two standard-size rectangular bread pans, or in one large bread pan.


Acai Berry Smoothie
1 1/4 cup plain or vanilla soy milk, or almond milk
3/4 cup Orange juice
3/4 cup Acai juice
1 large Mango, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until deliciously smooth. Enjoy!

OMG!!!

I just received a customer review for Her Hands-On Man on Amazon! Please follow the link to check it out.

AMAZON

#4 GOAL for 2012

Start putting some serious money away! I won't be able to live on my looks when I retire. LOL

Blog Hops

Morning all! I wanted to talk to you about blog hops. Anyone know what they are? You've probably noticed during the holidays that I participated in a few. And recently I've joined one in particular called Just Romance Me Blog Hops. We have yet to set our first blog hop up but it's coming.

I've discovered that blog hops are fun! Not only do they bring people together but the hosts also give a lot of cool prizes away to the readers. You might want to play the next time you visit a website where one is going on. During one of the holiday blog hops I joined there were over 400 participating authors. Know what that means? There were over 400 prizes up for grabs! And blog hops run for more than one day so you have time to visit all the participating blogs.

Here's how it works:

The author signs up at the website hosting it. On the day the hop begins the author puts up a post explaining what it's about, what he/she is giving away and what you have to do for a chance to win it. They usually keep it simple. The author will also list the link list of the other blogs participating, or the link to the main page where the list is located. All you have to do for a chance to win the prize is visit each blog and do what they request.

The more blogs participating the more chances you can win something. Of course, you have to visit each blog, too. And you always have the chance of winning more than one giveaway! This is an easy way to find new blogs and make new friends.

Try it the next time you see one posted.

Roni Loren

Good morning folks! Please take time to say hi to my guest today, Author Roni Loren. She's giving away some awesome prizes, too!
Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven't improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she'll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she's not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rock stars, er, rock concerts. Yeah, that's it. Her debut novel, CRASH INTO YOU, will be published by Berkley Heat January 3, 2012.
Website/Blogs: http://www.roniloren.com/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/roniloren
Tumblr (where I post mancandy photos): http://roniloren.tumblr.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/roniloren
Buy links for book: www.roniloren.com/books

Getting to know Roni Loren

1. Did you choose writing or did writing choose you?
I would say it was a little of both. I've been an avid reader since as long as I can remember. In 5th grade, I remember reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and thinking--yes, I want to do THIS for my job. So the urge to write has been there since then. But as with most of our dreams, if we want to make it happen, we need to consciously choose it at some point. When I quit my day job and started staying at home with me son, I made that decision to transition from writing as a hobby to writing with the intent to make it my career.

2. If you could only have one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Hmm, that's a tough one since there aren't many foods I don't like, lol. But I'm a New Orleans girl so I could probably happily live on seafood for the rest of my life--especially crab. Yum.

3. What's your favorite movie?
I'm probably not breaking any romance author stereotypes but Dirty Dancing is still my favorite movie. I think that was the movie that turned me into a hopeless romantic. It never gets old for me.

4. Who is your hero?
My mom. She's the most fabulous, kind-hearted woman I know. I strive to one day be as cool as she is.

5. Where would you like to travel to that you've never been before?
I've never been to Europe, so there are SO many places I'd love to visit over there. But I'd have to get over my fear of that loooong flight first, lol. Within the U.S., I'd love to go to the Pacific Northwest. I've heard it's beautiful out there and I love the rain. :)

6. Do you believe in luck?
Yes. I think there is always some element of luck in things. For instance, I met my husband online. I sometimes think--what if on that day, one of us took a few extra minutes to do something and ended up not being on at the same time? But I also think for most things, we make a lot of our own luck. Where preparation meets opportunity, or whatever that cliche is, has a lot of truth to it.

7. Beauty and perfection, or flaws and character? And why?
I tend to write good-looking characters with very deep internal flaws. I like the contrast of having this hero who is physically beautiful, but on the inside, there are all these things preventing him from living a happy life. Of course, the heroine is there to help him with those (and him with her flaws.) For CRASH INTO YOU, my theme song was "Outside" by Staind. And there's a line in there: "Inside you're ugly, ugly like me. I can see through you. See to the real you." And I think that best describes the kinds of characters I write. What they think is ugly on the inside about themselves turns out to be what brings them happiness with the other person.

8. If you could repeat an age, what would it be?
I'm happy where I am now, but if I had to relive an age, it'd probably be a few of those college years. I spent way too much time studying and not enough time having fun. :)

9. Do you believe in happily ever after?
Yes, absolutely. My mom and step dad are still like newlyweds after 21 years. And my husband and I have been together 12 years and couldn't be happier. He's definitely my very own romance hero. I'm not sure I could write happily ever after books if I didn't believe in happy endings in real life. :)

10. Tell us one thing that no one knows about you.
I'm so afraid of bugs that I once took off my shirt in the middle of the street because a friend told me there was a caterpillar on it. So my fear of bugs is apparently stronger than my fear of public nudity.

11. What makes Roni Loren mad?
Judgmental people. I'm a live-and-let-live kind of girl, and I get really annoyed when people want everyone to think and act exactly as they do.


BLURB
Brynn LeBreck has dedicated herself to helping women in crisis, but she never imagined how personal her work would get, or where it would take her. Her younger sister is missing, suspected to be hiding from cops and criminals alike at a highly secretive BDSM retreat—a place where the elite escape to play out their most extreme sexual fantasies. To find her Brynn must go undercover as a sexual submissive. Unfortunately, The Ranch is invitation only. And the one Master who can get her in is from the darkest corner of Brynn's past.


Brynn knows what attorney Reid Jamison is like once stripped of his conservative suit and tie. Years ago she left herself vulnerable only to have him crush her heart. Now she needs him again. Back on top. And he's all too willing to engage. But as their primal desires and old wounds are exposed, the sexual games escalate—and so does the danger. Their hearts aren't the only things at risk. Someone else is watching, playing by his own rules. And his game could be murder.

EXCERPT-

Brynn emerged from the bathroom with a handful of Band-Aids and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She pointed to the dining room table. "Sit."

He dried his hands with a paper towel and fought a smile. She always had been a bossy little thing. But he knew the truth. Underneath all that tight control was a woman who, at least when he'd known her, loved handing over the reins. He swallowed hard, tamping down memories he didn't need to rehash at the moment.

He dropped into one of the chairs, and Brynn sat across from him, her knees bumping against his. He widened his legs, and after the briefest of hesitations, she scooted forward, allowing his thighs to frame the outsides of hers as she reached for his injured hand. She circled her fingers around his right wrist, his pulse jumping at her touch, and brought his hand up to her face to examine it. His fingers itched to reach out and trace the bow of her lips.

Dammit. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his desire to touch her in check, but the citrus scent of her shampoo drifted to his nose and sent a bolt of carnal need straight to his groin.

He stared down at her. One quick grasp of her waist and he could lift her to straddle his lap, bunch up that dress, and slide right into her sweet heat—kiss away all the tension furrowing her brow, drive her to that place of wild abandon he knew she could reach.

Without thinking, he lifted his other hand and twined her broken dress strap between his fingers, brushing the backs of his sore knuckles across her collarbone in the process. The small catch of breath in the back of her throat made his balls tighten. Such a feminine sound, so close to the noise she would make as he entered her.

But she didn't raise her eyes to him and beg him to take her like he secretly hoped she would. She simply took the slip of material from him and tucked it under her bra strap to hold it in place, sending her message loud and clear. Not yours.

Not anymore.


THE PRIZE RONI WILL BE GIVING AWAY:
* One signed set of Romance Trading Cards for "Crash Into You" to a random commenter at every stop.
* A $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
* A signed set of Romance Trading Cards for "Crash Into You" AND a basket of romance novels (approx. $50 value) to the host with the most comments (excluding the author's and their own) including: Switch by Megan Hart, Big Jack by J.D. Robb, Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow, Beyond the Night by Joss Ware, and The Fallen: Raziel by Kristina Douglas.

Looks who's back with us again!

Wendi Zwaduk! She's here promoting her new release. I asked Wendi if she could do a character interview and below are the results. I think you'll find it very interesting. Wendi will be giving away a $10 GC to Liquid Silver Books to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Character Interview with Sully Tanner

Hello Tory. So glad I could be here today. I don't get to be on the hot seat very often. Let me introduce myself. I'm Sully Tanner. I love rock and roll and taking care of those who matter to me. But let's get this interview going. You didn't come to the blog just to look at me. (Did you? Sorry. Had to ask.) So the name of the game is five questions. I can handle that. Fire away.

Q: Question one - You were in rock and roll. Why leave the scene?

A: Ah. Right to the meat of the interview from the start. I got out of the music business to the degree I was in because I got tired of it. There's only so much fakeness one man can take. I could play. Sure. But I couldn't take the crap. Groupies who wanted to sleep with someone famous to make them famous. Fellow musicians who want to play, but want to do illegal things more often. I never saw the point in trashing my hotel room. I guess I never really fit the mold. Plus there was this girl I never quite got out of my head.

Q: Question two - There was a girl, eh? Dish. Yes, that's not a question, but answer it. Grin.

A: I knew you'd go there. (Folds arms and leans back in chair) When I was living at home, before I decided to go out on my own, I fell in love with a little girl next door. Okay, I wasn't much older than her, but yeah, I liked my best friend's sister. I had an inkling she liked me, but I'm a doofus sometimes and don't see the obvious. I never forgot how I felt about her, but I didn't know how to deal with it. Taking off to New York seemed like the thing to do. It wasn't, but it felt like it.

Q: We all make mistakes. The point is to learn from it.

A: I learned from it alright. I learned that running only makes the problem worse.

Q: You know that wasn't a question before, right? Okay, question three - you've spent time in the music business, obviously. What are your favorite bands and genres?

A: I'll give you a bye on the earlier line. Conversation will do that. My favorite bands? It's an evolving taste. I like a lot of the harder bands that are up and coming. You never know what's on the horizon in music and it's fun to find new blood. Then again there's nothing wrong with the old classics, Kiss, AC/DC, Boston...lots to name. But I like a little country sometimes, too. I'm with a new band, well, it's my old band and it's not really mine. I play the bars and honky tonks. I don't want fame or fortune, just to make people happy with my music.

Q: Question four – What does Marley think of your music? Does she like that you're in the R&R life?

A: That's a toughy. I'm not in her head, so I can't say for sure. I can tell you what it seemed like from my point of view. Will that work? When we were younger, it was like a puppy love thing. She mooned over me, I didn't know what to think but I did like the idol worship. Then I realized she actually liked me and I wasn't ready to be tied down. How stupid, yanno? She's a very mature, responsible kind of person. I'm sure she hated my crazy life when I took off. Probably chafed with frustration. And she was right to. I acted irresponsible. I know she still doesn't trust me. I deserve it and I'm working like hell to make her see I'm not that dumb kid who took off. I'm a little more world weary and ready to settle down—with her. I didn't really answer your question, but like I said I'm not her, so that's how I see it.

Q: Awww. That's sweet. Okay, last question. What do you see for your future? What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals for the rest of your life?

A: Well, gee. Make the last question the hardest. (leans forward and rests elbows on knees.) My goals are to make something of my life. Being in NY in the scene didn't get me anywhere. Yeah, I played music, but I wasted my chance. I'm not going to do that any longer. If it means breaking my back working the farms with my brothers-in-law, then I'll do it. I'd love for Marley to realize I'm a changed man and fall in love with me, but for now that's just a dream. If I had my druthers and could chose my destiny, I'd like to live in the house my parents built, marry the girl of my dreams, work the land of my grandparents and grow old knowing I'd done something with my life.

I have to say you ask hard questions. I had a great time and am glad I participated. Thanks for having me!

BIO:
I always dreamed of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in line. I tend to write books with titles taken from songs because music is one of my many muses.

I earned a BA in education at Kent State university and as well as a Masters in Education from Nova Southeastern University. I've tried my hand at teaching, waitressing, and retail sales, but writing holds my heart.

I love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my menagerie of animals. I have more stories than my brain can handle percolating. I can't wait to share them with you!

http://www.wendizwaduk.com/
http://www.wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/wendi.zwaduk
http://twitter.com/#!/WendiZwaduk
http://www.manicreaders.com/WendiZwaduk/

BLURB:
He never knew what he was missing until he came home to find his place to belong—with her.

Sullavan Tanner walked away from Jarvis, Ohio, afraid to give his heart to the woman he loved. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle, but never quite made it to the big time. Fifteen years later, he's back and ready to claim what's his—if she'll accept his help.

Marley Lockwood's done asking for help. The family farm is more than she can handle, but if she can survive a cancer scare, the loss of her parents, the abandonment by her first love, and a messy divorce, she can handle anything.

Until Sully shows up.

Although she's not interested in rekindling the love affair, she's not above accepting Sully's hands on the farm. What's the worst that could happen? They get the farm out of the red and into the black? That's her plan. They actually fall in love? The past says it won't work, so she's not hedging her bets.

Too bad Sully's not giving up this time.


EXCERPT: "I know you don't want a thing from me, and I guarantee you'll never accept my help, so I'm insisting. I'll beg if I have to."

"Sully." If she stayed in is embrace much longer, she'd cave and admit she needed him—but not for romance. She needed the extra hands on the farm.

"I don't have anywhere else to be, and I don't back down."

"No kidding. Look, it won't work a second time around." She wriggled from him and closed her eyes. "You'll hate it here." If he'd just take the out...just walk away. She fortified the barricades around her heart and insulated her soul from letting him get too close. Close meant she'd get hurt again when he took off.

"Aren't you a sparkling ray of sunshine?" He tugged her ponytail, not causing harm. Just playful, like a sibling. Always like a sibling.

"We can't get along when something other than friendship is involved. When we added sex, things imploded. But I guess that doesn't matter because you don't have anywhere to stay." She groaned and opened her eyes. "Kellie won't take you. Not with three kids already under foot and another one on the way."

"And here I thought you'd say you'd take me in because then you'd have 24-7 access to my slave labor and hot body." He tipped his head and winked. "Please?"

Marley weighed her options. She needed the help. Desperately. Having Sully nearby meant a stable set of hands. It also meant she'd have to keep an eye on him. Sure, Kellie claimed he'd quit the drugs and the booze, but people relapsed all the time. If he hadn't changed his ways, he'd be just as much of a liability as an asset. Worry flowed through her mind as she palmed her phone in her pocket. The most recent text message from her ex-husband, Taylor, outright demanded she sell him the farm and cut her losses. If it took her last breath, her last dollar, she wasn't about to sell anything to Taylor. Having Sully around would provide safety. God knew she needed all the help she could get to keep her good-for-nothing ex away from the farm. Could she trust herself to keep her hands off Sully a second time?

When she'd needed him in the past—her mother's death, the endless hours in the hospital—Sully had run. Why did she have to need him? Need led to heartbreak.

Hell.

Monday Man Candy