Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over Viola Estrella,
author of Haunting You, Bewitching Women Series, Book 2. If you love Paranormal Romance, this one's for you. So cozy in and check out this fantastic read!
Date of Publication:
10/25/2014
ISBN: 978-0-9856198-3-1
ASIN: B00OU1V41E
Number of pages: 302
Word Count: 85,500
Cover Artist: Estrella Cover Art
Giveaway! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter after this post for a chance to win 7 $5 Amazon, B&N, or iTunes gift cards (winner’s choice).
Book Description
Rachel Spencer's life has been hijacked by the supernatural.
Ghosts seeking help with their unfinished earthly business won't leave her
alone. Her only hope for returning to normalcy and passing her next attempt at
the bar exam is making a deal with one of the ghostly intruders. It should be
simple--Ella keeps the other spirits away if Rachel agrees to help Ella's two
teenage sons. No problem. Well, not until she meets the boys' guardian.
August Kline misses his old life. He never planned to raise
two teenage hurricanes in an old house in small-town Indiana. But here he is,
and he's determined to make the best of it...if he could only keep the house in
order and not completely screw up his nephews.
Enter a gorgeous redhead who pops into August's world when
life is at its grimmest. Rachel claims to be an old friend of Ella's and offers
to help around the house. Sparks fly whenever they're together, and August is
falling fast. Rachel keeps her distance, worrying her ghostly secrets will sabotage
any chance of a relationship. But when danger appears and threatens the people
she has grown to care about, she may have to face more than her own fears.
Time to Interview!
What inspired you to write this book?
The heroine in Haunting You had her debut in Bewitching You,
Book 1 in the Bewitching Women Series. I put her through some trauma in the
first book and decided she desperately needed a happy ending of her own. And
now she does!
What made you choose the main setting for your book?
I chose Indiana as the setting because one of the secondary
characters is Amish (and a ghost), and I needed a small-town setting where
Amish are abundant. I also lived in a small town in Indiana for a short period
as a young girl. (I have to warn readers that even though there’s an Amish
character, this is not an inspirational romance. It’s actually quite spicy!)
If you could spend an hour in real life with one of your
characters, who would it be and why?
Well, the hero in Haunting You wouldn’t be too horrible to
spend time with (for obvious reasons). He’s a fun guy with a sense of humor.
And not difficult to look at.
Tell us a little bit about the conflict in your story.
Here’s my tagline for Haunting You. Hopefully it explains a
lot with a little. “Strike a bargain with a ghost? Never Again. Fall in love
with the ghost’s brother? Well, maybe.”
Are you currently working on another story? If so, we’d love
some details.
I’m currently writing Book 3 in the Bewitching Women Series,
Finding You. It’s Becca’s story, and I’m LOVING getting into her head. She’s a
blast (and a mess). And the hero isn’t too shabby either. Like the first two,
this has a feel-good, small-town feel. And of course plenty of paranormal
elements with a bit of mystery.
Did you enjoy writing one scene above all the rest? If so,
share.
In Haunting You, any scene where my heroine, Rachel, and my
hero, August, were together was my favorite. I loved their dialogue and their
passion.
What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other
genres you’d like to write in the future?
My preference is to write paranormal romance and sexy urban
fantasy. I’ve had the urge to write a cozy mystery lately, and I’ve always
wanted to write contemporary romance. But one thing at a time, right?
Do you prefer to write short stories, novellas or novels?
Why?
Novels, simply because they’re meatier. But I have written
shorter.
Do you write books in series? If so, share a bit about the
series you currently have published or are coming soon.
I do. The Bewitching Women Series is going to be a trilogy
(at least). I’m also going to re-release my RITA-nominated sexy urban fantasy,
Angel Vindicated, by the end of the year (crossing fingers!). Then I’ll
continue that series.
Readers, to find out more, please visit my website:
http://violaestrella.com/
And also sign up for my newsletter!
Thank you for having me!
Excerpt
So she actually wanted to go through with this?
Fantastic. No, more like embarrassing. And wrong. So wrong.
A beautiful woman had popped into his life like a granted
wish and all she wanted to do was clean his house.
He stepped outside, letting the glass door close behind him,
and smiled at Rachel because, well, he found it hard not to when in her
presence. Rosy-glossed kissable lips, light coppery hair, delicate features,
and seductive eyes framed by thick lashes compelled him to be happy. Hell, to
be ecstatic. The woman magnetized him. He was a goddamned moth and she was the
brightest lamppost on the block. Only question was when would he get zapped?
“Hi.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked on her
feet. Cute and sexy. Lethal combo.
“You came back.” Obviously, dumbass.
“I hope you don’t mind. Helping you and the boys would mean
a lot to me.”
When she put it that way, it seemed kind of rude to object.
But… “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I want to. Besides, I owe Ella for all her mentoring. She
helped me so much. And this is how I’d like to repay her.”
“I don’t know.” Why couldn’t he just say “no”? Where were
his balls? They were there a moment ago.
“I insist, August. So…” She lifted her hand, palm up. “Hand
over the house key. You’re not going to win this argument. I’m a soon-to-be
lawyer. I don’t back down easily.”
“I can see that.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his
set of keys. “I’m going to pay you for whatever you do.” Truth be told, he
should have hired a housekeeper before it had come to this. If he had, maybe
Rachel would be more interested in his bed than his dirty dishes.
“No, you’re not.” She grabbed the key from his hand just as
he unlatched it. “I won’t accept anything but extreme gratitude.”
“Extreme gratitude could come in many forms.” He
instinctively reached out to touch her, brushing two fingers down the inside of
her forearm.
Her cheeks flushed pink as she inched ever so slightly away
from him. She averted her gaze to the parking lot. “Um, I’ll get started. Should
I bring the key back to you before I leave?”
So she was shy all of a sudden? Too bad. He could have some
fun debating with Ms. Soon-To-Be-Lawyer. But shyness was good too. The word
“challenge” sprang to mind.
He leaned against the concrete plaza wall and inclined
toward her, catching a whiff of strawberry. He hadn’t gained women’s interest
in the past by being inhibited. And he wasn’t going to start now.
“You could spend the night,” he said.
Yep, that got her attention.
She jerked her head back, warm chocolate eyes wide and
alert. “Pardon?”
August kept his cool, something he’d learn to excel at over
the years in NYC, where the women he’d run into weren’t quite as innocent as
this one. He hitched up one side of his grin and lowered his eyelids somewhat—a
look several of his ex-girlfriends had told him was sexy.
Yeah, he was desperate.
“I mean, if you’re planning on coming back tomorrow, there’s
no point in driving four hours round trip.” He winked. “With gas prices and
all.”
Every inch of her body seemed to tense, including her
clutched fists at her sides. “My car’s pretty efficient,” she mumbled, glancing
at his lips before settling on his eyes.
“Safety then. It’s a long drive.” As subtle as possible, he
reached out again but this time to see if her hair was as silky soft as it
appeared. Her skin certainly was. He ran his fingers across her smooth cheek,
sweeping a thick lock of unbelievably soft reddish-blond hair away from her
face and behind her ear.
She tilted her head toward his touch, and he hoped to God
the two ladies who had just walked out of Dolly’s Hair Salon wouldn’t scare her
away from the kiss he was about to give her.
He cupped her cheek and moved in closer.
She pulled her bottom lip in to bite and then released it,
making him want to taste her even more.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
Before he could make his move or argue it was the best idea
he’d had in years, she took three sharp steps away from him, leaving his hand
caressing nothing but air.
“I’ll return the key in a few hours.” She turned on the heel
of her tennis shoe and race-walked to her car.
Ah, hell. “All right,” he called after her, trying to sound
as if he hadn’t just tried to make a move on her in the middle of a shopping
plaza. And failed miserably. “See you soon.”
“Hey, Don Juan.” Loretta heaved the door open, grabbing his
attention. “You collect payment from Ms. La-dee-da, or is she planning on
paying you the old-fashioned way?”
August spun around and pointed a finger at her. “You know I
could fire you, right? You realize I’m your employer and not the other way
around?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hon, you would be lost without me.”
Shit, she was probably right. He blew out a breath. “Don’t
insult Rachel, got it? She was a friend of Ella’s. And she’s going to be
helping me out around the house as a favor.”
“A friend of Ella’s?” Loretta scrunched her black-dyed
eyebrows together. “I don’t recall Ella ever mentioning her, and she told me
everything.”
August shrugged. “Maybe there was more to Ella than you
know.”
“Hmmph. I doubt it. I know everything about everyone in this
town, and if Ms. Spencer is planning on sticking around Curlville for a while,
I just might have to check her out.”
About the Author
Viola Estrella loves a story with flawed characters,
paranormal elements, humor and romance. She tries to include these aspects in
all that she writes and loves every minute of it. When she's not writing,
reading, or designing cover art, she's spending time with her husband and four
sons in their Colorado home. Viola is a 2010 RITA® finalist.
Also in 2010, she was honored by her local RWA® chapter,
Colorado Romance Writers, with the Writer of the Year award. Find out more
about Viola Estrella’s writing at www.ViolaEstrella.com
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1 comment:
Congrats to the winners! Thanks, Sky, for hosting my interview. Happy Holidays!
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