Beautiful Mess by John Herrick

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. John Herrick will be awarding a Kindle version of Beautiful Mess, plus free Kindle versions of entire John Herrick backlist to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

John Herrick, thanks so much for stopping by. How did you get started writing?

Thanks for letting me stop by! As a third grader, after finishing a class assignment one day, I looked over at a friend and asked what she was working on. She said she was writing a short story. It sounded like fun, so I gave it a try. I became a writer that day. I fell in love with storytelling. Later, I fell in love with emotion and character psychology.

What was the inspiration for your book?

Seven years ago, I read a biography about Marilyn Monroe and learned authorities had locked her away in a mental institution, against her will, for a brief period. Questions struck me: How would that trauma change her life? Would it ignite fear or paranoia toward what others would think of her from that point on? That piece of trivia planted the seed for Beautiful Mess.

Then there’s the inspiration for my protagonist, Del Corwyn: For some actors/actresses, an Academy Award nomination or win seems to launch their career into a new, enhanced phase. But others, especially in the supporting actor/actress categories, seem to fade from the forefront in a year or two. I’ve often wondered about that second group of people. What made their situation different from the first group? Do they simply pursue other avenues? Do they pursue those avenues by choice, or just to survive? Did a poor choice for their next project torpedo their career? Or did they lack better options because of weak agent? Del is an Oscar-nominated actor who made an unsuccessful choice for his next project, which dealt a fatal blow to his career. He’s spent the next 40 years facing the consequences of that choice.

So those two fascinations merged in my head to provide the inspiration for Beautiful Mess.

What’s the one genre you haven’t written in yet that you’d like to?

I’m aching to delve into suspense! That was always my goal as an author, but human heart stories have arisen to the surface, probably because character development and emotion seem to be my strongest suits. Meanwhile, I’ve partially developed several suspense concepts. And I do have a short suspense story available, called Hit and Run. Currently, it’s available in standalone form only as a Kindle exclusive. (However, if you’re a physical book reader, it’s included in the paperback version of Beautiful Mess!)

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

Horror. It just creeps me out. The farthest I’ve tiptoed into horror is Stephen King’s Under the Dome, and that was more like horror-lite, if anything at all.

What are you up to right now? Do you have any releases planned, or are you still writing?

I have another romantic comedy ready to go, scheduled for late 2018. Beyond that, I’m in the process of landing on the next idea. A combination of research and trial-and-error. It’s important for the concept to resonate with my heart, if possible.

Alright, now for some totally random, fun questions. Favorite color?
Green
Favorite movie?
Moonstruck
Book that inspired you to become an author?
The Firm by John Grisham. With that book, I fell back in love with novels.
You have one superpower. What is it?
Time travel! (That said, a magic wand to make problematic people disappear would also be nice!)
You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?
Jesus, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Candy.

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?

You saved the toughest question for last! I believe a piece of the author finds its way into the book, whether as a character, or as an aspect of its mind, or maybe its struggle symbolizes one of the author’s struggles. I’m an self-psychoanalytical guy—whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know—so rather than my characters resembling me, I tend to channel my self-analysis into their struggles and they become a symbol for me. When I wrote The Landing, I was frustrated and felt trapped in my career. My protagonist was frustrated and felt trapped by unrequited love. Two completely different struggles, but that character’s struggle became a symbol for me. But if you want to know how bad that personal psychoanalysis can get, if you want a glimpse inside my mind, you’ll find an excellent example with Hunter Carlisle, my main character from Between These Walls. Hunter and I torment ourselves in similar ways.

That’s all from me, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!

Thank YOU for the chance to spend time with you and your readers!

A fallen star. Four Los Angeles misfits.
And the Marilyn Monroe you only thought you knew.

Del Corwyn is an aging relic. An actor who advanced from errand boy to Academy Award nominee, Del kept company with the elite of Hollywood’s golden era and shared a close friendship with Marilyn Monroe. Today, however, he faces bankruptcy.

Humiliated, Del is forced to downgrade his lifestyle, sell the home he's long cherished, and fade into a history of forgotten legends—unless he can revive his career. All he needs is one last chance. While searching through memorabilia from his beloved past, Del rediscovers a mysterious envelope, dated 1962, containing an original screenplay by Marilyn Monroe—and proof that she named him its legal guardian.

Del surges to the top of Hollywood’s A-list overnight. But the opportunity to reclaim his fame and fortune brings a choice: Is Del willing to sacrifice newfound love, self-respect and his most cherished friendship to achieve his greatest dream?

A story of warmth, humor and honesty, Beautiful Mess follows one man's journey toward love and relevance where he least expects it—and proves coming-of-age isn't just for the young.

Read an excerpt:

“I have an intriguing prospect for a new film,” Del replied as he took a seat. He tapped the manila envelope tucked under his arm, which contained Marilyn’s script.

He could’ve sworn he caught Arnie in the onset of an eye roll brought to a sudden halt.

“What kind of project?”

“A pop-culture type of thing. You could say it has a retro feel to it.”

Arnie sighed. “Del, I realize you like to relive the past—”

“This is a winner, Arnie. I guarantee it.”

“And what does this winning project involve?”

“Marilyn Monroe. It’s a screenplay.”

“With all due respect, isn’t that a bit clichéd? This would need to be an angle no one else has covered. Many people have done films about Marilyn Monroe, not to mention books and memorabilia and everything else under the sun.”

“You don’t understand. This isn’t about Marilyn Monroe.” Del felt a surge of adrenaline and couldn’t contain himself. He leaned forward and, with great pomp, planted the thick package on Arnie’s desk. It landed with a thump. “It’s by Marilyn Monroe.”

Arnie sat open-mouthed as he tried to follow along. His eyes widened in perplexity. “By Marilyn Monroe,” he repeated.

“That’s right.”

“Del, what the hell are you talking about?”

With a lighthearted laugh, Del eased back into the chair. “Last night, I rummaged through some boxes I’d stored away long ago. Hadn’t looked through them in years. Relics from my heyday. Things I’d forgotten I’d saved. And at the bottom of one of those boxes, I found this.”

He patted the envelope, which crinkled at his touch.

“It’s a script, given to me in 1962.” Del caught Arnie’s eye to make sure the man paid full attention. “Written by Marilyn Monroe.”

About the Author:

A self-described “broken Christian,” John Herrick battled depression since childhood. In that context, however, he developed intuition for themes of spiritual journey and the human heart.

Herrick graduated from the University of Missouri—Columbia. Rejected for every writing position he sought, he turned to information technology and fund development, where he cultivated analytical and project management skills that helped shape his novel-writing process. He seized unpaid opportunities writing radio commercial copy and ghostwriting for two nationally syndicated radio preachers.

The Akron Beacon Journal hailed Herrick's From the Dead as “a solid debut novel.” Published in 2010, it became an Amazon bestseller. The Landing, a semifinalist in the inaugural Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, followed. Publishers Weekly predicted “Herrick will make waves” with his novel Between These Walls.

Herrick's nonfiction book 8 Reasons Your Life Matters introduced him to new readers worldwide. The free e-book surpassed 150,000 downloads and hit #1 on Amazon's Motivational Self-Help and Christian Inspiration bestseller lists. Reader response prompted a trade paperback.

His latest novel, Beautiful Mess, folds the legend of Marilyn Monroe into an ensemble romantic-comedy.

Herrick admits his journey felt disconnected. “It was a challenge but also a growth process,” he acknowledges. “But in retrospect, I can see God's fingerprints all over it.”

Website: www.johnherrick.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnherrickbooks
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JohnHerrick
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/johnherrick

Buy the book at Amazon.

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Q&A with Christina Hoag

It's Raining Books welcomes author Christina Hoag. Christina is the author of Skin of Tattoos, a literary thriller set in L.A.’s gang underworld (Martin Brown Publishers, August 2016) and Girl on the Brink, a romantic thriller for young adults (Fire and Ice YA/Melange Books, August 2016). She is a former reporter for the Associated Press and Miami Herald and worked as a correspondent in Latin America writing for major media outlets including Time, Business Week, Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. She is the co-author of Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence, a groundbreaking book on gang intervention (Turner Publishing, 2014). She lives in Los Angeles.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I like to write gritty, edgy thrillers with a splash of romance. I like plots that move, but I also really like good literary-style writing so I try to combine the two. I also really like international settings because you learn about another place and culture. I think that adds an extra element of spice.

What research is required?

Having been a journalist, I’ve done a lot of research already into my worlds because a lot of I wrote about as a reporter inspires my fiction. I still need to do tons of research into details, though. I google stuff all the time. I also find YouTube videos particularly useful to really get a good sense of place or how to do random things my characters do, like connect a semi trailer container to a truck cab or how a van equipped for disabled drivers works.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Resiliency. My characters go through a lot in their lives, but they come through it all changed for the better. They’re tough. They keep going and don’t break down. They overcome their fears by confronting them and afterward, they find it wasn’t as bad as they feared. I’ve learned all that from them.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I sit in this weird way with one leg folded to the side and the other leg crossed over it, angled to the other side so basically my legs are going in opposite directions. It looks odd and I’m sure n ergonomic secialist would have a heart attack but I find it very comfortable!

Plotter or pantser?

A bit of both. I like to know where I’m going so I have a loose outline. I’ve found knowing your ending from the getgo really helps to avoid writing yourself into corners, or into a wall. That said, I change stuff as I go all the time. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t. Sometimes I do detailed mini-outlines covering just the next chapter or two. It also helps to get you started when you sit down at the computer every day so you avoid wasting time wondering what comes next. It’s really a long, painstaking process, no doubt about it.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

I’ve got four notebooks on my desk. One is where I make my to-do lists and jot down things to remembers, like blogs to check out. Another is where I note literary things, like metaphors and similes as I think of them, names I like for possible characters, ideas. The third is specifically for the detective novel I’m working on. I write down specific technical questions I need to ask a cop source. And a fourth is a small one that I take to conferences, workshops, any writerly gathering to I write down things of interest. This answer has made me realize how obsessed I am with writing stuff down!

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m working on a mystery novel with a police detective as the crime-solving heroine. It’s set in Los Angeles and has an important Latin American angle to it, as well. I don’t want to give too many details just yet as I’m still working it all out.

Do you have a question for our readers?

What element draws you most to a book- the cover, the back jacket blurb, Amazon/Goodreads reviews, the title, previous works by the author or something else?

When your best friends are your worst enemies.

Los Angeles homeboy Magdaleno is paroled from prison after serving time on a gun possession frameup by a rival, Rico, who takes over as gang shotcaller in Mags’s absence. Mags promises himself and his Salvadoran immigrant family a fresh start, but he can’t find either the decent job or the respect he craves from his parents and his firefighter brother, who look at him as a disappointment. Moreover, Rico, under pressure to earn money to free the Cyco Lokos’ jailed top leader and eager to exert his authority over his rival-turned-underling, isn’t about to let Mags get out of his reach. Ultimately, Mags’s desire for revenge and respect pushes him to make a decision that ensnares him in a world seeded with deceit and betrayal, where the only escape from rules that carry a heavy price for transgression is sacrifice of everything – and everyone - he loves.

Available in ebook and paperback on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bSRjqP

Sometimes the one you love isn’t the one you’re meant to be with.

The summer before senior year, Chloe starts an internship as a reporter at a local newspaper. While on assignment, she meets Kieran, a quirky aspiring actor. Chloe becomes smitten with Kieran’s charisma and his ability to soothe her soul, torn over her parents’ impending divorce. But as their bond deepens, Kieran becomes smothering and flies into terrifying rages. He confides in Chloe that he suffered a traumatic childhood, and Chloe is moved to help him. If only he could be healed, she thinks, their relationship would be perfect. But her efforts backfire, and Kieran turns violent. Chloe breaks up with him, but Kieran pursues her relentlessly to make up. Chloe must make the heartrending choice between saving herself or saving Kieran, until Kieran’s mission of remorse turns into a quest for revenge.

Girl on the Brink is available from:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aRFsVZ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/657690
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2bFrCGQ

For more information, see www.christinahoag.com and follow her on
https://facebook.com/ChristinaHoagAuthor
https://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7341116.Christina_Hoag

Friend of the Devil by Mark Spivak - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Thanks for stopping by It's Raining Books. What group did you hang out with in high school?

It’s probably fair to say that I was associated with the intellectual clique, particularly the subset that was angry and fighting against the system (this was the Sixties, remember, so fighting the system was chic).

What are you passionate about these days?

I’m passionate about women, family, Bourbon, sushi, politics, writing, caviar, travel, punctuality, telling the truth, wine and dogs (in no particular order).

If you had to do your journey to getting published all over again, what would you do differently?

I’d try to be more responsible in terms of personal habits. I had a very long and tough road to publication, and I’m sure most of my obstacles were self-inflicted. Had I been more focused, I think I would have been published sooner.

Ebook or print? And why?

Along with my other books, Friend of the Devil will be released simultaneously in both print and electronic form. I don’t have a preference as far as reading goes, unless I’m traveling---in which case a Kindle saves space and weight. I’ve notice recently that the trend toward ebooks seems to be reversing, so maybe readers are becoming more traditional.

What is your favorite scene in this book?

That’s a tough question to answer, because they’re all in there for a reason. I think the flashbacks to Mississippi in 1947 are probably among my favorites, which is interesting because I resisted including that line of narrative. Toward the end of the book, I like the verbal chess matches between David and the chef. I also like the ending, although I won’t give it away.

In 1990 some critics believe that America’s most celebrated chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano, cut a deal with the Devil to achieve fame and fortune. Whether he is actually Bocuse or Beelzebub, Avenzano is approaching the 25th anniversary of his glittering Palm Beach restaurant, Chateau de la Mer, patterned after the Michelin-starred palaces of Europe.

Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee. He quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, unwittingly transforming himself into a romantic rival of Avenzano. The chef invites Fox to winter in Florida and write his authorized biography. David gradually becomes sucked into the restaurant’s vortex: shipments of cocaine coming up from the Caribbean; the Mafia connections and unexplained murder of the chef’s original partner; the chef’s ravenous ex-wives, swirling in the background like a hidden coven. As his lover plots the demise of the chef, Fox tries to sort out hallucination and reality while Avenzano treats him like a feline’s catnip-stuffed toy.

Enjoy an excerpt:

The two young men emerged from the woods onto Highway 49. There were no street lamps, and Joseph was grateful for the moonlight. Slowly and deliberately, they walked toward the intersection of Highway 61. When they got to the Crossroads, the site was unremarkable: a small general store, a gas station, and miles of desolate blackness stretching in every direction.

“Here you go, baby.” Willy stopped a few hundred yards from the intersection and turned to face Joseph. “You on your own. Can’t take you closer than this.”

“Where are you headed?”

“As far away as I can git,” he laughed, “as fast as I can git there.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

“Well, this wasn’t no charity. You know that.”

“Even so.”

“You got some questions?”

“What do I do? Just walk up there and wait?”

“You won’t be waitin’ long,” said Willy. “The man’ll be along shortly. You don’t need no business card, neither. Trust me on that.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll be fine.” Willy studied him carefully. “Shoot, you look like you don’t got a care in the world.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But I’m here for a reason, of my own free will.”

“I understand.” He patted Joseph on the arm. “You look me up when you open your restaurant, hear?”

“I will.” He watched Willy head back for the woods. “I definitely will.”

“I’ll be here,” Willy called over his shoulder.

About the Author:

Mark Spivak is an award-winning writer specializing in wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. He was the wine writer for the Palm Beach Post from 1994-1999, and was honored by the Academy of Wine Communications for excellence in wine coverage “in a graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 has been the Wine and Spirits Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group; his running commentary on the world of food, wine and spirits is available at the Global Gourmet blog on www.palmbeachillustrated.com. He is the holder of the Certificate and Advanced diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Mark’s work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Robb Report, Men’s Journal, Art & Antiques, the Continental and Ritz-Carlton magazines, Arizona Highways and Newsmax. He is the author of Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History (Lyons Press, 2012) and Moonshine Nation: The Art of Creating Cornbread in a Bottle (Lyons Press, 2014). His first novel, Friend of the Devil, is published by Black Opal Books.

Website: http://www.markspivakbooks.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4659831.Mark_Spivak
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.spivak.3
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Spivak/e/B007QASMAC
Barnes and Noble Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/mark+spivak?_requestid=552756

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Brains and Beauty by Jeanette Watts - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jeanette Watts will be awarding a Victorian cameo necklace to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I don't have only one genre. My newest book, Brains and Beauty, is historic fiction. I was drawn to historic fiction because I love biography and history. I like bringing history to life, in all its juicy, glorious detail. But I have also written a textbook on how to waltz, and plan on doing an entire series on different dances. My next fiction book, currently in the hands of an editor, is a modern satire. I also want to write a children's book, which will be dedicated to my old landlord in Pittsburgh who was my mentor and guardian angel and passed away last year. And, on the other end of the spectrum, I'm thinking about writing erotic fiction. When I read Fifty Shades of Grey, I thought "I can do this!" I have a pretty solid idea about the characters, and a format that is, I think, a bit unusual. But it would present an interesting challenge!

What research is required?

Tons of it! The central premise for any work of historic fiction is "do your homework." Then do some more. Assume nothing. Get experts on that era in history to look it over and find all the errors. It's more than just getting the facts down - like finding that I couldn't refer to my grandmother's bad-tempered Pekingese, because the breed wasn't around yet in 1875. You have to understand how things were used historically. I still remember cringing at one piece of historic fiction I tried to read, because the writer assumed that the moment the telephone was invented, it was used exactly the way we use it today. (Well, used it 15 years ago when the book was written.) It wasn't. Businesses had telephones installed, but private homes did it much later, and originally home phones were used to call the stables to tell the groom to saddle your horse. You did not use a telephone to chat with the lady down the street. Lastly, to write historic fiction you have to research language. I nearly put a couple big, fat errors in Brains and Beauty - I hadn't known that the word "sex" was only used as a synonym for "gender" until 1929. It wasn't used to describe intercourse. And the word "baby" to describe your youngest sibling was not around in the 1800s.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

That I'm a bigger cynic than I ever realized. Regina is actually a poor communicator. She loves people, but she's also given up on them. There's not much point in telling people what you're really thinking, like when something's really bothering you, because it won't change or fix anything. People are going to do what they want, it doesn't matter what you want. It's kind of a cynical way of looking at people. But if that's what she thinks, and it came out of me, part of me must think that way, too.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I don't know how quirky this is, but I love doing my writing in pretty places. While I do plenty of writing in my office, I love to go on little writing retreats I set up for myself. When I was on my way to a dance workshop north of Pittsburgh, I went early and detoured and spent 3 days in Allegheny National Forest in a cute little cabin with gorgeous hills in front of me and a stream right next to the cabin. Another time I spent a week in a cabin owned by friends of mine in Canada right on Lake Erie. Both these places also happened to have excellent wineries in the area, which made for nice excuses to take a break once in a while.

Plotter or pantser?

Depends on the book. My next book, Jane Austen Lied to Me, was plotted. It's a satire, I don't think you can NOT plot out a satire. But Wealth and Privilege refused to stick to the outline. Brains and Beauty is a companion book, so I had a strict road map I had to follow. Everything I wrote had to fit in with everything I'd already written - only within those parameters could I simply let go and see what happens.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Heaps of papers, audio and video equipment for converting tapes, LPs, and VHS to digital (I'm a dance instructor, I'm always converting music or old performance tapes from one of my dance troupes), empty cassette tape cases, an eraser, a lump of poster putty, an Air Canada boarding pass, one of those squished souvenir pennies (I think it's from Wright-Patt AFB), a flash drive, a paper clip, a DVD from a past cancan performance, a book on social dances from the American Revolution, and a metal 3-D model kit of Kylo Ren's command shuttle, waiting to be assembled (that's Star Wars, for any non-Jedis out there). Wow, I need to clean my desk. I'm glad you didn't ask me to look to my left.

Anything new coming up from you? What? As I mentioned, the next thing coming down the pipeline is called Jane Austen Lied to Me. It's a satire about a college girl who absolutely loves Mr. Darcy... until she meets a real live one. Then it doesn't come out quite the same as the books. So she meets a real live Captain Wentworth. Once again, things don't work out like they do in the books... you get the idea.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Do you prefer electrons or dead trees? (Since I know you want to know, I'm a dead tree person. Don't know why it is I process words better on paper, but ereaders just don't plug into my brain right.)

Regina Waring seems to have it all. A loving husband, a successful business, and the most expensive wardrobe in town. But nothing is what it appears to be. Her husband is critical and demanding, the business teeters on ruin, even the opulent wardrobe is a clever illusion.

Regina’s life is one long tiptoe through a minefield; one wrong step and her entire life is going to blow up and destroy her. Attempting to hold it all together, she appeases the husband, dresses the part, and never, never says what she is really thinking. That would get in the way of getting things done. And, if there’s one thing Regina did really well, it was getting things done.

Enter Thomas Baldwin. Young and handsome and completely off limits, Regina is smitten at first sight. Then, to her great astonishment, he slowly becomes her best friend. He’s the one person in her life who never lets her down. Torn between her fascination with him and her desire not to ruin a marvelous friendship, she tries to enjoy each moment with him as it comes.

If only that were enough.

Enjoy an excerpt:

There was grunting, and the sound of wood groaning, and then a wet thump as they lifted and threw something. Regina could tell that there was a little more room behind her shoulder blades. There was more grunting and dragging and thumping. Then she heard them both groan.

“What’s going on back there? Have I been cut off at the waist?” she asked. Not being able to see what was wrong, or the progress they were having, was making her anxious.

“The next layer is completely wedged in. We can’t do this without tools,” Isaac told her.

Both men hurried away from her, making her worry for their safety. She had also found their company reassuring. What if neither one of them was able to find her again?

That’s when she saw the flickering orange glow in the distance. “No.”

Yes. It didn’t seem possible – but in the midst of water floating below, and pouring from above, something had caught on fire.

Regina started listing in her head all the accelerants that might be contained in a single drygoods store: tar, pitch, turpentine, kerosene. How many homes used all of them? How many gas lines were ruptured all over the city? How many wood stoves were knocked into them? There was no way this heap would NOT be set on fire.

And here she was, stuck, in the middle of it. No doubt about it, she was about to die in the same town in which she was born. It was a shame, really. She had such high aspirations.

About the Author:

Jeanette Watts only lived in Pittsburgh for four years, but in her heart, she will always be a Pittsburgher. She missed the city so much after her move to Ohio, she had to write a love story about it.

She has written television commercials, marketing newspapers, stage melodramas, four screenplays, three novels, and a textbook on waltzing. When she isn’t writing, she teaches social ballroom dances, refinishes various parts of her house, and sews historical costumes and dance costumes for her Cancan troupe.

Website: www.JeanetteWatts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.watts.94 https://www.facebook.com/WealthAndPrivilege?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanetteawatts
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Brains-Beauty-Jeanette-Watts-ebook/dp/B017NEZ0P0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449863350&sr=8-4&keywords=brains+and+beauty

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Simmer and Smoke by Peggy Lampman - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Peggy Lampman will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Thanks for stopping by It's Raining Books to talk to us today. Why do you write in your genre?

I write in the genre that I enjoy reading: Literary and High Concept Fiction; particularly women’s literary fiction.

What draws you to it?

Because I can relate on so many levels. I’m a woman (duh), and I love a good story, well told.

There have been experiences in my life that have changed me, and there was no closure for me until I wrote about those experiences, digging at the pain and pulling it out. When I read a piece of literary fiction that I enjoy, it’s sort of like the same experience. Reading and writing in this genre is cathartic for me.

What research is required?

The book does have bits of strangeness––metaphorical leering jackalopes, personified hogs and the like–– but it’s not fantasy/paranormal/Sci-fi. There is quite a bit of quirky imagery in the novel; particularly in Coryville and surrounding Miss Ann’s glass eye.

My husband and I have relatives that live in “colorful” communities. I have drawn tremendous inspiration from these folks that I’ve come to love, and appreciate their giving me license to draw intimately from their landscape.

I’ve worn dozens of hats in my life, have lived in big cities and small towns, and have studied and befriended various types of people. To know, first-hand, the people and community of your book, is the best research for me.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

To get back on the horse that throws me.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I’m quirky superstitious. I was raised in the Deep South and had a babysitter who scared me with tales of the Devil and his pitchfork. If I wasn’t a good little girl, he would skewer and roast me over the flames. Once my mother got wind of how I was coerced to eat my peas, the sitter didn’t last long. But not before she had convinced me of the power of numbers. I chose the number six (and multiples of six, to be my lucky number(s). To this day my heart beats in a rhythm of six. Superstitions play into the characters of my protagonists.

The pachamama I brought back with me from Peru, is my talisman. I hope she brings me color and imagination when writing my next book.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Most definitely a plotter. I work from an outline, which is in constant transition. Occasionally, I push aside the road map and let the ride rip––seatbelt unfastened–– but the light flickering at the end of the tunnel reminds me where I’m headed.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

I’m gazing out of the window in our cottage in northern Michigan. A little snow angel is sitting outside. Wait. She’s sprouting ice cycle legs . She stands. She is running though the forest, grasping at pinecones. She hurls them into the wind, as if to fight off an attacker.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Most definitely. I was just contacted by my agent, Wendy Sherman, who said she had a buyer for my book––Lake Union Publishing. They will re-brand and re-publish the book in August, and I will be under contract (with an advance!) to have a second book completed within the year.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes. What’s sitting at YOUR right?

Thanks very much for inviting me to your book blog! To learn more about “Simmer and Smoke”, please visit me on my author page at http://dinnerfeed.com.

A single mother who dreams of becoming a chef.

A food writer who just lost the love of her life.

Two women discover what's worth fighting for in this deliciously rendered novel that illuminates the power of food, love, friendship and family on the human heart

1. ASSEMBLE INGREDIENTS:

Shelby Preston--a young, single mother trapped in a hardscrabble life in rural Georgia--escapes her reality as she fantasizes herself a respected chef in a kitchen of gleaming stainless steel and pans shimmering with heat. Mallory Lakes--an Atlanta newspaper food writer--may lose her job, and searches for her muse in a shot glass of illusion.

2. SIMMER:

Mallory secures her job by crafting a zealous doppelgänger to satisfy the expectations of an illusive cyber audience. This also mollifies the memories of her lover who recently bolted; no warning. Shelby persuades her mother to take care of her daughter so she can pursue her dream of going to chef school in Atlanta. She cooks them a special dinner said to bring good luck; Lord knows her family could use a pot of something good.

3. SMOKE:

Chasing desires and ambitions, the women's lives unravel down a path beyond the kitchen, then weave together in an unsettling culinary landscape of organic farms and shadowy borders--some borders not meant to be crossed. As Mallory combats her demons with booze and pills, and Shelby battles the odds stacked against her for becoming a chef, the women discover what's really worth fighting for.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Shelby

Ashes in a box vanished into the ground. All my life I’ve yearned for something more, something I struggle to define. An image lies in wait, appears in a flash, then gone. It’s in the brushed edge of a dream that leaves behind no memory, only a warming prickle of joy. It’s in the smell of fresh-turned soil after a frost, ancient and newborn. It’s in the taste of honeysuckle nectar—what the wood nymphs drink, I tell my child—that we dot onto our tongues every spring.

About the Author:

Peggy Lampman was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in communications, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a copywriter and photographer for Hill and Knowlton, a public relations firm. She moved back to Ann Arbor, her college town, and opened up a specialty foods store, The Back Alley Gourmet. After selling the business, she wrote under a weekly food byline in The Ann Arbor News and MLive. This is her first novel. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25826817-simmer-and-smoke?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr
Website: http://dinnerfeed.com/simmer-and-smoke-a-culinary-tale/
Blog: http://dinnerfeed.com

Buy the book at Amazon.

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Forbidden Things: Dissident by Nikki McCormack - Q&A and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions for Nikki McCormack's newest book Forbidden Things: Dissident. The author will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Welcome to It's Raining Books! Any weird things you do when you’re alone?

When I’m alone I have a tendency to talk to everything out loud. That includes my truck, my computer, my kayak, the odd figurine or sword. Anything is game and most of those things have names because I have an overabundance of characters in my head to assign to things. That’s probably also why I tend to assign all of my pets multiple nicknames.

What is your favorite quote and why?

“Look, there's a great big hunk of world down there, with no fence around it. Where two dogs can find adventure and excitement. And beyond those distant hills, who knows what wonderful experiences?” Tramp from Lady and the Tramp, 1955

I know this is a really odd choice, but it was something that stuck out in my head. No, I’m not a dog, but I do look at the world and see a great big open place full of wonderful experiences waiting to be had.

Who is your favorite author and why?

It’s hard to pick only one. Many amazing authors have delighted and inspired me with their work over the years. One of the most prominent in my collection is C.S. Friedman. I always find something to love in her work and her tendency to switch between science fiction and fantasy is comforting since my writing ventures into both genres as well.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

The first would have to be the craft of writing itself. Readers deserve a clean manuscript free of plot holes, typos, bad grammar, etc. No matter how good you are, you should be bringing outside parties into this process to make sure that the final product is well edited and as error free as possible. As the author, it can be too easy to see what you wanted to write and overlook the errors in what you actually wrote.

Another element worth mentioning is that of believability. Even writing fantasy, you need to do good research to make the story relatable for your audience. If you character gets hurt, make sure the suffering they experience and the recovery realistic to the injury or have a clear reason why it isn’t. Research historical battles if you’re going to have battles in your book so you can start with something realistic and build upon it with any aspects of your fantasy world that might alter the events. If you give people something they can believe as a foundation to everything in your world, they will make an easier transition to accepting the fantastical elements.

Where did you get the idea for this book?

I’ve heard it said that book ideas rarely come from dreams. I’m not sure how true that is, but this series is an exception to that. A few chapters of the book came entirely from a dream and in that dream, I already knew most of the backstory for myself (I got to be Indigo) and for Yiloch. When I woke, I also knew where it would go from there and I wrote down everything I knew.

Ascard power can strengthen, heal and create. It also has great potential to destroy, enough to topple entire governments. Indigo’s country places strict limitations on the use of ascard so she must channel her talents into the healing arts or risk severe punishment. An orphan from a disgraced family, trapped by her father’s treason, Indigo struggles reclaim her place in a society that has driven her into an abusive engagement.

Then a mysterious stranger from a neighboring country contacts her using ascard. He needs help escaping his prison so he can bring an end to his emperor's oppressive rule or die trying. His unshakable devotion to his cause and the passion hidden behind his cool arrogance move her to help him at the risk of being branded a traitor herself.

When the politics of society bring them together a second time, Indigo decides to use her growing powers to help him fight his war. If only she dared fight for her own future with such passion. Perhaps she can find the courage to do so by helping the man she has fallen for win his revolution. She might have exactly the power he needs to succeed.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Her attention wandered to the fountain sprouting up in the center of a nearby courtyard, simple and elegant like a great stonework lily. A man stood by the fountain, watching water droplets falling with the shimmer of multicolored gems in the bright sunlight. Long silver hair hung to the middle of his back like a frozen waterfall. His smooth pale skin and unusual hair marked him as Lyran, but his regal bearing and rich attire didn’t befit a slave or merchant.

Curious. “Have you seen him before?”

Andrea turned, following her gaze. “Who?”

“The man beside the fountain.”

“There’s no one by the fountain.”

Andrea’s reply tugged at her awareness, but the silver-haired Lyran was turning toward them now. His pale eyes met hers and the air pressed from her lungs as if a corset were being pulled too tight. The buildings lurched and spun in her vision.

“Indigo?”

She sank to her knees. Andrea crouched down with her, her eyes wide and frightened. She held Indigo’s shoulders tight, her lips moving. Indigo heard only the pounding of blood in her ears.

About the Author:

Nikki started writing her first novel at the age of 12 (which is still tucked away in a briefcase in her office). Despite a successful short story publication with Cricket Magazine in 2007, she treated her writing addiction as a hobby until a drop in the economy left her with an abundance of free time to focus on making it her career.

Nikki lives in the magnificent Pacific Northwest tending to her awesome husband, two sweet horses, three manipulative cats, and a crazy dog. She’s a wine and tea fanatic who loves sitting on the ocean in her kayak surrounded by open water or hanging from a rope in a cave, embraced by darkness and the sound of dripping water. She also enjoys horseback riding, archery, PC gaming, dancing, good anime, etc. She studies Japanese and practices Iaido because she believes we should never stop learning.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Author_NikkiMc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikkiMcCormack
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7437256.Nikki_McCormack
Blog: http://nikkimccormack.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Nikki-McCormack/e/B00N3A8JBQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Barnes and Noble Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/nikki-mccormack

Buy the book at Elysium Palace.

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The Devil's Music by Pearl R. Meaker

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Welcome, Pearl!

Thank you for inviting me to be on your blog. Also, thank you Goddess Fish Promotions for bringing us together.

Where are you from?

I’m from the state of Illinois in the Midwest part of the United States. That is also where The Devil’s Music is set, though it isn’t set in the town I actually live in. Twombly is a fictional town that has elements of my town and several other places I’ve lived.

What genre do you write in?

The Emory Crawford Mysteries are all cozy mysteries. My first favorite author, when I was nine years old, was Agatha Christie, and my love for her genre has stuck with me since. It is still my favorite genre to read in and was where my muse took me when I decided to write a book.

Why are you an Author?

This is a tough one. Needed to give it some thought before I answered.

I’m an author because I love stories, I love reading, and I discovered almost by accident that I write well. I’ve found the thrill of sharing a story with readers and having them fall in love with where I take them and the people I introduce them to. It is a totally amazing feeling. Every bit as wonderful as when I’m the reader and a story transports me.

What inspires you?

All sorts of things inspire me. Songs inspire me, and both The Devil’s Music and my next book The Devil’s Hook were inspired by the song “Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby” from the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.

I also enjoy writing challenges where you’re given three or so words that seem random and unconnected and you have to write a short story using them all. Or you’re given a starting sentence – things like that. I used to write for a fanfiction challenge group and had a different challenge every month. It was a lot of fun, a good “school” on how to write and full of inspiration.

Where and what times during the day do you work best?

My time of day really fluctuates. I’m rather moody so it’s usually when the fit takes me. I’ve awoken in the middle of the night with something that just has to get written down “right now” and I’ll be at it still come morning.

Location is usually my living room, or my kitchen (where I am while I’m doing this interview), my office/craft room, or out on our patios in our backyard.

I’m a computer writer. I never wrote a story until we had a computer. I don’t like having to make messy corrections or not be able to move things around without having to rewrite whole pages by hand.

Who is your target audience?

Well, research says that it should be middle-aged women. But I read my first cozy when I was nine and loved it! So what that Hercule Poirot was an old man? Who cared that Miss Marple was an old, grey haired spinster who was a former nanny and knitted little fuzzy things? I loved them!

Think about it. The Harry Potter books are basically written for children, then growing into books for youngsters then teens. But right from the start adults loved them too. I think industries are often too quick to put prospective customers into neat little categories that don’t always fit.

I know the genre appeals to a wide range of people so mostly I’m concerned with writing a good, entertaining “who-done-it” with interesting plots and characters. If I do that it won’t matter much what the statisticians think.

How do you want your readers to feel as they read your book?

Entertained.

I want them happy when the story is being happy. Sad when the murder happens. Frightened when something scary is happening. I hope they feel what the characters in the story are feeling with each scene they read.

But over and above all, I want them to feel like they’ve been well entertained by escaping their everyday lives for a while.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?

Study the craft – but don’t think you have to follow every piece of advice experts have to offer.

Sift through all the helpful hints and down-right insistence that this or that idea is THE BEST WAY TO WRITE. I myself, and many other writers I’ve come to know, have been badly messed up and had to spend some time recovering themselves, recovering their own style and voice, because they’d been convinced they were doing it wrong.

Try new ways and means if you want to, but start a new project, like a short story, to try them with. That way, if you find it doesn’t suit you, you haven’t ruined your larger work.

I did that with the “plotters vs. pantsers” issue. To read many writers opinions, you are doomed to failure if you don’t outline your book in intensely deep detail. For me, with the two short stories I tried it with, after I put all that detail into the outline, my brain knew it had written the story out in full and I couldn’t get it shifted into prose. Doing the deep, thorough outline didn’t work for me. I’ve read interviews with many successful authors who are “pantsers.” I prefer to call us “intuitive plotters.”

One writer I know tried the intense outline process on a novel she’d already been working on. She ruined that story and had to start over, working the way she had before, with a whole new novel. Which is why I say try the new technique on something small instead.

Share one thing about yourself that you would like readers to know.

I’m willing to try things. If I find I can do something and like it, I keep doing it. That happened with writing, with fencing for five years, with playing bluegrass fiddle. It’s happened with all sorts of things. I still struggle with wanting to do well at things I just don’t do well at, just because I think they are things others expect of me. But I’m getting better at setting those aside and focusing on what I do well.

Emory Crawford doesn't do martial arts nor is she an athletic, leggy woman who is built like a model. She's a wife, grandmother, and empty nest lover of crafts, reading, birding and bluegrass music.

When an acclaimed scholar, best-selling author and fellow bluegrass musician is found murdered on the Twombly College campus where her husband teaches chemistry and forensics, Emory takes up her knitting caddy, to help her channel the spirit of Miss Marple, and heads off to help solve the crime.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Stars shone in a sky hazed with moonlight from a half- moon. The fountain played its merry music. The smell of late spring flowers wafted on the cooling air. Soft lights in the fountain made the area cozy while keeping it from being scary-dark. But our playful mood faded as we saw the silhouette of someone sleeping on one of the backless benches near the fountain.

“Drat! I was looking forward to some romance.” At forty-seven I still sound like a sulky child when I’m disappointed.

“So was I.” Jebbin didn’t sound it though. He was too busy squinting at the figure on the bench. He nodded his head toward the figure. “Something’s odd there, Emory.”

I looked closer. The figure’s arms both dangled down, hands resting on the ground. The legs were straight, hanging off either side of the bench in an uncomfortable looking position. We edged closer until we could see, lit by the light of the fountain, the body of a man splayed lengthwise on the bench. Several pouches and odd amulets rested on his chest. On the ground, the hand nearest us was holding a fiddle with no strings.

Jebbin grabbed my shoulders, turning me toward the fountain and away from the bench.

“He’s been strangled.” Jebbin’s body was tight, his voice tense. “It’s Archie and he’s been strangled.”

Pearl R. Meaker is an upper-middle-aged, short, pudgy homemaker, mother, and grandmother who in 2002 became a writer. Initially writing fanfiction she soon tried original fiction at the encouragement of her regular readers. She has been a life-long lover of mystery stories and automatically went to that genre for her first book, The Devil’s Music. She and her husband of nearly 40 years live in central Illinois. They both love bluegrass music, playing fiddle and banjo and singing. Pearl also does many crafts – when she’s not reading or writing - knitting, crochet, origami, needlepoint, and cross-stitch among them. She also enjoys birding and photography and is a former fencer.

Visit Pearl here:

www.pearlrmeaker.com

https://www.facebook.com/PearlRMeaker

Twitter link: https://twitter.com/PearlRMeaker

https://www.pinterest.com/PearlRMeaker/

Buy The Devil’s Music:

http://www.amazon.com/Devilss-Music-Pearl-R-Meaker/dp/1927559642/

https://www.promontorypress.com/books/pearl-r-meaker/the-devils-music

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Drawn Together by Amelia Swan - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. TAmelia Swan will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops in the tour.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I write contemporary, new adult, and erotic romance. I’d tried writing other things before I found my way to the romance genre. There’s something about it that just clicked for me. Beforehand, I could only come up with ideas for short stories. Now I have more ideas for novel length books than I have time to write.

What research is required?

So far my books have required minimal research. I have a book in progress about a girl who went to veterinary school, so that story will require more research than anything I’ve written in the past.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

It’s hard to answer this question without giving too much away! Hailey and Cody don’t talk about what they want from their relationship, and that ends up being the root of their problems. Honest discussion about your thoughts and feelings is incredibly important in any relationship.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I sigh a lot when I write. I think it’s my way of releasing frustration when I’m stuck in a part of my story. That’s basically it. I can write anywhere at any time, but I prefer to work on my couch. I especially like it when my cat’s in my lap.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

The former high school English teacher in me wishes I could tell you I plan my books, but that just wouldn’t be true. I have a pretty solid idea about how the story’s going to go and who the characters are going to be before I start, but I like to work out the finer details as I go.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

My husband. He’s playing DOTA on his laptop.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I have a contemporary romance coming out on May 29th called Wrestling With Summer. It’s about an artist who reluctantly falls for a professional wrestler. The third and final installment of my erotic romance short story series, “For Jay”, will be released later this year. Other than that, I’m working on the sequel to Drawn Together and full-length erotic romance I haven’t named yet.

Do you have a question for our readers?

No questions. I just want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you.

Hailey Sommers is only home from New York for a few months. So when she reconnects with the one guy she can't forget, will she be able to walk away...again?

Hailey can’t wait to get back to New York City. There she’s a hip children’s book author with a healthy social life. Being back in her hometown of Medford only reminds her of the less-than-cool girl she used to be. Until she runs into Cody, her old partner-in-crime in high school art and the boy she lusted after all four years.

Cody West has everything he could want in Medford, except Hailey. When she left for the big city, there was a hole in his life no other girl could fill. But he’s not sure he wants to open himself to the pain if she leaves again.

A chance encounter at the town coffee shop reignites the chemistry between the pair and is almost enough to make Hailey forget how much she wants to return to the city she’s grown to love. Almost. Wanting it all, Hailey plans to bring Cody back to New York with her. The only catch is that she’s not sure he’ll agree…

Now enjoy an excerpt:

He parted his lips, pausing before he spoke as if he wasn’t sure if he should say what was on his mind. “I think about you sometimes.”

My heart stopped. Cody West had been thinking about me. Outwardly, I suppressed my reaction to his confession, trying to play it cool. On the inside, I was freaking out. Raising an eyebrow, I rested my chin in my hand. “Really? What about?”

Cody laughed, taking a big bite out of his cookie. “We’ve had some fun together.”

I pursed my lips as I tried to decide whether or not he was referring to all of the goofing off we did in art class or the night of the graduation party. Cody and I had only been acquaintances in school. We ran in different social circles: he hung out with the football team and I spent all of my time with Callie, my best friend, my only friend back then. Though we had fun together in class, we never spent time together outside of the art room...until we ran into each other at Jessica Mitchell’s. 

Amelia Swan writes contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and new adult romance. She’s interested in characters that are smart, sincere, and somewhat artistically inclined. All of her heroines are girls she could totally see herself being friends with.

Website: www.ameliaswan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byameliaswan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/byameliaswan

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Together-Amelia-Swan-ebook/dp/B00TGBU3M4/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drawn-together-amelia-swan/1121199605

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/drawn-together/id967094269?mt=11

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Fat Girl by Leigh Carron - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Leigh will be awarding a digital copy of Fat Girl to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop. A Grand Prize of a $50 Visa or Amazon GC, an autographed copy of FAT GIRL and an invitation to discuss the book with the winner via phone or online will be awarded to a randomly winner. All prizes will be awarded via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Thanks for dropping by It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

The best thing about writing provocative romance is mixing sensual heat with deep and complex emotions. It’s a balancing act to create sex scenes that bolster the story line, rather than become it.

The other appeal of writing romance is character development. Beautifully flawed characters are my favorite. The little nicks, scuffs and chips offer dimension. They’re more interesting, more appealing. The imperfections are in fact perfect because they shape who they are.

And a final draw for me in romance is the happily ever after. Gotta have that. However, half the fun and challenge is in making the characters work for it. I think the harder they work, the bigger the emotional pay off for the writer and reader.

What research was required for this book?
For Fat Girl, I did some research on the Chicago setting given I had not been there before. But the majority of my research effort was spent understanding child custody law—the rights of foster parents versus biological grandparents and the rights of the child. While I did take creative license to move that particular plot along, for the most part, I tried to make it as authentic as possible.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Through a number of factors in her life, the main character often appears to be mired in the past, and in her battles with food and her body. But Dee is more than that. She’s a fighter. Strong, smart, independent and beautifully flawed.

As someone who also struggled with similar issues during my adolescence and into adulthood, I found much inspiration amongst the pages about the power of unconditional love and self-acceptance.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

Yep. It seems water is my muse. Whenever I get stuck or can’t seem to locate my creative vibe, I shower, wash my hands or go for a walk by the lake (when it’s not freezing here in Toronto). Maybe something about the water cleansing my mind. Not sure, but it works for me.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I tend to do better with minimum structure. When I try to plan out my story, I find my creativity gets stifled and it limits the flow of my writing. That doesn’t mean I don’t set guidelines to keep my story from getting unwieldy. I do. I just don’t adhere to anything rigid, preferring to let the characters lead me.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Nothing is sitting there, but the wall to my right displays these words: “Do what you love.” Lucky me, I get to do just that!

Anything new coming up from you? What?

The sequel to Fat Girl is coming soon. A Naked Beauty will conclude Dee and Micah’s love story. It will be hard for me to let them go, but we’ll stay connected through the two additional books planned in this series. Both feature Dee’s friends as the lead characters. Feisty Jordyn will finally meet her match in Color Blind. And we’ll find out if the sophisticated and cultured Lexie will marry the man of her mother’s dreams or rebel against her upbringing and walk on the dark side.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes. I recently wrote a blog presenting my top ten picks of celebrity women who rock their curves with confidence.

1. Amber Riley
2. Melissa McCarthy
3. Queen Latifah
4. Adele
5. Rebel Wilson
6. Camryn Manheim
7. Gabourey Sidibe
8. Demi Levato
9. Salma Hayek
10. Nikki Blonsky

Who else would you add to the list and why?

Thanks for the great interview questions and the opportunity to share Fat Girl with your readers.

Years after fleeing small-town Springvale, Illinois, Deanna Chase has picked up the pieces of her shattered heart and built a new life for herself as a child advocacy lawyer. Her food addiction is quasi under control, her secrets are buried, and she has even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body. Until…

Micah Peters—the very sexy and now famous man she fled— walks through her office door and sends Dee reeling. His demand that she help a young boy caught in a custody battle will reunite her with the past she left behind.

Torn between duty and self-preservation, Dee isn’t easy to convince. But when obligation wins, the former lovers get more than they bargained for—a searing passion that burns hotter than ever and startling revelations about what really happened the fateful night she left.

Will the truth set Dee free to love again? Or will past hurts and lingering insecurities destine her to walk away from her heart again, this time for good?

Fat Girl is the first book in this provocative two-part series about love and self-acceptance.

Enjoy an excerpt:

“Mick…”

My hand slides up her neck, testing the rapid beat of her pulse.

“Don’t,” Dee breathes, but the protest sounds as weak as my will to withstand her.

I lower my head and skim my lips along her bare shoulder. The fragrance of her soft, quivering skin seduces my senses.

“I’ve never gotten the smell of you out of my head…or the taste of you.”

Her breath hitches and I pull the sound deep into my mouth. I might regret my weakness later, but the silk of her lips, the sweet flavor I’ve never forgotten, spins my head, and trumps all rational thought or common sense.

I tug the band from her hair and grab two fistfuls of curls. And Dee’s right with me. No token resistance. No pretense. She gives back, just the way I need it. Hot and mindless. Going up on her toes, she winds her arms around my neck and molds her body to mine. Our tongues collide in a rush of longing. Tasting, tangling.

No woman has ever filled me so completely, to the exclusion of everything else. In that moment of frenzy, the past, my anger, and her transgressions are all white noise against the clamor of something louder and more powerful roaring in my blood.

I crush her back into the counter and muscle my thigh between her legs, leaving no doubt as to how badly I want her. Releasing my grip from the twist of curls I cup her unfettered breasts through the thin material and squeeze their ripe fullness. The nipples harden to bullets beneath my palms, and when I whisk my thumbs across the peaks, Dee’s breathy moans drive me full throttle.

About the Author:

An American living in Canada. Chocolate snob. Recovering yo-yo dieter. Devoted mom and wife, blessed with a brilliantly witty daughter and unintentionally humorous husband. My wacky family feed my creativity and fuel my passion. Most nights, you will find me either curled up with a great book or, more often, sitting at my computer, tapping out the countless visions in my head.

To me, there is nothing better in a narrative than perfectly flawed but strong characters and intense romance that is sexy, deep, and sensual. Mm…I liken such stories to a box of Godiva. Decadent and delicious! You can’t stop at just one. In fact, I’m now hard at work on my next novel—A Naked Beauty, the conclusion to Fat Girl.

Stay Connected at:

Website: http://www.leighcarron.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leighcarronebooks?ref_type=bookmark
Twitter: @LeighCarron
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22594594-fat-girl?from_search=true

Now available at Amazon, Kobo, or Smashwords.

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Q&A with David Russell, author of DREAMTIME SENSUALITY

It's Raining Books welcomes David Russell, whose latest book was released this summer. Read a little bit about the book.

The characters in this quartet of stories are intelligent, sensitive and literary. They are also supremely voyeuristic and open-minded. Their intelligence is counterbalanced by inhibitions, which they can only lose by premeditated seduction scenarios, which relate intimately to their professional, creative and cultural lives. The great effort each couple puts into arranging a scenario seems to enhance the quality of the experience. A great source of inspiration for this and other works has been the novel The Girl Beneath the Lion by André Pieyre de Mandiargues.

David agreed to answer a few questions for us. David, why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I do not write exclusively in one genre; I also write speculative fiction and poetry. The latter is often dark and obsessional. So the romance area gives me some counterbalancing light.

What research is required?

My recommendation would be to become proficient at The Times crossword, or the US/Canadian equivalent of that. It really does extend the vocabulary. Plus as much reading as possible of the Gothic tradition for the paranormal.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

You may get greater euphoria if you have formerly been ultra-circumspect/inhibited. I was brought up as an ultra-prude. Now I have a formula for romance writing.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

When editing my work, I tend to start at the end, and read backwards, paragraph by paragraph.

Plotter or pantser?

I’m not sure what a ‘pantser’ is. I Believe in writing carefully constructed plots, and I also have a wardrobe fetish.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

An unidentified spectre

Anything new coming up from you? What?

One straightforward romance story, and one story combining romance, mythology and time-travel

Do you have a question for our readers?

Do you like innovations, surprises and challenges in what you read. Do you have other reading areas?

Buy the book at Devine Destinies, Manic Readers, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

About the Author:

b. 1940. Resident in the UK. Writer of poetry, literary criticism, speculative fiction and romance. Main poetry collection Prickling Counterpoints (1998); poems published in online International Times. Main speculative works High Wired On (2002); Rock Bottom (2005). Translation of Spanish epic La Araucana, Amazon 2013. Romances: Self’s Blossom; Explorations; Further Explorations; Therapy Rapture; Darlene, An Ecstatic Rendezvous (all pub Extasy (Devine Destinies). Singer-songwriter/guitarist. Main CD albums Bacteria Shrapnel and Kaleidoscope Concentrate. Many tracks on You Tube, under ‘Dave Russell’. http://www.davidrussell-author.blogspot.co.uk

Reckoning (The Many Deaths of Dynamistress, Book One) by Vincent M. Wales - Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a $25 Amazon GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Speculative Fiction has always appealed to me because of the tremendous imagination that goes into it. As a teen, I read almost exclusively science fiction. I also read a lot of comic books and, eventually, some fantasy. One of my earliest favorites was Frank Herbert’s Dune. I was blown away by how much detail was needed in creating an entire world, an entire culture. So for me, Spec-Fic pushes the boundaries of imagination, and that’s its biggest appeal.

What world-building or research is required?

When I was writing my first published book, Wish You Were Here, I figured there wouldn’t be a lot of research necessary. It was a fantasy, after all! But there was. I learned a lot about horses, herbology, and more. My dystopian future novel, One Nation Under God, required even more, on a variety of topics, including our legal system. But by far the most research has been for my superhero/science fiction series, The Many Deaths of Dynamistress. I now know a heck of a lot more about synthetic biology, DARPA inventions, the human genome, and San Francisco than I ever expected to! And because this book is also a sort of “alternate history” story, I researched a lot of recent historical events so that I could be true to the timing of them, including exact dates.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

I often joke that Dynamistress is me, in drag. Many of her “issues” are ones I have, myself. Writing her has actually been therapeutic and caused me to have bursts of insight about what lies behind my own behavior. It’s cool and creepy at the same time.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

No, not really. I do tend to do my writing at coffee shops rather than at home, but that’s mainly because my cats seem to be morally opposed to me sitting at the computer when I’m there. They’ll ignore me if I’m anywhere else in the apartment, but the minute I sit at the computer, it’s like I’m asking them to join me.

Plotter or pantser?

I’m definitely a hybrid, a plantser. I do some planning with plot points and such, but nothing meticulous. After that, it’s by the seat of my pants for the rest of the journey.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

My tablet, my phone, my bed, and a cat (who is pointedly ignoring me and staring out the window).

Anything new coming up from you? What?

In fact, yes. The second book in The Many Deaths of Dynamistress, titled Redemption, will be released in the first quarter of 2015.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes! Who is your favorite fictional character and why?

There is much disagreement about when super-powered metahumans began to appear. Most scientists believe the first births were in the '40s, perhaps the '30s, although there is a small (but vocal) minority claiming they have always been among us. More than anything else, young Dinah Geof-Craigs wanted to be one of them, to be famous, to be on the cover of Supers magazine. But puberty came and went without the meta-mutation that would imbue her with superhuman abilities. Mother Nature had cheated her of what she deserved. And that would simply not do.

In Reckoning - the first volume of a trilogy about the metahuman known as Dynamistress - award-winning author Vincent M. Wales (Wish You Were Here, One Nation Under God) gives us the memoir of the world's first self-made metahuman. But it is less a story of becoming a superhero than it is the story of a flawed woman becoming whole.

Enjoy an excerpt:

I had never been very studious in high school. My grades had always been decent, and I’d always enjoyed learning, but even in the late ‘80s, I knew the schools weren’t concentrating on things that really mattered. Seriously, why does anyone need to know what our Gross National Product is, or the major imports and exports of Brazil?

I will, however, defend one practice that a lot of people don’t seem to understand. Why, they lament, when kids today all have computers, are we still filling their heads with advanced mathematics? It’s simply not necessary, they claim, to teach them how to do calculus. But they’re wrong. If we stopped teaching it, we’d never advance. No one would be able to take math in new directions.

Memorizing the terms of office of all the U.S. presidents, however, will always be pointless.

At any rate, I think my professors were a bit astounded. After all, for these first two years, I was taking just the basics in biology. But after class, I’d pick their brains about the latest things. The automated gene sequencer had been invented recently, and I had all sorts of questions about that. There was talk about a Human Genome Project soon to be beginning, and I asked almost daily if they’d heard anything new about it. I badgered them about the finer points of the regulation of gene expression. And I think they got tired of my incessant questioning about point mutations.

But I didn’t much care if others thought I was odd. It was the life I wanted, at that point… working on weekends, spending weekdays in classes taking as many credits as allowed, and passing my nights by avoiding home as much as possible. I was in my own little world, avoiding my family, and becoming estranged from those I used to call friends.

Talk about establishing a bad precedent.

About the Author: Vincent M. Wales was raised in the small town of Brockway, Pennsylvania, where he frequently complained about the weather. Since then, he has worn many hats, including writing instructor, suicide prevention crisis counselor, essayist, Big Brother, freethought activist, wannabe rock star, and award-winning novelist.

He spends most of his writing time in coffee shops, since his cats fail to grasp the entire concept of “writing time.”

He currently lives in Sacramento, California, where he frequently complains about the weather.

Website: www.vincentmwales.com
Blog: www.vincentmwales.com/wp/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/vmwales
Facebook: www.facebook.com/vmwales
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7260379.Vincent_M_Wales
All purchase links: www.vincentmwales.com/reck.html

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