Welcome romance author, Cheryl Douglas...

 Welcome to my site, Cheryl! Happy to be a part of your ongoing tour and wish you all the success with your series. Let's get started with the questions...

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

I’ve loved writing and telling stories since I was ten years old. I wrote a few manuscripts over the years, but never submitted them to a publisher because I wanted to continue to develop my craft. It took years of study and reading books in my genre before I decided I was ready for readers to actually read one of my books. Once I decided to take the plunge, I set out to learn everything I could about the business of publishing, which took another year. By that time, I was ready for a career change and knew that I wanted to take a risk and really shake things up in my life. That’s when I decided to quit my day job to start writing full-time. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

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

I love my editors. I couldn’t do what I do without them. The best thing I’ve learned is to think about how readers will perceive my characters and make sure they are someone who is likeable and readers can relate to. If readers don’t want to pull for your characters, they’ll never make it to the end of the book. Everything I’ve learned from them is valuable and I always take it to heart to try and make my writing better, so I can’t say I’ve learned anything I could define as bad.

3)   Favourite author/s?

That is changing constantly because I read so many books, but I’m really loving Bella Andre’s Sullivans series right now. I will be sad to see it end.

4)   What is your typical day?

I always start my day on Facebook, chatting with readers. Then I get my son off to school and get ready to face the day, which usually means a shot of caffeine or two before I sit down to write. I usually write 5 pages in the morning, break for lunch, run a few errands and return home to write the next 3-5 pages. After I pick my son up and take him to his activities, I deal with dinner, spend some time on the computer with marketing, social networking, chatting with other authors and editing. I always reserve 3 hours in the evening as designated family time.

 5)   Who would you cast to play your hero & heroine in a movie?

My Face Value heroine would be Julianna Hough and my hero would be Bradley Cooper.

6)   Did you plan this book? Or write it as it came?

I am a total ‘pantser’. I’ve given up on outlines because the book rarely resembles the outline when I’m finished. I always start with the cover and blurb and let the story evolve from there. Since Face Value is the seventh book in this spin-off series, I already knew all of the supporting characters well so it was easy to just let the story evolve.

7)   What surprised you the most when you became a published?

How much people loved my first series, Nashville Nights! I feel blessed every single day when I get a FB message or email from a new reader telling me how much they love my work. That never gets old and I will never stop being feeling like the luckiest person in the world to get to wake up and do this job every day.

8)   Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?

I have a proper office that I never use. I prefer to take my laptop to the nearest sofa or bed, which is terrible for my neck, back , and shoulders and my husband is forever lecturing me about it, but it works for me.

9)                   What’s next for you?

I have two new series coming out this summer, Music City Moguls and Texas Titans.

Website: www.cheryldouglasbooks.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryldouglasbooks

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5761770.Cheryl_Douglas

High Stakes

by Cheryl Douglas

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BLURB:

Former party girl, Alisa Turner, made a deal with her daddy, Trey. He’ll provide the seed money for her new business venture as long as she promises to stay out of trouble. Too bad her good intentions tumble 30,000 feet when she meets a sexy stranger on a flight to sin city.

Hotel mogul, Liam Bryson, has never believed in love at first sight, but when a sexy little siren twenty years his junior tempts him into a night of high stakes Blackjack, he’s suddenly playing for keeps.

Alisa wakes up in Liam’s bed the next morning, cursing Tequila and the five carat diamond on her left hand. She demands an annulment before her over-protective father finds out she reneged on their agreement, but her new hubby isn’t prepared to let her go without a fight.

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

EXCERPT

Liam Bryson cursed his big mouth. Speaking his mind was part of who he was, and he knew people judged him because of it. They’d called him opinionated, arrogant, insufferable, stubborn—the list went on, but those qualities helped him build one of the most exclusive boutique hotel chains in the world, so he refused to apologize for the attributes that made him successful.

But when he realized his unwarranted opinion had offended Alisa, he immediately wished he could retract his words. He’d lumped her in with all of the other women he’d dated, and it was obvious to him in the few moments they spent together that she was nothing like them. She was special. He didn’t know how he knew, and he didn’t question it. He trusted his instincts, and he knew he had to find a way to get back into her good graces, because even if he never saw her again after their plane touched down, he didn’t want her to think poorly of him.

He hadn’t considered another person’s opinion of him in years, and he’d never, ever gone out of his way to impress a lady. He’d never had to, not when the prospect of accessing his bank account seemed to be the only enticement they needed.

He stood up to let Alisa slide into her window seat and impulse prompted him to settle his hands on her waist and pull her flush against his chest as he whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry."

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Cheryl began her professional career as a nutritionist, but her love of books started at an early age. She studied writing for many years before she decided to pursue her passion as a full-time career. After receiving constructive criticism from several well-known authors, Cheryl finally had the confidence to write her first romance novel.

The first book in the Nashville Nights series, Shameless, was a book that had been dwelling in Cheryl’s subconscious for years. For her, the surprise came when the manuscript began taking on a life of its own. Characters came to life, secondary characters became more prominent, outlines were forgotten, and a single title evolved into an eight book series, and another eight book spin-off series entitled Nashville Nights, Next Generation.

One word would aptly describe Cheryl: workaholic. She lives and breathes her writing, when she’s sleeping, watching TV, driving, reading… it’s always in the periphery of her mind. Her imagination rarely takes a holiday, even when she escapes to a sandy beach with her husband and son, she’s planning, plotting, outlining, and daydreaming.

Cheryl feels blessed to be able to get up every day and do something she loves. The thousands of fans who have embraced the Nashville Nights have made that possible. She writes for the readers who ask for more, she writes to satisfy the muse residing inside of her, but most of all, she writes because she couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life. It took her thirty-seven years to decide what she wanted to be when she grew up, but now that she knows, she’s convinced she’s found her purpose.

Buy Links:

AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/Stakes-Nashville-Nights-Generation-ebook/dp/B009O8N8CG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358601209&sr=8-1&keywords=high+stakes+cheryl+douglas

BARNES & NOBLE:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/high-stakes-cheryl-douglas/1113744569?ean=2940045037969&itm=1&usri=high+stakes+by+cheryl+brooks

Cheryl will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host. She'll be awarding the following prizes to randomly drawn commenters during the tour:

 * two $20 Amazon Gift Cards

* ten trading card/cover flat packs (US/Canada)

* ten eBooks from the Nashville Nights series (winner's choice)

* two sterling silver necklaces (US/Canada)

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/2013/01/virtual-book-tour-high-stakes-by-cheryl.html

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