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Sunday, November 28, 2010

‘Review and Interview’ with Author Deanna Jewel

Today on ‘Review and Interview’ I would like to welcome author Deanna Jewel and to talk about her book “No Turning Back”







Blurb:

While avenging the death of his fiancé years earlier, Nathan learns that he can love again but is he willing to chance another broken heart? Will the woman he wants also learn to love again?

Vanessa is heartbroken over recent events in her life; she’s also head strong, flaunts London aristocracy and takes on breeding horses, something unheard of in the society circles of London. She finds herself trying to put the pieces of her life back together, but can she do it alone? With a child on the way, she is forced to do just that - their future depends on her strength. Then a friend offers to help. Dare she trust a man sworn to carry out a vow taken on a death bed? She refuses to accept that his love is true when his honor of sticking to his word is also at stake.

Reviewed by Suzannah Safi (Romance Alley): Author Deanna Jewel takes you through a journey with the hero and the heroine: their heart aches, a second chance found love, and amazing history of London’s aristocratic society to whet your appetite. Smooth narration and exciting twists throughout the book. I loved Nathan and Vanessa, the two were well described that you forget that you are reading, instead, you feel you are living with them experiencing the journey. “No Turning Back” is a great Historical Romance novel you will love to take with you on your vacation, on the beach, or cuddle with in bed.

Note: For anyone who is having a problem leaving a comment for the author can email the author with their comments. Thanks!

Suzannah: Now let’s meet the author and get to know her book.

Deanna, welcome to Romance Alley and thank you for being here with us today.

When I read “No Turning Back” I couldn’t help but feel emotional toward Nathan, you have drawn such character, strong and emotional. I know as an author there are techniques on how to draw a character that we can feel, and not a cut-board character, mind to tell us?

Deanna: Thank you for having me here today, Suzannah. Creating Nathan was a pure pleasure. I gave him attributes that I like in men and he respects women like he would respect his mother. I wanted a man who had felt love before; one who would know what and who he was looking for when he found her. Nathan already knew the qualities he wanted in his woman that would make his heart skip each time he glanced at her or held her in his arms. He wanted a woman to spend the rest of his life with, to watch his children grow up with, and to fall deeper in love with as each day passed. Ok, that’s plenty……he just gets me carried away!

Suzannah: Vanessa the heroine, did she speak to you, or was she difficult to reach. Did you ever reach to that stage where a character refuses to talk to you?

Deanna: Vanessa was not as easy to write as Nathan was. I did have a hard time figuring out just who Vanessa was. I knew who I wanted her to be, but it’s a bit more involved than that. *smile* As a fellow writer, I’m guessing you could tell.

I wanted to create a woman who knew what she wanted in life and wasn’t afraid to go after it, to take chances, not caring what others might have to say about her. Vanessa is a risk taker and determination is what drives her. She wasn’t prepared for falling in love with Nathan at all. She already had feelings for her childhood sweetheart.

Suzannah: When I love a character and feel him/her, I really feel that the author loved that character and poured all her efforts to make the character that he/she is. Is that true and was Nathan it, I have a feeling Nathan is coming back but don’t know how lol.

Deanna: I wrote No Turning Back many years ago but didn’t really have a picture in my mind of how he looked until I found the photo of a young man who just jumped off my computer screen at me. I knew immediately he was Nathan and his photo is on the cover. I was a bit surprised to find out he actually lives in London so to find a character that fit the bill AND lives where my story takes place just blew me away. Once I’d found the picture of Nathan, adding to his character was so easy to do. I won’t say anymore, it’ll spoil it for the readers. I’m still waiting for him to answer my email though…I know he’s read the email I sent him, he just hasn’t decided to reply yet…but one day he will.

Suzannah: It was wonderful to read about the London’s aristocratic society, and I enjoyed how detailed you were in describing the life. What research did you do and what was the best information that you found and said “This piece of info is perfect for my story?

Deanna: I did so much research for this book because I wanted the city just right. I’m sure there are still items that might not be exactly correct but I tried my darnedest to get it right. I’m not a horse person but was lucky enough to meet a woman online who IS a horsewoman and she helped me immensely in getting that part of the book correct. I gave her credit for that in my dedication. Again, Lynn, thank you so much for all your help.

Suzannah: Tell us about the inside information of your next novel, we like to hear juicy stuff lol.

Deanna: Well, I can’t write a romance without those warm sensuous sex scenes now can I! I’m bringing back Nathan and Vanessa in my next novel, but 100 or so years into the future from where they were and an ocean away! In No Turning Back, I never stated that he shipped items to the colonies because I just assumed the reader would know that it could happen. In my upcoming novel, Whispers at Ghost Point, Nathan is the ghost in the light house and Vanessa is actually Dana, the woman he longs to be with again but isn’t sure how that can happen. She will have to make up her mind which man she wants to be with and I’m giving her several choices!

I won’t spoil things any further than that, just know it will be worth reading to find out how things work out. Will Nathan continue to live as a ghost and only be allowed to ‘watch over’ Dana?

I also have to start work on the sequel to Never Surrender. Readers write me to find out when that might happen and I don’t have an answer yet. I haven’t even begun to figure out a plot for that one! Just know that one day it will happen.

Suzannah: Thank you Deanna for being here with us, wishing you the best of success. Hope to see more of your news, till then, take care all and I hope you enjoyed this ‘Review and Interview’ with author Deanna Jewel.

Deanna: Suzannah, thanks so much for allowing me this time with your readers. I do appreciate it. I hope they hop over to my website and surf around. There is a lot to do and several other links to visit.

I’d like to offer a contest to your readers: please leave me a comment here with your email address so that I may pick two winners to receive a copy of No Turning Back! I will pick the winners on Wednesday Dec 1

And you can find me here:


My Website: http://deannajewel.com/

Read two chapters of each book here: http://www.freado.com/users/1124/Deanna-Jewel

My FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=371589027638

Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/author.php?id=25733

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Cocktails Fiction & Gossip Magazine is now live!!!!

What will the magazine contain?

Fiction in all its genres, gossip, free stories, recopies, interviews, and all you can think of.

This magazine is meant to be fun for readers to enjoy. Know new authors and interact with them here on my blog. It’'s FREE, every month I will publish a new issue for you to read and have fun with new articles. You can download the free PDF or read it online.


Here is the link http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip

Cheers!

Suzannah Safi

Sunday, November 7, 2010

‘Review and Interview’: Explicitly English by Rachel Leigh

Today on ‘Review and Interview’ on Romance Alley, I would like to welcome author Rachel Leigh and to talk about her erotic short story ‘Explicitly English’



Blurb:

Laura Markham needs to forget - just for awhile. Be someone else for change - live as her parents will never have the chance to. And for Laura, that means leaving the City for the English countryside and doing just what the hell she feels like…wherever she feels like doing it…British stockbroker, Stephen Cambridge knows by going home to his country retreat two days early, he's likely to surprise his contracted interior designer. And when he finds out she's the woman who performed the solo masterbation show for him on the inward bound journey, Stephen will do anything to further convince her to miss outward bound train and stay with him forever…

Reviewed by Suzannah Safi at Romance Alley: ‘Explicitly English’ is an erotic short story for the readers who enjoy a quick taste of erotic fantasy, they will enjoy the read in a train trip, on the beach, or just in their privet room. There was a slight of a twist that I hoped the author had expanded on, but the length of the story maybe didn’t allow it. Still, it’s like tasting a piece of chocolate that melts in your mouth and you enjoy the taste.

Now let’s meet the author and get to know her book.

Rachel, welcome to Romance Alley and thank you for being here with us today.

Suzannah: Thanks for giving me the chance to read Explicitly English, and congrats on your first published short story. Now my question to you which many ask: your short story is pure erotic; explain why do you write erotic and what you want?

Rachel: I want my readers to have an experience, a fantasy that takes them out of their own world for a little while. Although my story is straight erotic (no paranormal/sci-fi elements), it is ultimately a romance, which is what I love to write. I want readers to enjoy the satisfaction of knowing great sex can last!

Suzannah: Rachel, I know every reader loves to know the author behind the story. You are a reader before you are an author. What Rachel Leigh likes in a fantasy romantic book?

Rachel: Great, intriguing & sexy characters are a must – I want to know what has happened to this people to shape who they are today and want they plan to do to make themselves happy. I like characters to be achievers, go-getters – not people who sit around and wait for the universe to give them what they think they deserve.

And of course – sensuality is a must. I want to feel the tension and humor between a couple so I totally understand why they should be together.

Suzannah: Why you think, some readers like erotic stories, personally I believe it’s healthy for adults to fantasies and live a fantasy in a book. Do you think it’s healthy to read erotic lol, and what is your next project?

Rachel:  Totally! What could be more healthier?? Readers of erotic stories are looking for escape and possible scenarios for their own lives. Harmless, satisfying fun – nothing wrong with that at all.

My next erotic short story is under submission right now, tentatively entitled ‘Coming Back’

Blurb:

Kelly Hampton loved and lost him – for the last two years she’s looked for him in other men but now she refuses to emotionally cripple herself any longer. No more sex until she knows for sure she is in love.

And then the love of her life walks back into her bar claiming to still love her. Her heart hitches and her body heats – no-one has ever come close to understanding her, or worse…satisfying her like him.

When Sean McKenzie left Jessop Hill with his mother to protect her from his father’s fists, he should’ve known he would never love again after his explosively erotic relationship with Kelly. But now his father is dead and Sean is back for the only woman he will ever want. Their reunion is full of fire, pain and passion – and once they touch, the sexual connection is too much for either of them to resist…

Suzannah: Do you have anything else to tell your readers… and tell us where to find you.

Rachel: Just to ask that you pop by my blog whenever possible as I host two guests authors every week as well as regularly posting myself…and there are very often those all-important giveaways on offer.

http://www.rachelleighromance.blogspot.com/
http://www.rachelleigh.co.uk/

Suzannah: Thank you Rachel for giving me the chance to enjoy your short story ‘Explicitly English’ and have this interview. I enjoyed your story and getting to know you better. I wish you all the best and much success for the upcoming projects. I hope to have another ‘Review and Interview’ with you.

GetToKnowTheBook: 'Giving up the Ghost' by Stacy-Deanne

Get to Know the Book: Giving up the Ghost by Stacy-Deanne

(Why I’m Jealous of My Heroine Detective Brianna Morris)

That’s ridiculous isn’t it? How can you be jealous of a fictional character you created? But come on, what writer hasn’t created someone that embodied all the traits physically or emotionally they wished to have? Funny, I haven’t met a writer yet that didn’t feel some envy toward one of their characters.

I love Bree. She came from the depths of my soul but I do envy her. I wish I was just like her. Bree has the best of both worlds. She’s beautiful and intelligent, yet sassy and tough. She calls the shots but she also has the option of being vulnerable. See Bree is a very tough cookie but it takes certain situations that I draw out to remind her she’s still just a woman. That’s what Bree fears, to be thought of as just a woman. She fights hard to prove she doesn’t need your help while not understanding that leaning on someone isn’t a sign of weakness. She goes all around the world to not admit she’s still hot for her partner Steven Kemp. Well, Bree never could turn down a blond with blue eyes. Neither could I.

So why the heck am I jealous? Bree is allowed to be perfect and imperfect at the same time. S he has the luxury of saving the day and being saved. I don’t have that. Real women don’t have that. With us it’s either one or the other. In real life you’re either weak or strong. You pick your battles and hope to survive them. There’s no one plucking keys on the other end, making everything okay. There’s no one there to yank us out of trouble by the next paragraph or to kill the bad guy on the next page. Bree, being fictional has all she needs. Thanks to me. I can do so many things for her yet struggle when it comes to me.

That’s one reason I’m jealous. But I love her. I really do. She is a part of me as much as a character can be. We have a bond that lasts no matter how many times I type, “The End”.

What I love about Bree is that she’s not just a character but a person. She has just as many faults as I do but manages to keep them under control. She’s lovely but not so lovely where I can’t relate. Her attitude stinks at times, just like mine on certain days. She’s the sweetest and most dependable person but she can be a bit bitchy too. And that’s me all over. When Bree’s not arresting sex offenders or wrestling with her lust for Steven Kemp, she’s just like me. Just like you. And it’s then, when I start to type and remember the traits that make Bree so special to me, than I remember not to be jealous.

Sneak Peek:

Albany Detective Brianna “Bree” Morris is having the year from hell. A sadistic admirer has been stalking her for months and now her friend Cheyenne Wilson has been beaten and left for dead.

With her ex-lover and faithful partner, Steven Kemp, Bree thrusts herself into the case. It’s not long before they believe two unrelated British men are connected to the attack. Michael is a womanizing artist with a ferocious appetite for rough sex. Simon is a wealthy free spirit looking for love in all the wrong places, but has one too many skeletons in his closet.

Bree struggles to determine fact from fiction when it comes to Michael and Simon but her attempts are blurred by Michael's manipulation and her sexual attraction to Simon, who Steven’s convinced cannot be trusted.

Meanwhile the stalker does everything in his power to get close to Bree and his obsession evokes a spiral of violence.

Bree must trust her heart to find answers but her heart leads her to the most dangerous man of all.

"Giving Up The Ghost" is BOOK ONE of Stacy's crime/mystery and interracial romance series featuring the strong willed and fiery detective Brianna "Bree" Morris and her lovesick, hot-tempered partner and ex-lover Steven Kemp who debuted in Stacy's award-winning 2008 novel Melody.

Fans of "Melody" and Bree and Steven will ravish this long awaited and exciting new series featuring passion, mystery, murder, seduction, interracial romance and intrigue!

Coming April 1, 2011 (Peace in the Storm Publishing)

To preorder a print copy: http://peaceinthestormpublishing.com/home/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=29&zenid=6ad5e71d72aeda1cbecd2a003da0c294

http://www.stacy-deanne.net/

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