Interview & Giveaway: Jill Sorenson

Credit: Florin Gorgan

Welcome to a Romance Around the Corner interview, where the questions are longer than the answers. Our guest today is Jill Sorenson, one of my favorite Romantic Suspense authors and a long-time friend of the blog.

Q. Hello and welcome back, Jill! Your new book, RIDING DIRTY, is a bit of a departure from your usual work, both in terms of story and the way it’s been published: it’s a Motorcycle Club book, it’s an electronic-only release, the tone is darker, and the sexual content is higher. You have been very open and frank about your struggle and desire to sell more books, and you recently talked about how the upcoming Aftershock book, WILD, has been dropped by the publisher and your plans to self-publish it. How much of this new direction you’re taking with RIDING DIRTY is motivated by the market and what currently seems popular, and how much of it is driven by inspiration and the desire to explore a new side of your writing? Is it hard to balance the business aspect of writing with the artistic and creative process? 

Jill: Hi Brie! Thanks so much for having me. These are such great questions. I’m not going to pretend that my motivations for writing this book were purely creative. I’ve struggled in traditional publishing and romantic suspense has been a tough road. I wanted to go digital-only to keep the price down, and I wanted to capitalize on a hot trend. But I was also more inspired by this story idea than I’ve ever been before. For me, it’s all about a good concept. I can’t write something I don’t believe in. I also think that MC romance is a subcategory of romantic suspense. Some of my previous books have been dark and gritty, so it’s not that much of a departure.

Interview & Giveaway: Meg Maguire

Credit: Florin Gorgan

Today, one of my favorite authors, Meg Maguire, is joining us to answer some questions about her books, the Strangers on a Train Blog collection and the Romance genre. Enjoy!

Hi, Meg! Welcome to Romance Around the Corner.

First, tell us a bit about yourself and your work.

MM: Well, I write contemporary romance—generally quite steamy—and my evil conjoined twin, Cara McKenna, writes erotic romance and straight-up erotica. We live just north of Boston with a bearded man who enjoys building bicycles.

Your backlist is rich and prolific; you have written full-length novels, novellas and short stories, as well as Romance and (as Cara McKenna) Erotic Romance. Do you have a preferred genre or format? What are the differences between writing a full-length novel and a novella or short story?

This is Meg.

MM: I wouldn’t say I have true preferences, no… I get restless and tend to flit around from book to book, switching between romance and erotica, between lengths, between first- and third-person, between lighthearted fare and more gritty stuff, urban settings and isolated ones. I have to rely on my voice to lend my body of work any semblance of consistency—everything else is up for grabs! But writing in two different genres has been good for me. Switching gears means I don’t get bored.

Interview & Giveaway: Jill Sorenson

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Jill Sorenson is a friend of Romance Around the Corner. She's a great person to talk --or Tweet-- to, and on top of that, she’s a fantastic writer. She’s been here before as a guest reviewer, and I’ve reviewed her books, but today she’s putting her author hat on and answering some of our questions about her new book and her writing process. So please, let’s give her a warm welcome!

Hello, Jill! Welcome to Romance Around the Corner. 

Q. First things first: tell us a bit about yourself and your books. What is it about Romantic Suspense that appeals to you as a writer, and I assume, as a reader?

JS: Hi Brie! Thanks so much for having me. I live in San Diego with my family, I like twitter, and I write romance. I think RS appeals to me because I love conflict and tension. I’m drawn to that rollercoaster feeling, the drop in the pit of your stomach during a climb. Danger heightens emotions and arousal. Whee!!

Interview: Sarah Morgan

Image Credit: Florin Gorgan

ETA: Sarah is giving away a copy of the book, more info here.

Sarah Morgan is here! I've been a fan for a long time, so today is a special day. Let’s give her a warm welcome, and once you’re done reading the interview, go read her books.

Hello, Sarah! Welcome to Romance Around the Corner. 

SM: Hello and thank you for having me!

Q. First things first: tell us a bit about yourself and your books.

SM: I trained as a nurse and worked in the ER for a while, but always wanted to write. I suppose I like fixing people, but it’s much easier to fix them on paper! When I was at home with children I started writing Medical Romances for Harlequin, which was a logical choice given my background, then moved on to Harlequin Presents. 

Now I’m lucky enough to write full time. I live near London, which is a very cool city (cool in every sense, including the weather!). I love the buzz of the South Bank, the theaters galleries and museums. I have two boys and we have spent so many wet Sundays gazing at the Egyptian Mummies in the British Museum and dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum. It’s no coincidence that one of the first stories I wrote featured a family of dinosaurs.

I love walking, mountains, snow, Christmas, horses, my mountain bike, meeting up with family and friends, laughing, cooking, the smell of fresh coffee, opera, Paris, CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Homeland and, of course, reading.

Interview & Giveaway: Stephanie Doyle

Image credit: Florin Gorgan

I’m so happy to welcome author Stephanie Doyle to the blog today. I’ve been a fan ever since earlier this year when I read The Way Back. Her new book, One Final Step, releases this week and I can’t wait for you to read it. It’s a lovely Contemporary with a very special hero. In the meantime let’s give her a warm welcome! 

Hi, Stephanie! Welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I’m having a love affair with your books, so I’m very pleased you could join us today.

Q. First, for all of our readers who are not familiar with your work, tell us a bit about yourself and your books.

SD: Well I’ve been writing for about sixteen years now. All my published books are with Harlequin, but every now and then I take time out to do something off the beaten path. I’ve written a contemporary about a woman golfer who competes with the men which I recently self-published and some crazy mystery/romance historicals. One I’m actually shopping to publishers now. 

I wish I could talk about really cool hobbies and other things like that, but mostly I’m either working at my day job, writing or watching re-runs of Lois and Clark The Adventures of Superman with my cats.  Thank you cable for bringing back all my favorites!

Interview & Giveaway: Rebecca Rogers Maher

Image Credit: Florin Gorgan

Today we’re interviewing author Rebecca Rogers Maher. She writes very emotional books that I recommend to fans of angsty Romance and Women’s Fiction. Please let’s give her a warm welcome.

Hello Rebecca, welcome to Romance Around the Corner.

RRM: Thank you so much for having me!

Q. For all of our readers who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

RRM: Sure! I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband of twelve years and our two little boys. I’m a former New York City public school teacher. A few years ago I started writing, and three books tumbled out all on top of each other. They ended up becoming the Recovery Trilogy—I’ll Become the Sea, Snowbound with a Stranger and my most recent, Fault Lines. All three are stories about real women facing very real-life problems. And as they go about dealing with these problems they meet some incredibly sexy and kind-hearted men.

Interview & Giveaway: Jessica Scott

Today we’re happy to welcome author Jessica Scott to the blog. She

writes military romance with a twist because the stories focus on theromance and there’s no suspense subplot. Please let’s give her a warm welcome!

Hello, Jessica! Welcome to Romance Around the Corner.

Q. For all of our readers who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

JS: Thanks so much for having me at Romance Around the Corner. I’m pretty much insane eight days of the week. I’m an active duty army officer who is in charge of a company right now, full time author, mom to 2 kids, 3 cats, 3 dogs, and 2 hamsters (the fish are on their own). My only social life exists pretty much on the interweb where I can be found on twitter most of the time, facebook sometimes and always obsessively checking my email.

Interview & Giveaway: Tigris Eden

Today, author Tigris Eden is joining us a part of her Enslaved in Shadows Blog Tour. She’s a fellow blogger as well, so I'm really happy she’s visiting with us today. Also, 50% of the book’s first week proceeds will be donated to Domestic Violence Awareness, so if you buy the book during that week you will also be helping this fantastic cause. Let’s give her a warm welcome.

Hello Tigris, welcome to Romance Around the Corner! Thank you for joining us.

Q. For all of our readers that may not be familiar with you and your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

TE: There isn’t really much to tell. I’m pretty boring actually. LOL I like to write and read and hang out with my doode Belinda Bullock and discuss the latest and greatest hottie. And brainstorm about what kind of books I want to write.  Oh and I’m sassy or Ms. Eden if you’re nicety :-) (Total jokester see!)

Interview and Giveaway: Ruthie Knox

I’m happy to welcome author Ruthie Knox to our little corner of the blogosphere. If you’re a fan of contemporary romance you should be reading her books, they have great characters, funny banter, lots of emotion and steamy sex scenes. It doesn't get better than that.

Hello Ruthie, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. We are so happy you could join us today!

RK: Thank you! So happy to be here.

Interview: Tamara Morgan

Is it possible to mix Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance and Romantic Comedy? If you answer is no, then you haven’t read Tamara Morgan’s books, because that’s exactly what she does. Have I piqued your curiosity? Then stick around to find out more about this wonderful author, her books and for some of the funniest limericks you will ever read!

Welcome to Romance Around the Corner, Tamara! Thank you so much for joining us, we are very happy to have you here today.

TM. Thanks for having me! I love getting the chance to interact with readers and book bloggers on their home turf. 

Q. For all our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

TM. I’m a contemporary romance author with a love of costumes, zombies, wine, superheroes, men in kilts, and television (in no particular order). While my books are all a little different in terms of subject matter, they can safely be lumped together as romantic comedies.

Interview: JL Merrow

As you guys know, I love M/M Romance. And today I’m interviewing one of the best M/M authors out there: JL Merrow. We have reviewed some of her books on the blog and she never fails to impress us. Help us give her a warm welcome and stick around because at the end of the interview there’s a giveaway.

Hello JL, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I have enjoyed every single one of your books so I really appreciate the opportunity to interview you. 

Q. For all of our readers who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

JL. Well, the J stands for Jamie, and I’ve been writing m/m romance since 2009. I’m British, so that’s reflected in a lot of my settings—although you’ll often see German themes/settings creeping in too, as I spent half a year living in Germany when I was 18 and I’ve never lost my love for the place.

Interview & Giveaway: Sarah Mayberry

You know how I keep saying that Sarah Mayberry is one of my favorite writers and one of the best current Contemporary Romance authors out there? Well, I’m having a fangirl moment today because she’s with us talking about her new book, self-publishing, and lots of other things. I’ll leave you with her, treat her well so she comes back soon!

Welcome to Romance Around the Corner, Sarah!

Q. For all our readers who may not be familiar with your books, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?

SM: I write for Harlequin, although I have just self-published my first book, also. I started writing for Blaze, which are fun, sexy, playful books, then moved on to Super Romance, which are a bit more realistic and heartfelt  - but also, pretty sexy, too, hopefully. I am really into exploring people and why they do things and my heroes and heroines are always flawed but they also have the best intentions. Like most of us, they’re just trying to muddle their way through life. The bedroom door is never closed in my books, and I love writing banter and back and forth, a side-effect from my “other” job as a script writer. 

Interview: Josephine Myles

I'm happy to welcome back author Josephine Myles. She's here today celebrating the release of her latest novel, Handle with Care. Please help me give her a warm welcome and stick around for more info on her blog tour and some cool prices you can win.

Hello Josephine! Welcome back to Romance Around the Corner, it’s always great fun to have you.

Interview: Jordan Castillo Price

Today, Jordan Castillo Price is back on the blog to tell us all about her newest release, her plans for the future and answering several other questions I was dying to ask to one of my favorite authors.

Hello Jordan, welcome back to Romance Around the Corner. It’s always a pleasure to have you!

Interview & Giveaway: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

As you guys know, I loved The Bro-Magnet. It was an original and hilarious story that I think every romance fan in need of a good laugh should read. And today I’m happy to welcome the person who created such an enjoyable story. Please let’s give a warm welcome to Lauren Baratz-Logstend!

Hello Lauren, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. Excuse me if a start laughing in the middle of the interviews but that’s what happens every time I think about your book. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I hear The Bro-Magnet and I start laughing.

Interview: Robyn Carr

As you guys know I’m a huge fan of Robyn Carr, and if you like romance novels I bet you’re a fan also. She’s a huge part of the genre and to be honest I still can’t believe she’s visiting with us today.

This is a short interview but quite to the point and very insightful. Before I leave you to it I just want to thank Ms. Carr for taking the time to answer the questions and giving us the opportunity to get to know her a little bit better.

Interview & Giveaway: Louisa Edwards

As you probably know by now Louisa Edwards is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, so you can imagine how happy I was to be able to interview her. I hope you enjoy reading her answers just as much as I did.

Hello Louisa, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I’m thrilled to have you here today because I’ve been a fan of your work for almost two years now, ever since first reading Can’t Stand the Heat. So if I start squealing please ignore me, it’s just my inner fan-girl trying to come out, she will go away eventually.

We are Mystery Bloggers!

You probably know Rebecca over at Kindle Fever, but if you don’t, her blog has a very interesting feature called Mystery Blogger where she does a quick Q&A session with different bloggers every week so that we can get to know a bit more about the people behind the blogs we love to read.

Today was our turn and we are very happy about it especially because Rebecca was one of the firsts bloggers we met and she’s been our friend ever since. So head over there to read our interview and while you’re at it take a look at her fantastic blog.

Thank you Bex, we had a wonderful time answering your questions!

Interview: Thea Harrison

Thea Harrison took the blogging world by storm when reviews of her new book, Dragon Bound, started showing up online earlier this year. Then, once the book was released, she took everybody else by storm with the fantastic world that she showed us. I honestly can’t stop talking about Dragon Bound and if you haven’t read it I think you should. Have you heard the phrase sexy beast? Well, that phrase takes on a whole new meaning once you read about the Wyrs.

As you can see I’m a huge fan, which is why I’m very happy to be doing this interview today. Please give a warm welcome to the wonderful Thea Harrison and remember that Storm’s Heart comes out tomorrow!

Interview and Giveaway: Kylie Brant (Update: Winner announced)

Today we have a special host. If you are a fan of Romantic Suspense then you probably know about her and if you don’t then here is your chance to change that.

Please let’s give a warm welcome to Kylie Brant. You probably know her from her Mindhunters series but she is also the author of several Silhouette Sensation and Silhouette Intimate Moments novels. Her newest book, Deadly Sins, is the latest addition to the Mindhunters series and it hits the stores next week.