Interview with Author Tina Donahue (Giveaway)

Tina Donahue's Links

Website

Twitter

Blog
Facebook

I’m a multi–published novelist in contemporary, historical and erotic romance. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised my work. I’ve reached finals and /or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Before I became a novelist, I was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Owned by one man, loved by another.



Abducted and delivered into sexual slavery, Lori has surrendered her will in order to survive. For more than a decade, she’s been known as Summer, her owner’s possession until he gives her to his newest lieutenant, a mysterious man called RJ.


Commanding and virile, RJ controls without cruelty and possesses without threat, engendering a mixture of safety and passion. In his strong arms, Summer enjoys carnal pleasure she’s never known and tenderness she’s craved. In his heated gaze, she experiences a sense of recognition she doesn’t immediately understand until it proves dangerous in a way she could never have imagined.


Bound by desire, need and growing love, RJ traverses the shadowy world of human trafficking, risking all for Summer’s freedom. But when he learns she harbors a fateful secret that threatens to tear her from him, they stand to lose everything.

Interviewer: Angelique

How did you end up becoming a writer?

Actually, I’ve always been a writer. I wrote my first ‘book’ when I was nine years old and illustrated it. Then I made several copies and sold it to my friends’ parents in the neighborhood. My first book tour! :)

In college, I actually went into fashion design first, then moved into journalism. One of my creative writing teachers told me I should think about writing for a living. It was the first time I considered making money at it.


Where does the inspiration for writing your stories come from?

Everywhere. For Deep, Dark, Delicious I got the idea for the plot while I was watching Iron Chef America on the Food Network. For Lush Velvet Nights, I was watching a news magazine show (ala Inside Edition) that was reporting on women hiring escorts – that got me started on a plot. For In His Arms, my latest release, I started thinking about the storyline after I saw several news stories on young women being abducted and possibly sold into sexual slavery. The world is filled with ideas that jump out, urging me to incorporate them into a story.


What do you feel makes your stories stand apart from others in your genre(s)?

My style. Really, all the plots have been told and retold, the only thing a writer has to differentiate herself from others is her style. Reviewers and fans have both remarked that they like the way I build sexual tension until it’s at a fevered pitch, allowing the characters to get to know each other, for emotional build to come into play, before they’re fully intimate. I also have a wicked wit and that’s usually incorporated into my stories through dialogue and pillow talk.


What is your favorite thing about being an author? What keeps you going?

Living another woman’s life with a hot guy, steamy romance and an HEA is definitely my idea of a good time. J Having to write keeps me going. Writing isn’t something that you do like a regular job. There has to be a fire within, something that compels you to write no matter the odds. Without that, you’re not a writer. And without writing, a large part of me would cease to exist.


Do you like to read? If so, what are your favorite genres and authors?

I would rather read than do just about anything else.

I love romance, thrillers, horror and mainstream.

A few of my favorite authors are (in no particular order) Sol Stein, Hilma Wolitzer, Dean Koontz, Cormac McCarthy, Lawrence Sanders, Lisa Plumley, Emma Holly, and Patricia Grasso.


Are there any projects that you are currently working on?

I’m always working on something. I’m currently outlining and plotting my next erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave, along with a possible scifi series with a group of other EC authors.


Do you have any new releases coming out soon?

My latest novel In His Arms, is coming out tomorrow – September 3.

GIVEAWAY CONTEST!!

 

To celebrate the upcoming release of In His Arms, I’m offering a contest today. One lucky commenter will have her choice of one of my following books**:

Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
Adored – ebook
Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
Take My Breath Away – trade paperback

** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks


Thank you for the interview, Tina.

If you have any questions for Tina, you can either leave a comment here, or you can visit the Happily Ever After Reviews Yahoo Group and post a question or comment.

If you'd like your own Author Interview, please view our Services Page.