Interview of Paris Brandon, RBRU Member Author!

It's my honor to be interviewing Paris Brandon, a fellow Ellora's Cave author and Mid-America Romance Author! I've known Paris since she first published, and am thrilled to watch as her career skyrockets!

Tell us about yourself, Paris!
Thanks so much for inviting me. A little bit about me? It was a dark and stormy night…just kidding . Let’s go with the condensed version. I can’t remember a time that I didn’t make up stories to amuse myself and years ago I joined RWA after attending a book signing for my favorite Harlequin Temptation author at the time, Lynn Michaels. She actually invited me to attend a meeting of the Heartland Romance Authors and I was hooked!

Latest Book: "Head Over Heels"
Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8181-138-head-over-heels.aspx
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jgYmmsBB6g
 
In September of 2008, I got the “call” from Ellora’s Cave that they wanted to buy my first erotic contemporary OW/YM novella, "No Holds Barred" and I’ve been happily writing and selling my work since then. I have three novellas and Book One of a paranormal shifter series out now. My most recent release is part of the multi-author Red Stilettos series and my story, "Head Over Heels" is Book One, released February 12.


Q: What’s the first thing you did when you received word you’d sold a book?
A: You mean besides jumping up and down, screaming and crying? Oh, I called my husband, who was at work at the time and told him the good news. Then I called my critique group and e-mailed everyone I knew. Uhm…I was a little excited!

Q: What part of the book is the hardest for you? Why?
A: I’m a plotter. I sit down and plot the book out, develop my characters so that I know who they are and why they do the things they do so that I can make them believable in any of the situations that I put them in. I write the first three or four chapters then make sure the rest of the book lines up but I’m constantly asking myself if my characters are behaving logically. The beginning is always the most challenging for me because I really try to figure it all out by the time the first draft is complete. That said, I went totally against what I usually do and wrote the first two chapters of "Head Over Heels" and then wrote the ending! Every book is a new experience but starting the darn thing is always the hardest for me!

Q: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
A: It’s so hard to choose because I love them all but I think Kira, the heroine of "Assassin’s Kiss", my paranormal/shifter novel is probably my favorite so far. She overcame everything I threw at her and still remained hopeful. She knew there was an answer as to who she was and if there were others like her and she overcame all of the obstacles to find her place in the world. She even ended up saving the hero (after he’d saved her several times). Did I mention that I’m partial to kick-ass heroines? Can I say that here:-)?

Q: What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?
A: I love research. I could happily spend hours scouring dusty bookstores looking for something that sparks my imagination. You can find everything from Celtic history to The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference on my research shelves. My favorites though are the journals, written by everyday people from any period of history. That’s where history lives for me. Uhm…I think I’ve veered off the path. Can you tell this is one of my passions?

Q: What’s your strongest point as a writer?
A: I’ve been told that I create great characters. I’ve had a couple of critique partners and reviewers mention the same thing so I’m going to take their word for it.

Q: What is your favorite romance book that you’ve read?
A: I wish I could pick just one! I love Jennifer Crusie. Her last two books have been co-authored with Bob Mayer and are just a fun reads. Agnes and the Hitman, has got to be one of my all time favorites. Anne Stuart’s Ice series for when I want dark alpha heroes and anything by Lynn Smith! Her Bride series was hysterical and her older Harlequin titles gave me hope that I was finally going to be able to read about fearless heroines.

Q: You’re on a remote island with a handsome man, a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?
A: This is a fantasy, right? Then the handsome man looks like Josh Holloway (Sawyer, from “Lost”) and I’d tell him that as long as he killed and cleaned whatever food he could find, I’d cook it but he’d have to clean up because I had a deadline to meet. Of course after the deadline…I’d need more inspiration for the next book. Hey, this is a fantasy! I mean really, would you send an SOS:

Q: Any other information you'd like to give us?
A:
Website: http://parisbrandon.com
Enjoy the adventure of sensual
Ellora’s Cave Titles: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-524-paris-brandon.aspx
Resplendence Titles: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
I belong to two group blogs. Drop by anytime, we’re always talking about something in the writing field or promoting one of our new releases!

Saturdays: http://www.shapeshifterseductions.blogspot.com
Tuesdays: http://www.sixsexysirens.blogspot.com
If you’d like to receive my newsletter, stop by my website and sign up! I always love to see new faces and feel free to drop me a line on my contact page.

BLURB for Head Over Heels

Height-challenged Bella Jacienski literally falls head over magic red stilettos into sexy philanthropist’s Rhys Vincent’s arms and wonders if the legend attached to the shoes is true. Has she found her heart’s desire, a passionate, lust-crazed lover who wants only her­—always?

Rhys can’t keep his big hands off the curvy shopkeeper. Her smile captivates him and her lush body has him behaving like a primitive Neanderthal. Heated glances and sizzling touches turn into a hot office interlude and wild break-the-bed sex that only make him want her more. She thinks the shoes are magic but Rhys knows that Bella is all the magic he needs.

Excerpt: Rated: Adult

Rhys Vincent ground his back teeth and took Veronica Smith–Hathaway’s elbow as they crossed the street. It was snowing and not for the first time did he wish he were wearing boots instead of dress shoes with his tux. Ronnie didn’t seem to notice the puddle that soaked her designer heels or the frigid wind that tore at the edges of her flimsy black evening coat. Neither had been designed for January in Kansas City.
 
Veronica—Ronnie—was his best friend Brian’s estranged wife. She had insisted she knew a shop that had the fedora they needed to complete the scavenger-hunt list—right after he’d politely refused her offer to give him the best sex of his life. Was it too much to ask for a woman who didn’t have an agenda to want to have sex with him? He’d been down the revenge-sex path years ago and it was one he didn’t want to take with a woman he’d known for twenty years.

He’d promised Brian that he’d keep an eye on her and that meant he couldn’t very well let her walk around alone in the Crossroads art district after dark.

As CEO of the Vincent Foundation, he’d put Veronica in charge of the annual event as a favor. One he was coming to regret. He was still trying to figure out why Brian was so worried about a wife he’d clearly been neglecting for the past year when Ronnie leaned over and peered into a dimly lit shop.

“There it is,” she hissed, pointing at a weathered brown fedora, jauntily perched on a torso mannequin’s head. Before he could figure out why she was hissing, he glanced through the window, started to shout and everything went into slow motion.

He saw a pair of curvy legs that ended in sexy red spike heels leaning forward and overbalancing a rickety ladder. The bell over the door jangled as he pushed it open and sprinted three full strides. He reached her before she finished screaming.

“She” was an armful of black and white fluff he grabbed and swept out of the way as the ladder fell.
 
Maybe he couldn’t breathe because she’d smacked him square in the chest but he didn’t think so. Although it could have been because her arms were wrapped solidly around his neck, as if she didn’t intend to let go anytime soon. Fine by him.

He didn’t know if she was shocked that he’d caught her or because she knew the shudder that rippled through her like a faint orgasm had telegraphed its way into his fingertips. She looked like a naughty fairy-tale princess with big blue eyes. A fall of silky dark hair brushed the top of her black turtleneck and her creamy cheeks were flushed as bright as an apple. She knew.

Thanks to Paris Brandon for doing this interview! She's a Member Author of this blog's Yahoo group and can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romancebooksrus