Welcome My latest Guest Ann Raina! #amwriting

I want to welcome Ann Raina. First I’d love you to introduce yourself.

I’m way beyond forty and currently I live in Germany with five cats and a horse (not in the same apartment; he just didn’t fit). I’ve been writing novels for years and I still love creating plots, finding characters and putting them together. My muse is always with me. We talk about ideas and how to get them into a story every week. My creativity wouldn’t be so fulfilling without her additions, comments and questions, especially about the logic in plot twists.

Tell us about your latest release.

This fall three novels will be released, the first one’s The Secretary’s Bodyguard. The story is about Jazmin, who’s married to the bodyguard of the Secretary of State. On an official visit to Colombia the secretary and his entourage are attacked by terrorists and have to flee through the forest, hunted by men out to kill them all.

Now I have a few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us writers.

1.) Who is your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show. And why?

From a movie I’d choose Hans Gruber, portrayed by Alan Rickman, in Die Hard 1. He’s cynical, bad without remorse and yet in his way so funny you can laugh. Okay, I’m guilty of liking this movie anyway… In my opinion the bad guys always get the best roles, the more challenging performance. If the bad guys are well played they make the good guys look handsome and well-behaved, but without the edges.

2.) Who is your favorite character out of your books? Why?

I tend to write one book with a set of characters and then let go. This time I wrote three novels in a row because Ethan Mahoney and his wife make such a lovely couple I couldn’t part with them. And, yes, if I come up with another plot there will be a forth book. He’s dedicated to his wife and also his job. He’s straightforward and reliable and a wild tiger if anyone dares getting close to his wife. He has a way to cheer her up and still respect her. In the second book he’s confronted with a villain he can’t truly beat and to write that confrontation was a real challenge. I guess, with Ethan I wrote a character I would very much like to meet. I confess I’m still a girl with dreams when it comes to that.

3.) What genre do you write? What made you pick that one?

I write contemporary romance and Science Fiction. I like SciFi because of the never ending possibilities to create new worlds and venture onto other planets where our rules don’t apply. But recently the ideas were more earth-bound. While writing a story that plays here and now I have to stick to historical facts and it’s very interesting to do research before the first paragraph is written.

4.) What are you working on now?

Another SciFi story which I started between book two and three of the series. Yes, sometimes I can’t get enough. At first I wanted to take down notes and do nothing else. I tried to focus on the plot I was writing at that time, but it just didn’t work. The first ten pages were written before I blinked. Then I tried for discipline and finished book three (A Bodyguard’s Vacation) to return to the SciFi plot. Right now I’m in the middle somewhere and try to wrap up and not forget where I was heading. Getting distracted by side plots is one of my problems…

5.) What got you to start writing?

I honestly can’t tell. I suppose it was Han Solo. I loved the character so much I started writing fan fiction when no one knew that word. All of my early stories were hand-written and only some friends got them for reading. I stuck with fan fiction for quite a long time, but then made the turn to my own worlds and own characters.

6.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Dreams. Taking a shower. Working in the garden. When an idea hits me I take down notes, play around with it and present it to my muse for duly dissection. After that brainstorming sets in, decorated with coffee and cookies. (I understand all FB posts about the essentials of coffee for authors…) If we can’t get any further on one day we postpone. I take down more notes and the full plot will take about two or three weeks for creation. Again, every movie I watch or book I read can become a source for ideas.

7.) What would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?

I think I can only write books, which deal with so much trouble, action, suspense and else because my real life is very orderly. I’m happy with my life. I can put all these imaginary problems in my books because my day-to-day life is enjoyable.

8.) Do you have any special talents?

I’ve learned riding years ago and finally bought a horse, a chestnut colored gelding. He’s nine years old by now and a very good partner in the woods. So I spent a lot of time outdoors.

9.) What was the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck with you? Why?

Know the character and its language. I was told by my teacher in high school that my writing is nice (okay, at that time), but I lack the ability to write narrative according to the man’s or woman’s upbringing. People from different social places talk differently. I try to keep that in mind every time I create a new character.

10.) If you could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what would you talk about?

I would’ve loved to meet Sir Peter Ustinov. He was such an intelligent man.

11.) What song would you say describes your life?

Michael Buble’s It’s a Beautiful Day.

12.) If you could come back as any animal – what would it be?

I prefer to be a cat in a large home. Maybe a writer’s cat. Mine tend to look intently at the screen and I guess they were critics in their first lives…

Excerpt:

“You would’ve slapped him?” His voice tripped over the last word. Ethan tried to imagine his wife hitting Walter Coleman, the incarnation of a strict, very conservative and always serious chief of security. It was funny. Reconsidering that she had brought down Ryan, the image lost some of its entertainment value. He frowned as he watched her very nice butt on a westbound trail that only she saw. There was that little idea in the back of his head he’d better ignore.

“He insinuated I might be in a setup with the terrorists following us. It’s completely stupid, I know, but that’s the way he thinks.” She stopped on the way up and turned until Ethan reached her. Her frown was deep and she looked tired. “He’s doing his job, and he was right to remind you to do yours. We’re not here because of some weekend trip gone wonky. You have to work and probably risk your life saving the secretary.”

He put his hands on her hips. “Princess, can you imagine that I’d put his life over yours? It’s not gonna happen. I’m very proud that you’re so brave. So tough. It might come out all wrong, but it’s not. I didn’t expect you to be like this. Not even with the police training and all.”

“I panic on the inside, Ethan.” She caressed his stubbly cheek and ran her thumb over the cleft in his chin. He saw her fight off emotions that would lead to tears. “I’m so afraid you’ll get hurt. And that those men will catch up to us and kill us all in cold blood. I can’t stand the thought that you’ll throw yourself in the line of fire and that those bastards might finally end what they began.” She combed his hair with her fingers. “I can’t think of a life without you.”

“I’ll work hard so no one gets killed. Would that be okay?”

She trembled as he took her in his arms. “They’re still coming after us, and they’ve got the larger firepower, don’t they? Please, Ethan, tell me that we stand a chance.”

He let go and smiled at her. “Well, we’ve got you with us. And if I got the secretary right, he’ll hire you as recruitment. Wait an hour and he’ll order Walter to hand you a gun.”

She turned and walked on. “I can fire a gun. I was a police officer.”

Ethan, his eyes already back on her derrière, opened his mouth for a reply, rethought the argument and kept silent until she turned with a frown.

“Do you doubt I can shoot?”

Again, Ethan knew he was in trouble, no matter how he answered the question. “Walter…won’t hand a weapon to anyone he hasn’t personally trained. He’s…nuts when it comes to weapons and shooting. He wouldn’t let you touch—”

“He’d reject my help even if Ryan can’t shoot anymore?”

Ethan heard the outrage in her voice and called himself stupid to have brought up the subject. His mind juggled the possible ways to end the discussion. “Ryan’s fine, even with his left hand. I saw him train.”

Book information:

The Secretary’s Bodyguard

Copyright © 2015 Ann Raina

ISBN: 978-1-4874-0518-2

Cover art by Carmen Waters

Buying information:

http://www.extasybooks.com/ann-raina/The-Secretary-'-s-Bodyguard/

Meet My Latest Guest: Ann Raina!

I want to welcome Ann Raina! First I’d love you to introduce yourself.

Tell us about your latest release.

Kisses and Chains tells the story of Shian Crayn, who is fleeing from his pursuer, Culma Verde, to the planet Radavé. He doesn’t know that all foreigners are considered workers and he consequently ends up owned by a wealthy trader. To his luck, the daughter of the house finds the young man very attractive and soon they escape together. But that’s only the beginning of their adventure.

Now I have a few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us writers.

1.) Who is your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show. And why?

The villains have the better parts in a movie. They can be reckless, mean, full of irony and condescence. They have the wider range of emotions and options throughout the story. The best villains have their positive moments and thus become more believable. See Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) in Bond’s Goldeneye. He gives the villain a very human touch, a man to hate but also to be sorry for. Or take Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. He’s smooth, eloquent, an excellent lover and still he’s a bad boy. A man with charisma and unpredictable. That’s what makes a good villain.

2.) Who is your favorite character out of your books? Why?

I loved to write Project: Recruitment. The main character, Sidarra, is confronted by a new people with different backgrounds and different cultures. First, he’s set aback, but soon realizes he can be a valuable part of their society and still remain the man he was. Not to forget that he keeps his humor intact.

3.) What do genre do you write? What made you pick that one?

I write erotic romance, set in science fiction surroundings, and add some funny moments to every story. I love to develop strange living conditions, foreign cultures and completely different behavior rules. Science fiction offers a wide range of possibilities if you stick to the rules you set. In Kisses and Chains all families are traders and deal with workers as well as gems, water or food. There are no police forces, no judges, or military personnel. Consequently, they all employ guards and have to take care of their possessions but still there’s a strict code of accepted behavior, and every neighbor is eager to fulfill those rules up to a point where’s it’s only funny.

I also wrote two contemporary romances, Spice for Your Life and No Fool. I just follow my mood and the ideas coming to my mind.

4.) What are you working on now?

I did a report about a rich young man, who angered his parents by wasting money all the time, which triggered a short story about how to deal with such a man if all other measures fail. I’m two thirds through the story and, yes, the young man learns his lesson. Not easily, but in a way he had never thought about.

5.) What got you to start writing?

The wish to write stories has accompanied me since I attended school. Then Star Wars was released. Two hours of impressive, new ideas were suddenly offered, but it wasn’t enough for me. My mind spun around the characters and what more they could live through. It was the beginning of fanfiction though no one knew that term back in those days.

6.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Ideas hit me. They follow me. They come to my mind and want to be regarded and weighed and judged. And then there’s my muse, who also plays around with those ideas and scenes. And if she says, the idea could work out for a whole story we outline the plot and the characters. It’s always the funniest part – brainstorming. We’ve spent whole afternoons with plotting, accompanied by a lot of coffee and cookies. Oh, some good ideas come while I’m in the kitchen, baking bread or cake. Or cookies. And, no, I haven’t ruined a recipe because my thoughts wandered through strange landscapes…

7.) What would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?

None of the characters I describe in my books reflect on my real life.

8.) Do you have any special talents?

Besides writing, I love to ride. I bought a horse two years ago spend many hours in the woods with it. At home, I have a tendency to work in the kitchen, baking. My collection of recipes would fill a library.

9.) What was the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck with you? Why?

My teacher at high school taught me that the characters’ idioms reflect their social status. A bank director speaks another dialect than a worker at the harbor. The characters an author creates are only believable if they fit their role in every detail.

10.) If you could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what would you talk about?

I would have loved to meet with Sir Peter Ustinov, no matter the subject. I’m sure I could have learned so much from him. He was such a talented man, who left us too early. I admire him very much.

11.) What song would you say describes your life?

Always look on the Bright Side of Life. People tend to make their lives much more complicated than it usually is. If you can sit back and relax, take a step back and try another angle to weigh the problem at hand, you might be able to find a solution without cramps in your brain.

12.) If you could come back as any animal – what would it be?

I’d like to be one of my cats – days filled with games, food, and, yes, sleep. I sometimes miss hours of sleep and envy my cats, which can stay on my bed while I have to leave it. Darn.

Blurb:

On the run, Shian takes a spaceship to Radavé, not knowing that his life will be turned upside down. Culma Verde, a headhunter, is on his heels and known to never give up. Can his new love Keila help Shian out?

Excerpt:

Shian wanted to embrace her, but the chains did not allow it. He cursed without words. The restrictions reminded him every minute that he was nothing but a piece of Delion’s valuable collection.

Keila sighed. “So I sit here on the estate of my father, wait for the right man, and until that happens, I have not much to do.” She put away the glass and caressed Shian’s face. She smiled through sadness. “I should not bring this upon you. I’ve been bored and frustrated for a long time. You’ve brought some light back to my life. So you’d better forget what I said.”

“I guess I understand you better than you think. You sit in a cage, too, and don’t know how to escape. It’s just that you don’t wear the chains in the open.”

Keila kissed him tenderly, playing her tongue in his mouth. When he went along, she slipped from the couch to get closer and the kiss got wilder.

“I want you,” she whispered. “I wanted you from the first day. I haven’t felt so alive for a long time.”

“But I’m not allowed to—”

“I know, but I want you. Please, Shian, please.”

Shian had never been asked more nicely, but still her father’s threat rang in his ears. He should not try and get closer to any woman, especially not the most valuable firstborn daughter. Get your hands off her! That’s madness!

When he didn’t respond, Keila drew back.

“It’s not that I don’t want you,” he confessed quietly, looking down at the chains holding him. “But I’m not out for castration if your father finds us.”

“You are right.” She licked her lips and a mischievous smile played around the corners of her mouth. She was blushing and looked very lovely. “I have to make better preparations.”

“You will—”

She put a finger on his lips. “I will find a way.”

Author Bio:

Ann Raina lives and works in Germany. Besides writing, riding is one of her favorite hobbies. She loves to be outdoors and enjoy the woods in her region. She’s also a gardener and a baker if time allows. With eXtasy Books, she has published eight novels so far, and a new erotic romance is a work in progress.

Carpe diem!

Buy Links:

http://www.extasybooks.com/?route=product%2Fauthor&author_id=111

It’ll also be available via Amazon etc. later. The URL does not yet exist.