Twilight Thursday

Welcome Author

Tierney O'Malley!!!

Author Tierney O'Malley returns to promote her new release, Wicked Persuasion!

I have to admit, that this is one I wasn't expecting! I started it last night because I figured it was only 219 pages and the way Tierney writes, it will flow easily and it will be a quick read. Well it turned out to be anything but!

Okay, it does read fluidly, but maybe a bit too fluidly! It was so hot that I had to put it down to get some sleep or face driving my blood pressure through the roof! I picked it up again early this morning and before I knew it, my husband was leaving for work and I'm still only half way through the book.

This is not a bad thing, I promise you. Let me explain:

Anyone living in Wisconsin can tell you that we're finally getting what we like to call a "heat wave" up here. It's finally getting above freezing and is supposed to stay that way for the next couple of days. Well, after reading the first half of Wicked Persuasion, I'm convinced that the warm front came through because Tierney sent me this book!

I thought Wicked Night Before Christmas was hot steamy, but nothing could have prepared me for what was in these pages nor the heat that is Todd Fox! Only halfway through with this book and I can guarantee you that it will cause heat to roll off of you in waves hot enough to melt snow and see green grass again! I'll never be able to look at champagne bottles without thinking about Todd Fox!

This book is steamy from the beginning, but the way Tierney writes her scenes, you can always tell when passion is involved and when it's not. The opening scene maybe a tawdry scene of sex and lust between Tood Fox and Sunshine, but it doesn't have anywhere near the heat that the scene in The Chocolate Room has!

It's a good thing it wasn't called The Champagne Room or I would have had to call Tierney on it because as you may know from the Chris Rock song, there's No Sex in the Champagne Room....

This is an erotic romance filled with intrigue, mystery and danger. From the beginning, you wonder who might want this upcoming jewelry designer (Diana) dead and why. Just who did she piss off enough to want to shoot out the windows of her store, try to run her over and leave snakes in her store? Is it business or personal?

Now, can one assume it's Todd's jealous lover/paid escort (Sunshine) behind the dangerous shenanigans or is it something more devious and sinister than that?

Is it her lover/fiance's (Dale) tactics to convince her to leave Seattle and move to North Carolina?

Or, is someone in her business that doesn't want her competition?

Half-way through the book, and I still don't really know for sure, but the conspiracy theorist in me wants to think that Diana and Todd are just pawns in a web of lies and deceit cooked up between Sunshine and Dale. Like I said, I'm sort of a conspiracy theorist at heart (I love Bones' Dr. Jack Hodgins - played by T.J. Thyne)!

I'm looking forward to finishing this book and plan on doing just that, but I thought I would take some time out and post my interview with Tierney! But before we get to that, let me give you a little more background about this book. It's the third in Tierney's "Wicked" series. It started with Piper and Cooper's story in To Trust a Wicked Man, continued with Madeline and Wolf's story in Wicked Proposal and culminates with Diana and Fox's story in Wicked Persuasion.

What makes these so likable, is that they are as equally romantic as they are steamy, and from what I've seen in Wicked Night Before Christmas (not related from what I can tell...), Tierney has a penchant for danger too!

What hero can resist a damsel in distress? Certainly not Todd Fox, especially when that damsel is Diana! This is just another well-constructed tale with a complex plot and deep characters and a steamy treat to boot!

Now, let's get to the interview:

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

TIERNEY: You know what? I don’t remember ever trying to make a New Year’s resolution. I guess because deep down I know I’m not going to follow through on it. Hahaha. This year though, I’ve been thinking about drinking only one cup of coffee a day. So that could be my resolution for this year.

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

TIERNEY: My husband is the right person to answer this. He did all the shopping and cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. JI did most of my shopping online. So, I can safely say that I’ve had an easy time this year. Okay, we watched movies and enjoyed our Chai tea to recharge. J

ME: 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?

TIERNEY: I live in the Pacific Northwest. I’m guessing 52 degrees is the average temperature. Most people wear their hoodies or sweatshirts. Anything to keep them warm or dry.

Wintertime in Seattle is brutal. It rains a lot and stays gloomy outside. So depressing. You just don’t want to leave. To “survive”, I say join different classes like dancing, art, pottery or indoor tennis. There are recreation centers around. Join one and stay inside. You’ll definitely forget about the rain. At least for a while.

I’ve heard of Light Therapy. This light box emits a type of light. Kind of like seeing the sun, I guess. Never tried it. J Okay, what else. Volunteer at a shelter or library. Take time to help out and meet people. Good to beat depression during the rainy winter days. Oh, yeah. Go for a walk. My husband often goes for a walk. Perhaps that’s why he’s always happy. When you walk, you release endorphins, hormones that make one happy. (Google this one. I could be wrong.) So go for a walk. Not only will you can keep the winter blues away but also shed those extra holiday pounds.

ME: 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?

TIERNEY: We love to play tennis. Right now though, with the rain and cold weather, we can’t do this as much as we want to. Tennis courts are wet and the cold Pacific Northwest winds will turn you into a popcicle.

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

TIERNEY: Hot tub inside the house. First, because it’s newer with powerful jets and I could lock the bathroom door so I could read while bathing for hours. J We are talking about two hours—tops. No kidding. No outside hot tub for me. Last time I checked the tub, slugs were bathing in there.

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

TIERNEY: Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm. As Larry, I can be misanthropic. I can say whatever I want, express my belief, question the social ethics and, well, say things without worrying that I’m crossing what the society deemed unacceptable. If I’m Larry David and I said something that defies social convention, well, I can say, “I had a Larry David Moment.” I’m the opposite of David. I am the kind who would rather stand behind a potted plant and not attract people’s attention. So if I can play David’s character, I’ll experience what it’s like to cause trouble. : )

Now, let’s get to your writing:

ME: Why the erotic romance/erotica genre? What was the draw for you?

TIERNEY: Aside from erotic romance books fill the shelves of local supermarket, department store, libraries, and bookstores? I love writing the strong emotion, passion, romance between the hero and heroine. Erotic romance is a love story with the sexual part explicitly expressed and exemplified. I enjoyed writing the physical intimacy, what fueled the characters desires. I just love writing erotic romance.

ME: 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.

TIERNEY: I want the readers to recognize my writing as deep with physical and emotional intimacy.

ME: 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?

TIERNEY: Nah. The holidays can’t disrupt my writing anymore than my children’s busy schedule. I don’t have a specific schedule. I write whenever I find the time and chance.

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

TIERNEY: None of the above. Now, if you mention coffee. The answer is yes it does show through my writing. Many times, I mentioned starbucks and one of the characters making coffee.

ME: 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?

TIERNEY: I make all the decisions. My muse, (do I even have one? LOL) is just an inspiration, a strong wind to keep me awake and continue writing. Other than that, I make the call whether I use Calgon on my Jacuzzi or Heavenly Bath.

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

TIERNEY: All of them. When I am working on a particular project, most of the time, I am having fun and loving it. If you’re having fun then your characters are alive, the setting real, the conflict heart and nail biting. It would be difficult to finish a project if you’re not enjoying it.

ME: 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?

TIERNEY: Okay, I’ll have a drawing for this one. Let me see. Bors Knight. He’s funny, sexy, respects women, loves Jim Morrison, and willing to sacrifice everything including his principle for the sake of his love interest—Taylor. He’s the character in my book 2 of Knight Brothers Series titled Irresistible Knight. Book 1 is Wicked Knight coming soon January 28. J LOL subtle promo. Thanks for having me, ladies. Jacuzzi January. Man, that could be a book title.

BLURB: Wicked Persuasion

For successful businesswoman, Diana O’Connor, it was love at first sight the moment she met Todd at the age of seventeen. She didn’t waste time expressing her love through letters. But after a year of no response from him, she accepted the shattering truth that her brother’s best friend, Todd Fox, will never see as her more than an annoying brat. She moved on and loved another.

Years later and unexpectedly, Todd expressed his love and asked for her hand in marriage. When she refused to believe him, he tried all the wicked ways to make her accept his love. Including the most explicit sexual intimacy imaginable, which fueled her desire and swept her away.

Top-notch engineer, Todd William Fox, never intended to hurt Diana’s feelings by ignoring her letters. She was young and off-limits. Now, after years of watching her turn into a beautiful headstrong woman, he lost his heart to her. When Diana’s brother gave him the go signal to pursue her, he sets out on persuading Diana into his arms and into his bed. But will the chatterbox Diana give her heart the way she yielded her body to him—wholeheartedly?

Adieu readers as I go to finish Wicked Persuasion, a wickedly steamy treat!