Donna Del Oro will be awarding winner's choice of ebook or print copy of A BODYGUARD OF LIES (print - US only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Where did you grow up? Siblings? Locale? Were you considered a “bookworm” or a jock? Married, single? Children? I’m married (50 years next year!) and have two grown children, a teacher and a biotech engineer. Growing up, I was definitely a bookworm! You couldn’t pry a book out of my hands if I was engaged. I guess I was a typical nerd. Most of my childhood was spent in the country, either on my grandfather’s ranch or my other grandmother’s farm.
Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres? My favorite authors are all men, like Daniel Silva, Michael Connolly, Brad Thor, James Patterson, James Rollins, Dan Brown. That’s why I have no trouble writing from a man’s POV in my FBI romantic suspense series. My favorite genre is the spy novel, of which Daniel Silva is a master!
What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies? I sing soprano with a large, award-winning barbershop chorus. It’s challenging, relaxing and the singing sisterhood is very gratifying! That’s my main hobby besides reading, of course, and spending time with my two grandsons.
Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life? Yes, absolutely! By Shakespeare: “To thine own self be true/And as surely as the night follows the day/ Thou canst be false with any man.”
How long have you been writing? All my life, off and on. I wrote as a child little, illustrated books; as a teen, I wrote my first romantic novel, SEVENTEENTH SUMMER; as an adult, I began to write with the intent to get published.
Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop? I compose on my MacBook Pro on my kitchen counter. I tend to need quiet but I’ll play music to create some mood music for a particular scene. Soft, romantic music if I’m going to write a romantic/sexy scene.
Are you a plotter or a panzer? I’m a combination of both. I plot in my head, use a Vann diagram to keep straight all the characters’ details, and usually a loose outline of scenes. I have a firm beginning and end for my novel but everything in between is fluid and subject to change, if I feel a scene isn’t going to work or another one is needed. The IN-BETWEEN STUFF IS ALL CREATIVE. That’s what is the most fun to write. I know where I’m going but I’m not quite sure how I’ll get there.
Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories? A BODYGUARD OF LIES, LIES IN WAIT and WHERE DANGER LIES are all based on or inspired by actual events or people.
Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day? No, that’s too confining, too anal for me. If the flow stops, I stop.
What do you hope your writing brings to readers? I’d like readers to learn about the dangers that are really and truly OUT THERE, and that our security rests on a dedicated team of people in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
What long-term plans do you have for your career? None. I take each day as it comes. I don’t intend to set the world on fire.
What advice would you give to unpublished authors? You know what they say, AUTHORS ARE WRITERS WHO NEVER GAVE UP!
Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you. My favorite TV series is DOWNTON ABBEY! I cried when they shut down the series.
Share something about you that would surprise or shock readers. I’m a heterosexual female but I love to write from the male’s POV.
Is your book a series? If so, how long? Family saga, other? My FBI Romantic Suspense Series features Special Agent Jake Bernstein, as he navigates his way through one dangerous, undercover assignment after another. See the ad for all three books.
Excerpt
Breakfast in the hotel dining room was to be served at 7
a.m.. Next stop: Cardiff, the capital of Wales, then their ferry ride to
Ireland. He’d finally looked over the itinerary. The motor coach would be
leaving that afternoon, after a tour and lunch in Bath. A quick perusal of the
day’s agenda showed him they had the afternoon free to wander around Bath and
do some shopping. Maybe he could invite Meg and her grandmother to spend some
time with him.
Still drowsy with sleep, he looked over at the pillow next
to his. Visualizing Meg lying there, her lush hair with all its variegated
blonde hues fanned out, stirred him. The erection he’d awakened with grew
harder; not surprising, he thought, considering his celibacy of late. Strictly
his choice, despite the offers tossed his way.
The opportunities had been there and he’d ignored them,
stubborn man that he was. Even late last
night, when the two New Jersey sisters had called and invited him to a private
party in Hank’s room. He’d declined tactfully.
At thirty-two years old, he found himself holding out for
more.
Stupid fool, he scolded himself. Or as the Brits would say,
sodding wanker! Or something to that
effect. He should learn to take it when it was offered to him on a platter,
free of charge. All he had to do was be
nice to a girl for a few hours, promise to call her, and then…
Ah, but as Grandpa Nate would say, “nussing is free in dis
vorld”.
Dreams of Meg had plagued him—rather entertained him—all
night. Even now, recalling how her small, plump breasts bounced up and down
while she ran alongside him, how her long ponytail swung back and forth, filled
him with unbridled lust. The one time they’d stopped at the Roman ruins, they’d
let their arms brush together. Neither had pulled away. Just that light touch
had flooded his insides with longing. She appeared to feel the same. She’d flushed to the roots of her hair and
after that, had touched him in some small way every chance she got. Each touch
was electric, sizzling!
What he liked about her was her total lack of coyness or
flirtatiousness. Meg was straightforward, without guile; she wasn’t playing
games. He could read the honesty in her face when she told him about her
breakup with the ex-fiancé and her distrust of men and their empty promises and
vows. All lies, she’d mused with just a hint of bitterness. She’d finally come
to accept the reality of men.
Or some men, she’d amended, adding quickly that she’d
apologize if she was offending him. No, he’d said; I agree with you. Most men
lie through their teeth. It’s a guy thing.
That admission had elicited a small, rueful laugh from both
of them. And she’d let her arm brush his again, as if to reassure him. He was
different, she was saying.
No, I’m not, he’d wanted to say. I’m a liar, an impostor.
And you’re going to hate me when this is all over.
Donna
is a retired high school English teacher and is finally able to fulfill her
dream of writing fiction. She lives in Northern California with her husband and
three cats. When she’s not writing novels, she’s singing with the Sacramento
Valley Chorus or traveling with her husband. Life is good and she feels very
blessed.
Visit
her on Facebook or at www.donnadeloro.com
www.thewildrosepress.com/Donna Del Oro
Contact her: donna@donnadeloro.com
This tour
is featuring the Jake Bernstein FBI Series LIES IN WAIT, Book
Two of the FBI series will be out January 4, 2017, and the 3rd book will be
attached a few months after.
Amazon
buy link:
Barnes
and Noble buy link:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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