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Friday Free For All

Five From Ava Branson

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Welcome to Five From Friends Friday!

Each week, I’ll share with you five quick and quirky questions and answers

from some of my favorite author friends.

I think you’ll see some familiar faces in here, too.

 

Quickies from Ava Branson

Welcome to Ava Branson, author of the Blue Water Seduction books as well as three other erotic romances. I met Ava during a recent group promotion we did together, and I’m enjoying her book Rough Seas right now! Let’s see what she has to share with us today. . .

 

Q: You’re driving along, turn on the radio and it’s a country song. Do you turn it off or turn it up and sing along? 

A: If it were a rockin’, upbeat song, I’d sure as heck turn it up! As for singing along? I can’t think of anyone I dislike enough to do that to. It would be unkind, and I’m anything but unkind.

Q: You’re getting ready to leave for a full day of meetings and appointments. Suddenly, they’re all cancelled. What do you do with this free day?

A: Once upon a time, an unexpected free day would have meant a long, leisurely stop at Barnes and Noble followed by a mad dash home to curl up on the couch with my new treasures. Now (after deciding to write full-time) I’d shout the rafters down, do some odd, uncoordinated happy dance, change back into my yoga pants, and plop down at the keyboard, delighted to have bonus time with my characters.

Q: If you could bring one literary character to life to introduce to your best single friend. . .who would it be?

A: One literary character…hmm…just one???

Q: Disney World or Disneyland?

A: Disney World, good people! Native Floridian here

Q: What one food could you eat every day for the rest of your life?

A: What a tough question to ask an Italian, but if push came to shove – probably lobster. Honorable mentions would include pasta, good sausage and meatballs, pizza, nachos, smothered burritos, chocolate…and a collective shudder just ran through many a nutritionist.

 ***

avaHead shotAva Branson is a native Floridian, born and raised. She grew up in a boating family on the Atlantic coast and had sandbetween her toes from birth. A ten year span spent living in Colorado taught her a love and appreciation of the mountains, but the ocean called her back home and Florida is where she settled, raising two children and any number of cats.

 When she’s not writing (which is rare) she’s thinking of stories to write (which is always) and just hopes to be able to share a fraction of the countless romances she has dreamed up with readers.

Follow Ava here: Newsletter/Website/Email/Facebook /Twitter/Pinterest

 

Emmy Ryan. A young, beautiful doctoral candidate finds herself at crossroads, questioning the path of a life she’d once believedRough Seas large so certain and the impulsive decision that may change it forever.

Stavros Maragos. Head of his family’s vast corporate empire. Driven and intensely passionate about those he loves. But when he becomes the only family member left living, he erects an emotional wall to buffer the pain left behind.

One multi-million dollar mega-yacht in the Caribbean. One new crew member. A very rich owner. Two vastly different worlds collide with stunning force and raw need.

Can Emmy find her footing in Stavros’ world? And is Stavros’ need for Emmy powerful enough to destroy the emotional fortress he lives in?

The stakes are high in this scorching tale of lust and love. 

Rough Seas – Book One, Blue Water Seduction

Amazon/Nook

This Author's Life Thursday

Life 101: You Gotta Live

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On my handy-dandy schedule of blog post topics for today is something serious and author/reader centric. It’s an important subject. . .and we’ll talk about it next week. Because today, I want to talk about the importance of life.

I love to write. Can you tell by how many books I publish? I hope so. Because it’s true; it’s my passion, and I’m grateful beyond the telling for the opportunity to do it. Matter of fact, sometimes I love it so much I forget to stop doing it.

That’s right, folks. I sit down here in my comfy computer chair (with or without cats) and sometimes I don’t get up for more hours than I care to tell you. And then I crawl into bed and get up the next morning and do it all over again.

I’m not complaining one bit. But I’ve been reminded of an essential truth recently: I cannot be the writer I want to be if I stop 11051623_10152888798094145_776859053_nliving. And life, as it turns out, mostly happens away from my computer and comfy chair.

I knew this a little. I’d have a twinge of reminder when I finished a book and looked around blinking at the world that had continued to spin without my knowledge or participation. When folding laundry and cleaning my closet were a treat I allowed myself after I’d met a certain writing goal, I knew things were bad.

Today in the midst of deadlines and craziness and interviews and emails and demands, I took a day and spent it with a dear friend who’s in town from Montreal for a short time. I only see Anne-Marie about once every two years. I treasure those times, and today, I ignored all the should-bes and did the wanna-dos. We stayed up late chatting last night. 11040073_10152888367409145_754633664_nGot up this morning and sat on the back porch, looking out over the lake. Went to the outlets and raided Vera Bradley. Drove to the beach, had a beer and burger, and then took a long walk along the water. Drove home, played cards as I made dinner, ate ice cream and then talked some more.

And I don’t regret it at all.

I may not have typed a single word today, but I promise, when I hit the keyboard later this week, what I write will be better. Richer. Stronger. Because a writer can’t write if she ignores life.

And that, darling reader, applies to all of us. Read, by all means. Enjoy your movie and your television. But then put down the book, turn off the TV and go spend some time talking to real people. Take a walk. Go to the grocery store and strike up a conversation. Grab coffee with a friend you haven’t seen in weeks. Talk to your family and really listen to what they say. Play a game. Laugh. Love.

Live.

What I'm Reading Wednesday

I’m Reading Stupid Girl

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So I’ve exhausted all the Kristan Higgins books until August (August! Do you know how long away that is?? Does she not care for my well-being??), Alice Clayton has nothing until the fall, and Nora’s next hardback isn’t out until April. What’s a girl to do? I was relegated to trolling the scrolls at the ‘Zon.

I came across a promising looking book called Stupid Girl by Cindy Miles. It was NA con rom, and those don’t usually let me down. I started it one morning, and the beginning pulled me in.

Now I have to admit, there’s nothing new here. It’s what I call formula NA: girl arrives at college hiding some horrible event from her past. There’s usually a death somewhere, whether it’s her high school boyfriend, her sibling, her parent, a random passer-by. . .whatever. We got the angst going, right? And then once at college, this girl, who usually is a virgin, or at least very inexperienced and often considers herself shy or plain or a geek, has a meet-cute with The Hottest Guy On Campus. Yes, he has a title that must be written in all caps. And this dude, who is a major player and sleeps with anything that moves, falls suddenly and deeply in love with our hometown sad girl.

Of course, she’s warned off him by her friends, by classmates, by his exes and by random passers-by (not dead ones. Usually.). But she doesn’t listen because she is In Love, and although she’s afraid of a) being hurt b) him finding out her angsty secret c) being made a fool of in front of entire school, she risks it all. But dang it if a, b and sometimes c don’t happen, and then we have more angst and will they end up together? Of course they will. This is con rom.

Don’t get me wrong. I happen to love me some good formula NA books. If done right, they grab you and stick in your mind for months. But they must include some crucial elements: strong, believable characters, a little humor so we don’t get too bogged down in the angsty-angst, and a story arc that makes us root for the Couple Least Likely To Succeed.

I’m happy to report that Stupid Girl covered most of those bases. I liked both Olivia and Brax. I liked that Olivia had a great passion–astronomy–which made her more than just a two-dimensional cutout girl. The story arc made sense, and there was enough of the funny to keep me from sobbing into my tea the whole book long.

On the negative side, some of the plot was a tad contrived, and there was a part near the end that felt too vague. I was hoping girlfriend would say, “Umm. . .what? Can you be a little more clear?” But she didn’t, and I was left having to trust that his explanation somehow made sense to her. Also, the side characters, which are so important in these books, felt a little flimsy. Olivia’s roommate was a tad stereotypical and there was not enough build-up to their relationship.

But overall, if you need a fast and fun NA, and you don’t mind a little pathos, try Stupid Girl. I may gamble on the next book in the series, too. Stay tuned.

Teaser Tuesday

The Last One Tease

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It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for a new teaser. Since this month we’ll be ramping up for the release of The Only One, the final book in The One trilogy, I thought we all might enjoy a little visit with Sam and Meghan, two of my favorite characters.

If you haven’t read The Last One, a little clarification. It’s actually the first book in the trilogy. And The First One is the second book. Are you clear now?

The Last OneWe first met Meghan Hawthorne in The Posse, which was the story of her mother, Jude, and how she found a second chance at love after the all-too-early death of her first husband, Meghan’s father Daniel. In that book, Meghan’s not entirely happy about the changes happening in her family, and she’s not shy about letting them know.

The Last One begins almost a year after those events. Meghan, who’s just finished her junior year at art college in Savannah, takes a summer volunteer position as art teacher in a small Georgia town. To her dismay, she’s assigned to stay with a family that includes a guy she met briefly–and unhappily–during one drunk night the previous spring.

Sam doesn’t want anything to do with the pretty party girl who’s staying at his house for the summer. No matter how much he might be attracted to her, he’s sworn to keep his distance. But that might prove to be harder than either of them realize.

The Last One is told from both Meghan and Sam’s points of view. This tease comes from a Sam chapter, when the two are finally reaching a detente.

 

Meghan stood and stretched her arms high over her head. Without missing a beat, she bent at the waist and leaned to touch the tops of her feet. I watched, my mouth hanging open, as the neck of her shirt sagged. I could see right down the front, to the swell of her breasts over the cups of a black bra and the flat of her stomach. The denim shorts tightened over her pert little ass, and again I was having a hard time sitting still.

She straightened and caught me staring. Taking a step forward, she stood about an inch away from my knees, close enough for me to touch if I just reached one hand forward.

“I’m glad we’re friends now, Sam.” She spoke softly, and the whisper caressed my face. “You know, we could be the kind of friends who. . .well, your kind of friends. No complications. No drama. Just fun and. . .” She exhaled and ran a hand over her curls, bunching them at the back of her neck. “Maybe letting off a little steam.”

All I had to do was reach up and put my hand to her waist, tug her forward, and I knew she’d melt into me. It was what we both wanted, I knew, but it was what might happen after that kept me from moving.

“Meghan, what I said before stands. I’m too old for you. And you’re a guest in my home, so I’m not going to take advantage of you. That wouldn’t be right.”

“It’s not taking advantage if I offer. If I want it, too. I’m not asking you for a commitment here, Sam. I’m just saying, we could give each other what we both need.”

I had to get away, now, or I was going to give in. Her scent filled me, and she was so close that I could feel heat coming off her body in waves. I clenched my teeth together and stood up, moving her back gently with my hands on her upper arms.

“I’m going inside now, before I do something that you and I would both end up regretting. I’ll be your friend, Meghan. But that’s all I can do.”

I released her arms and turned to go back inside. As the screen door closed quietly behind me, I cursed myself as a fool and stomped upstairs toward a cold shower that had nothing to do with the air temperature.

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The Only One releases on April 7th, but you can preorder it here! Don’t wait. . .

Amazon/iBooks/BN

Mason Wallace left his hometown to live his dream: he had the perfect career, a gorgeous wife and a beautiful baby girl. He was on top of the world, until it all shattered with the sudden death of his wife. Now he’s back in Georgia, running his bar and trying to take care of his family. And he needs all the help he can get.

Rilla Grant’s never been farther than twenty miles from her family’s farm. Her overprotective father wants her to marry their church’s youth pastor and settle down into the life he’s chosen for her, but she’s not sure that’s what she wants anymore. Rilla’s chafing to make her own choices, and that includes starting her own PR business and maybe even moving off the farm, no matter how much her dad hates it.

When Mason asks Rilla to work on some promotion for his bar, she’s both excited and terrified. Excited, because it’s just the opportunity she’s wanted, and terrified because Mason, with his electric blue eyes and drool-worthy body, is the kind of guy who makes her knees weak and her heart pound. He’s the only one who’s ever tempted Rilla to defy her family, and when she does just that by moving in to help take care of his daughter, they’re both forced to make a decision that’ll change their lives forever.

Sometimes love isn’t the easy choice. Sometimes it’s the only one.

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Music is Unquenchable

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So how much do I love Nell Massler? Well, a whole hell of a lot more than I ever expected.

If you read the King Series, you know Nell as the villain of Fearless, the warning voice of Breathless and Restless. . .and the sourceFINALUnquenchable of Tasmyn’s guilt and remorse in Endless. Nell, like many a side character, was never meant to be relevant beyond Fearless. I was shocked when she turned up in Breathless, in a scene that scared the bejesus out of me when I wrote it (late at night, in a dimly lit room, by myself). And even after Endless, I thought we were done.

We weren’t.

Even after I knew Nell would have her own book, I had no idea that her book would be related to Rafe’s. . .and when I found out how, I was shocked again.

As soon as her story began taking shape, I realized that Nell’s music had to be part of who she is. Nell Massler is strong. She’s tough. She had a painful childhood, abandoned by all those whom she loved, so she had to be tough to survive. She’s damaged, and she’s closed off. She doesn’t trust me, and love is not something she wants.

A few lines from these songs began to define Nell for me:

From Kellie Pickler’s Tough:

“But life came hard to my front door
And I grew up tryin’ to even up the score.”

And from Kelly Clarkson’s My Life Would Suck Without You:

“I know that I’ve got issues
But you’re pretty messed up too.”

So today’s Music Monday is dedicated to Nell Massler, with love and respect. As I told a reader recently, Nell is never going to be easy. She’s never going to be completely tame or sure of her own goodness. But you can bet that she’ll never be dull, either.

Check out the playlist for Unquenchable, now up on this site here.

Next week, we’re going to talk revenge songs with Julia and Jesse in Best Served Cold.