'She said, he said...' welcomes Grace Hood today!

Hi Grace, a great big welcome to 'she said, he said' comes your way. This is a great week for you since this Wednesday, 16 Nov. 2011, is the release of your latest book called Coming Undone. Let’s hit the Glayyva a little early and celebrate! (Well, I am Scottish even if I don’t like real Scotch whisky! Hubby cringes in the corner since Glayyva is just a whisky liqueur.)

Nosey or not I’d love to have a sneak peak at your cover, read a little snippet, and get to know you and your characters. Here's a bit about the author:

Grace Hood has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered and devoured her grandmother's stash of medical romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after. Grace writes full time, concentrating on sexy, steamy contemporary romance, hot paranormal romance, and spicy historical romance. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Grace now lives in Maine with her dear husband, two teenagers, three cats, one budgie, one surviving gold fish, and six hens. When she's not torturing her heroes and heroines, she can be found either in her kitchen whipping up something chocolate, or in her yard chasing the hens out of the garden.

Here's the nosey bit. I put a few questions to Grace and here's her answers!

Q: When you finish a work in progress do you manage to indulge yourself and take a bit of time off? If so, what pampering would you do?

A: I pamper myself by reading! When I’m writing/ revising/ editing I can’t read fiction because it messes up my thinking. So I review craft books instead. Also, when I’m working on a story, I feel like I’m slacking off if I read for fun. Once my WIP is done, I delve into my to-be-read pile and let my brain relax.

Q: How long have you been a published writer, Grace? How many books have you published so far?

A: My first book, Where There’s Heat, was released in 2010. I wrote for about five years before making that first sale. Coming Undone is my second published book with The Wild Rose Press. In between sales I’ve written two more books and hope to find homes for them soon.

Q: Say you’ve got time to indulge in reading for pleasure. Do you snatch a little reading throughout the day? Or do you like to cuddle up with a book before bedtime? Regardless of when, what’s on your ‘I want to read this one next’ list?

A: Given my druthers, I would spend all waking hours curled up on the sofa with a book, much as I did as a teenager. Real life doesn’t allow that, however, so I squeeze in reading time when I can during the day, and definitely a few minutes before bed. The next book in the queue to be read, once I finish these dratted edits, is The Naked King, by Sally MacKenzie.

My TBR pile has just increased when I see this fabulous new cover, Grace. Let’s find out about Coming Undone.

Q: What’s the genre/ subgenre of Coming Undone and where does it sit on the heat scale?

A: Coming Undone is a contemporary romance and falls at “spicy” on the heat scale. According to the publisher, that means “contains detailed love scenes”.

Q: Is this your favourite genre to write in? Have you other books published in this genre? Or do your other works fit elsewhere?

A: My other published book, Where There’s Heat, fits the spicy contemporary label as well. All my work is spicy in nature; it seems to be the way I write. My other completed novels are a romantic suspense and a Victorian set historical, so I’m not limiting myself to the straight contemporary. There are too many stories to tell!

Q: What are your heroine and hero called?

A: Lara Harris and Ryan Patterson

Q: Do the names for characters just pop into your head as soon as you start a book? Or do they evolve in some other way- perhaps favoured names of friends or acquaintances?

A: Names usually appear at the same time as the characters, at least the first names do. Then I might do a little research to find a last name that’s appropriate for the time and setting. For Coming Undone, I actually started with a different name for my hero, but one of my critique partners told me it was the same name as her brother-in-law’s dog, so I had to change it!

Q: Were there any triggers which led to the plotline for Coming Undone?

A: One of the e-publishers, can’t remember which one, put out a call for an older woman/younger man story. That sounded like a fine idea to me, being an ever so slightly older woman myself. I didn’t make the deadline for that publisher, though, so I kept revising and eventually submitted to TWRP.

Q: Are you biased towards any particular character in Coming Undone because of personality traits you’ve given him/her? Or do you have no real favourites?

A: In most of my books I prefer my heroes, partly because they’re gorgeous and sexy and know how to treat a woman, but also because they have some growing to do. In this book, however, I developed a real soft spot for Lara, my heroine. To the outside world she was a feisty broad, but on the inside she had some real self-esteem issues to work through.

Q: What about settings? Do you tend to write about places you’ve been to…or just ones you would like to visit?

A: Both of my published books take place in settings I’m familiar with. It’s much easier to get the mood of the place if I can go there. My romantic suspense travels to France, and I’m thinking a research trip may be required *wink*.

How about sharing your Blurb and a little snippet, Grace? I’d love to!

Blurb:

Career-minded Lara doesn't find forty all that fabulous. Her carefully plotted path to success is on target and she isn't about to let romance derail her. Except the hot, new advertising whiz steers her libido into overdrive.

Ryan lives to shake companies up and do whatever it takes to meet his goals. But the saucy affirmation-chanting minx challenging him awakens a more carnal desire.

A battle of wills may be what she wants, but he intends to push her boundaries until her inhibitions come undone.

Snippet:

Lara went up to the bar to get her own drink and was standing in line when the music started. The DJ working his turntables had gone way back in time, playing some of the disco hits from Lara's high school days. Her hips swayed and her shoulders shimmied without her even trying.

A quick glance at the men standing near her made her rethink lowering her standards. There wasn’t a low enough grade for the crowd that had gathered this early. But the night was young, she wouldn't give up.

She was here to have fun, loosen up and forget the office. And she didn't need a man to do any of those things.

I am developing the happiness habit. I am happy being—

Two large, warm, decidedly masculine hands rested on her waist. Lara whirled around, ready to tell the jerk to back off. And found herself staring into Ryan's deep brown eyes.

"Hi Lara, nice to see you again. Seems we keep missing each other at the office," he said, leaving his hands on her waist and leaning close to be heard above the thumping music.

Lara was momentarily speechless. The attractive man from the office had become an incredibly hot cutie. "Ryan, uh—hi. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for fun, like everyone else. Can I get you a drink?"

"Oh, thanks, the bartender seems to be awfully busy. I'm here with some friends." She let her gaze drift over his body, admiring the way his t-shirt molded to his muscular chest and flat stomach.

"What will you have?" he asked, brushing her ear with his lips.

She shivered in response and caught herself from reaching for him.

You.

Mmm…hmmm! Well Grace, I think I your readers are going to want a bit of Ryan, too!

Thank you very much for being my guest today on ‘she said, he said’. Good luck and here’s wishing you success in selling loads of Coming Undone!

I was very happy to drop in for a visit, Nancy. Now, let’s have another cuppa and one of those tasty scones. Oh, and I’ll award a free download of Coming Undone to one lucky commenter.