Saturday, November 17, 2012

Elodie Parkes Author Interview!

Hi all!
I just wanted to introduce Ms.Elodie Parkes to my blog today. She is a fabulous author and she's a great person. She is out promoting her new book, The Horoscope Writer:

 Here is her wonderful interview:

Tell me a bit about yourself:
I live in Canterbury, that’s in Kent, United Kingdom. It’s a lovely old place and I work in antiques there.
I have two large dogs who are just softies despite their size. I drive an SUV and love the countryside.

What type of genre do you write?
I write contemporary erotic romance sometimes with a twist of mystery, suspense, or the paranormal.

What genre to you personally read?
Wow I read almost everything including some reference books for fun.

Tell me about your latest?
Book that I am reading?
Well it’s the new Christine Feehan, Dark Storm.

Where is your book available?
My books are already available. I have three currently out on kindle only right now.
My latest release is The Horoscope Writer, but they have all been released on kindle this year.

Where you live and one thing you love about it
I live in the rural end of Canterbury and I love that, the countryside and the way it changes through the seasons. Right now the leaves are piled high along the sidewalks having fallen from the trees that line the road.

Website:  http://elodieparkes.blogspot.com
http://elodieparkes.webs.com/

What sparked your passion for books and the art of a good story?
I get inspired by people. I used to use art, drawing primarily to express that. I’ve been writing since I was seventeen and yet only recently published. People and life in general inspire me.

Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?
Not in a big way but definitely influenced me in my early art career. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards

What was the seed of inspiration for your latest book?
I’ll tell you about two books because they come directly from contact with particular people.
For instance my book ‘Millie Reinvented’ was inspired through my day job.
I was talking to a young woman who was in the antiques shop where I work and she was buying a little sculpture of two lovers kissing. She said she had to have it because it was so nice to look at, as her husband didn’t even kiss her anymore. I couldn’t say anything I just wrapped the item, and stored the thought until the story burst out onto my laptop.
The book ‘Two of Them’ was inspired by a guy in an auction house. He came to stand next to me and was bidding for a Georgian table. He was talking to me about having inherited a run-down cottage from his grandfather and buying a few pieces for it as he renovated it. We had coffee together; he had the bluest eyes and was very nice, he told me he was looking for a different job because in his words ‘he felt as if he couldn’t stand the one he had another second’. He inspired the character Jet.


Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
Not really a message. I write to give love to lonely people, my characters always find love and my stories always have happy endings.

What challenges have you faced in your writing career?
The awful burden of marketing. Not that I don’t know quite a lot about advertising and marketing but it cuts into writing time so much it drives me nuts sometimes when I can’t get to writing because of it.

What has been your best moment as a writer?
So far just sitting back and reading my final product and thinking yes this says what I wanted it to. I haven’t had many reviews yet but there was a lovely line in one of them, “Parkes has a real gift for writing heartbreakingly real scenes and complex characters whom you grow to care about deeply”.
That felt good. Someone posted on my facebook page that The Horoscope Writer was a sizzler, that felt good too.

Who is your author idol?
Not one single author. I don’t know if anyone is an idol. I admire a few dead ones. Chekov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Shakespeare, Dickens, Hardy.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
I thought not but I was featured on a blog recently and it came to my notice I might have a thread of Cassie from The Horoscope Writer in me, or should that be vice versa.

Do you feel like your dream has come true or is there much more to do?
I have heaps to do, I don’t have a dream when it comes to writing it’s a profession that is too capricious to allow myself to have a dream about it. I’d like readers to enjoy my stories, feel them, want to read the next one, that’s all.

What is your personal cure for procrastination?
Yikes I don’t have the time to procrastinate honestly, I’m like running form dawn ‘til dusk and then on into the night to write.

What does your workspace look like?
A big table with carved legs ion which sit two laptops, a netbook, an iPad, assorted pencils and post it note pads a blue plant pot with a giant fern in it.

Here is some more information about her book and a short excerpt!

My latest release ‘The Horoscope Writer’ was inspired by signs along a country road when I was out driving one day in another county.
The main characters just started to flow into my head and by the time I had driven home, which was a three hour journey through the countryside, I had the book and characters completely ready.
Dominic Reed the horoscope writer is desperate for love. He doesn’t know he has never had the kind of love he suddenly finds with Cassie the female lead character. It ignites a sexual passion in him he didn’t know he could feel.
My books do contain graphic sex in the love scenes but they are love scenes, romantic and the characters are driven by love.

‘The Horoscope Writer’ is about a man, Dominic, who is a writer and has lots of different writing jobs for magazines amongst which is that of horoscope writing. He is a lonely soul, living in the country on a funny country lane where a few artisan’s workshops are. Fortunately he has a friend there too, Jeremy, who has a workshop, design studio there on the lane.
Dominic is lonely. His last relationship broke up a couple of years prior to the opening of the story and he really wants love.
There is a workshop to let on the lane and Cassie comes along to rent it.
Dominic is instantly attracted to her when he sees her in Jeremy’s office and she finds Dominic irresistible.
There is a mild paranormal streak running through what is an erotic romance because Dominic has been influenced by his great uncle who was also a horoscope writer.
This is a love story, erotic and enticing.


EXCERPT 18+ From The Horoscope Writer

“Can I get you anything Cassie? Coffee?”
She smiled at him thinking he had perhaps changed his mind about going to bed together.
“Okay coffee is good” she answered.
Dominic washed his hands and made coffee. Cassie watched him.
“If you’ve changed your mind Dominic it’s okay”, she told him. It was what Dominic needed.
He went to her and held her head to kiss her. The kiss was like nectar to Cassie and she began to put her hand up inside his sweater to reach his skin. Dominic held her head with one hand kissing her almost desperately as he used the other hand to unzip her jeans and push them down her thighs. Cassie unzipped his jeans. Dominic felt almost lightheaded, he couldn’t stop kissing her, and he put his hand down inside her underwear to press his palm against her lower stomach.
Cassie gasped and searched for a way to lower his jeans and feel his hard bottom. She felt his fingers reach her entrance and she parted her legs a little so that he could push them into her.
Dominic’s voice was a whisper.
“Cassie let’s go to bed. I want to feel you naked against me. I need you”.
She nodded slightly as his face was still against hers. She moaned involuntarily as he took his fingers from her.
Dominic took her jacket, and put it over the back of a kitchen chair.
Cassie pulled her jeans up leaving them unzipped.
Dominic held her hand to lead her up to his bedroom. The staircase was surprisingly wide, and they could walk up there side by side. Dominic’s room was at the end of the landing, and he pushed the door open with the side of his body as he turned to hold Cassie again and kiss her.
Somehow, though it wasn’t clear how to either of them when they thought about it later, they undressed, and lay clasped against each other on the bed breathing into each other’s mouths when the sensation of being skin to skin overwhelmed them for a few moments.
Dominic traced his fingers down her stomach reaching her entrance to find she was wet for him. His lips found hers and their tongues touched gently as his fingers began to work magic on Cassie. She moved against his palm and made little sounds into his kiss as she reached for him. He thrust into her hands and they both groaned with need.
“Cassie wait I’ll find a condom”, he said, as she began to whisper her need to him.
“Dominic I need you inside me now”, she whispered over, and over as she kissed him.
Her hands felt cool on him and he was still thrusting his hips as he moved his fingers in her. Cassie was close to coming and she kissed Dominic shaking a little against his lips.
“Dominic I’m going to---”. He knew, and he decided to give her that first.
He kissed her tenderly and moved his thumb over her bud, his fingers deep inside her. “Cassie I know, let go, do it”, he whispered, and left his lips soft against her mouth as she moaned and thrust on his fingers coming. It seemed to last a long time and Dominic liked that. He looked at her with love as she finally opened her eyes and smiled a little at him.
He wanted to be inside her and he reached over her to the drawer in the bedside table to find a condom. He couldn’t find one, and because he was kissing Cassie as she stroked his erection, he stopped kissing her to look into the drawer. Cassie took the opportunity to move down his body and take him into her mouth. She felt his intake of breath as she did it and held his hips still before moving a hand to hold him low on his shaft and suck him.
Dominic let the feeling of complete pleasure soothe his worry about not finding a condom. He held Cassie’s head gently with his hands in her hair. As he looked down at her, Cassie shifted her body and moved her leg over his so that he could feel her entrance wet against the top of his shin. Her hair fell over his lower stomach. She was doing amazing things with her tongue and his gaze fell on the lovely curve of her bottom and length of her satiny thighs. Dominic felt his orgasm rise up from his thighs as Cassie’s hair feathered across them. The sensation rippled up him all the way to his lips and he groaned. Cassie kept him in her mouth until she knew he had completely finished. She had never known quite what to do with the mouthful of seed and this seemed like such a lot. Without thinking too much about it she swallowed and then kissed up his stomach and chest until she nuzzled against his throat.
Dominic could feel her moving gently against his thigh and sighed at the pleasure it gave him to feel her damp entrance on his skin.
“Cassie”, he whispered, as she sucked a little at the base of his throat.
She waited.
“Cassie”, he whispered again, and he lifted her gently up so that her head was level with his. He kissed her tenderly and then kept her cuddled against him. They both closed their eyes and lay quietly together until they slept for a short time.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2012

Find me online:


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Find my books:






 Here other books are here and available as well:


Let's thank her for joining us today and everyone stop by her website and leave a comment so she knows you've been there. Good Luck Ms. Parkes!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Find me online!

Hi all!
I'm still putting together my blog tour (should have dates up this weekend) but I have 2 appearances in the next two days promoting my newest book, Demise of the Vampire Queen. Here's where you can find me:
11/14 Allison Merritt's blog: http://havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com/2012/11/author-interview-jodie-pierce.html
11/15 K.F. Johnson's blog: http://www.kfjohnson.wordpress.com

Please go check me out and see the interview's! Let me know what you think!

Keep Writing & Reading!
Jodie Pierce

Robert Haddad Interview

Hi all!
 Please help me welcome Robert Haddad to my blog. He is here promoting his new book "How to Survive 2012 in Two Weeks". Here's his interview:

Tell me a bit about yourself: I’m a 32 year old Marketing Manager at a company which distributes beverages, and up until my book “How to Survive 2012 in Two Weeks” the only writing I really did was in university and as a hobby. I hold a BSc in Computer Engineering and an MSc in Computer Science. After writing my first book and having it reach the bestsellers list, I’ve decided to write another book in a completely different genre (Science Fiction) and it is in the process of being edited so hopefully my first book won’t be my last on the bestseller’s list.

What type of genre do you write?
Guide Books and Science Fiction

What genre to you personally read?
Science Fiction, Horror, Police/Detective



Tell me about your latest?
My latest published book is, as I said before, “How to Survive 2012 in Two Weeks”. It’s a short step by step guide for anyone who wants to prepare for the possible disaster on the 21st of December 2012. According to many scholars there will be a life shattering cataclysm which will end the world as we know it. Although the topics and steps covered in my book could be used for any range of disasters should the need arise. I hope nothing will happen, but I’ve always believed that everyone should hope for the best and plan for the worst which is why I wrote my book.

Where is your book available?
The Book is available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and Paperback as well as Createspace.com in Paperback. It is also available in large number of online stores.

Where you live and one thing you love about it
Right now I live in the country of Jordan which is my childhood home, but I’ve lived all over the United States, from Ohio to Florida. Jordan is a great country with a lot of wonderful qualities, but I have to say that it’s rich and diverse heritage is what I love most.


What sparked your passion for books and the art of a good story?
Since I was a little boy I’ve always had stories rolling around in my head, but I never really thought that anyone would want to read them, so following the success of my first book, I decided to at least give it a try.

Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?
“Brave New World” By Aldous Huxley opened my mind to the bigger picture in this world, and how most things that we deal with on a day to day basis are really just skin deep. People are just so preoccupied with the mundane routine to actually stop and watch the world for what it really is a gift that we should take care of and nourish.

What was the seed of inspiration for your latest book?
My friends and I were all sitting around discussing what we would do to prepare for the 2012 disaster. After I spoke at length, at least an hour, about what I would do, my friends all commented that I should write a book, so I did.

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
You never know what the universe will throw at you so always be ready.

What challenges have you faced in your writing career?
Since my first book was self-published and I had a minimal understanding of the process the main challenges where promoting my book (which is a lot of work) and overlooking the fact that I should get my work edited before releasing into the world (I got a bad review because of a couple of grammatical mistakes which I have since rectified.)

What has been your best moment as a writer?
So far, reaching the #1 spot on Amazon’s bestsellers list has definitely been the high point, just realizing that people actually appreciated my work gave me a huge rush. Hopefully there will be many more “best moments” to come.

Who is your author idol?
I would have to say Steven King; he just has a way with making your imagination open up.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
In my new book which I hope will get published next year I definitely see myself in more than one of the characters.

Do you feel like your dream has come true or is there much more to do?
As far as my dreams for the future in the writing world, I feel I’ve only reached 2% of what I want to accomplish, so there is much much more to do.

What is your personal cure for procrastination?
When I find one I’ll let you know.

What does your workspace look like?
A complete and utter mess; my “Workspace” is very mobile, wherever I can sit down with my laptop is where I work.

Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to quit?
Not really, I’ve always been a very driven person, but I have put my work aside for a while before continuing.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I run the Marketing division of one of my family’s businesses.

What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
Stay focused and on task.

What was the greatest thing you learned at school?
How to think creatively.

Did you have a moment when you realised you were meant to be a writer
I wrote my first guide when I was still in High School although I never tried to publish it, other than having it on my personal website, I did notice that plenty of people liked it. So I suppose that was when I wanted to become a writer. I just wish I started earlier.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Human beings are an incredible species, we have a large capacity for cognitive though as well as processing information. If you believe you can do it, you can. All you have to do is to do it.

After this book, what is next?
I’m currently having my second book edited by a well know and acclaimed editor. It’s a Science Fiction novel which depicts life for mankind after the 2012 disaster and their struggle to find a new home. I hope it will be published in the summer of 2013 if we’re still around.

You can reach him at: Website: http://www.survive2012intwoweeks.com.
Please thank him for joining us and check out his new book!
Keep Reading!
Jodie Pierce

Monday, November 12, 2012

And our first author interview is...Deborah Palumbo!!!!

Hi all!
Please join me in welcoming Deborah Palumbo:
She is a great person, friend, fellow author, etc and I'm so lucky to have met her through our love of writing! She has been a tremendous supporter of my work and promotes ME every time she gets so I thought I'd like to return the favor for her on here today. All her books are excellent but I'm partial to her Undeparted Series! I can't wait for books 3 & 4 as I've read and reviewed books 1 & 2 (which you can find here, just look through the pages). Please check out her interview here with me:


First I want to say thank you so much for this opportunity to chew your ear off. I loved the questions and hope you and everyone enjoys reading them! I think you're an awesome and sweet person and I am glad we're friends!!

Tell me a bit about yourself:
I'm 36. 24. 36! Oh wait a minute! You didn't mean that! LOL. 
I am patient, tender, kind and everyone's best friend! I've wanted to be a writer since in grammar school. In fact, I began writing poetry at age 7 through 18 for God, but always wanted to write novels; that dream didn't come true however, until an unfortunate illness left be bedridden and homebound for a period, so I'd say fate was having its way.
 My first novel was Brave Woman; an historical romance between a white woman and a sexy and virile Indian! That was in 1990, but in 2010 I dusted off my files and by 2012 began self-pubbing! I still have a lot of novels sitting in storage.

What type of genre do you write?
 I write paranormal mystery/romance, historical romance and mystery/crime, you know who dunnit with frustrated detectives who are hot on the trail of some wretched killer.

What genre do you personally read?
I have very little time for reading, but because I've met so many wonderful and talented authors such as yourself, I am forcing the time…slowly but surely!!
I love paranormal, historical and mystery…Hum, I guess that's why I write in those genres too!


Tell me about your latest?
OOH I like that question! Well, it is book 3 in my vampire series The Undeparted; the book is called The Banished One. It's about a serial killer vampire in a small town and the Lieutenant who refuses to believe the killer is a real vampire….But he gets convinced soon enough and knows he's way out of his league; needs another immortal to take the vampire killer down. So he follows old town rumors right to Quentin, the father of all vampires, and his gothic castle to enlist his aid. You think he'll help the Lieutenant??

Where is your book available?
 I am exclusively Amazon which means any and all of my books every day, 365 days a year, morning, noon and night, are FREE to prime members, and only $2.99 for everyone else. Of course once I'm rich and famous I might have to raise my books a buck, so everybody better get their copies now! LOL

Where you live and one thing you love about it.
The Earth. But I dream of heaven. I live in the country with lovely trees and birds and my screened in gazebo!


What was the seed of inspiration for your latest book?
It is an on going series, so just the desire to delve deeper into the characters and continue their lives provide the inspiration to write. This newest book has flashbacks and we get tidbits of info about Quentin and Christian. Book 4, named Veronica, she walks in darkness, will delve deeper into the past, but hey I can't say anything yet because no one has even read book 3 yet!

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
There always seems to be an element of good versus evil, and how good should triumph. I often have a spiritual message.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
OMG! I really do see myself in some of my characters, but especially in some of my books that are still sitting in a file.

Do you feel like your dream has come true or is there much more to do?
More to do for sure. I've only been at this a few months!!

What is your personal cure for procrastination?
 I am not a procrastinator.

What does your workspace look like?
A beautiful king sized poster bed with sumptuous pillows, across from a very pretty desk which is where most people write…but hey, I am sitting at the desk right now, and started to do so recently and on occasion.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Think about what I'm going to write next…honest to God! But okay, I switch on the TV late and glance at my old black and white TV shows that I record. I never watch live TV anymore….good grief with all of those commercials! Now if they were old commercials from the 60's or 70's I'd watch them in a heartbeat! They were simple and soothing and quieter.

What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
Just loving what you're doing; not focusing on success or lack thereof.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don't give up! Perseverance is the key in life. Pray too!

After this book, what is next?  
I have a WIP for book 2 in my crime noir series, the Detective McAllister series, and then onto book 4 in The Undeparted series!

Your website? www.deborahpalumbo.com

Your blog? http://deborahpalumbotheundeparted.blogspot.com/

Her latest book, The Banished One:
will be available for purchase on December 1st, 2012. She is also having a blog event in coordination with her book release called, Deborah Palumbo Books presents, a day with actor/writer Jordan Rhodes where the two will visit, chat with each other and there will be giveaways throughout the day. Join her at:

Let's all say thank you to Debbie for joining us today and wish her good luck with her new books and future endeavors! We love you Debbie!
Keep Writing!
Jodie Pierce