Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, and the Wicked.
Today I have the honor of hosting historical romance author A.S. Fenichel with
her newest release, Wishing Game! I
met A.S. on Six Sentence Sunday when she shared her snippets of her Mayan
Destiny series. She had me hooked with her storytelling and hints of magic. I’m
absolutely delighted to have her here on my blog.
Welcome, A.S. Thank you so much for being with me today.
A.S. : I’m delighted to be here, Siobhan. You were
so wonderful to ask me.
What started you on the path to becoming a romance
author and what did you do before that?
A.S.: My mother always said I was Pollyanna. I
always believed everything would be all right as a child. I still do. I guess
my way of insuring the Pollyanna attitude can continue, is to write books that
must end in a “happily ever after”. For me, if the story doesn’t end in an HEA
then it’s not over yet.
Though I was only published in 2011, I’ve been
writing for about twenty years. So before I was published I had a day job. I
worked in Customer Service and Logistics for years and then finished off my
business career as an IT specialist for the SAP ERP software program.
Congratulations on your release of Wishing Game. Introduce us to the main
characters and premise of your story.
A.S. : Thank you. I’m really excited about Wishing
Game. This is my second published Regency historical romance.
Lady Mary Barrow is about to lose everything when
her ailing father dies unless she marries before that sad day. Mary gives the
impression of a really practical young lady, but she continues to refuse offers
of marriage. She makes a wish for a solution to her problems.
Avery is a distant cousin who is the next in line to
inherit. He is wealthy in his own right and riddled with guilt for his part in
Mary’s ruination. Having been contacted by the old earl and a solicitor, he
comes to the estate in hopes of being of service.
Did something in particular inspire this story?
A.S. : Ellora’s Cave had a Regency book call for
submissions. I love the idea of two people living within circumstances that
should rip them apart and feed into a mutual hatred. Then you thrust them
together and see what happens.
Wishing
Game
is a Blush romance from Ellora’s Cave, a departure from most of your other
books. Why did you choose to write this sweeter romance?
A.S. : As I said, EC “called” for sweet historical.
I wrote Christmas Bliss for the 2012 Christmas season and I loved writing that
sweet book with all the rules and customs of the Regency ton. I do love writing
erotic romance as well, but there’s something about the innocence of a
cotillion story that I will always go back to. It’s a nice departure and a
challenge to create a warm and engaging romantic story without the use of sex
or graphic language.
What other projects are on the horizon for you that
we’re likely to see?
A.S. : I hope you’ll see them all. ;) I just
finished the second book of a series that began with Kane’s Bounty. It’s a
paranormal erotic romance about psychics in law enforcement. I’m pretty sure
the series will be called “Psychic Mates”. Joshua’s Mistake is book two and
will come out this spring. I’m under contract with Ellora’s Cave to write two
more for that series and I’m nearly finished with book three, Training Rain. I
hope it will hit the virtual book shelves in the late summer 2014.
I have more going on that I can’t really talk about
yet. I can say, I just agreed to write a big paranormal historical romance
series. I expect to see the first book available summer 2014. As soon as all
the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, I will be shouting it from the highest
mountaintops.
Thank you for joining me today, A.S., and we look
forward to all your upcoming releases!
A.S. : It’s been my pleasure to join you, Siobhan.
Thank you very much.
If you’d like a copy of Wishing Game, you can find it at:
Ms. Fenichel is gracious offering an ecopy of
Wishing Game to one lucky commenter.
Leave her a comment and a valid email address or Twitter handle. The giveaway is open internationally and goes from Monday March 10 2014 to 8:00 pm Pacific time Wednesday March 12.
You can find Ms. Fenichel at:
An Excerpt From: Wishing Game
Copyright © A.S. FENICHEL, 2014
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
It would be easier to hate Avery
Townsend, if he weren’t so damned nice. And why did he have to have those
arresting, amber eyes? They reminded her of a painting she’d seen of a lion.
She couldn’t tell if he was about to devour her or cuddle her as if she was one
of the barn cats.
Why was he encouraging her to
marry? If she had a husband, he would have no inheritance. “My cousin would
marry me if I wished it. He and I are very close, more like brother and
sister.”
He made a sour face. “I
suppose it is not a very appealing prospect to marry a man you think of as a
brother.”
“No. However, if I were smart
I would do it anyway.”
He frowned. Could it be he
really was worried he would lose the lands and house? The tea arrived and she
did not ask the incredibly forward question. Once the maid had left the parlor,
Mary poured the tea.
“You could stay here,
cousin.”
Her heart thumped wildly.
“What, in this house, after my father is gone and you are the owner?”
He did not look up from his
cup. “Yes.”
“As what, exactly, Mr. Townsend?”
His strange eyes lifted and
his gaze settled on hers. She had no idea what the man was thinking. “Exactly
as you are now, if you choose. I shall not put you out of your home.”
“And where will you be,
cousin?” She used the familiarity he requested but bit out the word so there
was no doubt of her distaste.
He stood up and moved toward
the window. The rain continued to pour down. “I shall not trouble you much more
than to stop and check the accounts from time to time.”
Her entire body grew hot with
rage. Her voice rose in both volume and pitch. “Am I to be your mistress? Do
you think me so desperate?”
His neck grew red. When he
spoke there was no doubt, she had angered him. “You misunderstand me, madam.”
She stood up and carefully
placed her tea on the table. “Do I? How will it be proper in any way for me to
live in this house after you take possession? It’s already scandalous that you
are here before my aunt arrives.”
“It is your house.” His voice
rose over hers.
She took a step forward,
refusing to be intimidated by any man. “No, sir. That is where you are wrong.
When my father dies, you have the happy luck to be the heir to Heartshorn. If I
stayed, the neighborhood would be aghast.” She took a deep breath. “I hope you
will keep the staff on. I would hate to see them out of work after serving the
Earl of Westbridge most of their lives.”
He crossed to her and stood
towering over her with only inches separating them. His eyes flashed with
danger, but she held her ground. Her heart raced and fear rushed to every
nerve. Had she gone too far? She must learn to control her temper and stay her
wicked mouth.
She thought he might strike
her, but his hand came up and touched her cheek with a gentleness she wouldn’t
have equated with the man or the situation. She watched his Adam’s apple bounce
several times. His mouth opened and closed and his eyes flicked from her mouth
to her eyes.
Mary could not have moved if
the roof had caved in on her. She was in a trance.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment and when they opened, she could
see his temper was quelled. “Forgive me, cousin.”
Thanks for stopping by and happy reading.
