Monday, May 23, 2011

Guest Author Day with Angela Claire/Giveaway

Welcome Angela Claire to the Love Romances & More Blog today.

CONTEST GIVEAWAY: One lucky reader will win an e-book from Angela. All you need to do to enter is comment on Angela's interview or ask her a question today and your name is tossed in the hat. Leave your email address in with your comment in order to contact you if you win. Contest open till Wednesday May 25th.

Why don't you start us off by telling us how you discovered/decided you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a little kid. (Probably a lot of folks say that!) I used to write ‘novels’ when I was in grade school and had a dedicated fan base in my nine brothers and sisters. Sadly, realities intervened and I decided to study hard and go to law school instead (although I did manage to fit in a major in English literature along the way). Fast forward twenty-five years and my kids are almost out of the house, my job is (to be charitable) not that creative and I decided it would be fun to turn back to writing in my spare time.
Do you have a favorite TV show you can't miss?
I love Castle. But if I miss it, we just tape it.

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?
I would say it’s a combination of both, heavy on the flying by the seat of my pants. I just start writing once I get an idea, but I often jot down notes about where the plot should go as I do (if you can call that an outline).
So what is your latest or upcoming book about? Give us all the details behind this masterpiece.
Masterpiece…LOL. No, my upcoming book is Jesse’s Girl, which is a sequel to my novel, Heart of Stone. It comes out at Siren Bookstrand on June 16. Jesse’s Girl is a western set in the 1870’s in Colorado . The hero and heroine are characters from the earlier book who had a thing for each other, but just couldn’t admit it.
What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
Actually, no, I do not find them difficult to write. I don’t know what that says about me! I just let my imagination take over and after being married for 25 years, I have a lot of imagination.
Who are some of your favorite authors, and if we were to visit your home, what books would we find on your bookshelf, end table, floor or e-reader?
If you visited my home, you would find romance, romance, romance. Our bedroom is lined with shelves and shelves of it. My favorite authors are Sabrina Jeffries, Shannon McKenna, Kat Martin and Lisa Kleypas.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?
Wow, that’s a tough one. I would have to say probably Steve McCade from my book Saving McCade. He’s tough and sexy and funny.

Could you tell us about any work-in-progress, current projects, what we can expect from you in the future?
Well, I have one coming out from Siren Bookstrand after Jesse’s Girl called the Outlaw Takes a Madam. It takes place in the same town as Jesse’s Girl and Heart of Stone, but involves the doctor in the town and his twin brother, a gunslinger hiding from the law.

Have you ever found that you didn’t like your Hero or your Heroine? If so, what did you do to change that?
Not really. I always love them, even when they’re bad. For instance, in one of my reviews of Saving McCade, a reviewer said the anger that Steve showed when he found out Meredith’s role in his imprisonment made her like him less. I really did not feel that way. I felt his anger was incredibly justified. If I’d spent two years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit and confronted someone who had a hand in it, I’d be mad too.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
Sadly, I watch television. I have Netflix and am addicted to that instant streaming. It affords me any number of schlocky films at my fingertips.

Is there a genre you haven’t done that you would like to explore in the future?
Science Fiction, definitely. I have about 2,000 words of a story started in that genre that I would just love to finish.
Tell us about your favorite restaurant.
I’m a vegetarian, so my favorite restaurant is a vegetarian restaurant in Ann Arbor MI called Seva’s. I went there in college and I still go there when I go to visit my son.

If you could spend the night anywhere in the world, where would it be?
On a tropical island … Tahiti maybe?

Please tell us where to find you on the internet?
I am sadly backward when it comes to the internet. In my own defense, I’ve only been published since January so I am still working all this out. But I do have a website, so you can check me out at www.angelaclaireromance.com. Also Siren Bookstrand also has all my books and a bio.

I’d love to hear from you! Thanks!
Angela Claire


Sneak peek into To Catch a Pirate
Now available at Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Buy the E-book HERE

Jamie Banion, captain of The Ocean Jewel, comes by his piracy honestly. He was born into it, son of the legendary Bloody Mary. In deference to his mother, he’s respectful of his female captives.
Evelyn Paxton is tired of the pirate who has been interrupting the voyages of her shipping company. So she poses as the daughter of an earl to lure him into taking her for ransom so she can lead him into a trap for the British navy.
Jamie doesn’t trust himself to keep his usual respectful distance from the sexy-as-hell blonde, especially when Evelyn adds another facet to her cover, that of the seductress. But by convincing Jamie she is no innocent miss, she overcomes his gentlemanly inclinations and gets on board The Ocean Jewel.
Add a storm, a secret island and a shocking revelation of pirates past, and Evelyn and Jamie find themselves sailing through adventure to true love.
PG Excerpt:
Jamie locked the door behind them and shoved the girl gently onto the bed, gentle, but still a shove. “Now, my dear. How about you show me just what you’re offering?”
His would-be captive struggled to sit back up amidst a heap of expensive silk, one part her dress and the other a rather lavish red bedspread for the captain’s comfort. Funny such an old coot would sleep under red silk.
Her curls obscured her lovely eyes for a moment, and she batted them out of the way and shot a nervous look at the porthole.
“What? Shy, my lady, after that impressive demonstration of verve out on the deck?”
She sat up straight, tugging her modest bodice into place, and then, almost as if she’d forgotten herself, let it alone. No matter. His eyes were glued to the spot anyway. She really was a luscious piece. Time to see if she meant what she said.
“Come on, my sweet. Let’s get better acquainted.”
“Here?”
Jamie chuckled, half disappointed. The girl didn’t seem the least bit wanton now that he’d called her on it. Perhaps she just wanted to delay her impending marriage to an old man. Risky strategy, though, offering herself up to a pirate. He chided softly, “I thought you were eager to take your pleasure.”
Again, she glanced anxiously toward the porthole. “Well, not with everyone out there knowing what we’re doing in here.”
He approached her, leaned over, and placed his palms on the red silk spread, so she was caged in between his arms. “Show me you know what you’re doing, girl, or tell me why you’re playing this outrageous game.”
“Well, I didn’t say I was a doxy,” she had the nerve to mutter.
“I rather like doxies. I’m willing to branch out into outrageously beautiful members of the upper class now and then, though.” He ran his lips along her soft cheek. She was trembling. “Only if they know the game of course.” Her little chin was sharp, and he nibbled on it for a second before making his way to her lips. He was hard as a poker just from this innocent foreplay, which boded well for if he ever got her into his bed. On the other hand, it would be sheer torture to have her close at hand and not be able to bed her. So he would know before he brought her aboard which it would be and save himself the trouble if it were the latter.
He kissed her lightly, murmuring approvingly, “You taste delicious.”
“Wouldn’t this be more comfortable on your ship, Captain Banion?”
“Jamie,” he urged, settling down beside her on the bed.
“Jamie.”
“You’re forgetting why I decided not to take you in the first place.” His mouth drifted close to her perfect shell-shaped ear, and he gently blew in it. “I don’t fancy months of a swollen cock while I try to keep my hands off you.”
He had used the word deliberately and tellingly, she flinched at it. Just as he thought, more was the pity.
“I said I’d lay with you, didn’t I?”
“I don’t fancy martyrs in my bed either. With the stiff set of those lovely shoulders just with me this close, I’d say you exaggerated your experience a touch to overcome my gentlemanly sensibilities. You don’t exactly look like you know how to satisfy a man in bed.”
“I can satisfy a man!” she cried indignantly.
Actually, he bet she could. He was a hair’s breadth away from being satisfied just by sitting next to her on a bed. Problem was, she didn’t know it. Sadly, he couldn’t be the one to teach it to her under these circumstances. It was against his rules to debauch an innocent. Not that he couldn’t have a bit of fun with her now, though. Just a bit. He considered it a small recompense for having to leave her untouched.
He cupped her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her with more vigor this time. When his tongue traced her lips, she didn’t open them in response. He’d never dallied with a woman who didn’t know a man would want to put his tongue in her mouth as a prelude to sex, but he suspected this was what it was like. She even pushed her still-firmly-shut lips against his harder in what he supposed was a more enthusiastic show of passion in her mind.
He pulled away a fraction. “Open your mouth, sweeting.”
She complied, although from the confused look on that adorable face, she was probably doing so to ask a question. He used the opportunity anyway and quickly pressed his lips to hers again, thrusting his tongue in her mouth, eliciting a low sound, somewhere between a squeal and a groan from his little pupil. He gave it his considerable attention, and after a few moments, she kissed him back in a fresh untutored way that entranced him. Pushing her down on the bed as they kissed, he came over her to hook one leg between her silk-encased legs beneath her skirt, and she broke away faster than he could stop her, scooting back on the bed.
“No. Wait!” she cried, breathless. “I’d expect more than a quick—ah—poke for all my trouble, not to mention my papa’s ransom money.”
Yes, he very much would like to poke her, but her less than convincing performance didn’t bode well for that. The nervous way she eyed him still left the question as to why this whole charade to begin with. He sidled up the bed after her, leaning on his elbow.
“You’re right. We shouldn’t rush this.”
The concession seemed to relax her, and she reached one delicate hand up to touch a lock of his hair and leaned towards him. He could feel her sweet breath on his neck as she whispered in his ear. “Can we go back to your ship then?” Her soft lips were suddenly on his neck. His cock, already aching, roared into dangerous enthusiasm at the idea that maybe those lips belonged somewhere a little farther south where they could do some more good. The thought was tempting, but he doubted even the most adventurous of young wantons of her class had any experience with that.

6 comments:

Julia Rachel Barrett said...

You are developing quite a backlist! I'm a big scifi fan - good luck with the genre, it's so much fun to write!

Willa Edwards said...

Great interview Angela. The To Catch a Pirate looks great. The excerpts are certainly very hot. I hope you much success with it, though I'm sure I don't have to.

Angela Claire said...

Thanks guys! I'm having fun anyway!

Becky said...

Great interview! Angela Claire is a new author to me. I have added you to my list to get. To Catch a Pirate sounds real good.

DawnsReadingNook said...

Hi Angela,

Love your covers and all your books sound amazing. Added them to my wish list at Siren.

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy getting to know a new author. I peeked at her booklist and excerpts and would love a chance to read one of her stories.


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