5 Questions of a Contemporary Romance Author - Empi Baryeh

Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, and the Wicked. Today I have the honor of hosting contemporary romance author Empi Baryeh with recent and upcoming releases through Evernight Publishing and Black Opal Books.

Welcome, Empi. Thank you for being with me today.

Hi Siobhan. Thanks for having me on your blog today. I guess I should break the ice by telling your readers a little about me. I’m an author of African and interracial romance. I write the kind of romance I like to read – sweet and tender with enough passion for readers who want a little steam with their romance. I live in Ghana, where most of my novels are set.

Wow, what a great introduction to your home country. What started you on the path to becoming a romance author?

A friend from high school, who knew I was into writing, once turned to me and said, ‘Why don’t you write a romance novel?’ It was the oddest request, because (believe it or not) I’d read just one romance novel at the time. Naturally, I didn’t immediately start writing romance, but many years later it occurred to me that my favourite movies were romantic types and the first novel I wrote had strong romantic elements, so then I decided to venture into category romance and see what happens.

Congratulations on your upcoming release Chancing Faith with Black Opal Books. Introduce us to the main characters and premise of your story.

Chancing Faith is an interracial romance about an American ad exec, Thane Aleksander (don’t you just love his name) who travels to Ghana on business and finds love. My heroine, Naaki Tabika, is a woman who’s prepared to give up love for career.

Here’s a blurb:

He didn’t do short-term relationships…

American ad exec, Thane Aleksander, doesn’t date co-workers either—until business takes him to Ghana,West Africa, and he meets Naaki. Now he’s at risk of breaking all the rules. Can he stop this headlong fall before it’s too late?

Until he met her!

Naaki Tabika has a burning need to prove, to herself and others, that she’s more than wife and mother material. To do so, she’s prepared to give up everything for her job. Meeting Thane, however, makes her want to get personal. But falling for her boss could destroy her career. Will she be willing to risk it all for the one thing that can make her truly happy?

Two divergent cultures, two different races, two career-driven professionals, only one chance at true love—will they find the faith to take it, or will their hearts be sacrificed on the altar of financial success?

Teaser Excerpt for Chancing Faith:

Thane knew he was in for it now. He could hardly believe he’d really done it...

He’d kissed Naaki. Kissed her! What the hell was he thinking? Thane tossed his jacket aside and yanked off his tie. Of all the stupid—

Raking his fingers through his hair, he muttered a curse. The urge to hit something assaulted him with a force that should have surprised him. The perfect punching bag would have been his own body, since it was apparent that he needed to pound some sense into his skull. Right now, the only thing pounding was his heart as it threatened to burst out of his chest, throbbing partly out of anger but mostly from his pulsing desire.

Damned if he didn’t still want her in his arms. She made him feel like a teenager—and not in a good way. Vulnerable wasn’t a desired state of mind as far as he was concerned. He sat down with the adjoining door in full view, still unable to comprehend how he’d dropped his guard. How he seemed so willing to let down his defenses around her.

He’d panicked in the elevator, allowed himself to be captivated. He’d worried about her, touched her as if he cared. She’d kissed him back, moaned against his lips and his knees had gone weak. He could have made love to her right there in the lobby. He could care about her, and caring was the last thing he could afford to do.

Dammit. Naaki wasn’t a woman you got involved with on a whim. He needed, at all cost, to avoid her—the woman who’d so easily brought him to his knees, who’d caused his body to come alive and made him want—

Just want.

Did anything in particular inspire this story?

As I mentioned before, I’d made up my mind to write a romance novel and this was the story I started, but the most significant thing was that I wanted to write an interracial romance that wasn’t about color.

You’ve also released Most Eligible Bachelor from Evernight. Sounds like a romantic suspense. What is your favorite romantic subgenre and why?

Most Eligible Bachelor is actually contemporary romance – a little on the steamy side – which is my favourite genre to read. I enjoy stories that explore characters in a little more detail, where I get to care about the hero and heroine. I love a good sex scene, but I could just as well do with a great emotional story that has no sex scenes.

I do enjoy the occasional RS or Historical, but I’m very selective when it comes to paranormal. Romantic Suspense is a genre I’ll definitely want to try writing at some point.

What other projects are on the horizon for you that we’re likely to see?

Ooh, I like this question :-). Well Siobhan, both Most Eligible Bachelor and Chancing Faith are the first of two separate series: ‘Men of Distinction’ and ‘From Ghana with Love’, respectively. So the Book 2s of these are the next thing on my plate. I’m also plotting for a new royal trilogy set in a fictional African country (I sooo love princes and princesses). I’m very excited about that series, so stay tuned, world. LOL

We will definitely stay tuned! Thank you for joining me today, Empi, and we look forward to all your upcoming releases!

Thanks again for having me here on your blog, Siobhan. And thanks to you, readers, for joining me here and sharing this special time with me.

Keep an eye out for Chancing Faith, out March 31^st 2012, and be sure to pick up a copy Most Eligible Bachelor at the following vendors:

·        Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/most-eligible-bachelor-by-empi-baryeh/

·        Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Most-Eligible-Bachelor-Distinction-ebook/dp/B0074VTHNO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328300810&sr=1-1

·        Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Most-Eligible-Bachelor-Distinction-ebook/dp/B0074VTHNO/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i

·        All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-mosteligiblebachelor-677351-149.html

·        Barnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/most-eligible-bachelor-empi-baryeh/1109155569?ean=2940033045105&itm=1&usri=empi+baryeh

·        Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/most-eligible-bachelor

·        Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131500

Below is an excerpt from Most Eligible Bachelor and it contains content for adults only. If you don't particularly like to read that or are under 18, now is a good time to skip to the bottom and visit Empi's webpages. :)

Excerpt of Most Eligible Bachelor:

He couldn't wait to taste her, But first, he needed to touch.

Reverently he cupped her breasts and kneaded them gently, drawing a soft moan from her. His hands traveled down her flat stomach to her hips, enjoying the feel of her curves. His mouth followed with kisses, along the same path to her navel. Reaching for the hem of her panties, he paused, raising his eyes to meet her gaze.

She watched him with sultry eyes, her pupils dilated. Seeing the desire in their depths caused several ounces of restraint to slip from his grip, but he needed to know they were on the same page. He wasn't going any further if she had doubts.

"Tell me to take this off."

She gave a slight nod. "Make me feel like a woman."

With pleasure. He began to rid her of the panties, kissing every newly exposed part of her, as the underwear slowly came off. When it reached her calf, he released it, concentrating his efforts on places between her legs.

She sucked in a breath when he touched her. She was wet, her sensitive bud swollen. He stroked her gently with his fingers, while his mouth traced kisses back to her breasts. She moaned, reaching down to cuddle his head as his tongue pleasured the tight peaks of her breasts. Her touch was so gentle that it stoked the fire of his desire.

He groaned against a hard nipple as he slipped a finger into her slick heat. God, she felt so good. His erection throbbed, wanting - no, needing - to be surrounded the way his finger was. However, he had to take it slow, to give her multiple releases before he extracted his own pleasure.

His thumb continued fondling her pleasure spot. She whimpered, stiffening. A moan sounded in her throat, but her lips were pressed together. It seemed she was suppressing her moans, releasing them only when the pleasure became unbearable. Why? Was she not used to relinquishing control, or was she not accustomed to getting this amount of stimulation? Either way, he needed her to relax.

To read the scene leading up to this moment - go here: http://empibaryeh.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/new-release-most-eligible-bachelor/

For a chance to win a free copy of Most Eligible Bachelor, check out my 100-Fan Book Give-Away contest here (http://empibaryeh.webs.com/contests.htm). 

You can find me at the following sites:

·        Blog: http://empibaryeh.wordpress.com

·        Website: http://empibaryeh.webs.com

·        Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/empibaryeh

·        Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/empibaryeh

·        Twitter: @empibaryeh

Empi