My guest is romance author, Olivia Cunning. She is the author of the hot new series published by Sourcebooks, Sinners On Tour (and #1 on Amazon in Kindle Fiction). I love this series.
I've known Olivia for several years and have had the privilege of reading some of her other stories. She's an excellent storyteller and prolific writer. My reaction to several of her books has been, OMG, you need to get this published, it's great!
I'm happy to say she has decided to publish her series, Lover's Leap. It's the perfect fun summer read.
She shares with us a bit about the first in the series and what's coming in the second and third book, plus a treat for the readers.
I’ve made a name for myself with my hot, erotic romances about rock stars. My fictional band, Sinners, has fans all across the planet clamoring for more, more, MORE! So when I found out that the next book in the Sinners on Tour series won’t be available for at least another year, I thought, Now what? This waiting around and patience stuff is so not my style. Neither is thinking inside the box. First off, everyone knows that rock star romance heroes don’t sell. Oh really? I think I have some evidence to the contrary. I’ve also been advised not to cater to my fans, not to stray from my subgenre, and that self-publishing is not a valid option for any serious author. I’m really thinking outside the box now.
Meet Lara and Reece...
Lara Kensington is living a perfectly mundane life as a museum curator, when bad boy treasure hunter, Reece Jerhico, leaps into her life. Literally. Obviously distressed, Reece tells Lara that one year in the future she will be murdered. The evidence he uses to back up his incredible story doesn’t convince Lara. She thinks he’s crazy. Especially after he claims to be her future fiancé. Lara would have remembered dating someone as delicious as Reece Jerhico. Hot as Reece is, Lara has a difficult time believing anything the man says until the broken amulet he wears around his neck transports them into different bodies, during a different time, in a different place--an ancient place, a cold place, a place where Lara arrives naked, hysterical, and... Norse.
On the run through time, attempting to escape a man who is hell-bent on Lara’s lack-of a-future becoming a reality, the couple must leap from one time and place to another just to stay alive. In the first volume of this sexy and humorous new series, Lara and Reece share an existence with a ruthless Viking and his captive bride and then with a noble medieval knight and the feisty lady he is determined to win.
You can’t take anything for granted when you’re loving on borrowed time.
And this is what happens the first time Lara realizes those around her aren’t seeing the real her. Here’s a little peek behind the cover:
Every nerve ending in Lara’s body was alive with excitement. She didn’t understand any of this. She wasn’t the type of woman who got all stupid and excited over a man and a few vulgar words. It just wasn’t her. Was it?
Reece grinned at her. “Don’t look so mortified, sweetheart. It took me months to figure out that you like dirty talk. It really turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“Does not!” She shoved him away, to flustered to be angry about the knowing chuckle he emitted.
“Why don’t you go see if someone has something you can wear?” he said, as he continued undressing. “If you keep dropping those pants, I can’t be held accountable for trying to get in them.”
She scrambled out of the room, holding up her pants with one hand as she fled. She wasn’t going because he told her to. Or because she was so aroused that she’d probably let him get into her pants with no protest. Or that he was getting naked and she so wanted to ogle every inch of him. She was fleeing his presence because she wanted to. Yeah.
She closed the door behind her and went to find someone who looked like they knew what was going on. A tired-looking, middle-aged woman stood near the center of the main room, stirring a pot of stew over the fire. Along the walls of the longhouse were bunks built into the wall. Situated in front of the bunks were long, wooden tables. Some of the men were sitting on the bunks talking amongst themselves and enjoying enormous mugs of what Lara decided was mead.
As Lara passed one of the bunks, she heard a loud grunt. She caught sight of a large, blond man rhythmically thrusting into the flushed woman beneath him before he grunted again and collapsed on top of her. They were having sex right out there in the open! No one seemed to notice but Lara. Wide-eyed, Lara diverted her gaze and made a beeline for the woman standing over the fire.
“The chieftain would like some warm water so he can wash,” Lara said in perfect Norse, surprising herself again.
“Well, I ain’t about to get it. I’m cooking here, if you can’t tell.”
“I will get it. I just need to know how.”
Lara glanced down at the interesting stew bubbling over the fire. Various roots and chunks of meat floated to the top and sank beneath the rich broth again as the woman stirred. It didn’t look very appetizing, but it smelled edible. Lara’s stomach growled. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she last ate. They’d been offered no sustenance except for a bit of water on the boat ride here.
“Well, fastest way would be to grab a pot of snow and melt it over the fire, now wouldn’t it?”
Lara realized the woman was insulting her intelligence, but she had no choice but to ask. “So where do I find a pot?”
The woman nodded towards a wall near one of the bunks.
“Thank you,” Lara said, “My name is Helga.” She hadn’t meant to say Helga. She’d meant to say Lara. She tried again. “Helga, my name is Helga.” Every time she tried to say Lara, Helga came out instead. “Helga. Helga. My name—”
“Your name is Helga, I understand.”
“No, my name is,” Lara gritted her teeth, concentrating very hard to say her real name, “Helga.”
The woman gave her a very strange look, which she definitely deserved. With a frustrated huff, Lara gave up on niceties and went to collect a pot from the wall. She hurried to the end of the long house, tripping over the ballooning legs of her pants. She pushed the heavy door open and stepped outside. At once, she realized she was missing something important. Shoes! She’d taken them off soon after climbing into Reece’s bed. It was freezing. She did a high-stepped march to a bank of snow next to the cleared walking path, scooped snow into the pot and high stepped it back into the building. It had been a long day. She knew she had lost her reasoning ability, but walking barefoot through the snow seemed a tad over the top. But not nearly as ridiculous as being unable to say your own name.
“Lara. Lara. Lara,” she repeated under her breath on her way back to the fire. People were staring at her as she passed. Not that she blamed them. She could do this. She could tell the cranky, tired lady her real name. She set the pot of snow next to the fire and stood up confidently. “Helga!” she announced loudly.
The woman shook her head.
“Damn it,” Lara cried. “I give up. I can’t say Lara no matter how hard I try.” She glanced up at the woman. “I said it.”
“You said what?” She was obviously getting annoyed.
“My name.”
“Helga?”
“No, my real name. It’s Helga.” Lara stomped her foot angrily. “Helga.” She huffed out an annoyed breath. Forget it! The snow was starting to melt. “Eirick…” She’d tried to say Reece, but Eirick came out instead. “Eirick…”
“What about Eirick?” the woman asked.
“Eirick told me to find appropriate clothing.”
“Ingrid,” the woman called to a young girl. “Bring this daft woman a dress to wear. She looks about Olga’s size.”
“Yes, mum!”
So she was labeled as daft? Well, she supposed it was fitting, the way she’d carried on about her name. What kind of lunatic tells someone her name twenty times? A few minutes later, the young girl brought Lara a woolen gown of deep blue.
“This will look very pretty with your blonde hair,” the girl said. She handed the gown to her and scampered away before Lara could thank her.
“Blonde hair?” Lara murmured, perplexed. She had brown hair, some reddish highlights, but in no way was she a blonde. She used the bottom of her linen shirt as a potholder as she picked up the pot of melted snow and glanced down at her reflection. Instead of her own familiar face, some beautiful blonde woman stared back at her. Lara screamed.
Buy: Smashwords, Amazon. Book available in ebook format and soon in paperback
So what’s in store for the rest of the series?
In book two, Reece and Lara will continue their adventures in a Turkish harem and then in Feudal Japan. I don’t know where they’ll go after that.
I’m going to let the fans decide.
That’s right. Fans will choose the next two whens and wheres.
Should be fun! And a little different.
- Where do you think it would be fun to send Lara and Reece?
Olivia Cunning blog, website (you can see what else she's working on), Facebook
