TANTALIZING TUESDAY

Please help me welcome Karenna Colcroft into the moonlight today! On January 7, 2010, Karenna's newest book, Deep Down, was released by Siren Publishing. To learn more about Karenna or enjoy a free read, visit her website: http://karennacolcroft.com/

BUY LINK: http://www.sirenpublishing.com/karennacolcroft/

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GRACEN: Do you make resolutions for the New Year? Why or why not? If so, please share one or more of them with us!

KARENNA: I don’t make resolutions, exactly. However, I do set goals for myself that I hope to reach in the new year. This year’s goals are mostly about writing, and include having 8 new contracts by the end of the year. I like to aim high.


GRACEN: Now that the busy holiday time is over, what do you do to recharge?

KARENNA: I just take a deep breath and remind myself that it only happens once a year. Then I dive back into writing.


GRACEN: Do you have any holiday memories from 2009 that you would like to share with us?

KARENNA: This was the first holiday season since my daughters and I moved in with my fiance, so it was definitely a special time. We didn’t really do anything special; it was just being together.


GRACEN: What area of the country/world are you from? What are the average temperatures where you are? What type of clothing would most residents be wearing today? What tips do you have for people to “survive” the weather where you are?

KARENNA: I’m from New England, so it gets pretty chilly in the winter here. Average temperatures at this time of year are in the lower to mid thirties where I live, and in the summer they’re probably around 75 to 80. Today, people are bundled up in jackets, scarves, etc. As for surviving the weather, in winter, keep warm!


GRACEN: Do you have any favorite outside hobbies? Can you perform any of these hobbies right now? If not, why not, and is weather a factor?

KARENNA: I don’t really have any outside hobbies. I prefer to stay indoors.


GRACEN: Do you prefer your hot tub inside the house or outside the house? Why?

KARENNA: I wish I had a hot tub! If I did, I’d have to say inside, because as I said above, I prefer to stay indoors.


GRACEN: If you could be any character/creature, who/what would it be and why?

KARENNA: A mermaid, because I love the ocean.


GRACEN: Now, let’s get to your writing…Karenna, why the erotic romance/erotica genre? What was the draw for you?

KARENNA: I started writing erotic romance as a challenge from a friend, who dared me to write something that showed sex in a positive way. When I finished the scene, I was surprised at how good it was, and I was hooked on writing it.


GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please look beyond words like hot, sexy, etc., and delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

KARENNA: Thought provoking.


GRACEN: Do the holidays disrupt your writing schedule? If so, how tough is it to get yourself back in writing mode and what have you found that seems to help?

KARENNA: They do a little bit, in that I have to spend more time with family during the holidays, but since I don’t have a set writing schedule, it isn’t hard to adapt.


GRACEN: Do you prefer hot chocolate with marshmallows or a hot toddy? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

KARENNA: Hot chocolate with marshmellows, definitely. And I think it probably does show through, because my writing is warm and comforting rather than hot and spicy.


GRACEN: Who decides what characters/creatures you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one pouring the soap in the Jacuzzi?

KARENNA: I have a pretty good collaborative relationship with my muse, fortunately. We spend a lot of time chatting about what’s going to happen and why, and if we disagree we usually find a way around it.


GRACEN: What creature/character did you have the most fun creating and why?

KARENNA: I’d say I had the most fun creating Alec in Beginner’s Luck, because he’s based on my fiance and it was interesting to see how close I came to his real personality. It was fun putting in little mannerisms and phrases that my fiance uses, too.


GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why? Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

KARENNA: I’d like to meet Boreas, the Greek god of the North Wind, who’s a character in my short story Who Can See the Wind, because he’s a god and is one of the few characters I’ve written who isn’t based on someone I know. I wouldn’t want to meet Nyssa’s boss in the same story, because he’s a predatory jerk.



BLURB:

Courtney Southard moved from a small town to the big city expecting fun and adventure, but has found neither and wants to go home. Tanner Wohl is still recovering from a broken heart and doesn’t want to open up to anyone. When an attempted mugging brings the two together, can love overcome their fear?


EXCERPT:

“Want to go wading?” he called back over his shoulder.

She gave up trying to figure out what had upset him and hurried to catch up with him. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’d feel kind of weird. It’s a kids’ wading pool.”

“Other adults are in there.” He knelt and untied his sneakers, then slipped them and his socks off and rolled up his pants. “Come on. What are you, chicken?”

“No.” She watched as he stood and took a few steps into the water. What the hell. She couldn’t just stand here. If he could do it, so could she. Even if people did give her weird looks.

Tanner apparently had no concerns about what people might think. He turned and looked at her for a moment, then waded farther into the pond. Crouching, he scooped up some water in his cupped hands, then dumped it over his own head.

Startled, Courtney broke into laughter, as did several children who played near Tanner. “Hey, dude, you’re wet!” one of the kids shouted.

“It’s a hot day.” Tanner reverted to the monotone he’d used when Courtney met him, but even with some distance between them, Courtney could see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He’d soaked himself to entertain her, she was sure.

He walked back to her. “Figured I could use some cooling off. How about you?”

“All set, thanks,” Courtney assured him.

She spotted one of the kids sneaking up behind him, but pretended not to see. Tanner seemed unaware. The little boy, who looked about eight or nine, waited until he was so close, Tanner’s shadow fell over him, then splashed.

Tanner jumped when the water hit his back and whirled around. For a moment, Courtney thought he was angry at the boy, and from the frightened look in the boy’s eye, he thought so as well. But Tanner’s chuckles rolled over the pond, and he gently flipped a few droplets of water in the boy’s direction. “You looking for a water fight?”

“I just thought you needed to get wetter,” the boy said innocently.

With Tanner’s back to her, Courtney couldn’t resist. She crouched at the water’s edge and watched a moment to be sure he wouldn’t turn around. Then she splashed water at him.

Tanner yelped at the feeling of the water against his thighs, and the little boy cracked up. So did Courtney, almost losing her balance in the process, which would not have been good, given that she was in a short skirt. She recovered herself enough to stand again. Tanner spun around. “You—You—” he sputtered through a grin.

“Me what?” Courtney put her hands on her hips. “Got a problem?”

“Yeah. People keep getting me wet,” Tanner muttered.

He moved close enough to her that his breath touched her face. She thought he planned to splash her back and prepared herself to be soaked. Instead, without warning, he scooped her up into his arms. “Should I drop you?” he growled softly into her ear.

“N–no.” She couldn’t help being just a little frightened. He’d picked her up as easily as a child. But at the same time, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, and she couldn’t stop laughing at his reaction.

“Oh, all right,” he murmured. “But get this straight. You don’t get to make me wet. It’s supposed to be the other way around. Got it?”

A shiver of arousal ran through her at his clear meaning. “Got it.”

BUY LINK: http://www.sirenpublishing.com/karennacolcroft/