This is a little different from our normal posts, but with a cover this great we couldn't resist accepting this Author Interview and book review (coming 9/11)! So if you are up for a great contemporary romance--we recommend checking out:
Eat, Play, Lust
by Tawna Fenske
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, Flirt Imprint
Date of Publication: 8/26/13
ISBN: 978-1-62266-245-6
Number of pages: 57
Our Interview with Tawna Fenske:
It goes without saying that we love our books, and it is always fun to discover a little bit about the mind behind the work. We hope you enjoy our visit with Tawna Fenske, author of Eat, Play, Lust.
Tawna, where are you
from and from where/who did your love for writing come from?
When I submitted my author bio for my debut novel, Making Waves, I mentioned I'm a third generation Oregonian.
Since then, my dad hasn't let me forget that I'm actually a FOURTH generation
Oregonian. I grew up on the rainy side of the state in Salem, but have lived in
the mountainous high desert of Central Oregon for the last 16 years. I've been
an avid reader since age 7, and my love of writing stemmed from that same place.
Ah, the Great Northwest! And your region is especially beautiful. Tell us, can you say that your journey to publication was
difficult? If so, what were the hardest moments to get through?
I would say my journey to publication
was difficult in the same way you might say a root canal without Novocain is
mildly owie.
The
short version of the story is that I wrote a couple crappy novels before
selling a book to Harlequin’s “Bombshell” line in 2005. Then my editor
called—on my 32nd birthday, the same day my cat died and I was told
I’d be fired from my job for disobeying the company’s pantyhose requirement—to
inform me the line was being cancelled a month before my scheduled debut.
I
spent the next several years cycling through an agent that didn’t quite work
out and writing manuscripts that almost-but-didn’t-quite
sell.
When
my agent landed me a three-book deal for my romantic comedies in 2010, the joy
was somewhat dampened by the fact that my marriage of 13 years crashed and
burned like a short-circuited vibrator hurled angrily at the bedroom wall.
Though
I’ve rebounded now and life’s pretty awesome, there’s always a roller coaster
component to any author’s career. The biggest lesson I’ve learned through all
the ups and downs is that it’s possible to find humor in almost every
situation. That’s probably why I write romantic comedy instead of navel-gazing,
angsty literary fiction.
Wow, you have had a bumpy road! Thankfully, your sense of humor has obviously not been damaged, and you have topics galore, should you ever decide to go the angsty route. As for your not-angsty writing style, can you describe what that is in five word?
Quirky, offbeat, steamy, funny, wine-fueled. Er, did
that last one count as one word or two?
I think that final one is in Wikipedia as one word, so no worries. Tell us what movies you are currently excited to see?
Sorry, I suck
at this one. I have the attention span of a gnat, and visual mediums don't seem
to hold my interest. I can sit all day engrossed in a book, but put me in front
of a movie and I'll fall asleep in three minutes.
Well, I think that's pretty understandable. So, what are you currently reading?
I'm not happy
unless I'm reading at least three or four books at a time. Currently I'm
reading Tess Gerritson's, "Last to Die," "Beautiful Ruins"
by Jess Walter, "Where We Belong," by Emily Giffin, and "No
One's the Bitch," by Jennifer Newcomb Marine and Carol Marine, and “Divergent,”
by Victoria Roth.
If you weren't a writer, what other careers would
you pursue?
I'd like to be
a pirate, an astronaut, or the person who auditions male strippers.
Haha, would you consider hiring an apprentice? Hold on, back to being serious (mostly). If you could create a holiday of your own, what
would it be called?
Natinal Cook Naked
Day. We already celebrate this in my house, and aside from the occasional
scorched nipple, it's a rousing success. Well, as long as we remember to close
the blinds.
Yikes, that sure would get people excited about cooking - maybe even me! For people who haven’t read your novel, how would
you summarize the plot?
It’s the story of Cami Pressman, a yoga instructor with a few food issues
and a secret lust for junk food. She falls for Paul Hammond, one of her
students who’s a gourmet chef with a habit of sticking a foot in his mouth.
It’s a quirky, short, funny little story a lot of readers have told me they
finished in one sitting.
What are two of your pet-peeves?
Shopping carts
blocking the aisle, and people with no sense of humor.
To you, what makes a good story?
Sex, food, and
laughter (not necessarily in that order).
What usually turns you off about a story?
Characters who
are too stupid to live, self-indulgent melodrama, and mushrooms.
If you could collaborate with any author, who would
you choose, and why?
I adore
Jennifer Crusie and would love to get together with her for a pillow fight in
our pajamas, but it's possible our writing styles are too similar for
collaboration. It might be fun to team up with a male author whose gritty style
is counter to my quirky, lighthearted one. Maybe mystery author Bill Cameron?
What is on your night stand?
I plead the
fifth on this one (but thank you for the reminder I need batteries).
What is your favorite book?
Too many to
name, but on the list would be Jennifer Crusie's, "Welcome to
Temptation," Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander," Kurt Vonnegut's
"Player Piano," Judy Blume's "Summer Sisters," Kristan
Higgins’ “Just One of the Guys,” and Jonathan Tropper's, "How to Talk to a
Widower."
Thank you, Tawna! I appreciated this time with you, and look forward to reading more from you (and perhaps cooking) in the future.
Amazon | BN |
** Tawna will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Eat, Play, Lust to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.
About the Author:
Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek to PR manager for her city’s tourism bureau. An avid globetrotter and social media fiend, Tawna is the author of the popular blog, Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, and a member of Romance Writers of America.
She lives with her gentleman friend in Bend, Oregon, where she’ll invent any excuse to hike, bike, snowshoe, float the river, or sip beer along the Bend Ale Trail. She’s published several romantic comedies with Sourcebooks, including Making Waves and Believe it or Not, as well as the interactive fiction caper, Getting Dumped, with Coliloquy.
Contact the Author:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
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We're special needs mothers who write sexy, humorous, and suspenseful romance novels. J.B.McGee was born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina. She is the mother of two beautiful children and a stay at home mom/entrepreneur. She finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 2006. During her time studying children's literature, a professor had encouraged her to become a writer. In 2011 it was discovered that both of her children and her husband have Mitochondrial Disease, a disease that has no cure or treatments. Being a writer allows J.B. to remain close to her family, work on raising awareness for this disease and to lose herself in the stories that she creates for her fans. J.B. McGee and her family now reside in Buford, Georgia. She is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of her debut series, the 'THIS' Series. She is represented by Stacey Donaghy with Donaghy Literary Group. Her books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Smashwords in ebook, paperback, and even some audiobooks. The German translation for her debut novel, Broken, will be available July 1, 2014, through Amazon Crossing. 
