Michelle Zink Interview

 
Hello Readers. Welcome to our first Sunday of February. Today I'm chatting to author, Michelle Zink. Michelle  lives in New York with her four children.

Prophecy of the Sisters was her first novel, and was chosen as one of Booklist’s Top Ten Debut Novels of 2009 and as one of the Chicago Public Library’s Best Books for Young Readers.

 

 It has also been listed on the New York Public Library’s Stuff for the Teen Age and the Lone Star Reading List.

Her next book, This Wicked Game, releases March 2013.

Represented by Steven Malk at Writer's House with Matthew Snyder at CAA for film.

To visit Michelle's website CLICK HERE

To join Michelle on Goodreads CLICK HERE

Welcome to Honey Bee Reviews, Michelle. I’d like to kick the interview off with some questions aimed at your Shadowguard series. Can you please tell those readers who aren’t in the know, just a wee teaser about the series?

The Shadowguard series is a steamy adult romance set in modern day upstate New York. It follows the Shadowguard, an elite group of warriors of angelic descent. The first three books follow each of the Montgomery heirs - Scarlet, Ivan, and Lily - as they struggle to balance the secrecy of their calling with the desire for love.

How long do the books take to write?

Each novella took me about three weeks to write. The plot was quick to develop because the world had already been built in one of my YA books, and I’d always planned a companion series centered around this plot.

How about edits?

 

There was quite a bit of editing with the first book, since it was my first foray into the adult romance genre, but after that things got easier!

Why do you think the Shadowguard Series has been so popular?

I like to think it’s because it has that classic mix of longing and heat that romance readers love together with a fresh take on contemporary paranormal that feels very real.

 How about the heroes in the series? Are they based on any guys you know in real life?

There are three heroes in the series - Rowen, Kane, and Ivan. And I WISH they were based on someone I knew!

I love their names. Can you tell us a few details about them; such as tastes in music and food?

 I’d say Rowen prefers hard rock and a casual dinner in a pub. 

 

Kane is an unapologetic romantic who likes to take his woman out to a beautiful, quiet restaurant with fine food.

 

 

 

You’ll have to read TEMPTATION’S FIRE when it comes out in February to get to know Ivan. ;)  

That's February 5th readers!! Not long to wait.

 

Oooh, they all sound pretty tempting to me J

  How about the heroines in your books? Do you ever give your heroine a few of your own traits? If so, can you tell us what they are and why you like your heroine to possess them?

All of my heroines are headstrong in their own way, which is definitely a train of mine. I’ll also give them some of my daughters traits, like Lily, who likes to bake and take care of people.

I think it’s important to represent a wide range of women, because to me, feminism isn’t about being masculine, it’s about the CHOICE to be whoever you want to be and the ability to be paid equally for your work. Even in 2013, there are women who love to cook and nurture and raise children, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there are also women who like to kick ass and take names - and there’s nothing wrong with that, either. Both kinds of woman can be smart and strong and independent, and these are the women I like to write about.

 

What is the most frustrating thing about being a writer and have you ever let your frustration make you give up on a writing project?

I think it varies from writer to writer. For me, it’s that I have too many ideas. I have to choose the ones that mean the most to me or the ones that I think are most timely for the market. I hate seeing ideas sitting on my hard drive, but there are only so many hours in a day.  The only thing that will make me give up on a writing project is if I really come to believe it’s not going to work. Otherwise, there’s no such thing as giving up, although I will put things aside sometimes to work on something else for a while.

 Michelle, can you share with us your most successful moment as an author?

I wouldn’t say there has been any one moment. Every day that I get to wake up and write for a living is a success in my book.

J Yes, that sounds good to me too. 

Who or what is your driving force?

Ohhh! You’re a tough one, aren’t you?! ;) Writing is so deeply personal, so very much a part of who I am, that the will to do it is just THERE. I suffer from bi-polar disorder, and while I’ve learned to manage it, my mind can be chaotic and noisy at times. I also suffer from anxiety, and while I’ve learned to control it with Buddhism, yoga, vitamins, and meditation, writing is still a sure bet to get me out of my own head long enough to calm down. I’d be a mess without it.

Michelle, I’d say that you’re the tough one J Your dedication to your craft is admirable.

Do you have a muse?

Truly, I don’t have any one muse.  

How about sharing a typical day in your life and tell the readers how you manage to combine your success as an author with your family life.

I’m a single mother, so it can be challenging, but I write pretty much every day. During the school week, I work from about 9am-noon (kids are in school), 3-5pm (I have to sneak this time in most days), and again from 7-9pm (kids are busy with homework, showers, etc, and they know this is my sacred writing time). If I need more time, it’s not uncommon for me to work again from 11pm until one or two in the morning. On the weekends, I usually get in a few hours from late morning to mid-afternoon, although one of my New Year’s resolutions is to give myself Sunday off whenever possible so I’m not working seven days a week. I’m still trying to find the right balance between work and family, but one of the keys is to be fully present in every moment - fully focused on writing when writing and fully focused on the kids when I’m with them. It’s harder than it sounds! And I’m still working on it.

Sounds to me like you’re doing a terrific job. My hat is off to you J

You’ve mentioned your children; if any of them wished to become writers, what advice would you give to them?

To write A LOT. Writing isn’t something you can do every now and then if you want to make a career out of it. It’s something that’s a part of your daily life, and doing it regularly is essential both to make you better and to produce work that gives you a shot at making a living.

You briefly touched on one of your New Year Resolutions; can you tell the readers what your other goals are for 2013?

Personal; take Sundays off, to meditate daily, to expand my yoga practice, to eat vegan Mon-Thurs (my family went vegetarian last year).

Professional; finish two projects that are currently at the 35,000 word mark (about 1/3 of the way complete).

Wow. Certainly sounds like a busy year ahead for you, Michelle.

My professional list is woefully short, mostly because there really is so little you can control in this business. You can’t control whether someone likes your work, whether it is a critical or commercial success, whether you sell all your books. All you can do is write, so that’s what I’m going to do.

How about a quick spot of trivia before you leave us?

Music or silence while you write?

Music while I draft, silence while I revise.

                                                Tea or coffee?

Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

 

Hot chocolate or ice-cream?

Ice cream! Although REAL hot chocolate is hard to resist on a cold night.

What is your strength?

My will. As my mother says, I can accomplish anything through sheer force of will.

What is your weakness?

Internalizing everything. I think too hard, analyze too much. I’m learning through Buddhism that it’s better to just accept what IS without working so hard to label or define it.

Vamps or wolves?

Neither. Sorry. ;)

Best TV show?

Six Feet Under. Without a Doubt.

 

Worst TV show?

Any of the reality shows that highlight greed, rudeness, tackiness, mean-spiritedness, or negativity in any form.

Thanks so much for chatting with me today, Michelle. You’ve definitely tempted me with the Shadowguard series.

THE SHADOWGUARD SERIES:

Temptation's Heat:

When Rowen Black is assigned to the elite unit of angelic assassins known as the Shadowguard, he thinks his biggest challenge will be overcoming his less-than-stellar reputation. But that’s before he meets his match in Scarlet Montgomery.
Beautiful, strong, and with a temper to match Rowen’s own, Scarlet is focused on the Shadowguard and her possible future as its leader. She’s become an expert at keeping her personal life separate from the Guard, all too aware that as the boss’s daughter, fellow warriors see her not as someone to be respected, but as someone to be protected.

Avoiding entanglements gets a lot harder when Rowen saunters into the room. Rowen puts the bad in "bad boy." Their connection is hot, visceral, and instantaneous.
When the pair are assigned to a joint investigation, they come face-to-face with their undeniable attraction, forcing Scarlet to consider that the connection is not only physical, but a destiny written in the halls of time.

Buy the book on Amazon HERE

Temptation's Kiss:

Lily Montgomery is perfectly happy taking care of everyone else. That is, until her friendship with Shadowguard warrior, Kane Dawson, begins to blossom into something more.
But Lily has a secret. One that will keep her from ever making her feelings known to Kane.
One of the Shadowguard’s fiercest warriors, Kane has a soft spot for Lily. A long-standing member of the Shadowguard, he can’t figure out when his feelings for Ambrose Montgomery’s youngest daughter morphed from brotherly affection into desire and an unfamiliar longing that feels a lot like love. 
Kane holds himself in check knowing that Lily deserves better. A man in a suit, dinner at six every night, rosy-cheeked children who won’t have to worry that their father might be killed by one of the Legion’s wraiths. 
But when the pair are thrown together by a set of circumstances beyond their control, they are forced to confront their growing passion and decide if love is worth the risk of baring it all.

Buy the book on Amazon HERE

 Temptation's Fire:Maggie O’ Reilly has her hands full. It’s all she can do to hold down her job at small-town newspaper and pay the nursing home bills for her deteriorating father. But a lead on a story from Ivan Montgomery might be just the thing to win her the promotion -- and raise -- she needs to secure her father’s care.

Ivan Montgomery isn’t exactly Mr. Popular. As the son of Ambrose Montgomery, head of the Shadowguard, Ivan has a reputation for being surly and confrontational. But somehow Maggie’s spirit and vulnerability make him want to be a better man.

Too bad a future between them is impossible.

As an outsider, Maggie can never know that Shadowguard Security is a front for the Alliance, a group of angelic descendants who keep mankind balanced between the forces of light and dark. And that means she can never know who -- and what -- Ivan really is.

But as the pair come closer to solving the mystery of who is framing the Shadowguard for murder, their attraction becomes impossible to deny. When a confrontation with a deadly foe forces them to face their feelings -- and their passion-- they will have to answer the question; can true love survive the ultimate secret?



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Barbara Morgenroth Interview Part Two

Hello Barbara. Thanks for dropping by for a second day of chat and probing questionsJ.

 

I’d like to start the day off with a question about reviews. Book reviewing is big business these days; do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Sometimes the input is very helpful.  It’s good to see where you went right and it’s good to see if there’s anything more than one person is missing.  I love hearing from readers and getting to know them a little and having them get to know me.  Facebook is good for that.

Do you hear that readers? If you’d like to get in touch with Barbara over Facebook then   CLICK HERE  J 

Can I ask what was the strangest event or thought which prompted you to write a story?

I suppose the murder of my friend.  That led to the Bad Apple series.

Goodness that must have been very difficult for you.

Can I ask you a little about your free time? We know authors like to read, as well as write. Barbara, can you share with us what book you are currently reading?

I like things that have nothing to do with what I’m working on so I’m reading the biography of a photographer.  Sometimes I read mysteries.  I love cookbooks.

Ah, food. Great stuff J

When you’re in writing mode, can you tell us, which comes first; characters or plot?

 

I don’t plot.  I think it’s more like I have something I want to say and then everything begins to fit.  I’m not a planner.

Too much thinking spoils the experience of writing for me, the exhilaration and surprise evaporate.

 

Do you always know the final outcome of your story before you finish writing it?

In general, yes.  I know where I’m going, but that doesn’t mean I know how I’m going to get there.

  

Barbara, do you think you may try and write in another genre and if so, what would it be?

 

I write in too many genres for traditional publishing already!

I’ve done juvenile literature, YA, adult fiction, cookbooks and a book on knitting.  Now that I’m independent, I’ve done photographic essays, a mystery, novellas and short stories.

I very much like romantic comedies like Nothing Serious, Not Low Maintenance and Unspeakably Desirable so I suspect those or Mature YA where I deal with life issues will be my nest for quite a while.

 

Well Barbara,I enjoyed reading Nothing Serious and can certainly imagine that you had great fun writing it J Thank you so much for the interview. It’s been good fun.

 

Vist Barbara's blog to discover more about her work.

 

See below for an excerpt from Nothing Serious.

By the end of the day, Paige was shivering. There was a thermostat on the wall of the store for the baseboard heat but it seemed to spin freely without turning anything on. As she stepped out onto the street and locked the door, the cold rain was pelting down. A crisp salad out of the refrigerator didn’t seem very appealing but eating at the café wasn’t either. All she could hope was that there was heat in the cottage.

“Calling it quits for the day?” Jonathan asked as he closed his door.

The hood to the rain slicker hung over her face. “You said that if I needed anything, I should ask.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a bath tub?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t had a bath since I’ve been here.”

“Is that the kind of announcement you want to make?”

“I will be forever indebted to you if I could have the use of that tub for about thirty minutes.”

He nodded. “I think you’re already running up quite a tab, Ms. Elliot.”

“I’ll scrub it afterwards.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“So the answer’s yes?”

“Yes. Follow me back to my place.”

“I won’t get underfoot. You won’t even know I’m there.”

“Are you serious? There is no one less likely to be invisible than you.” He climbed into his pickup truck.

Paige hurried to her car, started the engine and pulled out onto the street behind him.

It was about a ten-minute drive in the opposite direction from her cottage and it seemed like a better neighborhood, older, larger houses set back from the road instead of small summer bungalows that surrounded the lake and dotted the woods to the east of town. Jonathan turned down a driveway running between two fieldstone pillars and soon a sizable white turn of the century house appeared in front of her. There was a wraparound porch and several towering maples providing shade now dripping rain. A circular driveway brought them to the front door where he parked and she stopped the car behind the pickup truck.

She got out. “Is this your house?”

“No, I just thought I’d bring you to the first empty place that looked like it had running water. Yes, it’s my house, why?”

“It doesn’t look like you.”

“No. I have a nose.”

“Jonathan. It’s a lot of house for one person. You are one person, aren’t you?” He said he didn’t have a girlfriend but maybe he had a boyfriend. Or a housemate.

“Last time I looked I was only one person without dissociative personality disorder.” He walked to the porch door.

She trailed after him, trying to see the yard through the rain and low light.

Opening the door, he waited for her and when she entered, Jonathan switched on the light. They were in a library or a den, some informal gathering room wood paneled with built in bookcases and a Stubbs-like painting over the fireplace.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It was my great-grandfather’s house. You probably know Kanah Springs was a boomtown a hundred years ago. People vacationed here in the summer.”

“To drink the dreadful water.”

“No accounting for how tastes change.”

“How is your water here? I can hardly take a shower at my place it’s so wretched. Same?”

“My water comes from a spring. That swamp gas they talk about in town only plagues wells. I think there’s a pipe in the hill just past the lake, if get your drinking water there, it should be fine.”

“Is that what everyone is doing parked there? I couldn’t figure it out. Where I’m from water comes out of the tap not the hillside.”

He took her raincoat and hung it up. “Come on.” She followed him through the house, the kitchen and up the backstairs to the second floor and into a large white tiled bathroom with a huge claw foot bathtub.

Paige couldn’t take all the period details in. It was like stepping back in time everything was so perfectly old complete with a wooden water tank on the wall over the toilet. “The last time I saw anything like this was in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s like a museum.”

“I know they called those mansions cottages. This is just a camp.”

“It’s pretty grand for a camp.” Camps had tents and sleeping bags, and tarps over the holes in the walls of cabins where windows should be. Paige had been to a summer camp once for a month and it was too much like roughing it for her--lumpy mattresses, no place to get warm or dry and mosquitoes the size of buzzards.

“It’s had work over the years.” He pointed to a linen closet. “Towels. Soap. Faucets, twist the handle, water comes out. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

Nothing Serious by Barbara Morgenroth

Declaring freedom from the internet and the city, Paige Elliott heads for the Catskills. Opening a shop, Nothing Serious, Paige nearly nails her hand to the wall trying to hang her sign, avoids zoning board jail and falls for Jonathan Macklin, the antiques dealer next door. She spots a rare portrait at an auction, and borrows money from Jonathan to buy it. The windfall for the lost masterpiece is used to bail a local character out of jail. When Paige can’t pay Jonathan back, he thinks the worst. She has been treating life, her art and love as nothing serious for so long; can she change in time to be with Jonathan?

Nothing Serious is a fun, entertaining read, filled with likeable, quirky characters who keep the plot moving nicely along. Paige is the kind of heroine you could share good conversation with, over coffee and doughnuts, in the local diner. In Kanah Springs, Ms Morgenroth has brought us a town, filled with cute festivals and unique inhabitants.

I found Ms Morgenroth to possess a smooth sense of humour which shone through in her writing. Through the use of character conversations, the author allows her sense of fun and comedy to reach the reader, in a gentle and personal manner. The story follows Paige and her swift move to a new town, where mishaps and misunderstandings seem to follow her like a lost puppy. Throughout it all however, our heroine manages to shine.

As Paige battles her internet cold turkey and the confines of her tiny shower cubicle, she finds it a struggle to come to terms with life in a small town. Her attraction to Jonathan Macklin however seems to go some way to easing her woes. But with a huge misunderstanding over money, the reader begins to wonder if Paige will manage to turn things around and finally get her man. If you enjoy a swift moving story line, filled with wit and banter, then Nothing Serious is worth taking a peek at.

 

Put the kettle on and grab this book.

                                    CLICK HERE to buy the book

Author Barbara Morgenroth

Hello Folks and welcome to our weekend with author, Barbara Morgenroth. Barbara will be here at the blog, today and tomorrow, with a two part interview and an exciting peek at her romantic comedy, Nothing Serious, as well as a book review and several excerpts. If you have any questions for Barbara, please place them in the comment box.  

Barbara was born in New York City and but now lives somewhere else.
Starting her career by writing tweens and YA books, she was actually aiming at the small screen. Television seemed like the perfect place for her even if she had no clue how to get there. Through a neighbor, Barbara wound up getting an introduction to a lower honcho at ABC and an audition to write for them. Her hopes were more than dashed, they were disintegrated, evaporated, demolished when ABC couldn't find a place for Barbara on General Hospital. (No Luke and Laura in her future!) To ease the crushing disappointment, Barbara wrote "In Real Life I'm Just Kate" (now titled "Just Kate") about a 17 year old girl who becomes a star on a soap opera. That became an open sesame moment and shortly thereafter Barbara became the last headwriter for NBC's daytime serial, The Doctors.

After television, some nonfiction and romantic comedies, Barbara has returned to her first love, YA, by and large for the most part, but will always give in to temptation if something flirts with her hard enough. She's that kind of girl.

If you would like to check out all of Barbara's books on Amazon, please CLICK HERE .

Hello Barbara. Thank you so much for agreeing to spend the weekend here at Honey Bee Reviews. Writing is such an interesting profession; Can you tell us when and why did you first become interested in writing?

I was always interested in writing, spending my time in high school chemistry writing bad poems like most people do.  I thought I was going to be a photojournalist so majored in photography in college but life does push you in unexpected directions.  I didn’t do the journalism and became an English major instead.  Writing was always something I knew I would do later, after all my life adventures had been experienced.  It happened much earlier than I planned.

What would you say is the best thing about being an author?

Not having a real job. 

Producing a book is much more than simply writing a story. I know that sometimes editing can be a very lengthy job. Can you talk us through your editing process, Barbara? Does a lot of your work get cut by your own hand, or are you quite precise in what you write and use in your final drafts?

I’ve always been pretty close in my first draft to what the final results are but I can get very finicky about the details. 

Well, as they say; the devil is in the detail J

I enjoyed meeting all the female characters in your book, Nothing Serious; how important do you think it is for female readers to identify with the heroines in your books?

I never considered it.  Is that strange?

Not at all, Barbara J. I have to admit to you; I did feel as though I connected with Paige, the heroine in Nothing Serious. I certainly felt her distress at the beginning of the story. I’m not sure I’d have the nerve to follow up on the actions she took though. She’s certainly a brave character and very adventurous J  

Speaking of Nothing Serious; the cover is very eye-catching. How much input do you have in the art work for your stories?

Since I was a photographer I did the photos for my first two novels published by Atheneum.  That was fun.  Now I design my own covers and sometimes purchase the artwork.  I enjoy that level of creativity, the ability to have complete control over the project.  Independent publishing is wonderful and the freedom allows artists to create things they wouldn’t in traditional publishing.

Sounds idealJ Can you tell us what future projects you are currently working on?

Bittersweet Farm 2—Joyful Spirit is in progress now.  Then I have promised all my fans that Bad Apple 4—Parked will be next.  Both are Mature YAs, a genre I love.

Which of your books would you say was the easiest/hardest to write?

A couple of my adult books took about five years.  In Under My Head and Almost Breathing underwent draft after draft, each pass getting more precise.  My vision of the story and characters changed as time went on.  I’m glad I took my time.  If I had a contract in traditional publishing, I would have been forced to publish before the books were really completed.  That’s what’s so great about independent publishing.  You set your own schedule and if you want to change things later, you upload a new version.  It’s the best time in the history of the world to be a writer.

And which of your books is your personal favourite?

I think the standard reply is “The one I’m working on”.  Each book has its own particular golden moments.  Like children, they are different and your love for them is different but just as passionate.  I love Jem in Almost Breathing for her spirit and determination.  I love Ariel in In Under My Head because she’s so much more sensible than I am.  I love Paige in Nothing Serious because she finds a way when one isn’t obvious.  I love Neal in Bad Apple because she’s able to put her past behind her.

Barbara, can you tell the readers which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why?

I think Paige from Nothing Serious would be a great dinner companion because she has a wonderfully unserious view of life.  She’s funny and bold, vivacious and impulsive but always kind.  I think you would laugh a lot with her at the table.

Yes. I have to agree with you there, Barbara J Paige is a very interesting character. I’m sure she would bring a great deal of fun to any dinner party.  

Tell us; what would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

I think I should have been a photographer or a horse trainer. 

Thanks for chatting today, Barbara. I look forward to part two of your interview tomorrow.

 

Blurb for Nothing Serious;

Declaring freedom from the Internet and the city, Paige heads for the Catskills. Opening a shop, Nothing Serious, Paige nearly nails her hand to the wall trying to hang her sign, avoids zoning board jail and falls for Jonathan Macklin, the antiques dealer next door. She spots a rare portrait at an auction, and borrows money from Jonathan to buy it. The windfall for the lost masterpiece is used to bail a local character out of jail. When Paige can’t pay Jonathan back, he thinks the worst. She has been treating life, her art and love as nothing serious for so long; can she change in time to be with Jonathan?

 

Enjoy a slice of Nothing Serious;

By the end of the day, Paige had sanded the peeling paint from the letters, primed them and painted them. Using a long piece of wood they had given her for free and she’d had to transport sticking out the passenger side window, she painted that and nailed the letters on.

Ladder. She needed a ladder.

Paige walked down the street and opened Jonathan’s door.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi. I need a favor.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a ladder?”

“Yes, a short one.”

“May I borrow it for ten minutes?”

Jonathan went into the back room and returned with the ladder.

“Thank you. I’ll bring it right back.” She walked out of the store with it and set it up in front of the shop. Holding the sign, she climbed up the ladder. She needed a drill. Back down the ladder.

Back down the street to open Jonathan’s door. “Sorry to bother you, do you have a power drill?”

“Yes.”

“Well, may I borrow it?”

“Yes. Do you need anything else?”

“Screws.”

He looked at her. “How long?”

She looked at him right back. “As long as you have.” Paige considered herself an extremely good judge of character and if she hadn’t already decided Jonathan Macklin was a rather conservative and unimaginative type, she would have thought there was some innuendo going on. But no, he was not the type. At all.

Too bad, too, really, she thought as he walked into the back of the store. He fit those jeans in a particularly appealing fashion. Most men wear their jeans too loose. They shouldn’t be skin tight to the point of splitting seams, but they should show the curves, if curves were there to be seen. And Jonathan did have praiseworthy architecture with very long legs that didn’t end in something ridiculous like loafers. Loafers and jeans. Nyet. Loafers went with khakis. Shorts were always to be worn with white socks or no socks, not brown dress socks. Weren’t these fashion rules written down somewhere?

Jonathan returned with the drill and she held out her hand for it but he didn’t turn it over. “What are you doing?”

“I’m putting out my shingle. My sign. My announcement to the world that I’m in business. I have become self-employable.”

“Paige, you can’t hold the sign and the drill at the same time.”

“Sure I can. Just watch me.”

Ten minutes later after nearly falling off the ladder, after nearly screwing her hand to the front of the building, she was holding the sign while Jonathan affixed it to the building.

“I owe you,” she said.

“Yes, I think you do.”

“You’re not supposed to say that. You’re supposed to say something like ‘Oh no, think nothing of it, glad to help.’”

“You’re going to write my dialog for me?”

“No, but what do you want? All you did was climb up a ladder.”

“I had the ladder. You didn’t. I had the drill. You didn’t. I had the screws.”

“And now you’re going to put them to me?”

“So nicely put, Ms. Elliot.” He carried the ladder back into the store.

Paige followed him. “Did I offend you? I didn’t mean to. I’m just not...I’m out of practice talking to people.”

“Were you a hermit in the city? Didn’t you have a job?”

“Yes. But it’s different holding an interpersonal conversation. I’m not good at it.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I say the wrong things.”

“Were you in a competition and when the international panel of judges scored you, their opinion was that you say the wrong things?”

“That could be how it happened.”

“Have dinner with me and after dessert, I’ll judge you.”

 

Snap up your copy of Nothing Serious HERE 

 

 

A Sinful Regency Christmas

One Wicked Christmas by Amanda McCabe

 London, 1806

Lady Cassandra Osborne is ready to take a new lover to her bed—and knows exactly the man she wants: Sir Ian Chandler, her late husband's rakish best friend. The single kiss they'd shared had made her feel alive again, awakening dark needs she didn't even know she had…though Ian had quickly pulled away. Cassie is sure he doesn't want her, until their reunion at a Christmas house party tempts them to succumb to the desire that has haunted them both.

 

 All well and good, except for the fact that Ian is referred to as David in the author’s introduction. I felt the story was spoiled even before I started to read. It was an error that I did feel should have been picked up before publication. Christmas featured quite a lot in this story, but as with the rest of the book, the tales could have taken place at any time of the year. The story based itself around misunderstandings and lack of communication; two people in love with one another, but neither of them willing to be the first to risk their friendship and admit to their true feelings.

Virgin Unwrapped by Christine Merril

 The thought of Robert Breton's touch fills Anne Clairemont with a delicious, scandalous heat—but her family's happiness depends on her going through with her planned marriage to his wealthy, cold business partner. Then Robert gives her a searing kiss beneath the mistletoe that changes everything. Soon he's showing Anne the intimate pleasures they could share, determined to fan the flame of their desire and convince her to call off her engagement. But can she disappoint her parents to be with Robert, or will she break her own heart first?

 

  Anne has chosen to become engaged to Mr Joseph Stratford, due to an unfortunate turn of events concerning her family. However, it is clear from the beginning that the reader is to feel she is the shy daughter of forceful parents, who have frogmarched her into this unfortunate situation.  It doesn’t quite match with the wanton woman who trots off to bed with her intended’s best friend, the night their engagement is announced. I didn’t like Anne, as she seemed rather deceitful and not at all the usual brand of heroine who would appear in this type of collection. For me, that made it difficult to enjoy the story.

An Illicit Indiscretion by Brownyn Scott

London, 1835.

 Dashiell Steen, heir to the Earl of Heathridge, is tired of boring dinner parties and matchmaking mamas. He craves one final adventure before he's forced to settle down and finds it with a vivacious beauty escaping from a manor window! Elisabeth Becket's intelligence and rebellious sprit excite both his mind and his body, stirring a mutual attraction that neither can resist. But will their illicit encounter last when she discovers Dashiell is the unwanted suitor she was trying to escape?

This was my favourite story from the collection. The author’s introduction was well written and her research seemed thorough. The story surrounding the couple was unique and enjoyable; focusing on the arrival of a once- in- a- life- time comet. Elisabeth is the type of heroine I love to read about. She is intelligent and sensual, yet she tries for the sake of her family’s reputation to stay in line as much as possible. However, for the sake of her own sanity, she allows herself to break free every once in a while.

A Rake For Christmas by Ann Lethbridge

England, 1813

 After years of struggling against her wicked desires, Lady Eugenie Hardwick is being driven wild by the sounds of unrestrained passion coming from her neighbor’s bedroom. The thought of Lord Richard Townsend, a notorious rake, sets her body quivering with need—even though she’s never yet seen his face. When they finally meet in person on Christmas Eve, it only takes one masterful kiss to unleash Eugenie’s inner temptress for a night of pleasure with the devilish lord. But Eugenie must ensure their holiday affair remains a secret so she doesn’t get ruined—again…

 

Eugenie is another spirited and admirable heroine. The reader discovers that she is a woman forced to live away from her family, after an earlier indiscretion brought shame upon them. Keeping to herself, she shies away from society, but not from the sensual, nocturnal, noises of her neighbour.

I liked this story for the fact that Lord Richard doesn’t immediately feel it necessary to offer marriage, just because he sleeps with Eugenie. She in turn, doesn’t expect it. Eugenie is a strong minded woman, ahead of her time, with a sensual Christmas story to accompany her.

Spellbound & Seduced by Marguerite Kaye

Scottish Highlands, 1822.

 Two hundred years ago, a witch cursed all the women in Jura Mcnair's family to be widowed on their first wedding anniversary, until a true and perfect love could break the spell. Jura has chosen a life of loneliness instead of risking the sorrow of losing a husband. Then fate brings handsome Lawrence Connaught to her cottage, and for the first time she realises the lure of temptation. She may never know love, but just once Jura is determined to experience a taste of forbidden desire.

To me, this story didn’t fit with the collection. To complete the collection in Scotland, with witches and suspicions was rather a strange addition.  There was something disjointed about its inclusion that made me feel as though it had been added as an after-thought.

On the whole, I did feel as though there was a very thin nod towards the festive season with the collection. I had purchased the book to get me in the festive spirit, but it didn’t really work for me at all.

Relaunch in January

Honey Bee Reviews will once more be opening it's doors in January 2013. If you would like to post here as part of your blog tour, or would like a review of your latest release, please go to the contact page. I look forward to hearing from you.