Welcome Musa Publishing author, Ann Montclair!

Hi Ann! Great to have you here:)

I think this is the first time we've met so i'm looking forward to getting to know more about you and your work. I am hearing more and more good things about Musa Publishing so would love to know how they are to work with. Let's get started with the questions!

1) Did you set any goals for 2012?

My goals for 2012 were to write as much as possible and to exercise every day. I’ve done both, but writing as much as possible means fat butt; so even though I exercise, the butt remains a good twenty pounds too big.  Writing is worth it though.  I’m thinking about a treadmill desk for 2013.  

2) What is the best part of the writing process for you? 

I love generating characters and creating their story.  Meeting new friends, falling in love with them, watching them maneuver their way to happily ever after—it’s all so exciting and rewarding.  I’m happy to be published, but nothing beats actually writing the story. Each time I complete one, I feel like I’ve given birth, and in some alternate world, those characters exist.  And they’re happy! Who could ask for more?

3) The worst part?

I’m a slave to revision.  Once I start reworking a draft, I’m never satisfied.  Even when I’m at the line editing stage, I’m always asking, “Can I change this one little thing?” Luckily Musa Publishing allows me my continual tweaks. Once the book is published, I read it only once, and tell myself, “You did the best you could at the time.” And I know I’ll do better each time.  Writing is a craft, and craftspeople get better with each rendering.

4) What is the book you wish you’d written?

That’s a hard one.  I don’t think I could pick just one.  If I went with the romance gold standard, I’d say Rosemary Rogers’s Sweet Savage Love.  Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander would be a great choice, too; or something written by Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, or Philippa Gregory. Any would provide my high bar moment.

5) Favourite author/s & book/s?

I love romance. Contemporary and historical are my favorite genres. I love thrillers and mystery books, too.  I’m devoted to characters: Jamie and Claire (Diana Gabaldon), Henry VIII and his wives (Philippa Gregory), Jack Reacher (Lee Child), Myron Bolitar and Win Lockwood (Harlan Coban).  I’d follow those characters and their writers anywhere.

6) Tell us about your latest release?

Good Things Come in Tall Packages is about how polar opposites find common ground.  Joe is warm and loving; Lucy is cold and dispassionate.  When Lucy opens up to Joe in a moment of weakness, he recognizes her vulnerability is her true strength.  Getting her to believe so is not easy.

7) What is your favourite attribute of the hero and heroine?

Joe’s huge heart is my favorite attribute.  He’s a big man with an even bigger capacity for sharing love.  His kindness, his humor, his dedication to his profession and his family, all make him an ideal hero.

Lucy’s sharp wit and good looks are her armor. While the world knows her as cagey lawyer and man-eater, underneath she is lonely and afraid to love. I would say her vulnerability is her best attribute.  It makes Lucy terribly human, completely accessible—but only a very few people see that side of her.

8) What’s next?

I’m revising my first Tudor historical romance titled Lady in Deed.  Musa will be publishing it this winter.

9) Tell me where you write?

I write at home at a conference table that overlooks forest, stream, and pond.  Our cabin is tiny, but modern and comfortable, and our land is large and wild.  I love my home and my writing environment. Hubby works from home, so I’m always writing with family about.  We’ve lots of dogs and cats, too. 

10) Where would you like your career to be in 5 years?

Right where I am now--writing and publishing stories, working as a community college English professor, enjoying every single moment.  Now is the best time of my life.

Thanks so much, Rachel.  I enjoyed your questions!

Good Things Come In Tall Packages

by Ann Montclair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Dr. Joe Connors and socialite lawyer Lucy Alcott come from two different worlds, two very different cultures. But will those differences keep them apart when their attraction is too strong to be denied?

When socialite Savannah attorney Lucy Alcott entered the Hyatt looking for fun, martinis, and hot sex, the last thing she expected to find was Dr. Joe Connors. Joe is Lucy's opposite in every way: he’s dark, she’s pale; he’s tall and reserved, she's tiny and vivacious; he wears his compassion and deep spirituality on his sleeve, she wears designer bags and clothes. That night at the Hyatt Lucy found herself not in the arms of a casual encounter but reaching out to a man who challenged the walls she had built around her heart—and when he gave her his number, Lucy knew Joe deserved a woman as warm and tender as he was. So she threw his number away. When an unexpected meeting six months later brings them together again, will Joe overcome Lucy’s fear of losing her heart, or are their two very different worlds destined to keep them apart forever?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

The doors whooshed open, and Joe swept his arm out in front of him, indicating Lucy should precede him into the elevator. She inclined her head to acknowledge his chivalry. Inside the elevator, the quiet assaulted her senses. She leaned against the shiny walnut wall, and a sigh of relief escaped her lungs.

“And the world is still,” Joe murmured. “Let me remove your shoes.”

Lucy lifted her left foot, and Joe knelt before her and took off the pump. She shrunk five inches before raising her other foot, so Joe could squeeze it from the rich, red leather.

“Ah,” she whispered in relief, “that feels a lot better.”

He stayed bent on his knee as if he were about to propose and rubbed the ball of first one tired foot and then the other. Lucy wasn’t wearing stockings, and the firm massaging motion he applied to her foot felt like a little bit of heaven. If she believed in such a place.

Struck by the juxtaposition of her white foot in his black hands, enamored by the lightness of his palms as they stroked the pink soles of her feet, she noted together they created a rainbow—a cascade of color, vibrant and beautiful to her eye.

“Thank you, Joe. You’re hired.”

He laughed in his low, bass voice, and the combination of his masterful administrations on her feet and the melody of his jazzy chuckle, proved to be a potent formula. A quiver ran through her body.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I grew up sneak-reading all my mom's steamy romance novels. She kept them high on a shelf in her closet and warned, "You better not read those..." Of course, I read them. And now I write them! I strive to take readers on a fun, emotionally charged, and highly sensual ride to happily ever after. Available now: THE BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE (Soul Mate Publishing 2011), ONE WET SUMMER (Musa Publishing 2012), and GOOD THINGS COME IN TALL PACKAGES (Musa Publishing 2012). Next up: LADY IN DEED, my debut novel in historical romance set in Tudor England (Musa Publishing Winter 2012).

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a community college English professor. I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York with my sexy hero and our teenage son. Our grown daughter lives in Los Angeles, California--my hometown.

Thanks for learning a little about me. You can contact me at ann@annmontclair.com.LINKS

Web site: http://www.annmontclair.com

Blog: http://annmontclair.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnMontclairFanPage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AnnMontclair

Buy link: http://www.musapublishing.com/

Ann will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

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/2012/07/virtual-blurb-blitz-tour-good-things.html 

Over to you, guys! Comments??