I’m so happy
that Layne graciously offered to host me today!
This whole “publishing a book” business is brand new to me and I am
learning so much. There is a lot more involved in getting your book published
than I ever imagined and at times it has been a bit overwhelming. However,
persistence is something an author knows well.
I’ve realized that I can’t do it all at once and that this process
really is a marathon and not a sprint.
I have been so
lucky to work with Liquid Silver Publishing on my first book, Seduction in Sierra Leone. This is the
first in a three book series. Books two and three are both close to complete.
The main
characters of Seduction in Sierra Leone came to me on a random night in
September when I was plagued with insomnia (as I often am). Aislinn, (pronounced Ashling) and Brandt came to me already almost fully formed. All I
had to do was write their story.
The writing
process was so much fun. I don’t know how others write but, for me, I simply
write what the characters tell me to. The story unfolds in bits and pieces and
often not in chronological order. So for about six months I bounced around the
book. It was not uncommon for me to sit and write a few pages in chapter three
and then jump forward to chapter twelve to write a few pages.
Even more fun
was the discovery of other characters. Two characters appeared at different
times and very quickly they let me know that they had their own stories and their
stories had to be told as well.
Each of the
female lead characters has some part of my own personality. You will find that all
of them mention Dean Winchester at one point or another (Can we say hottie?)
and that they all are a bit stubborn.
Beyond that I will let you guess what other characteristics they share
with me.
It’s been an
incredible experience becoming a published author and I am looking forward to
wherever this new road takes me. I hope you fall in love with my characters
like I did!
Blurb
In the mangroves of
Sierra Leone, two strangers raised a world apart find themselves inextricably
connected. Seduction in Sierra Leone, the first in a series of three novels, is a
fast-paced tale of murder, lust, and love that transports the reader to a
foreign and mysterious world of danger.
Aislinn Salameh, an
American relief worker, is searching for purpose in her self- imposed lonely
world. The stranger who enters her village on a blistering hot day looks more
animal than man. She knows she should stay far away but can’t stop herself from
being drawn to the mysterious man.
Brandt Fairlane is a
man haunted by the sins of his past. Detached from others, Brandt has spent his
life alone. His line of work is too dangerous for the luxuries of love and
family.
When Brandt sees
Aislinn and her haunting eyes, he knows he must possess her. But when Brandt’s
past comes back from the dead and Aislinn is caught in the crossfire, it is up
to him to keep her safe. In order to survive, they must learn to rely on one
another. As they run for their lives, the heat between them becomes undeniable.
Now, Brandt must not only protect Aislinn from a madman committed to stealing
her away but he also must protect her from himself. Because if Brandt steals
her body and her heart, he’ll never let her go.
Excerpt
from Seduction in Sierra Leone
The Men of FTI, Book
One
Olivia Night
As he got closer to her, he
realized there was something different about her eyes. He was a few feet away
when he realized what it was. With the realization all oxygen left his body in
a rush. It felt as if he had been punched in the gut. His heart stuttered. Shit,
it did something weird at the sight of her. The woman’s eyes were...? He
couldn’t think of word that would fit. And then it struck him. They were
haunting, the color of a cucumber slice. Not the skin of the cucumber but
inside. A pale, shivering light green. Her eyes widened as she realized he was
looking at her. He could see, even from the distance, a small blush creeping up
her cheeks at being caught staring. She was beautiful. All smooth pale skin and
green eyes. He felt his dick jump. He almost looked down. It had been a long
time since he had thought about his dick. And it was another man’s woman who
was making him all too aware of it.
He felt heat course through him.
Her tiny body had been placed purposefully behind the taller man. But Brandt
could still make out her smooth legs and accommodating hips, accommodating as
in she could spread those lush legs and accommodate his body between them. She
was no doubt the man’s girlfriend, and here Brandt was thinking things that
only a boyfriend should be allowed to think. Shocked at his own thoughts, he
attempted to look away, but in the end, it was like pulling strips of Velcro
away from each other. He wanted to close the distance between them, place his
hands on the other man’s neck, twist, feel the snap, and watch the man drop to
the ground. Then he would curl his fingers around the women’s neck, bring her
to him, and angle her head so that he could kiss her. He shook his head like a
man in a proverbial cartoon trying to expel the foreign thoughts and images.
Envious. He was feeling envious of a man he didn’t know and a woman he had
barely glimpsed. It was wholly inappropriate. He’d kill another man for
thinking of his woman that way. Well, if he had a woman. Like the one he was
staring at.
Fuck, he had to get a grip. For
Christ’s sake, he was mooning over her like a teenage boy. Giving himself a
mental ass-kicking, he averted his eyes and greeted Brima. He began to walk up
the path to Brima’s home. But, as he walked, a magical sound floated over to
his ears. She was laughing. His skin tingled at the musical note. His body tightened. Fury rose inside of
him, a feeling he wasn’t expecting, a feeling that surprised him. She was
laughing at the man who had been standing in front of her. Hatred for the
unknown man charged through him like a herd of wild horses. Was he screwing
her? His stance had been clear; it had said mine. Brandt wanted to eliminate
the man, the threat. Bile rose at the idea of her lying beneath that man.
Brandt realized he wasn’t envious. He was jealous. He had never been jealous.
It was a useless emotion, and it got people killed in his line of work. If you
wanted what someone else had, you simply took it. Jealousy could slow a man
down. But he was. He was jealous. It screamed inside of him to move quickly, to
take her from the man who was really just a baby. To make her his. To tie her
to him in every way possible until she admitted that she was his. He wanted to
mark her as his, use his teeth to mark her neck, her breasts, her stomach, the
insides of her thighs. His. Fuck.
He had to stay far away from
this woman. No woman needed a man like him. No woman deserved a man like him,
one who would want to own her. He wasn’t one for laughter and cuddling. Puppy
shit. Women wanted puppy shit. This woman, whoever she was, deserved more than
Brandt could ever give. Brandt had to stay the fuck away from her. Because he
didn’t give up what he made his.
Olivia Night, a fictional character herself, has always been an avid read and writer. She found the romance genre in college and has never been able to get enough. One sleepless night, the main characters of Book One in her Seduction series sprang from her head fully formed. They demanded she tell their story; so she did. As they revealed themselves, so did two other intriguing characters. Those characters convinced her to give them their own books because their stories were worth telling too. And so Olivia suddenly became a romance author. When Olivia is not writing, she has the best job in the world, which, too, will remain a secret. In her free time, she reads, write, runs, or is, most likely, out emulating Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Olivia lives in one of the most diverse and vibrant cities in the U.S.—Baltimore. She lives with her cat, which she is convinced was a gladiator in his past life. Olivia plans to continue being awesome at this thing called life. Really, that’s her only goal.
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