Interview with Emma Rights

Hi Emma, Welcome to Books-n-Kisses.

Can you describe your writing style in 140 characters or less.

Organic, off-the-seat-of-my-pants writer.

Where do you do your best writing?
Anywhere–as long as little voices are not asking me about ten questions every fifteen minutes.

What do you do if you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Go read a book or go for a walk with my dog.

Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Pantser, but plotter-wanna-be.

How did your current book come about?

We’ve all been there–at least those of us who are over 21–revving to grow up, the world at our feet, the stars reachable. Wonderful ,wondrous future. But in wanting to get there, we forget to smell the roses, we trample on thorns and we get sorely poked and pricked, and alas, some of the barbs could be poisonous. Except for the Grace that watches over me, over you, (call it LUCK if you wish), all it might have taken for any of us to take that wrong path was that wrong turn, that grabbing of something that looked too good to pass up on. This, coupled with a strong desire to make it in life, might blind any of us, and we can end up grabbing at the adder’s tail.

That is the story of Dead Dreams; of Brie O’Mara, a good girl; someone who’d never even gotten a traffic ticket, even a Miss Goodie Two-shoes. But, let’s face it we can all be tempted, just a tiny bit. And sometimes that’s all it takes to have things spiral out of control.

Can you see parts of yourself in any of the characters?

I can see that back when I was eighteen–only about a century ago, at least it feels that way–I could have been just as caught off guard as Brie. I know, I know, naive…some have said. But it’s true, though.

Once we finish this book and fall in love with your characters, we are going to want the next book immediately. What can you tell your readers to help calm their hunger for more?

Sign up for my newsletter. I will give a “snoop” preview and also at the end of the year I would need Beta readers so if there’s anyone out there wanting to see previews even way before the book is completed, please sign on. I only send out newsletters 4-5 times–at most–throughout the whole year. Also, by the time I send it out to Beta readers it would have been about 75% ready. I’d only need about 10 Beta readers so sign up early.

When you started your book, did you plan on writing it as a series, or did it just grow into one?

It grew on its on -promise! That’s why Dead Dreams ends as a cliff hanger. It wasn’t my fault. The mystery was more intense–and more diabolical– than when I first planned.

Quick Round:

If you could be any paranormal being, which would it be?

An angel.

Light or dark chocolate?

Dark.

Favorite color?

Pink.

Dogs or cats?

Cats

E-reader or print book?

E-book–a recent change of heart here.

Night owl or early bird?

Night owl.

Name one food you would never eat?

Frogs.

If you could have any automobile, which would you have?

Hummer.

Want to learn more about Emma and her books? Check her out here: http://www.emmaright.com | Facebook | Google+ | Pinterest | Twitter

*****

Dead Dreams

Book 1, a young adult psychological thriller and contemporary mystery.

Genre: YA for ages 13 AND UP

Published AUG 2013

Goodreads

Eighteen-year-old Brie O’Mara has so much going for her: a loving family in the sidelines, an heiress for a roommate, and dreams that might just come true. Big dreams–of going to acting school, finishing college and making a name for herself. She is about to be the envy of everyone she knew. What more could she hope for? Except her dreams are about to lead her down the road to nightmares. Nightmares that could turn into a deadly reality.

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkcU1jBMMZc

Music video: http://youtu.be/uM7MI_3vqyo

Dream cast video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12bSNSh-ld4

Author’s Bio & Picture:
Emma Right is a happy wife and home school mother of five living in the Pacific West Coast of the USA. Besides running a busy home, and looking after their five pets, which includes two cats, two bunnies and a long-haired dachshund, she also writes stories for her children. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, she is telling her kids to get theirs in one.

Right worked as a copywriter for two major advertising agencies and won several awards, including the prestigious Clio Award for her ads, before she settled down to have children.

Author Links:

Giveaway:

1 Paperback copy of DEAD DREAMS (DOMESTIC ONLY – ebook for International)

1 Amazon Gift Card for $15
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November 21, 2013November 14, 2013

Guest Blogger: Cynthia Eden

The Troubles with writing a Christmas story in the fall

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for coming by today! I’m excited to be talking about my new book, A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL…or rather, the writing process for that book. 😉

A few months ago, I realized that I had time in my schedule to write an extra novella, and I let my fans vote on that novella–did they want a holiday romantic suspense tale or a holiday paranormal? The votes can in, and it was decided that I’d write a holiday tale about vampires.

I was super excited! I love vampires! And, hey, it was early October then. A great time to write about vampires.

But…this particular story needed to take place on Christmas Eve, not Halloween. So while all my Halloween decorations definitely helped to get me in a paranormal frame of mind, they didn’t exactly inspire the Christmas spirit.

So…I had to improvise a wee bit. Before I started writing each day, I listened to some holiday tunes. I watched clips of old Saturday Night Live holiday specials on YouTube. I found myself humming Frosty the Snowman as I stood in the check-out line to get my Halloween candy.

I might have been exercising some extreme Christmas Creep, but I was getting my holiday mojo on!

The problem with that mojo? I found myself actually wanting to put up my Christmas tree…ahem, on October 15. My son and husband talked me down, but it was a very near thing.

Ah, Christmas stories…they can sure put you in the holiday mood. Even if that mood strikes a wee bit early…

What about you, though? When does the holiday mood strike you? Is it when you see the decorations in the stores? When you buy the first present of the season?

Thanks, again, for checking out the post!

Best,

Cynthia Eden

A Vampire’s Christmas Carol (Novella)

by Cynthia Eden

Amazon| B&N |KOBO

This holiday season has bite.Ben Prescott hates Christmas—he’s a vampire, and to him, there’s certainly nothing jolly about the holiday season. While the humans are running around being merry, he’s hunting in the shadows. Ben plans to spend the holidays his way…by stalking deadly prey.But fate has other plans for Ben.

Three visitors are coming Ben’s way…A demon who will force Ben to face his past, a ghost who will show Ben the present he could have, and a shifter who will reveal the darkness that waits in Ben’s future. Unless Ben can change his ways, he may just turn into a real monster, one who can’t be saved by anyone or anything.

‘Tis the season…to be undead.

Ben’s redemption rests in the hands of the one woman he loved and lost—Simone Laurent. If Ben is going to have a chance at being more than just the beast in the darkness, he has to prove himself to the lovely Simone. A very hard task, considering that, once upon a Christmas Eve, Simone died in Ben’s arms…

Warning:
This book features one very tortured vampire, a sexy ghost from his past, and hot scenes designed to melt the winter snow. Plenty of action, adult situations, and steamy times are ahead. Happy holidays!

Available for purchase at

Excerpt

Lust clawed through him. The need, the red-hot desire, seemed to
burn Ben from the inside. He grabbed
Simone, yanked her flush against him. His mouth locked on hers. He’d always
tried to be so careful with her in the past. Played the gentleman because she mattered.

He wasn’t
a gentleman any longer. Ben wasn’t even sure what he was. He just knew he
needed Simone naked, and he had to be in her.

He carried her back to his
bedroom. He ignored the glittering New York skyline. She was the only thing he
could see. Desire pounded through him. His cock was so swollen that he hurt
and—

His teeth were extending.
Stretching in his mouth.

Ben dropped Simone on the bed
and stepped back, horrified.

“Ben?” Simone sat up on the bed and pushed back the
blonde hair that had tumbled forward. “What’s wrong?”
She was so gorgeous and
sexy staring up at him. Looking at him
with those wide, dark eyes.

I’m going to hurt her. He grabbed for the control that he’d always
held so easily in the past. Only that control was broken. Shattered. “You need
to leave.”

About the Author

USA Today Best-selling author Cynthia Eden has written over twenty-five novels and novellas. She was named as a 2013 RITA^® finalist for her paranormal romance, ANGEL IN CHAINS, and, in 2011, Cynthia Eden was a RITA finalist for her romantic suspense, DEADLY FEAR.

Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings. She has always wanted to write (don’t most authors say that?), and particularly enjoys creating stories about monsters–vampires, werewolves, and even the real-life monsters that populate her romantic suspense stories.

Cynthia’s foreign sales for her books include translations to Japan, Germany, Thailand, Greece, and Brazil.

(Back in the day…) Cynthia graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Alabama where she studied Sociology (because people interest her) and Communication (because she likes to write about said people). Cynthia has worked as a college admissions counselor, a teacher, and as an editor. But now, Cynthia is thrilled to be spending her days making up stories.

Giveaway

A $100 Gift Card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble

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Presented By

October 21, 2013October 14, 2013

Interview & Tour Wide Giveaway with Monica Burns

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Monica Burns to the blog today.

Monica, can you please share with us a little about yourself

Okay, when people ask me a question like that, the door is wide open, but I won’t bore you with tons of nonsense. The long and short of it is, I’m a bestselling author of sexy historical romance and paranormal romance.

A bestselling author of spicy erotic romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Yep. I was writing romance at the age of nine, when I selected my pseudonym. Seriously. I’m a born marketer, and I picked Monica because it sounded exotic and Burns because it starts with a B and would be eyelevel to book customers. Of course, that was back when there weren’t as many books available. But it still puts me close to the front of the line. I think in my next life, I’m going to use the pseudonym, Abby Normal

Are you a plotter or a punster or combo of both? And you explain the difference?

I’m more a pantser than plotter. My plotting is basically done in a synopsis, and I write the barebones of the story. For example, my current WIP had loosely laid out plot line. I know that the hero is blackmailed into marrying the heroine. The heroine has recently found freedom in the BDSM lifestyle as a Domme. The hero is a Submissive. The two have different things going on with their inner conflicts. She’s pretty much had it with people telling her what to do all her life, so the Domme aspect is pretty self-explanatory. The hero is more complex. The hero’s father beat the hero’s mother while the hero was forced to watch as he was too young to protect his mother. Being a Submissive is in a way his penitence. So I’ve got these two characters who are forced into a marriage, they both have issues, the hero works in the seedy East End of London as a solicitor helping a barrister find evidence to defend people. There’s a bad guy who’s revealing names within the BDSM club (we all know that’s a BIG no no), and this bad guy winds up getting involved with one of the hero’s seedy enemies from the East End and something bad happens that may/may not put the heroine or the hero in danger. THAT is the extent of my plotting. The rest of it is putting words on paper as the scenes come to me. I already have three scenes in my head that I’ve yet to key in, but they’re rock solid. As a pantser, I just sit down and let the story flow out on the page. At least that’s how it’s *supposed* to work! It’s rarely that easy. In fact, I’ve only ever had one book in my career that just rolled off my fingers.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Hmm…I don’t really have one. I need to have my iced tea first thing in the morning when I start writing, and that’s about as quirky as I get. I don’t have any rabbit’s foot or any kind of crutch.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

A Bluestocking Christmas is one of my favorite stories because it has a ghost, the hero is hot as hell, and the entire story has an intense focus on literary works. Essentially, the hero uses words to seduce the heroine, well that and other seductive powers.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

A Bluestocking Christmas is a back list book from when I was first published by an ePub. I love books (go figure LOL), and I wanted to see what I could do with a ghost and a hero who uses words to make the heroine submit to him. It’s a romantic tip of the hat to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

His Mistress is my current work, which I outlined above, and I’m about half way done with it. After that book is completed, I’ll be working on another Order of the Sicari series, which started out at Berkley, but they decided not to contract more books. But there are a lot of people who’ve asked for the series, and I love the world of the Sicari, so I’m going back.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

Well, I can’t meet that author because she’s dead. Charlotte Bronte wrote the most amazing hero in Jane Eyre, and I would love to sit down and have a private, confidential girl chat with her about how she came up with Rochester, and whether she knew someone that she based the character on. Rochester was just so *real* to me, and it makes me think Charlotte modeled after someone, despite her brilliance as an author.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Learn the rules of writing. Actually, they’re just guidelines, but you have to learn them to hone your craft. Once you know the “rules,” toss them out the window and break the rules left and right. Finally, write for yourself first, your readers second, and NEVER ever write to a trend. Unless you’re a fast writer, you’ll miss the wave. And yes, point the finger, I’m writing my first BDSM. However, I’m writing a male Sub, that’s not an easy type of hero to find, but thanks to my pal Joey Hill, I’m feeling pretty good about making Tobias an alpha type of Sub.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

I have several things on my bucket list.

1) I want to ride the top 10 roller coasters in the world. I have nine to go.

2) I want to drive a race car of Lamborghini (preferably the Lamborghini) on a straightway at 120mph.

3) Visit Rome, Italy

4) Visit the Pyramids at Giza and the Temple of Karnak in Luxor

5) Visit England (that might happen March 2014) and Scotland.

6) I want to learn how to speak Italian and Klingon. Actually the Italian piece I’m learning now via Rosetta Stone.

7) I want to learn fencing

8) I want to learn martial arts (I doubt this will happen thanks to a bad back)

9) I intend to sky dive at 82. If I live that long going splat won’t matter. The other option is to bungee jump with a Bowie knife because I refuse to go to a nursing home.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

I have tons of books in my TBR pile, but I don’t have any one single book that sticks out in my mind as a must read. I don’t get to read very often, which makes it difficult to find a series I can immerse myself in. If I had to pick one, I’d say Dan Brown’s Inferno. I’ve been wanting to read it since I first heard he was writing it. The book has been out since mid-May and I’ve *yet* to even come close to getting to it. I must have about 200 books on my Kindle, Nook combined, but time is so limited.

What is one book everyone should read before they die?

Jane Eyre – It’s characterization is exquisite in my opinion

What is your favorite time of year & why?

The fall, hands down. Why? The air is crisp with a bite in the morning, while the evening still holds the softness of the day’s sun yet the cool nip that hints the temperature is about to drop. Then there’s the sound of leaves cracking beneath your feet or the sound of laughter as a kid jumps into a pile of leaves behind their dad’s back. I love how apple cider and cinnamon fills the air on a pumpkin farm, or the whiff of sweet smoke from a neighbor’s fire. Fall means back-to-school, Halloween, the quiet that follows summer, and the coming holidays. It’s just an awesome time of year. Pretty much the calm before the storm (the holidays).

Who is your Celebrity crush? And what would you do if you ever meet them?

Well, if we’re talking eye candy, then that would be Vin Diesel, Matt Bomer (who my associate film producer nephew worked with on a film recently. Le sigh) and Scott Eastwood (Clint Eastwood’s son). I imagine I’d just say hi while inside I’d be thinking, oh God, I wish I was skinnier, prettier and a hell of a lot younger.

If we’re talking just “interesting” celebrity then it would be Anthony Hopkins. He’s a brilliant actor, and there’s only been one movie of his I didn’t like. That was Magic, which was a very creepy film. Obviously he did an exceptional job in it, because I still remember it (70s film), but I didn’t enjoy it. So I supposed I’d have to ask him how/why he started and questions like that.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for the great questions. Writing a blog post is difficult for me, but answering questions is like taking an essay test. It’s much easier. LOL

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*****

A Bluestocking Christmas

Goodreads

Sinful words, wicked pleasures and a ghost all add up to A Bluestocking Christmas with a Dickens of a twist.

As a young man, Simon, Viscount Wycombe learned the painful truth that a tradesman’s daughter is suitable only for liaisons and nothing more. But Ivy Beecham is a far cry from his preconceived notions, and he’s determined to have her. But when she rejects him, it only increases his determination to seduce her into a world of sin and pleasure.

Ivy Beecham knows first-hand that handsome aristocrats like Simon can’t be trusted. But the intellectual scoundrel is hellbent on making her his mistress, using every means at his seductive disposal. When she refuses to give away her heart on Christmas Eve, a ghostly specter shows her in one night why her surrender can be the greatest gift of all.

A little about Monica:

A bestselling author of spicy historical and paranormal romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. Her historical book awards include the 2011 RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice Award and the 2012 Gayle Wilson Heart of Excellence Award for Pleasure Me. She is also the recipient of the prestigious paranormal romance award, the 2011 PRISM Best of the Best award for Assassin’s Heart. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |Pinterest

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