Book Tour: Moon Dance by Jillian Chantal Interview & Giveaway

BLURB:

Olga Quinn hopes her relocation to London to work on their space shuttle program is the life changing move she needs after the loss of her co-worker in a workplace explosion.  She meets Gabriel Swicord, a fireman turned celebrity radio personality and deejay. He lost his sight while rescuing a family in the line of duty and has immersed himself in music and work since then. For a few days, Olga and Gabe burn hot for each other and then things turn cold.

Someone is murdering women who patronize the club where Gabe spins records. It appears that he's the connection to the dead women and his name and face are plastered all over the news. Things are not looking good for Olga's peaceful new life and when the killers turn kidnappers, things really begin to heat up. 

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EXCERPT:

Another voice chimed in, "Am I interrupting?"

Gabe glanced toward the speaker as Mary said, "This guy is a big old meanie-head. Be warned. He'll play the song you want but he won't share a cocktail with you."

"That's perfectly fine with me." The second woman addressed Gabe. "Can I make a request?"

Mary huffed and Gabe could discern her spin on her heel and stalk away. "So, did you come over her to tell me what kind of person I am, finally?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

He pointed at her. "You. Last night. Spilled drink. Remember? You said I was acting a like a typical person like me. You never told me exactly what that was."

"How the hell did you know that I was the same person from last night?"

"Hey, I'm blind, not stupid." Gabe barked a laugh.

"Still, you have to admit, it's a little weird. You don't know what I look like, you've only heard my voice once and you pegged me for the woman you talked to for a few minutes one time. It's very impressive and I want to know how you do it."

"In one sentence you call me weird and in the next, you call me impressive. Which is it?"

"Weirdly impressive. So, how'd you do it? Really?"

Gabe could hear the smile in her voice. She actually seemed nicer tonight than she had the evening before. "It's a combination of voice and scent. I've learned to master putting the two together. I usually associate people with the way they smell and speak. With you, it's easier."

"Why's that?"

"Let's start with that Texas drawl."

"And go where from there? Since American and twang is a dead giveaway."

Gabe leaned out the window and rested his elbows on the ledge. "From there, we go to the combination of jasmine, sandalwood and grapefruit, which I believe is a mixture of your shampoo and the top-note of your perfume."

"Well, I've made a decision."

"And what's that?" Gabe grinned because he could tell from the tone of her voice that she was delighted with his answer.

"Between weird and impressive, my decision is impressive. Hands down."

"Thank you, ma'am." Gabe bowed his head. "But you came over her to make a request, didn't you?"

INTERVIEW:

1. Where did you get the idea for the novel?

This one came to me with the following two sentences: “It’s not rocket science.”  and “If it was, I could do it.”

I don’t plot much ahead in my stories and I thought these sentences would come early in the book about a female NASA scientist learning to dance. The funny thing about not being a plotter? It doesn’t always work out the way I think it will.  I started this story with little more in mind than the heroine would be a space scientist and the hero would be a wounded former fireman.

2. Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?

I came up with the title. I usually have a playlist for each novel I write and Van Morrison’s Moon Dance was on the list for this one. As I wrote, it became clear that the name was perfect since the heroine is a scientist working on the moon shuttle and the hero’s a dancer. So, basically, I stole it from a song. It has been the title since about a third of the way through the story.

3. Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?

This one had to be contemporary romance since part of the inspiration was the movement toward tourist travel to the moon. I love the romance genre in general since we always know it’s going to work out for our hero and heroine. My day job has me dealing with a lot of unhappy people so I love being able to write a happy ending.

4. Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

I have to say that each time I get an email from a reader who has connected with my characters or my story, I get a thrill. This is why I wanted to be published. To share my stories. When that happens and someone is touched or excited by my tales, it makes me want to dance.

5. What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?

I just finished Heather Graham’s The Night is Watching. I’m planning to pick up Lauren Willig’s latest next.

6. What is your writing process?

To begin a book, I listen to the radio and other music. I let my mind wander and I choose at least ten songs that speak to me at that moment even if they seem unrelated. I make a CD of the songs and then listen over and over as I work at the day job. My subconscious then takes over and, with those songs, I get the idea for what story would go with them.  For example: In the Moon Dance playlist, I had two songs that really impacted the book. One was Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones and the other was Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon.

That may sound weird since these two songs have zero in common but the Stones song made me decide to make the hero blinded in a fire- the lyrics about “No colors anymore” impacted the hero very much. As to the Werewolves song, it played three roles in the story. The hero is a celebrity deejay like Wolfman Jack; there is a gang in the story named the werewolves; and the story is set in London.

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 like to personalize it since the person is there and I can ask their name. Sometimes I use the book as inspiration on what to say such as in my book, Surfer Bride, I usually refer to the surf in some way- such as “Surf’s up” or “Ride the waves”- Or if the person tells me something interesting while chatting, I’ll add that. I once signed a book to a lady who’s son was there to get it for her and said, “To Annette, who has a wonderful son”-  I try to be flexible at signings and go with the flow.

8. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I’m a huge, huge fan of roller coasters. I could play on them all day. My favorite is the rockin’ roller coaster at Disney MGM. It’s got bright colors, rock music and full loops.

9. How do you react to a bad review?

I usually think I’m the worst writer in the world for about a day and a half and then I dust off and start again. Intellectually, I know we don’t all have the same taste and someone will hate my work. Emotionally, it takes me a day or so to put it behind me. On the other hand, a good review can keep me going for a week or two.

10. How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

I was in complete shock. I yelled and whooped and then called the gal who was my beta reader. She and I did a dance together on the phone and then I had to get back to reality and do some work at the day job since I was there when I got the “call.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jillian Chantal lives on the gulf coast of Florida. She’s an avid traveler and enjoys using her experiences in other places as the background and inspiration for her stories. Writing Romantic Adventures with an International Flair is her favorite type of story to focus on. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at:

http://www.JillianChantal.com

email: JillianChantal at gmail.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JillianChantal

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jillian.chantal

Author pages:

http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/brands/Jillian-Chantal.html

http://store.sweetcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=products_all&filter_author=124

http://www.bookstrand.com/jillian-chantal

GIVEAWAY:

Jillian will be awarding a free backlist e-book to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop, and a Grand Prize of a moon charm/crystal necklace 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/2013/07/virtual-book-tour-moon-dance-by-jillian.html