Book Tour: Interview & Giveaway - Anything For Love by Darry Fraser

Anything for Love

by Darry Fraser 

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BLURB:

Tilla is the managing director of a temping staff agency who finds herself enmeshed in Kent Taylor’s business world, which includes an IT takeover. When she decides to work in his office as one of his temporary staff members they clash, so she keeps her identity to herself. When they both decide to take a break from their crazy business lives, they have no clue it’s at the same place, in the same house and at the same time, on the isolated north west coast of rugged Australis Island 

She tells herself she can’t bear to be near him one moment longer ... until they find a way to be together. But when he has to suddenly leave their hideaway and doesn’t give her a backward glance, she realises she shouldn’t have done just anything for love.

 

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Excerpt: 

Her dream was a loud one. There was stumbling and cursing, unlike any of her dreams before, but she was reluctant to come awake ... too tired.  She tossed and moaned her protest, but when she heard the crash of a dozen bottles of wine she bolted upright, wide awake, heart hammering and her throat suddenly constricted. 

She clutched the bed-clothes to her chin, gulped in great breaths of air. Tried to shake herself fully awake. 

The cursing and snarling continued, the bottles crashing and clanging on the slate floor. 

Terror struck her very soul. 

There was a drunk in her little haven. 

Oh no, oh no ...  

She couldn’t see a thing—it was pitch outside, no moon. She leapt out of the bed dragging the sheet with her and groping in the dark for her clothes. Where were her clothes—? Oh God—in the bathroom ... how’d she possibly defend herself ... ? 

Another curse and then another. “What the bloody hell—?” 

Stopped her frantic panic, covered her mouth with one hand. She knew that voice. It was unmistakable. Tilla shook herself. It couldn’t be. She must still be asleep … It just couldn’t be. Her heart pounded. 

“Who the bloody hell put that there?” the gravelly voice boomed.  

She tried to distil the solid block of fear which weighed on her chest like a sack of potatoes. 

There was no mistaking that voice. No mistaking it at all.

 

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Let's Learn a Little About Darry Fraser:

 

What is your writing environment?

I have a small desk in my bedroom where I can hide away from the kitchen and the TV – it’s just me, my dog and the computer. I have a mini desk fan for those hotter moments in one’s (writing) life, a lamp and a notebook and pencil handy.  

Everything I need is there – except the coffee (through the day on the weekends), the wine (through the night), and my snacks. Well. A person can’t sit ALL day – it gives me exercise to go back and forth to get the chocolates and the cheese and crackers.

Who is your perfect hero and why?

I keep making up perfect heroes so I’m not sure I have one in particular. He’d have to be kind. He’d have to be funny. Warm-hearted. Intelligent. Compassionate. Passionate. Okay, okay. I have a long list. I don’t mind a few flaws (he MUST be handy though). It doesn’t matter that he does the usual man-stuff – leaves the lid up, forgets to pick up his clothes – that sort of thing, but if he doesn’t have my back he’s out.

What authors have caught your interest lately and why?

I’m reading lots of authors at the moment, not particularly romance author – though Annie Seaton is a winner, so is Jenn J Jones. I’ve taken myself away from reading romance and my peers’ work so that I can refresh, but also so that I can learn new skills and bring them to my writing table.  

I’ve got a few pages into Nicholas Evans’ The Loop, have just finished Jeffrey Deaver’s The Killing Room, Jodie Picoult’s Sing Me Home… I’m hoping some of their expertise will rub off on me.

What type of book have you always wanted to write?

I’ve always wanted to write the stories in me, but sometimes they morph into something I hadn’t expected. Currently it’s in the romantic fiction genre, but ideally I’d like romantic suspense – I have had one novel published, now out of print, in that genre – it might be time to revive and renew it. It has a finished sequel but neither have found a new home yet.

Top 3 things on your bucket list?

1)To write the best seller, 2) best seller, 3) best seller. But if that’s cheating, after the best seller I’d like to own an acreage and have a home for abandoned dogs! And maybe have a cook so I could stay skinny.

How did you get the idea for this particular novel?

Anything For Love came about because of something that happened while I was working in an industry which hosted travelers into very isolated places. One of those isolated places was an island very much resembling Australis Island which I created for my stories. 

At one point an unfortunate travelling couple happened to be placed with another couple in what they’d been sold as their own private space for three days. Needless to say the agents who made the booking were a little red-faced and things were quickly sorted. 

I began to think about two single people who might have been thrust into the same situation, how it might reasonably have come about and what might reasonably be expected to happen! 

The story was called ‘An Isolated Incident’ for a very long time; it was changed last minute to its current title.

 

What is your favorite scene in your new release?

That’s a hard one, but I think it’s the scene where he has to leave the house they’re staying at. I tried to really get into her head as he was going, tried to feel that rawness of her emotion (basically trying to remember how *I* felt when it happened to me) and I think I got it – her powerlessness, the futility of it, the longing and the utter feeling of bereavement.

 

What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?

I hope that by the time you’re reading this online, another novel of mine will already be out – it’s due sometime this month (May 2014). Currently it’s nameless, but ‘Desert’ is it working title. It is being published by steamereads.com.au so be sure to look at their site. 

It’s set in the Central Australian desert on a cattle station which has just been sold. A condition of the sale was that the daughter of the vendor must work for the new owners for a period of one year in order to recoup all of her inheritance. Her late father made sure her younger brothers would be in the mix to hold her to the condition. Sort of ‘Father Knows Best’ thing …and he passed the task on to a handsome hero who’s determined to see her gain her inheritance.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I have a day job! It’s my own business – I support local business people with clerical work at my desk, I have a couple of printing machines…I’m sort of a mini Officeworks (not sure what you have elsewhere but in Australia it’s one of the biggest retails stores in stationery and office supplies). I’m here for the general public, too.

I have a great little dog, an Australian kelpie – black as pitch – named Hamish. He was a rescue dog from here in my little town and he’s a joy to be with. Very energetic. 

I read, I cook, I have friends – all the good things.

 

What would you consider a perfect date?

One where after the end of the night, no matter what happens, you wake up the next day and think, wow – that was wonderful! And you know what? I’ve had perfect dates like that, maybe only one or two and I’m looking forward to my next one. Though I think it might be a way off yet …

 

What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?

I live on an island very much like my fictional Australis Island.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

I have been writing since a very young age. I was the one at school with the home-penned plays and stories, the entertaining ideas and the grand vision, believing I had great talent. Wrong. 

I believed that because I could put words on a page in a grammatically acceptable way and tell a reasonable story that I was ‘an author’. Technically, I suppose I was, but the apprenticeship as a ‘writer' – to labour the difference - is a long and hard road.  

One day, I had what I still call a little ‘thing’ – I saw my late grandfather in his World War One trench gear talking to ‘me’ at my desk and suddenly the words flowed and so did the short story which was published within two weeks in an Australian national women’s magazine.  

So I revisited all my short stories and my novel-length stories and found success again with four short stories and then two short novels in 2001/2. 

Alas, life got in the way once more. I kept writing, but in the dark so to speak. I used it as a means of escape, as a retreat and I was able to create my own HEA or HFN.  

Then life took another turn and I figured that I had nothing to lose. I dusted off quite a number of manuscripts and began to whip them into shape. At a serendipitous meeting with my current publisher, Nicola at SteamEreads, she agreed to read my current work at the time.  It was a 67,000 word unedited novel, which she accepted. It was published in June – Money For Blood.  

Since then I have had three other novels and two novellas accepted, all HEA/HFN. 

I currently have four books published with Steam eReads. 

Website: www.darryfraser.com 

Steam eReads: http://steamereads.com.au/2013/04/meet-author-darry-fraser/

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Buy Links:

 

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Kobo

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Giveaway:

Darry will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card and an ecopy of Berry Flavours to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  The more you comment, the better your chances of winning!!  Follow the tour HERE