Character Interview

                         GIVEAWAY!

Diane is giving away a free copy of one of her e-books, KILL ME TOMORROW or RECLAIMED! Comment at any of the tour stops to be entered to win! Each entry counts, so be sure to stop at every blog site! Good luck!

(See the end of the blog for all tour stops.)

Hi! I’m Diane Alberts, and today Joseph from ABSOLUTION is interviewing Eva!

In ABSOLUTION, Joseph and Eva are ex-lovers that have been thrown together by life-threatening circumstances. The kicker is, that not six weeks before the opening of the book, Eva finds Joseph in their bed—with a stripper.

She kicks him out, and they haven’t seen each other since that eventful morning. What ensues is an explosion of buried feelings—and lots of passion and fire.

Joseph: What did you think when you saw me outside of your building the day I came back to protect you?

Eva: I thought I wanted to kill you for daring to show your face to me again. Then I wanted to kiss you…but I immediately wanted to kill you again.

Joseph: Yeah, I got that down pretty well, then. I held tight to my gun—just in case you whipped it out of my holster.

Eva: (laughing) As if I could. What did you think?

Joseph: (looking deep into Eva’s eyes) I wanted to pick you up and never let you go. Ever.

Eva: Aww. I love you.

Joseph picks up Eva and stalks out of the room. (Diane clears her throat) I’m thinking this interview just might be over. Thanks for stopping by, and getting a little more insight to Joseph ad Eva. Please enjoy this little snippet of the first time they see each other again—which is what they were just talking about!

                                                    XXXXXX

Eva can’t believe Joseph dares to show his face to her after he’d cheated on her with a stripper—in her bed. She’d kicked him out, and has no desire to let him back in, despite his claims of being assigned to protect her from the Cartel. Her life very well may be in danger, but she fears more for the safety of her heart.

Joseph made one foolish mistake a year ago, and has been paying for it ever since. She might not want to allow him into her life again, but he doesn’t care if she despises the very thought of him. His duty is to keep Eva alive, even if it might end up being the death of him. Because he never stopped loving her.

Can they put their painful history aside, and work together against her enemy? Or will the past prove too strong to be forgiven?

  “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you everything. But not until I get you inside. Take me to your place.”

She laughed. “Hell, no.” Worried or not, he would get nowhere near her apartment ever again. “I told you when I kicked you out you’d never be welcome inside my house again. Nothing has changed. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

She took a step away, and once again he took her by the elbow. This time, Joseph didn’t stop her but grabbed her and dragged her behind him.

“No, you can’t. And if you won’t take me to your place, I’ll just lead the way. Either way, I'm getting in.” He tugged her toward the red-roofed, stucco building Eva lived in, and she tensed.

“Go to hell!” She struggled against his hold, but he didn’t even pause. She dug her heels into the cement and yanked her arm but failed to free herself from his grip. “I’ll scream.”

He stopped and leaned into her face. “You wouldn’t dare.” Without waiting for her reaction, he continued to escort her toward her building.

She opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and yelled, “Help—”

Best-selling author of all things romance. Diane believes strongly in a happily-ever-after for everyone. She especially loves tortured heroes and heroines, as can be seen in her stories. She is repped by the fabulous Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. Check here to stay up to date on all Diane’s upcoming releases!

Entangled Publishing: On One Condition, a novella about a modern day marriage of convenience, is out–and hit the best-sellers list on B&N! Divinely Ruined, a novella about an aspiring angel, is coming soon.

Decadent Publishing: Kill Me Tomorrow, Diane’s first addition to the popular 1NS series from Decadent Publishing, and Reclaimed, a paranormal romance novel, are available. Absolution, the first of a new series with Decadent called Honor Guard, is out March 2, 2012. Broken, a military 1NS book, is out March 30, 2012. Escape To Me, a time-travel addition to the 1NS series, is coming soon.

In addition to being a writer, Diane also reads slush for Entangled Publishing as an intern.

Diane Alberts lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her husband, four kids, and a bird. She lives in the mountains-but wishes it were the beach. She has been writing since she was in elementary school, but only recently fulfilled her dreams of being published in 2011. Enjoys dyeing yarn and knitting in her “spare” time.

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Bethany Lopez meets The Book Imp

Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novel. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories About Melissa. Ta Ta for Now! and xoxoxo are available now. She is currently working on the third book in the series, Ciao.

Hello and welcome to our world Bethany Lopez. As we live in an enchanted forest and we are magical folk, let us transport you to another world for your interview today.Tell us where you would like to go and why. It could be another time or a setting that is special to you. Just say the word and we are there……. I have always wanted to go to an enchanted forest; can I come visit you there?

Now that we are sitting in your special place, we have a few impish questions to ask of you. 

B – How do you carry out your background research?

I do a lot of research online. It is wonderful to have so much information available at our fingertips!

O – Do you ever obsess over your work?

 I do… I think about it all of the time: when I am in the shower, stuck in traffic, or working at my day-to-day job.

O – From a writing point of view, what has been your most memorable occasion?

 I just attended the Southern California Writer’s Conference and it was an amazing event filled with wonderful workshops and inspirational writers.

K- Of all the kisses you have ever written about, which is your favourite and why? 

Hmmm… It has to be Melissa’s first kiss, which was in Ta Ta for Now!. She and Brian kissed in the movie theatre on their first date. It was short and sweet.

I – What would you say is the most important thing to consider before starting to write a book?

What your intention for the book is. A lot of the time your characters will develop through the course of writing, but you need to know what the arc of your story is.

M – How do you plot your male characters? Are they based on people you know or your ideal man? Do you have physical or mental pictures of your male characters?

 I do visualize the guys as I am writing. They are not based solely on one guy, but have bits and pieces of people I know and traits that I find attractive.

P- Do you prefer to write from the male or female point of view?

I write from the female POV.

 F - What do you like to do for fun?

 I love to read and write. I also enjoy taking pictures and going hiking.

A – What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done?

 I have gone ziplining and parasailing, even though I am afraid of heights, all within the last year.

I – What is your favourite musical instrument and why?

 I love the sound of the sax! There is just nothing like it.

R – What genre of books do you like to read the most?

 I really love quite a few: Paranormal, Romance, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, and Contemporary Literature, to name a few.

Y – What is your favourite memory from your youth or childhood?

When I was around nine, we moved to a small town outside of San Antonio, Texas. I spent my days outside, exploring the woods with my friends, and playing in the river. The three years we lived there was a very happy time for me.

Blurb for XOXOXO

Melissa has learned a lot since her freshman year began, but it isn’t over yet! Her world is about to change again with the birth of her new sibling, and she has to figure out how she will adjust to being the eldest of five kids. She, Jess, andJimmy are inseparable, and she is having a fantastic time although she can’t help but miss Brian as she tries to learn how to deal with his relationship with Layla. Everything seems to be happening at once and that is when she is introduced to Ben Campbell, a senior at Dearborn High, who becomes an interesting distraction as he helps her deal with the new developments in her life.

This YA novel is available now for purchase as a
paperback or ebook:https://www.createspace.com/3772147
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/135762
http://www.amazon.com/xoxoxo-Stories-About-Melissa-ebook/dp/B007G2HBLG/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330700751&sr=1-3
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/xoxoxo-bethany-lopez/1109232580?ean=2940013919617

The Girl in the Box by Sheila Dalton

Hello and welcome to our world, Sheila Dalton. As we live in an enchanted forest and we are magical folk, let us transport you to another world for your interview today. Tell us where you would like to go and why. It could be another time or a setting that is special to you. Just say the word and we are there…….

I would like to go back to Guatemala, where my book The Girl in the Box is set, or Morocco, or Cuba, where the water is clear as a mirror and the silvery fish bump against your calves like friendly kittens.

I – What would you say is the most important thing to consider before starting to write a book?

Whether the subject matter and storyline are going to keep your interest. You and your book will form a partnership that could last a very long time. You want to make sure you won’t tire of each other!

M – How do you plot your male characters? Are they based on people you know or your ideal man? Do you have physical or mental pictures of your male characters?

My male characters are based on many different things - people I’ve known, certainly; sometimes, people I’d like to have known. They take on a life of their own after a while, so that even if they start out being my ideal man, they don’t stay that way forever! Kind of like real life, when you think about it.

P- Do you like to work in peace and quiet? Or noise?

Oh, definitely peace and quiet. I love to be alone at home, knowing my husband and son will return eventually, but in the meantime I am blissfully, and quietly, alone.

 F - What do you like to do for fun?

I love gardening, and listening to music, and playing with my cats. Also reading and singing and going on trips into the Canadian countryside, going to movies with my son or husband, weekends away in little hotels. I also love to travel, but can’t often afford it anymore.

A – What has been the most amazing point in your life so far?

Several experiences I’ve had while meditating - a sense of utter and complete peace, a sense of having discovered a secret that opens up the world.

I – What is your favourite musical instrument and why?

The saxophone. I just love the sound it makes, I can’t really explain why.

R – Do you like reality shows?

No, I really hate them!

Y – What is your favourite memory from your youth or childhood?

Going into the woods behind our house in Drayton, England, to what we called “Over the Back” and having great imaginary adventures. Also, feeding the hedgehogs that lived there. I’ve since learned we possibly fed them all the wrong things - bread soaked in milk mostly - but we didn’t know that then. They felt like prickly little friends. I loved them. We don’t have them here in Canada. 

Now read a sample from The Girl in the Box.

JERRY

Guatemala, Feb., 1983

          The smell was thick as sludge, and rancid. It forced an intake of breath when Jerry wanted to pinch his nostrils shut and run out of the hut.
          He struggled to ignore it, but the stench dropped into his throat and lodged there. When he tried to swallow, he coughed instead.

“Agua?” He turned to the Mayan behind him. “Por favor?”

The man nodded while continuing to talk to his wife.

Jerry leaned into his arms on the rough-hewn table and stared at the crucifixes on the wall.

There were five hand-carved wooden Messiahs in front of him, each more lurid than the last. One strained so far outwards from his cross that Jerry thought he looked like he could tear himself off and change religious history. Painted blood ran from the hands, feet and sides of all five, and hung in gobs from a number of wounded knees. It cascaded over one Christ’s body in vermilion stripes, ending in a single dangling blob at the bottom of the cross.

The murmur behind Jerry grew louder. He swivelled around. The couple dropped their eyes and lowered their voices simultaneously, as though  performing a duet.

“Agua?” he pleaded, a hand to his throat.

“Si, Senor.” This time, the man shooed his wife behind a ragged curtain then followed her out of sight.

Jerry concentrated on the pictures on the wall,. colourful renditions of what he thought must be Mayan deities, interspersed with rumpled copies of paintings of Catholic saints. An abundance of spiritualities, where he himself had none.

He frowned at the uplifted eyes and sweet secretive smiles of the saints. Multicoloured woollen frames bordered each blissful face—red, orange, bright yellow, the kind of blues and greens that oceans radiate and skies sometimes faintly reflect—colours out of a child’s fantasy, woven together with tufts and tassels and thick, knotted fringes that infused the pictures with the kind of robust good cheer he’d come to admire in Latin Americans themselves.

His spirits lifted. But there was that unhealthy smell, and a filthy blanket hanging heavily over the doorway, blocking air and light.

 Buy the book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Box-Sheila-Dalton/dp/1926607260

Visit Sheila's website http://www.sheila-anne-dalton.com