Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Blog Tour: Guest Post w/ Lisa Mondello!



WELCOME BACK TO THE BLOG, LISA! :)


Lisa Mondello (a.k.a. LA Mondello) has held many jobs in her life but being a published authors is the last job she'll ever have. She's not retiring! She blames the creation of the personal computer for her leap into writing novels. Otherwise, she'd still be penning stories with paper and pen.  Her first book, All I Want for Christmas is You, was the winner of the Golden Quill contest for Best First Book and to date has had over 400,000 downloads worldwide.
She is currently the author of 14 novels under the name Lisa Mondello and LA Mondello. You can find more information about Lisa Mondello at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com
 
Where to Find Lisa:

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Falling in Love with Your Hero


A great romance starts with an absolutely yummy hero the reader can fall in love with.  That starts with the author falling in love with the hero.  After all, if the author doesn’t feel it, the reader won’t feel it either.

 

Many people ask how an author can create a hero readers can love time and again with each new book.  I say it’s easy.  It starts with identifying the character traits that are uniquely attractive in every hero.

 

Let me start by saying that no man (or woman) is perfect.  Therefore, no hero should be perfect either.  Readers can’t relate to heroes who do everything right all the time and have no flaws.  Aside from it being really unrealistic and intimidating, it’s boring.  Part of the excitement of reading about a yummy hero is being able to route for him. 

 

Readers are really adept at anticipating what will happen next in a book.  As a writer, we need to keep the story interesting and that starts with characters who don’t always do what is expected.  We want to see our hero get into situations that are tough, situations that they have to get out of.  We want to worry about them, cheer for them and be a part of how they get out of every twist and turn we put in front of them as they travel the road toward their happily ever after.

 

In NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, it would have been very easy for me to write Stoney Buxton as the sexy bull rider who does everything right.  Who wants that?  I gave him a little ornery attitute, something his mom tells the heroine, Melanie, he was born with.  There is a scene in the kitchen where Stoney’s mom tells Melanie to cowboy up and to give it back to Stoney as good as he gives.  I love that scene because, although we know at this point that Stoney is HOT, he’s still a guy and human and a challenge for an equally matched heroine. 

 

I love putting hurdles in front of my heroes and I love seeing them jump over them.  Sometimes not so successfully.  Our heroes are tough.  They get bruised and battered on the way to love and romance.  It makes both the author and the reader love these wonderful men even more. 

 

In NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, I introduce a character I fell in love with so much, Mitch Broader, that I absolutely had to write a story about him.  At the time I’d already switched states and gone from Wyoming to Texas when I started my Texas Hearts series with Her Heart for the Asking.  So here is a little tidbit for you.  Mitch Broader moved with me and ended up in Texas in his own story called His Heart for the Trusting.  I hope you take a moment to check out NOTHING BUT TROUBLE and the Texas Hearts series books.  Books 1-3 are already released as ebooks.  Books 4 and 5 will be available in December.

 
~Lisa Mondello

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Nothing But Trouble by Lisa Mondello
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Western)
 
What's a girl to do all alone with a rodeo cowboy for 1 month in the Wyoming wilderness?

Melanie Summers has something to prove! Being a zoologist is her dream and the only thing standing in the way of her going on an African expedition is her father and his fear.

So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail...

But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.

Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!

Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money.

To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.


 
 
Where to Buy*:
More Info:
 
 
 
 
Nothing But Trouble by Lisa Mondello
Excerpt


His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely.

"Mr. Buxton, I need your help."

"Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else."

He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts.

"Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.

His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious.

And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone.

"You'll do no such thing."

Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head.

"You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."


 
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Thanks for stopping by today, Lisa! :) I love the cover on NBT, and I loved your post--who doesn't love falling for the hero, right? Even without having read this book yet, I think you managed to capture another great hero for the readers to fall for; as you said, no one wants a "perfect" hero (or heroine!).



Okay, dear readers---what makes YOU fall
 
for a hero? I think Lisa would like to know,
 
and so would I!




Enjoy!   


Until Next Time,


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   *TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

1 comment :

Erin F said...

Thanks for a fun post and congrats on the new release! I guess I "fall" for hero who is honest, hard working and sincere. I tend to really like more the oddball sorts and heros with some flaws :)