Author Interview: Marquita Valentine on her novel "Third Time's a Charm" - Holland Springs Series #2

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Self-published author Marquita Valentine is with Ravishing Romances today. She's the first ever author to be featured on our site twice and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Thank you for being on Ravishing Romances, Marquita!

Oh wow! That’s so awesome. Thank you so much for having me again! 

Q:  Third Time’s a Charm starts with the hero and heroine madly in lust with each other. It makes their chemistry much more intense. Did you intentionally set them up for this in the first book Twice Tempted or did it just happen? 

A: Actually the entire book kinda just happened. LOL! I had absolutely no intention of writing Sasha and Rose’s story, but Katharine Ashe, my beta reader and fabulously talented author who writes Regency set romances for Avon, emailed me and asked, “So you’re writing Sasha and Rose next, right?” My response: “Sure am.” ACK! However, their lust for one another was purely organic. I had to restrain them at times. ;) 


Q:  Though hero Sasha and heroine Rose have sexual tension…Rose hates him. A lot and often. Her distrust of Sasha creates much of their relationship conflict. Was it hard to write a wounded and guarded heroine? 

A: I’d be lying if I said any book was easy to write. It’s not. But the more I learned about Rose, the more she came across as the traditionally tortured hero. Quiet, reserved...basically the opposite of Sasha. And Sasha didn’t exactly help things. One minute he’s offering to help her out, then next he’s back to plotting against her. So the hardest part of writing Rose was showing the reader why she would ever take a chance on Sasha. 


Q:  Nipple rings. Sasha has them. Details! 

A: HEE!! I love piercings on heroes. There just aren’t enough of them. ;) I loved the thought of him having them, because it’s so unexpected yet sexy as all get out. Especially the shower scene and of course Rose loves them...it’s a source of smexytime fun. 


Q:  Is Rose a witch? Third Time’s a Charm hints at it and though some things are explained, others are left to readers’ imagination… 

A: Honestly, Rose is in fact...well, it’s up to the readers to decide if she is or isn’t a witch. I purposefully answered some things about her “powers” and left others wide open. But I will say that Practical Magic (the movie not the book) was an inspiration for the Holland Sisters. So... 


Q:  Third Time’s a Charm is part of the Holland Springs series. Holland Springs is the small town where the series is based, but their is an actual spring that plays a prominent role in the stories. Can you talk about that? 

A: Great question. Where I’m from it seemed as though every town or county had a local legend it was known for, like Blackbeard. Some of the legends, like the infamous pirate, are rather bloody and gruesome. I wanted one that was known for something rather lovely and sweet. That most people didn’t believe in anymore but still wanted the experience ends up happening with a lot of legends and traditions. Heck, even Rose doesn’t know the entire story concerning the spring OR her family’s reputation. 


Q: The next novel in your series is a novella titled His Christmas Wish and tells the story of war hero Joaquin Morales and his estranged wife Sage Caswell. Sage is introduced in Third Time’s a Charm, being kind to mistreated Rose. What’s Sage’s motivation for this? 

A: Sage is actually a nice person and one that has benefited from the Hollands’ love advice...even if it didn’t turn out so well. Besides, not everyone in town is mean or rude to the Holland women. Yet Sage does have a motive behind her very nice gesture. She wanted Rose’s advice concerning a man Sage has fallen in love with through letters. The man in question, a 1st LT in the ARMY, is deployed in Afghanistan and she’s never met him in person. Or so Sage thinks. By the way, the Holland women are always right when they match up couples. Hence Sage and Joaquin’s novella. 


Q: Can you give us an excerpt from Third Time’s a Charm? 

A: I’d love to! This is an excerpt that hasn’t been shared anywhere before and it’s one of my favorite scenes from the book. 

He lifted it to her mouth. “Open.” 

“You’re going to feed me?” 

He gave her a crooked grin. “Sharing food is something that family does in Masvingo.” 

“I don’t know.” She squirmed in her chair. Somehow the act of him feeding her seemed very intimate, something lovers did for one another. 

“It’s not poison, Rose.” He dipped the ball of sazda, then drew air circles with it. “One bite, love.” 

Feeling slightly silly, she barely opened her mouth. 

“Wider.” 

Sighing, she widened it and Sasha’s green eyes glinted.“Not that wide—I don’t want to actually watch you chew it.” 

Jerking back, she began to clamp her lips together, but he popped it in before they closed. Flavor exploded in her mouth and she moaned in appreciation. 

“What every man most likes to hear when a woman has her mouth full of his…cooking.” Sasha waggled his eyebrows as she chewed. 

She giggled. “More please.” 

He fed her another bite. “That particular phrase a close second.” 

“Stop, I’ll choke.” Somehow she managed to swallow and he fed her yet another bite. 

“Third.” 

“Now I get to feed you,” she said, pinching off a bite-sized portion of the thick tortilla, rolling it in her hand, then dipping it in the meat stew. He grinned as she held it up to his mouth. His lips parted and she pushed the sazda inside. 

“Delicious,” he said, after chewing and swallowing it down. 

Then they fed each other. Sasha purposefully nipping at her fingers when it was her turn. She couldn’t stop giggling. 

“Quit biting me.” 

“But I like the extra flavor,” he said with a teasing smile. “One last bite then dessert, yes?” 

“Yes.” She began to part her lips, but the heat of his gaze stopped her. “What?” 

“Close your eyes this time,” he gently ordered, his voice husky. 

Her lashes fluttered down, but she quickly opened her eyes again to find him leaning closer. So close that she could count the freckles on his nose. Forget counting them, she wanted to kiss each one. 

Thank you for having me again, Musing Sallie.  I had a great time answering your questions!   

Marquita's answering your questions in the comment section!

Someone please ask her about that trunk incident.

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MARQUITA VALENTINE writes small town romances that are anything but small. Lisa Kleypas, Carly Phillips and Rachel Gibson are her favorite contemporary authors. Marquita met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children. 

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Author Interview: Jessica Scott on her novel "Until There Was You"

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Welcome
Author 
Jessica Scott

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of "Until There Was You"


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Jessica's answering reader 
questions in the comment section below

Thank you so much, Jessica, for taking the time for this interview.  You’re a busy lady and I feel lucky to have you here today.  Your novels are wonderful romantic tributes to the men and women who fight for our country and I appreciate that romance is at the center of your stories.

Until There Was You is your second novel and will release on October 8th as the second book in your Coming Home series.

You’re also a career army officer and are married to a career NCO.  Lots of army in your family.

Q:        Until There Was You has laugh out loud situations with soldiers and chlamydia.  (Really, readers.  They’re hilarious and completely non-offensive.)  Has this ever really happened?

A:  Um, to me specifically? No. But I will say that in the efforts of keeping my formation, ahem, clean, I do keep boxes of condoms in the hallway for anyone to take. Why not, right? Have to promote being a responsible adult and part of that means taking care of *cough* yourself. And if you read any of the books from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, you’ll realize that bored soldiers are soldiers who are getting into trouble. The STD story was inspired by reality and let’s just leave it at that.  :)

Q:        Until There Was You’s hero, Captain Evan Loehr, is thankful his troops haven’t spent “…a night in jail every single weekend.”  Does this mean they’ve spent a night in jail on some weekends?

A:        Yeah. Half the time spent as a commander is dealing with soldier issues, either personal issues, finance issues, troopers getting in trouble downtown. It’s all based on reality and that makes great fodder for stories.

Q:        Both novels discuss the army’s policy that enlisted soldiers and officers cannot become romantically involved.  Do you plan on writing a forbidden romance tale for this series?  If so, how realistic do you plan to keep the army’s reaction to such a romance?

A:        So much of what people get in trouble for in the army depends on commander’s discretion. Contrary to popular belief that soldiers are just automaton mindlessly following their superiors’ orders, army leaders have a lot of discretion. And yes, in that sense, the next story I’m working on after the 3rd book in this series is going to have an officer and an enlisted man. They’re not a superior subordinate relationship though. I don’t think I would ever write one of those because they’re an anathema to me.

Q:        I can’t go into many details before Until There Was You is released, but your stories deal with heavy emotional issues.  In Because of You (book #1) one war-wounded soldier battles with suicide in vivid detail and two soldiers are served divorce papers while deployed.  How much of this is written for tension and how much because these things really happen?

A:        I write the books the way I do because half of it is a coping mechanism for me, personally. I’ve been in the army for 17 years now and I’ve seen how the war has changed not only our force at a macro level but also at a personal level. We’ve got a lot of challenges and writing about them for me is a way to share some of the weight of what our soldiers carry with folks who might not know otherwise. It’s also a way for me to - symbolically at least - give soldiers a happily ever after.

Q:        Your characters are conflicted between what they want and what the army tells them to do.  Is there any tension at work because you write about soldiers breaking the rules and officers making mistakes that cost lives?

A:        I don’t generally bring my writing to work with me. One because it would break some of the rules I’m bound to follow but two, I’m a company commander and I don’t have time for anything other than work during the duty day. In that vein, no. The people who do know I write have been tremendously supportive of it.

Q:        Your Coming Home series is about soldiers who’ve come home from the Iraq war and are learning to adjust.  Why this war and why soldiers who’ve returned home?

A:        Because there are far too many books out there that give a returning veteran PTSD and then one night of magic sex and everything is okay. Coming home for me personally was the biggest challenge of my life, far more difficult than leaving for war ever was. I wanted to capture that and try to show some of the challenges beyond the stereotype of shell shocked GI. Of course, I deal with stress and strain of combat but it’s so often more than what we read about. It’s the daily adjustment of coming home that can really break someone.

Q:        I’m sure you’ve gotten this question a lot.  The first novel has two very strong secondary characters whose marriage is on the rocks for some very heartfelt reasons.  Why is your third book about them and not Until There Was You? 

A:        I really struggled with getting Laura & Trent’s book right. Because I was having such a hard time, my editor wisely suggested that I move on to the 3rd book in the series to get some distance from the characters and it was a smart move. Now that I’m working on BACK TO YOU - Laura & Trent’s story - it’s so much smoother this time around.

Q:        You have a Goodreads discussion titled Things That Happen During Sex You Won’t Read in Romance Novels.  Will your heroes and heroines ever deal with wet spots, early ejaculation and interrupting children?

A:        No, no and yes. :) I actually tried to have a wet dream and the awkwardness that followed. Sort of like that scene from There’s Something About Mary. Yeah, it didn’t make the final cut, lol!

Q:        We’ve read the blurb.  Any sneak peeks for Until There Was You?

A: Of course!

Evan had no idea what the hell he was thinking, but this woman had struck a chord inside him, awakened a hunger that refused to be ignored. Kissing her was a mistake, a sensuous, gorgeous mistake.

He gave over to the temptation he’d fought earlier and lifted his hands to her neck, sliding his palms over her skin to thread them into her hair. It was warm silk against the back of his hands, a raw, simple pleasure.

Her mouth opened beneath his, her tongue sliding against his, signaling a salient desire that penetrated his defenses and made him no longer care that she was in his brigade. There were no rules against them doing any of this—whatever this was—but he didn’t date at work. As he lost himself in her taste and touch, he seriously reconsidered that personal rule. He captured her quiet gasp against his mouth and felt the locks turning on the chains that held his restraint.

It was a long moment before Claire eased back, nibbling on his bottom lip before she broke the tentative connection between them.

“What was that?” he asked, his voice rough and unfamiliar to his own ears.

She smiled. “A mistake.” She swiped her thumb over his bottom lip. “But one I enjoyed.”

She eased back until he was forced to release her. Regret settled in his belly that this would go no further. “I’ll see you around, Evan.”

He watched her go, the slight sway of her hips more alluring because she did not try to affect any sensuality. She simply walked, cloaked in confidence and sexual appeal.

He let her go. Because Evan Loehr knew all about mistakes, and he wasn’t about to make one with Claire Montoya.

Now to get personal.  Verrrrry personal. 

Q:        I’ve taken to Twitter and acquired a picture of your bathroom.  Two things:  that color is very, very blue and how many cosmetics do you own??

Jessica packing for RWA 2012

A:        To answer the first question: the blue was inspired by a bathroom I saw in a Pottery Barn catalogue. I’m a Maine girl by heart and I love coastal decor. And to answer the second question: I have no idea. But I do know that a girl cannot have enough lip gloss. It’s an addiction. Someday I’ll join a twelve step program.

Q:        Why did Oprah call you?  To tell you she’s adding your series to her book club list, right?

A:        A couple of years ago, Oprah did a show about women in the military and her producers wanted to get the name of a friend of mine who had a custody battle related to her military service. I didn’t give up the name because it wasn’t my place and well, that’s the end of the story. It was exciting for the half a day I was waiting for the call back.

Any closing remarks you’d like to leave us with?

I’m really excited about Until There Was You. It was a hard book for me to write and I’m thrilled that people are enjoying it.

To celebrate the long awaited release of my second book, I’m having a super giveaway the UNTIL THERE WAS YOU PREORDER SWEEPSTAKES all throughout September until Oct 7th! If you preorder Until There Was You, you get entered into a chance to win a Kindle Fire or a Nook Color. 

I’m also giving away a digital eARC of Until There Was You to someone today!

Jessica, thank you again for being here.  I appreciate it very much.  As a token of my appreciation - I put washable markers in the hand of my four-month-old and let him squiggle them around.  His first ever picture was drawn for you:

Despite my efforts he's yet to learn the alphabet.
Alas, the words are written by me.

Jessica Scott is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats, three dogs and two escape-artists hamsters, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. 

She has commanded two companies, served in Germany, Korea, Fort Hood and Iraq, and been lucky not to get fired. She is a terrible cook and an even worse housekeeper, but she’s a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.

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