Goddess Fish Tour with Delaney Diamond/Contest Stop

 Remember to stop at all of Delaney's tour stops as Delaney will be giving away a $10 gift Card to Amazon & eBook copy of Fight for Love . Find all the tour stops HERE
 
Welcome to Dawn’s Reading Nook, Delaney Diamond. Please let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink and make yourself at home. Comfortable? Great…now let’s get down to business.

I’m nice and comfy. Ooh, that drink it strong. I better drink it slowly or my speech will be slurred by the end of this interview.

Q: For the readers out there who might not know about you or your work, can you please tell them a little about yourself.

I’m Delaney Diamond, and I write contemporary romance with African-American and interracial characters. My latest release is The Temptation of a Good Man. I’m originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, but I now reside in Atlanta, Georgia. I love to read romance, mysteries, and thrillers, and I love to cook and dine out at restaurants. 

Q: How long have you been writing? What got you in to writing? 

I got the urge to write after a trip overseas, but I never did anything about it until a few years ago when I started freelance writing, and in 2009 I decided to try fiction writing. My first book was published in November 2010. It’s the first book in my Hot Latin Men series, and it’s titled The Arrangement. Writing romance just made sense. I read a lot of romance novels and I’m a hopeless romantic, so I wanted to pen the stories I love.

Q: Are you a by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writer, or do you have to use an outline to put your collective thoughts into some semblance of common sense?

I’m a pantser, with a bit of plotting—if you could call it that. Once I get an idea for a story, I log it into an Excel sheet. Each story idea has its own sheet. As details come to me (characters descriptions and personalities, dialogue, setting, etc.), I make note of them. This goes on over a period of months. Only when I feel I have enough ideas to write a story do I start writing.

As I’m writing, more scene ideas develop in my head, and I note them by chapter in the sheet. I write in chapters, and often out of sequence, so each chapter has a name to keep me on track. For instance, in The Temptation of a Good Man, Chapter 1 was They Meet at Avery’s Juke Joint. Chapter 6 was The Confrontation. I also use Excel to keep a running total of my word count. 

Q: Tell us all about your latest or upcoming release. What inspired it?

The Temptation of a Good Man is the first book in the Hawthorne Family series. I wanted to write a one night stand story, but for me it was important to have the characters connect on more than just a physical level. Neither one of these characters would typically have a one night stand, so the first couple of chapters are devoted to them spending time together, joking, discussing music, flirting, etc. Sexual tension mounts between them as the night gets later, until they find their way back to Roarke’s hotel room. 

Q: If you had super powers, what would they be? Why?

No question, I’d want to be able to teleport, because I love to travel and learn about other cultures. Then I could visit anywhere in the world. 

Q: What genre haven’t you tried yet but want to in the future?

I like reading historicals, and I’ve toyed with the idea of writing in that genre. I have to admit the research necessary to ensure the historical accuracy of the clothes, culture, language, etc. is daunting. At the moment, I don’t have any specific story ideas. I have plenty to keep me busy in the contemporary arena.

Q: What is one thing readers might be surprised to know about you?

Reader of my blog already know this about me, but for those of you who don’t know me, I don’t like musicals or plays. This always surprises people, but I really don’t like them. Every now and again I go to the theatre to see if my opinion has changed, but it hasn’t. I went to see “Cats the Musical” and dozed off. I was so embarrassed. Another time, I went to see “A Christmas Carol” and had to get up and walk around before I fell asleep. Both were great productions, but I got bored.

Q: If we asked your muse to describe you in three words, what do you think they might say?

That I’m a perfectionist, a procrastinator, and funny.

Q: What authors can be found in your library of books (print, audio or e-books)?

I read a lot of Harlequin Presents, so any of those authors, like Kate Walker, Sandra Marton, Sarah Morgan, Lynne Graham, and Trish Morey. I have romance novels by my other favorites, Maureen Smith and Beverly Jenkins, who writes some amazing historicals. For thrillers, I like James Patterson and Tami Hoag.

Q: Have any guilty pleasures you want to share with us?

I don’t drink hot coffee, but I can’t resist Starbucks’ caramel frappucino with extra caramel. Mmm. I used to work across the street from a Starbucks, and I swear I kept that place afloat in the summertime by buying one several times per week. I also love Nutella, which is a hazelnut spread. Sometimes, I just scoop out a spoonful and eat it just like that. Mmm. 

Q: Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can give us a taste of?

Here’s a little something from my October release, Worth Waiting For. It’s a sweet romance. Julia Newman is a business woman, and Freddie Mendoza is the contractor finishing her basement. In this scene, she’s holding a flashlight over his stalled truck while he works on the battery.

“I appreciate you being so attentive. It’s hard to find good contractors who stick to their word and take such pride in their work.”

“I hear that a lot.” He shook his head. “The best way to grow a business is through word of mouth. I aim to please every time.”

I bet you do. “How long have you been in business?”

He looked up from working on the second terminal. “I’ve been in business for myself about ten years.” He refocused on the task. “Technically, though, I have over twenty years of experience. If you count the work I did with my father from the time I was a kid.”

When the cables on both batteries were removed, he pulled a flathead screwdriver from his tool belt and began to scrape off the acid build up. A tool belt. Who knew it could be so sexy? She conjured an image of him in a plaid shirt with the top buttons undone. She imagined the tanned skin of his solid chest as he walked toward her in slow motion with his tool belt slung low on his narrow hips and a hammer in his hand.

Julia lost her grip on the flashlight and it slipped from her clammy fingers. The beam of light went haywire as she tried to catch it but instead bumped it into the air and made it crash land with a thud onto the bumper of the truck. Freddie’s startled gaze was the last thing she saw before the flashlight hit the ground and extinguished.

Q: When creating your characters, do you have models in mind or are they totally fictional? 

They’re totally fictional. I just create an image in my head.

Q: Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

I’m in control. When they try to act too crazy, I have to rein them in.

Q: Please tell us where we can find you on the web.

Website and blog: http://delaneydiamond.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/DelaneyDiamond

Twitter: @delaneydiamond

Thanks for popping by and I wish you continued success in your writing career.

Thank you for having me! I enjoyed it.

The Temptation of a Good Man by Delaney Diamond

Buy it now: Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, and Barnes & Noble.

Can true love be found after one night of passion?

Celeste Burton goes out with her girlfriends to celebrate turning thirty and winds up spending an unforgettable night with the man of her dreams. One week later, as a favor, she attends a wedding with a friend as his date and is shocked when she sees Roarke again.

Roarke Hawthorne despises cheating. Cheating tore apart his family years ago. When the physics professor sees the woman he spent the night with show up at his sister’s wedding on the arm of his brother, he knows he should keep his distance. But because of the night they set fire to the sheets in his hotel room, he can’t resist the urge to be close to her–nor can he resist the temptation to have her back in his bed.

Excerpt  #1

He chuckled. “The etymology of names is kind of a hobby of mine.”

“Really?” She looked skeptical.

“What, you doubt me? Pick almost any name, and I can give you the origin and the meaning.”

“No way.”

“I’m serious. Pick one. Make it good.”

She screwed up her face into the cutest little scowl, exaggerating her efforts at concentration. “How about . . . Celeste?”

He spread his palms wide. “Come on—too easy. Give me a harder one.”

She put a hand on her hip. “You don’t know, do you?”

He cast an incredulous look in her direction, unable to believe she’d challenged him. “What? Are you questioning me, my skills, and my honesty?”

She cast her gaze upward toward the ceiling as if to think about it. “Umm . . .” Her gaze lowered again. “Yes.”

“Do you even know what your name means?”

“Of course!” Her indignation was adorable.

“All right, then. It would have been a shame for a man whose life centers around astronomy to not know this one. The name Celeste is derived from Latin. It means ‘from the heavens.’ Heavenly.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and he shouldn’t have edged closer.

The smile on her face made a downward slide. Her throat muscles worked a slow swallow. “Correct,” she said.

“I know.” Roarke rested his elbow on top of the back of the sofa and let his forefinger play with a lock of her hair. She didn’t move away. The back of his hand lightly grazed more of the fine strands. With Herculean strength he resisted the urge to grab a handful. “So what do I get?” he asked.

“I don’t—I don’t know what you mean.”

“You challenged me, and I won. Don’t I get something?”

“You want a prize?”

“Yes.”

A look of uncertainty crossed her face, but after a few seconds, she offered, “How about a hug?”

“A hug is nice, but I’d rather have a kiss.” At her look of alarm, he amended his request. “On the cheek.”

Her brow furrowed in an indication of distrust. “You’re not going to do that thing where you turn at the last minute so I end up kissing you on the mouth, are you?”

Not a bad idea. “No, I’m not. I’m one of the good guys, remember?”

“Good guys don’t coerce kisses from women they just met,” Celeste pointed out.

Undeterred, one corner of his mouth lifted into a half smile. “Actually, they do.”

The pink tip of her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips. His mouth went dry as he watched the fleeting movement. In slow motion she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his cheek. His jaw hardened on impact, and warmth spread along the side of his face. The light fragrance of her perfume—peaches? apricots?—invaded his nostrils and dismantled his resolve to remain impassive.

He couldn’t resist holding her in place, smashing the soft curls against the back of her head. He heard the sudden inhalation of her breath as he brushed his hair-roughened cheek against the silky-smooth softness of hers.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked in a thick voice.

He’d tried to sound nonchalant, as if they were having a normal conversation, but there was nothing normal about his attraction to her. He dipped his head and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of her jaw. She shivered, and she reached out and sank her fingers into his upper arm. The warmth of her touch sent his heart rate escalating at a dangerous pace.

With his hand securely at the nape of her neck, his gaze locked with hers. She’d roused something in him. A powerful, consuming need that made him question the workings of his normally logical brain, now clouded in a befuddling haze of lust.

Her wild-eyed stare signaled her own confusion. “No, it wasn’t,” she whispered.