Thursday, June 21, 2012

Interview with Ann Montclair, author of One Wet Summer and Giveaway!


Maura Fields loves her uncomplicated, independent, single life, but things quickly change when a summer vacation opens the door to an unexpected world of passion and desire. Wealthy Savannah hotelier Ben Driscoll had his playboy lifestyle upended when his ex-wife died, entrusting him to care for their daughter—a child he sequesters and vows to protect from future heartache and disappointment. Can the wall Ben has built around his heart withstand the assault from the intriguing, beguiling Maura, or will it crumble, leaving him vulnerable to the undeniable attraction and unbridled need to make her his own?




EXCERPT :

“I haven’t seen you at my pool before. New here?” he asked, stretching his legs out in front of him in an easy manner. As he splayed his fingers on his thighs, she immediately registered he wore no wedding band. Score! Maura felt her shoulders completely slacken as she leaned back in the lounge chair, matching his facile pose.

“Yes, I am new here. I checked in just an hour ago. I only have two weeks to work on my tan, so I decided to get started immediately. I hope you don’t mind me using your pool.” Maura smiled up into his inquisitive blue eyes. His grin made her heart somersault.

“That’s what it’s here for, though we rarely get visitors as beautiful as you. The pool tends to attract cell-phone using, high society types and their squawking, ill-behaved children. Single ladies like to populate the tennis courts during the morning and the hotel bar at night. If they’re at the pool, they form clusters, probably to protect each other from the sun. Most don’t like a healthy dose of real sun to mar their spray-on tans,” he chuckled.

Maura perused the pool’s occupants and had to agree with his assessment of the scene. “I love the summer sun and the more heat, the better…for swimmers,” she added, not wanting to infer anything overtly sexual though she was feeling his heat and she imagined he felt hers, too.





Let's get to know Ann Montclair:


Ann tell us a little about yourself.

I’m publishing my second contemporary romance novel One Wet Summer after a good stretch of wife, mom, and English professor.  Writing may be my second career, but it owns me heart and soul. I live in upstate New York where I spend scads of time outdoors on a trail or in the garden.  I keep books with me at all times, and the Kindle App on my iPhone gets heavy use.

  
Do you prefer 

Milk chocolate or Dark? Dark and if it’s dripped or chunked into ice cream, I’m in heaven.

Coffee or tea? Coffee, cream and sugar, please.

Vodka or tequila? Tequila, 100% Blue Agave Reposado or Anejo, but I don’t like Silver.

Romance or a Thriller? Romance, though romantic thriller is tops. Think Sandra Brown’s Chill Factor.

Mystery or Horror? Mystery. 
Did you always want to be an author? Yes, I wanted to write novels and live in a little cabin in the woods.  Check and check.



What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? 
Stephen Crane, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Georgette Heyer, Johanna Lindsey.  Who doesn’t belong in that list?  I gravitated toward Crane because he offered me insight into my grandfather’s stint in WWII—a subject he refused to broach.  I admired Woodiwiss, Heyer, and Lindsey because they taught me about love and sex—topics no one in my highly Roman Catholic upbringing would dare discuss.



Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? 
No. No one wrote or encouraged me to do so, either, but my mom was an avid romance reader.  She’d keep all the best books on a shelf in her closet. “Don’t touch these.”  Guess what I touched every time she left the house?  I became a writer because I was an only child with over-protective parents.  If you can’t go out of the house, you write about going out of the house!



What is your writing atmosphere like? 
Peaceful, serene, private. Only my son and husband are ever home, and they leave me be when I’m crafting.  I sit in front of a huge picture window and gaze out at acres of forest.  I’ve got a wood stove beside me and the sound of birds from the feeders outside the window.  My dogs are typically lying on my feet.  It’s pretty ideal, I’d say.



What is your favorite aspect or writing? Your Least Favorite? 
My favorite is SOLD, and my least favorite is REJECTED.  I love every part of writing except selling. 



Current book you’re promoting is: ONE WET SUMMER 


How did you come up with the story line?
I imagined the characters, Maura Fields and Ben Driscoll first—what they looked like, thought, and felt. Then I imagined what their lives were like—where they lived, worked, what brought them to the place they are at the beginning of the story.  I started the novel with the cute meet, and they took the story from there.  


How do you choose your characters names?
I write a passel of names on a sheet of paper and start playing.  I ask myself, what sounds good?  Which names reflect their personalities? After I choose a few possibilities, I ask my son for his opinion.  He is a great sounding board even if he is only twelve years old!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was born in Los Angeles, California, where my parents and grown daughter now reside. I currently live in the Finger Lakes region of New York with my sexy hero, our handsome son, and a pile of lazy dogs and ferocious cats. I enjoy a plethora of hobbies including but not limited to attending concerts, hiking and cycling, cooking, and gardening. I love to dance, to dress up, and I'll go just about anywhere a good time can be had.

I've built a satisfying career as an English professor at a small, rural community college, and now I'm also writing and publishing romance. I've finished and sold a few contemporary titles, and I'm working on perfecting a Tudor historical, and penning a modern day romantic suspense.
I plan to spend the rest of my life reading and writing in my little cabin in the woods.

My biggest wish is that each of my readers will be inspired to believe in and find their own happily-ever-after.

LINKS


Now for the Giveaway! 
Ann will be awarding three $10 Musa Publishing GCs to randomly drawn commenters during the tour. So leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win! 

Follow her tour for more chances to win!  




5 comments:

  1. Great interview. I grew up in the same sheltered environment as you, learning about love and sex from the books I read. Maybe that's why I love to write and read about romance.
    Your romance books THE BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE and ONE WET SUMMER are two of my favorites. You are an amazing author.

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  2. What a wonderful interview. It is so nice to find out more about you and your work.

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