BookLover Sue: Author Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway

Combustion

by Elia Winters

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BLURB:

A war orphan, Astrid Bailey is content living her adult life alone, working as a contract machinist. Her real passion, though, is inventing felicitation devices that promote women’s sexual empowerment and help them find pleasure independent of a man.

The upcoming World’s Fair, with its substantial cash prize, is an opportunity to open the shop she’s always imagined and hopefully solve her financial woes. Except the committee has denied her entry unless she obtains a “sponsor”. Astrid suspects they mean “male”.

Eli Rutledge, noted watchmaker, knows entering the fair will solidify his reputation as an innovator —but he’s fresh out of ideas. Until Astrid approaches him with her outrageous product line. With no other options, though, he agrees to lend her his good name.

As construction heats up, so does their chemistry—and the complications. Astrid is unaccustomed to asking for help, much less sharing credit. And Eli fights an attraction that could spell professional disaster. As the Fair date approaches, Astrid and Eli must decide how far they’ll go. For the business…and for each other.

Product Warnings Contains period-appropriate graphic language, highly inappropriate amounts of M/F and F/F sex, and copious amounts of *ahem* product testing. May *ahem again* “spark” an online shopping binge for *cough* toys. Of the adult variety.

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EXCERPT:

Astrid hopped up on the worktable, legs dangling freely. “Eli, you can hang on to whatever outdated notions of propriety work for you in your world, but I’m not going to deny myself what I want just because I’m worried about what people will think.”

Taking deep, calming breaths, he studied her. Maybe she had a point. Maybe it wasn’t his responsibility to protect her reputation. Maybe she did want to sleep with him. Damn, he wanted to believe her.

Seeming to sense his acquiescence, Astrid made him an offer. “Look, I’m only talking about one night. Resolve this tension between us, and then we can get back to work like normal.”

It was tempting. He hesitated, running through the pros and cons in his mind. She was so damn sexy, sitting there swinging her feet, her dark eyes sparkling in the light from the lanterns. He’d sworn off relationships after Mallory, wasn’t going to go through that heartache again. But Astrid wasn’t proposing a relationship—and he wasn’t surprised; she was dynamic, bold, adventurous, and he was a straightforward businessman like every other businessman. She was proposing sex. If it didn’t mean anything, couldn’t they share one night and be done with it? No heartache, no complications?

“Just one night. One night, and this never happens again.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Right?”

“Of course. You’re still a self-righteous prude, and I doubt I’d be able to stand more than one night.” Her smile indicated that she was teasing, but she’d made it clear what she thought of him already.

He looked around the workshop. “So…what happens now, exactly?”

Astrid hopped down off her bench. “Now, I think you take me home.”

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Talking with Elia Winters:

1. When did you decide to become a writer? Why?

I’ve always admired authors, ever since I understood that someone created the books that I couldn’t stop reading. I was a voracious reader as a child and an avid writer, even though I wasn’t writing very long (or coherent) stories. When I became a teenager, I started writing more seriously, and decided to make a career out of it. Of course, it’s been a long time since I was a teenager, but the desire to write has never wavered.

2. What are some of your favorite authors/books?

Margaret Atwood is an incredible author. Her writing is entertaining, poignant, haunting, funny, pretty much perfect. Out of all her novels, Oryx and Crake is my favorite, although most people seem to prefer The Handmaid’s Tale. I also love Orson Scott Card’s books, but I have a big problem with his politics, so I’ve drifted away from him over the years as a matter of conscience.

3. Have you written a book where the ending surprised you?

Not yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out. As a romance writer, I know my characters are going to live happily ever after, so that part is never a surprise. Sometimes my side characters surprise me, though, and often I’m left wanting to give them their own stories.

4. Can readers find you at any Author/Reader conventions in the near future?

I just got back from the Romance Writers of America National Conference in New York, so alas, I don’t have anything else coming up right now. I’ll be back at RWA next summer, though, and perhaps at some local cons in between. My website will have all my appearances as they’re announced.

5. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

I want to go everywhere. Is “everywhere” an option? My husband and I cruised to Bermuda for our honeymoon, and I’d really like to go back, to take the whole trip again. While we saw a lot of the island, we never made it to the famous pink sand beaches, so that’s first on my list.

6. If you could meet any person (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Victorian lit, and I think I’d like to grab a beer with Oscar Wilde. That man was hilarious and brilliant, and an evening with him would be delightful.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Elia Winters has always been a New England girl, despite having spent much of her childhood in Florida. She holds a degree in English Literature and teaches at a small rural high school where she runs too many extracurricular activities. She balances her love of the outdoors with a bottomless well of geekiness.

Elia dabbles in many genres, but erotic romance has been one of her favorites since she first began sneaking her mother’s romance novels. In high school, she kept her friends entertained with a steady stream of naughty stories and somehow never got caught passing them around. Her erotic fiction and poetry have been published online at Clean Sheets and Scarlet Letters under a different name. Elia currently lives in New England with her loving husband and their odd assortment of pets.

Elia’s virtual life is as busy as her real life. In addition to her website ( http://eliawinters.com/), you can also find her on

Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/eliawinters),

Tumblr ( http://eliawinters.tumblr.com/) ,

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/eliawinters),

Pinterest ( http://www.pinterest.com/eliawinters),

and Goodreads ( http://goodreads.com/eliawinters).