Ellora’s Cave Feature Month
Brought To You By
Reader’s Edyn
Interview * GIVEAWAY with author Barbara Elsborg
What’s up peeps? Moving forward with my Ellora’s Cave Feature Month today. Remember, the author may have been previously published with EC or is currently published with EC. Either way you will be learning an awful lot about the Ellora’s Cave authors this month. I hope you will continue to join us for this exciting adventure! You are sure to find it very entertaining! So let’s get on with it! There are few bonuses for everyone in this post, so be sure to read all the way through! *nods* You WON’T want to miss out!
My next EC author is Barbara Elsborg. Here is her bio from the EC website.
**BIO**
Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.
After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.
Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they are to write.
Please help me welcome:
**BARBARA ELSBORG**
**INTERVIEW**
How has your life changed since becoming published?
I’ve bought a mansion, a yacht and a Ferrari. I vacation in the Greek Islands….er…..oh no, that was a dream. To be honest, life hasn’t changed much at all. I write just as much as I did before but I feel vindicated somehow, because I proved to my family that becoming a published author wasn’t an impossible dream. I actually did it!
Exactly and Congratulations on accomplishing such a difficult feat! What is your typical day like?
Butler brings coffee and croissant at 9.00. Manicurist arrives at…. On darn it, I’m lying again.
Wake at 5.20. Stagger out of bed. Drive to gym and pool, use machines and swim until 8.00. Deal with emails etc until 9.00. Write until 5.00. Bed by 9.00. Read for at least an hour.
Sounds a lot like a “lie” I wish I could tell. LOL Tell us a little about your current release GIRL MOST LIKELY TO.
It’s not out until July 11th. Mark the date y’all!
The seeds of this story were planted a long while ago when I wrote DOING THE RIGHT THING. I originally had a language school as part of the plot in that but had to chop it because the book was too long. So I used the idea in GIRL MOST LIKELY TO instead. I suspect language schools are nowhere near as common in the US as they are in the UK. We’re so near Europe, we have hoards of young and old coming to these schools to learn English. My heroine Wren teaches at one and the two male characters are students – sort of! Adam needs to learn more than a new language and Tomas is pretending not to speak English very well.
This is the blurb
Wren doesn’t feel like the girl most likely to end up living happily ever after. Especially when Adam, aka THE BIG MISTAKE, comes back into her life. He wants a second chance but Wren’s afraid to risk another dent in her battered heart.
When Adam reconnects with Wren, he’s torn between wooing her and pursuing Tomas, the sexy guy in the flat next door. They both make his heart sing—how can he possibly choose between them? Or maybe he’s finally found a man and woman to give him the balance he craves.
Tomas knows better than to let his personal life interfere with his job as an undercover officer but he can’t get enough of Adam…or Wren. Or Adam and Wren when they’re hot, naked and writhing together in his bed.
Suddenly Wren’s gone from the girl most likely to get ripped off to the girl most likely to get off. But it’s more than sex. She, Tomas and Adam have something special, something they’re determined to protect at all costs
Sounds like an interesting premise. I always wonder about the ménage stories and how it all ends up in the end. Three’s a crowd, but not so much in these stories. Three ends up being an enhancement. Any upcoming projects you would like to tell us about?
I’m torn at the moment between two stories. I’ve started both but I’m only about a chapter in. One is definitely a MF scifi, the other might be an MF paranormal if I decide to make the female lead a faerie. Not sure yet. Very early days.
I love faerie stories. *fingers crossed* How do you keep in contact with your readers?
I have a blog and a website. I love to get emails –and I’m around on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter.
*heads over to friend you everywhere* What is your favorite thing about this book?
I enjoyed being able to write Adam’s story. When I introduced him right at the end of KISS A FALLING STAR, I loved him straight away. This was a guy who put his shoes in the microwave to dry them and they caught fire. Who wouldn’t want to write a story about him? I’d never written a story where a flame from the past re-entered someone’s life so having had Wren and Adam meet before was a new thing for me. Tomas is my bad boy so the three were meant for each other.
When did you begin your journey as an author and what pulled you in the direction of writing?
I started writing fan fic when I was at school. I probably have 100 stories based on TV shows. I wrote because I was an introvert and didn’t have any special friends. I never went out. I stayed at home, watched TV, and read or wrote stories. I hated school though I was a swot. Writing was my escape. I was always the heroine of my stories, courageous, gorgeous, tall and blonde. Confession - I only had the tall and blonde in common with them! I’ve never not written. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s a part of me and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop.
What is one thing you cut from the book that either you wish you had left in, or readers would like to hear about?
Adam first appears in KISS A FALLING STAR. He’s the guy who offers jobs to my hero and heroine. Adam put an advert in a newspaper as follows.
Would you like to work for an inconsiderate, demanding bastard? For a ridiculously large salary I want someone to work twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Three hundred and sixty-six next year. You’ll speak at least three European languages, and it would be an advantage if you were able to do at least some of the following—dive, cook, ski, sail, ride, climb, fly and bench press one hundred kilos. If you don’t like being shouted at, don’t apply.
The advert was based on reality. A similar ad appeared in British newspapers because a guy who’d made a fortune in internet dating was looking for a man Friday. The ad was very funny, went viral and I convinced my daughter to apply. A couple of years later, the guy who got the job – a US graduate, and his boss were killed in a helicopter crash. I wanted to put the details in the back of the book and the actual ad but there was a copyright issue over using the ad again so I couldn’t.
I love that ad! Adam must be one helluva character. Any special quirks or habits when writing?
I have to start with a black coffee. I don’t feel I can even switch on my laptop without that! I also reread what I worked on the day before to get back in the mood. It’s why I find starting a new book quite hard, because I’m constantly rejigging the opening. I don’t plan a thing beforehand though I do make notes as stuff occurs to me. Even in the middle of the night, though I can hardly read them the next day. Can’t put on the light and wake husband. He would not be impressed.
Coffee ….. it is a major food group so that totally makes sense. How do you celebrate when you finish a novel?
By starting the next! Actually, this time, I spent two hours in the attic trying to find the hard drive I’d hidden from burglars. So well hidden, neither me nor husband can find it.
Word. Have done that myself a few times. *head desk* What are you reading now? Any favorites you tend to go back to?
I’ve just finished the latest Julia Quinn. I know she’ll make me smile and she did! I’ve never tried to write a regency romance but I do like reading them, especially if they’re amusing. To be honest, I think that’s true of all the romances I like – I need to be amused! So I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennie Crusie, Rachel Gibson.
I have Julia Quinn. Haven’t been able to read her yet, but she comes highly recommended. I have a soft spot for regency romance. Any advice you’d like to share for aspiring writers?
Polish, polish and then polish it again.
I f you could travel back in time, where would you go and who would you meet?
Roman times. I’d like to meet Julius Caesar and tell him not to trust Brutus! I love books about the Romans. Just finished one about Cicero that had a lot of detail on Caesar. Wow, he was a conniving SOB!
Possibly a basis for a future character in a book? Do you have any other hobbies or interests besides writing?
Hang gliding, parachuting, mountaineering, spelunking and lying.
ROFLMAO! I was like, what? She said introvert. What is your favorite drink? Mojito!
Have you had the Mojito flavor Cystal Light? It is pretty darn good! Favorite place you have ever visited?
Oregon
Really? Huh. I felt like it was too grey when I was there. Always raining and overcast, but the landscape is gorgeous. Boxers or briefs?
Boxers
M&M’s or Skittles?
Don’t make me choose!
LOL E-reader or Paperback?
Paperback
THANK YOU!!!!! Long hair or short hair on a guy?
Short always
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can wriggle my ears!
Caffeine or Decaf?
Caffeine
Shocking answer! *snort* Do you have any phobias or fears?
Snakes and sharks.
So no ocean for you. Check. Me either! Are you a night person or morning person? Morning.
I want to thank Ms. Elsborg for appearing today and for taking the time to answer my questions. Ms. Elsborg has several books out with a few different publishing companies. If you visit her blog at the link included in the interview, you can check them all out. But for today, I would like to share a few of her Ellora’s Cave titles with you. That said, I absolutely adore the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing and had the opportunity to review ON THE RIGHT TRACK by Ms. Elsborg for Just Erotic Romance Reviews (JERR). Because the book was provided by JERR, the review is their property. So here is the link to the review on the JERR site: click here. I know, I know – I am plugging EC, but the series is great! And you just might see a 1 Night Stand feature month if I can get it put together. *wink*
Also, if you would like to give Ms. Elsborg a try, she has a couple of FREEBIE reads over at Ellora’s Cave. Here are the links:
And now, to get back to telling you about the books!!!!!
**AN ORDINARY GIRL**
**BLURB**
Ash is an ordinary girl, leading an ordinary life, but behind her smile she hides a secret so damning she’s sure no one could ever love her.
Noah is a war photographer who’s come back from Afghanistan with a secret so dark he can’t escape its smothering grip.
Both need redemption. Ash looks for it by making people happy. Noah seeks it under the whip of a Dom. They’re damaged souls, drowning in guilt, unable to escape the legacies of their pasts. Then their worlds collide in an explosion of fireworks so strong it singes not only them, but those around them. It’s said love heals all wounds, but sometimes before love enters the heart, the intense fire of passion has to burn a path, lighting the way.
**STRANGERS**
**BLURB**
Kate Snow’s had enough of bad boys until a one-way swim in the ocean puts her on a collision course with a man she can’t resist. Charlie Storm has turned being a bad boy into an art form. Already a famous pop star, mega-success in the movie business beckons until his inner demons send him spiraling out of control and right out to sea. The last thing he expects to do before he dies is crash into a suicidal woman.
When the worlds of these two strangers collide, their lives take an upward twist. In surviving the waves, they find they can’t stand to be apart, in or out of bed. Kate seizes a chance for happiness, seeing in Charlie a man she can finally trust to love her. Charlie can’t let go of Kate because she’s the only woman able to see the man he wants to be.
But the price of fame is high and when the world wants to drive them apart, life only seems safe in Kate’s bed.
**KISS A FALLING STAR**
**BLURB**
How far can you fall? Caspar had once shone brighter than any star in the sky. He led an exciting life, had a good job and the love of his family. Now he barely survives in a village where he’s shunned by everyone, even his parents. Unemployed, unemployable, he consoles himself with stringless sex—lots of it.
How hard can you land? Ally escapes death by a whisker when she falls in front of a train. Not an accident, someone pushed her, and she doesn’t hang around to give them another shot. But she finds herself falling in a different way when she meets Caspar, and she plummets hard and fast. He’s dark, he’s brooding, he’s hotter than any man she’s ever met, and she wants him—bad.
How high can they soar? With Ally’s adversary closing in, plus Caspar’s tendency to screw things up, if they don’t open their arms and catch each other, they’ll burn up in an atmosphere determined to keep them apart.
**EXCERPT**
His heart raced, his palms were damp with sweat while his cock grew harder by the second. Not wanting to appear too eager, he pulled his shirt out of his pants so it hung loose. He was in the middle of putting his groceries away, stowing the bundle of notes in the freezer behind the coffee, when the knock came at the door.
Adam stood holding a six-pack in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. His shirt also hung over his pants and Tomas bit his lip. Didn’t necessarily mean anything.
“Wasn’t sure if you were offering beef Wellington or cheese sandwiches.” Adam held up the drinks.
“Beans on toast.”
Adam smiled and Tomas’ cock swelled against his zipper. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this about anyone, male or female. Not just aroused but pathetically excited. He’d thought it was because he hadn’t let himself get interested, that he wasn’t into men anymore, that he was too professional to allow his private and public sides to collide, but now he knew different. He’d not been sufficiently tempted before. But hell, why did he have to meet this guy now when he was knee-deep in shit? It had to be the worst timing ever.
“Come in.” Tomas kicked the door closed and went back to the kitchen. He grabbed two tins of baked beans from the cupboard and a saucepan. “What business you in?”
“I…er—information technology. How about you?”
Why the hesitation? “I work for guy who has many businesses.” Few of which were legal. “I’m personal assistant. Do whatever he needs.” Within reason and not with any pleasure. He gestured to Adam’s feet. “You remember shoes. You have wallet, keys and phone?”
Mr. Temptation sucked in his cheeks and sighed. “Yeah, that’s Ally’s doing. She put notes on everything, including the taps, and I still got those wrong.”
Ally? Tomas swallowed his disappointment and popped four slices of bread into the toaster. What sort of fool was he to assume Adam was interested in guys? Tempt a het? I’m an idiot. All his bravado slithered into a black hole.
“I don’t know what I’d do without Ally,” Adam said.
“Oh yeah?” he forced out.
“She bought enough food to last me for a week and left instructions but I still cocked it up.”
Of course an angelic-looking guy would have an angelic girlfriend. “Think you manage to get plates from there without breaking?” Tomas nodded toward a wall cupboard. He wanted to strangle this goddess already.
Two cupboard doors opened and closed behind him before Adam put the plates on the counter.
“She looked so gorgeous yesterday,” Adam said.
Tomas yanked the tab off a can of beer and pushed another toward Adam. So you’re taken. Fine. I get it. Shut up now.
“She’s on her way to South America.”
Or maybe not. Tomas stared straight at him. “Why you not go?”
Adam’s lips curved in a smile and there was something in his eyes that made Tomas think he was yanking his chain.
“Because I don’t think I’d be welcome. She’s on her honeymoon.”
Tomas grinned as he stirred the beans. The bastard was teasing him. The toast popped up and he reached for the margarine.
“I was at wedding yesterday too,” he said.
Adam handed him a knife. “With your girlfriend?”
His expression held nothing but inquiry, but the question had been pointed.
“No girlfriend.” Tomas poured beans on the toast and gave a plate to Adam.
They sat at the table in front of the double doors that led to the balcony, and despite his cock strenuously disagreeing, Tomas began to backtrack. Lunch meant being neighborly, but forget the rest. The rest made for a bad idea and was too risky. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into danger.
But he watched Adam eat and his resolve to not touch went down the pan. Three weeks was nothing. It would go by in a flash and yet it could be everything. Three weeks and Adam would be gone. Tomas had to keep his secrets, but they could still fuck. The guy lived next door. How convenient was that? The nights when Tomas wasn’t working, he’d have something worth coming home for. Three weeks. Didn’t he deserve a break? He really wanted to take Adam to bed. His cock nodded in furious agreement and his balls tingled their approval.
“Where you live?” Tomas asked.
“In London. Greenwich.”
That was good. At least a four-hour drive from Leeds. He must be up here on business. Maybe he’ll come again.
“I travel a lot,” Adam said. “I don’t spend much time at home. How long have you been in England?”
All my life. “Few years.”
“Long enough to acquire a taste for beans on toast. That was great.” Adam put his knife and fork neatly on the empty plate. “What’s for dessert?”
Adam wanted to pick up his knife and cut out his tongue. What’s for dessert? What the fuck had he been thinking? Well, he’d been thinking of what he usually said to Ally after they’d eaten dinner, because she always produced some little treat or other, knowing his sweet tooth. But now Tomas was staring at him as if…oh God.
“What you like?” Tomas smiled.
For someone decisive in his business life, Adam’s mind went painfully blank. He sensed something going on between them, hints had been dropped, glances exchanged, hands gripped slightly longer than necessary, but he wasn’t sure. Adam never acted on impulse when he dealt with people. Usually. He checked once, checked twice and then checked again. He’d never done this before. Well, he’d done that, he’d just never immediately followed through on a surge of lust. But when he looked into the midnight-blue eyes of the Croatian, took in his hard chiseled jaw and the curve in his lips, the wave of lust grew into a tsunami.
Tomas still stared expectantly.
He’s waiting for an answer, you moron. “Ice cream?” Adam blurted. Wimp.
Tomas pushed to his feet and walked over to the kitchen.
Oh shit. Adam knew he needed to get up too, thank the guy for the food and go back to his apartment and wank—no, watch TV. But that tight, muscular butt under those denims, the broad back, dark silky hair, the whole bloody package was beyond tempting. Yet how could he know for certain? Who was supposed to make the first move? Did Tomas top or bottom? Both? Neither? Like anything kinky? Like women as well? Questions circled in Adam’s head until he felt sick.
The microwave pinged and Tomas came back to the table with a tub of pecan-and-caramel ice cream and two spoons.
“You can microwave ice cream?” Adam asked in surprise.
“For few seconds. Was too hard. Freezer transform everything to rock.” Tomas dipped his spoon into the top and scooped up a lump with a pecan. “Try.”
He held the spoon out, stared straight at him, and Adam was instantly, definitely, happily sure. He wrapped his mouth around the spoon and clamped down. When Tomas tried to pull back, Adam didn’t let the spoon go for a long moment. Once he had, he chewed and swallowed, the cold, sweet ice cream slipping down his lust-thickened throat.
“More?” Tomas said huskily.
Everything this guy said was suggestive. Or is it just me taking it that way? “I’d love some more,” he croaked.
“Let’s sit on couch.”
He watched as Tomas rose languidly to his feet and then he followed, his gaze pinned to the guy’s butt. They sat and Tomas put the container on the coffee table. He scooped out another spoonful but instead of offering it to Adam, he sucked off the ice cream, dropped the spoon and grabbed the back of Adam’s neck to pull his head forward. Their lips crashed together and his mouth opened as Tomas’ tongue shoved forward. OhGodohGodohGod. Cold ice cream, warm mouth, sweetness spreading as the ice cream melted. Already hard, Adam’s cock turned to granite while his heart battered his ribs.
Tomas cupped his neck as their tongues thrust and tangled. His head fogged and his senses reeled as ice cream, the faint tang of beer, the taste of Tomas—all mingled together like some magical aphrodisiac. Adam slid his arms around the guy’s back, muscles flexing under his palms. His control slipped as desire swept him into deeper and deeper water, dragging him out to sea. The need to come overpowered everything else.
His befuddled brain eventually took in that Tomas was nudging him fall backward and they lay on the couch, their lips still joined. Adam didn’t want this kiss to end. He groaned into Tomas’ mouth as the guy pinned him down, their legs entwined, their lean bodies molded together perfectly. As much as Adam loved the feel of a woman’s body, there was something about a guy’s hardness, roughness and strength that inflamed him.
Buy Links
So what do you think? If you liked those blurbs, or you want to know more about Ms. Elsborg, please visit her website. And if you are interested in the books, support these awesome authors and buy their books. You can find out more about the mentioned Ellora’s Cave titles by clicking here: Barbara Elsborg.
I hope you all enjoyed getting to know a bit about Ms. Elsborg and her EC titles. Please feel free to leave a comment or question for Ms. Elsborg in the comment section below. We love hearing what you think and finding out what you want to know! AND Ms. Elsborg has generously offered a digital copy of KISS A FALLING STAR to one lucky commenter. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form to be entered!
**DA RULEZ**
One commenter will be drawn at random to receive a digital copy of KISS A FALLING STAR, by Barbara Elsborg. Must be 18 or older to enter. Contest open to international so long as you have a valid e-mail address! Reader’s Edyn and participating author are NOT responsible for lost or damaged items. Anyone may be disqualified at any time so be sure to follow directions to avoid disqualification. No substitutions allowed. Contest ends July 1st at midnight MST. That means you will have through June 30th to enter. When the clock strikes midnight on the 1st, the contest will be over. Winner will be contacted by e-mail. Winner will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen. Odds of wining depend on the number of entries received. Be forewarned! *serious face* Those who enter and do not follow the tasks properly will have their entries removed. *peers closer* Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I. Will. Check. Them. Not trying to be a pain, Sorry.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Until next time …
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