Wednesday 30 July 2014

Author Interview and Spotlight: Elodie Parkes

Thank you for inviting me to your blog to talk about my new Evernight Publishing release, ‘The Summer Heat’.

A ménage romance, two guys and a girl, this is erotic, contemporary romance that sizzles.

The Summer Heat

When lifelong friends Nate and Evan watch the arrival of a new neighbor, they never expect to find their friendship rocked by the lovely Annabel who moves into the empty house next door.
Annabel likes both Nate and Evan the moment she meets them. As they all grow close, will she be forced to choose between these gorgeous men?

Inspiration behind the story:

The inspiration came from a tree being cut down in the communal gardens where I currently live. I didn’t even see it felled, but I was immensely saddened as this was a healthy young tree. In my story, the gorgeous guys are cutting down a diseased tree in their garden, and that’s how they see Annabel move in next door.

My characters:

Annabel. She’s ready for love and looking for someone after her last miserable relationship. I imagine her surprise when she meets Nate and Evan, and has strong attraction to both of them.

Nate: He’s gentle, kind, sensually sexy, very good looking. Friends mean a lot to him. You can feel safe and loved with him, but boy do you know when he’s made love to you.

Evan: Strong, alpha, hides his emotions, but sex just drips from his gorgeous body. He calls you babe and takes charge, all the while your soft skin under his fingertips blows his mind.


Excerpt

The Saturday morning sun blazed in the June sky. Heat shimmered off the sidewalk. Nate and Evan were the only people out in their front yards. The noise of their work tools were the only sounds, as not even the seagulls that often wheeled overhead ventured from the cool of the ocean yet.
Nate and Evan’s house was one of the largest in the rows of three story houses built along the river in a modern development unimaginatively called Riverside Mews. Narrow lanes that led to the river path separated the rows. Somehow, patches of white sand always settled on the paths, though the nearest beach was a mile away. Each house had its own river access, through a gate at the end of the back yard to a riverbank public path, but there was no boat access, no jetties. The public path wound along by the river from the seaside town close by and on into the countryside. The house to the right of Nate and Evan’s place was occupied by a small family, but the house to the left had been empty and for sale all year.
The roar of a large van engine broke the hot, morning silence as it turned into the street and thumped over each speed hump in the road, until it drew up in front of the empty house next door.
Nate gave the van a cursory glance, but Evan leaned on his spade and watched as two men leapt out of each side of the van. He read the name of a removal firm and their logo emblazoned across the side of the vehicle and discovered it was from a city in the north of the state. It piqued his interest, so he continued with his unashamed staring.
The men who’d alighted from the cab walked to the back of the van and opened its double doors, just as a pale blue, old model Mustang drove up and parked a short distance away.
A young woman got out of the Mustang.
Copyright Elodie Parkes 2014 Evernight Publishing All Rights Reserved

To find where to buy the book on release, August 5, visit Elodie’s blog

Author interview:
Are you working on another book right now?
I’m working on three books, right now. Two are contemporary erotic romance, and one is romance Sci-Fi.
Naturally, they are all love stories, with HEA. I have to have that in my books.
I’m not writing much though, because of my day job, where I have shifts, and I’m editing for the releases in the latter part of this year.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
My characters and setting becoming so real to me.
What do you like the least?
Marketing. It’s so time consuming and quite soul destroying when you’d rather be writing. (Smiles)
Would you like to see any of your books as movies?
None of them. I’d be there fussing about the script staying true to the book, or the casting. (Laughs).
What things do you like to do to relax?
I find writing relaxing, but I also like to get out into the countryside near where I live. I enjoy visiting the historic places too. I read, watch movies and I love music. I’m often singing along with something as I drive.
Do you have another job as well as writing?
Yes, I have to. I work for an antiques emporium. It’s very tourist driven, so right now I have late night hours and work all weekend and holidays. I do shifts, usually start about midday or two in the afternoon, and work through until ten or eleven. It means I’ve taken a hiatus from writing so my stories mentioned above are waiting for me. I can feel them there wanting to be written.
If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be?
It would have to be healing.
If money were not an object, where would you most like to live?
I live in the country where I want to, maybe I’d move down the coast to Cornwall or Devon, closer to the ocean, which I love.
What kind of car would you have if money was no object?
I have the car I want. I’m a Jeep person and always drive them.
What’s your favorite color?
I have two I love, oh wait three, blue, purple and green.
Can you think of a song or piece of music that could be your theme tune?
It changes for me every time someone in an interview asks, (laughs) right now it’s The Eagles: Tequila Sunrise. That’s because I usually see the sunrise after arriving home very late at night, editing, networking, or real life stuff, like my laundry, and then I flop to sleep for a few hours. (laughs again) Check out my dark shadows.
Just answer these questions as quickly as possible.
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate
Dog or cat?
Dog and horse
The film or the book?
Both (sorry)
Jeans or skirt?
Jeans but sometimes little black dress
Beach or Snow resort?
Countryside and beach
Heels or flats?
Boots, depends where I’m going if they are heeled or flat
Stockings or pantyhose?
Stockings, love them
Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
Thank you for reading my books. I write from the heart so you get a piece of it every time you read one of my stories. (Smiles)

1 comment:

  1. Hi Samantha,
    Thank you for hosting me today, that was a lovely surprise to find :-)

    ReplyDelete