Today, I am happy to have one of my fellow Brava authors, the very talented Beth Williamson, as my interview victim.  🙂  Welcome, Beth!

Beth’s newest release (and her first Brava) hit store shelves yesterday. Yep, yesterday!  You don’t get much newer than that.  THE EDUCATION OF MADELINE is a sexy western romance that I can’t wait to get in my greedy hands.

1.    Hi, Beth! Please tell us a bit about yourself and the genre (or genres) that you write.

Let’s see, I am a forty-something mother of two teenage boys, married almost 19 years. I live in North Carolina (which is a beautiful place to be) and nearly all my life I’ve been a writer. My imagination would control me and I found myself living fantasies out in my head all the time. Until I put pen to paper, my mind would wander off in a hundred different directions. LOL.

I write mostly in the western historical genre, very hot and spicy but not quite erotic. However I do write some contemporary erotica as well so there’s a bit of a dark side of my writing. 😉

2.    Describe your current release in 15 words or less.

My first Kensington Brava release, The Education of Madeline, hits stores February 24.

3.   Okay, now use as many words as you’d like to describe your story.

Madeline’s story is one that is near and dear to my heart. She’s a rich, independent woman in 1870s Colorado who constantly fights prejudice in the small town she lives in. When she decides to do something for her, namely find a man to teach her the fine art of sex, Madeline finds Teague and the course of her life changes. Teague is a bit of a tortured hero, a war veteran who has lost everything including hope. Yet somehow the two of them find together they are whole again.

4.    Which character do you like better from THE EDUCATION OF MADELINE—the hero or the heroine?  Why?

Oooh, tough question. I’d have to say it’s the heroine. Madeline is feisty, a real pisser in another author’s words, who doesn’t take shit from anyone. She’s smart, funny and outspoken. Kind of who I’d like to be.

5.    What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

Finding the time to write. LOL. I have  a full-time job and writing becomes a challenge because it’s done in the early morning, evening or weekends. When I’m on a deadline I’ll even sneak in lunch time writing breaks. It can really mess with the flow of the story because I have to stop writing.

6.    In a fight, who would win…Dracula or the wolf-man?  What? This question seems odd? Please, folks are dying to know this answer.

Hm, my first thought was Dracula because he could fly away. But the wolf-man could kick his ass six-ways to Sunday first. So I’m gonna go with wolfie. 

7.    What’s your favorite scary movie?  Come on, spill.  No explanations—just name it.  Let everyone else guess why.

The Shining.

8.    Tell me the one thing you wish you’d known about being a writer, um, before you became  a writer.

That my characters could take over my brain. Seriously. They can argue, whisper, seduce and have full-on battles in my head. They make me write their story. What can I say? I am a character ho’.

9.    What is your writing schedule like?

Um, whenever I can write. 😀 Well I even carry around an MP3 with a recording feature so I can write while I drive, or rather dictate to myself as I drive. Later on I transcribe it and it keeps the story going. One day, as if no one has heard this a million times, I want to quit my full-time job and write full-time.

10.    Tell me anything you’d like to tell me.

I grew up being painfully shy and introverted. It wasn’t until I started writing for real in my late twenties that I finally started to come out of my shell. Of course now you’d never know I am still shy deep down inside, where the little Beth still lives. She pokes her head out now and then to see what’s going on, then climbs back in.

Thanks for answering my interview questions! And congratulations on your new release!

With the release date inching closer, I’m now starting to get more reviews for IMMORTAL DANGER.

“I found this book to be excellently written and once I started reading, I couldn’t stop…This is definitely a recommended read for everyone! I enjoyed this story and know I will be on the lookout for more Cynthia Eden books!”–Kim N of Manic Readers, 4.5 Stars

“It’s hard to stand out in the vampire genre, but Eden makes the cut. Maya and Adam are great characters, and they’re terrific together. The suspense is pulse-pounding, the sex hot and Maya’s fighting tactics are wickedly clever. There’s an abundance of paranormal creatures, but each type comes with its own characteristics, the better to keep things interesting.”–Joyce Morgan, Romantic Times, 4 Stars

Thank you, Kim and Joyce!

Yesterday, I passed the 100 page mark in my WIP.  It’s a romantic suspense story, and I’m now at the “in deep” segment of the story.  Let’s see if I can do another 100 pages this week.  🙂 I’ve upped my daily writing goals. With this book, I’ve been aiming for 15 pages a day. I got a bit slowed down yesterday, though (but I did make my goal). when I stopped to lookup some firefighter jargon.  I’m all about slang and special firefighter speak.

Don’t forget–my next contest kicks off on Thursday. I’m going to update my website some today and put the finishing touches on my contest preps.  And tomorrow—I’ll have another author interview up for your viewing fun.

Have a great day!

It’s a good week for books. Ah, yes, it is.

The second installment in Larissa Ione‘s FABULOUS Demonica series hits store shelves tomorrow…

DESIRE UNCHAINED releases tomorrow and I can’t wait for this one!  I anticipate I’ll be doing my Books-a-Million stalking routine as I try to snatch up this one.  I was completely blown away by the first book in this series (PLEASURE UNBOUND). It was one of those books that kept me up until 2 a.m., even though I knew my son would have me up at 6. Couldn’t help it–I had to keep reading because that book was awesome!

Here’s the blurb for DESIRE UNCHAINED:

Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.

***

And today must be paranormal Monday for me because the next story I want to talk about is Calista Fox’s DEVIL’S KITCHEN. (Love that title, Calista!)

Have you read Calista’s work?  She is a great author. I fell in love with her contemporaries, but now, yep, I’m hooked on her paranromals, too.

Here’s the blurb:

Heiress Kristina thinks she’s about to suffer a fate worse than death when her father attempts to marry her off to her childhood nemesis. But Kristina knows nothing of the real troubles that await her.

Using every seductive means of persuasion, she hopes to convince her sexy bodyguard and secret lover, Roman, to rescue her. Roman will do everything to keep Kristina out of another man’s arms — and bed. But his past has finally caught up with him, putting Kristina’s life in grave danger.

In order to save her, Roman must reveal his dark nature to Kristina. And risk losing her heart in the process.

***

I do love paranormals.  🙂  And for those of you curious about my next big contest–it launches on Thursday!  Prizes, fun, vampires…what more do we need?  So check back Thursday for all the not-so-gory contest details.

If you’ve got a book you want to recommend today–or if you’re an author and want to blurb one of your own–go right ahead!

I want to congratulate all of the PEARL Award winners and finalists.  I was very excited to learn last night that HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT won an honorable mention in the shapeshifter category–wow!  Talk about being an excited woman.  🙂    Thank you to everyone who voted–I really appreciate all of the support my stories are getting. Thank you!

And please, stay tuned to the blog–I’ll soon be launching a big contest in conjunction with the upcoming (just over a month away!) release of IMMORTAL DANGER.  So watch this blog!

I took my son to his first Mardi Gras parade on Tuesday night.  Mobile’s awesome because they have this nice, alcohol free zone for families, so we parked, went to the safe zone, and got ready for some fun.

And it was fun. We scored so many necklaces, stuffed animals, um, peanuts…

Yes, all was fine and dandy until–

Wham.

One of the ladies on the float tried to throw a necklace to my son.  Um, it hit him. (If you’ve been to Mardi Gras, you know the odds of getting hit by a flying object are very, very high.)  “Mama, she hitted me!  Give that lady a timeout!”  Lucky for me, this was at the end of the parade, the very last float.  We were able to sneak away before my son’s feelings got too hurt.

Sorry for the picture quality. My (ack!) camera is broken and I had to use the hubby’s I-Phone–not good for moving shots.

And how was your week? Did you get hit in the head by a necklace? (Cuz it happened to me, too. Sigh.) Or do you just maybe feel like you got hit?  🙂