Yay, my online friend and fellow UK author, Rachel Lyndhurst is here!!

SOOO happy my friend is here with us for the next couple of days. I met Rachel online about nine months ago and in that time I feel as though we have really got to know each other through Facebook, Twitter and emails.

Our lives and attitudes are so similar, it's weird, LOL!

Over to you my dear friend....who I am determined to meet in person one of these days!

1. When and why did you decide you wanted to be a published author?

I’ve always been a scribbler and, looking back, it was probably just too much of a dream to consider being an author for a living. My twenties were taken up with professional exams and work, and then there were years of nappies and domesticity. It was when my youngest started preschool that I had to make a decision to really go for it, or face the prospect of going back into an office job. If that had happened I don’t think a book would ever have been written. I’m not one of those superwomen types!

2. What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an editor/agent?

The best was: ‘We would very much like to acquire your book.’

The worst was: ‘Your manuscript needs a lot of work.’

3. Favourite author/s?

That’s a bit too hard to answer – there are so many as I read all sorts of genre. The most influential authors that spring to mind are George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Howard Jacobson, Enid Blyton and Sara Craven. My feel-good, indulgent favorite is India Grey.

4. What is your typical day?

I’m usually up before seven in the week, so I check overnight emails etc while I boil the kettle for tea and then sort the children out before taking them to school. I do writing work as much as possible until 2.50P.M., when the children need collecting. At this point I often realize I have forgotten to have lunch.

Then it’s a whirl of dinners, bath time, homework, laundry, notebook scribbling and online networking if I can get away with it. A glass or two of wine helps this process along … It’s downtime on the sofa at nine P.M. and bed time at about 10.30. Glam, huh? I don’t watch a lot of telly!

5. Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us.

Storm’s Heart is a sexy, sophisticated romance with a dark, brooding centre. When Greek lawyer Andreas Lazarides and bistro-manager Kizzy Dean clash over the executing of his mother’s final wishes, he takes matters into his own hands and Kizzy back with him to Greece. Tension runs high on the sun-baked Greek Island of Rhodes amidst the ancient myths and alleyways of Lindos village.
Hopelessly out of her depth and penniless, can innocent Kizzy resist the treacherous sexual attraction that draws her powerfully into Andreas’ orbit? Dangerously appealing and darkly charismatic, he’s made it quite clear that he wants her in her bed. It would be to her advantage, he’d make it worth her while …

She’s an independent woman, born illegitimately into a brutal world, so is Kizzy tough enough to handle this millionaire Adonis? Can she keep the ironclad fortress around her heart intact? The stakes are high if she is to prevent history repeating itself. No man on earth will leave her as heartbroken and destitute as her mother.

An explosive meeting of two different worlds results in a mirror image of cruelty, betrayal, guilt and shame that only their passion for each other can possibly overcome. But is it enough?

Kizzy wants answers and her turbulent past and shadowy revelations kick up a storm in Andreas’s heart that will not abate until his own explosive secrets are forced out into the open.

6. Who would you cast to play your hero & heroine in a movie?

The hero, Andreas Lazarides, would be Andres Velencoso Segura and the heroine, Kizzy Dean, would be a young Catherine Zeta Jones.

7. Did you plan this book? Or write it as it came?

I planned this book and found forcing myself to do a synopsis first really exposed the weak points in a broad sketch of an idea. Previous manuscripts had been written pantser style – they never made it!

8. What surprised you the most when you became a published?

How little I knew about the harsh realities of publishing. It’s a tough old world out there.

9. Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?

Yes and no, I write on my laptop generally, so we move around with the seasons – indoors and out. However I’ve had to get more organized so all my admin, books, ideas boxes, printer etc are now in the dining room and I quite often write here. It’s a deep red and gold room with silk curtains and all my best antiques. A no go area for the children!

10. What’s next for you?

I’m currently finishing off another contemporary romance, and there’s another one on the back burner just I’m just itching to get back to. There’s no stopping me now, I’ll write until I drop!

Find out more about Rachel and Storm’s Heart here: http://rachellyndhurst.blogspot.com/ including Twitter and facebook links.

You can buy Storm’s Heart in paperback or in digital form from:

Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/gfayrv

Amazon.com http://amzn.to/fgS1vV

Embrace Books (Salt Publishing) http://bit.ly/eU1KmH

The Book Depository http://bit.ly/gkhDO9

Diesel (eBook only) http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/

Sexy, sexy, I must confess I am yet to read Storm's Heart but I do have a copy! It is on my TBR file and gradually making its way to the top. I am so with you, Rachel with regard to the kids juggling, housework juggling, TV watching, wine drinking thang...like I said, parallel lives, lol!!

Rachel would love to hear from you...