Meet Alice Gaines author Just One Week.
Alice Gaines loves her romance hot. She’s been writing since forever and has no plans to give it up.
Alice lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in a fixer-upper she never fixed up. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her knitting, crocheting, cooking, or vegetable gardening. Her main companions are her pet corn snake, Casper, and a collection of neglected orchids.
She loves to hear from readers at authoralicegaines@gmail.com. You can join her newsletter at http://alicegaines.blogspot.com. She periodically gives out her handmade items to people on her mailing list.
First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Did you always want to be a writer?
What kind of writer are you? Panser or Plotter?
Where do your ideas come from?
A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
I live in Oakland, California—a city I absolutely adore. I’m retired from my day job, so I spend most of my time on writing and writing related activities. In the summer, I grow vegetables in containers so throughout the year, I have a supply of pesto in my freezer. My only pet is a sweet corn snake named Casper. I can board him easily when I want to go out of town. That’s harder to do with a cat or a dog. I’m a fanatic about Oakland soul band, Tower of Power. If there are any TOP fans reading this, you know what I mean.
Nooooooo. Writing was too much work in the days before personal computers and word processing programs. (I told you I’m old enough to be retired, lol.) But I always spun stories in my head. Once it became easy to write them down, I tried it, and I was immediately hooked. That was 1990, so twenty-six years ago.
Pantser. I hate having to plot a story because I don’t know what’s going to happen until I get there. I write romance, so I always know there’s going to be a happy ending. And I often have ideas for big plot points here and there, but otherwise, I have to find my way from point A to point B by writing it. Twenty-six years, and I still can’t plot.
Everywhere. I once wrote a story based on the phrase “The Devil You Say” because it conjured up interesting images. Or if a publisher says “We’re interested in athletes,” I’ll think up my favorite sport, football, and try to imagine what sorts of emotional issues a football player might have to face and who the best foil for him would be. Sometimes, a character will spring into my head, like a 19th Century spinster who decides to sleep her way across Europe. Anything is fodder for a story.
Nerd and studly football player in love with each other. Conflict. Sex. Happily-ever-after. Yum!
I like stories with a luscious hero and a heroine I can identify with. That way, I can imagine myself winning that fantastic man. It’s even better when there are wonderful love scenes because I can enjoy them vicariously.
I don’t know if it’s my favorite book because I haven’t read the book itself for years. But my favorite story of all time is Jane Eyre. The plain, little woman enchants a difficult, desirable man. But she stands up for her principles and will only have him on her terms. She goes through hell and ends up with heaven. Talk about a satisfying ending!
What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write? Why?
Love scenes. I’ve always written hot, and in the twenty-six years I’ve been writing I’ve written so many of these scenes I don’t want to try to count them all. There are only so many things you can do while making love and only so many ways to describe the feelings—physical and emotional. It’s incredibly hard to keep them fresh.
William Shakespeare. Oh my God, there’s no one else like him in the English language. It’s no wonder that after four hundred years, we still perform his plays and are still moved by them like nothing else can move us (except maybe Verdi’s operas, and a few of his were based on Shakespeare). I don’t imagine he could explain how he did what he did, though. You couldn’t consciously plan that brilliance out. I had to spring from somewhere inside him.
I’ll cheat a bit on the next because he’s not normally thought of as an author, but he has written books. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse-Tyson. How I would love to pick that man’s brain. Thank heaven we have this wonderful scientist to fill the void created by Carl Sagan’s death. He’s brilliant. He’s funny. And he has bedroom eyes.
Alice Walker. She writes so beautifully. The movie The Color Purple was fabulous. The book is much, much better. Again, though, I don’t know if she could tell me how she does what she does.
Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Michelle awoke from an incredibly erotic dream to discover the reason she’d become so hot and bothered. In her dreamscape, the man making love to her had Alex’s face and an incredibly huge erection. Something she’d never be able to enjoy in reality, but for sleep-induced fantasy, it worked just fine.
The actual cause of her arousal became clear as consciousness dawned. Alex had reached around her, and his fingers had parted the lips of her sex. One now toyed with her using the same amazing technique he’d done with his tongue the night before.
“What are you doing?” she said, her voice breathy with sexual excitement.
“Thought that would get your attention,” he answered.
Another reality penetrated the fog in her brain. He’d become erect, the outline of his hardness pressed against her ass. The texture of latex against her skin told her he’d managed to put on a condom without waking her.
He was going to give her sleepy sex—the kind you simply enjoyed and didn’t worry about your own response or your partner’s. Just for the hell of it, she let her mind drift back to her dream, and she was taking that huge instrument inside her and it was pushing her closer and closer to climax.
Just when things couldn’t get any more heavenly, he shifted, lifting her leg up and over his and positioning himself to enter her. Spread wide like this, she felt impaled on him as he filled her completely. Now, she had him stretching her while his fingers continued his magic on her most sensitive flesh.
Pleasure so absolute she couldn’t bear it, and yet it got even better as he moved inside her. If she’d thought the night before had been a fluke, she had to admit now that Alex could make her body respond in ways she’d never imagined. And she selfishly took all he was giving her with no thought to satisfying him. She’d pay him back. Oh yes, she would.
He was driving faster now, and he rubbed harder. As the arousal built to unimaginable levels, she gave in to the inevitable. The orgasm rushed through her, starting at the spot between her legs and radiating out to encompass her entire being. She shouted as the spasms started, and she gripped him again and again. So intense. So beautiful.
Behind her, he stiffened, and he let out a muffled roar against her shoulder. He’d be coming, too, making her climax all the more powerful.
After a minute, they lay together, both working for breath. He still held her against him as if he’d found a treasure.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said finally.
“You sure know how to wake a girl up.”
“Not just any girl. You.”
Up For Grabs:
To Enter:
I’ll cheat a bit on the next because he’s not normally thought of as an author, but he has written books. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse-Tyson. How I would love to pick that man’s brain. Thank heaven we have this wonderful scientist to fill the void created by Carl Sagan’s death. He’s brilliant. He’s funny. And he has bedroom eyes.
Alice Walker. She writes so beautifully. The movie The Color Purple was fabulous. The book is much, much better. Again, though, I don’t know if she could tell me how she does what she does.
Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I currently have two proposals at Entangled—one as a sequel to Just one Week, featuring the hero’s younger brother. The second is for their erotic line, Scorched. It’s about a sex columnist who has no love life of her own but is pretending she has a boyfriend. Then her boss assigns her to go to a luxury adult resort and take her boyfriend along. Now she has to recruit a perfect stranger to play the part of her lover. She has no idea just how perfect the stranger is.
What’s your favorite kind of romance hero?
Her brother’s best friend is not only the hottest man Michelle Dennis has ever seen, he’s the reason she left town eight years ago. Of course he’s the one waiting at the airport. Worse, he made sure they’re staying in the same house.
Alex Stafford is expecting to pick up his friend’s kid sister, not a full-fledged bombshell. He was planning to apologize for their past, but the feelings he had years ago come roaring back…and this time, there’s no denying them.
Keeping his hands off is a test he’s bound to fail—especially when they’re stuck in close quarters. But falling in love with Michelle, living in her world, isn’t an option for a guy like him. And remembering that will save them both a lot of heartache…
Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo |
The actual cause of her arousal became clear as consciousness dawned. Alex had reached around her, and his fingers had parted the lips of her sex. One now toyed with her using the same amazing technique he’d done with his tongue the night before.
“What are you doing?” she said, her voice breathy with sexual excitement.
“Thought that would get your attention,” he answered.
Another reality penetrated the fog in her brain. He’d become erect, the outline of his hardness pressed against her ass. The texture of latex against her skin told her he’d managed to put on a condom without waking her.
He was going to give her sleepy sex—the kind you simply enjoyed and didn’t worry about your own response or your partner’s. Just for the hell of it, she let her mind drift back to her dream, and she was taking that huge instrument inside her and it was pushing her closer and closer to climax.
Just when things couldn’t get any more heavenly, he shifted, lifting her leg up and over his and positioning himself to enter her. Spread wide like this, she felt impaled on him as he filled her completely. Now, she had him stretching her while his fingers continued his magic on her most sensitive flesh.
Pleasure so absolute she couldn’t bear it, and yet it got even better as he moved inside her. If she’d thought the night before had been a fluke, she had to admit now that Alex could make her body respond in ways she’d never imagined. And she selfishly took all he was giving her with no thought to satisfying him. She’d pay him back. Oh yes, she would.
He was driving faster now, and he rubbed harder. As the arousal built to unimaginable levels, she gave in to the inevitable. The orgasm rushed through her, starting at the spot between her legs and radiating out to encompass her entire being. She shouted as the spasms started, and she gripped him again and again. So intense. So beautiful.
Behind her, he stiffened, and he let out a muffled roar against her shoulder. He’d be coming, too, making her climax all the more powerful.
After a minute, they lay together, both working for breath. He still held her against him as if he’d found a treasure.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said finally.
“You sure know how to wake a girl up.”
“Not just any girl. You.”
- 1 $25 Amazon Gift Card
- 1 Knitted Wrist Warmers
To Enter:
- What’s your favorite kind of romance hero?
- Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Good Luck!
Special thanks to Alice Gaines & Author's Pal for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I really love sports romances, so athletes are probably my favorite. I also love cowboys!
ReplyDeleteI love the hero's that never think they are gonna fall in love and they fall the hardest
ReplyDeleteHockey boys. :D
ReplyDeleteI like sports romance - especially football players - I like the sound of Just One Week. I have never seen a corn snake but I understand they are harmless and friendly
ReplyDelete