Hi Sara! Welcome to the blog! To start with, what are your five favorite movies with romance or romantic elements and what are your favorite scenes?

Clueless: Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone have such a great onscreen dynamic. I love watching their characters’ mutual annoyance fall away over the course of this movie as they realize the mutual respect and love that’s there. One of my favorite scenes is the moment we’ve waited for the whole movie—the scene on the stairs when they first kiss:

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Whether it’s a lonely spinster finding passion at last…an infamous outlaw-turned-lawman reaffirming the love that keeps him whole…a lost and broken drifter discovering family in unlikely places…a Texas Ranger risking it all for one remarkable woman…two lovers bringing together a family ripped apart by prejudice…or reunited lovers given a second chance to correct past mistakes…a Christmas spent in a cowboy’s arms is full of hope, laughter, and—most of all—love.

The six authors participating in this anthology are: USA Today bestseller Leigh Greenwood, USA Today bestseller Rosanne Bittner, New York Times bestseller Linda Broday, RITA finalist Anna Schmidt, New York Times bestseller Margaret Brownley, and USA Today bestseller Amy Sandas.

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What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Leigh: I’m not sure I have one. When I was married and the children were young, it was sometimes Christmas. We would get up early, have breakfast, after which I would hand out the gifts. Or it could have been Thanksgiving. My mother and my older son have birthdays three days apart (Nov. 22nd, 25th), so Mom and other relatives would come over for a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner with the best china, crystal, and a fancy tablecloth we bought somewhere in Europe. Cleanup was a group affair.

Rosanne: My favorite holiday tradition is decorating the swing bench on my porch with lots of teddy bears and covering them with a Christmas design afghan in red, green and white. It’s so cute, and a warm greeting for everyone who comes to the door.

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I’m shockingly bad at talking about myself. Not in a cute way, either—in a won’t-tell-my-boyfriend-of-two-years-how-to-pronounce-my-last-name kind of way (it’s “Gat” as in “Cat” and “ta” as in “ta-ta”).

Anyhow, to make up for my awful stage fright I’ve asked my bestest friend Christine Bell to ask me a couple questions so you can learn about me in a way that doesn’t take five years of slowly learning that I don’t eat mayonnaise and have only been eating your mom’s macaroni salad to be polite.

Ready, Christine? Take it away!

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So happy to be here to grill ask Allison some questions today in celebration of her very first Entangled release! rubs hands together Standard disclosure: As always with these types of interviews, 100% honesty is expected, or the interviewee gets struck by lightning. By answering these questions, you also acknowledge that said questions might have side effects including but not limited to:

 

Dizziness

Irritability

Leaky bowels

T-Pain

Rib Displacement Syndrome

And other not good things

 

SO, on that note, let’s get started, Allison!

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TOP FIVE BOOKS:

1. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning

This is my go-to book. I read it at least once a year, and honestly, I swoon a little every time. I love all KMM’s books and characters, but Drustan McKeltar, the hero of Kiss, is the ultimate alpha hero in my eyes.

2. Harry Potter (yes, the whole series) , by JK Rowling

This may not be the most original choice, but it sure is a worthy choice. It’s the first series I’ve ever counted down the days to release – and headed to the shop to buy on release day.

3. Fever Series, by Karen Marie Moning (yes, again)

It’s hard not to keep coming back to KMM. Her writing is that good. And the first five books of the Fever series are exceptional. KMM is the only author I have ever forgiven for ending a book (or four) on a cliffhanger.

4. The Enchanted Forest/Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton

I know I’m picking series instead of individual books, but it’s the individual books that make the whole series so special, and Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Forest series is no different. This was the first series I ever read several times – as a child. As an adult, I read it several times to both my kids. No matter how old I am, the magic still enchants me every time.

5. The Charlotte Stone series, by Karen Robards

I’m not sure what it was about this series that hooked me in, but I read all four books in four days. I didn’t want to speak to anyone or see anyone while reading. I just wanted more, more, more of Charlie and Michael. I suspect the utter impossibility of the situation, the certainty that there could be no happy ending – mixed with the knowledge that there had to be one – kept me reading well into the wee hours of the morning, four nights in a row.

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What was your favorite aspect of pulling all of this story together?

The Hook Up is the final installment of my First Impressions series, which makes this the second full series I’ve written for Entangled Publishing (though for the record, they’re all standalone books that can be read in any order). Now that I’ve completed two series, I can honestly say that the last book has been my favorite to write in both instances. It’s a combination of hitting my stride with all the characters and really feeling comfortable in the world I’ve created, plus it’s fun to pull all the loose ends together in one big finale.

Most frustrating?

Ex-Navy man turned video producer Ty Hendrix is the hero of this story, and there were times I wanted to grab him by by the ears and shake him. The lousiness of his childhood left him understandably reluctant to get involved with a single mom, but during the black moment when he walks away, I was shouting at my computer, “you get back in there, you big wuss.” Luckily, he more than makes up for it in the end.

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FIVE BOOKS

If you could only read five books for the rest of your life, what five books would they be, and why?

All I have to do is turn to my right and see which books are most dog-eared on the bookshelf. Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters is one of my all-time favorites for its blend of heart and humor and the endearing multiple viewpoints. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander has been one of my favorites for twenty years, and I’ve loved watching it come to life in the TV series. I’ve adored Kurt Vonnegut since high school, and my copy of Player Piano is so dog-eared it’s practically in shreds. Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation is one of my favorite romantic comedies written by one of the goddesses of my genre, so I tip my hat to her quirky humor and heat. Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams is another favorite I’ve literally read hundreds of times, and it breaks my heart every single time.

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We interview Zoe Forward, author of the new paranormal romance THE WAY YOU BITE!

What was your favorite aspect of pulling all of THE WAY YOU BITE together?

I love the aaha moment when everything in the story clicks. Something happens in the plot that makes everything work. In this book it was realizing the heroine is a fighter who values above all her independence to make her own decisions in her life, not something that was allowed in the antiquated society of centuries old vampires. This need directed all her actions from when she thought herself pureblood vampire and plotted her escape from her dictatorial father and fiancé to when she discovers she’s half werewolf and fights to have freedom within the wolf world.

Most frustrating?

Having to take advice from wannabe authors like my cat who thinks he can write better than me by walking across my keyboard. Or, my ten month-old who thinks smashing the keys is great fun.

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What was your favorite aspect of pulling all of this story together?

I love watching Ezra and Sam come together, seeing how they interact with one another when they first meet and then later as their relationship grows. I find my characters always surprise me.

Most frustrating?

I always find the middle of the book the most frustrating. Even though I’ve written many, many books, I still worry that I’ll never finish the story, but somehow I always do.

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FIVE BOOKS

If you could only read five books for the rest of your life, what five books would they be, and why?

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