Friday, November 6, 2015

Author Interview & New Release: Prisoner of Love by Cathy Skendrovich

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Prisoner of Love
By: Cathy Skendrovich
Releasing October 19, 2015
Entangled Select Suspense

Buy Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada


Synopsis


Risking his own life is one thing. Risking hers is another…

It was supposed to be a girls-only weekend in the California mountains. But when Lucy Parker is carjacked by an escaped prisoner, her fun weekend takes a nightmarish turn. Now she’s caught up in a dangerous world of stolen money, vicious drug dealers, and murder, and the only thing keeping her alive is her oh-so-hot captor.

Imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, undercover cop Jake Dalton wants answers-now. Worse, he’s dragged Lucy into the mix, and she’s now guilty by association. With their lives on the line, the race is on to get to Las Vegas before they’re killed…and they’re running out of time.



Excerpt

    She gave one last mighty push, sending him stumbling back. He kept his hands at his sides, accepting her tirade as his due. When she stopped pushing him away, he swallowed hard, anticipating the reaming out that he so sorely deserved. “Damn it, Jake. I wish I hadn’t fallen for you.”
    He didn’t know what shocked him more: the fact that straight-laced Lucy Parker had used a swear word, or the fact that, contrary to all that had come before, she grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him to her, latching her lips onto his in a desperation-fueled kiss that rocked his world.
    He had been kissed by dozens of women over the years. A good portion of them had initiated the act, too. And maybe they’d been more skilled with their mouths than an accountant with a penchant for choosing losers, but never had Jake lost control so completely, so quickly, as when Lucy Parker at last surrendered to their mutual attraction.
    The moment she grabbed hold of his shoulders he free fell into the kiss, a smokejumper leaping without a chute, knowing full well he’d be consumed by the inferno but craving the heat.
    With only a few nips and scrapes of her teeth, her mouth shot him right to that flashpoint of white-hot desire. God, he wanted to take command of this embrace, but it was so damned sexy, so frickin’ hot to be on the receiving end of a woman losing control.
    When he lifted his head to inhale some much needed air, her fingertips let go of his shirt and dove to the back of his head, angling his mouth for better access. Once more their lips fused together.
    Wanting to anchor himself before he exploded right where he stood, Jake placed his hands at her back, impatient fingertips roving over her sweatshirt. And still she held him to her, plunging her tongue into his mouth, shocking a groan of pure, dark lust from deep within him.
    His inner fight for restraint shattered. He ran his hands up beneath that bulky sweatshirt, growled appreciatively into her mouth at the feel of her hot skin under his fingertips.
    In a second, she drew back, chest heaving, tears drying on her cheeks. Her glasses were steamed. There was the answer to that question, he noted as he gulped air into oxygen-deprived lungs. They stared at each other.
    Needing to stop the tiptoeing around their obvious attraction for each other, he cocked his head, and asked in as calm a voice as he could muster, “Well, Lucy? Where do we go from here? It’s your decision.”
    At this moment, her answer was the most important response in his entire life. Right now he didn’t give a damn about Farelli, or stolen money, or even the luxury sports car waiting downstairs. He needed to get Lucy out of his system once and for all.
    The only problem was, when she reached down, grasped the bottom of her sweatshirt, and pulled it over her head, Jake didn’t know if what they were about to do was going to ease his obsession with her, or make it even stronger.



Goodreads


Author interview

I'm delighted to have Cathy join me to anwer a few questions for the blog. Please give her a very warm welcome ...

Thank you for having me here today!

Do you have a specific writing style?
I would say my writing style is realistic. I watch people and I try to pattern my characters and what happens to them after how they would react in real life. For example, when Jake jumps into Lucy’s car in Prisoner of Love, I visualized what I might do in that circumstance, which would probably be to scream. However, Lucy is braver than me. She actually tries to escape.

(Deanna:): That's really interesting. I think I would freeze in that situation.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, that no one is perfect. I grew up reading romances where the heroine was this blonde, blue-eyed, size six perfect woman who either fell in love with a six-foot-two equally-perfect hero, or a tortured, scarred aristocrat who was transformed by her love. Can anyone in the real world relate to those people? No. But in Prisoner of Love, Lucy wears glasses and is about ten pounds overweight. Although Jake is a hot guy, he carries the baggage of a deadbeat dad and the fact that he puts his trust in the wrong people.

(Deanna:): I find romances so much more enjoyable when there is a dose of reality in them, making them much more relatable.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Nora Roberts, definitely. I love her writing style. Sometimes her characters say the funniest lines that have me laughing out loud. I want to be able to do that for my readers. I love her use of dialogue as a method of moving the story forward. The reader isn’t bogged down with excessive narrative.

(Deanna:): Nora Roberts is such a giant in the industry. I am in awe of her.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Throughout my entire time of writing Prisoner of Love, I pictured a forty-year-old Johnny Depp. Many readers have also told me that Ian Somerhalder was their actor of choice.

(Deanna:): Johnny Depp, huh? Hmmmm ... not sure how I feel about that ....

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I prefer to write in the mornings. I get up before anyone else in the family, feed the dog, get my cup of tea, and sit down to write and manage my social media. I find I have a better grasp of the English language earlier in the day, and after that first jolt of caffeine, lol. The farther into the day I go, the more my vocabulary and descriptive powers weaken. And if I don’t get to writer every morning, I become grouchy. I have to have that creative time in my life.

(Deanna:): I admire people who can get up early and get going. I'm definitely a middle of the day kinda gal.

Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?
When I first started writing five years ago, I tried to do it longhand, but the thoughts and images flashed through my mind so fast I moved to my husband’s desktop computer. When we started arguing over who got to be on it and when, he went out and bought me a personal laptop. The rest is history.

(Deanna:): Yeah, I can't imagine sharing my computer with my husband. There would be many arguments.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
When a plot hits me, I usually dash the idea down on a piece of paper so I won’t forget it later (yes, I’m at that age!). Then I used to just write and see where it took me, but that led to a lot of deleting and dead-ends. Now I take a large notepad and jot down what I want to see happen chapter by chapter. That doesn’t always mean I follow what I write. Often some idea jumps into my head and I run with it, or perhaps the characters take the story in a different direction. That’s the fun part of writing; seeing where your idea goes.

What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
I was never a fan of reading books in a series. I like meeting new characters, visiting new places, and discovering different plots. And then I wrote a western, just for fun, on the online writing site Wattpad. Readers loved it, and wanted more. A plot involving one of its minor characters came to me, and I wrote it. While I was writing it, a third book idea popped into my head, so I rounded out that western series into a trilogy. I would love to publish it at some point, but it has a lot of POV issues that need to be addressed before that happens. So, yeah, I’m not against writing a series, if the characters move me in that direction.

(Deanna:): I adores series!! I love meeting old characters in new books. It's like getting together with old friends for a catch up.

Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors?
Yes, I read a lot. I read every night before I go to bed. Right now I’m into contemporary romances, but I also read romantic suspense and historical romance. My favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Karen Robards, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Since Prisoner of Love is published by Entangled Publishing, I also read many of their authors, like J.L. Hammer and Alexia Adams.

For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?
I used to think I would only read paper/hard back books. But when I went on a trip and had to take two books because I was almost finished with one, I realized how much more convenient an electronic reading device would be. Once again, it was my husband who went out and got me the basic Kindle for my birthday one year. Now I can’t imagine reading with anything but my Kindle.

(Deanna:): I don't think I know how to read a paper book anymore.


Author Info


jsCathy Skendrovich was born before Man walked on the moon. She'll say no more on that subject. She has always loved a good story, and spent her formative years scribbling what is now called Fan Fiction. The current heartthrob of the time featured heavily in all her stories. Unfortunately, once she went to college, her writing took the form of term papers, written on typewriters instead of computer keyboards.

Upon graduation, Cathy took a job as an English teacher in a predominantly Hispanic middle school. Along the way, she married her husband of now thirty-one years, had two sons, and moved to southern Orange County, California. She chose to work part-time in the school system there.

Now she has returned to writing, and Prisoner of Love is her first published novel. She likes writing romance because she feels it's lacking in today's technological world. She prefers to write contemporary romance, but loves a good western (and a man in Levis!).

She hopes that Prisoner of Love will be the beginning of a long and satisfying writing career.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog


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2 comments:

  1. Oh this one sounds good - I must have missed it when they sent out our ARC emails.

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    Replies
    1. It does, doesn't it? And the excerpt sizzled. I want to read this so much more now that I've read the excerpt.

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