The Next Big Thing....

A few weeks back I was tagged by Evangeline to participate in The Next Big Thing blog hop. I really had good intentions to partake but time seemed to just carry me away into a parallel universe....okay, maybe that's a bit extreme...but you know what I mean, time just ran away with me. So, last week, the lovely Ruchita tagged me once again and this time I managed to wing my way back to the Earth's orbit and grab a few minutes to answer the TNBT Q's! (Or in other words, sit down quietly for half an hour whilst the kids nap!)Here goes....

Q. What is the working title of your next book?

The Venancio's Revenge (but it's possible it will change).

Q. From where did the idea come?

Umm, good question. Honestly, I'm not too sure. My head, but inspiration wise, I have no idea! After seeing Rio and favelas in a few films and having always wanted to visit there, I decided to write a story that included these things. I am also a huge fan of strong heroines and Alpha males, modern/contemporary/presents type stories, revenge plots and surprise pregnancies, so wanted to somehow incorporate it all into one great story! 

Q. Under which genre does your book fall?

Contemporary romance. 

Q: Which actors would you choose to play the part of your characters for a movie?

Daniella would be played by Natalie Portman and Luca by Eduardo Verastegui. These two are EXACTLY how I envisage D & L in my head. Luca is the ultimate alpha male and isn’t afraid to use his money and authority to get him through life. He believes he is well controlled until he reunites with Daniella who gradually softens his harsh demeanor with the truth. Daniella is strong in every sense and understanding of the word. She can appear shy and feeble but ultimately she is the strength of the relationship   my Pinterest board if you'd like to check out more pics of D & L and the settings etc...Pinterest

   

Q. What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?

Hmm...that's a really tough one, synopsis's are a weak spot, but here goes....

Brazilian tycoon, Luca Venancio is returning to Rio to have revenge against his once fiance, now widowed and pregnant sister in law, Daniella, but will it be too late to save their relationship when she reveals the true reason for her actions?
   

Q. Will you self-publish or be represented by an agent?

I have no idea at the moment! Will wait and see...but I am really hoping to submit to a publisher and go via that route. 

Q. How long did it take to write the first draft?

I'm still going after 2 and half years! (Don't laugh!) What with work, children, family, etc etc etc it hasn't always been possible to write as often as I would have liked to but I've been determined to finish it, however long it took! The first draft is complete, now I'm just sending piece by piece to the lovely freelance editor, Annie Seaton to work her magic and help polish it up from a rough stone to a bright, shiny diamond (I hope!)

Q: With which books within your genre would your story compare?

Although it uses several stereotypical tropes of pregnancy, revenge and reunited lovers,(oh yes, I've been doing my blog reading, peeps), I'm hoping my story is as unique as possible and not compared to any? But I do believe it fits neatly in amongst the genre of contemporary romances perfectly.

Q: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I have always loved to read any genre, but especially romance. Seeing brilliant authors like Jane Porter and Jennie Lucas weave such beautiful and emotive stories that offered true escapism, I instantly knew that was what I wanted to do. I wanted (want) to make people feel exactly how I had felt when reading their stories and be able to pass on that experience. I have always wanted to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys!) but never seemed to have the time (poor excuse, I know!) So, I bit the bullet one day after my twins were born I thought I'm just going to start and see where it leads me....So far the journey has been great! I have met some fantastic, lovely and extremely supportive people along the way, majority of the thanks goes to the wonderful power of Facebook and Twitter for allowing this happen. 

Q: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Well, there is jet setting (Luca's private jet, OBVIOUSLY!) across the globe between Rio and New York...Vibrant locations whisking you away from the day to day, including the Rio carnival, Sugar Loaf Mountain and slinky Gala events. If you enjoy intensely romantic stories, which have you rooting for the heroine and initially despising but ultimately loving the alpha,  I'm positive you will like The Venancio's Revenge!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about my WIP, characters and inspirations! For next week, I am tagging...

Faith Thomas 

Aurelia B Rowl

Gabrielle Battistel

Susie Medwell 

Louise Rose-Innes


'Til next time!

Sam :-)

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Look what I found...

Just a short post to say, look what I have found! 

I visited my Nan yesterday as I do most weekends, but yesterday was different.... I felt like I had stumbled across some treasure! (Oooh arrr, me harties!) 

However, it wasn't treasure in the sense of 'pieces of gold and silver in a grand antique chest' instance. No. (But it is still an exciting type of treasure for a book fanatic!) Instead, it was seven pretty - and some would say, tatty around the edges - little books sitting on her bookcase, all neatly covered in a thin shimmering of dust and neglect. And here they are....

My Nan said she'd picked up in a charity shop a while ago and that I could have them if I wanted to. Of-course I wanted to! I love all books, any genre, hard back, paper back, digital, any shape or form, you name it. But there is something just so magical and special about a paper back Mills & Boon story in the palm of your hand. I can't describe the feeling I get from it - apart from the fact it leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy and all glowy inside. I just love it. I don't think I've read any M&B's before the late 1990's. Some of these are late 1980's, so it'll be interesting to see the style and content in them. I love the covers, just look at them! Eeeek! So, now I just need to crack on and read them. 

As for my lovely Nan, the next time she is in town she is going to have a mooch about the charity shops and buy a load more. Bless her! My buddy, Faith said she has tons from the 1950's onwards - I need to find some them! Now that is real gold and silver treasure. 

'Til next time!

Sam :-) 
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There's an author in the house! Introducing the gorgeous Aimée Duffy!

Howdy folks!

It's such a pleasure for me to introduce to you my friend and now published author, the lovely, Aimée Duffy. She's kindly taken some time out of her crazy schedule to be here today and indulge us all with her X-factor, shopping and Loch-ness monster stories!

So, here we go!

Hi Aimée! Tell us a bit about yourself….

There’s a slight chance I have split-personality disorder :). At work I’m very professional with a little humour thrown in. When I get home, if it’s a writing night, I get pulled into my characters heads’ and at the weekend, well, let’s just say it can go from crazy to boring.

You’re from Scotland, right? I imagine you living near to a castle and a loch….am I way off track? 

I did! I used to live in a village near a forest. About half a mile in is Tulliallan police college (with Scotland’s idea of a small castle) and a mile in is the Moore Loch. Not much of a loch really, but still a big pond-like thing. Now I live in a town about six miles away, but it’s close to the hills :)

How did you come up with the story idea and characters for The Monster of Fame?

I decided I wanted to do Nano last year, and that I wanted to write a story for me. I’d been gearing everything I wrote until then to a certain line with Harlequin and wanted to do something different. xFactor was airing and I thought why not combine it with a romance. The Monster of Fame was born ;o)

Tell a little bit about your hero, Miles and heroine, Annabelle….one interesting and unknown fact about each of them!

Annabelle had a secret crush on Miles since she seen his picture in a magazine when she was twenty. She’s watched the show ever since. Miles feels sorry for Safri, because he knows a little about what happened to her before she grew to fame, but her actions make it hard for him to remember it at times. (You’ll have to wait for Safri’s book to find out what :P)

What do you like to do other than read and write?

I think shopping is obvious about now ;o). In the summer I like to be outside. If the weather’s dry, I usually head up the hills or go a walk around the lake with friends. Travelling is fun too, but I can’t afford to as much as I’d like. I want to visit Egypt, India, China, America (all over) and I’d go back to Mexico in a heartbeat.

Do you have a day job?

Yes. I work for lawyers during the day. I recently ‘came out’ to them as I needed them to look over a contract for me. They couldn’t have been more thrilled that I had a book out!

Do you write only romance or other genres also?

I’ve never tried another genre, though I have a YA plotted out. When I have some free time I’m going to try that.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Bit of both, although I’ve realized that when I plot there are way less revisions ;o)

What challenges did you face with regards to creating and publishing your first book?

Waiting was the biggest challenge. I thought I was a patient person until I hit send, then I turned into a serial inbox stalker. Once I decided to go with Beachwalk and they explained everything, I felt much, much better. It has been easy sailing since then.

What project(s) are you working on at the moment?

Book two in The Price of Fame Series. :o)

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors out there?

Persistence pays off. Keep at it and never give up.

Trivia round!

What would I find in your fridge right now?

Not much at all. A bottle of skimmed milk, a baking potato and a tub of mixed salad. I need to get to the supermarket!

What star sign are you?

Aries

What’s your favourite colour?

Purple

X factor or Strictly come dancing?

X Factor

What was the last film you saw at the cinema and the last book you read?

I’ve not been to the cinema for ages. Probably Breaking Dawn part 1. The last book was Private Love In A Public Place by Toni Kenyon

What is your favourite song, film and book?

With of Without You by U2, Die Hard (I love Bruce Willis!) and the book is a toss up between Of Mice and Men or To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be?

Selene in the Underworld films. She kicks ass and rocks leather. - Fantastic answer, all of the Underworld films rock! 

Lastly, have you ever seen the Loch-ness monster?

I’ve never been to Loch Ness, so that would be a no. Although I’m positive Nessy’s a myth ;o) Will check next year when I’m at the Rock Ness Music Festival just to be sure! - You have to let us know if you spot anything!

You can purchase The Monster of Fame from Beachwalk Press and Amazon

You can check out the first chapter of this fab story over at Aimée's page! 

'Til next time!

Sam :-) 
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AVA Giveaway Extravaganza!

The lovely Carmen Falcone is celebrating three months since A Vengeful Affair was released! (Yay! Clap, clap, clap!) Like the idea of winning some fab prizes....thought so! Take it away, Carmen....

A Vengeful Affair Giveaway Extravaganza!

I’m celebrating three months since A Vengeful Affair was released, and it’s still a Top 100 bestseller on Amazon Kindle’s Romance Series list! Thank you to my readers!

If A Vengeful Affair continues to climb, I’ll be giving away up to five $25 gift certificates (Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes—winner’s choice!). That’s up to $125 worth of prizes, and your help will dictate how many gift certificates will be given out.

So get your sneakers on and let’s climb! A Vengeful Affair is currently at #73, but we can do better!

How can you help?

ü  Copy and paste this post on your blog, and promote it on Facebook or Twitter.

ü  Buy the book if you enjoy sexy romances. J

ü  “Like” my page on Amazon. Tagging would be nice, too!

ü  Leave an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads or Barnes & Noble.

ü  Scream from your window! Well, I’m grateful for the yell, but please be social media savvy. 

Prizes:

If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #60, I’ll give away one $25 gift certificate.

If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #50, I’ll give away another $25 gift certificate.

If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #35, I’ll give away an additional two $25 gift certificates.

If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #25, I’ll give away one more $25 gift certificate.

Please make sure you enter a comment on my blog when you’ve done any of the things listed above for a chance to win :)

The contest will close on October 15th, 2012 at midnight CDT.

Let’s get the word out!

Until later,

Carmen

As the lady said, what are you waiting for? Get your sneakers, or trainers for you UK folk out there ;-) and help her get climbing.

'Til next time! 

Sam :-)

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