Monday, November 19, 2012

Interview and Giveaway w/ Susanna Fraser!


WELCOME TO THE BLOG, SUSANNA! :)


Susanna Fraser wrote her first novel in fourth grade. It starred a family of talking horses who ruled a magical land. In high school she started, but never finished, a succession of tales of girls who were just like her, only with long, naturally curly and often unusually colored hair, who, perhaps because of the hair, had much greater success with boys than she ever did.
Along the way she read her hometown library’s entire collection of Regency romance, fell in love with the works of Jane Austen, and discovered in Patrick O’Brian’s and Bernard Cornwell’s novels another side of the opening decades of the 19th century. When she started to write again as an adult, she knew exactly where she wanted to set her books. Her writing has come a long way from her youthful efforts, but she still tends to give her heroines great hair.
Susanna lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughter. When not writing or reading, she goes to baseball games, watches Chopped, Castle, and The Legend of Korra, and cooks her way through an ever-growing cookbook collection.
 
 
Where to Find Susanna:
 
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The_Book_Queen: Hi Susanna! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
 
Susanna: Let’s see, information not in the bio...I own the complete DVD set for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, all the Horatio Hornblower movies with Ioan Gruffudd, and quite a few of the Sharpe series with Sean Bean. I spent the month before the election avoiding politics by catching up on Doctor Who on Netflix. The research bookcase in my writing office has a Napoleon shelf and a Wellington shelf. In other words, I’m a complete geek.
 
 
TBQ: If you had not become a writer, what would your dream job have been?
 
S: Something in music. In high school I wanted to be a band director, but my instrumental music days ended senior year when I developed TMJ and had to give up the saxophone in order to keep a functional jaw. I love to sing, too, and I wish I’d found a way to get formal vocal training.
 
 
TBQ: Your newest release, An Infamous Marriage, came out November 5. Can you tell us a little bit about this book, and why readers are going to love it?
 
S: When Jack Armstrong and Elizabeth Hamilton marry to fulfill a deathbed promise, the last thing either expects is to find happiness together. She’s a straitlaced vicar’s widow, and he’s a rakish soldier. He needs to learn fidelity, and she has her own lessons to learn about forgiveness, but if they can learn to let go of the past, they’ll discover that they are kindred spirits, and full of passion.
 
 
TBQ: Are there other genres you would like to write about? Other time periods?
 
S: Definitely! In addition to romance, I’d love to do an alternative history take on the Napoleonic Wars and/or epic fantasy inspired by the era.
As for time periods, I’d like to try the American Revolution and possibly ancient Greece and Rome. (Ooh--I like the idea of that!)
 
 
TBQ: I know we all hate this question, author and reader alike. :) But I have to ask: What are a few of your favorite books and/or authors?
 
S: This year I’ve read wonderful romances by...
  • Courtney Milan
  • Sarah Morgan
  • Miranda Kenneally
  • Lauren Willig
  • Sheila Simonson
  • Jeannie Lin
  • Louisa Edwards
  • Alyssa Everett
Also, a lot of my favorite books are science fiction/fantasy or mystery series with strong romantic elements:
  • Lois McMaster Bujold - all her books, but especially the Vorkosigan saga
  • Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series (all three trilogies, though I like the first ones best)
  • Julia Spencer-Fleming’s mysteries
  • Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter mysteries
  • Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series
  • Lindsey Davis’s Marcus Didius Falco mysteries
  • Have you ever fallen for a hero, either from one of your books or from another author? If so, who is he and what drew you to him?
  • Oh, I have all kinds of fictional crushes! Probably my two favorites are Aral Vorkosigan from Bujold’s books and Lord Peter Wimsey from Sayers’. Aral pushes many of the same gentleman-alpha, cool-intense warrior-statesman buttons as my favorite historical crush, the Duke of Wellington, and with Lord Peter it’s all about the wits, the brains, and how hard he falls when he finally meets THE woman.

TBQ: What's next-- Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming releases or WIP?

S: I’ve just sold an interracial historical romance novella to Carina, title and release date TBD but probably sometime in the second half of 2013. (Congrats!)


SPEED ROUND:
 
A day on a secluded island OR a day at the spa?
Spa, because at spas you get massages.

Reading a spicy romance novel OR a sweet “my-heart-skips-a-beat” one?
I have to choose? How about starts out sweet but ends in a spicy place? (Perfect!)

Which would you rather have an affair with: a sexy highlander OR a devilishly handsome English lord?
Again, can’t a woman these days have it all? With Peter Wimsey so high on my fictional secret boyfriend list, I obviously have a taste for English lords. But I’m a Fraser. (It’s a pen name, but lifted straight from my family tree.) So I’ve got the Highlands in my blood, and kilts are sexy. (Don't tell my Highlander, but I'd be a very happy woman with both! *smirks*)  

Hot summer days OR cold winter nights?
Cold winter nights, all the way.

Where would your dream house be: in the city, where all the action is OR nestled in the mountain where you can enjoy the quiet and the wilderness?
City, without a doubt.

If you could live in any time period, past or future, which one would it be?
The present, actually. I love computers, antibiotics, and having voting and property rights as a woman. But if the Doctor showed up with the TARDIS and offered to take me on a research trip 200 years in the past, I’d go in a heartbeat.

Cover Lover OR Blurb Fan?
Blurb fan, though I have loved all my covers so far.

Steamy Novella OR Sweet Novel? (aka, Quickie or Slow Build Up?)
Tough question, since I’ve written both--but as a reader I tend to choose the slow build-up. I think it’s harder to write the quickies well. (I agree--as a reader, I think I've only found a handful of very well done quickies.)

And finally, tell us 3 unique/wacky/fun things about yourself:

1. On my writing desk I have two mascots--a giant plush Appa from Avatar: the Last Airbender and a figurine of the Duke of Wellington on horseback.
2. If I ever make the NYT bestseller list, I’ve promised to take my husband to dinner at the French Laundry.
3. Lately I’ve developed a taste for bluegrass music surprising in a city-dwelling geek girl.

I’ll be giving one copy of An Infamous Marriage to a commenter on this post in your choice of e-book format, and at the end of the tour I'll be giving a one commenter on the tour as a whole grand prize of a $50 gift certificate to their choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell's Books. You get one entry per blog tour stop you comment upon, so check out my blog for the whole schedule! If you wish to be entered in the gift certificate drawing, include your email address formatted as yourname AT yourhost DOT com.

I look forward to replying to your comments, but it’ll be late in the evening in most North American time zones before I get a chance. I have a full-time 8-5 day job and don’t get much time online till the evening.
 



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An Infamous Marriage by Susanna Fraser
Publisher: Carina Press (November 5, 2012)
Genre: Historical Romance

Northumberland, 1815


At long last, Britain is at peace, and General Jack Armstrong is coming home to the wife he barely knows. Wed for mutual convenience, their union unconsummated, the couple has exchanged only cold, dutiful letters. With no more wars to fight, Jack is ready to attempt a peace treaty of his own.

 
Elizabeth Armstrong is on the warpath. She never expected fidelity from the husband she knew for only a week, but his scandalous exploits have made her the object of pity for years. Now that he's back, she has no intention of sharing her bed with him—or providing him with an heir—unless he can earn her forgiveness. No matter what feelings he ignites within her…
 

Jack is not expecting a spirited, confident woman in place of the meek girl he left behind. As his desire intensifies, he wants much more than a marriage in name only. But winning his wife's love may be the greatest battle he's faced yet.

 
 
 
Where to Buy*:
More Info:



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Susanna's giving ONE lucky commenter on
 
my blog a copy of An Infamous Marriage,
 
in your choice of format.
 

How to Enter:
 
  • Leave a comment for Susanna.
    • MUST leave your email addy [ie, The_Book_Queen (at) yahoo (dot) com]
 

Giveaway Ends 11/26  -- Good Luck!
 
 
 
TOUR GRAND PRIZE:
 
Susanna: At the end of the tour I'll be giving a one commenter on the tour as a whole grand prize of a $50 gift certificate to their choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell's Books.
 
You get one entry per blog tour stop you comment upon, so check out my blog for the whole schedule! If you wish to be entered in the gift certificate drawing, include your email address formatted as yourname AT yourhost DOT com.




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Thanks for stopping by, Susanna! :) I enjoyed learning more about you, and I look forward to reading your books!






 
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!

9 comments :

Tin said...

Congratulations on selling your novella! Will it be related to your current series?


- khriscc (at) yahoo (dot) com

Suz Glo said...

I like your DVD collection! Thanks for the giveaway and interview. suz_glo (at) yahoo (dot) come

Cathy P said...

Hi, Susanna! I love all your blog stops. I am learning lots of interesting things about you. Looking forward to reading AN INFAMOUS MARRIAGE and your other books.

kscathy AT yahoo DOT com

Susanna Fraser said...

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! The novella isn't related to my current books, but it looks likely to have at least one sequel. Oh, and while it still lacks a title, it now has a release date--7/29/13.

Erin F said...

Sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the newest release!


efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

Melody May said...

I saw that you read Lauren Willig and was wondering if you have read all her pink carnation series?
countessofmar(at)yahoo(dot)com

Arely Z. said...

Sounds like a great book! Love marriages of convenience stories!


amzpar[at]gmail[dot]com

Mary Preston said...

I love reading stories where two opposites are thrown together. AN INFAMOUS MARRIAGE looks absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed the interview thank you.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

bn100 said...

Very nice interview.


bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com