Recently I had the privilege of meeting the very talented author, Candace Shaw, who has published her second book, The Game of Seduction, the second novel in the Arrington Family Series. It is the follow up to her Amazon Bestseller, Cooking Up Love. Thank you for stopping by Candace!
Every
writer has their own story as to why they chose to write. What inspired you?
I have a very vivid imagination and
plenty of ideas and stories in my head that I want to get out. I believe it has
to do with the fact that I grew up as an only child. I always played with my
Barbie dolls and made up fabulous scenarios for Barbie and her friends to
experience. Now my heroines are
experiencing my imagination. In the end, I think they’re happy with my choices
for them.
Do
you have a day job, and if so, how do you fit in time to write?
No. I write full-time.
I
have a purple amethyst stone that sets on my desk to encourage creativity. Do
you have any special rituals you do to get ready to write?
I honestly do not have
any special rituals to get ready. But I do listen to music for inspiration.
Are
you a pantser or plotter?
I start out as a
plotter but along the way I tend to change my mind and other ideas will pop up
while I’m writing. For example, in my latest release, The Game of Seduction, I
was wrapping up a scene with the heroine who was on the phone with one of her
girlfriends. Well all of a sudden there was a thunderous knock at the door, and
my hero was standing on the other side it. Like my heroine, I was surprised as
well. Neither us were expecting him!
As
writers, we often find inspiration from news events, people we know, or even
our own life experiences. Do any of your
stories reflect parts of your life experiences? Can you share and example?
In my books, I do incorporate bits
and pieces of things I’ve experienced or people that I know. In my first book, Cooking
Up Love, the hero was a chef who owned a southern style/soul food
restaurant but believed in healthy eating, so his recipes reflected that. His character was inspired by my grandfather
who was also a chef who owned a soul food restaurant but with healthy
recipes. In my latest book, The
Game of Seduction, the heroine Bria, is a traditional medical doctor
who also practices alternative methods such as acupuncture. I prefer
alternative routes whenever possible as well and received acupuncture
treatments for almost two years. I
incorporated my alternative medicine beliefs into my heroine.
As
an author, do you have any advice to share with others who just started their
own publishing journey?
As a newly
published self-pub romance writer, it wasn't exactly something that happened
over night. I started writing my first novel in the summer of 2006, and I sent
it off to a few publishers the following summer. I received about three
rejection letters, and I didn't understand why. I put writing romance on the
back burner, but in 2009 I decided to join Georgia Romance Writers, a chapter
of Romance Writers of America. That was one of the best moves I’ve ever made.
As an aspiring author, one should surround themselves with authors who are aspiring
and published. As an educator, I only had educator friends, including my
husband. But by joining a writer's group, I became exposed to a world that I
knew nothing about. I saw my book in a whole new light after receiving
critiques from published authors as well as attending conferences and
workshops. Also, find a critique partner or critique group that writes in your
same genre. They will give you honest opinions about your work and help you
work out the kinks. Also, find a published author in your genre that is
successfully published to guide and mentor you along. Listen to any advice they
give you.
What
are your current projects?
My second book, The
Game of Seduction was released on August 28th. It’s the second book in the Arrington Family
series. It’s about Dr. Bria Arrington, an allergist
who works for her family’s medical practice. Much to her father’s dismay, she
prefers to incorporate naturopathic medicine with traditional for her patients.
She wants to practice freely, but her father is against it, therefore Bria is
contemplating accepting a position in Atlanta at a medical practice that will
allow her to do both. On top of all that, she’s falling for her best friend the
handsome, arrogant, mocha-covered playboy, Rasheed Vincent. An ex professional
basketball player, he is a self-proclaimed bachelor after his fiancée left him
when he opted to retire after a knee injury. This book definitely has some hot
scenes and more of a sexy tone unlike Cooking Up Love, which was more of a
fun and flirty tone, in my opinion. You can check out an excerpt below.
I’m also reworking the
first book I wrote in 2006 about an interior decorator, Megan Chase (cousin to
the Arrington family), who is being pressured by her family and friends to date
even though they don’t realize how happy she is being single. Her friend, Congressman
Steven Monroe, who is running for the US state senate, is being pressured by
his campaign team to settle down with one woman. He’s a self-proclaimed
bachelor, switching women all of the time like George Clooney. It’s sort of
chick lit and contemporary romance. The book is titled The Perfect
Candidate for Love and will be out summer 2013
Blurb:
Dr. Bria Arrington has had her heart
broken by one bad boy playboy and doesn’t want to travel down that road again.
However, she finds herself attracted to her best friend, self-proclaimed
bachelor, Rasheed Vincent. After a passionate kiss leaves them desiring more,
seducing each other is the only cure.
A retired basketball player, Rasheed is a player on and off the court. When a woman gets too close, he bounces to the next one. But the condition he’s in makes him want a permanent dose of Bria’s love, and he’s ready for the shot. She knows falling in love with Rasheed is a prescription for trouble, yet she’s willing to risk it. But can she trust him with her heart?
A retired basketball player, Rasheed is a player on and off the court. When a woman gets too close, he bounces to the next one. But the condition he’s in makes him want a permanent dose of Bria’s love, and he’s ready for the shot. She knows falling in love with Rasheed is a prescription for trouble, yet she’s willing to risk it. But can she trust him with her heart?
The Game of Seduction Excerpt:
Rasheed leaned against the wall in the VIP
section sipping on rum and Coke and trying hard not to stare at Bria. Her short
black dress was hugging her lethal curves, and he wanted to take it off and
wrap her cocoa legs around his waist while she called out his name repeatedly.
He tried to pretend to flirt with the groupies passing by, but they weren’t
doing anything for him. Bria had awakened a passion and lust in him that he
couldn’t ever remember feeling before. Her long hair fell over her right
shoulder in a sexy manner, and he imagined running his hands through it or
holding onto to it as he gave it to her from behind. The night before, he
couldn’t sleep. The thought that she actually needed and wanted her flames of
desire extinguished, prevented him from resting peacefully and filled his mind.
Images of her naked mocha-kissed body next to him invaded his brain all night,
and the erection that prevailed only went away after a cold shower.
Rasheed downed the rest of his drink, sat the
glass on the table, and walked over to her as she held a conversation with
Raven.
“Excuse me, ladies. Bree, do you wanna go
dance?”
“Sure.” Bria excused herself from Raven and
walked onto the dance floor.
The DJ was playing an upbeat party mix that
included Lady Ga Ga, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Rihanna. Rasheed danced behind Bria,
grinding on her to the fast beat. He was surprised she hadn’t resisted,
especially when he pulled her by the hips close to him and a hard-on started to
manifest, but she continued dancing, swishing her butt on him in an erotic
manner as if they were naked and joined together. When Rihanna’s “Rude Boy”
came on, she turned around to face him and sung the entire song as she
continued her seductive dance on him.
He bent down and whispered in her ear.
“You keep doing that, you’ll find out how rude
this boy is. Because trust me, baby, I’m more than big enough, but the question
is, can you take it?” He gave her a slow grind so she could feel exactly how
hard he was.
She looked up at him from beneath her lashes
with a sexy, confident expression on her face.
“I can handle all of you.” She caressed the
back of his neck, and he knew it was time to go before he pulled up her dress
on the dance floor.
“Let’s get out of here,” he groaned as his
erection hardened more by her confident words.
Once in the limo, Bria straddled his lap and
her dress rose around her hips to reveal a pair of black lace panties. His lips
sought out hers, and he kissed her slow, nibbling on her bottom lip.
“I’ve been aching to kiss you again, Bree,” he
said. He pulled her tongue further into his mouth, savoring the sweetness of it
and feeling himself completely losing his mind. “You have the sexiest lips that
I can’t get enough of.”
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You can connect with Candace through the following sites:
Find her novels at these retail locations:
