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Cyndi Friberg
Tainted Hearts
cyndifriberg.com
What is Tainted Hearts about?
Tainted Hearts is a futuristic romance about a loving father who does the wrong thing for the right reason. Marc Sinclair's daughter is born with a lethal heart defect, but his involvement with the Methuselah Project keeps her from being accepted for the life-saving procedure. Convinced his only option is to bypass the selection process, Marc takes matters into his own hands. He kidnaps Tuesday Fitzpatrick, inventor of the first cybernetic heart. He must figure out a way to convince, coerce, or seduce his way beyond Tuesday’s emotional reserve. Marc can sense her loneliness, and her compassion for his child. Still Tuesday is stubborn and spirited—and time is running out.
What do you think readers will enjoy most about it?
I hope I can surprise the readers with a few of the plot twists. I don't claim to be a suspense writer, but the story is pretty complex. I also feel the emotional relationship between the hero and heroine is fun to experience. I've got my fingers crossed that the readers and reviewers will agree.
Do you have a regular job, and if so, what is it?
As well as writing mainstream romances as Cyndi Friberg, I write paranormal erotica as Aubrey Ross. I write for five publishers and maintain my own websites. I don't know if you consider that a regular job, but it certainly keeps me busy. *grin*
What is the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
I drove a school bus for six years. There was never a dull moment with that job.
Who do you think is the sexiest man alive and why?
I'm contractually obligated to say my husband, but Gerard Butler is a very close second. I like men who look like men and Gerard exudes raw sexuality. I've been fascinated with him ever since I saw Attila-the-Hunk on TV.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
You mean other than read or watch movies? I live in Colorado and we (DH and I) love to take long drives in the mountains. We tend to end up in Black Hawk or Central City an awful lot (gambling), but the pine-fresh air and vivid blue sky are hard to beat. I also love live theater.
Where is your favorite place to spend time?
With my family and friends.
If you could have one magical power, what would it be?
Healing.
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Kim Cox
Enchanted Holidays/Haunted Hearts
www.kimcox.org
What is Haunted Hearts about?
My story is set around Valentine's Day. Lana Malloy has a family ghost—her eccentric great aunt—living with her. She's starting her own PI business and her great aunt offers to be her first case. When she starts the investigation, she visits her great aunt’s fiancé’s handsome grandson only to learn that the fiancé also inhabited the home and hadn’t moved on either. For twenty years, each ghost had thought the other had killed her/him. An argument begins between the ghosts until they figure out they were both murdered by someone else. Later, as things heat up in the investigation it also heats up between Lana and the grandson, Tony.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
It has a little of each element: suspense, paranormal, comedy and romance. I believe they will love Aunt Lucy who believes in living life to the fullest even when it's in her ghostly body.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
Read and watch television. Every so often we ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, take our time and look at picturesque views while having a leisurely day.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
For our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband and I visited the Aztec Ruins in Mexico during a trip to Cancun.
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
Physically, I love a nicely trimmed beard and mustache, and a hairy chest, gorgeous blue or green eyes. I like both long and short hair; it’s according to the man. Emotionally, I love a man who is understanding, uplifting, sincere, thoughtful and sensitive and who can cook.
Tell us about your first love.
It was high school. I was a freshman cheerleader and he was a senior, but he was small enough that they let him play freshman football since it was the first year he played football. Because of his speed, he was a receiver. No one could catch him. He also ran track—the mile—and set a record for our school. He had a good sense of humor, very thoughtful and considerate. My parents love and trusted him. Probably the only person my parents trusted with me.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
The one where my husband and I spent a romantic evening at home alone, watching the New Year come in on the television.
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
My husband, Lee Cox. Besides being the love of my life, he’s also very capable at everything—fishing, building fires, growing vegetables and he could probably build a boat if he had his chainsaw with him. He’s a chainsaw artist.
Sher Hames Torres
Enchanted Holidays/Fate’s Little Trick
www.hometown.aol.com/babynerds/index.html
What is Fate’s Little Trick about?
In the years since Gemma McKenzie Fuller lost her husband, their young daughter and her hearing in a Christmas Eve car accident, she has remained hidden away from the world while managing her grandfather's cabin rentals. When the accident took her hearing, it left her with a dreadful gift: the ability to feel other people's pain and hear their worried thoughts. Now, after Gemma has finally reached a fragile contentment, another Christmas Eve brings everything crashing in around her when she awakens to the sound of a sick child's voice filling her head. Little does Gemma know when she beckons the child and her father to her cabins, that fate is drawing to her the only man who ever broke her heart.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
I try to draw my readers into the story by making them see what my characters see and feel what my characters feel. The sensation of crawling inside a story and standing beside the characters, living the scene with them, has always been something that will bring me back to a story I've already read. I hope I've accomplished that with Fate's Little Trick.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
LOL Well, fun we can do … relaxation? With two teens, writing, and a antique needlework restoration company, I don't remember what relaxation is. As for the fun part, I love spending time with my family, taking my son to the skateboard park and holding my breath as he "gets good air" while I listen for cracking sounds, watching my daughter draw. Despite arthritis that sometimes makes it hard for me to get around, I'm never still. I even take knitting to the movies. And I always have several needlework projects going at one time. At present I have three sweaters, a quilt, two afghans, and four x-stitch projects going. I'm the same with my writing. I'm working on five novels right now. Oh and anything done in the Smoky Mountains qualifies as both relaxation and fun!
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
Oh, I'm so boring. To me, restoring a piece of antique needlework is interesting. Right now, I'm working on a christening pillow that was made by a young woman in Poland during WW I. The pillow top is done completely in needlelace, which means she started with a sewing needle and a spool of thin crochet thread and through a series of knots, created a picture of two cherubs. There is no thread equivalent now with the modern finishes put on cotton these days, so I have to take hundreds of yards of finished cotton, boil it, strip it, coffee dye it to match the tint of the aged thread, all before I can even start the first stitch repair. I once repaired cross-stitch sampler done by a 12-year-old girl in 1757. The sense of accomplishment makes it worthwhile. Wondering about the lives these women lived makes it interesting.
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
I love big hairy men. LOL (Okay, not Robin Williams hairy, but fuzzy.) The kind who look ferocious but at the touch of a child's hand, melt into a puddle. I love consideration. The simple act of rinsing the dishes after dinner and putting them in the sink, whether he washes them or not, and wiping down the counters is sexy as hell to me. Patience and humor. And the ability to listen and remember what you say.
Tell us about your first love.
To me, first loves don't count. I think my first love was in the first grade and had a penchant for eating paste and Styrofoam cups. It's the last loves that count. I've been with my husband for almost 27 years, married for 24. I always say my sister gave him to me. I used to have to chauffeur my younger brothers and sisters and their various friends around when they wanted to go to the movies, skating, etc. On one particular trip, my little sister's boyfriend paid Mark to keep me distracted. While they were skating, he surmised, he just might like to kiss her and didn't want me glaring at them. Like I cared. I was sitting in the bleachers with my soda, pen and paper. So here was this cute little boy who was refusing to leave my side, and I was trying to figure out how he could have such an old soul. Not once did he mention a "bitching car." LOL Three years later, my sister's no-longer-boyfriend was my husband's best man at his wedding. Mark is still the love of my life and we're still best friends...which is as it should be.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
I can't pick just one. Each one is different. When I was a child, my mother always made a huge traditional dinner, roast beef for health, black-eyed peas for change, collard greens for wealth, and for years I did the same. But my kids didn't like collards, and we didn't end up poor. I'm not my mother so my beef roast doesn't measure up, yet we're all reasonably healthy. And a meal of only black-eyed peas didn't seem very worthwhile, so traditional is out. Now, we try as often as possible to get together with my sister, her husband, and all our kids and order pizza, watch a movie or play games or find somewhere to watch the fireworks. As long as we're all healthy, happy and together, every one is memorable.
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
LOLOL! Okay, if I somehow managed to be ON a tropical island, trapped or otherwise, at least one person had better be a psychiatrist! The only way you'd get me on a plane is if someone I loved more than life were ill or dying ... and then I'd have to be very stupid drunk ... I don't like sharks so no boat ... and I'm not a "in the heat" girl. Now, if I were somehow trapped in the mountains ... my husband and kids ... course they could have their own cabin. <G> Wait, does trapped mean, without internet and phone? In that case, I'll just stay home.
Maureen McMahon
Enchanted Holidays/Ghosts of Auld Lang Syne
maureenmcmahon.com
What is Ghosts of Auld Lang Syne about?
It’s an independent sequel to my novel, Return of the Gulls. Stacey Christian and Peter Mansfield pair up again at the newly inherited old house of a friend in the remote New England countryside. Stacey and Peter join a diverse cast of characters to celebrate the New Year holiday. The innocent gathering soon turns sinister, however, as suspicious accidents and strange visitations occur. The mystery behind these accidents, and Stacey’s unexpected interaction with the resident ghost of the old house, Clementine Kreen, culminate in a nail-biting finale on the anniversary of Clementine’s disappearance—New Year’s Eve.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
Hopefully readers will enjoy the same elements I like in a novel—romance, mystery, intrigue and danger, with a ghost or two for good measure.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
I go walking on the beach with my husband. I also enjoy fishing, reading, music, art and playing games with my children. I love travel and hope to do a more as soon as I can.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
Probably the most interesting thing I’ve ever done is boarded a plane to Australia with a one-year working visa in hand and very meager savings in the bank. I had no idea I would meet the man of my dreams and end up married, with a new house and baby within eighteen months. It was the most romantic whirlwind—and I’m still loving every minute. I do miss home (Michigan), though, and hope to get back to visit more often.
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
Physically, I like strong hands, sincere and sexy eyes and soft, full lips. I also like a toned, flat stomach. In terms of personality, I like a man who makes me laugh, who’s interested in what I have to say, who can be spontaneous, and who treats me with respect.
Tell us about your first love.
My first love I met in college. He was about five years older than I, and I thought he was so handsome and clever! He was blond with baby blue eyes. When he smiled, I simply melted. When he asked me, at a party, if I wanted to go for a ride on his motorcycle, I nearly fainted with joy. He treated me like a queen. I never knew a man could be so attentive. We were together for six years on and off. I owe him a great debt of gratitude for giving me self-confidence, and teaching me not to settle for less than Mr. Right.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
My most memorable New Year’s Eve was at a party I went to with friends. We didn’t know anyone there, but it was a big party with lots of music, lights and drink. My friends and I met some wonderful people. On the stroke of midnight, I happened to be standing next to the most gorgeous guy in the room. He kissed me long and lingeringly. I never found out his name because he disappeared right afterwards. To this day, I think of him as Mr. Cinderella.
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
I’d probably pick Brad Pitt. I’d love to be trapped anywhere with him, but on a tropical island for a month I’d be able to plumb the depths of his character and find out what he’s really like—as well as a few other things. Of course, my husband would naturally be my first choice. <g>
Chris Grover
Enchanted Holidays/Valentine’s Inn
www.chrisgrover.ca
What is Valentine’s Inn about?
After being injured in an automobile accident that killed three of her friends and in which she was the driver, Rianna Gordon hopes to erase the past by hiding herself away. She has no idea it’s the past that holds the key to her happiness—until one cold February morning when a stranger and a stray cat show up and she starts smelling violets everywhere she goes.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
Probably the fact that Rianna decides to reopen Valentine's Inn and move on with her life, rather than sell a property that's been in her family for over a hundred years and hide herself away.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
Read, knit, shop, watch TV, cook, go for walks, and play with The Boys—our two black and white Persian cats.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
I've done a number of interesting things: I've visited the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where Jim Morrison and a lot of famous people are buried. I've been to the Chateau d'If in Marseille—the setting for Dumas' Man In The Iron Mask. I was blessed by the Pope in Rome. I've followed part of the Oregon Trail from just below the Grand Coulee Dam to The Dalles. I took a trip over the Hoover Dam in a helicopter piloted by a Vietnam vet who flew so close to the ground I think he thought he was still in Vietnam fighting the war. And I read some of the love letters Napoleon and Josephine wrote to one another during their courtship. At the time I read them, the letters were in a private collection.
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
Compassion, understanding and respect for the fact that maybe we don't always like the same thing.
Tell us about your first love.
I married my first love when we were teenagers and we're still together. He's also my best friend and while he likes to do a couple of things that I don't care for, such as golf and fishing, we do a lot of stuff together, like shopping and making carrot soup, and we never make important decisions without discussing them with each other first.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
We don't really celebrate New Year. If we're still awake at midnight, we'll have a drink to toast the new year and something to eat, but that's about it.
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
Rod Stewart. Because he's the sexiest man around (apart from dh, of course) and I just love his voice.
Elaine Hopper
Enchanted Holidays/Curse of Seth
elainehopper.com
What is Curse of Seth about?
It's a paranormal in which there is a curse that the world order will change at the dawn of the New Millenium. Although we think the New Millenium has already occurred, the dates are incorrect. Unbeknownst to Alexis who was adopted into an Egyptian family, she is Seth's chosen one—the sacrifice. Her birth family has sent a savior to her in the form of Zane Ryan, an ex-love, but she does not believe him about the curse nor welcome his reentry into her life—until a mummy comes to life, wanting to marry and then sacrifice her to herald his new evil world order.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
It's adventurous, fun, spooky, romantic ... all the elements I love in a story. The hero and heroine both have the chance to be very heroic, and the evil is very evil.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
Tae kwondo. I just earned my purple belt so I'm a little more than halfway to my black belt. I'm so pumped! I also just started doing Mary Kay and I'm meeting lots of new people and making new girlfriends. Oh! And I'm the target ... uh ... catcher ... for my 16-year-old's pitching lessons for fast pitch softball. Wanna see my bruises? Oh, but that's not exactly relaxation. I also love to go to the movies and munch out on buttery popcorn or nachos. And of course I love to read and write and play on the computer. My newest hobby is playing with my brand new granddaughter who was our little Halloween gift. She's the newest light of my life.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
Besides falling in love? Giving new life? Having my books published? Holding my new granddaughter? LOL There are so many things it's hard to choose just one. Ghost hunting in a real haunted hotel with the WRW (World Romance Writers) ranks very high up there. We had a writers' retreat in French Lick, Indiana, a few years ago that was awesome. Toilet papering the teacher's trees back in high school. Oops, should I have admitted that? Burning boots in the Air Force when I was in the Drum & Bugle Corps. We literally slathered our combat boots with tons of wax and held them to a small fire all Saturday long to get a very high shine because we in the D&B had to be tops in appearance and everything. We marched in parades all around Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana including the real New Orleans and Biloxi Mardis Gras parades. I was in the flag corps section and I twirled flags. I also twirled flags and marched in parades and did half times in high school. Those were fantastically awesome times!
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
Someone I can talk to easily. Someone whom I can laugh with, converse, confide in, share ideas. Someone who treats me with care and respect. Someone who’s responsible and doesn't play the blame game. Those are most important by far. Physically, I tend to gravitate toward tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, swarthy men. Although a strong personality on a shorter man will hands down beat out a taller man with me. I also melt at the sound of a deep, smooth voice.
Tell us about your first love.
Was that Gary Seibert when I was 3 years old? Or was that Timmy Denton in kindergarten? LOL
Joyce Wilder and I were both in love with Timmy Denton, and the three of us would sit in the back seat of the school bus with Timmy in the middle and Joyce and I would kiss him the whole way home. I never felt an ounce of jealousy back then. Believe me, I would now! But then there was one day when I kissed Timmy on the playground and Gary got jealous and pulled me away and I was thrilled. So who knows? Maybe it was Gary.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
I just enjoyed spending it with my family (Mom and Dad and Aunt Lora) and all our friends. The adults would play cards upstairs and we kids would play all kinds of games in our rooms or the basement. Probably not the romantic type of answer you hoped for.
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
Jesus aside, I think it would have to be Captain Jack Sparrow a.k.a. Johnny Depp. For one, he's sexy and fun as all get out. For two, I'd be assured of eventual rescue. He never stays in residence as governor of his island for long. :)
Editor’s note: Elaine Hopper also writes for Ellora’s Cave as Ashley Ladd (www.ashleyladd.com).
Elizabeth Delisi
Enchanted Holidays/Mistletoe Medium
elizabethdelisi.com
What is Mistletoe Medium about?
It's the first story in my paranormal mystery series about Lottie Baldwin, a psychic who solves mysteries using Tarot cards and her psychic talents. In this first story, she moves to Cheyenne, North Dakota, to start over after a failed relationship, where she meets and falls for handsome deputy sheriff Harlan Erikson, and jumps right into the frying pan with a burglar plaguing the town.
What do you think readers will enjoy about it?
Lottie is an independent woman, not afraid to be different. She's strong and will do anything for friends. Her psychic talents make her a fun character as well.
What do you do for fun and relaxation?
I read, of course. I also knit, collect and study Tarot cards, and spend time with family and friends.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
Gosh, I'm not sure I've done much that's interesting. I'm a boring person, except in my fiction! I do remember climbing a water tower one night with my then-boyfriend, and getting chased down by the police. I've taken mule rides down into the Grand Canyon, which is a wonderful way to see it. I've given birth to three children with no drugs, one at home with a midwife. Learned how to use the Tarot, and now I do online chats as Madame Liz where I give quickie one-card readings.
What qualities do you find attractive in a man?
Intelligence, good listener, good sense of humor, kind, able to fix the plumbing or change a diaper, willing to try new things, open-minded. Non-smoker, non-drinker, and definitely non-hunter. Likes animals, good books, movies, dinner out, dessert at home. ;-)
Tell us about your first love.
Luckily, I'm married to my first love! I met my husband in school when we were 14, and we had our first date at 15. We went to the Christmas dance together that year, and since then we've been a twosome. It's lovely to have all those memories together: proms, homecoming, graduation, reunions, getting our drivers' licenses, first jobs. He's the love of my life, my first love and last love, best friend and perfect husband all rolled into one.
Describe your most memorable New Year’s Eve.
New Year's Eve isn't a terribly exciting holiday for me, I'm afraid. I stay up till midnight with my husband, blow my little horn and scare the liver out of the dog and cat, then go to bed. I do remember a memorable July Fourth, though. One year when our kids were small, we took them out to see the fireworks. The weather was threatening and eventually began to rain, but there was a huge crowd waiting to see the fireworks. We rigged up the blankets we'd brought like little tents to wait out the rain. Eventually, when it didn't stop, we decided we'd have to pack it in and go home. When we crawled out from under our little shelters and looked around, we discovered we were entirely alone in that big field. Good for a laugh anyway!
If you could pick a person to be trapped on a tropical island with for a month, who would it be and why?
Besides my husband, who would be my first choice, of course, I'd pick my friend Maureen. She lives in Australia, I live in the U.S., so we never get to see each other. A month together on a tropical island—with scantily clad gorgeous guys serving drinks in pineapples and providing massages, of course—would be barely enough time for us to get caught up! Better make it two months. |
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