Interview with Liz Crowe and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Liz Crowe to RFTC. Liz is celebrating the release of Escalation Clause, book 6 in her Stewart Realty series and has stopped by to answer some questions. Please give Liz a warm welcome.

Microbrewery owner, best-selling author, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great Midwest, in a major college town. Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse, plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry), has prepped her for life as erotic romance author.

When she isn't sweating inventory and sales figures for the brewery, she can be found writing, editing or sweating promotional efforts for her latest publications.

Her groundbreaking romance subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” has gained thousands of fans and followers who are interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”)

Her beer blog a2beerwench.com is nationally recognized for its insider yet outsider views on the craft beer industry. Her books are set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch and in high-powered real estate offices. Don’t ask her for anything “like” a Budweiser or risk painful injury.

Places to find Liz:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I own a brewery and handle marketing and sales for it. So in short, I’m pretty busy between that, a fairly successful writing career (but on a small scale compared to many) and 2 teenagers at home one who plays travel soccer.

I have a degree in English Literature from the University of Louisville and have lived literally all over the world, including Japan, Turkey and England while my kids were small and my spouse was an expat employee of Ford Motor Company.

I’m a fan of birkram yoga (the sweaty kind) and can also be found walking my 2 standard poodles a lot when I need a mental break—although I’ve gotten some really great ideas while doing that.

I am huge sports fan, my favs are soccer, football and basketball.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Not really. All my jobs after college involved writing for public relations and marketing and I had a brief stint at a newspaper doing ad copy. I didn’t always want to be a brewery owner either but I love both of these jobs!

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
Total Pantser, although I’m working on changing that up with a large mainstream project I have planned for 2013.

Where do your ideas come from?
Typically my life. The Stewart Realty series works because I was a successful real estate agent for many years. My Turkish Delights series has a legit feel (I’m told) because I lived there. I tend not to write in settings or situations that I am unfamiliar with. Luckily I’ve been a lot of places and done a lot of stuff---the well is pretty deep!

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
The Stewart Realty Series: Heat, Heart, BDSM Romance for Real Life

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I’m a mainstream reader primarily, and enjoy longer novels with solid plots and a great cast of supporting characters.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
I read Gone With the Wind when I was in 7th grade. It is the only book I have read 3 times.

However, I will say I continue to be impressed by new authors and recently read a book called “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green that is amazing. He’s a social media savvy author too.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Well, I guess some folks say the sex scenes but I don’t have trouble with those. I feel like I have a decent handle on dialogue, and actions scenes involving sports (soccer primarily).

I would say that the hard scenes for me to write are the ending ones. My books tend to bleed into other books and luckily for me I have a solid and growing fan base who support my need to write series fiction.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?

• John Irving—because he is totally awesome on so many levels
• Stephen King—because he is funny as hell
• Tina Fey (comedienne and writer)—because she is a serious talent who refuses to take herself too seriously

We’d all have a ton of beer and get drunk and have a great time!

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I’m working on several projects including the continuation of the Stewart Realty series (book 6 just released) and the off shot series the Black Jack Gentlemen, 4 planned books about an expansion soccer league and team in Detroit.

I am at this moment hard at work getting a killer ménage romance ready for a December 12 release. Honey Red is a brewery-based love story.

Note: Escalation Clause, Stewart Realty book 6 is NOT meant to be read as a stand alone novel. The previous 5 books (all best sellers in various categories and many award winning) are needed in order to truly appreciate the saga of this 6th book.

Young love burns hot and bright. Soul mates are found, then lost in the blink of an eye. When young widow Maureen Gordon Taylor meets her daughter's sexy soccer coach, her body and heart slowly unthaw. But will holding tight to the past cost her a future?

A devastating blow shatters a family's fragile happiness. Rob Freitag and Lila Warren now confront life without the emotional glue that once bound them, but a shared goal brings them back together. Is it enough to make them whole again and become the family they were meant to be?

Mutual trust is hard won for the Gordons. When tragedy strikes, Jack and Sara’s lives are sent into a tailspin. To keep her family from falling apart, she must force Jack to admit his deepest fears. After everything they’ve been through, can they revive the spark and move to the next stage of marital fulfillment?

The sweeping saga of the Stewart Realty series continues as long-time friends learn to rely on each other, and to grab hold of happiness before it's too late.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | All Romance |

“It’s not rocket science. Neither of you guys were cut out to manage a restaurant that’s all. You wanted to manage your kitchen, Blake his brewery. And you kept hiring dumbasses to handle the front of the house for you. I’m organized and know how to deal with the staff. No big deal.” She started to sit but Rob gripped her arm.

“Please, come back home, Lila. I…I miss you, I miss us so much.”

She shivered at his words. “I don’t know, Rob. I mean, maybe you and I aren’t meant to be. Not without—”

Rob’s broad shoulders slumped and he looked so completely bereft it was almost funny, if it weren’t so shitty. She let her gaze travel down his apron-covered torso and her palm itched to untie it, to hold him and kiss him until he couldn’t stand it another minute. A bright pulse of erotic energy hit her core, making her gasp. She watched him clench and unclench his fists, then sit again, running his hand through his hair. She couldn’t resist. She touched it, ran her fingers through its silky yellow softness.

The bartenders called out and she waved to them. The main lights flickered then went off, plunging them into dark. His eyes held hers, their deep brown lit from the street. “I need you,” she whispered. Then she pulled him to his feet, wrapped herself around him. The kiss spoke words she wished she could say, and hoped he heard.

Just when he gripped her hair to hold her closer she tore herself away. “I need this,” she whispered as she untied his apron. He stayed still as it dropped to the floor and she popped the button on his jeans. “Please,” she leaned into his ear as she slid the zipper down and fisted his shaft. He groaned as she pushed him back towards the bar then went down on her knees. He tasted just like she remembered, and the tilt of hips, the sweet sound of his moans as she kept her fist moving and sucked the head of his cock between her lips were like music to her ears.

She slipped her other hand under his balls, stroked the smooth skin there. He gripped her hair. “Lila,” He grunted. “Stop.” But she didn’t.

Suddenly she was on her feet, folded into his arms and he was bending her back over the table, sending all their charts, phones and one empty beer glass to the floor. He ripped her panties off with one flick of his wrist, shoved her skirt up. “Oh, yes. Robert,” she threaded her fingers in his hair, met his lips and they cried out as one. The glorious feel of her man inside her, finally, again, made her want to cry but she didn’t. “Fuck me, hard. Now.”

“God,” He gripped her ass, thrust deep and slow then withdrew, biting down on her lower lip when she tightened herself around him. “Oh hell yes,” He moaned into her neck increasing his rhythm, pounding into her, making the table’s iron base screech against the concrete floor. She wrapped her legs around him, leaned her head back and let the orgasm lift her, take her and spin her around. “Damn, I have missed that,” He said, looking deep into her soul as she pulsed and thrummed from the climax.

She held his face in her hands, kept moving her hips. “Come now, Robert. Give it to me. Give me all of it.” He shuddered, then kissed her and did as he was told. She shivered, held him close. “I love you. But I’m not moving back in. Not yet. We have a long way to go and I want to make sure you’re sure. That you aren’t just doing this because you think you have to. Because of Gabe, or Blake’s memory or whatever.”

He withdrew from her, stood, and zipped his jeans back up. She sat on the edge of the table, terrified but certain.

“That’s fine,” he picked up the apron. “I’ll get the broom.” He started to turn but she grabbed his arm.

“Don’t shut down on me. I mean it. I want us to handle this together. To grieve together. And I want to plan a two-year memorial for him at the lake house.”

Rob shut his eyes. But she kept talking. “Listen to me, please.” He opened them, and the pain there she knew matched what she felt every damn day. “I want you, I want us to be together. I want another baby. I want to sell that house filled with everything that was Blake and buy another one. But I want something else even more. I want you to be certain you really love me.”

He sucked in a breath, let the silence spin out about a half minute too long for her taste. She let go of him. “I’ll clean it up. Go home. Gabe’s at your house this week, and we both know he won’t sleep unless you’re there.”

Rob opened his mouth, but Lila shook her head. Proud of herself but at the same time in misery for what she may still yet lose, she watched as he went out the back door of the kitchen without another word.

Check out The Stewart Realty Series:

Click for info.


Want to win some goodies from Elizabeth? Check out whats up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 lucky winner from the ENTIRE tour will win a signed copy of Escalation Clause
• 1 lucky winner from the ENTIRE tour will win a Stewart Realty swag item
• 1 lucky winner from the ENTIRE tour will win a $100 Amazon Gift Card

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment or question for Liz.
• Please leave your email address along with your comment to be entered. 
• Giveaway ends today, so get those comments in. 

Good Luck =)