Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Getting Fit with Kathryn Knight!

I'm so glad you could visit with me today, Kathryn! Aftering reading your excerpt below, I am definitely adding Silver Lake to my list of must reads! Now take the floor and tell us a little bit about YOU!

Aside from writing, my other passion is fitness. I know I’m dating myself, but when I was in high school, Jane Fonda came out with her first workout record (yes, record!), and I was hooked. I started teaching fitness classes right after I graduated college and, 21 years later, I’m still at it!

Most people I know like to use exercise as an opportunity to relax and let their mind wander. I’m the exact opposite. Usually, my mind is on overdrive, juggling 4 different schedules, the plot of a novel, and an enormous to-do list. When I go in to teach a class, I know that I have to clear my mind completely – it’s literally impossible to cue a fast-paced class and think about anything else! When I have a class full of women waiting for me to tell them what to do about two beats before we do it, I have to be completely focused. For me, that is a welcome break from any other thoughts. It’s the definition of one-track mind, and I find it completely cathartic.

Naturally, my interest in physical fitness creeps into my characters. Jason Lansing, Silver Lake’s hero, is a Fourth degree black belt in Karate, and owns his own Karate studio. He’s also an avid runner and swimmer. The heroine, Rain Anderson, enjoys walking and jogging. During their time together at Silver Lake, they go on a run together—and find themselves beginning to trust each other again. But will it be enough to overcome their painful past?

I’d love to hear what types of exercise you enjoy! Do you find it relaxing? Is it something you prefer to do alone, or do you find motivation with a partner or group?
 
 
Blurb:

Rain Anderson can't decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.

Five years ago, Rain's tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent's deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can't let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.

Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.


Excerpt:

“I saw...a figure. A figure with dark hair, and I think it was Brandy.” She shuddered and put her forehead back on his chest.

Reluctantly, he moved their bodies apart a bit and scanned her face. He held on to her shoulders and asked calmly, “You saw Brandy? Brandy is here?”

She shook her head. “No, I saw… like… an image of Brandy. I woke up, because it was cold, and I saw something moving. It was Brandy, I’m sure of it, although I didn’t see her face clearly. And then she, um, disappeared.”

“An image of Brandy? Are you saying you saw a ghost, Rain?” He was pretty sure she’d had another nightmare, but the way she had flown out of her room gave him the impression it had been an extremely vivid one.

“I know, it sounds ridiculous. But that’s what I saw. And she sort of, well, went through the wall. I’m sure you don’t believe me,” she added miserably, lifting her stormy eyes to his.

He pulled her back into a hug before he could stop himself. “I absolutely believe you. Whether you were awake or asleep, you saw Brandy and that’s scary. I don’t think we can deny that weird things are happening here.”

Jason smoothed her hair and waited patiently for her trembling to subside. If a ghost really was lurking in her bedroom, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot he could do about that. A rare sense of powerlessness caused his jaw to clench in frustration.

He stopped watching the door and instead focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms. She clung to him, and his body responded to hers with a familiar ache. He knew he was losing the battle to keep his feelings platonic.

Author Bio:

As a child, Kathryn Knight kept her parents on a constant quest to find enough reading material to last her through each week. An early fondness for books about horses later gave way to a lasting preference for both love stories and ghost stories; as a writer, the paranormal romance genre is a perfect fit. Silver Lake is Kathryn's first novel; her second novel, Gull Harbor, has also received a contract from The Wild Rose Press and will be released in 2013. She lives in New England with her husband, her sons, and a number of rescued animals.

Please visit her at www.kathrynknightbooks.com or on Facebook at Kathryn Knight books.

Silver Lake is available at TWRP or on Amazon. Click the links to purchase your copy today!

Thanks so much for being my guest today, Kathryn! It was great getting to know more about you!
XO AJ SO 


 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

How does it feel to be Seized by Darkness?

Autumn Jordan is visiting Tattered Pages today with her latest release! Sit up everyone and pay attention. She's brilliant! LOL

Thank you, AJ, for hosting me today.  I guess we’re here to talk about romance novels.

Why do millions of readers—I say readers because men actually makeup a good percentage of romance readers— head to their favorite book store each week and purchase books?  I know why I do. Because I want to be whisked out of my world and become engrossed in a story about the meeting and growing relationship of two people.
A plot is very important, but a story with the simplest of plots can become a best seller if the characters come to life. Bringing them to life is a writer’s priority and we do that through emotion.

In my new release, Seized By Darkness, I dug deep into the emotions I felt for my mother, my father and my children. Why those relationships? Because Seized by Darkness is about a young girl of sixteen, on the cusp of starting her life, disappearing.  She is kidnapped off the street she walked every day. I drew on a realm of emotions I would feel if I had experienced a similar circumstance. I actually sat in a dark sectioned of my basement, listening to silence, and thinking about my family and how my disappearance would affect them. They’d search. My mother, who is a sweetheart, would be broken hearted and my father who has always been the protector would feel as if he’s failed. And he wouldn’t know how to comfort my mom.

My chest tightened and I could barely breathe as my thoughts turned to my children.  I honestly don’t know if I could keep it together if one of them were abducted.


After some reflecting, I decided to begin Seized By Darkness with Nicole eight years after she was snatched. She now has a son from the Russian mafia monster that plucked her, as a virgin, from the trafficking mill and has kept her as his own. Nicole is strong, the way I hope I would be. She has never given up hope that she would be free and she’ll do anything  to have her life back and ensure her son will not grow into a monster like his father.

She is also fragile. Nicole hopes not, but wonders whether her family has forgotten about her.  Her faith has been broken. And she knows, without a doubt, that no man will ever look at her, much less love her, after she has been made a whore.


Enter U.S. Marshal William Haus. He is the man fairytales are made of. Strong, intelligent and has a heart the size of the Utah salt flats and just as warm. You thought I was going to say drop dead handsome, but you can see that he is, without a doubt, fine. But, Will has issues of his own, and as Nicole and he work to bring down the trafficking ring, his feelings for Nicole grow and he has no choice but to face his past.

Emotional? Yes, Seized By Darkness is filled with passion—mine.  
If you’re a writer, how do you discover your character’s emotions? And if you’re a reader, do you have any comments or questions? One lucky commenter will win a digital copy of Seized By Darkness. I’ll select a winner and post the name here tomorrow afternoon.  Good luck!

 
Seized By Darkness is available
from Amazon and B&N in both digital and print format.

To learn more about Autumn Jordon please visit:  www.autumnjordon.com  

THANKS FOR VISITING WITH US TODAY AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR DRAWING
FOR A FREE DIGITAL COPY OF
SEIZED BY DARKNESS
XO AJ XO