Welcome Author Anna Durand!
Give a warm welcome to Anna, author of Tempted By A Kiss!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Anna.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why?
I adore all my heroes and heroines, but I especially love Adam Caras from my short story Tempted by a Kiss and the upcoming novel version, Fired Up. He’s very different from the heroes I’ve written before, in that he’s a womanizer. Underneath the lady-killer façade, though, he longs for a deeper connection and real love. His painful past, which we learn a lot about in Fired Up, has influenced his lifestyle choices and reveals who he really is–a good man in love with his best friend, Mel, who’s totally clueless. Adam’s devotion to her is what I love most about him.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
It’s only natural that a little bit of the writer bleeds through in the characters, but I find my heroines are a little bit me and a little bit what I’d like to be. Even my villains have a teeny bit of me in them. We all have flaws and things we think about that we wouldn’t want anyone to know. For most of us, those thoughts are fleeting and never acted on, but villains pounce on their darker impulses.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
A smile! Always. I write romances because I love the happy ending. If I can make the reader smile at the end of the story, and feel the fantasy has been totally fulfilled, then I’ve done my job.
Why do you write what you write? Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc.
I write both paranormal and contemporary romances (and soon historical) because I love the unique challenges each genre presents. When I wrote Tempted by a Kiss, my first contemporary romance and my first erotic romance, I felt like I was taking a big risk because my previous books had been paranormal. In paranormal romance, I get to make up the rules of the world; my characters can have psychic abilities or wield power over the weather. In contemporary stories, I have to realistically depict the modern world and populate the story with characters who can’t read each other’s minds or cast spells to resurrect the dead. As a writer, I enjoy the restrictions. They push me to be more creative.
Tell us a little about Tempted By A Kiss.
Mel Thompson just dumped her cheating ex after two years together. Now she’s determined to understand the allure of casual sex by having a steamy fling of her own at a notoriously raunchy underground club. When her best friend, Adam Caras, catches on to her plan, he makes a surprising offer to derail her. If she wants a hot fling, he’ll give it to her.
Who better than Adam, renowned lady-killer, to demonstrate the erotic pleasures of a one night stand? Sex could ruin their friendship, but after a soul-searing kiss, Mel fears one night may never be enough.
Do you have an excerpt for us?
This time, he offered me his hand, palm up. I stared at it. My stomach fluttered, though I had no clue why. I’d danced with Adam a number of times, at weddings and parties.
A strange warmth rushed through me, but evaporated in an instant. The hand, the one attached to the arm of my best friend, waited patiently. I settled my palm in his. He curled his fingers around my hand. I hopped off the stool and let him guide me toward the dance floor. The music had segued from an up-tempo number to a slow, seductive beat with an enticing melody, played on exotic instruments. The song conjured visions of a Middle Eastern palace, belly dancers, and hot, dark men with lascivious intentions.
We sidled between the other dancers, wending our way across the dance floor on the hunt for a vacant slot. At last, we broke out of the masses into a cramped space just wide enough for the two of us, forcing me to move closer to Adam. He pivoted on his heels to face me and, keeping my hand in his, lifted it in a ballroom dancing position. His other hand lightly rested on my hip. This was what I expected from a dance with Adam. Then he dragged me into him, my body suddenly crushed against his heat. My heart skipped. The strobes had given way to soft, pulsing golden lights. In the twilight of the floor, I couldn’t make out his expression. Entwined with Adam, aware of every hard line of his muscles, I was paralyzed.
You can find Tempted By A Kiss at the retailers listed below:
http://amazon.com/dp/B017TO8SSA
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122930086?ean=2940156677351
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/tempted-by-a-kiss
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tempted-by-a-kiss/id1061465692?mt=11
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-temptedbyakiss-1935885-149.html
Wow!
Anna Durand is an award-winning writer, a freelance librarian, and an audiobook addict. She specializes in steamy romances featuring spunky heroines and hunky heroes, in settings as diverse as modern Chicago and the fairy realm. In her previous life as a librarian, she haunted the stacks of public libraries but never met any hot vampires hunting for magical books.
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaDurand
https://www.goodreads.com/annadurand
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaDurandFiction
https://plus.google.com/+AnnaDurandFiction/
https://www.pinterest.com/Anna_Durand/
http://amazon.com/author/annadurand
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged erotica, Romance by Tena Stetler with 12 comments.
Good to have you visit Anna.
Thanks for hosting me, Tena!
Loved the excerpt, Anna, sounds like my kind of book!!! Good luck with it.
Thanks for stopping by Hebby!
Thanks for stopping by Hebby!
Thanks, Hebby!
Wonderful interview! I believe we all see a bit of ourselves in our characters, too. 🙂 Wishing you all the best, Anna!
Thanks for stopping by Maty. Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Mary!
Great post and excerpt!
Thanks for stopping by Jeannie, we really appreciate it.
Thanks, Jeannie!