Please give a warm welcome to my fellow
Evernight Author London Saint James with her newest release Eternal.
Romance
writer Winter Wells has found her new life with Hollywood Hottie, Cayden Cain,
a blessing and a curse. He is the
blessing. His career is the curse. Involved in an unprecedented web of strange
events, and wound in a string of lies about to break with devastating
consequences, Winter must battle ghosts from her past that threaten to harm
Cayden. Faced with a choice she always
knew would be inevitable, can the fairy tale of their relationship beat out the
odds of their reality and really come true?
*pulls out chair for London*
Good to have you here, make yourself at
home J
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Thanks
so much for having me, Doris! *Wiggles in chair* Well what can I say about myself? Hmm… okay, here it goes. I started writing seriously a couple of years
ago. I have always scribbled down
stories, even as a child. Trust me when
I say being a child with a big imagination isn’t always a great thing for some
teachers. In truth, I was never
encouraged to write until one of my middle school English teachers entered some
of my work into a writing contest. From
there life gets in the way, and I did all of the so called sensible
things. I obtained a degree in
Psychology, and worked in the mental health field for many years. I wrote a couple of short stories, one of
which I submitted to Evernight Publishing last year, and it was accepted for
their BDSM anthology, Master Of Mine.
From there I’ve been writing, writing, and writing some more!
Q. Eternal is the last in a series, right?
Yes,
that is correct. Enchanted is book
1. Requiem is book 2. Revelation is book 3, and Eternal is the
final in The Heart Of Winter series.
Q. Why did you write this series?
When
I sat down to write Winter’s story, it sort of flowed, and kept on
flowing. It started out as one very
large book. At the time of my
submission, I would have been way over the word count accepted, so it became a
4-book continuing series. I guess I
never started The Heart Of Winter as a series, it just sort of turned into one.
*Smiles*
Q. Tell us about your cover.
Oh,
I love my cover. In fact, all of the
covers have been great. Dara England
designed the first three book covers, and Sour Cherry Designs created the cover
for Eternal. The cover tells a story all
in itself.
It's a great cover, I agree!
Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us.
LOL. Typical? I’m not sure what that is. I don’t really have any scheduled writing
time. It’s sort of write whenever I get
a quiet moment. I write quite a bit late
at night, and keep going until early morning.
Other times, I steal a moment here and there. I’d love to write on weekends, but life
always has other plans for me it would seem.
Q. What inspires you?
So
many things inspire me. I love to read,
and I try to read as much as I can. A
great book inspires me. Music (of all
genres) inspires me. I love art (in many
different forms) so that inspires me.
Being some place beautiful inspires me. Movies, nature, and even people
inspire me.
Q.If you weren’t a writer what would you be?
Cat
Woman! *Giggles* I’d love to wear that
hot leather suit and sneak around on roof tops.
LOL! That has got to be the most original answer to that question I have ever had.
Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?
Yes. Sometimes I think the story is going in one
direction, and the characters have other ideas.
Q. What could you not do without when you’re
writing?
Music. Coca Cola.
Chocolate.
Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the
aspiring authors out there?
Write
what you love. What you find
inspiring. Read as much as you can. Find someone wonderful to bounce ideas off
of. Grow a thick skin, and don’t let
negativity get you down. Keep yourself
in your work, and keep on writing until you feel you are ready to sub your
work.
Great advice there.
Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s
time?
On
a windswept beach! LOL. Truly, I imagine
myself still writing. Spending as much
time as I can with friends and family, and enjoying my life no matter where it
takes me.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote?
I
have so many it is hard to narrow it down.
Let me think about it for a minute…
All
right. Here’s one of my favorites: “I
love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.” Elizabeth
Barrett Browning.
Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?
I’m
not sure it’s writer’s block more as it’s the brick wall! LOL. That wall of time that keeps getting higher,
and higher. You know, where you only
have so many hours of the day, and you can’t fit it all in. I have many, many characters and stories
running ramped in my head *Smiles* but the time to get them all out of my head
is the problem.
Q. What other books can your readers look
forward to?
Q. And finally can you share an excerpt with
us?
Eternal
Excerpt:
Wednesday evening had arrived, and I was standing on the balcony of
my bedroom when it started to rain. I lifted my chin to the heavens, toward the
dark night sky, and the cold drops hit my face, cheeks, lips, and hair. It
didn’t take long before I was soaking wet. The ivory long sleeve shirt I wore
was plastered to me, and my jeans were beginning to soak through, but I didn’t
care. All I could think about was Cayden. How could I ever live without him?
“Winter!”
In the distance of my mind, I heard Cayden’s voice calling out to
me.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “Winter. It’s too cold. You are
going to get sick.” Cayden’s arms encased me. He pulled me from the rain, into
the warmth of the bedroom. He let loose of me and almost sprinted into the
bathroom. I saw him pull one of the large fluffy white towels from the cabinet.
He turned with a sense of urgency, and immediately came back to me. “What are
you thinking?” Once he reached me, he unbuttoned my shirt, peeled it from my
wet skin, and threw the soaked garment to the floor. Cayden whipped the towel
out. It made a snapping sound before he wrapped the dry warm towel
around me. “Winter, baby?”
Cayden stared at me. The expression upon his face, one of pain. He
rubbed my arms with his hands as if the friction would warm the coldness I felt
in my heart. It hit me. I wasn’t speaking.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Love, what were you doing standing in the cold rain?” He glanced
down at my feet. “And you don’t have on any shoes.”
“I don’t know. I was just thinking. I guess I stopped paying
attention.”
“Take those wet jeans off, too,” he instructed before he headed back
into the bathroom for another towel.
I shed the jeans and left them in a wet lump in the middle of the
floor.
“I love you,” I said when he came back.
He threw a new towel over my hair and started to rub it dry. “I love
you, too. Tell me what is wrong?”
I placed my face to his chest, burying away my pain and taking in
the scent of him. “Nothing is wrong.”
“Winter, tell me,” he pressed.
“Nothing, it’s nothing. I go a little crazy when you’re gone, but
you are home now. We are together. That’s all that matters.”
“I have missed you,” he said. Cayden’s arms circled my waist and he
picked me up from the floor. My feet dangled. “Do you know how much I hate to
be away from you?”
“I know how much I hate being away from you.”
The towels fell to the carpet when I draped my arms around his
strong neck and my legs around his perfectly tight waist, hooking my ankles
behind his back. Cayden laughed his low musical laugh and brushed his nose into
my hair. “I love how your hair smells. It’s like flowers and fruit, peaches.”
“I have missed you so much, Cayden.” I kissed him. It was a long
time before I released him from my kiss.
Cayden’s eyes, silver-gray, flashed. “I think maybe you did miss me.
But never bet it is as much as I have missed you,” he assured with his
brilliant bright white smile.
I shivered. Whether from his eyes, words or touch I do not know, but
probably from the combination of all of them.
“Cayden, make love to me.”
“You’re still cold,” he said. “Come on.” He carried me into the
bathroom.
“I don’t care how cold I am. Please, make love to me.”
Cayden put me down. My bare feet felt the cool tiles beneath them.
Cayden walked over to the stereo. He pulled back the glass wall panel and
turned it on. He bent down, took off his black Adidas, and stripped off his
socks. He placed them inside his shoes. With an underhanded toss, he threw the
shoes out the bathroom door. They made a dull thud on the carpet in the
other room when they landed.
There I stood. In the middle of the bathroom in my bra and panties,
my hair tangled and wet, goose bumps covering my skin, mascara running down my
cheeks, and probably looking pathetic, but I could not keep my eyes from
Cayden. He turned on the steam and hot water in the shower. Placed his hands
under the stream of water that was shooting down from overhead. He turned
around, smiled tenderly, and closed the glass doors. The water hit the glass of
the shower and mixed into the sound of the rain that pelted the roof.
Everything melted into the music that played, becoming a symphony of rain.
“Please,” I said.
Cayden looked at me intently. He raked his penetrating gaze over my
body. “I have every intention of making love to you, but I need to get you warm
first.” His fingertips traced down my cheek, over the surface of my lips, down
my throat then over my right shoulder. The warm water that was still on his
hands trickled over the surface of my skin in every place he touched me. I
trembled with his touch. Softly, he rubbed the mascara smudges from my cheeks.
“Cayden…,” I whispered.
“You are so utterly beautiful.” His lips skimmed over my shoulder,
and his fingers made their way to the front of my bra. “I can't believe how
beautiful you are.” With dexterous skill, he unhooked the golden clasp, sending
my bra sliding down the surface of my skin until it hit the tiled floor at my
feet.
“Cayden, I need you,” I murmured against his chest.
“Baby,” he whispered against my neck. “You have me. You know I’m
yours.”
Throwing myself into him, I wrapped my arms around his neck; my
mouth frantically searched for his lips. We kissed with an aching in my soul. I
wanted every part of Cayden to touch me. Needed to feel the exquisite sensation
of his warm skin upon mine. Desperation surged through me. My hands slid down
his shirt. Gripped it. Ripped the buttons free and exposed his flesh. The
buttons bounced and tapped across the tiled floor. One pinged off the
glass of the shower door. My anxious fingers explored the length of his stomach
until I came to his jeans. I unbuttoned them, allowing my right hand to drift
lower. Cayden was fevered and firm inside my hand.
Cayden picked me up again, his lips eager against mine, his mouth
moving with my mouth as his breath, warm in my mouth, found its place. Cayden’s
tongue tangled deeply with mine. He never let loose of my body, shedding his
jeans by stepping on the bottom edge of his right pant leg, yanking his legs
free.
“Cayden,” I moaned. I stroked his manhood. “I need you so much.”
“God,” he groaned.
Cayden fondled my waist, outlining the top of my panties with his
fingers. He brushed so lightly over the canvas of my skin that it sent shivers
over my entire body. His hand rested for a moment on my hip before tucking
fingers into the top of my waistband. Cayden grabbed the material firmly.
“Do it,” I said, placing my mouth to his.
Thanks so much for stopping by, London.
London’s
Authors Pages:
Website: http://www.londonsaintjames.com
Email: London@londonsaintjames.com
Thanks for having me, Doris! XoXo London
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