All In
by Autumn
Stark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Jay
Markham, a wildly popular actor and a chronic womanizer, has become bored with
his life. Jay decides to take a break and goes to visit his life-long best
friend and famous romance novelist, Anthony Tate. But just because Jay decides
to take a break doesn’t mean his fans will let him. The fans and the paparazzi
follow him to the small Washington town and, in an effort to escape a
particularly dogged fan, Jay ducks into the first open door he can find.
Parker
Hardisson is a fairly normal, if self-contained, woman in her, ahem, early
thirties. Relatively happy with her life as a freelance translator, she gets to
work out of her own home and enjoy her life as quiet and drama-free as
possible. So what if she’s a teensy bit lonely? So what if there’s some part of
her that wants to explore the world? Things are working out just fine. So, when
a mega-movie star comes slamming into her house, she wonders if she’s finally
cracked.
Parker
seizes the opportunity to make the deal of a lifetime. No strings, no
questions. The problem is, Jay is playing this game by his own rules.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
It was
possibly nine in the morning the next day before Abby barged into Parker’s
house. To be fair, Abby had used her key which Jay must have given back to her,
but it was as close to barging as one might get, all things considered. Parker
was barely awake.
“Parker? Are
you home?”
“Where else
would I be?” Parker tried to sound pleasant, but at best she knew she sounded
grouchy as she called out to Abby.
“I don’t
know, having wild sex with Jay in Los Angeles?” Abby walked into the kitchen as
Parker was focusing on pouring coffee grinds into her espresso machine. Parker
graced her with a snort as an answer. “Well, you could be.”
“I don’t know
what that overgrown pretty boy told you, but I am not going to Los Angeles.”
“I’ll wait
till you’ve had your coffee.” Abby grabbed her own cup and patiently sat on one
of the bar stools under her kitchen island. Parker tried not to remember
exactly what had been done on that particular counter while also trying to
remember if she’d sanitized the thing since the sex marathon had started.
“Coffee won’t
change my answer.”
“Might make
you more talkative though.”
“Or more able
to kill without getting caught.”
“I’ll take
the chance.” Abby grinned at her and Parker sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Autumn
Stark writes Romance with a sense of humor and a whole lotta steamy fun.
Doesn’t mean there aren’t a few whips every now and then, but she’s a sucker
for a happy ending. Autumn has been writing in one capacity or another her
entire life, but Break Me is her debut novel.
Autumn
Stark is the pen name for author and publisher, April Oglesbee.
(http://apriloglesbee.com/)
All
In is the second book in the All In series. Book 1 is already available on
Amazon, B&N, and iBooks. Book 3 will be released in June 2014.
Website:
http://www.autumnstarkauthor.com/about-autumn.html
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/autumn.stark.338
Twitter:https://twitter.com/AutumnStarkAuth
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7562617.Autumn_Stark
This
is the second book in the All In series. Book 1 is already available on Amazon,
B&N, and iBooks. Book 3 will be released in June 2014.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21471824-i-want-crazy?from_search=true
Buy
Links:
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/All-Plain-Sight-Autumn-Stark-ebook/dp/B00IM4RHAW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395452937&sr=1-1
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-in-nell-stark/1116852825?ean=2940149562060
Interview With Autumn
1) Is
there a story behind this book or any of the characters you'd like to share
with us?
Really all of my
characters kind of came part and parcel. When i first started writing Break Me,
book one in the series, I already knew I’d be writing Jay’s story next. I also
knew he’d be in love with Parker. The thing about Parker is that even though
she’s not blood-related to the Stevens family, she is family to them in all the
ways that matter. What I really like about the characters in this series is
that they’re so integrated in each others’ lives. The story of one is part of
the story of all.
What was the inspiration for this book?
I liked the idea
of a normal, introverted woman who is comfortable in who she is and her life
finding herself in love with and access to the man of her dreams...and about a
million other American women’s dreams as well. On the flip side, I wanted to
explore the idea of Mr. Extraordinary falling in love with a normal woman and
having to convince her he was a safe bet.
If you used a real setting, how
intimate are you with it? Have you been there just to visit or have you lived
there? Or did you do a lot of research about it?
While
Sisters’ Falls isn’t real, the area and the concept is and I’ve spent some time
there. I was actually born in Washington, so the area is one I’ve explored over
the years even though I haven’t lived there in some time. Most of what I write
about the setting comes from the memory and compilation of several places I’ve
been.
Did
you fall in love with you hero(es)? Why?
I
really did (do). I think you have to fall in love with your heroes when you
write them. If you want your readers to fall in love with them, you have to as
well. Jay is a unique guy in a lot of ways. You expect him to be this jerk who
uses and tosses women like cups of coffee, but he’s not that guy. He has
respect for himself and others, but he also knows who he is and what he wants.
That’s irresistible.
How long did it take to write this book
and how long before you found a publisher?
I
wrote this book over the course of two months (sans edits). My publisher, Books
With Benefits Press, had already published Break Me, so this one was a part of
the plan already.
What
was the toughest part about writing this book? Did any characters misbehave and
if so, how?
Jay,
holy cow, Jay is the answer to all of this. Right from the beginning Jay was
arguing with me about my outline. I had all sorts of stuff planned for this
story and Jay just tore it all to pieces. He had an opinion on everything. The
hardest part about writing this book was that I actually ended up rewriting the
entirety of the last four chapters. Jay would not shut up about it, so I had to
fix it. He was right, of course. The handsome jerk.
If
this book became a movie, who would you cast to play the parts?
I
would have Jensen Ackles play Jay and Alona Tal play Parker. Tony would have to
be played by Robert Downey Jr. and Abby would be Amber Tamblyn. I think Jensen
has just the right balance of confident (but not arrogant) manly, pretty boy
and Alona Tal is petite and feminine while being strong and feisty. RDJ is a
lovable rake with a heart of gold and Amber Tamblyn is the girl everyone can
like with just the right amount of quirk.
What
do you like to do when you need a break from writing?
I
have an addiction to Korean dramas, TV shows, and cooking. I spend a lot of
time fiddling with stuff in the kitchen (my best friend is a lot like Parker
the hero of this book and thinks I’m insane for spending time in the kitchen
when I don’t have to). I also have two dogs and a cat, so I spend a lot of time
loving and herding them about. When I really need a break, I escape into my
favorite stories, be they books or film.
Where
do you usually write? Do you write in silence or with music or other background
sounds?
I
write in a lot of places. I have a desk in my office, a big comfy chair in my
living room, a corner kitchen table, and several coffee shop spots. Generally
speaking, I write with music. Occasionally I write in silence, but usually I
save that for editing. Music inspires my creativity, but I need the silence for
the practical side of writing.
Tell
us a little more about what makes you tick.
When
I was kid and growing up, I never really had a goal beyond finding the next
great story. Eventually I realized that I loved love. Love stories are kind of
the point for me. The great thing about the romance genre as I believe it
exists, is that it’s about more than the relationship between a man and a woman
(or a any combination thereof). It’s about the relationship between the heroine
and herself, the hero and himself, and really between the hero/heroine and all
the people in their lives. Relationships are the last, great frontier. Why does
one person fall in love with another? How does true or real love work? This is
the stuff that drives me. Love is like magic to me. Writing love stories is
like getting to become a wizard.
Is
this book part of a series and if so, tell us about the series please.
Yes! This is the
second book in the In Plain Sight Series. The series follows the Stevens family
(Abby--in book one--, Connor, Nicky, and Gabe) and their close family-like
friends. It’s a series that’s really about finding exactly what you want in
places you least expected to find it, and sometimes when you weren’t expecting
it at all. It’s about confronting your own fears in order to find your
happiness as well as forgiving your demons in order to do so.
CONTEST
Autumn will be awarding at each stop a
signed copy of All In to a randomly drawn commenter (US ONLY), and a Grand
Prize of a $25 Amazon/BN GC plus a signed copy of All In will be awarded to one
randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US ONLY). A $25 Amazon/BN GC will be
awarded to a randomly drawn host.
Please follow Autumn’s tour and comment; the more you comment, the
better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
4 comments:
Thank you for hosting
Another really good interview. I love the sexy cover.
Great interview, thank you.
Interesting inspiration
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Post a Comment