Osiyo~

I have one hot book to share today! My guest has brought her new Ellora’s Cave release for us to drool over. *Calisa hands out towels as she remembers the need for one last week*

Welcome Lisa Carlisle!!

What is your writing routine?

I put on some music, grab a coffee if it’s morning or something stronger if it’s late, and sit down with my Netbook with a slow Internet connection. It keeps me from going online and getting distracted because it’s painfully slow. I love to write at cafes, but after a day at work, I usually end up writing on the sofa in the living room.

Who are some of your must-read authors and why?

I loved Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books and have read every one. I also loved Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and The Witching Hour. Today, I’m reading Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series and P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series. For short, hot stories to escape into for a little while, I check out my publisher’s site, Ellora’s Cave.

I’ve read most of the House of Night series and got behind when my own debut book sold last year. I need to catch up again.  🙂

Where in the world would you want to visit (all in the name of research, of course) and why?

I lived in Paris in my early 20s and thought I would write all these stories there. Every time I tried, I turned to my journal or a letter instead as there were so many things I wanted to share about what I saw and experienced. I’d love to go back to Paris and London to write. Now that I’m more grounded (I hope), maybe I won’t be so distracted. 😉

Oh to go to Paris and write… *sigh*

What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are, and what advice do you have for anyone in a similar situation?

Well, I served in the Marines when I was younger, which I joke trained me to become a writer! You might be rejected or attacked many times, but don’t take it personally. Believe in yourself and never give up. It takes a lot of persistence and a little luck.

True and sound advice, Lisa.

What did you enjoy most about writing your latest work?

Although I’ve struggled with finishing some stories, writing my last book, Fiery Nights, was so much fun I didn’t want it to end. I LOVED the characters and kept going back to write new scenes. I’d be riding on my bike and certain lines would come to me and I couldn’t wait to get home to work on the book. The final manuscript was over twice as long as I originally intended as the characters took shape. I was on the edge of my seat rereading the manuscript, feeling for my characters—even though I knew what was going to happen since I wrote it!

Some optional fun:

Favorite movie and why?

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Great story, great characters, and so entertaining.

Who or what would you walk over hot coals, climb a mountain, or swim an ocean to get to and why?

My husband. Because he possesses every characteristic I’ve ever wanted in a partner.  

Salty, sweet, or both?

Salty. My weakness is tortilla chips with guacamole. I hate having them around because I’ll eat them. But then I’ll curse when we don’t have them because I want them. 😉

Smoldering Nights

Nike loves visiting the goth club Vamps—she can exchange her firefighter uniform for a slinky fantasy outfit. There she runs into the man she’d been admiring from afar at a rock climbing gym. He’s been the star of all her sexual fantasies, so is it any wonder they end up in his private room upstairs? Just when things begin to heat up, Michel’s enemies appear.

Only Michel isn’t an ordinary mortal. And someone from his past is on the hunt for vengeance. Michel and Nike are forced on the run and hide out in a coastal cottage in Maine. They can’t resist their attraction and spend the nights exploring each others’ bodies while trying to sort out how they feel about each other. Can they overcome their differences to be together? And how will they evade the predators who are chasing them?

Excerpt From: SMOLDERING NIGHTS

We squeezed through dancers to make our way to the darkly lit bar guarded by more stone gargoyles on each end. Just as we made it to the other side of the dance floor, I felt someone watching me.

It was him.

Oh my God. He was here.

In all the times I’d come here, dressed in all kinds of tight, miniscule outfits, never had I felt so exposed. I wished I wasn’t wearing a laced-up black leather dress that exposed a lot of cleavage and was tight enough to show a pimple on my ass.

He was sitting on one of the dark-red leather stools, facing the crowd. I looked up at him twice and caught his eye quickly both times before I looked away. Those ice-blue eyes were so penetrating. Each time I’d caught his eye at the rock climbing gym, I’d have the same reaction—I’d look away quickly.

Why didn’t I have the guts to say hi? He was just another guy. So why did he have that effect upon me? There were tons of hot guys with jacked bodies at the gym. This one—only this one—made me react this way, like a zombie unable to speak.

My palms were beginning to heat up and I was painfully aware of the sound of my heartbeat despite the reverberation of the pounding bass around us.

“I know you from the gym, don’t I?”

Oh God. He was speaking to me. Whenever I heard that sultry voice and the French accent, I trembled slightly inside. Was there anything sexier than a French accent? During my brief semester in the south of France my junior year of college, I was in a constant state of sexual arousal with sounds of the French language all around me. Especially when purred by hot French men.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Maya elbowed me.

“Ye-yes,” I stammered, trying to sound nonchalant. “I go to Rock Hard Climbing.” That’s where he worked. “I’ve-uh-seen you there.”

Maya said, “I’ll catch up with you later.”

He nodded at her before she moved down to an empty spot at the other end of the red and black marbled bar.

Damn it. How could she leave me alone with him? She must have figured out he was the guy I often drooled about, when she saw me clam up like an idiot.

I stared at Maya as she scanned the crowd on the dance floor, shooting invisible daggers at her back. I’m going to kill her later.

In all those months fantasizing about this guy, never did I think it would start as awkward as this. Perhaps he’d smile at me first or nod hello at the gym. Then one day he’d ask if I needed a hand with something. Maybe compliment me somehow. I would appear a bit aloof. Each time I went to the gym after that, things would progress nice and slow. We’d gradually talk a bit more until he finally asked me out.

He snapped me out of my thoughts when he said, “I thought I recognized you. You look—” he paused, “different.”

Never, NEVER, did I think our first conversation would be in some underground club with my breasts pushed up against a leather laced up bodice, accentuated by a brooch with a silhouetted skull.

* * *

About Lisa Carlisle

I’ve loved the vampire myth since I was in third grade and had a crush on Dracula (rivaled only by my eternal love for Darth Vader). When I was younger, I served in the Marine Corps and backpacked around Europe on my own, which has provided me enough settings and characters for a lifetime of writing. Now I live in the Boston area with my fantastic, supportive husband and two kids. I’m very happy to be a multi-published, award-winning author writing in different genres.

Disclaimer: I go bat-shit crazy before Halloween and start decorating my house on October 1st. You can never have enough gargoyles.

Author site: Lisacarlislebooks.com
Buy links~
Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10271-smoldering-nights.aspx
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Smoldering-Nights-Underground-Encounters-ebook/dp/B008VS645I/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_4
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisacarlisleauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/LisaCBooks
Blog: www.lisacarlislebooks.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lcbooks/

Thank you for bringing two awesome books to the Ranch, Lisa!

So what about ya’ll? Do you go bat-shit crazy over Halloween?

Dodadagohvi~