The Readers Roundtable by Candlelight

Holiday Affair by Annie Seaton
Publisher: Entangled Publishing/ Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 225 pages

Summary:

Staid professor Lissy McIntyre believes that choosing a mate should be based on common sense, not runaway passion. And she would certainly never pick a rolling stone like Nick Richards for long-term love. But a red-hot, tropical romance? Oh, yeah. He’s got a body just made for sinning and his sizzling kisses leave her senseless.

When Nick blows into town, he’s stunned to discover that his no-nonsense new neighbor and co-worker is the same sultry creature he seduced for one night of forbidden island pleasure. He’s unaccustomed to staying in one place for long, but he just can’t seem to keep his hands off the multi-faceted woman. Will Nick break loyal Lissy’s heart or will she be the one woman he simply can’t walk away from?

Cloe’s Review:

Holiday Affair is a sweet, heartwarming story that has many bumps along the way, but in the end becomes a sweet HEA.

Nick and Lissy’s story had me cheering for them at times, but at other, times I wanted to scream. Their so called on again off again relationship kept me engrossed until the very end wondering what would happen with these two. Yet, from the moment that they met on the island, the sparks were flying.

Ms. Seaton brilliantly captured the emotions of her characters. Even though I thought Nick’s character was a bit harsh at times, it evened out well with Lissy’s uncertainty regarding whether or not to engage in a relationship without love. In addition, both Lissy and Nick had huge trust issues, which also kept me wondering how this story would end.

The secondary characters were a true delight. They added much to this book as did the hero and heroine.
There are a few twists thrown in that I found myself saying, “Really, I did not see that coming.” After meeting Thomas, Nicks brother, I have to ask, do you have any plans for him Ms. Seaton?

The setting described by Ms. Seaton is picturesque and amazing, which has me asking the question, do these places exist? I found myself in love with Lissy’s Grandpa’s family place on the water.

I must say if you love, delightfully written romances then go out and grab, Holiday Affair by Annie Seaton and give this book and author a try. Ms. Seaton will set your heart souring.

Rated 5 Seashells by Cloe!

Have Your Book Reviewed

Become A Reviewer

Thanks for the review Cloe!  Holiday Affair sounds awesome.  Hello Annie and welcome to The Readers Roundtable by Candlelight.  Let’s begin with you telling us a little about yourself.

I live on the edge of the south Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. Recently retired from the world of full time work, I am fulfilling my lifelong dream of writing, and have had instant success! My first two books were both published on the same day! I write across genres: steampunk, historical and paranormal romance and romantic suspense but my favorite genre is contemporary romance.

I  live with my own hero of many years. Our two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. We share their home with “Bob” the dog and two white cats.

My working life was spent in education from early childhood through  to teaching trainee teachers at university. I have worked as a librarian, teacher, technology consultant and university tutor.

Now I have retired and I spend my days writing down all the stories in my head. When not writing I can be found in my beautiful garden or walking on the beach… or maybe on my deck overlooking the ocean, a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc in hand as the sun sets.

What was your reaction when you knew your book would be published? This particular morning, I rose early to a wonderful email from Entangled, offering me a contract for Holiay Affair.

Being downunder, most of my emails come in from the United States overnight I promptly burst into tears (of joy!) and ran in to wake my poor husband who wondered why on earth I was crying at 5.30am. I was delighted to be picked up by Entangled as I think they are fantastic.

Annie, what is it like planning for a release?

Busy, busy, busy!

It has been a wonderful time answering blog questions, promoting on Facebook and Twitter, not to  mention the highly supportive author email groups that we all belong to. I am planning a launch in my home town in a few weeks and it has been fun trying to work out how much champagne to purchase!

Were you nervous about the first review of your book? What was your reaction when the first review came in hot off the presses?

I have had some wonderful reviews and my first review was five star! It is highly satisfying to know that readers resonate with your story and immerse themselves in the lives of the characters. I have had some great reviews extolling the appeal of the exotic locations that came alive for them as they read Holiday Affair.

Annie, I’m sure this is an answer to a question that many novice authors would want to know.  How did you pitch your first book to the publisher?

I took a long time to compose and polish my query letter and my synopsis. Both of those must be well written, engaging and hook the reader in the first sentence. I consider these words equally important as the book.

In reviewing your site, you have a serious challenge going for yourself.  How do you plan to write 50,000 words in 30 days?

Just put my head down and do it! I love sprinting in chat rooms. Not being an athletic person and hating real sprinting, I come to the fore when sprinting with fellow authors. I have been known to produce 1100 words in a twenty-minute sprint! For some reason, the race gets the creative juices flowing. Much of Holiday Affair was written in sprints. Being a died in the wool panster really helps this process. My  characters just up and run and I chase them on the keyboard.

It’s obvious that you enjoy writing contemporary romance, but is there a genre that you would like to try writing, but have not?

I have written steampunk, romantic suspense and paranormal…. I would love to write a single title  novel exploring the resilience of the female spirit.. there is one floating around in my head at the moment

Annie, what inspired Holiday Affair?  Moreover, did you happen to bring an excerpt to share with us today?

Every July for the past ten years or so, my husband and I have chartered a bareboat sailing catamaran with two or three other couples, and sailed around the seventy-four islands of the Whitsundays. If you need your batteries recharged and want to take the opportunity of experiencing Mother Nature at her best…this is the trip to take.

Seven days and nights of lazy life basking in the winter tropical sun.  Deserted islands, fantastic snorkelling, great food and wine, and of course the opportunity to laze on the deck and read a book with the sails snapping above.

Each of the descriptive Whitsunday scenes in Holiday Affair was based on a real place and my visit to them. At Butterfly Bay, I stood entranced among thousands of black butterflies.

Each evening, the five crew and the skipper (my husband) would all vie for the best sunset photo of the day and many of these actual photos can be seen on my face book photo gallery! (annieseaton26)

We would wander along the beaches at the islands where there were resorts and listen to the many different languages of the backpackers as they enjoyed the Whitsunday experience.

Of course, romance is always in the air and the romance of Nick and Lissy was inspired as I watched tanned backpackers stroll hand in hand along the beach.

A visit to New Zealand and my awe at the number of boats and marinas in Auckland planted the seed for them living on a boat. We always dream about living in a marina when we return from our sailing holiday each year!

Nick and Lissy fulfilled the dream for me.

EXCERPT

As she reached out, she experienced that instant electricity that seemed to ignite between them. Nick put his warm hands on her bare shoulders, pulling her in close. Her heart started thudding and her legs felt shaky, and she lowered her lashes demurely as the intensity of feeling pulled the blood from her head to her heart.

“I feel safe now,” she said breathlessly, even though she felt decidedly unsafe. She hoped that the combination of her demure expression and the sexy huskiness of her voice would have the desired reaction on him. She smiled to herself, keeping her eyes lowered as his hand slid down her arm and he lifted her hand to his mouth. He moved his lips gently across her palm. He was certainly persistent, despite the truce he had called last night around the fire.

“Come on, the dinghy is waiting to take the last group back.” He kept hold of her hand as he led her down the track through the coastal she-oak trees. As they came back onto the beach, hundreds of black butterflies fluttered from the bush at the eastern end of the bay.

“Spectacular, isn’t it?” Nick was relaxed with her. “That’s why they call it Butterfly Bay.” As he looked down at her, he reached across to push a strand of hair from her eyes. “Delicate creatures, a lot like you.”

Do you have a sexy ritual that you perform in order to help you get into the mood to write romance novels?

I don’t know about sexy… but a stroll along the beach as the sun rises or sets always puts me in the mood…. for writing that is!

What are 5 things you want your readers to know about Annie Seaton?

Annie Seaton loves writing stories and plans to write lots more.

She is a water person and the ocean is as necessary to her life as air to breathe.

Her favourite place to read is in a bubble bath with candles and a glass of champagne.

She has two white cats who are spoiled rotten, almost as much as her grandchildren.

She wants to go to Italy soon to research the sequel to Holiday Affair.

Annie, I’ve been to Italy on several different occasions and have enjoyed every bit of it and I know that you will too as you do your research.  Shoot!  I need a job where I can do research all over the world writing wonderful romances.  That would be hoot!  But enough about me.  LOL! 

Okay Annie, I have to ask.  Professor Lissy McIntyre and Professor Nick Richards are such a odd couple; therefore, how did you develop these character’s and decide that they would be a perfect fit for one another?

My background working in an academic environment and my study of Pacific history during my undergraduate history studies was the inspiration for Lissy’s role in the history faculty in the university. Combined with my love of the ocean and the islands, this gave me the inspiration for both characters. Nick and Lissy are very similar in their love for beach climes, and both are intelligent, academic researchers. Each of them were damaged from previous experiences and they had to work together through the emotional issues, before realizing they were indeed a perfect match

Annie, thank you so much for dropping by to visit with us today.  Before you go, can you tell us what we can expect to read next from Annie Seaton?

Italian Affair is the story of Tom, Nick’s brother who was a bit of a stuffed shirt in Holiday Affair.  Tom travels to Italy and meets a gorgeous, sexy, sex therapist. Will she be the one for him? Look forward to it! Followed by that is Outback Affair, the story of the youngest Richards brother Alex and his emotional rebirth in the Australian outback.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the brothers.

Thank you for hosting me. It has been a pleasure visiting!

I would love to give away a copy of Holiday Affair to a lucky reader.

Do you have a favourite tropical location you have visied or one you would really love to visit?

About the Author

Annie Seaton lives on the edge of the south Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. Recently retired from the world of full time work, she is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing, and had instant success! Her first two books were both published on the same day! She writes across genres: steampunk, historical and paranormal romance and romantic suspense but her favorite genre is contemporary romance.

She lives with her own hero of many years. Their two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. They share their home with “Bob” the dog and two white cats. Annie’s working life was spent in education from early childhood through  to teaching trainee teachers at university. She has worked as librarian, teacher, technology consultant and university tutor.

Annie has now retired and spends her days writing down all the stories in her head. When she is not writing she can be found in her garden or walking on the beach… or most likely on her deck overlooking the ocean, a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc in hand as the sun sets.

She loves hearing from readers and can be contacted via :

http://annieseatonromance.com

http://www.facebook.com/annieseaton26

Twitter: @annieseaton 26

Holiday Affair can be purchased at Amazon & BN

To be entered follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter.  You MUST answer Annie’s question to be entered.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

9 Responses to “By Candlelight Review, Interview & Giveaway: Holiday Affair by Annie Seaton”