Book Tour: Give Me Forever by Celeste Carrara Interview & Giveaway

BLURB: 

Serena, a twenty five year old newly turned vampire longs for a normal life. Daughter to the king of the Northeastern faction of vampires her life is anything but normal. Her actions are ruled by her duty to her people and her father's demands. Serena's father Sebastian is impossible to please no matter how hard Serena tries. Loyalty and fear keep her trapped in her life.

While tending to business for her father Serena meets Nick, a handsome young realtor whom she finds herself attracted to regardless of the fact that he is human. Even though she knows better she can't seem to stop herself from falling into his arms, and his bed. Nick gives her a glimpse into the normal life she wishes for but how long can she ignore their differences?

When humans start showing up drained of their blood with obvious vampire bites on their bodies Sebastian takes it as a direct challenge to his authority. Someone is gathering his enemies with intentions of stripping him of his title. The only two he can trust to aid him is his daughter Serena, and his assassin Alex. Little did he know that once the two meet all their lives would change forever. No one can change the course of fate. When destiny calls they try to fight it but neither Serena nor Alex can deny the pull of their souls yearning to be joined.

*Adult Material* 

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EXCERPT:

With apprehension I answered, “Serena. My name is Serena, and no I don’t believe we’ve met before.” Unsure of what his reaction would be, I waited for his reply.

A look of realization flickered across his features. “I’m honored to meet you Serena.” He took my hand in his and kissed it gently. “I had no idea Sebastian’s daughter would be so exquisite.”

I remained silent, not knowing what to do. The knowledge of who I was would either make him want to get closer or run far away from me. Either way most men treaded very carefully around me and I knew my father was the reason.

“What brings you to a place like this, Serena? I wouldn’t imagine your father approving.” He spoke with a sexy grin that made me wish he would make a move on me.

“It’s my birthday! Besides, I’m actually here often. I’ve never seen you here before. Where you been hiding?” I asked with a flirtatious smile.

“I’ve been out of town for awhile and got back recently. Looks like I have perfect timing. Please tell me you’re here alone and that I’m just catching you after a feeding instead of a celebratory screw.”

Instinctively I moved closer to him, my eyes never leaving his. “I’m here painfully alone.” Our attraction hummed in the air as we stood locked in a heated stare.

Casually, Gage extended his hand out to move a strand of hair away from my face. “No one should be alone on their birthday.”

INTERVIEW:

1.            Where did you get the idea for the novel? This is going to sound so cliché, but it came to me in a dream. My characters appeared to me and showed me the world they live in. It was only a short dream, but once I sat to write about it, the story unfolded. The more I wrote, the more ideas would pop into my head. The story consumed me and I couldn’t stop writing. My characters were in my head guiding me along the way.

2.            Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title? Titles are always tough for me, but that wasn’t the case for Give Me Forever. I didn’t have the title until I was almost done with the book. I just never gave it a thought until then.  As I reread what I had written, the title was clear. It had to be Give Me Forever. It was what fate wanted from Serena and Alex, it was what Serena wanted from Alex, what Alex wanted from her, but was also what Nick wanted from Serena…Forever

3.            Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it? I have always been fascinated by all things paranormal. I love to read paranormal romances so it was a no brainer for me to write a paranormal romance. I just had no idea it would be so erotic! What can I say? I like to write steamy sex scenes! Would it be shallow of me to say that I love the genre I write because of the sexy vampires?

4.            Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you? The most exciting thing to ever happen to me so far has been the compliments and praise I received from someone whom I respect in the industry very much. When this person told me I was great at what I do, it validated me choosing to take this huge chance in putting my work out there.

5.            What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read? Currently I am not reading anything because I’m trying to stay focused on the novel I am writing. It’s the 5^th book in my Paranormal City series titled, Give Me Your Love. The last book I read was Lover At Last by J R Ward. I am a huge fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

6.            What is your writing process? It’s such a crazy process! I hand write everything. I have ideas, scenes, and dialog that comes to me in the craziest moments, like when I’m driving in my car, or waiting in the pick up line to get my kids from school. This leads to tons of scrap paper with all my thoughts scribbled on them. I have also been known to write on my iPhone scenes as they come to me when I’m at the grocery store! I gather all my scraps of notes, legal pads filled with my ideas, and then sit at my desk and try to make sense of it all.

7.            At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say? I have never done a book signing! My books are all currently ebooks. I did just discover a way for me to do signings on an ebook though so I’m looking into that option. I do plan on having printed copies of my books available soon. When I do have to sign one, I hope I come up with something clever and original to say!

8.            What is something people would be surprised to know about you? I don’t think I’ve ever said this publicly, but I am a huge fan of Disney. I am obsessed with Disney World and visit every year. To my family and friends, I’m the “Disney mom” and when they found out I wrote an erotic book, some people were really shocked!

9.            How do you react to a bad review? I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I don’t take it too well. I try really hard to ignore all reviews, good or bad, but that has been impossible. When I get a bad review, after I get over the hurt, I analyze what the reviewer wrote. I look for anything written that I can learn from. For example, most of the bad reviews I ‘ve received were because when Give Me Forever was first released, it wasn’t professionally edited. I know, big mistake, but when the bad reviews came in, I listened and had all my books professionally edited. I know not everyone is going to like my book. I can accept that, but it still bothers me sometimes.

10.        How did you celebrate the sale of your first book? My husband and I did a happy dance. I’m serious. The fact that a stranger spent their hard earned money on an unknown, self published author like me was mind boggling. It was a lot of hard work to put out Give Me Forever and it was a great sense of accomplishment when I had my first sale. Every single time I have a sale, I do the happy dance, in my head though, not around the house like the first time!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Celeste Carrara is a self-published author of the erotic paranormal romance series Paranormal City. A stay at home wife and mother, Celeste never dreamed she would be so fortunate to be a full-time writer. She resides in New York City with her husband of over fifteen years and their two children. All of Carrara's books are based in her hometown, her favorite city Manhattan.

As a child she loved reading and used her writing of poetry as a way to escape her troubled childhood. Life got in the way, and her reading took a back seat to raising her kids. After her children became self-sufficient, and she had more time on her hands, her sister told her about a "hot new paranormal romance" she had to read. Celeste jumped in and returned to her love of reading. Always fascinated by all things paranormal, and a lover of romance, Celeste devoured every paranormal romance she could find. She has always liked her books with some spice so it came as no surprise she found erotic romance.

All this reading sparked the writer within. An idea for a story came to her one day and she decided to put it on paper. Soon, the ideas were flowing and she couldn't stop writing. With encouragement from her husband, and best friend, Celeste completed her first novel, Give Me Forever, and hasn't looked back. Currently she is working on more books of the Paranormal City series as well as stand-alone erotic romances.

Website: www.celestecarrara.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/celestecarrara

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Celeste-Carrara/140567152736785

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Give-Forever-Paranormal-City-ebook/dp/B0081SO0FE/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336599648&sr=1-2

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/give-me-forever-celeste-carrara/1110690801?ean=2940014404808

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Give-Me-Forever/book-W6xzts5bZ0GXbU4Cvonh2g/page1.html?s=rZzaaTcon0C0g9BJm5A11w&r=1

AllRomanceEbooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-givemeforever-988906-139.html

GIVEAWAY:

Celeste will be awarding a $25 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/virtual-book-tour-give-me-forever-by.html