Hi, thanks Gabrielle for offering to have me visit.
I'm from far-off New Zealand and very happy to be here with you today. Please forgive time lapses in response to any comments, unless you are posting from New Zealand, our time zone is quite different from yours.
So, what do I write? When I started writing romances I decided the contemporary "sweet" genre is where I belong. I've been tempted to splash out into something a little more graphic, but the words just will not come no matter how I take my muse to task. My latest release with The Wild Rose Press - termed sensual - is about as graphic as any story of mine is ever going to be. Because I live in New Zealand, it seems sensible to set my stories in my own back yard, especially when my "back yard" is such an incredibly beautiful place. In Wilderness Liaison I used a generic bush setting to initially throw my H/h together in a situation they couldn't escape. I love the outdoors and sneaked in as much detail about the bush (probably called a forest in your part of the world) as was acceptable in a romance (drat, my editor did suggest the delete button more than once lol). I then transferred the characters into Auckland, our biggest city, so they could figure out their differences in the modern world setting. I loved writing this story, encompassing two very different lifestyles into it. It contains much more detail about NZ than my other stories. I'm already getting some great feedback about my setting, something I'm thrilled about as it's my intention to always highlight the beauty of New Zealand in anything I write.
Back Blurb of WILDERNESS LIAISON
The concrete jungle defines financier Shal Gregory. He thrives on the liveliness and sheer vitality of the fast paced business world. So how does he find himself alone in the thick of the New Zealand bush with a feisty guide who undoubtedly despises everything he stands for?
Jodie Mathieson’s devotion to the wilderness fulfils her. She isn’t prepared for an intimate liaison with a man who clearly does not share her love of the great outdoors. But the sparks between them ignite and soon scare Jodie into flight.
Bewildered but determined, Shal tracks Jodie down and resolutely embarks on a course to convince her that having some differing life goals isn’t enough to keep them apart.
But can Jodie ignore past experiences? Dare she believe him?
Excerpt
“Last night was a mistake,” Jodie began, refusing to make eye contact as her waved arm encompassed the room behind them.
“A mistake?” Shal’s voice had dropped. “It didn’t feel like a mistake to me.”
“Well it was, and it won’t be happening again.”
Although she tried, she couldn’t shake off Shal’s fingers as they grasped her chin and forced her to look at him.
“What?” he frowned, “I don’t understand.”
Jodie tried to look away from his confusion, but his hold on her chin tightened.
“Talk to me, damn it. What’s wrong?”
You are, she wanted to scream at him. You’re all wrong for me, nothing like the man I’d want in my life. But she swallowed the truth along with her panic and prayed her voice sounded calm. “Like I said, last night was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened.”
He was silent for so long, Jodie wondered if he was ever going to reply. His dark eyes swept the vista in front of the cabin before returning to drill into hers.
“Your head might be telling you that,” he murmured, “but you’re body’s saying something quite the opposite.” Mesmerised she watched his eyes drop to her neck. “I can see your pulse beating, Jodie - it’s racing—-“
“Only cos I’m angry.”
Shal’s hands cupped her face and his fingers slid up through her hair. “You’re not angry, Jodie,” he whispered, his lips tantalisingly close. “You’re aroused.”
Unconsciously her dry lips opened, her tongue flicking across them. She felt an exhilarating sense of power when a groan escaped him as his mouth captured hers, demanding, and getting a response.
Shal clutched her shaking body. “Last night was fantastic. Don’t spoil it by denying that.”
Feeling herself falling deeper and deeper into a hole, Jodie somehow gained the strength to yank herself away from his touch.
Anne Ashby writing Warm, Fuzzy and Fun Contemporary Romance
www.anneashby.com
https://www.facebook.com/
2 comments:
Hi Anne
As you know, I LOVED Wilderness Liaison, and especially your descriptions of the bush which were very vivid and really made me feel like I was there with the characters.
Best of luck with this book, I'm sure it will do well!
I'd love to visit your setting. Good excerpt, too.
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