Hello Readers,
I would like you all to give a warm welcome to Tina who is joining us here today.
Tell us a little about your latest work and tell us about yourself.
My erotic romance In His Arms was released last month. To give you an idea of the story, here’s the blurb:
Owned by one man, loved by another. . .
Abducted and delivered into sexual slavery, Lori has surrendered her will in order to survive. For more than a decade, she’s been known as Summer, a lovely submissive, her owner’s possession until he gives her to his newest lieutenant, a mysterious man called RJ. Commanding and virile, RJ dominates without cruelty and possesses without threat, engendering a mixture of safety and passion. In his strong arms, Summer enjoys carnal pleasure she’s never known and tenderness she’s craved. In his heated gaze, she experiences a sense of recognition she doesn’t immediately understand until it proves dangerous in a way she could never have imagined. Bound by desire and their growing love, RJ traverses the shadowy world of human trafficking, risking all for Summer’s freedom only to learn she harbors a fateful secret that threatens to tear her from him, leading to an irrevocable event that risks both their lives.
And my bio:
Tina Donahue is a multi–published novelist in contemporary, historical and erotic romance. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work; she has reached finals and /or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper, worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company, and is currently the Managing Editor for a global business document concern.
What Inspired This Piece or Pieces?
The idea for In His Arms came to me one night while I was watching the news. Yet another young woman had gone missing and her parents were frantic, fearful that she’d been abducted and sold into sexual slavery. When I saw other features about how prevalent this is in our society, the plot for In His Arms took hold.
What do you look forward to the most as an Author?
Living with my characters. I simply love them. At times, they’re more real to me than the people I know. I so enjoy laughing with them, and when things go badly, I’m right there, crying for them.
What do you Imagine the most and it never seems to happen?
Winning the lottery?
Seriously though, it would be nice to have romance novels taken seriously. It’s exceedingly difficult to write a story that makes a reader laugh, cry and sigh. Romance has gotten a bad rap as ‘fluff’ or ‘women’s porn’. Nothing could be further from the truth.
What's your ultimate fantasy?
Being able to quit my day job and write full time. That would be heaven.
What would be the hardest genre for you to write in if you had to choose one?
Probably sci-fi that’s really technical. I don’t like reading those types of works and I would imagine that the research involved would be daunting.
What can we look forward to in the future for your writing?
I’ll continue to write erotic contemporary romances, because I enjoy the genre so much. However, I’m also moving into paranormal romance. My novel The Yearning is being released from Samhain in February 2011. I might also try my hand at urban fantasy.
If you could choose a country to tour, which one would you choose?
Spain. I wrote an historical romance Just One Kiss that took place in medieval Cordoba. During my research, I fell in love with the country.
Out of All of your Books and Stories, which is your favourite?
I’d have to say my latest – In His Arms. It’s moved me the most. No matter how many times I read the end, I still cry. It’s also received absolutely terrific reviews. Here are a few:
Brandé at Book Junkie gave it FIVE flowers and wrote: “Love it, couldn’t put it down. From the first pages of IN THIS ARMS by Tina Donahue I was captivated, more like ensnared, actually commandeering every fiber of my heart and taking it for one heck of a wild ride!”
The Romance Studio gave it FIVE hearts and wrote: “This was a seriously sexy, heartbreaking yet heartwarming contemporary erotic romance. If you are looking for a must-read modern narrative pick this one up.”
It received FIVE teacups from HEA reviews where the reviewer wrote: “This book is so intense it had my attention from the very beginning. It’s a book worth reading more than once.”
TwoLips Reviews gave it FIVE lips and a Recommended Read. The reviewer wrote in part: “In His Arms is a deeply emotional, heart-wrenching story about one young woman among many taken from their loving families and forced into sexual slavery devoid of the basic human rights, freedom and the pursuit of happiness as written in our constitution. Tina Donahue stretches the boundaries to write a story so moving it will touch your soul.”
If one of your Characters or Hero's could be brought to life, which one would you choose?
RJ from In His Arms. He captured my heart from the first pages.
If you want to add an excerpt or a blurb then please paste them below and if you would like a book cover on here then please copy and paste that in here as well.
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter One for In His Arms—when Summer first sees RJ:
Two sharp raps hit the front door. At the sound, Summer turned her head, her heart twisting slightly as it always did as these evenings began.
Hogan placed his glass next to an antique lamp with a frilly gold shade, looked through the peephole and turned the deadbolt.
Flinching at the noise, Summer admonished herself, allowing no other reaction. Her face a mask of compliance, her mind resigned to whatever happened, she glanced up from the knob as Hogan swung the door open.
In the hall stood the man who’d spend the evening with her.
Involuntarily, her pulse jumped. Adrenaline accelerated her heart, driving pulsating warmth through her body at what she saw.
No more than early thirties and tall, probably six-three, he had a young man’s build—broad, muscular shoulders and a trim waist. Shoulder-length hair, shiny and clean, in a deep cocoa shade, matched his brows and shadow of beard. His sculpted mouth and straight nose added to his male beauty, though his eyes captured most of Summer’s attention.
An incredible bluish gray, they seemed translucent behind his sooty lashes, knowing, focused as he kept his attention on Hogan, speaking in low tones to him and to Farrell, another of Anthony’s men who’d escorted him to the suite.
Forgotten for the moment, Summer allowed her gaze to roam the stranger, dressed casually but expensively in a black leather coat reaching his knees, a dove gray crew-neck sweater, charcoal pants and dress boots. Sparks of interest stirred her heart, feeding her foolish fantasy that he was here to pick her up for their date. That she’d be safe in his arms, cherished, protected.
To celebrate the release of In His Arms, I’m offering a contest today. One lucky commenter will have her choice of one of my following books**:
Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
Adored – ebook
Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
Take My Breath Away – trade paperback
** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks.
Well its been nice to have Tina here today and I hope that you all enjoyed her interview as well as her excerpt. She is a talented author who I think we will be seeing a lot of.
Kristal McKerrington.
