BLURB:
After seven
failed seasons, Valerie Hempstead decides to take her fate into her own hands,
and a tour of the continent is just the thing. Accompanied by a female cousin,
and the girl’s childhood companions--all of whom live fast and for the moment,
Valerie is about to discover more about life than she anticipated.
Travis Elijah
Colin Wade, the son of no one in particular, has just been handed a vast amount
of money and a large country estate and, of all things, a bloody title.
However, he's not at all pleased about leaving his care-free bachelor days
behind. Determined to spend some of his money and relax before assuming his
duties for Queen and country, Travis goes abroad. Little does he know that he
is about to be utterly swept away by the seduction of innocent surrender.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Come here, my sweet kitten.
Let me hear you purr.” He moved closer, now loosely holding her masked face
between his hands.
Praying to God that he would
be dissuaded from whatever it was he was about to do to her, Valerie swallowed
and half-succeeded in twisting away from him again, but his hands wouldn’t
permit a complete rotation. “You mistake me, sir. I am here with some friends.
I had no idea what this party was about,” she said, her voice higher than
normal and her pounding heart nearly audible. Much to her embarrassment, he
seemed to snuggle his body even closer to hers and her head turned back to him
of its own volition.
“So, you’ve never attended a
Shadow Party before?” he whispered.
Valerie shook her head
almost imperceptibly as his face inched nearer to hers.
Her senses heightened,
whether by the champagne or the heady sensation the man’s proximity was
causing, she didn’t know. Nevertheless, he did smell wonderfully masculine. His
gentle touch had been quite foreign to her, and yet she welcomed it; hand to
elbow, finger to chin, palm to cheek, body to body, whatever the combination,
it was wonderful.
And very dangerous.
“I’m on holiday,” she
whispered, the tone of her voice rose, hoping she didn’t sound too flustered.
“Are you?” Without letting
her answer, he continued speaking softly. “I’ve stolen away to the Continent
for a holiday as well.”
“I—I’ve never been abroad
before,” she said in a shaky voice trying to continue with the new direction of
the conversation.
“No?” was his response, his
face perilously close.
Valerie took a breath. It
wasn’t working. He was still inching towards her.
“Nor have I been kissed
be—,” her whisper was cut off when his lips touched hers.
Her first kiss was nothing
like she’d expected. He was gentle with her. His mouth softly brushed hers—like
warm champagne-scented feathers. Her lips pursed, pliant against his and he
pressed in to meld with her. With her mouth occupied, she inhaled through her
nose. God, he did smell good; a manly cologne, clean and leather, cedar and
soap, faintly done, not in the way the French used perfume. Valerie sighed, she
didn’t mean to, but it was too late to call it back.
“Are you enjoying our kiss?”
he murmured against her lips.
“Yes.” She sighed the word.
INTERVIEW:
- Where did you get the idea
for the novel?
Valerie Hempstead, the
heroine in The Art of Temptation, was originally a secondary character
in my paranormal/angel/demon/historical romance novel, Remember Me. She
was told (by the heroine of RM) that her tealeaves revealed a journey in her
future. I was positive that there was an interesting story about to happen, and
I could not possibly let Valerie go with out us to follow along!
-
Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?
The Art of Temptation was this book’s first
title. My close friends and beta readers really loved it, so it stuck.
- Why did you pick this
genre? What do you like about it?
I love history - couple
that with a romance novel and sign me up! But be warned, my heroines aren’t the
type to sit around and sew while the world passes them by. They are smart, they
get their hands dirty, they step out of boundaries set by society when they see
no other alternative. They are stubborn, headstrong and sometimes try so hard
to use their head instead of their heart (or the other way around) they miss
the big picture. Ugh! I think I just described myself. LOL I mean, can you
relate to a lump of fluff on a settee who follows every rule set down? I can’t.
- Since becoming a writer,
what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
I’ve met some of the most
wonderful people associated with our industry. I have a deep love of history
and have learned even more since I became serious about writing, and an utter
fascination about England. My erotic romance publishers, Total-E-Bound, out of
the UK, invited me to spend a holiday with them in and around Lincoln last
summer. I also spent a day with some friends who live in London, and visited
York as well. I’m sure I looked like a fool every time I wept with joy over
silly things such as seeing a castle for the very first time or walking through
Hyde Park and sitting in Rules Restaurant…all things I’ve written about but
never had the opportunity to see in person. Even every day things thrilled me
like drinking a cup of tea…in England…while it was raining! I know, I sound
like such a nerd.
- What book are you currently
reading or what was the last book you read?
I am reading Dance of
Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries :)
- What is your writing
process?
What is a writing process?
KIDDING!! Really, I’m all over the place. Sometimes, such a unique character or
conflict will pop into my head and I just HAVE to write about them/it. Once in
a while an entire plot presents itself, and other times just a single situation
demands I create a story about it. So my process just depends upon what’s going
on in my head at the time.
- At a book signing, do you
just sign your name or do you write a note?
I’ve done both, but more
often than not I write a little something else.
- How do you come up with stuff to say?
We’ll have a little
chat about the convention or whatnot…so a greeting or reminder of what we
talked about just comes out naturally.
- What is something people
would be surprised to know about you?
That I’m NOT living an
exciting life in Los Angeles - LOL. Really, I don’t do anything anyone else
hasn’t done, so I don’t find myself all that alluring, mysterious or different.
- How do you
react to a bad review?
I’m sure I’ll
eventually get to the point where I no longer read bad reviews, but for now,
the mantra is, ‘consider the source.’ Do they take into consideration that my
book is a fictional tale? Do they even like the genre? Have they themselves
authored a story, signed a contract with a publisher, gone through the grueling
editing process and put their work up for others to criticize? What are their
average review ratings and do they admit to skimming through books? If they do,
and rant about a plot hole or character flaw, did they miss a vital scene or
conversation between characters because they skim, because they were distracted
or just have low comprehension scores or spotty attention spans? If it didn’t
work for them, it didn’t work. But why be cruel? Karma’s bite has a bitter,
enduring sting, my friends - and she WILL find you.
- How did you
celebrate the sale of your first book?
I popped open a bottle of champagne - which is
now the tradition every time I sign a contract.
Thank
you so much for having on your blog today!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and reared in Southern
California, Genella deGrey longed to be your typical blonde, tanned, surfer
girl but failed miserably. Unable to sit idle without falling asleep, she
embarked upon several artistic endeavors. Makeup and set dressing for the
entertainment industry, Resort Enhancement for The Walt Disney Company and
writing sexy historical romance top the list of her favorite activities.
Genella has a keen interest
in the spirit world. She loves wandering around in graveyards, traveling to
battle fields and other haunted destinations, the older the better. New Orleans
is one of her favorite places to encounter the supernatural, as is Tombstone,
AZ.
Links:
Twitter: @GenelladeGrey
FB: Genella deGrey Books
The Art of Temptation Amazon
buy link:
GIVEAWAY:
Genella will be awarding a large goodie grab bag comprised of
'author swag' gathered from the Romance Novel Convention in August 2013 to
three randomly drawn commenters during the tour.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
The tour dates can be found here:
