All He Desires

Okay before we let you go.... Tell us a bit about your new book:

This month we're celebrating the release of our second novel, the spicy Victorian-set ALL HE DESIRES. And guess what?

The book begins on an island! The Isle of Crete, to be exact. Not precisely tropical, but warm enough, and certainly romantic. Our heroine, Caroline, gets to visit ancient Roman sites (with erotic frescoes - ooh lala) and picnic on feta, olives, and baklava, and swim in the Mediterranean (with barely any clothes on) -- all in the company of the mysterious and oh-so-smexy Alex Trentham.

Why Crete?

We love exotic locales, especially in historical settings. The research is fun, plus we get to escape the dreary Pacific NW winters (at least in our imaginations). Our first book featured a botanical expedition to Tunisia -- lots more balmy weather and lush settings for our characters to enjoy. Plus, it's easier to get the characters to stretch the bounds of propriety when the scent of orange-blossoms flavors the air and the warm beach beckons. They can shed some items of clothing (corsets and waistcoats are the first to go) and wander in the starlit ruins without fear that the censorious eyes of the ton will be focused on them.

Some day we'd like to be able to travel to the places we write about. We dream of renting a place on the shore of some tropical islands. That's the dream -- to walk on the beach talking about plot and characters, go back to the villa or cabana and write (and "research...") and let the stories flow without the pesky details of commuting to work and packing lunches. Until then, we let our books do the traveling for us and hope that the readers of Desert Island Keepers will join us.


Thanks for having us here at DIK. We've had a great time, and once we get that island villa thing sorted out, we'll let you know!

Thanks for visiting! (psst Anthea, you can come visit Rain Tairen Soul in my cabana anytime! (^_~) . I won't tell Lawson)

More Anthea Lawson!

As we continue with the cocktails, let's learn more about the writing team of Anthea Lawson:

Which 3 books you would bring to a Desert Island and why?

Anthea

My huge Complete Works of Shakespeare. I'd finally have time to read all of it! And there's a couple blank pages in the back I could write on or use to start fires.

For practicality, something like The Complete Idiot's Guide to Surviving - and prospering! - on a Desert Island.

For sheer pleasure from my keeper shelf, Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked. I haven't re-read it for a while, but I love the character growth and the super hot love scenes. Not to mention the excellent writing and the tortured hero - sigh...

Lawson

Can I just bring a kindle and a solar battery charger? It would be so sad to be on a desert island and have all the time in the world to read, and have only three books.

Nope! We need to fill the library! (^_^) And that's cheating!!! Name your books buddy!

Anthea which 3 heroes would you bring and why?

MacGyver, no question! Wouldn't you want him along if you were stuck on a desert island?

Rain from C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul books (my current glom reads). Master of all elemental magics, who could take me flying over the warm azure waters? Yes please.

And finally, I'd bring my real-life hero Lawson. Together, we can do anything!

Lawson which 3 heroines would you bring and why?

I would make it a family vacation and bring Lily Strathmore, the botanical artist from our first book, PASSIONATE

Caroline Huntington from our second book, ALL HE DESIRES (she knows all about being on an island)

There is no way I could leave behind Clara Becker from the book we are working on now. They are all the kind of women who would seriously object to being left behind. Besides, I know I could count on Lily to bring her Aunt's folding travel bathtub.

Come back tomorrow for even more fun!

Welcome Anthea Lawson!!!

Please give a warm welcome to our newest victim guest!

Anthea Lawson

She's a newly published author (see her site here) And her new book is out on bookshelves everywhere!!

Read an excerpt of All He Desires here





Okay enough of the Shaymless Aymless Promo stuff... Lets get to the details.



Anthea Lawson is a pen name (she's got hubby helping with the "research" *snickers* Makes you wonder they researching).








And Now the
QUESTIONS

DIK questions (mostly answered by Anthea with Lawson making wisecracks from the peanut gallery and dodging all the hard questions.)

Thanks for having us here at Desert Island Keepers!

* Favorite Reading Position - On the couch in a patch of sun. Not so easy to find in the NW in winter~

L: Doggy Position, no question. Hey! Stop snickering. The Doggy reading position is where you sit on the couch and your big dog flops down at your feet. You rest your foot on the happy beast and give him a little massage with your feet while you read. This position is not to be confused with Kitty position where your cat sits on top of your book and rubs his head insistently against your chin as you struggle to read. Hmmm I wonder if Amazon has thought of including a kitty ejector button on the Kindle. It could play the sound of a can of cat food being opened.

* Best love song - Run by Snow Patrol. Such a sweet, poignant song. It always brings tears to my eyes.

L: I'm a guy. It is impossible for me to answer this question with a song title since, like all guys, I lack the "Best Love Song" gene. Best love song? The one that works -- final answer.

* Favorite Heroine - For some reason, Freya Bedwyn (heroine of Mary Balogh's Slightly Scandalous) has been on my mind recently. Maybe because she is such a strong, prickly character who isn't classically beautiful and has a rougher time opening her heart and accepting love.

* Author everyone loves but you don't - Stephanie Meyer (ducking the slings and arrows!) Though she is obviously a compelling storyteller for many people.

* If you could be in one book/series/world which would you pick - Narnia :)

L: The one about the rakish Duke who falls in love with the beautiful, intelligent, yet seemingly unattainable woman, has a lot of really hot emotionally satisfying sex, and lives happily ever after. That sounds pretty good to me. I get to be the handsome rakish Duke and we skip directly to the part of the book where the wicked author stops torturing and begins rewarding the hero.

* How old is your inside voice - 24

L: Which one of my inside voices are you referring to--and does the one that sounds just like my father count?

* Favorite sex song - Push It by Salt n Pepa ;)

L: Push It is a sex song? Wow, I always thought they were talking about rearranging the furniture. Push it, push it good....right over there under the window.....and now the couch, over there by the entertainment center. Oh yeah!

* If you could be a hero who would you be - Anyone played by Colin Firth in a BBC production! But Batman is a close second...

L: Hey, what do you mean "could be a hero" (Striking an Alpha pose and looking off into the distance in a very wounded-hero-like way)

* What heroine is most like you - I think I'm a bit like Jane Austen's Emma in terms of being convinced that I'm always right, and then having to accept (sometimes ungracefully) when my utmost convictions are proven wrong.

L: The one that's six-feet tall and shaves?

* What heroine would you like to be - Any optimistic, plucky heroine from any era, though I prefer the idea of swooshy skirts... Weird, because I pretty much wear jeans all the time.

* Boxers, briefs, boxer briefs, kilt, commando - Ooh that's a tough one! Either kilt or commando...

L: Aye bonnie lass, those are boxer briefs beneath me kilt. And aye again, briefs beneath my boxer briefs, and aye a third time for the boxers beneath the briefs. A cold wind blows o'er the moors and even a hero will nae risk frostbite under the kilt.

* Favorite book set on a tropical island - Island of the Blue Dolphins. A classic YA read~ (sniffle)

L: Treasure Island, it makes me say "Yar!"

* What hero is most like your significant other - (listening, nodding) Ahem. I have been informed -- that is, the hero most like Lawson is Aragorn as he might be played by Hugh Jackman. (Not Frodo! Of course not!)

L: I'm much too tall to be Frodo.

* What hero would you like to be your significant other -
Sound of a struggle in the background, a feminine voice trying to answer the question but the words come out muffled and indistinct as if someone's hand was covering her mouth, preventing her from answering.

L: Ummmm, next question....

* If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring - A large swiss army knife, my glasses (hard to get food when you can't see anything more than 2 feet away), and a big cooking pot. Oh, could I smuggle a solar-powered G3 networked laptop in?

L: My iphone (we've got book proposals out, don't want to miss the call when it comes); an antique oil lamp housing a wish-granting genie (that's a no-brainer, don't you think?); an assortment of board games (It's not like I'm going to waste a wish asking the genie for board games).

* Favorite drink to bring to the DIK party - I used to love Brandy Alexanders, but now I'd go for a perfect margarita.

L: I think I would bring a G&T: Simple, refreshing, and high in vitamin C.

Stay tuned in for home fun facts about Anthea Lawson tomorrow!