Hi Dawn. Thanks for having me at your Reading Nook!
To get us started can you tell us a little about what
you are working on or have coming out?
Sure! Entangled Publishing’s super-sexy Brazen line
just released my second novel, Lover
Undercover. The story involves murder, mayhem and lots of dirty dancing.
If we asked your muse to describe you using five
words, what do you think they would say?
My muse would talk trash about me! Undisciplined…unorganized...a sucky
researcher. But she’d also tell you I’m grateful and hard-working.
If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book
would you recommend that they start with and why?
My body of work consists of two books so far. My
debut novel, Private Practice, came
out from Brazen in February of this year and Lover Undercover released in April. Start with Lover Undercover, because two characters from that story will be
the leads in my next Brazen, coming this fall. Then, while you’re waiting for
fall, pick up Private Practice!
Where do you find the inspirations
for your stories?
Um…Kendall Jackson and Ambien?
Honestly, inspiration comes from almost anywhere. Lover Undercover is set in Los Angeles, California and revolves
around a gentlemen’s club on the Sunset strip. I live in Los Angeles, I drive
Sunset from time-to-time, and I pass a fairly famous strip club located near
the Chateau Marmont. At some point, I looked at the place and thought, “Hmm.
What a strange job. What if…?” Those random thoughts (eventually) led to Lover Undercover.
Are your characters able to love
or do they need to be taught?
Great question! I would say my
characters are open to the idea, but in need of some practical guidance as to
how love really works. In Lover
Undercover, my heroine, Kylie, thinks love is something she’ll find later,
when her life is less chaotic and she has time for extracurricular stuff. Little does she know Fate will send the love
of her life her way at the most inappropriate moment!
When you begin your stories, do
you go with the flow, or go with an outline?
I used to be more of a “go
with the flow” kind of girl, but now I need to create a story synopsis first,
so my editor can green light the proposal.
I’m slowly, painfully evolving
from pantser to plotter.
Is it hard coming up with titles
or characters names?
Titles are a bitc…er…a challenge.
My working title for Lover Undercover
was Substitute Stripper, which I
thought was soooo clever because, to me, those two words summarized the story
in a perfect little nutshell. But my editor was like, “Um…no.”J Character names are
comparatively easy.
Are there any books coming that
you are itching to read (either electronic or print) from your favorite authors?
There is a GREAT Entangled
Bliss coming in May from the amazing Robin Bielman, who one of my favorite
authors as well as one of my favorite people. It’s called Kissing the Maid of Honor, and I was lucky enough to get an advance
copy and I loved it, Loved It, LOVED IT!
But I guess, since I’ve already read that one, it doesn’t count.
My Brazen sister, Tessa Bailey
has a Brazen-Ever After novella coming out in May too, called His Risk to Take. I loved her hot debut
Brazen, Protecting What’s His, and I
can’t wait to dive into His Risk to Take.
What is coming up from you in 2013? Anything you want
to tease us with?
I have a new story coming
this fall as part of a Brazen Halloween Anthology. The other authors in the
anthology are amazing…incredible…basically I can’t believe my little name is
going to grace a cover with the rest of ‘em. As far as story, I think I’m
supposed to keep it in the vault for now. All I can say is, when you read Lover Undercover, keep an eye out for
Stacy and Ian.
What makes your
characters so vulnerable yet strong? Can you describe them to us?
My heroines, I think, are not the
most self-confident girls in the world, but they’re goal-oriented and they’re
going to do what needs to be done in order to reach their goals…even if it
means stepping waaay outside their comfort zones.
My heroes are self-confident…maybe
too self-confident! They get vulnerable when they find themselves dealing with
these freaking feelings. Those guys
just want to ride their Harley’s or solve their murders, not, you know, figure
out why this exasperating woman is so deep under their skin!
What do you do when characters stop
talking to you when writing?
I punish them for being difficult!
Seriously. I ask myself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen to this
character right now?” Sometimes I’ll make a list of a few possible events, let
those perk for a bit, and then go with whichever one spawns the best scenes.
That’s actually how Lover Undercover
turned from sexy romance to sexy romance with murder. Kylie had just finished
her first night subbing for her twin sister, the stripper. She’s tired,
humiliated, and, frankly, she didn’t want to go on, and I thought, “What else
can I throw at the woman?” Why, a dead body, of course. Important note…this technique does NOT work
in real life!
He’s undercover. She’s in over her head.
Yoga instructor Kylie Roberts is the good twin. At least
she was—until an accident forces Kylie to step into her twin’s sexy stilettos
at a posh Hollywood “men’s club." But nothing could've prepared Kylie for
the dead body in the club’s parking lot or the ridiculously hot detective who
insists the killer is targeting her regulars.
Detective Trevor McCade needs Kylie’s help to draw out the
killer. It means long nights undercover and long dances where Kylie’s body
tempts him with sensual promises. Dances that leave them both wanting more. But
despite Kylie's hidden identity and the danger lurking in the shadows, it’s
only a matter of time before Kylie and Trevor take this undercover operation
under the covers…
Teaser Excerpt:
Vacant eyes stared at her from a battered, bloody face. She screamed, stumbled back, and slammed her skull into something solid. Stars exploded before her eyes. A hollow clanging rang in her ears. She screamed again, even as she realized she’d run into the Dumpster and not a bat-wielding thug. Biting back hysteria, she scrambled up.
Adrenaline flooded her system, jolting through her like an electrical current. She overshot vertical, landed on her knees, and clawed her way to the car, trying to outrun the vision of the man’s bruised, swollen face.
Not even a face anymore. Whoever he was, she didn’t recognize him. Nobody was going to recognize him. Ever again.
In the car she wasted several moments frantically searching for her phone before remembering she already had it in her hand. Dialing 9-1-1 took three tries. Finally an operator answered.
“Please,” she whispered, so breathless she sounded as if her lungs had sprung a leak. “Please send an ambulance. I think he’s… I think he’s…dead.”
Things moved dizzyingly fast from there.
A cavalry of cops and paramedics arrived within minutes. Lights flashed, radios crackled, uniforms moved in and out of her line of vision. Somehow she ended up sitting in the back of an ambulance, holding a bag of ice to her head, watching with dreamlike detachment while activity swirled around her. Tracking it made her eyes hurt, so her attention strayed to something stationary—the body. For someone who’d probably gasped his last breath alone in a parking lot, he had a lot of company now.
A couple of paramedics knelt beside him first. With a few frighteningly efficient touches, they pronounced him dead. Then the police moved in, displaying the same frightening efficiency. They taped off the scene, took pictures, asked questions.
She answered as best she could, but there wasn’t much to tell and she struggled to concentrate with all the buzzing in her ears. Did she recognize the man? No. Had she seen anyone else? No. Did she work at Deuces? She hesitated. Did she?
A deep, strangely familiar voice answered. “Yeah, she works at the club. She’s worked there two years.”
Kylie turned, and keen brown eyes captured her gaze. The same deep, all-seeing eyes she’d stared into during her very first lap dance.
Beach bum, book junkie, and award winning author of sexy
contemporary romances, Samanthe recently signed with Entangled Publishing to
write three novels for their Brazen line!
Sam was transfixed from an early age with any tale
featuring a handsome prince, a great dress, and, of course, the all-important
kiss, and eventually aspired to write her own happily-ever-afters. Naturally,
she became a lawyer. The legal world heaved a sigh of relief a few years ago
when Samanthe retired from law to take the plunge as a writer.
When not living the glamorous life of a romance author
(i.e., chained to her computer), Samanthe keeps busy with the care and feeding
of her extremely patient prince-charming of a husband, a not-so-patient ball of
energy known as their son, a furry ninja named Kitty, and Bebe, the trash
talkin’ Chihuahua. Their love, support, and willingness to eat Pizza Hut three
or more times a week enables Samanthe to pursue her literary dreams.
Twitter: @SamantheBeck1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/samanthebeckwriter
1 comment:
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for spotlighting Lover Undercover in your reading nook!
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