They strolled through the streets holding hands, and Evie gloried in the feeling of his fingers intertwined with her own. She adored feeling the heat where their shoulders met and sharing the experience of the sparkling lights along the Champs-Élysées as they cast an enchanting glow to the midnight hour. Cars were still rushing past and cafes and bistros were open, laughter and music spilling out of the doors.
She didn’t know what he had planned, but it didn’t matter, all she cared about was being with Fox, and experiencing Paris with him.
Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell us something about yourself and how you became an author?
For those who don’t know me, I’m a spoiled wife and momma to four kitties and one fluffy dog. I live in South Africa, love travelling, and I’m a brand-new indie author!
I’ve always been a reader and grew up with a love of fairy tales and a Happily Ever After. My journey to becoming an author started when I became an editor, and with the encouragement of my amazing author friends, here am I—a published indie author. Yay!!!
What are you passionate about these days?
Writing and Traveling! My husband and I try to go overseas every few years. My all-time favorite destinations have been Tokyo, Firenze, and Paris (including Disneyland Paris). We’re already planning our second trip to Japan. Hopefully, I’ll be able to write a book about all the different places I’ve traveled to.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
I am a coffee addict, but when I need to relax I prefer to drink Red Bush tea, it’s an indigenous South African tea—so good. And I love watching movies and TV shows to unwind, especially shows like Great British Bake Off, Forged in Fire, Sugar Rush.
What is something unique/quirky about you?
I love Disney and I also love Dracula. I’m complicated like that. I guess that’s why I gravitate toward Hades and Persephone’s love story. My favorite type of hero is the dark, brooding, sexy asshole who falls in love with his polar opposite.
As a writer, what would you choose as your spirit animal?
I’m naturally drawn toward bears (I have a very cool Build-a-Bear collection—Spock being the jewel of my collection). Why? Well, bears hibernate—I like to nap. Bears love honey—I love all things sweet and chocolate. I also find a man bear very attractive—they snuggle and cuddle better.
If I had to choose one type of bear to be, I would be the Red Panda and my hubs would be a Grizzly bear.
What are your top 10 favorite books and authors?
I have so many, so I’ll name my top 10 series. In no particular order:
1. Larissa Ione: Demonica Underworld & Lords of Deliverance Series
2. Christine Feehan: The Drake Sisters Series
3. Kristen Ashley: The ‘Burg Series — and everything she writes
4. Elizabeth Naughton: Eternal Guardians Series
5. Theresa Birmingham: Eagle MC Series
6. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter Series
7. L.V. Lane: The Controllers Series
8. L. Ann: Forgotten Legacy Series
9. Laura Kaye: Hearts of the Anemoi Series
10. J.R. Ward: Black Dagger Brotherhood Series
Do you see writing as a career?
Absolutely. It is hard work and you have to be dedicated. Having an idea for a book is easy, but writing it down, creating a mood, and bringing characters to life—super hard.
Do you read yourself and if so, what is your favorite genre?
I am an avid reader, before I started editing and now writing, I read an average of 300-400 books a year.
My favorite genre is romance, in all its nuances. I read contemporary, sci-fi, omegaverse, dark, paranormal, new adult—everything! As long as there is a love story, I’m happy to read it.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
Social Media. I’d stop writing to quickly check something on Google or Facebook, and before I know it, an hour has passed and I’ve been looking at pictures of male models for an hour—hey, that’s research too!
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I try to write a book I’d want to read. Being original is being an author. You take a trope or a storyline and make it your own.
What inspired you to write this book?
Being in lockdown, I was yearning to travel, to experience and explore new places. My friend, Holly Gunn, and I got to talking and she felt the exact same way. We thought we couldn’t be the only two people who felt like this, and that’s how the idea started. Now we’re thirteen amazing authors working together to write steamy travel romances.
When I started writing this book it allowed me to revisit some of my favorite places in Paris.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m writing a novelette about Lauren and Greg. Lauren is Evie’s best friend and Greg is her big brother. It’s going to be a short and sexy friends-to-lovers romance. It’s gonna be a freebie when readers subscribe to my newsletter on my website.
Then I’m planning on writing Fox’s brother, Finn’s love story. This is going to be a full-length novel, and we’ll catch up with Evie and Fox again in this book.
I’m also going to be writing a short story for a shifter romance boxset—Bring on some tiger shifter love!
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I usually start with the two main characters, and then the other characters follow. Some characters just slip into the story unexpectedly. Before you know it, they’re telling you about their story, and then I need to write it.
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
I try to write what I know and write in settings that I’ve experienced. For Delayed in Zurich, my husband and I were stuck in Zurich airport for more than twelve hours, and I’ve holidayed in Paris a few years ago—major bucket-list item checked off.
I’ll need to do more research as I continue writing. I’m planning on writing a Paranormal Romance series in 2021. It’s about three demon friends and how their work—harvesting souls for Hell—leads them to finding their soul mates. For that series, there will be more planning to be done, since the backstory isn’t set in reality and I need to keep all the facts straight.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
Not with noise, but with music. I create a playlist for each book and listen to that on repeat, it helps when you need to set a specific mood. For Delayed in Zurich, Evie’s song was ‘My Mistake’ by Cam and Fox’s song was ‘Chasin’ You’ by Morgan Wallen. And, yes, I love Country Music!
Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
I do, I’m planning book two, Thawing his Heart, that will be about Fox’s big brother. But I already have a scene planned for Fox and Evie. Evie has a long bucket list of things she wants to do and places she wants to travel to, and in this scene, Fox will give check off one of the items on her list.
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
Evie Mason: I have no clue. I wanted a cute name for my cute leading lady and Evie stuck.
Fox Evans: I love X-files and wanted a hot hero with the name Fox in one of my books—his name is also the reason his mom is a hippie.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I liked seeing where the characters took me and the story. I have major plot points planned out for each chapter in the book, but what Fox said or how Evie reacted, that was all them.
Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
Evie is fun, quirky, and sweet. She’s the best friend everyone wants, unpretentious and loyal. She’s spontaneous, but she’s also a planner. She’s just finished college and is on her way to starting her first job—on the cusp of a new beginning. Before she takes that leap into adulthood, she’s taking a solo trip to Paris. Hoping for a fling with a sexy French man and making memories to treasure when she’s back home. She wasn’t expecting a broken heart before she even reached her destination.
Fox is impulsive, restless, and a rover. He doesn’t make plans. He wanders, and sees, and experiences everything life has to offer. He’s been traveling for the last ten years, roaming from city to city and country to country. He doesn’t want any commitments or responsibilities, so when he meets Evie at the airport, he’s surprised by the sudden and intense feelings he develops, and needs to make an important decision: follow his heart and Evie or, for once in his life, keep his promises.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
I can’t tell you — Spoilers! But I can say it takes place in Paris.
Did You Know?
Delayed in Zurich had over twelve drafts before I felt like I could hit publish. It’s super scary hitting that submit button and hoping people like and enjoy the story you wrote—it’s like sending your kids to school and hoping they make friends.
Thank you for sharing my book!
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