One Christmas, four friends - will they still be together by New Year? Divorce wasn’t part of the plan for Holly, but then again nor was spending the festive period with two sexy men and Santa’s little helper! With a disastrous marriage behind her, and three good friends who are willing to share, moving on could be fun – if only she can accept that sometimes her heart is wiser than her head. Dane doesn’t do commitment, which suits Holly just fine. But when things heat up between the four friends, he’s forced to face up to his past. Will realising he’s good enough mean he no longer wants to share…? Laid back Charlie knows that if his best friend becomes his lover he could end up losing big time. But can he resist? And when the girl he once loved comes back, who will he decide to spend the New Year with? …And Sophie just wants to have fun. She’s got the answers to everyone's problems, except her own …. is she the one who needs good friends most of all? Will a caring, sharing, lust and love filled Christmas lead to the happy ever after they all desire? WARNING - Christmas may never seem the same again!
Has this festive teaser warmed your cockles? Thought so! Well, hold tight and make yourself a snowball because there is MORE to come!
Hi Zara!
A warm, Christmassy, jingle-bells welcome to you! It’s great to finally have you over here at my blog. Make yourself comfy. Tea, coffee? Or an alcoholic beverage? The bar is just down the hall and on the left! Chink Chink. (Tis' the season to be merry...I mean jolly, after all!)
Hi Samantha, Well normally I’d say it’s a bit early to drink, but it is Christmas after all! Bucks fizz would set me up for the day. Cheers! So, lets kick this off…. firstly tell us all a little bit about yourself….
I actually don’t like talking about myself, but seeing as it’s you! I've always wanted to be a writer – I submitted my first novel, a thriller, when I was twelve years old. I sent it direct to a publisher (ignorance can be bliss), with a handwritten note and no return postage! I had a lovely letter in response encouraging me to try again. As I hit my mid teens my writing tastes shifted from action to romance, and I was soon addicted to alpha heroes, and what could be better than writing about them? So I had another go. I started off writing contemporary romance with a bit sizzle, and then discovered I like hot and erotic too, so my Susie side writes hot romance and my Zara persona gets much naughtier!
My days are now spent daydreaming, and writing, about good looking, well built men who know what they want and know how to get it, men who know the meaning of sensual and put a girl's needs before their own... men who have a sensitive side (for your eyes only) as well as a rough edge...men who love women for what they are... men who aren't afraid to take on an intelligent, sassy woman.... And I try to fit a day job in too! I've had an exciting and varied life, which feeds into my stories... I've got an Honours degree in Computer Science ...a teenage son... a cat...a cottage in the English countryside...and my own sexy alpha hero!
Congratulations on the release of your new book, ‘Good Enough’. Where did the idea for this saucy little number come from?
Well… you know how we’re always told Christmas is for sharing? I thought I’d push the meaning a bit and share more than the presents! But I also wanted to keep other festive themes in there, like family, and giving, looking after each other… But I think Christmas is a time when we often take stock and think about what people really mean to us, and who and what is important in our lives – so that’s what is at the heart of the story.
How long has it taken you to write? And have you enjoyed writing a story specific the christmas period?
Erm, now there’s a question… I think it took 2 months. It was fun to write – the story is very much about the characters, with Christmas as a backdrop – an excuse to chill out and have fun!
You have four central characters in ‘Good Enough’… indulge us in a little unknown something about each of them. (The hottie on your cover – phwoar! I wouldn’t mind sharing him. Hehe!)
Hehe, sorry I can’t share my hottie at the moment, he’s mine!! Oh, okay you can have him on Boxing Day after I’ve worn him out! Dane is the guy on the cover, a real alpha hero who would love to find the woman he fancies tied to his bed one day (any volunteers?!). Holly was the school geek and thinks she’s still too boring, until someone unlocks the naughty side of her (bit like me, hehe). Charlie is actually quite posh, but is trying to run away from it and be normal… he’s a real softy, with a tough streak when he’s going after what he wants. And Sophie ran away from her upsetting home life, but it was actually more than that, she has her secrets… involving a man… whoops have to stop there – that’s in the next book! Sorry. You seem to have a knack for dragging my secrets from me Samantha – must be this Bucks Fizz!
Where do you do your writing? Computer or old-fashioned handwriting?
I plan on paper – just can’t do it on my laptop, I need to be able to see all my scribbled notes. I write the story directly onto my laptop, but if I’m having problems with a scene I have to print it out and scrawl all over it (then find I can’t read my handwriting!).
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome during your writing career to date?
Time and money! I love writing, at the moment I have so many projects on the go, but have to work part-time. I will be so happy when I’m making enough money to spend all day with my characters.
Any pearls of wisdom you can share with us aspiring folk?
Consider alternatives, try anything. This time last year I was writing contemporary romance aimed purely at M&B, and mimicking the writing style of their existing authors. It wasn’t until I tried something completely different, aimed at a different publisher, that I found my ‘voice’. I know erotic romance isn’t for everyone, but I just found a genre that came naturally for me – I also want to go back to thriller type stories and I now feel braver about trying different things! Write what you love (which isn’t necessarily what you read), and let the real you come out.
So, with just over three weeks left until the big day….what are your plans for Christmas this year? Are you ready for it?
As promised, Zara's kindly showed us a sneaky peak from her book - where Dane's Christmas fantasy looks like it might just come true!
I was turned on something rotten. And I felt mildly ridiculous, if that’s possible. And I didn’t know which feeling was winning. But one thing I did know was that Sophie had gone and the bang of the door meant that Dane was back and I hoped to God he was on his own.
There was a click which I was sure was the door to the boot room opening, then excited yapping. Shit, don’t let them out, don’t let them up here. I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the image of ten tons of Irish Wolfhound crashing on to the bed, following by hysterical yapping terrier and the nervous whippet diving under the covers. Shit, shit, shit. Nervous tension flooded my body and I pulled against the ties, no way was I getting out of this. No escape. Being tied to the bed had seemed, momentarily, like a good idea. Well, the way Sophie had sold it had made it irresistible. Now Sophie had gone, and Dane was back it seemed fucking stupid. Particularly her finishing touches of a blindfold and gag. Okay, it was loose, but I couldn’t exactly yell out a warning and tell him to go away again until I got rescued.
My scalp tingled as I heard a creak, the bottom step. No pattering of tiny doggie footsteps, thank the fuck for that. Then another creak. Oh. My. God. What was I doing here? A squeak which could have been the door opening, then silence. My ears were doing their best to prick up so I could hear more, but it wasn’t working. All I could hear was my own uneven breathing, and the pounding of blood in my ears.
“Well, fuck me.” His voice was so low, so deep, so unexpectedly close it made me start and every tiny hair on my body prickle to attention. Not a good look I’m sure. And fucking him wasn’t quite the idea, not yet. I swallowed hard and my sex gave a little involuntary squeeze. There was another heavy footstep and I knew he must be at the foot of the bed.
I jumped, well my whole body did, when his hand came down on my naked skin and the low chuckle made me want to moan, except it was more of a strangled groan given the gag. He rubbed the large capable hand round on my stomach, his rough fingertips sending little sparks straight through my skin and into my bloodstream.
“I thought Christmas came but once a year.” And as he spoke he loosened the gag with one hand and before I had time to draw breath his sweet, sweet lips came down on mine. He tasted of beer, and burger, of mustard, tomato and hops and it should have made me retch, but it was heaven. I reached up to hold his head, to prolong the kiss, well I tried to reach up but my bound wrists stopped the movement abruptly and his lips briefly twitched into a smile at my little grunt of frustration.
His tongue skated along the outside of my teeth, along the tops of them, explored my mouth and then circled around my own tongue as though inviting me to play. So I did. And as my tongue met his the warmth of his hand stroked down my side from chest to hip, straight over the erogenous zone I call my waist and I took a sharp intake of breath, my teeth closing around the tip of his tongue.
PHEW! Somebody open a virtual window in here. :-)
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you the biggest success with ‘Good Enough’ Zara. It sounds like a HOT read that will no doubt steam up the windows during this chilly season. It'll certainly be on my to read list over the christmas period! (Reckon you could fit Dane into my stocking....?)
Thank you so much for having me here. Have a wonderful Christmas and thanks for kicking off the Christmas festivities for me! (Any more of that bubbly going?) **Tops you up.** Bottoms up, love!
You can find Zara and 'Good Enough' here, here and here...
Amazon(UK), Amazon (US) (It’s free on 4th, 5th, 6th Dec!!)
Where to find me - Website - http://www.zarastoneley.com Blog – http://zarastoneley.blogspot.com
Twitter - @zarastoneley
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/zarastoneley
Amazon author page – http://amazon.com/author/zarastoneley
Wow! That sounds like my kind of Christmas :) Great interview Zara and Samantha. Any of that bucks fizz left...?
ReplyDelete**pouring you a glass as we speak, Christy**
DeleteGreat interview! Hope you find exactly what you would like in your Christmas stockings!
ReplyDeleteHopefully a Dane or two .... ;-)
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