Wednesday, July 04, 2007

COMMENT this week for a chance to win a download or a print copy of Redemption (to come out July 27) signed by Judith Rochelle plus a keychain and pen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I always wanted adventure and change in my life, and I certainly got it.. I grew up in Maine, a beautiful place to live, then lived in the Midwest and Florida. Now I make my home in the Hill Country of Texas, truly God’s chosen place on earth. My husband, David, is a sixth generation Texan, tracing his roots here back to the time when Texas was a Republic, so retiring here was a dream we finally fulfilled.

I’ve had a lot of firsts in my life – first female sports report on The Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan; first woman to own a rock and roll agency in Detroit, the home of Motown; first woman president of the Pasco (Florida) Economic Development Council.

I graduated from the University of Michigan with a double major in English and History, and a minor in economics., and went on to have at least four careers. When my children were small, I satisfied my need for writing by working for weekly newspapers. I had a wild and wacky time managing rock and roll bands. I joined the insanity of retail with a string of shoe stores. I worked in fundraising, public affairs and community relations. But writing fiction was always my dream. I had a lot of stops and starts, but it wasn’t until we retired that I could devote myself to it full time.

My wonderful husband, David, encourages me and supports me in my dream. Our children are all grown and on their own, and are my biggest fans.

When I’m not writing I’m an avid reader – anything and everything – and watching football, especially my beloved Michigan Wolverines. David and I golf and target shoot., and of course enjoy life in the gorgeous Texas Hill Country, where most of my stories are based.

I am a member of Romance Writers of America and currently an officer in the San Antonio Romance Authors chapter of RWA.


Judith's's Website: www.judithrochelle.com
Blog: http://judithrochelle.blogspot.com/



ABOUT THE BOOK:

BLURB:

Lisa Mallory’s marriage from hell ended with Charles’s still unsolved murder. Now, four years later, her life finally back on track, her eight-year-old son is kidnapped and not returned, despite the ransom payment. Her only option is Ethan Caine, a burned-out Special Ops warrior for whom she has nothing but contempt. But when passion explodes between them in the exotic environment of the lush Quintana Roo jungle, they wonder if it’s possible to dare to hope for the future.


PROLOGUE:

Of course it was raining. How fitting, Lisa Taylor Mallory thought, as she shifted on the folding chair provided by the cemetery, carefully not to move out from under the umbrella the funeral home attendant held over her. Next to her, four-year-old Jamie snuggled closer to here, needing the assurance of his mother’s warmth.

Dr. Howard Devol, pastor of Alamo Baptist Church, under his own umbrella, was intoning passages from the Bible. He had already eulogized Charles to the point of sainthood. Lisa had clenched her fists and swallowed the nausea the insisted on rising at the back of her throat.

Let it be over. Please, please, let us just get this over with.

She let her gaze travel over the crowd of mourners. The cream of San Antonio society and the financial world gathered in their best funereal attire to mourn a man whose sins were swept in fire at the foot of a mountain. Everyone had come, afraid of the fallout if they stayed away. The abundance of black umbrellas nearly formed a canopy of the assemblage.

The funeral was for Jamie, for whom this had all been so frightening. He needed, even at his age, to have closure and known his father would be on a path to Heaven. He could say his prayers at night and feel he had a direct link to him.

Beside her, she felt her brother, Josh, squeeze her arm, a signal that said everything will be okay.

Okay wasn’t exactly the word she’d have chosen to describe the current state of her life. She clenched one gloved hand in her lap. No, okay, wasn’t even in the ball park.

At last the interminable ceremony was finished. Josh rose and nudged her to stand with Jamie. The pastor signaled her to come forward. With Josh’s arm supporting her, she stepped forward to the casket and took the white rose the pastor held out to her. She stared at the casket for a long moment, then dropped the rose on its mahogany surface.

In a voice so low only her brother heard it, she said, “Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.


INTERVIEW:

Why did you become a writer?
I have always had a vivid imagination, and even as a child I scribbled a lot. In college I had a professor who told me, You start with a blank sheet of paper and create a whole world for the reader. After that I was on a roll.

Was it a dream of yours since you were younger or did the desire to write happen later in your life?
Well, when I was seven I told everyone I was going to Hollywood to become a movie star! So I guess shortly after that. In high school I read a book titled Seventeenth Summer and longed to write something that memorable.

What do you love about being an author?
I can put all my fantasies on paper and be a constant storyteller.

Is there anything you dislike?
Editing, editing, editing.

How do you balance your personal and writing time?
’m very, very fortunate. My children are all grown and out of the house, I’m retired, and my husband gives me as much time as I need to write. The afternoons are mine, the evenings are his, and one or two days a week we do something special together. That way when I’m on a deadline and I’m writing every minute he’s okay with it. He even cooks, the wonderful man.

How do you write?
Crazy! Sometimes I’ll stat with just one sentence and the book will evolve from that. Sometimes, as with Redemption, I have a character whose story just has to be told. I’m not a plotter. Often I’ll write a one page synopsis just so I don’t forget what I’m doing, Then, in the evening, when the dh and I watch television, I review what I wrote that day, add, subtract, etc. And sometimes there’ll be something in a program we’re watching and I think, Oh, I just have to put something like that in this book.

Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story?
It varies.

What genre(s) do you write?
Contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance (which is often romantic suspense) and inspirational. From A to Z, I guess. Why do you write the stories that you write? I write what I like to read, and I read everything. But I love alpha males and kickass women so you’ll find them in all my books.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?
Usually imagination, although they incorporate bits and pieces of people I know. But in REDEMPTION, Ethan Caine is based on a real person I know, a friend of my son’s, the kind of person you just have to write about.

Out of all the characters that you've written, who is your favorite and why?
Ethan Caine, because he still lives in my head. A flawed individual fighting his demons but stepping up to the plate when someone really needs him. And under it all, capable of great love. He could put his shoes under my bed any time.

What would you want readers to take away from your books?
A totally satisfied feeling, a sense of happiness and desire to read more of what I write.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers in regards to writing a book?
Don’t ever give up. Read, read, read. Study how and what other people write. Find a really good critique group and soak up the feedback. Go out on the loops and make cyberfriends. They’ll help you, too. And don’t be discouraged.

What are you reading right now?
Just finished Cindy Gerard’s newest, Into the Darkness and about to begin Maggie Toussaint’s House of Lies.

If you could be anyone or anything that you wanted, who or what would you be?
Just myself,. I think I have a wonderful life, married to my own alpha hero, with the greatest kids in the world and I’m doing exactly what I want to do. I wish everyone could be me!



Redemption by Judith Rochelle
PRINT ISBN 1-60154-064-7
Genre(s): Fiction/Suspense
Length: 196 pages
Rating: Spicy
$5.00 from The Wild Rose Press



Purchase Redemption by Judith Rochelle HERE!!