Welcome Rogue Phoenix Press author, Ann Christine!

Welcome to my website, Ann! I am honored to be a part of your tour and looking forward to getting to know you better. I have never heard of Rogue Phoenix Press before today and would love to hear all about them. First, let's get on with the questions! :)

1) Who is your favourite author and why?

I love romance and I have never been able to settle on one favorite author. I have many. The first romance I read was Pirate's Pleasure by Heather Graham. I bought all her books at that time. Since then I've discovered many different authors who I love to read.

As I continued to read and study romance, I discovered Stella Cameron. She had such wonderful antagonists. I love to write and hate the bad guy. At one time Stella's editor was Kate Duffy at Kennsington. So, after writing a historical romance which had not one but two bad guys, hoping that Kate loved the antagonist as much as I did, I sent the manuscript to her. And to my great surprise and joy I sold my first book, Dakota's Bride, to her.

Any author who has the mustache twirling, rent stealing, not politically correct character in her book, that author will most likely become a favorite.

2) When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I received my first rejection letter. I knew then that I was and always would be a writer. I wanted to achieve something that was not totally in my power. My first novel was a pirate book. Someday I mean to write another one.

Safari Moon is my first contemporary novel and it is the only novel where I have used a pen name. I'm writing as AnnChristine. I have two others that I have started and never finished before moving on to another project.

3) Describe your writing space?

My desktop on my computer is filled with Safari Moon excerpts, the entire manuscript, sample book covers, and interviews/articles to be written for my VBT. The real desktop is littered with research, TV remotes,(no, I don't watch TV when I'm writing) hand cream, lip balm, my weight watchers pocket guide, tea cups with green tea, and other clutter. When I finish a novel, I always plan on cleaning both desktops. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.

4) What are you reading now?

At this moment I am reading two books. The first being Safari Moon so I can answer questions about the book without having to look something up for verification. I will still probably have to do this. For my pleasure, I am on the second book of the Game of Thrones by George R. Martin.

5) How many books have your written? Which is your favourite?

I have eleven books and two anthologies published. I don't know how many I've written—maybe over twenty. My favorite book is always the last one I've finished writing. So I would have to say Safari Moon is my favorite.

Nyssa and Solo have stolen my heart. It is the first book I have written that is a little bit humorous. I must say some of the scenes with the "willing, eager and able" applicants for the Solo's assistant still leave me laughing.

6) What comes first, plot or characters?

For me the characters come first. A romance is plot driven and the characterization is very important to me. I always try to write a mini book about the characters. What is important to them, what are family traditions, when is their birthday, what is the typical gift they would give a girl friend. I also create a mind character for them. Much of my preliminary work is done with my characters. When I have them written down in a notebook if I forget, I can look it up.

Solo's and Nyssa's mind style are at odds with each other. They have mind characteristics that are very different which means they interpret incoming data uniquely.

7) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Rarely. When I'm writing a book, I have so many notes and so much to say, the books seems to take on a characteristic of its own. Sometimes I don't know where the characters will end up even though I thought I did. Safari Moon is no different. By mid-story the characters were screaming in my head. They wanted the story line to move to the left. They didn't like the conservative approach at all.

8) What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

My hobbies are many. I love to spend time with my granddaughters. They are 2 and 1 and a half. Knitting, jazzercise, running/walking, needlepoint, and swimming are some of my interests. Oh, did I forget travel? One of my son-in-laws is from Albania. My daughter met him in Athens. So we are planning a trip that would include: Santorini, Crete, Athens, and Albania. I truly never thought Albania would be a chosen destination until a couple of years ago.

9) Tell us about your latest book?

Safari Moon begins in Bend, Oregon but quickly moves to the Alaskan wilderness. Solo St. John is a wildlife photographer—assignment: capture photos of wolves in their native habitat. But Solo needs an assistant so he calls on his good friend Nyssa Harrington. Nyssa has helped Solo out many times but has finally decided to move on with her life. However Solo's powers of persuasion might overcome Nyssa's common sense. Nyssa knows Solo has the power to break her heart.

Can't really say much more without giving away turning points.

10) What’s next for you?

My next book out will be Rebel Heart. It is a romance fantasy/sci-fi set in the future.

Blurb for Safari Moon:

Solo St. John, a wildlife photographer, is preparing for a trip to Alaska. Suddenly, Solo finds women of all sorts invading his privacy, his home and his office, all cooing nonsense words and blatantly throwing themselves at him. Solo doesn't know why, and he has no idea how to rid himself of the persistent women. He finally decides to beg a favor of his best buddy Nyssa Harrington.

In love with Solo for the past ten years and knowing he doesn't return her feelings Nyssa doesn't want to talk to Solo. She knows if she accepts his phone call, she will not be able to resist the temptation to hope again.

Safari Moon Excerpt

Solo St. John you are a coward.

When he peeked into the room, she was asleep. Hallelujah, his prayers had been answered. Yet instead of turning and walking away he did the exact opposite.

He strode to the bed.

For several seconds, Solo stood over her. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, her hand tucked beneath her chin. Without his help, she’d taken her dress off and now she was clad in very little. Damn little.

Solo smiled to himself. He couldn’t decide if she looked prettier now or when he’d first seen her walk down the aisle in her wedding dress, his grandmother’s gown. The significance of his thoughts stunned him. His grandmother would not accept an annulment well. Hell.

The room was warm and she’d pushed the covers off. He could see the tops of her white silk stockings and the tiny pink roses that formed a perfect border. One strap of her chemise had fallen off her shoulder and he could watch her breasts rise and fall. She had a sexy shoulder. He wanted to touch her so damn bad he could barely restrain himself.

She purred, a soft sound, seductive and with that he smoothed a lock of her beautiful hair from her face. He was so close, so tempted, so needy. This was his wedding night.

A wedding night he had no claim over. Seemingly on their own volition, his fingers traced the contour of her jaw, down the slope of her neck across the creamy swell of a perfect breast.

She purred again and Solo smiled once more. At least in her sleep she was not indifferent to his touch, to the man she married. No, if he thought back on the last few days, Nyssa had been anything but indifferent.

He pulled his hand back and rested it on her hip. She rolled onto her back. With the movement, his hand slid across her hip until his fingers lay on her stomach. Her eyes still closed, she made a sleepy sound, her hand coming to settle on his own.

“Solo?” she asked in a soft sexy voice. “Wouldn’t you like to come to bed?

Bio:

Born in Medford, Oregon, novelist Christine Young has lived in Oregon all of her life. After graduating from Oregon State University with a BS in science, she spent another year at Southern Oregon State University working on her teaching certificate, and a few years later received her Master's degree in secondary education and counseling. Now the long, hot days of summer provide the perfect setting for creating romance. She sold her first book, Dakota's Bride, the summer of 1998 and her second book, My Angel to Kensington. Her teaching and writing careers have intertwined with raising three children. Christine's newest venture is the creation of Rogue Phoenix Press. Christine is the founder, editor and co-owner with her husband. They live in Salem, Oregon.

Website: http://christineyoung-romancewriter.blogspot.com/

Rogues Angels blog: http://www.roguesangels.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Young/350132315013316

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/achristay

Publisher: http://shop.roguephoenixpress.ieasysite.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=SAFARIMOON

Thanks so much for being her Ann and letting me part of your tour! Just to let you know, Ann Christine will be giving away the following prizes:

* A Safari Moon bookmark to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop.
* ebook copy ofThe Gift (part of A Valentine Anthology) and Star Crossed(part of St. Patricks Day anthology) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
* One commenter during the tour will win the right to have a character named for them in her next release--either Ghost Dance (a western historical romance) or Rebel Heart (science-fiction romance)
* Two randomly drawn commenters during the tour will each win a $25.00 GC to Starbucks
* The host with the most comments (excluding the author's and the host's) will win a $15 GC to Starbucks

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-book-tour-safari-moon-by-ann.html

Comment away!