During her
virtual book tour, will be awarding
a copy of the e-book Take Me As I Am
(international) to three randomly drawn winners. To be entered for a chance to
win, use the form below. To increase
your chances of winning, feel free to visit
her other tour stops and enter there, too.
Welcome Charmaine. Please tell us a
little bit about yourself.
My first foray into romance was as a fourteen-year-old
where I fell hopelessly and eternally in love with my hero as only a teenager
can. Instead of watching movies and staying up late, I would go to bed at eight
thirty and continue my very romantic, very safe, love affair. Since then, I have
fallen in love with many heroes, some less safe than what my teenage brain
could possibly imagine. After earning a Fine Art’s Degree, a Diploma of
Secondary Education and a Diploma of Marketing, I worked as a Graphic Designer
in various advertising agencies as well as in-house marketing roles and am
currently involved with digital marketing and everything web in my current
position. But I always return to writing. Although I have travelled, I always return to my home town of
Melbourne and live with my husband, two children and two cats in the
ferny-greens of the Dandenongs. If I'm not working on my latest romance and
falling in love with yet another hero, you’ll find me reading, watching and
basically indulging in my addiction to any story on any media type I can get my
fingers on.
Please share a little bit about your
current release.
I’ve
always been intrigued by the Burnham Beeches in Sassafras, in the Dandenongs in
Melbourne and have wanted it to be restored to its former beauty. I didn’t have
enough time, money or logistical prowess to do it myself, so I wrote about my heroine
who was more than capable of undertaking a job like that. The gardens
surrounding the Burnham Beeches are absolutely beautiful and would have been
stunning in their nineteen thirties glory. I needed a lean, toned, muscular
landscaper for that job and so my hero was born.
In
this book, I wanted to turn the tables on the rich man / ordinary gal plot and
so made my heroine a billionaire’s daughter, having been groomed for luxury and
educated in the best schools money could buy, and my hero a sexy, hard-working,
yet salt-of-the-earth man. My favourite scene is when my hero strips off his
shirt in the summer sun, my heroine can’t ignore the sizzle in her blood or the
voice in her head that tells her that what her body wants is a bad idea. A very
bad idea.
Add
in some sexy spice, some differences of opinion, undeniable physical attraction
and you have ‘Take Me As I Am’.
What inspired you to
write this book?
Living in
such a beautiful area of Australia, which is quite romantic in its own rights,
I like setting my stories where I can actually come and visit. Then I know how
the scene looks, feels and smells and I can add those extra things into the
characters perceptions. I think that makes for stronger scenes.
Excerpt from Take Me as I Am:
She rested the side of her head on the doorframe and yawned. Her eyes
half closed as she watched him and he was caught in a lasting gaze that made
his stomach clench. She was all soft and luscious and a sexy woman beneath that
bristly exterior.
‘David?’
He hadn’t realised he’d been standing here, staring at her. ‘I want to
talk to you about tomorrow’s plans. I need to make an early start. I want you
to tell me if you don’t like something. I like to be up-front.’ He stepped
towards her. One small step. So close he felt her body warmth reaching for him.
‘So do I.’ Her voice was so soft. So gentle it seemed as though it
caressed him.
He shouldn’t be standing here so close to her because that would mean he
had no control over what his body wanted and he couldn’t let that happen. The
reasons. Remember them. His mind searched desperately. The first one. It was …
But when he breathed in, her scent was in the air. It was sweet and
feminine and warm and set his blood on fire so that it raced through his veins screaming
with an unquenchable need. He couldn’t move, was hypnotised beyond physical
ability.
‘If there’s anything you think of I can do …’ Like take her in his arms
and kiss her. Just a little kiss. A taste. The slightest of touches. Lips to
lips.
‘I’ll tell you.’ Kate’s gaze dropped to his mouth and flicked back to
his eyes. A quick movement, but one he didn’t miss.
Feminine perfume stirred in a slight breeze. He almost
groaned out loud. He needed to keep space between them. She was off-limits.
Beyond touch. He needed to keep himself in line. Reaching to the depths of his
most steadfast will he stepped back.
I’m
finishing editing a paranormal romance, Time
After Time, as well as a contemporary romance, Bogan Chick.
I also am
finishing three rom-com novellas which will be available very soon – Getting Hitched, Getting Preggas, Getting the
Snip – about all of life’s little journeys.
In my head
which is a very messy place, I have a paranormal trilogy, of which I’ll be
writing book three for, and have a fantastic idea for another contemporary
romance which I can’t wait to start!
I’ll
probably think of more as time goes on. There just isn’t enough time!
When did you first consider yourself
a writer?
Not sure if
I even do now. I suppose when I sit down to write. LOL
Do you write full-time? If so,
what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do
you find time to write?
I have a
part time job, kids, husband, cat, house etc. I try and skim together enough
time on the days I don’t work, but the weekend are still a challenge with the
kids activities. My plan is to write full time at some stage.
What would you say is your
interesting writing quirk?
I loooove
going to my local café and writing there. I don’t even find the noise annoying.
In fact, I think I write better there than at home.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
I used to
fill notebooks full of story ideas when I was a teenager, so I’ve always had
writing in my blood. I wanted to be an artist and did end up doing a Fine Arts
degree and worked for a couple of years selling my art. Then I began work as a
graphic artist, then went into marketing. Now I work in digital marketing
bringing everything together, design, writing and marketing.
Anything additional you want to
share with the readers?
Thank you
so much for having me here and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading a bit about me. As
a thank you to your readers I’m offering two free fun and flirty novellas on my
website when you subscribe to my very sporadic email. I also have free sample
chapters on my website. It’s worth
a look.
Links:
Thank you for being a guest on my
blog!
