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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Interview with Author Ophelia London and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Ophelia London to RFTC. Ophelia is celebrating the release of her book Playing at Love and has stopped by to answer a few questions. Please give Ophelia a warm welcome.

Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she's lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes.

Places to find Ophelia:

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Sure! I’m single and living large in Dallas. Yeah, right! But seriously, I have a pretty great life, a cool family and fab friends. And now I get to write as part of my living. It’s kind of a dream come true!

Did you always want to be a writer?
Looking back, I probably did, although I didn’t know it. I’ve always been a storyteller and I loved playing “fantasy hour” with my friends when we were young. They would wait their turns for me to invent an elaborate story about how they would meet and fall in love with their future husbands and/or celebrity du jour. It was fun and silly.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
Honestly, I’m a little of both. Up until last year, I was purely a panster, but since I’ve started writing these lovely romances for Bliss, I’ve learned to be a plotter, mostly out of necessity because of time issues. But I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful. If I have even a skeleton outline to work with, I know where to go next if ever I get stuck. That’s not to say that I always follow that outline. I allow myself space for a nice tangent or two!

Where do your ideas come from?
I draw a lot of my ideas from my real life. My friends call me the “Taylor Swift of romance novels,” meaning, if we date and you’re a jerk, you’ll probably end up in my book as someone I humiliate publically and then kill off. Heh-heh.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Past lovers are faced with a budget cut: football or music must go. With a second chance at love, will they score before the final whistle?

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
When I sit down to read, I want to be taken away. So, I love stories with romance and strong women characters who can have it all. I also gravitate towards a great series. I like to be invested in characters for the long-haul.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
I love the classics like Jane Austen. She didn’t know it 200 years ago, but she was writing about me in “Sense and Sensibility.” My copy of the book is a rainbow of highlights and notes in the margins. The girl just got women, even back then. Nothing much has changed. It’s really incredible!

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
I’m not great at positing my characters. Sometimes I don’t know what they’re doing when they’re standing around, talking. There tends to be a lot of hands on hips and pointing and shifting weight as placeholders until I go back to edit.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
  • Jane Austen – because I adore her books and I think we would be BFFs. 
  • Marian Keyes – because she is my writing hero. Some of her themes are so tragic, yet the way she balances that with humor and warmth is amazing. 
  • Harlan Colben – because I just started his “Myron Bolitar” series and I want to know if Windsor Horne Lockwood III really exists so I can marry him.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I am! It’s the spin-off to “Playing at Love.” It follows the love lives of two characters we met in the first book. It’s going to be so dreamy! Even though it’s not an official sequel to book one, I totally dig sequels.

Do you have a favorite? (Don’t tell anyone, but mine is “New Moon.”)

I’m all over the internet if you want to pop by and say hello!


Show choir teacher Tess Johansson loves three things: music, her job, and sharing that passion with her students. But when a school budget crisis forces funding to be pulled from either the sports or music programs, she finds herself going head to head with Jack, the gorgeous new football coach who broke her heart fifteen years ago.

Jack Marshall wants two things: to be closer to his young daughter and to make his mark as a football coach. Taking the new job, with the promise that he’d have time to build a solid team, gave him both. But now he must win the season with a group of boys who aren't anywhere near ready or he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard for. Being pitted against Tess, the summer love he never forgot, is like being fourth and long with only seconds on the clock.

On opposing sides of a fierce battle and with everything at stake, Tess and Jack find themselves torn between doing what it takes to win and doing what it takes to be together.

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6 comments :

  1. Thanks for the great post and congrats to Ophelia on the new release! This book sounds like a lot of fun :)

    efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Oh and I don't really have a favorite sequel. I guess mainly cuz a lot of books that I loved turn into series and I end up liking them all :)

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  2. Hmm, tough question! Many of the books I love end up being part of a series, rather than being a sequel in the strict sense, which makes it hard to pick a favourite! In fact, I don't think I've read a true two-book story. But going for a loose definition of 'sequel' and not part of a series, I'd have to say my favourite is Julie Garwood's RANSOM. I love that book!

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  3. I don't know that any books I have read have been sequels as such. Part of a series definitely.

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  4. I haven't actually found a favorite sequel yet... still looking though:) Usually for me the first one is the best.

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  5. Don't have a favorite sequel.

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