Welcome to my blog, Celeste! I love your cover and this new book sounds great :) Wishing you all the best with the tour and sales. Let's get started with the questions...
1)
What is your writing routine?
My ideas come to
me in dreams, as I’m driving my car, or they come from past experience. I have
notes written everywhere! When I sit to put a story together, I gather up all
the papers, and note pads filled with ideas, and try to make a cohesive story
out of them. Everything is always hand written, and then I start writing with
my laptop. This is almost a daily routine. At any given time, I am writing 2-3
different stories.
2)
Which is your favorite romance
subgenre to read? To write?
My favorite
romance subgenre to read, and write is paranormal. I know, no surprise there. It
has always been a favorite of mine. I’m also a big fan of YA paranormal
romance. People often find this shocking considering how explicit my scenes are
in my own books. Sometimes I just like a sweet YA romance!
3)
What do you expect from an
editor?
I am very lucky to
have a fantastic editor. I rely on her for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
For the developmental things, I rely on my beta readers. They are the ones to
tell me when a plot isn’t working, or if a character isn’t likeable. Don’t get
me wrong my editor will let me know if something needs fixing when it comes to
storyline, but I use her expertise in grammar to help me with my run on
sentence problem!
4)
What are you working on right
now?
Right now I am
working on the next full-length novel in my Paranormal City series. It
will be book 5, and is titled Give Me Your Love. I expect to have this out sometime
in the fall.
5)
Your biggest piece of advice to
aspiring novelists?
Always use an
editor! No matter how many times you review your story, you will always miss
something. It’s usually the simple things, like spelling mistakes!
6) What was your
favorite subject in school and why?
I hated school! I
really did, but senior year I was able to pick an interesting Science
alternative. It was forensics and I loved it!
7) What is your
favorite dessert?
I’m not really a
dessert person. But, when I do have a craving for something sweet, it’s always
the same thing. Pillsbury white cake mix (I make cupcakes with it) and
Pillsbury vanilla frosting. I’m a simple girl!
8) High heels,
sneakers or flip flops?
Converse
sneakers!!
Give Me Forever
by Celeste Carrara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Serena, a twenty five year old newly turned vampire longs
for a normal life. Daughter to the king of the Northeastern faction of vampires
her life is anything but normal. Her actions are ruled by her duty to her
people and her father's demands. Serena's father Sebastian is impossible to
please no matter how hard Serena tries. Loyalty and fear keep her trapped in
her life.
While tending to business for her father Serena meets Nick,
a handsome young realtor whom she finds herself attracted to regardless of the
fact that he is human. Even though she knows better she can't seem to stop
herself from falling into his arms, and his bed. Nick gives her a glimpse into
the normal life she wishes for but how long can she ignore their differences?
When humans start showing up drained of their blood with
obvious vampire bites on their bodies Sebastian takes it as a direct challenge
to his authority. Someone is gathering his enemies with intentions of stripping
him of his title. The only two he can trust to aid him is his daughter Serena,
and his assassin Alex. Little did he know that once the two meet all their
lives would change forever. No one can change the course of fate. When destiny
calls they try to fight it but neither Serena nor Alex can deny the pull of
their souls yearning to be joined.
*Adult Material*
With apprehension I answered, “Serena. My name is Serena, and no I don’t
believe we’ve met before.” Unsure of what his reaction would be, I waited for
his reply.
A look of realization flickered across his features. “I’m honored to
meet you Serena.” He took my hand in his and kissed it gently. “I had no idea
Sebastian’s daughter would be so exquisite.”
I remained silent, not knowing what to do. The knowledge of who I was
would either make him want to get closer or run far away from me. Either way
most men treaded very carefully around me and I knew my father was the reason.
“What brings you to a place like this, Serena? I wouldn’t imagine your
father approving.” He spoke with a sexy grin that made me wish he would make a
move on me.
“It’s my birthday! Besides, I’m actually here often. I’ve never seen you
here before. Where you been hiding?” I asked with a flirtatious smile.
“I’ve been out of town for awhile and got back recently. Looks like I
have perfect timing. Please tell me you’re here alone and that I’m just
catching you after a feeding instead of a celebratory screw.”
Instinctively I moved closer to him, my eyes never leaving his. “I’m
here painfully alone.” Our attraction hummed in the air as we stood locked in a
heated stare.
Casually, Gage extended his hand out to move a strand of hair away from
my face. “No one should be alone on their birthday.”
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Celeste Carrara is a self-published author of the erotic paranormal
romance series Paranormal City. A stay at home wife and mother, Celeste never
dreamed she would be so fortunate to be a full-time writer. She resides in New
York City with her husband of over fifteen years and their two children. All of
Carrara's books are based in her hometown, her favorite city Manhattan.
As a child she loved reading and used her writing of poetry as a way to
escape her troubled childhood. Life got in the way, and her reading took a back
seat to raising her kids. After her children became self-sufficient, and she
had more time on her hands, her sister told her about a "hot new
paranormal romance" she had to read. Celeste jumped in and returned to her
love of reading. Always fascinated by all things paranormal, and a lover of
romance, Celeste devoured every paranormal romance she could find. She has
always liked her books with some spice so it came as no surprise she found erotic
romance.
All this reading sparked the writer within. An idea for a story came to
her one day and she decided to put it on paper. Soon, the ideas were flowing
and she couldn't stop writing. With encouragement from her husband, and best
friend, Celeste completed her first novel, Give Me Forever, and hasn't looked
back. Currently she is working on more books of the Paranormal City series as
well as stand-alone erotic romances.
Website: www.celestecarrara.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/celestecarrara
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/give-me-forever-celeste-carrara/1110690801?ean=2940014404808
AllRomanceEbooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-givemeforever-988906-139.html
Celeste will be awarding a $25
Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Follow the tour and
comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour
dates can be found here:
Comments??
Very good advice about editing. A great story deserves no less.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you & I can't agree with you more!!
DeleteThank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me on your blog! The interview was so much fun :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your debut, Celeste! It's great that your hubby and friend both encouraged you. I'm also glad to hear that you have a proofreader/editor. Too many self-published authors don't use one and their work suffers. As a reader, I can't get through books that are poorly edited or have lots of grammatical and spelling errors.
ReplyDeletecatherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Thank you!
DeleteWhen I first started out I thought I could do it all and boy was I wrong. I am not an editor! My biggest mistake & lesson learned while self publishing was not getting Give Me Forever professionally copy edited before putting it up for sale. I've talked in detail on my blog about why I did it and how wrong it was. My reviews when it first came out spoke volumes & I rereleased Give Me Forever after having it copy edited by a professional (Lindsay Murdock) in March 2013. Luckily my sales were all on Amazon & when the new edition went up, all previous customers were offered the new edition at no additional cost.
My readers deserve the best product I can put out there & just because I self publish doesn't mean I should put out subpar work. If people are going to spend their hard earned money on an unknown new author like myself, then they deserve the best!
As for my husband & friend, they are the best! They pick me up when I'm down and encourage me everyday! I'm very lucky to have them :-)
I'm a big fan of the paranormal, thank you for the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
You're welcome! I live for the paranormal lol ;-)
DeleteI really like the casual chemistry the two share in the excerpt! Makes me curious to see how their romance/relationship pans out!
ReplyDeleteandralynn7 AT gmail DOT com
Oh their relationship is, hmmm how can I put it...sizzling! ;-) But Serena has her share of hot hook ups & the night of her birthday is just the start!
DeleteI want to know who the hell Gage is! I can't wait to read this book. I'm starting it tonight!
ReplyDeleteslinkydennis@yahoo.com
I love it! Glad to hear you are intrigued by Gage. FYI, he has his own book, it's book 2 of my series titled Give Me Your Trust. Hope you enjoy!
DeleteThanks for the chance to win. I love these blog hops since I meet so many new-to-me authors.
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com