Thursday, October 2, 2014

Author Interview- Melinda Curtis

From Halloween to Christmas,we're going from one extreme to the other.
Today I've got author Melinda Curtis on the blog dishing about her book, The Christmas Promise



Oh and be sure to read all the way through, Melinda's got a special treat for our readers today.

*****

Hi Melinda, tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C.

Wry, wired, writing. 

What are your three favorite things?

My family and my puppy (they give me such joy, especially my puppy – she doesn’t take me or life seriously). Exercise (without it, I’m a slug). Caffeine – coffee, coffee drinks, chocolate covered espresso beans (again, without it, I’m a slug).

Is there a process you stick to, or do you just write as it hits you?

I pre-write. Then I take the characters for a test drive. Then I plot, followed by writing a draft which is always very short (scary short). Then I deep edit. I wouldn’t recommend my stop-start process to anyone.

Was there any particular inspiration for your characters or story?

My friend, Kim, was in Ecuador researching a new cocoa product (translation: she wanted to create a new chocolate snack organically). Kim was in a very remote part of Ecuador and her weekly updates to friends fascinated me.  All the things we take for granted – a bug-free home, air conditioning, internet – she didn’t have any of that. One week, she reported the humongous size of bugs that landed on her, and a trip from the cocoa fields uphill in the rain with a flat tire on her wheelbarrow.  For a romantic comedy writer, it was nirvana! 

Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books?

I think I need a series intervention! This novella kicks off a sweet romantic comedy series I originally envisioned as friends who were always bridesmaids (we’ve all been that girl). I also write sweet romances with humor (not romantic comedy) for Harlequin Heartwarming in my Harmony Valley series (3 books out, 7 contracted).  And if that wasn’t enough for any writer to keep sane, I write a sexier series set in Hollywood and the NBA, called The Hollywood Rules (3 books and a novella out to-date).





Blurb

They used to call her the Bon-Bon Heiress…Tiffany Bonander (of Bon-Bon Chocolates) grew up in New York with a silver spoon, a heart of gold, and a lifelong supply of sweets.  But now her life is falling apart.  Recent changes in cocoa supply are threatening the quality of the family’s chocolate and sales are down.  Add to that Tiff’s penchant for falling in love quickly and breaking engagements at the last minute…Now they call her the Bon-Voyage Bride.  Can this socialite turn around a cocoa plantation in South America?
Jackson Hardaway is trekking through the Andes in Ecuador as a tribute to a fallen comrade.  This wounded warrior didn’t expect to meet a beautiful damsel in distress and her three fairy godmothers…er, trio of meddlesome nuns…on his journey.  But everything in Ecuador is bigger – the trees, the snakes, the attraction.  Is this love?  Or just another case made to label Tiff a runaway bride?  Find out in The Wedding Promise (part Runaway Bride/part Romancing the Stone).

Excerpt

It was raining.  Again.
Tiffany Bonander tried humming a few bars of White Christmas.  It was, after all, December 23. Cheer was called for.
But the incessant beat of fat raindrops on the tangled foliage of the Ecuadorian rainforest and on her pink rain slicker, drowned out her cheer.
Or maybe she was just drowning under the pressure of heavy responsibilities.
Ankle-deep water rushed down the steep, muddy road toward Tiff and her precious cargo–thirty pounds of cocoa beans.  She couldn’t lose the beans.  They were the answer to all her troubles.
Thunder boomed.  And boomed again.  The downpour increased to a deluge.
Tightening her grip on the wheelbarrow handles, Tiff tried to find purchase with her rain boots, tried to make it to the next rise before the road turned into a river.  Tried…and failed.   Somewhere above her the river had risen high enough to crest a bank.  Water surged toward her.
Tiff’s father claimed they’d abandoned this cocoa plantation years ago for drainage reasons.  He should have used the F-word: flood.
Tiff stumbled to her knees, and water rushed into her boots–cute, pink-flowered plastic ones which quickly filled with water and felt as heavy as cement shoes.  If not for her grip on the wheelbarrow, she might have been swept downhill.  Just last week, she’d heard about a woman who’d been carried away by the cresting river and smashed into a tree.  Smashed as in: to pieces.  Dead.
That would be worse than being broke and the laughing-stock of the civilized world.
This was karma, plain and simple.  She shouldn’t have jilted Chad at their engagement party or left Malcolm at the altar.

Bio/Release Info:

Melinda Curtis is an award winning, USA Today recommended, Amazon best selling author.  She writes the Harmony Valley series of sweet and emotional romances for the Harlequin Heartwarming line (book 4 coming 3/2015). Brenda Novak says: “Season of Change has found a place on my keeper shelf”.  Melinda also writes independently published, steamy and fun romances as Mel Curtis (a new novella out 10/22). Jayne Ann Krentz says of Blue Rules: “Sharp, sassy, modern version of a screwball comedy from Hollywood's Golden Age except a lot hotter.”  


The Christmas Promise is available in the Sweet Christmas Kisses anthology (14 sweet holiday stories for 99¢ available now!). 

Buy Links for Sweet Christmas Kisses:


Special Offers/Freebies:

Readers of Angela Hayes’ blog will be emailed a FREE fun, sweet novella set within the Hollywood Rules world by signing up for Melinda’s book release email newsletter. Link: http://www.melindacurtis.net/join-melinda-s-mailing-list

Twitter: @MelCurtisAuthor

8 comments:

  1. Hi, ladies! You make me tired, Mel! But the results are worth it. :-)

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  2. Liz, aren't you on your second or third reinvention/career? That makes me tired!

    Just a reminder that readers can receive a free novella by signing up for my newsletter...Gemma Rules is a fun story that goes from Hollywood to Vegas (where, of course, there must be an Elvis costume involved)

    Thanks to Angela for having me today!

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  3. Great article!

    It has been fun collaborating with you, Mel!

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  4. How do you find time to sleep, Melinda! So pleased to be one of the authors in this boxed set with you. It has been a great expereince.

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    Replies
    1. That caffeine thing makes it hard to sleep. Although, Helen, you're one to talk since you often write a book a month!

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  5. Thanks for being with us today Melinda. The book looks great- meddling nuns and bon-bons, what could be better?

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    1. Wish I had some bon-bons about now. Instead, it's coffee (remember I'm wired)

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  6. Interesting way to write a story. I don't think I could do it start stop, but it suits you fine. Not too many stories based in S America. Curious.

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