Thursday, January 17, 2013

Roseanna Leo here with SUNBURN!


     I’d like to offer a big thank you to the lovely Cerise for hosting me today!!
     Sex. Hot, sweaty sex.
     There. Do I have your attention? Because it suddenly feels a little hotter where I’m sitting!
     I’m an erotic romance author and as part of this wonderful role, I have to talk about sex every so often. Now when I began my romance writing journey, I discovered that a lot of folks love asking about the sex scenes. Writing them is great fun, and Lord only knows I enjoy reading a good one too. But I don’t think I ever thought I’d be defending them.
     However, as most romance authors can probably confirm, you do get some funny reactions from people. Readers who enjoy romance routinely generally don’t bat an eyelash. It’s the others I’m talking about.
     I think my favorite reaction so far was from one of my mother’s older lady friends. This woman was kind enough to purchase and read one of my books. She’d never read anything quite like that before (I think she preferred cozy English mysteries- poor thing). Well, she said to my bemused mom, “Has your daughter always written about sluts?”
     I was amazed! My heroines are not slutty. They engage in consensual sex with men they grow to love. Yes, I describe it in minute detail, but that’s beside the point.
     I’ve also had a lot of eye rolls. When I say “romance” to some people, they do the old “Oh, you don’t write real books then, just fluff.” I love that one. I think if some of these people sat down and tried to write a sex scene, they might be shocked at how challenging it can be. It’s about emotion, not just fitting the right limbs together.
     I have had some awesome reactions, though. My personal best has to be from a co-worker who shared my book with her husband in an intimate moment. He told her it was the best $5 they’d ever spent.
     That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is why I write erotic romance.
                                                           SUNBURN, the story:
Patience O’Conner is a travel blogger who lives for her work. Her dedication to her readers brings her to the famed Helios Resort in Mexico, a locale that stuns her with its beauty but at which she suffers from some very strange accidents.
Luckily, hunky resort bartender Apollo Delos is always there in the nick of time, a malcontent guardian angel. Apollo stuns Patience again and again with his life-saving abilities, to say nothing of his smoldering looks and apparent desire to keep her alive.
Before long, Patience wonders if there is more to the sexy bartender than mixed cocktails and insane first-aid skills. Something strange is happening at Helios and Apollo doesn’t want to talk about it.
Can Patience open herself up to this enigmatic man, even though she is terrified to be vulnerable again? And can Apollo recover from an eternity of hurt and learn to trust once more? They must both decide before Death comes calling.


Sunburn Excerpt:

She approached the booth, only to find the blond bartender manning it. Her eyes almost popped and she blurted, “You!”
He grinned, but there was still a tightness around his eyes, as if he were sizing her up. “Hello, Patience.” His strained expression said volumes about what he considered to be the unsuitability of her name.
She tried to ignore the sucker punch in her gut, the one that hit her as soon as his deep, velvety voice caressed her eardrums. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the bar?”
His smile grew wider, showing off his perfect white teeth. “I’m everywhere.”
“Clearly.” She forced herself to look away from his gorgeous face, feeling light-headed because of the suns dancing in her eyes, the suns that seemed to come from him. To distract herself, she touched a few of the painted bowls on display. Not that it snuffed out those blasted suns.
He stepped closer. “Do you see anything you like?”
She choked on her saliva and coughed like a victim of the Black Death. He rushed to calm her, putting his hand on her back, massaging. She recovered upon feeling his touch and was hit by the bizarre, fleeting notion his touch made her recover. As if he’d healed her.
Utter nonsense. Yet as much as it was nonsense, her head swam with the bizarre possibility.
“Better?” he asked quietly, his face serious now.
She stared into the man’s eyes. They were blue, so very blue. “Uh, yeah, thanks.” Curiosity got the better of her and the question poured out. “What’s your name anyway?”
He breathed in. “Apollo Delos.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, breaking into a grin. “Just like Apolo Anton Ohno! I loved him on Dancing with the Stars!”
He got a curious look and let out a strange laugh. “Yeah. Just like him.”

Who is Rosanna Leo?
Rosanna Leo is a multi-published, erotic romance author with Liquid Silver Books. Her books include For the Love of a God, Up In Flames, Sweet Hell, The Selkie and her newest, Sunburn. When not writing, she can be found haunting dusty library stacks or planning her next star-crossed love affair.

3 comments:

Rosanna Leo said...

Thanks so much for hosting me, Cerise!

Susanne Bellamy said...

Hi Rosanna and Cerise.

Love your new title and the extract and looking forward to reading it, along with The Selkie which fascinates me with the whole selkie lore aspect.
Al the best, Susanne

Rosanna Leo said...

Thank you so much, Susanne! I am thrilled and so appreciative for your interest!