In the Author Spotlight
TINA DONAHUE

CONTEST: Tina will be offering a contest. She’ll offer one commenter (chosen at random), her (or his) choice of one of my backlist ebooks, including:

1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist  4 Stars RT
2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
7. Take Me Away - #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books

GOOD LUCK!

AL: Hi Tina! Welcome to Blog Bites.

Tina: Thanks for having me at Blog Bites – I’m thrilled to be here.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Tina: It’s getting really beautiful in Palm Springs where I live. Not that it isn’t always beautiful, but instead of 60 degree days, we’re now having 75 and up. Wow. The mountains are covered with snow and the valley – where I live – has these soft, caressing breezes scented with flowers. Paradise.

AL: Tell us about a current or upcoming release.

Tina: The Yearning, my first paranormal and my first title with Samhain has just come out in print – March 6, to be exact. It’s been a Top Ten Bestseller at Samhain and received so many wonderful reviews, including being nominated for Book of the Week at Whipped Cream Reviews (LASR).

AL: What other works are you deep into?

Tina: I’m about to go into edits for Illicit Desire, Book Two of my Outlawed Realm series (paranormal). Outlawed Realm is my first series, BTW. Illicit Desire is set to be pubbed in September. Unending Desire, Book One, just received the Best Book rating at LASR erotic.

AL: Who is the author(s) that inspired you to write?

Tina: Wow. There were so many. I was reading Dickens in the fourth grade. I love the work of Lawrence Sanders, Dean Koontz, Hilma Wolitzer, Sol Stein, Kathleen Woodiwiss and too many others to mention.

AL: Of your books, whose your favorite hero and heroine?

Tina: Hmmm. I’ve had many erotic contemporary romances pubbed by Ellora’s Cave. Two of my favs are Sensual Stranger, which was named Book of the Year at Blue Moon Reviews. Toni and Zach made me laugh, cry, sigh, you name it. Another of my works for EC, In His Arms, is probably my most dramatic, exploring white slavery. RJ’s love for Summer stole my breath. Even after reading it countless times, I still cry at the end. They moved me that much.

AL: Have you ever wanted to write your book in one direction but your characters wanted to go in another direction. What did you do in such a situation?

Tina: Actually yes. When I was plotting SiNN, my most recent Ellora’s Cave release, I at first thought it would be a one man-one woman plot between Jake and Lea. But then, Toby, Jake’s partner in the US Marshals Service kept barging into my thoughts. It led to my first ever ménage and lots of new fans.

AL: It’s time to get personal! Do you have a favorite sport, &/or team that you follow?

Tina: I confess, sports aren’t my fav thing. I do like figure skating and watch it during the Olympics.

AL: Can you describe yourself in 3 sentences or less?

Tina: How about three words? Passionate. Persistent. Irreverent.

AL: If you weren't writing, what do you suppose you'd be doing?

Tina: OMG, I can’t imagine myself not writing. Honestly, it’s like oxygen to me. I come alive when I’m with my characters. No matter how cruddy my day has been, they make it all worthwhile.

AL: Where would you like to travel if you had the chance?

Tina: Spain, especially Andalusia. One of my earliest romances was Just One Kiss that took place there in the 1400’s. I had to do a lot of research and I simply fell in love with the country.

AL: Can you share some of your plans for 2012 and beyond?

Tina: I just contracted Sinfully Wicked, my next ménage, with Ellora’s Cave and received the edits the other day. I’m finishing up my next paranormal, which is also the beginning of a new series for me. And, once I’m through with it, I have another idea for an erotic contemporary. In between all of that, you’ll find me at Macy’s shopping their many sales!

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Tina: Years ago, I read this quote - if I’m remembering correctly, it was by Sidney Sheldon on writing: “You think it, you feel it, you see it, and then you write it.” So true.

AL: Thanks so much for sharing, Tina.

Tina: My pleasure.

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Tina please visit:

http://www.tinadonahue.com/
http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

FEATURED TITLE: THE YEARNING

Blurb:

To break this curse, they’ll have to turn the heat up. Way up.

Jasmine Dante prowls Key West’s nightlife, fighting a losing battle against a jealous rival’s curse that forces her to seek carnal pleasure, no matter the danger. Weakened from lack of sleep, driven by insatiable lust, she spots a man who stirs her desperate craving, and begins yet another dance of seduction.

Except the dark stranger who returns her direct stare is no ordinary lover. Inside his powerful body lies a raw sexuality that just might be enough to break her curse. There’s only one way to find out: imprison him in her bed and feed on his passion.

Former U.S. Marshal Mike Stearn is many things, but he’s no woman’s sex slave. The deadly telekinetic power he ruthlessly suppresses comes alive again at Jasmine’s touch. Beneath her bold, potent sensuality he senses vulnerability and desperation. He may be in handcuffs, but she’s the one who’s enslaved.

As Mike resurrects his power to free himself so he can find the curse’s source and defeat it, Jasmine revels in his masterful rule. Her ravenous yearning evolves into rapture as she surrenders to his hunger, her darkest needs—and the emotional connection that lies beyond. Unless the curse takes her life first…

Warning: Tons of steamy sex, smoldering passion and a to-die-for love story with a hot Alpha hero who finds himself imprisoned by one sultry and desperate babe.

Excerpt:

You will want as I want. You will know insatiable lust, but no peace.

—Desiree Zazou

Despite the danger, unending desire drove Jasmine Dante through the Blue Bliss Club, a hangout for locals in Key West. Slow-dancing couples clung to each other in the intimate atmosphere. Turquoise lighting gave the place a dreamy underwater feel, while tiny azure bulbs sparkled like Christmas decorations on the palms flanking the bar.

A man Jasmine had just noticed sat on the last stool. No more than mid-thirties, he wore his long, black hair tied back. Sharp, masculine features, dark eyes and a coppery complexion revealed his Native American heritage. Unlike many of the other men, he didn’t wear the ubiquitous flowered shirt, shorts and flip-flops. Black mocs hugged his large feet. Jeans and a T-shirt the color of midnight clothed his lean, muscular frame. Beneath his right sleeve, she spotted a bold tattoo of what looked to be an eagle.

She pictured her mouth on the strong design, her tongue roaming his slightly salty flesh, her fingers travelling over his hard abdominal muscles and beneath his jeans’ waistband, seeking the thick, fragrant curls below. Unendurable yearning sliced through her, quickening her heart. She moved closer.

His attention didn’t stray from tonight’s band, a new group named Engaged. Their R&B throbbed soulfully, evoking the seductive richness of Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Toni Braxton. The lead singer, a slight young woman with heartache in her eyes, seemed to perform solely for him.

Were they together? Was he waiting for her set to end? Panic flared, pushing Jasmine to do something. What? her mind cried. Fight another woman over a man she didn’t know? Months ago, she would have found the notion ludicrous and daunting. Since crossing paths with Desiree Zazou, everything paled beneath Jasmine’s consuming lust.

The woman’s mocking voice echoed in her mind: “You will want as I want.”

A bead of sweat slithered from Jasmine’s temple to her cheek, intensifying the fragile, dewy scent she wore. Her steps slowed as she regarded the singer.

The girl dipped her head in a gesture of farewell to the man, then sang with equal passion to another guy who leaned against the satiny blue wall.

She’s playing to her audience, Jasmine thought, it’s a part of her act. She probably doesn’t even know him. Though relieved, she remained shaky inside and stopped at the end of the dance floor.

Someone bumped into her. She stepped aside and froze as a young redhead in a scarlet Band-Aid dress tottered toward the man, her gait unsteady from drugs or too many drinks. He noted her blurry smile and offered a guarded expression in return. Twisting her hair and holding it back with one hand, the redhead pressed close, her ample breasts snuggled into his sculpted biceps, her mouth to his ear. Whatever she said made his dark brows lift.

Heart pounding, Jasmine glanced over and captured the server’s wrist as the twenty-something girl—Sara, by her nametag—tried to move past. Jasmine kept her voice raised just enough so the music and singer wouldn’t drown her out. “See that man at the bar on the last stool?”

Server Sara put her voice at the same pitch. “You kidding? Me and about a dozen other women got him in our sights, including the one who’s with him now. You thinking about sending him a drink?”

“Whatever he’s having.” Afraid to use a credit card the police could trace back to her if anyone reported him missing, she took a twenty out of her evening bag.

The bill went into the front pocket of Sara’s cobalt blue apron. “What’s your name? So I can tell him.”

No. She couldn’t chance the girl putting any name to her face. “Have the bartender point me out. And keep the change. Please.”

“You got it.” With a savvy wink, Server Sara turned and wove through the crowd.

One of the bouncers, an older guy with a shaved head and goatee, watched the redhead as she clung to the man and continued to speak. Jasmine saw the building annoyance in the man’s twilight eyes. Before he had to do anything about it, a trio of giggling young women joined the redhead. All wore skimpy, skin-tight dresses in a rainbow of shades: bright yellow, grass green, purple as deep as a bruise. They tried to coax their friend back to the dance floor.

She flung out her hand to shoo them away. The bouncer stepped forward and said something the young woman didn’t like. Head whipped to the side, she gave him a frown. A tense moment passed during which the other girls convinced her to leave.

Jasmine feared the man would do the same, fed up with aggressive females. What would she do then? Follow him outside and pretend she wanted to know the time? Ask for directions to another bar, maybe one on touristy Duval Street? Invite him to join her? And if he didn’t, would she be able to find someone else to ease her ravenous yearning or would he stay in her blood the entire time, making her lust even worse?

Seconds crept by. The air hissed with uncertainty.

He settled back on his stool, absorbed by the smooth tenor sax and the songstress’s smoky vocals.

Jasmine remembered to breathe. Closing her eyes briefly, she wondered if he was a musician, given his interest in the band. He certainly seemed to be a gentleman, considering his restraint with the redhead. However, this was a public place. What would he do when he thought they were alone? Travis, the last man she chose, would have harmed her, if not for her sisters’ intervention.

Recalling that night, her insides rolled, though it didn’t stop her. She watched the female bartender accept her twenty. To the left, Jasmine’s younger sisters, Violet and Lily, sat at a corner table, their apprehension palpable. When she made eye contact with Lily, her youngest sibling rose to join her. Violet grabbed Lily’s arm, a reminder to sit. Worried they might argue and ruin everything, Jasmine shook her head, warning them not to be obvious. To the casual observer and especially to the man, they shouldn’t appear to know each other. Thankfully, they didn’t look like sisters. Violet, with her light brown hair, hazel eyes and pale complexion, resembled their late mom. So did Lily, even though she’d dyed her brown hair platinum and wore it in a close-cropped boyish style. Jasmine, on the other hand, had her late dad’s olive coloring, dark brown hair and blue-green eyes.

Violet inclined her head toward the man. Jasmine looked. The bartender had already slid a bottle of Dos Equis to him. They exchanged comments, and then the woman lifted a slender forefinger and pointed to Jasmine.

He turned.

Heat surged to Jasmine’s cheeks. Crushing need prevented her from taking a full breath.

In his hooded eyes, she saw fulfillment, no matter how fleeting…his confining weight trapping her, the ends of his untied hair skimming her bare shoulders, his mouth hard and ruthless. A virile male she wouldn’t have dared approach before Desiree changed her destiny, falsely accusing her of taking Connor Rolands, the man Desiree wanted.

Now, the curse drew Jasmine to this man as the road to Hell seduces a born sinner. She walked in time to the music’s sensual beats. Inwardly, a part of her cowered. For him and what would soon come, she offered a welcoming smile.

REMEMBER: Tina will be offering a contest. She’ll offer one commenter (chosen at random), her (or his) choice of one of my backlist ebooks. Pick from one of those listed above. Good luck!