Karen Booth
Author JM Kelley is here today to discuss her fabulous contribution to the brand new Foreign Affairs Anthology, Siren Song, and her dreamy Irish hero Declan. Foreign Affairs is available from:
Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance
Tell us about your story for the Foreign Affairs Anthology:
Lorelei Dupree is a legend in her hometown–not because of a deliciously scandalous life, but for her uncanny ability to get herself into pinches. From errrant lightning bolts to runaway pianos, chances are if something is amiss, Lorelei Dupree isn’t far from the scene.
Irishman Declan Healy has dropped anchor in the quiet seaside community of Lark’s Cove, South Carolina, a town in transition in the summer of 1956. Starting out on his own as a fisherman, the last thing Declan expected was to fall victim to the siren song of a bewitching local.
A chance encounter brings Lorelei and Declan together, and they quickly bond. Passion may blossom, but can Declan convince his siren that his love for her won’t lead him to certain doom?
Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?
Declan is a simple man. He’s not sophisticated, he’s not worldly, but he’s got a good heart, and Lorelei recognizes that. His immediate and total acceptance of her and her quirks makes it quite difficult for her to find an excuse to do anything but give him her heart.
How did you choose your hero’s nationality?
Simple enough reason-I just adore the Irish brogue. It was fun to figure out Declan’s turn of tongue, to bring out the Irish. His personality—a little brash, a little awkward, all loveable, seemed to fit perfectly with the Irish voice I heard in my head as I was writing.
Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?
My debut novel, Drew in Blue, is a contemporary romance available in ebook format, and soon to be in print. Drew in Blue is the story of a perpetually single guy who is forced to grow up and confront his past, and his future, when he is forced to become the primary caregiver for a son conceived out of wedlock. It is available online at Amazon.
My next release will be Daddy’s Girl, a work of women’s fiction, coming in January 2013 from Turquoise Morning Press. Daddy’s Girl is the story of Janie McGee, the black sheep of the family who must return home to care for her gravely ill father. As she copes with the harsh realities of her father’s diagnosis, she must find a way to open her heart to a love she never expected to find. Daddy’s Girl was so close to my heart as I wrote the novel, and I can’t wait to see it in print!
Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?
Declan actually started out as a very small character in my work in progress. The story is set in modern times, whereas Siren Song takes place in the 1950s. Originally, he was an eccentric older resident who would pop up once or twice in the storyline, but my beta-reader convinced me to flesh him out for this anthology. I’m so glad I did, and I am looking forward to allowing his back story to color this particular tale.
After one too many Snowmageddon shoveling catastrophes, J.M. Kelley, a native of Pennsylvania, loaded her car with all of her belongings and moved to sunny South Carolina.
Now, she finds herself shivering when temperatures dip to fifty degrees, and battles against the slight Southern accent she seems to be developing. When not toiling away at her day job, she can be found huddled over her laptop in a quiet corner of her favorite coffee shop, slurping a caffeine-laden milkshake as she writes.
J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award from The South Carolina Writers Workshop, and is pleased to announce she will join the faculty roster at the October 2012 SCWW Conference. Drew in Blue, her debut novel, was nominated for Best Contemporary of 2010 by The Romance Reviews, and is a TRR and Night Owl Reviews Top Pick.
You can learn more about JM Kelley at jmkelleywrites.com.
The Foreign Affairs romance anthology from Turquoise Morning Press is out today in e-book format. (Trade paperback out October 8.) Available from:
Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance
This steamy collection features stories of dreamy foreign men from all over the globe, penned by Sidney Bristol, Michelle Garren Flye, J.M. Kelley, Karen Stivali, Georgia St. Mane, and myself. Anthology author Sidney Bristol is here to get things started by tempting us with visions of French men and her story, Dream Vacation.
In a few sentences, tell us about your story for Foreign Affairs:
Dream Vacation is about Naomi, a school teacher who has recreated herself into the woman she’s always wanted to be, going on the trip of a lifetime and finding herself stranded on the resort by a tropical storm. Unbeknownst to her, Luc, her internet pen-pal from a weight loss forum, has flown in to surprise her.
Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?
I think what attracts Naomi to Luc besides her fascination with everything Paris, she is a French teacher after all, is that Luc knows her. They became friends back before she lost weight and in many ways they’ve held hands while they went through this transformation together. Luc is a quiet guy, but he’s driven and he’s decided Naomi is worth moving heaven and earth for. I think that makes him pretty irresistible. Plus, who doesn’t love a guy that can turn his life around on will power alone?
How did you choose your hero’s nationality?
Last year my mother and I went to Paris for the largest and longest running organized cycling event, Paris-Brest-Paris, or PBP. I don’t cycle, but my mom is a nut about it. So I went with her and helped crew some. When I wasn’t helping her, I was discovering the city on my own, so it just seemed right that I write about it. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity to use my personal knowledge of Paris since Dream Vacation actually takes place in Cancun, but it was still fun.
Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?
Oh my goodness, yes! There’s lots coming out. I just released my first novel, Under His Skin, on July 20th from Ellora’s Cave. I have a Taboo book with them that should come out late fall or early winter titled Bound with Pearls. And there’s also a Christmas science-fiction romance called A Kiss for a Cure coming out from Lyrical Press during the holidays, so a lot is in the works. And that’s just what’s contracted!
Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?
I don’t know. I really like Naomi and Luc, and their story is really only beginning. There’s a lot left to work out, but it’s not like they’re strangers beginning at square one, they have history. I’m not going to rule out writing about them, but it’s not in my pipeline right now.
Dream Vacation isn’t my first multicultural romance. I’m a big believer that we’re not all one flavor and we should write about everyone and anything. Personal Adventures has a Native American-Asian heroine. I have a book in edits right now with a Korean heroine, and more planned along those lines.
It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
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My Twitter pal and fellow erotic romance author Anya Breton is at the helm of RNRHS this week, in celebration of her latest book release. Lots of people have shared stories of seeing disparate musical acts, but I’m not sure anyone can top the fact that Anya saw both Huey Lewis and P-Funk within a fairly reasonably span of time. In fact, I would love to hear from anyone who has seen both of these artists in their lifetime. Just so I can both mock you and bow to your superior musical taste.
Anya Breton
Concord High, Concord, NH, Class of ’95, Currently: Web Design/Smut author
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: I wish it weren’t the case, but the theme song from Friends – “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts was played at my Senior prom. And everyone flipped out. They were crazy dancing and pretending to splash in a fountain. I’m not proud of my classmates. LOL. To this day hearing that song reminds me of high school rather than the show.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I didn’t buy any posters or t-shirts in high school (I was pretty broke) but my copies of “Throwing Copper” by Live and “Sixteen Stone” by Bush got seriously worn out from repeated plays.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: Backstreet Boys
Best show or concert you saw in high school: Erm, didn’t see any concerts in high school. *flush* (note the broke part) When I was younger I saw Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis and the News (not at the same time). The spring after graduation, I saw George Clinton and the P Funk Allstars at Jazz Fest in New Orleans and got a serious sunburn (along with a contact high).
Best high school make-out song: “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boys II Men
Anya Breton is a multi-published author of erotic romance and urban fantasy. Her latest is A’s Surrender, out now from Siren Publishing! You can learn more about Anya at anyabreton.com
Back in the saddle with Rock ‘n’ Roll High School after a sliver of time away from the topic. Feels so good to swim around in the murky depths of adolescent music memories once again! Today’s post is from my dear writer pal, Hanna Martine, who is an amazing author and semi-professional beer drinker. Her debut paranormal romance, Liquid Lies, is out now and I think you are a complete fool if you don’t run right out and buy it. (No pressure.) Hanna writes about so many amazing bands in her post today, I hardly know where to start, but one thing that really stuck out to me is that I’m fairly certain no other RNRHS guest has mentioned INXS. How is that possible?
Hanna Martine
Western Chicago suburbs, Class of ’92, currently does mommy things, drinking things, writing things, happy things
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: I entered high school in 1989, and was promptly introduced to “alternative.” You know, back when that word actually meant something. I was obsessed with Ministry and Nitzer Ebb. I think I tried to become an alterna-kid, but failed miserably. By the time I graduated high school I was on the dance team. A complete one-eighty.
My senior year was 1991-1992, which was when grunge just exploded. All the hair bands were shoved aside and suddenly–it felt like overnight–there was this completely new sound coming out of tape decks and car stereos everywhere. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is the obvious song choice for that time, but I remember being more affected by Pearl Jam. “Ten” made me go wow. It still does, to this day.
U2’s “Achtung Baby” came out at the end of 1991 and it (besides being absolute perfection and my most favorite U2 album ever) completely defined my senior year. I “re-discovered” who would become my all-time favorite band (after a brief flirtation with them during junior high), each song makes me think of a different episode in my senior life, and it signified a shift in how I thought about myself and my future direction (deep thoughts, I know).
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I get a little lump in my throat when I think about my Sinead O’Connor T-shirt from her 1990 tour. Once upon a time it was white, with a blue dove on the front and “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” scrawled in gold on the back. It was huge and baggy, and when it finally dissolved into molecules I might have given it a funeral.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: I’ve never been a fan of either Mariah Carey or Gloria Estefan. And I don’t think I ever took Color Me Badd seriously, even back then.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: INXS with the Soup Dragons opening. I was more excited to see the Soup Dragons and wore their T-shirt for years. We missed the first few songs because my boyfriend at the time was the worst driver ever and for some reason couldn’t find this giant arena just off the interstate. Michael Hutchence was a god, and their CD “Live Baby Live” was recorded that night.
Best high school make-out song: “Say Anything” came out my freshman year, solidifying “In Your Eyes” as the Make Out Song De Rigueur for my entire generation. This was before standing outside a girl’s house holding a radio was considered stalker-ish.
Hanna Martine’s debut, Liquid Lies, Book One in the Elemental series, is out now. You can learn more about her at hannamartine.com.
My critique partner, the astoundingly talented Karen Stivali, has a brand new ebook from Ellora’s Cave today, titled Marry Me. In honor of the release and in the spirit of the title, I will purchase a copy of Marry Me for the person who tells me the best wedding reception story. It can be embarrassing (you tucked your dress into your pantyhose), steamy (nothing like a good grope on the dance floor), salacious (ditto for a roll in the coat closet), or stupid (really? you didn’t realize that guy you made out with was your cousin?). Just entertain me and the fine readers of my blog. I choose the winner at my own discretion, by the end of the day (Friday, June 1st). In the meantime, big congrats to Karen, and here’s more about Marry Me!
Marry Me
When British drummer Ben Davis lost his childhood sweetheart, he was certain he’d never love again. He focuses on music as his band rises to stardom. A never-ending stream of groupies satisfies his needs until he meets intriguing clothing designer Julia Jones.
Julia’s career rocketed from seamstress to up-and-coming designer for the A-list, but her personal life didn’t fare as well. Her last boyfriend crossed from controlling to violent and she vowed never to be in that position again.
Sparks fly the instant Ben and Julia meet, but she resists his intoxicating charms, certain a celebrity romance will bring only trouble. But before long the heat between them becomes undeniable and she allows him into her bed and her heart. The more in love Ben falls, the more he fears losing her. When Julia’s life is endangered, Ben’s reaction terrifies her, forcing them both to confront their biggest fears if they want a chance at a future together.
Karen Stivali is a multi-published author of erotic romance with Ellora’s Cave, including Long-Distance Lovers, co-authored by Karen Booth (imagine that!). Her first full-length novel, Meant To Be, is a work of women’s fiction and will be released by Turquoise Morning Press on August 26, 2012. To learn more about Karen, visit her site at karenstivali.com.
