1) What kind of music do you like?
I love many kinds of music, mostly top 40, but also classics,
blues and jazz.
2) Describe your dream home…
A very special treehouse I wrote a little something about in
my first novel, The Charmed. In fact,
I have floor plans and everything for the lofty structure. If you want to know
more detail than that, however, check out the book.J
3) Favorite literary hero & heroine?
Might be a common answer, but Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite novels. I love how each is deceived
by their first impression of one another. I think that is a common trap for us.
We meet someone and instantly form an impression, perhaps a bad one. But we
never really stop to consider that we may have just met that person after a
really bad phone call with their boss or an argument with a family member.
4) What are you reading
now?
LOL, my next book. I love to read works by other authors, but
sometimes, with another full time job and my writing career, it feels like a
luxury to carve out time for it. That has kind of been the case the past couple
months while preparing for this book release. A friend just recommended and
Catherine Coulter novel to me, Split
Second. I plan to read that next.
5) What did you do on your last birthday?
I played a Texas Hold’em game with my friends. I love to have
my friends over to play cards. It’s casual and fun, and we laugh a lot. Perfect
birthday!
6) What comes first, plot or characters?
I believe characters should come first. But for me, finding all
those wonderful little details of a character comes from what happens to them
inside the plot. How they respond to situations, deal with conflict. My
characters become richer by the end of the book because, just like the reader,
I understand them better. So even though one may come first, you have to have
both.
7) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?
Yes, when I’m stressed. If I have writer’s block I will
usually just switch to a novel that I am editing until get back on track.
8) Do you ever want to be someone else? Who?
Honestly, no. I love my life. But I do think part of the fun
of being a writer is putting yourself in your character’s situation and living
their story through them. In a way, while you’re writing their story, you are
living another life.
9) What’s next for you?
Book three in my Men of Brahm Hill series, Leaving Lily Behind, will be coming out next
April. So I better get editing, LOL. Thanks for having me here today!
Guarding Poppy
by Christine Wenrick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
ONE NIGHT . . . ONE VIOLENT, SUPERNATURAL BATTLE . . .
AND FIVE STORIES OF THE MEN WHOSE LIVES WILL BE CHANGED BY
IT.
Alec Lambert was born to lead. He’s a ruling Elder of The
Brethren, possessing steely confidence, natural smarts, and decisive problem
solving abilities . . . and he’s not too bad on the eyes, either. Everything in
his life has gone exactly according to plan—until the night of Brahm Hill. Alec
loses his best friend at the hands of the uncle he trusted like a father, along
with his previously unshakable faith to lead those with whom he’s charged.
Despite this, he continues to press ahead, and for his next assignment he’s
asked to protect a very beautiful but very clumsy Dhampir who’s being hunted by
a powerful warlock. Suddenly, he finds his whole Brethren world is turned
upside down . . . and he finds himself harboring a desire for her he can’t
explain.
Poppy Honeywell knows she’s far from perfect. Bad things
tend to happen when she’s around. She’s more than a little clumsy, with a
phobia or two mixed in. Not to mention that her name is certainly unusual. But
she doesn’t have time to worry about all that because she’s on the run and not
about to back down from the arrogant Elder who’s just been assigned as her
protector, claiming he has all the answers to her problems. The real problem,
though, is . . . she’s irresistibly drawn to this man who faces constant danger
and takes charge so naturally. But Poppy also sees that taking charge of others
helps Alec mask his own very deep pain.
WILL ALEC FIND HIS WAY OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND SURRENDER TO
HIS FEELINGS FOR POPPY BEFORE THE WARLOCK CHASING HER CATCHES UP TO THEM BOTH?
Excerpt
#1
Sovereign Elder Joseph Davin stepped forward to embrace Poppy.
“You’re not safe here, little flower.” Now Alec really felt like he was
intruding on a private conversation. “I must protect you the best way I know
how. I promised your mother.” He then motioned back to Alec. “I trust Alec.
He’s a former Guardian—and a very good one. You yourself said that you can feel
Irina getting closer. Let Alec take you someplace where he can protect you and
you can know what it feels like to be safe. In the meantime, I will find a way
to deal with Irina.”
Poppy dropped her head quietly, and for a moment it seemed she
wasn’t going to answer him. “I feel safer here with you than I will with a
stranger.”
“He’s right,” Alec finally said as he came slowly to his feet,
realizing he needed to do something to gain this woman’s trust—though he could
hardly blame her for being guarded after spending a lifetime on the run. “I may
be a stranger to you, but I can
protect you. And more importantly, I can give you all the tools at my disposal
so you can protect yourself. If you have a sense for recognizing the warlock
who’s threatening you, your Dhampir instincts are telling you that you’re in
danger. You need to start trusting those instincts.”
Those huge gold eyes of hers locked on him fully with a look of utter
determination as she walked right up to him—thankfully, straight this time. He
had to admit, he flinched just a bit with the possibility she might trip again.
“I don’t want any part of witchcraft, Dhampirs or vampires. That’s not who I
am.”
“Yes, it is,” he challenged her without hesitation. “That’s exactly
who you are.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she were preparing to blast him with a
thousand different reasons why that was not true, but instead she replied, “I
will agree to go with you on two conditions.” Alec simply crossed his arms in
front of his chest. What was it about women and their conditions? Why couldn’t
they just agree? “One, you’ll agree to never disagree with me again.” Alec’s
brows arched high at that rather impossible request. “And two, I will only go
with you if it doesn’t require us crossing an ocean in an air-”
Poppy’s words were cut off by her small squeal when Alec caught
sight of Joseph sticking a needle into her arm. Her eyes widened in shock and
she tried to turn to Joseph, but her limbs gave out from under her almost
immediately. Alec reached out and caught Poppy when she would have otherwise
collapsed to the floor. “What in the world did you do that for?”
“No worries,” Joseph assured him. “It’s just a little something to
help her relax for the trip.”
Alec blinked at him. “Relax? She doesn’t like flying?”
Joseph shook his head. “Terrified of it, actually. Unfortunately,
Poppy lacks an appreciation for the severity of her current situation. We need
to get her out of London tonight—hence, something to relax her. But once she’s
someplace safe she’ll be no trouble at all.”
Alec’s gaze narrowed shrewdly. By what he had already witnessed in
the few scant minutes he had been in this woman’s presence, she was the very
definition of the term high maintenance.
So he doubted that very much.
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Christine is a graduate of
Washington State University where she received a BA in Interior Design. And
true to form of using mostly her ‘right brain’, she splits her time between her
commercial design career and her imaginary world of writing. She lives in the
scenic Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, camping and photographing
many of the wonderful places that served as inspiration for her writing. Her
biggest reward in life is any given day when one of her books connects with a
reader because she herself is such a lover of reading. Some of her favorite
authors include Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, and Kimberly Derting.
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristineWenrickBooks?ref=hl
Twitter: @CWenrick https://twitter.com/CWenrick
Website: http://www.christinewenrick.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
One randomly chosen Grand Prize
winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card and a runner up will receive
autographed copies of Someone Else's Skye and Guarding Poppy (US only).
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
Comments??
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the Q&A. Thanks for having me here today to talk about my newest release!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and thanks for sharing the excerpt, I really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteLove the excerpt!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview and excerpt.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting excerpt
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