Welcoming Desiree Holt

Today at our Tiki Hut Blog, we're welcoming award-winning and bestselling author Desiree Holt's as a stop on her blog tour to celebrate her super impressive 100th Release!!! 


Desiree has lived a life of excitement that brings the color to her writing. She was a summer fishing guide, a summer field hand where she was one of only three women working, a member of a beginning ski team that skied in competition (and no, no broken bones!). She spent several years in the music business representing every kind of artist from country singer to heavy metal rock bands. For several years she also ran her own public relations agency handling any client that interested her.

She is twice a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award, a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio, and is published by four different houses. Romance Junkies said of her work: "Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last."

WEBSITE *** BLOG *** FACEBOOK *** MYSPACE *** TWITTER *** YAHOO GROUP


DOWNSTROKE by Desiree Holt

It's been twenty years since security specialist Charley Roper and country star Dallas Creed had their bitter parting. Now a killer has brought them together again, but neither is ready for a reunion - despite signs that their explosive chemistry hasn't waned with time. She can't forget the feel of his hands on her body. He can't forget the hot touch of her mouth. When they finally tumble into bed, the sex is just as good as they remember, hot enough to singe the sheets. But is it enough?

Thrown together during an exhausting, frenzied concert tour, with a killer nipping at their heels, Dallas and Charley find themselves on a hot, suspenseful, erotic roller coaster ride. Can he convince her to trust her heart to him one more time, to reach out for a richer, deeper, more mature love?

More importantly - can Charley keep Dallas alive long enough for either of them to enjoy a second chance?

BUY THE eBOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT *** WATCH THE VIDEO



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The making of a book by Desiree Holt

Downstroke, the story of an anguished love and it’s chance to mature, is my 100th release. And it’s appropriate that for a milestone like this the book should be one that came straight from my heart.

I didn’t begin it as I do many of my stories, with a kernel of an idea or a character who wouldn’t get out of my head. Or in the case of one book, one line of dialogue. To tell you about the birth of the book I have to explain that in a life that’s been fortunately varied and exciting I spent ten years in the music industry, as a booking agent and a manager. The music has changed and technology has altered many things in the industry. But one thing hasn’t changed at all–the excitement of a performance and the magic that an electrifying performance brings.

Driving into town one day I happened to pull an old cassette out of the console in my truck (yes, I know, cassette – LOL! That’s how long ago I was in the business!). It was the recording of a concert with a major headliner that one of my bands opened for. As I listened to the music I was transported back to that night in the open air amphitheater, the crowd stirring restlessly as it waited for the concert to begin, the notes of the band tuning up behind the curtain. The anticipation that something magic was about to happen.

Except for one story I hadn’t really drawn on those years of experience in my writing but now ideas began dancing around in my mind. I wanted people to know what it was like in the industry, to share the excitement I’d felt so many times over those years. I’d have a hero-Dallas Creed-and a heroine (ultimately named Charley) and against a backdrop of the music business and the tension of a stalking killer I’d tell their story.

When I walked into my appointment that day I came face to face with the man who would become the inspiration for Dallas Creed-lean and muscular, mid forties, blond with streaks of grey in his hair. Smoky eyes filled with wisdom and anguish. I couldn’t wait to get home and get started.

As I listened to the music again on the way back the title popped into my head-Downstroke. The word refers to the motion of the hand from the top string to the bottom on a guitar. And in my book it would also refer to the rise of my hero, his fall to the bottom and his rise again. I could feel him in my heart-a man who’d thrown away a chance at happiness for the glitter of fame and success, who’d nearly died because of it and now was back on top again but with an emotional emptiness he couldn’t fill.

And then back into his life comes Charley, the woman he’s always loved. Top notch security agent with a successful business but also a void in her life. Twenty years of bitterness lies between them when she’s hired by his brother to find the killer stalking him.

This is a romantic suspense novel and a story of an exciting industry. But most of all it’s a love story of two people in midlife who have a chance to recapture what they threw away. Writing Downstroke was my reward to myself for all the time I’d spent learning my craft, earning my stripes. However you want to define it.

I hope you will love it as much as I do.

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WIN - Celebrate Desiree’s 100th release, DOWNSTROKE, with a party at over 30 different blogs in the month of April. Each day the blog hostess for that day will pull a name from the commenters for a free download of the winner’s choice from Desiree’s backlist. A different winner every day. And be sure to register here for a refurbished Acer Netbook with external DVD drive!

Stacey Kennedy's Tiki Hut Blog Winner

Thanks to eveyone who stopped by to visit with Stacey last week and congrats to StacieDM - your name was drawn as our winner - Stacey will be contacting you soon to get you out your free ebook!

This Week's Special Guest - Stacey Kennedy

This week on our AuthorIsland Tiki Hut Blog, we welcome Urban Fantasy author Stacey Kennedy as she stops by to talk about her book FIRST AND LAST, the latest release in her Magical Sword Series.

Stacey's novels are light-hearted fantasy with heart squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and even give a good chuckle every now and again.

Her journey as a writer began as a way to keep her brain alive since being a stay at home mom can sometimes be a little...let's say numbing. It was an escape from screaming kids, dirty diapers and plain old mom duty.

It started as a hobby, but as the stories progressed it became a passion. Now, Stacey indulges at nap time, especially the juicy bits! Every mom needs a good thrill!

WEBSITE *** FACEBOOK *** GOODREADS *** TWITTER

FIRST AND LAST

The Magical Sword ~ Book Four

Liquid Silver Books ~ January 24, 2011

One woman, one bond, one final battle … can even Nexi Jones defeat the deepest darkness of evil?

Meet Nexi Jones—Witch, Guardian and now, Lady of the Underworld. Embracing her new role, Nexi begins the task of changing a world led by darkness. But not everyone is happy to see her rise to power. Before long, a resistance within the Underworld is forming.

As the darkness begins to close in around her, Nexi’s magical abilities flourish in response—forcing Nexi to dig down deeper into her past to discover this source and why she was gifted with such incredible strength.

With her Guardian, Kyden by her side, Nexi will meet her greatest challenge yet as she begins to discover that fate might have been a bitch, but she was a bitch with a plan.

You can get a copy of First and Last at any of the locations below:

Buy Links:

Liquid Silver Books - http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&category=Stacey+Kennedy

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004G9KR9A

Fictionwise - http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/a60492/Stacey-Kennedy/?

Now, onto a little something that has come up in conversation lately. First and Last is the final novel in The Magical Sword Series. Through seeing the first three stories published I have received a couple reviews saying, “The novel was too short—it went to fast.”

All of the stories in The Magical Sword series are sixty thousand words, so I wouldn’t necessarily say they are short. But I do understand what they're saying. The thing is, I keep them this length on purpose. Why? Well, it’s quite simple. When I read a story I get bored of lengthy details and drawn out moments. I love dialogue, monologue and descriptions that allow me to envision the world. And that’s about it.

To be honest, I could have easily added twenty thousand words to my stories to up the word count and give long descriptions of everything. But as I said, I’m not a fan of reading a book that has that in it. In truth, I usually just skim those parts to get back to the dialogue and the good stuff.

I love a fast paced novel that leaves me turning the page to find out what happens next. I enjoy hearing the characters interact with each other and I get bored when nothing is happening. Needless to say, it’s not much of a surprise I write the way I do. For me, it’s thrilling to be constantly wondering what’s going to happen next.

So, if you’re like me, a person who skims over the lengthy boring stuff, who enjoys danger, romance that warms your heart and sex scenes that leave your cheeks pink...then come give my series a try!

-Stacey

You can find and get in contact with Stacey below:

Website - www.staceykennedy.comFacebook - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100000956942180

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3473046.Stacey_Kennedy

Twitter - http://twitter.com/Stacey_Kennedy

WIN - Leave Stacey a comment or question this week at The Tiki Hut Blog, and your name goes in the hat for a download of your choice from any of her book!  Please leave your email address and your choice of which book you'd like to have, so we can hook you up if you are this week's winner - Good Luck!

Cheryl Kaye Tardif's Tiki Hut Winners

Thanks to Cheryl Kaye Tardif for the fantastic post about how she came to write her romantic suspense LANCELOT'S LADY and for offering up three ebook copies of it as prizes for the week!


COngrats to Estella, CJ and Katie - Estella, thanks for leaving your email address, Cheryl will be contacting you soon with your prize.


CJ and Katie you two need to email me at AuthorIsland at yahoo dot com with your email address by the end of February to claim your prize!

This Week's Special Guest At The Tiki Hut - Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Cheryl Kaye Tardif

This week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut, we welcome author Cheryl Kaye Tardif who stops by to talk about how she came to write a romance.

Cheryl is an award-winning, bestselling Canadian suspense author. Her novels include The River, Divine Intervention, and Whale Song, which New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice calls “a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart...a beautiful, haunting novel."

Cheryl has finished two thrillers, Children of the Fog, and Divine Justice (book 2 in the Divine series), both of which are slated for publication in 2011. She also enjoys writing short stories, which has resulted in Skeletons in the Closet & Other Creepy Stories (short story collection) and Remote Control (novelette).

When she is not ruthlessly killing people off in her thrillers as bestselling Canadian suspense author, Cheryl Kaye Tardif, she is busy relaxing in her hot tub, sipping champagne, eating chocolate-covered strawberries and plotting romantic suspense with scintillating sensuality as romance author Cherish D'Angelo.

Cherish's debut romance, Lancelot's Lady placed in the semi-finals of Dorchester Publishing's "Next Best Celler" contest and went on to win an Editor's Choice Award from Textnovel. Currently living in Edmonton, Alberta, she enjoys long walks on the beach, except there aren't any around so she has to make do with trips around the hot tub or a vacation to a tropical paradise. And margaritas.



Booklist raves, “Tardif, already a big hit in Canada…a name to reckon with south of the border.”

WEBSITE   ***   BLOG   ***   TWITTER   ***   FACEBOOK   ***   MYSPACE   ***   GOODREADS

 

What inspired me to write Lancelot's Lady?

Many people have asked me: "What inspired you to switch genres, select a pen name and write a romance novel like Lancelot's Lady?" Well, unlike my other novels, I wasn't inspired by things that happened to me when I was a child (Whale Song), or my mom telling me about some river from which people went missing (The River), or my love of all things weirdly paranormal (Divine Intervention), or by Stephen King (Remote Control and Skeletons in the Closet). No, what inspired me to write Lancelot's Lady was much simpler than these. It all boiled down to one thing: I love a good love story.

When I was a young teen, I was fascinated by the books my mother brought home―ones with a gorgeous woman in a beautiful flowing dress on the front cover and often a barely dressed, dashing man gazing into her eyes. My mother would leave her books open and face down on the table, while she went to get more coffee, and sometimes I would sneak a peek and read a page.

In my home, everyone read. We had crappy TV stations; there wasn't much else to do. My father would read mainly sci-fi and computer books. My mother was into romance novels. My brother Derek read sci-fi and fantasy, and I read everything they did, plus mystery, suspense and horror. Nancy Drew, Dean R. Koontz and Stephen King were my three "best friends" back then. But then so were Danielle Steel, Iris Johansen and other romance authors.

A few years ago I decided to try my hand at a romance novel. I called it Reflections. It was to be a romantic suspense. I wrote about half of it and let a good friend read it. She liked it, but I wasn't sure I really was ready to become a romance author. So I put the manuscript away.

When Textnovel announced they'd partnered with Dorchester Publishing for the "Next Best Celler" contest, a contest where writers could text their chapters (or write via PC) one at a time to Textnovel and have readers vote and comment, I decided to dig up Reflections. After months of rewrites and fine tuning, Reflections merged into what is now Lancelot's Lady, a contemporary romantic suspense set in the Bahamas and showcasing one of the vilest villains I've ever created.

It made it through the contest and was voted as a semi-finalist. That's when I knew I was on the right track. Lancelot's Lady is a far better story than the original manuscript, Reflections, and Textnovel readers loved it. I am so happy that everyone now gets to read the complete novel.

Lancelot's Lady ~ A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.

Available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help me celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."

You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherylktardif.com/  and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com/ 

WIN - Leave Cheryl a question this week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for one of THREE ebook copies of her romantic suspense LANCELOT'S LADY!! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are one of our THREE WINNERS!!

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Jana Richards' Tiki Hut Winner

I'd like to thank Jana Richards for being such a wonderful guest with such a great post! And thanks to all who commented and popped in last week to keep Jana company!

Congrats to Regina Ross, your name was drawn as our winner - congrats and enjoy Jana's new book FLAWLESS - she'll be contacting you soon to get it to you!

This Week's Special Guest - Jana Richards

This week we welcome Jana Richards, as she celebrates her new release FLAWLESS, a historical romantic suspense and talks about "The Male Perspective" in romance writing.

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there's nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.

When not writing up a storm, working at her day job as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry, Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.

Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren, along with two university aged daughters and a highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou.

WEBSITE *** BLOG *** FACEBOOK *** MYSPACE

The Male Perspective by Jana Richards

As a woman writer, I often wonder if I’m getting my male characters “right”. Romances are overwhelmingly written by women. Are the men in our stories too in touch with their feelings to be real? Are we representing men the way they are or the way we’d like them to be? Here are some of my thoughts about things to consider when constructing male characters.

What did you Say? Dialogue is one area where our male and female characters often differ. Women tend to be more verbal, using conversation to talk about their feelings and vent emotions. Men may feel their emotions as keenly as women, but they likely will not talk about them as much.

Vanessa Grant, in her book, “Writing Romance”, talks about a problem in one of her romance novels, “Pacific Disturbance”. In it, her male character makes a long speech to the heroine, thanking her for her work. In “Writing Romance”, Vanessa says she later regretted that speech because it was more like something a woman would say. A man would say “You’re doing a great job.” Short and sweet.

I feel, therefore I am. Most men won’t show their feelings or talk about them as much as women, no matter how strong their emotions. They will likely keep feelings bottled up inside, and often the only sign that they feel anything is through their body language. A clenched jaw or a fisted hand might be the only clue that your male character feels anger. Crossed arms may signal his annoyance and hostility. “The Definitive Book of Body Language” by Allan and Barbara Pease, is a great resource for authors. It helps to decipher what gestures, facial expressions and body positions really mean.

When the alpha male does show his emotions, it’s usually a spectacular display. One of my favorite scenes of an alpha male losing control is in Suzanne Brockman’s “Breaking Point”. Max has been in love with Gina for a long time, but has pushed her away because he believes that not only is he too old for her, he’s no good for her. When Gina is reported dead, Max reacts stoically, barely showing any emotion. But when he and a fellow FBI agent go to the morgue to identify her body, they discover that the body is not Gina’s. Max is totally overcome with emotion and relief, and simply falls to his knees, all his feelings totally on display.

Are you really going to wear that? Women tend to be more conscious of their appearance then men, and women are often more critical of their own appearance then men are. Unless he’s feeling self-conscious or insecure for some reason, a man wouldn’t think very much about what he’s wearing. He would, however, notice what the heroine is wearing, especially if she looks particularly sexy. But he probably couldn’t tell her what she’s wearing. Most men, especially Alpha men, wouldn’t be familiar with different types of women’s fashion. If your hero, in his internal monologue, begins thinking about the heroines’ cornflower blue slip dress with spaghetti straps, and fitted bodice designed by Versace, it may not ring true. More likely, he’d be thinking about the short, sexy blue dress that hugged all her curves and showed off acres of creamy bare skin.

Talk dirty to me. Men think more about sex then women do. It’s probably a given that your hero is going to have one or two carnal thoughts about the heroine. Your hero will likely make up his mind quite quickly about the desirability of the heroine as a sexual partner.

A woman may express her love through words or gestures. Men tend to express their love through sex. A partner making love to him is the ultimate affirmation of love for many men.

Me Tarzan, you Jane. Men like to think of themselves as heroes, as protectors and breadwinners. If a woman comes to a man with a problem, he’ll try to “fix” it for her, even if all she really wants to do is talk. Above all, men like to be thought of as useful.

Perhaps the best way to write a good male perspective is to read works written by men. Also, you might want to ask male friends or family to read parts of your book to see if your male characters ring true.

These sweeping generalizations don’t necessarily apply to all men or all male characters. While we want to make our male characters believable, we have to keep in mind that our mostly female readership may not want “real life”, but perhaps an idealized life. Romance heroes are men as women would like them to be.

What do you do to give your male characters the ring of truth? Do you agree that the romance hero represents men the way women would like them to be?

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WIN - Leave a comment or question for Jana this week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for a free download of her brand new book - FLAWLESS! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are this week's winner - good luck!

Erin Nicholas' Winner

The winner from Erin Nicholas' blog tour is...Chelsea B.!! Check out the details on Erin's Website.

This Week's Special Guest Erin Nicholas

This week's special guest at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut is Erin Nicholas. We're a stop on your blog tour to celebrate the anniversary of her first published novel NO MATTER WHAT, which btw, is a finalist for an EPPIE, along with her novel JUST RIGHT!

Erin has been reading romance since her mom first let her into her book cupboard when Erin was about fourteen. LaVyrle Spencer, Julie Garwood, Debbie Macomber... they took Erin's 'happily ever after' ideas from animated princesses to real people in the real world.

She's been writing romance almost as long. Many a family car trip was spent with her head bent over a spiral notebook in the back seat. She'll confess that her very first attempts at fiction were fantasy and paranormals, influenced by her father's love of the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the original Alice in Wonderland. If Harry Potter had been around, Erin's sure he would have been on the bedtime story shelf as well.

But it wasn't long until Erin started writing about true love and that's where she's been ever since.

She's so thrilled to be able to share these stories with you and hopes that they make you smile, sigh, maybe even choke up a little. Most of all, She hopes that they help you believe in magical things like first kisses, the spark of passion, and the power of true love.

Erin loves to hear from readers! Please write her at Erin@ErinNicholas.com

Visit Erin at her Cyber Home

Welcome Erin!


Since November is the anniversary month of my first published book, I decided to go on a tour and chat and give stuff away!

The “theme” (I use the term loosely) is Writing Romance Is Like…
And every blog stop has a different comparison that will give you some insight into who I am, how I write and my slightly weird sense of humor. Oh, and you can win stuff! Every commenter gets entered for a chance at a book from my backlist. And if you really want to have some fun: follow me around to all the stops on the schedule (on my website) get the answers to the questions (on the form on my site) and then e-mail them to me by December 15th to get entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com or MyBookstoreandMore.com. Come join the fun!!

And now, the 6th stop on the tour:
Writing Romance is Like… Dieting

Dieting. Yuck. I’m actually one of those people who have been convinced that terms like “lifestyle change” or “food intake moderation” are better. “Diet” conjures all kinds of bad images for me (and makes me want to run, not walk, to the nearest Twinkie!)

I’m dieting right now for the umpteenth time in my life (seriously, umpteen is the number I’m up to). Losing weight isn’t really the problem. Though I have noticed that as I get older it definitely gets harder (not to mention that I pretty much despise exercise. I like walking, playing with my kids, shooting hoops, even a rec game of volleyball. And dancing! But I hate exercise—so I never call it that g). Anyway, I’ve lost weight. A number of times.

The problem is—all together now—keeping it off.

That’s right. Keeping the weight off is the challenge. Because initially it’s super fun to see the numbers going down, discovering new lighter recipes that actually don’t suck, and buying new clothes. Oh, and seeing someone you haven’t seen in awhile—“Wow, you look amazing!” are four words I’ll never tire of hearing, how about you? ;)

But then a plateau. You’re doing everything the same but the scale isn’t moving. You’re tired of yogurt. If you have to walk one more minute on the treadmill you’re going to die of boredom. While you feel so much better and buying that smaller size jeans is really always fun, it’s hard to get back to that “this is gonna be great” phase.

Writing is like that for me sometimes. Finishing a book is wonderful, getting an acceptance from an editor is awesome, talking about the new book, getting reader comments, seeing the cover… all of these things are fun! Exciting! Easy to get up about!

Then, inevitably, I once again have to face the computer screen. And it always starts out blank. It’s not always easy to be up knowing I have 250-some pages to go. Knowing that my characters need depth and my plot can’t be contrived and making it fresh and entertaining and maybe even a little meaningful can be daunting.

But I have to just start typing. There’s no other way for the story to get there. You can’t end if you don’t begin. You can’t expect the scales to go down if you don’t start paying attention to what goes into your mouth. And you can’t expect words and characters and chapters to just magically appear—you have to push the keys on your keyboard.

It’s always about choices: fruit or candy bar? Sofa or treadmill? Writing or checking Twitter?

It’s tough to keep up sometimes. It’s tough to think “this is gonna be great” every minute. But it’s also about goals. It’s about knowing where you’re trying to get to—just like dieting. And it’s about appreciating where you are and the fact that writing is as important to my health (my mental and spiritual health for sure) as eating well and being at a healthy weight. Steady. Every day. Focus. Commitment. Those are things that make dieting and writing work.

Join me at the next stop on my blog tour: Samantha Sommersby’s blog: http://immortalitybites.blogspot.com/ on November 18th!

And now a little blurb, from Just Like That, (the brownie discussion -- perfect for a dieting post, yes?

Danika frowned at that. “They have not been duds.” They’d all been nice, sweet guys. Unassuming, undemanding…un-lots of things. Just the way she liked them.

“Maybe not duds,” Abi said, gently. “But they’re…vanilla cupcakes.”
“What?” Maybe it was the tequila. The conversation just kept getting crazier.

“You love fudge brownies,” Abi said. “But you’re dating vanilla cupcakes. They’re not bad, but you don’t crave cupcakes.”

Carmen’s grin was huge and Danika groaned.

“That’s a perfect analogy, Dani,” she said. “You’ve got to find a fudge brownie.”

The thing was, it was a good analogy. It was scary how close her sisters had just come to the truth. It wasn’t like she was picking cupcakes on accident. She knew her weakness was fudge brownies. And therefore trouble. A great brownie could make her throw all her discipline away, forget her goals and plans. Even a not-so-great brownie—because, after all, even a bad brownie was still a brownie—could make her lose control, decide the pleasure was worth the consequences.

“So I’m supposed to only date men who make me think of food?”

Abi grinned. “Men who make you think about indulgence and devouring and…licking all over.”
“Exactly,” Carmen said, her eyes twinkling. “It’s like your life is a bakery and you have everything to choose from. But you go for the vanilla cupcakes, even though you could have a brownie and that’s what you’d really like and what would completely satisfy you.”

Her life was a bakery. Terrific.

“I like cupcakes.” Danika knew she sounded grumpy, but she was feeling grumpy. And judged. And criticized.

She hated when her sisters were right. Her boyfriends were no more exciting than cupcakes. They were good, just not…worth not fitting into her favorite jeans for.

“Cupcakes are fine,” Carmen agreed. “And for some people that’s it. Their favorite thing. The thing they go crazy for. But not for you.”

“You have to find a fudge brownie,” Abi agreed. “A big one.”

LIKED THE EXCERPT??? CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK

More on Erin
www.ErinNicholas.com
NineNaughtyNovelists.blogspot.com
ErinNicholas.blogspot.com
http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/erin-nicholas

Duane Simolke's Winner

Thanks to all who stopped by to visit with Duane Simolke and congrats to Valerie! You win a copy of Duane's sci fi adventure - DEGRANON!

This Week At The TIki Hut - Duane Simolke

This week we welcome author Duane Simolke to the Tiki Hut to talk about his science fiction novel DEGRANON: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Majoring in English, Duane Simolke received degrees from Belmont University (B.A., 1989), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., 1991), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1996). His doctoral dissertation was on Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.

StoneWall Society gave Pride in the Arts literary awards to The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and Holding Me Together. AllBooks Reviews gave The Return of Innocence a Reviewers Choice Award.

Simolke also edited and co-wrote a fundraiser, The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.

BLOG *** GOODREADS *** YOUTUBE

Revisiting Diversity in Science Fiction
By Duane Simolke

Now that I’ve completed a draft to the sequel of Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, I still find myself surprised by the slow but steadily growing audience Degranon finds. It’s been almost ten years since the first edition appeared. I rewrote the book two years after its publication, following an earlier idea of making some of the major characters gay.

Those changes, and some others, made the novel even more memorable to me, and it remains my favorite out of everything I’ve written. Dealing with themes of discrimination, religious turmoil, and oppression added emotional layers, but I mostly wanted to create interesting characters and exciting scenes of adventure. That revised, second edition immediately gained attention.

In Worried, the upcoming sequel to Degranon, the characters still wrestle with some of the same problems, though they have overcome weight discrimination, censorship, and some of the other specific issues they struggled with before. However, some past failings haunt the citizens of Valchondria, the human home world. Dark secrets haunt the Valchondrians even more.

Also, the first book spanned generations on two planets. Worried takes place over five weeks. Most of the action happens on the capital city of the home world, except for a few scenes set in outer space. Still, the epic scope of the first book gave me a universe, and that entire universe still affects the characters and events of the second book. I think Degranon’s new and old readers will enjoy the journey back; I’m certainly enjoying it and look forward to the next few months of revision.

Warning, mild spoilers lurk ahead. Some hints about what to expect in Worried follow.

The wedding of two male characters from the first book.

The rumors of a dangerous alien race weren’t exaggerated.

The balance of power on Valchondria remains in question.

The effects of past addiction linger.

Enemies might need each other.


(Read reviews of Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure at Rainbow Reviews and I Must Be Dreaming.)


WIN - Leave Duane a comment or question this week, here at the Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for a free ebook of DEGRANON. Please leave your email address, so we can contact you if you are this week's winner - Good Luck!

Anne Hamilton's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to visit with our special guest Anne Hamilton as she talked about the inspiration for her new book A BLONDE BENGALI WIFE.

Congrats to Sandy B. - your name was drawn as our winner! Anne's publisher, LL Publications will be contacting you for your information - thanks for leaving your email address!

This Week's Special Guest Anne Hamilton

The Story of A Blonde Bengali Wife

There’s a torn billboard along the urban sprawl that links Zia International Airport with the dusty clamour of downtown Dhaka; it has the tag line “Come to Bangladesh before the tourists do.” I, the so-called Blonde Bengali Wife did just that and in doing so framed the story of a three month journey through the landscape and culture, the people and places, the humour and highlights of a little-known Bangladesh.

Whilst the book invites you to swim at Cox’s Bazaar, the longest sea beach in the world; to trek rare tigers amidst the earth’s largest mangrove forests in the Sunderbans National Park; to refresh your taste buds beside Srimangal’s verdant, rolling tea gardens, and to watch the sun rise and set at the same most southerly point in Kuakata, it is so much more than a travel memoir because A Blonde Bengali Wife has inspired, and is supporting, a UK based charity called Bhola’s Children.

It all began with my first (of eight and counting) visit to Bangladesh as a volunteer for a Non Government Organisation (NGO) when I fell utterly in love with the country. Draft after redraft followed until it was read by literary agent Dinah Wiener. It wasn’t remotely commercial, Dinah said, but it made her want to visit Bangladesh, and that was enough for her to agree to represent it—and to make a trip to Bangladesh herself. By chance, there she met Howlader Akkel Ali. Ali, orphaned at the age of eight and with forty years’ experience of caring for disabled children, had a dream of a home and a school where children and young people with different disabilities could live, learn, and work together.

Ali comes from the Barisal district of Southern Bangladesh in which lies the island of Bhola, jutting out to the Bay of Bengal. In Bengali, bhola means “forgotten” and it was on this “forgotten island” that Ali had found the property that is now called Bhola Garden. Together with some orphaned and disabled children and staff, he carried out basic renovations, and then began encouraging families all over the island to send their disabled children to daily lessons. Dinah discovered that Bhola Garden took the traditionally grim notions of orphanages, third-world poverty and disability, and simply knocked them on their heads. Full of life, love, and colour, the word Dinah used to describe it was “magical.” Thus, the charity Bhola’s Children was established by Dinah and registered in March 2007 with a commitment from all of the Trustees, of which I am one, to nurture and progress everything that makes Bhola Garden what it is today and what it can be tomorrow.

Bhola Garden is now a home to about forty children and a school for another fifteen, with many more waiting in the wings. In practical terms, Ali and the children live in very basic conditions. They bathe, swim, do their laundry, and breed fish all in the same pond. Their staple food is rice, with meat or fish a couple of times a week; milky, sugary sweets are a rare treat. They grow most of their own vegetables. When they receive gifts, they are delighted with toothbrushes, plastic combs, and hair oil. There is little to spare for visits to the doctor, the dentist, or anything unexpected.

Outreach work, that is teaching the community about disability, is part of daily life. Ali oversees hospital arrangements in Dhaka for the many infants whose frightened parents agonise over cleft palates and club feet. Better, he says that these are prevented—and educating people about the need to reduce inter-marriage and avoiding very young pregnancies is the best way forward. Better, too, that families learn there is no stigma in their child being blind or deaf and sending them to school, rather than hiding them away, will significantly improve their life chances.

As well as the day-to-day financial support, the charity’s first purchase was a Toyota microbus so that, for the first time, outings and picnics and trips to appointments didn’t rely on public buses or rickshaws. The initial major project was to complete a properly-built, two-storey hostel for the children, staff, and Ali to live in year-round safety and far greater comfort than the tin shacks that barely protected them from monsoon, floods, and hurricanes. Two years on, the current scheme involves updating the equally primitive sheds in which carpentry and tailoring are taught. Proper workshops mean these will grow into businesses creating much needed income. Longer term, the grand plan is for a dispensary and health clinic that will meet the needs of not just Bhola’s Children but the surrounding community too. Ultimately, of course, it relies on successful fundraising and charitable donation.

All money earned from A Blonde Bengali Wife goes direct to Bhola’s Children. Not because Dinah or I are particularly generous or kind people, but because once you’ve been to Bhola, you just can’t not be involved. A Blonde Bengali Wife it isn’t about Bhola, but it is a tribute to my journeys into Bangladesh and all the friends I have made there. Most of all, it is the story of the country that inspired Bhola’s Children.

BIO
Between her travels, Anne Hamilton currently lives in Scotland where she is working on a novel whilst studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at Glasgow University. Anne and her husband celebrated the birth of their first baby in August 2010.

A Blonde Bengali Wife is available in print and in several ebook formats. It can found at http://www.ll-publications.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, as well as many other print and ebook retailers.

WIN - Leave Anne a comment or question this week at the Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for your choice of either a print or ebook of her new book, A BLONDE BENGALI WIFE. To be entered, you must leave your email address, so we can contact you if you are this week's winner - Good luck!

Desiree Holt and Cerise DeLand's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit with Desiree and Cerise this week! Congrats goes out to Marybelle - you win a free download of the first book they co-authored together UNTIL THE DAWN.

This Week's Special Guests Desiree Holt and Cerise Deland

This week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut , we welcome award-winning authors Desiree Holt and Cerise DeLand who stop by to talk with us about co-authoring. Together they just kicked off the Nemesis Series, a new series for Ellora's Cave's Breathless line of erotic romantic suspense, with their first book together UNTIL THE DAWN.

Meet Desiree Holt: All her life, Desiree dreamed of faraway places and unbelievably sexy men. From baseball players to rock musicians to television personalities she met them all and each one enriched her life. Now tucked away in the Texas Hill Country, she shares her fantasies with her readers. In her satin robe, with her scented candle burning and a chilled glass of wine at hand, she lets her mind run wild — and hopes you’ll take the journey with her. When she’s not writing, she reads and indulges in her other passion — watching football.

VISIT DESIREE HOLT'S WEBSITE

Meet Cerise DeLand: What’s a gal to do if she hails from D.C., lives now deep in the heart of Texas, travels often everywhere, and adores Paris, Florence, London, Tokyo and all points east and west? Ah. She becomes an author who can write about those romantic places. And if your sweet tooth craves spies, pirates, body guards and gutsy women of today and yesteryears of medieval and Regency England, then she is the author you crave for smoldering erotic encounters and delicious love affairs!

Her name? Cerise DeLand. What’s more is that Cerise is the award-winning author of 18 print novels of mystery, mainstream and romance with St. Martin’s Press, Pocket Books and Kensington. Her books have been on every book club list you can name, including Featured Selections of The Mystery Guild, Doubleday and Rhapsody. And when she isn’t dreaming up fiction? Cerise also writes non-fiction. Busy lady. Happy writer.

VISIT CERISE DELAND'S WEBSITE



Co-authoring…the spice in the stew
Cerise Deland and Desiree Holt
Authors of Until the Dawn, Nemesis: Book One

So you’re doing really well as a solo author. Great. Most of the authors out there are right there with you. But did you ever think about sticking your toe in deeper water? Finding the ticket to enhancing your ‘voice’? Bringing a new dimension to your writing? Exchange ideas? Give your work a fresh voice? Put the ‘fun’ back in writing? Then maybe co-authoring is for you. It offers continued interaction with another writer outside a critique group, and the interaction helps keep you sane, happy and creative.

Co-authoring is different than collaborating. In collaboration two or more authors get together to create a series, each one writing an entire title. In co-authoring, you are writing simultaneously. In some instances this means alternate chapters, in some alternate POVs. You have to find out what works for you. What your best method of working together is. This means brainstorming plots, refining characters, finding the common ground on which to build the story. And as you do this, the best method of co-authoring emerges.

How do you decide the point in your career to try this? For everyone it’s different. Maybe you’re stuck in a genre rut and want to try something new. Maybe you’ve become too plot-oriented and want to hook up with someone who’s more character-oriented. Maybe you want to try a new genre altogether but doing it alone is scary and intimidating. And maybe you’re having coffee, or wine, or a long cyberchat with another writer with whom you’ve developed a great relationship. And then suddenly out pops an idea and you both say, “Let’s write a book together.”

The first thing to consider is whether your styles blend. Have you read each other’s work? Do you know how the other person writes? For example: if a writer tends to write dark but you have a light and fun style could you work together? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the style could complement each other and create a fresh new voice for both of you. That’s definitely something to hash out.

Another point to consider is how you write. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do your characters talk to you when you’re writing and sometimes send the story in another direction? If it happens to one of you and not the other, then you have to discussing detail if the two methods can blend without disrupting the story. Following a timeline is another point to discuss. How much time a day you each spend writing and will you both keep to the schedule you collaboratively set for yourselves.

And finally, can you each accept the other’s critiques without blowing a gasket. Writing is probably the single profession where having a thick skin gives you the best advantage. You may be in love with every word you write but not everyone else will be. And you will not grow as a writer—or work effectively with another one—if you are not willing to be a sponge and soak up every bit of logical criticism. And then between you, you take what works and toss the rest.


We consider ourselves very fortunate. We blend our styles, work easily and well together, love the same kind of stories and the same kind of characters. This series, Nemesis, of which Until the Dawn is the first book, is iour first co-authoring venture but you can bets it won’t be our last.


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WIN - Leave Desiree and/or Cerise a comment or question this week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for a copy of their first book together UNTIL THE DAWN. Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are this week's winner - Good Luck!

Tim Smith's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to check out Tim Smith's interview with the hero of his Nick Seven novels. That was great fun and we thank him for sharing it with us!

Congrats to Susan - you win your choice from his three Nick Seven books! Thanks for leaving your email address, we'll be contacting you soon for your mailing information.

This Week's Special Guest Tim Smith

This week's special guest is Tim Smith with a special interview with the hero of his action-packed romantic suspense novels, a former CIA agent named Nick Seven.

Tim Smith is an award-winning author of numerous books, ranging from thrillers to contemporary erotic romance. He is also a freelance photographer and when he isn’t pursuing these two passions, he works in the human services field as a case manager for adults with disabilities.

WEBSITE   ***   FACEBOOK

Today we’d like to introduce Nick Seven, a former CIA agent who lives in Key Largo, Florida.

Nick, how do you feel about the renewed interest in your adventures?

Nick: I think it’s about time more people had a chance to read about my exploits, even though they’ll never hear the real juicy stuff I did when I worked around the world tracking down terrorists. I could tell some good stories, but I’d have to kill anyone who read them.

Yes, your adventures are now limited to The Florida Keys, aren’t they? How did you end up there?

Nick: When I decided to quit the bureaucratic nightmare known as the CIA, I couldn’t decide where I wanted to settle. I could’ve gone to Italy, Germany, Bermuda, Rio, you name it, but I’d been to The Keys and something about the laid-back atmosphere hooked me like a marlin and reeled me in. Besides, I’ve always loved fresh seafood and the sunsets are to die for.

Okay, inquiring minds have to ask about Felicia, the beauty from Barbados you’re living with. In your first adventure, “Memories Die Last,” you two are reunited when the CIA drafts you back into action, but we can tell there’s a spark there. Anything you can add?

Nick: To put it bluntly, Felicia is sex on two feet – bronzed skin, long woven hair, sensual eyes, the cutest West Indies accent and a body a supermodel would kill for. She also has a right cross that’ll bring a wrestler to his knees. Felicia was a member of my team when I was assigned to England. There were some sparks at first but I couldn’t do anything about it because I’d recently gotten married to a young Scottish woman I’d fallen hopelessly in love with.

Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be and after my lovely bride was killed by a terrorist who was after me, Felicia really came to my emotional rescue. When the spooks in Washington conned me into coming back for one more case, there she was. We just picked up where we should’ve started a few years earlier. Good things come to those who wait, right?

In one of your adventures, “Never Trust Your Dreams,” you both are used as pawns by the CIA and Felicia is kidnapped by a rogue agent to force your cooperation. How did you respond to that?

Nick: It was déjà vu all over again, a nightmare I wasn’t about to relive. I’d already lost the one person I thought I’d ever love and there was no way in hell I was going to lose my second chance at happiness. Before Felicia came back I’d been going through life on auto-pilot, from one meaningless hook-up to another. She reminded that there’s more to it than that. In that same story I got framed for murdering a former girlfriend and had to outwit the cops and the girl’s filthy rich S.O.B. of a father. Funny, but I thought when I left covert intelligence my life would be a bit less eventful!

One reviewer said “Nick Seven is the kind of guy your mother wouldn’t let you play with.” Is that an accurate assessment?

Nick: That probably explains why I had such a lonely childhood. Seriously, I suppose some of my rougher edges turn off a few people, but when they take the time to know me I’m really a pussycat. I just don’t show it very well or very often.

Except with Felicia?

Nick: Geez, what is this, a Dr. Phil segment? Okay, I admit she’s managed to housebreak me, but I’m still the same tough guy I always was. Can we get onto another subject now?

Sorry for striking a nerve. You thought you’d gotten away from the intrigue after your first two adventures, but in the third one, “The Vendetta Factor,” you really got thrown for a loop when you were dragged into the middle of a Mafia turf war in Miami. How did you feel about that?

Nick: I think thoroughly pissed about covers it. All I did was help out a friend, a professional gambler named Rock Moretti, who used to own my club in Key Largo before opening a floating casino off Palm Beach. ‘I’m having some trouble,’ he says. ‘Come out to the boat and check things out. Nothing to it.’ Ha! How the hell did I know some Don in New York was putting the squeeze on him to sell out? Moretti didn’t share that piece of information with me and I didn’t find out until it was too late that another Don in Miami had a vested interest in keeping this other guy out of his back yard. Sometimes I think I’ll never learn.

That story gave you one of your most dangerous adversaries, didn’t it?

Nick: You mean the hit man, Tony the Crease? Yeah, he was a tough character, but Felicia and I managed to show him a couple of new tricks when he came after me. We actually ended up having a hell of a time with that adventure, but we never did settle the argument about whether Frank Sinatra or Julius LaRosa had the bigger impact on pop culture.

Frank Sinatra or Julius LaRosa? What was that about?

Nick: Read the book and find out.

So what does the future hold for you and Felicia?

Nick: Probably more adventures, whether we want them or not. I’m just trying to live my life in my personal corner of paradise, but this Tim Smith cat won’t let me do that. What did I ever do to this guy, anyway? As to Felicia, I sort of proposed when she came to live with me, but I get the impression that if I don’t keep out of trouble, she’ll pack her bags and haul ass back to Barbados – which she’s threatened to do more than once, by the way.

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Last Week's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to all who stopped by to visit with Cris and to find out just how she ended up on the cover of her new book WHAT SHE NEEDS!

Congrats to Artemis -your name was drawn as our winner, thanks for leaving your email address so Cris can contact you with your prize.

This Week At The Tiki Hut -- Cris Anson

This week's guest at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut is Cris Anson who writes for Ellora's Cave and she stops by to tell us all about how she ended up on the cover of her brand new release WHAT SHE NEEDS!

15 Minutes in Angelo’s Arms
by Cris Anson

Ellora’s Caveman Angelo exploded into our consciousness at last October’s RomantiCon, Ellora’s Cave’s first annual erotic romance conference. (He has since graced dozens of Ellora’s Cave covers.) The quintessential tall, dark and handsome Venezuelan riveted everyone’s attention as he danced. Made our hearts beat faster whenever he smiled, which was often. Charmed us all when speaking with us in his delightful accent.

For a lucky few, he was more. Saturday morning of the conference, I was invited to participate in a photo shoot with Angelo at his virgin cover-model gig for Ellora’s Cave. My immediate reaction: Is the Pope Catholic? Does the sun set in the west?

If you’ve attended a Romantic Times convention, you’ve seen the Mr. Romance contestants or the Ellora’s Cavemen posing as a group with one attendee at a time, proceeds to charity, three minutes max and on to the next person in line. And yes, I have a few of those poses myself.

But this. This was fifteen minutes of permission to stand seriously close to Angelo, to look deeply into his warm brown eyes, to run my fingers through his long black hair. To have his undivided attention as he held me in his muscular arms.

Have I mentioned that Angelo is hawt?

He was wearing only a towel, as you can see from the photo gracing the cover of my July release WHAT SHE NEEDS, and I’m not positive (or maybe it’s wishful thinking), but he might have gone commando. Be still, my heart!

Alas, I could never quite forget the photographers arrayed around us—standing, kneeling, moving to get different camera angles. Furniture had been moved to the side. Sunlight poured in through the hotel room’s windows. Lights had been set up to the side and behind us. Directives flew like machine-gun fire.

“Look this way.” “Turn around just a bit to your left.” “Now move behind her.” And so on.

The results astounded me. Or, I should say, the results of Ellora’s Cave Art Director Syneca’s efforts with PhotoShop astounded me. I look like…someone Angelo might want to get closer to. Like someone living the script she wrote. Like Delia Barnes, the heroine of WHAT SHE NEEDS, who found her younger man in a most unexpected place—an erotic romance convention.

Here’s the blurb for WHAT SHE NEEDS:

Older widow Delia Barnes greets fellow authors before an erotic romance convention sporting a black eye, which she explains away with “I didn’t say ‘Yes, Master’ quick enough.” Sitting at the bar, burned-out ad executive and former Dom Kurt Reinhardt overhears that comment once too often and interrupts to suggest, “Maybe you need a new Master.”

Urged by her friends to accept the younger man’s invitation to learn some D/s basics—hey, an author needs to do her research, right?—Delia joins him to get first-hand experience at being submissive, starting with removing her panties in a corner booth. Later, she learns more than she bargained for when she spends a weekend at Kurt’s home with his eager business partner added to the mix.

But an innocent misstep brings Delia’s world crashing down around her. Can she trust Kurt with her heart…and her life?

You can read an excerpt of WHAT SHE NEEDS and buy the book here.

If you want to know more about RomantiCon 2010, here’s the link. We’ll be eagerly looking to see which of the Ellora’s Cavemen attend.

To read more about me and my books, please check out my Website , my MySpace page and friend me at Facebook.

Oh, and one more thing about WHAT SHE NEEDS mirroring real life: I attended my first Romantic Times convention sporting a black eye. This photo of me with Mr. Romance finalist and Ellora’s Caveman John Fish was not PhotoShopped.

If you enjoyed this mini-peek into a model’s hard life, I hope you’ll take a moment to comment (this will enter you into the drawing for a prize). Thanks for stopping by!


PS - Please leave your email address, so Cris can contact you if you are this week's winner!

Tim Smith's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to everyone who popped in to visit with our special guest Tim Smith and congrats to Valerie in Germany! You win a free download of Tim's first erotic romance - ANYWHERE THE HEART GOES. Thanks for leaving your email address, Tim will be contacting you soon!

This Week At The Tiki Hut - Tim Smith

This week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut, we welcome author Tim Smith who stops by to talk about his hot new romantic comedy just released with eXtasy Books called THE SWEET DISTRACTION.

Tim is the author of five novels, including two contemporary romantic comedies with eXtasy Books. His first three adventure novels have won critical acclaim and several awards. He is also a freelance photographer and works in Dayton, Ohio as a case manager for adults with special needs. When he isn't devoting time to writing, you can find him in The Florida Keys, doing research in between parasailing and seeking out the perfect Pina Colada.

VISIT WEBSITE *** BUY THE BOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT

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I’m pleased to return as this week’s guest blogger on Author Island to share my new release, “The Sweet Distraction.” Let me tell you a bit about my newest romantic comedy. The main character, George Sullivan, is a writer of thriller novels and he’s about as far down in the dumps as you can get. His last few books haven’t sold very well, he drinks and gambles too much, he’s drifting through life on auto-pilot due to a bad break-up and he’s desperate for success. His agent arranges for him to write the memoir of notorious mob boss Vito Pasquale, who is a big fan of George’s books, and George realizes this could be the big break he’s always wanted. Simple, right? Not a chance. You just know love will get in the way, in the person of the Don’s beautiful but spoiled daughter, Cookie. Cookie is accustomed to getting what she wants and pursues George, but he resists because he fears how her father might react. What happens? Read the book to find out if love triumphs or if George winds up in the middle of Lake Erie in a cement overcoat for fooling around with the Don’s daughter.

This is a very humorous, sexy romance. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I hope you have as much fun reading it.

I’ll now take your questions.

Tim Smith

WIN- Leave Tim a comment or question here at the Tiki Hut this week and your name will go in the hat for a free download of his first romantic comedy with eXtasy books, ANYWHERE THE HEART GOES. Please leave your email address, so we can contact you if you are our winner!

Jennifer Linforth's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat with Jennifer Linforth while she was here at the Tiki Hut. Congrats goes out to JoanneR - you are our winner, please send your mailing address to AuthorIsland at yahoo.com so Jennifer can get your prize out to you!

This Week At The Tiki Hut - Jennifer Linforth

This week at the Tiki Hut is author Jennifer Linforth who talks about why she tackled Leroux's Phantom of the Opera in her historical series published by Highland Press.

If one is going to query a publisher, Jennifer Linforth suggests not doing so in pink ink. Her first, written when she was twelve, was nothing if not colorful. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Romance Writers of America in addition to being a writing mentor. Writing historical fiction and historical romance with unusual themes and locations, such as autism and the social mores of the mentally ill in the 19th century, she has a passion for Austrian culture and is often found searching for stories in long forgotten histories.

It was her love of research and classic literature that brought her to expanding Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.

Writing from a tiny loft office, Jennifer admits to being country mouse with city mouse tastes and is constantly fighting to keep the little critters in line. She can't pronounce pistachio, hates lollipops with gooey centers, and dearly loves to laugh. If asked for her motto in life, she points to the following poem upon her office wall:

Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. It's too high! COME TO THE EDGE! And they came, and he pushed, and they flew. ~ Christopher Logue Croyez.

Visit Jennifer's Website *** Blog *** Myspace *** Facebook *** Twitter

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Everyone wants to undress Mr. Darcy in one way or another. Whether literally, or by expanding his story, readers yearn to dive deeper between his sheets. So why then did I choose to do so to a Phantom?

The Phantom of the Opera has one of the largest and most devoted fan followings in the world. Choosing to expand such a classic came with an impending sense of doom. Would this idea be embraced like the countless tales of Pemberly after the nuptials? Or would I be tarred and feathered…

I had to find out. The result was a three book series contracted by Highland Press Publishing, and one which has, thus far, left this author thankfully featherless.

Certain stories transcend time leaving more questions than answers. No author made me question as much as Gaston Leroux. My love for The Phantom of the Opera stemmed from a deep respect for a book that was a mystery, horror and romance rolled into one. After revisiting Leroux’s novel for the third time the questions in my head would not fade. Why—as a jurist—did he leave so many unanswered questions in such a fascinating book?

The only way to find out was to devote years of my imagination to living deep below an opera house with a corpse-like madman.

The first challenge? Breaking down the visions created by Andrew Lloyd Webber. His musical and 2004 movie starring Gerald Butler created an iconic image of The Phantom and the story as a whole. Leroux’s original is quite different from the romantic, famous love triangle of Webber’s that millions of fans saw and fell in love with. In Webber’s film and musical we see a mildly deformed man clearly oozing sex appeal who happens to have murdered out of anger. Webber stripped away the unattainable parts of Leroux’s story to leave a basic romance as the focus. In Leroux, Erik (The Phantom), was a murderously vengeful personality… a clear madman, while concurrently being a repressed and ardent gentleman. He was the central character in a Death and the Maiden tale. Hideously deformed and hiding behind a full black mask, he slept in a coffin. He had issues with maternal longings just as Christine had issues with paternal needs. Leroux penned him as a monster for a reason. I did my best to adhere to his original ideas for my series while maintaining there was indeed a man with in the madman. Naturally, certain elements were changed to suit the limits of my imagination and to reach the broader market desired by my publisher.

The second challenge? Weaving enough of Leroux’s original story into the fabric of the series so readers could enjoy it without needing to read Leroux’s book first. Book one in my series, MADRIGAL, (released October 2008) begins four years after Leroux’s original ended.

Despite all of the above, Erik was a simply seeking the most basic of human emotions--love. Yet how can one when love society sees you as nothing more than a deviant of the underground?

You fake your death and start anew…

Sharing the back cover blurb for MADRIGAL:
Years ago he faked his death and vowed the Phantom would never again haunt the Opera Garnier. But strange packages left by Anna, an unwanted Samaritan turned unlikely friend, causes Erik to desire the unattainable—love.

When Anna’s haunted past puts Christine Daaé in danger, Erik is falsely accused of the vicious crime. The Phantom is reborn as Erik, forced to the brink of insanity, revisits his passion for Christine—the woman he once swore to possess. Fighting the injustice against Erik, Anna struggles to prove his innocence. Standing in the way is her past that cannot be transcended, and years of prejudice labeling Erik more monster than man.

Battling the nobleman determined to lock him away, Erik must save Christine, control his demons, and tame a heart unexpectedly beating for two opposite women. Christine, who he longs to love, and Anna: the woman who saw beyond his bitter soul to the man beneath the mask.

In the midst of a brutal manhunt, can he be loved for himself or is he condemned to be The Phantom of the Opera?

Murderer, Maestro, Magician, Mastermind.

ABENDLIED, book two of The Madrigals released January 2010 and continues to expose more of Erik and the manhunt to bring him to justice. ABENDLIED can be read prior to MADRIGAL even though it continues the first book. It follows all characters as they endure the manhunt and introduces an often forgotten part of Leroux’s plot:

Desiring normalcy is difficult enough with a price on his head, but when Erik is falsely accused of killing Philippe de Chagny, brother of his nemesis Raoul, he is launched toward madness.

Anna is an unlikely companion, sharing Erik's heart and the bounty on his head. As the manhunt heats, Erik's mysterious relationship with Philippe spurs the campaign against them forward, and exposes her darkest secret: defending her honor ended in murder.

Plagued by his past as The Phantom of the Opera, Erik's memories enslave his heart to Raoul’s wife Christine, whose shocking confession brings a ruthless bounty hunter into the fray and blackmail to the Chagny bloodline. Blackmail from a hunter who cares little about the Phantom or Philippe, and everything about the one he has lusted for: Anna.

With the past weeping like an open wound, can love endure or will it take memories of one unlikely man to heal them all?

Memories of Philippe Georges Marie, Comte de Chagny...

Philippe de Chagny was a vital secondary character in Leroux’s original story and my favorite of all classic literature. It was his story that sparked the creation of this series. A series I hope readers will continue to embrace long after I put down my quill. For those who are more adventurous, once I am done writing stories that expand classic literature I can loan them some feathers… I leave it to them to find the tar!

Enjoy!

WIN - Leave Jennifer a comment or question this week at the Tiki Hut and your name goes in the hat for an autographed copy of her novel, MADRIGAL. Be sure to leave your email address, so we can contact you if your are this week's winner!

Last Week's Tiki Hut Winner

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to visit with J K Maze last week and congrats to Andrea I who get a free download of her book, MURDER BY MISTAKE.