Welcome contemporary romance author, Zanna Mackenzie….






1.    What do you wish men understood about women?

Ohhh, now there’s a question and a half! I’m not sure I have an answer to it either! I’d probably say I’d wish that they understood we are not all the same. Some women love shopping, some would rather be out in the garden mowing the lawn or watering the plants. Some wear full make up and high heels every time they step outside their homes. Some wear no make up and don’t possess a single pair of high heels. Some want to stay at home and raise a family. Some want to scale dizzy career heights. Some love flowers, perfume, lingerie and meals in luxurious restaurants as gifts, others would prefer books, boots and a picnic on a windswept beach. We are all different, simple as that.

2.    Do you only work on one book at a time?

If I was sensible then I probably should work that way but I have four books I’ve part written at the moment. I’m keen to write them all but realistically I do need to choose one and stick with it and finish it otherwise I’ll never get my next book completed! 

3.    Who is your favorite fictional couple?

I would say it’s a close run thing between Luke and Sophie from Kate Johnson’s Sophie Green Mysteries, and Rick and Juliet from Carole Matthew’s two books That Loving Feeling and With Love At Christmas. I think both sets of couples are down to earth, likeable, have fantastic chemistry, honesty and commitment. Yes, they have plenty of issues to deal with but they remember to have some fun too and try not to take each other for granted.

4.    Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

I think it’s one from Albert Einstein who said something like ‘common sense can take you from A to B but your imagination can take you anywhere.’ I love that, it’s inspirational.

5.    Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

I don’t get to write every day but I am trying to sort myself out with some better time management skills so that I can start to write every day. I’m self employed but work under a form of freelance contract as a writer, editor and proofreader for the business publications of a chamber of commerce so that takes priority each day. I try to keep Fridays free as a writing day but if I have deadlines on those days for the business publications then they have to come first.

Once I get the chance to dip back into a book I’m working on I tend to get completely caught up in it and lose track of everything else so I just keep writing and writing while I’m in the ‘zone’ rather than write a set number of words or chapters.

6.  What do you like better, Twitter or Facebook? Why?

Until I got my books published and my publishers got me involved with their author groups online I was something of a social media virgin. I didn’t really use any of them much and hadn’t a clue about all the abbreviations and # side of things. I’ve had to learn fast in the past twelve months or so with social media. I’d probably say I find Facebook better for me than Twitter. You can say more for starters (always a bonus!) and it lets you keep track of things more easily, especially if you’re in some groups on Facebook where you can easily see what other people are posting and respond.

7.    What are you working on now?
I have four books in various stages of the writing process but the main one I’m trying to finish at the moment is a contemporary romance about the down side of dating somebody famous.


Crooked Cat Publishing
Published on:  February 7th 2014
Faith owns The Coffee Pot in the outdoor adventure sports mecca of Derbyshire’s Peak District. She hasn’t had a man in her life for a while, as she’s been too busy serving cakes to weary rock climbers and mountain bikers to find time for the complications of a relationship with the male of the species.
At least, that’s what she tells herself. The truth is that since she got her heart broken she’s had problems trusting men.
When she meets Zane, one of the new owners at the Carrdale Extreme Sports Centre, Faith finds herself enjoying his company even though part of her can’t help wondering why he’s so reluctant to talk about himself.
Then the past comes back to haunt her in the shape of Zane’s business partner Matt, who just happens to be the guy who broke Faith’s heart all those years ago.
With Matt out to cause trouble and Zane keeping secrets Faith’s life is about to get very complicated indeed…
Main buy links for book:
*Amazon UK
*Amazon USA
Excerpt

This couldn’t be happening.
Zane had said his business partner was called Matt. She was sure of it. Yes, he’d definitely just introduced him as Matt. But the man standing before her wasn’t Matt.
It was Aaron.
Faith wiped her hands on a tea–towel. She wanted to speak, but couldn’t get her brain into gear enough to make her mouth form the words.
She’d thought Aaron was gone from her life.
It looked as though she was wrong.
She took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself. Suddenly she felt cold and shaky. Aaron was back? This was impossible.
Yet here he was, standing in her kitchen. She felt dizzy and light-headed.
How should she react? Should she admit they knew each other? Why had Aaron changed his name to Matt anyway? Would he prefer it if the fact they knew each other was kept quiet?
But she knew she couldn’t keep something like that from Zane.
As she debated what to say and do next, the room remained awkwardly silent. Zane was looking at her questioningly.
What should she say?
Come on, think, woman. Think.
Too late. Aaron spoke first.
“Faith, it’s amazing to see you again after all these years.”
OK. So he didn’t want to keep it a secret that they already knew each other.
“Aaron,” she managed to say. “This is a bit of a shock.”
“That’s an understatement,” Matt said, stepping forward to pull her into a hug.
“Hang on a second,” Zane said, pushing into the room. “Aaron? That’s your proper name isn’t it?” He raised enquiring eyebrows at Matt. “What’s going on? You two already know each other?”

About the Author


Zanna Mackenzie lives on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read.
Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working on. She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot!
If You Only Knew is Zanna’s third novel; her previous books The Love Programme, and How Do You Spell Love? were both published in 2013.
Find out more about Zanna on her blog www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk, on Twitter via @ZannaMacKenzie or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zanna.mackenzie
Author Links




Comments??




2 comments

  1. Thanks for letting me visit your blog today Rachel!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A busy lady then Zanna :)

    Rachel, thank you for hosting on tour today.

    Shaz

    ReplyDelete