Author Saturday Spotlight: Anna Martin *Interview and Giveaway*

There is a lot to say about this author. All of it fabulous! She was another one of those authors that was recommended to me. Of course the second I read Tattoos and Teacups, I wondered where she's been all my life!

Instantly I thought, this is someone I am going to have on One Click Buy!  She wrote a short to Tattoos and Teacups called Tattoos and Tinsel and it was so wonderful. When you fall in love with characters like Robert and Chris it is such a treat when they come back into our lives. Even if it's briefly.

Blurb:
As a teenager, Robert McKinnon left his native Scotland and moved to America. That was sixteen years ago, and Professor McKinnon has never quite settled in his new home or found his place this side of the pond. He might be prematurely old, but he has his cat, and his books, and that's all he needs.

Then Chris Ford explodes into Robert's life with a crash of cymbals. The younger man is the polar opposite of Robert's calm civility. Bright tattoos cover his skin, and he wears his hair in a Mohawk and plays drums for a rock band. But he's a shot of color in Robert's black-and-white world, and Robert turns out to be the one thing Chris can count on. Despite all the reasons it shouldn't work, somehow it does.

Even if Robert wasn't looking for love especially not with someone nearly ten years his junior he can't deny being with Chris is fun. But sometimes Chris's free-spirited nature leaves Robert feeling vulnerable. If they can't find a balance between tattoos and teacups, their relationship won't survive and neither will Robert's newfound lust for life.

Blurb:
It's Christmas at Rob and Chris's house; the tinsel has been hung, the sugar cookies are baking, carols are blaring out of the stereo and, despite Rob's best efforts, there is a definite feel of Christmas cheer in the air.

Rob doesn't know it yet, but Chris has one or two holiday surprises hidden up his heavily tattooed sleeves...

From this point on, I was a super fan! The woman has talent. She wears her creativity like Chris wears his tattoos.

So, when one of her fellow author friends went on and on about Jurassic Heart... yup, you guessed One Click Buy. 

It is different from Tattoos and Teacups. THANK GOD! What I mean by that is; I love versatile authors. When a writer can venture out and hit new topics, grow different characters and plot out a tale that will make you buckle up, you know they most likely won't let you down.

Jurassic Heart taught me A LOT while entertaining me at the same time. I wish Anna Martin was my teacher in school! The lady knows her stuff. If she doesn't? Well, you better believe she is a researcher!

Blurb:
When paleontologist Nick Eisenberg learns that someone thinks they have found velociraptor bones in Alberta, his curiosity overrides his desire to stay in London. After all, he’s one of the world’s leading experts on prehistoric predators and has always wanted to look for the velociraptor’s North American cousins. There’s only one problem: eco-conservationist Hunter Joseph. While Nick supervises the dig, Hunter rallies support from the locals to oppose the way the team is destroying the landscape in their search for dinosaur bones.

Nick and Hunter just cannot get along. Hunter is self-righteous and pouty. Nick is narrow-minded and geeky. But they have to figure out how to work on the same site without killing each other, especially since someone else out there seems determined to cause Nick more problems than he could have ever imagined.

I have never been bored reading Anna Martin. When a book closes and I can say, "That was worth every penny and then some." I know they have earned their stripes! SHE has earned every one!


I have a great interview with Anna Martin and a very FABULOUS giveaway!! Before we get to the giveaway, check out the torturous Q& A!! ;)

**INTERVIEW**

1. In the book Jurassic Heart (which I loved) it's chuck full of knowledge and weaved in to a wonderful story. What sort of research did you have to do for that book?

Research?! What’s that?

I’m joking, of course. To be honest, there are a few topics that I geek out about big time. Dinosaurs is one, Ancient Egypt is another, Roman and Greek mythology and culture, Paris, One Direction, Disney…

I’ve been obsessed with dinosaurs since I was a kid and rebelled(!) against the fact that my parents wouldn’t let me watch Jurassic Park because I was too young and it was too scary, by buying the book and reading it instead because they didn’t police my reading (more fool them). Then I bought the sequel. These days I’ve got multiple copies of the paperbacks because I’ve read them so much they’re literally falling apart.

For the research I needed to do for the book, it was more fun to me than work. I get to learn more about dinosaurs? AWESOME.

2. You write in the M/M genre, What draws you to this genre?

I started in the M/M world in Fan Fiction, partly because Harry Potter loves Draco Malfoy and no one will ever convince me otherwise, and partly because I realised that those characters deserve their love stories and happily ever afters too.

The het romance world is so saturated with cookie-cutter novels, and I see real diversity and scope in M/M romance and fiction. I know what I would write if I was going to venture into “traditional” romance, but I can’t make myself do it. There are too many M/M stories that I need to write first – sometimes I feel like I’ve got something to say when it comes to M/M books, but I don’t really have anything to say with regards to het romance. So I just don’t say it.

3. I loved your characters in Tattoos & Teacups. Chris and Robert are total opposites. Do you believe that opposites attract and do you often like to write characters that are totally different?

That story really hinged on the fact that the two men were so different on the surface, yet underneath they were actually really similar. Same with Nick and Hunter in Jurassic, actually. In real life, I think I’d prefer to be with someone who’s as big a dork as I am.

4. Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

Outline? What’s that?! (Haha!)

I figured this out recently. I’ve never, ever been able to write to an outline. I think that’s because I write as a reader. I write things I want to read about myself (hence all the dinosaurs and tattoos and hot guys) and if I know how it ends, what’s keeping me writing it? I want to discover the world as a reader as I’m putting words on the page as a writer. Sometimes my plot twists take me by surprise.

5. Can you tell us about your newest project?

There’s a few ways to answer that… What I’m writing right now is a story called Signs and it’s a new adult book about a deaf teenager who has a physical and social impairment, and how he interacts with another boy who has a lot of psychological demons. All being well, you should see that next year.

The next book I’ve got coming out from Dreamspinner Press is the third book in the Another Way series, called To Say I Love You (keep reading - *giveaway klaxon*!)

In between those two books I’ve got a co-authored book with the darling Tia Fielding due out in the summer, called Solitude; a book of my own about a single father called Summer Son; and another co-authored novel with the superstar MJ O’Shea called Macarons at Midnight. All are due out before the end of the year with Dreamspinner Press.

I’ve been busy!!

6. What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

I’m going to talk about Signs, since that’s in my head at the moment. I actually started writing this one last year, then had a bit of a crisis of faith and shelved it until last week when I picked it up again. Anyone who follows me will know I don’t really do angst…. at all. I hate hurting my boys. For this story I’m trying to balance the blooming new romance with the very real issues both boys face in their day to day lives without undermining either side of the story. I also didn’t want it to be a “being fixed by love” story because those really annoy me, so I have to figure out how to write something realistic and convincing, yet ultimately satisfying for the reader.

7. Any tips on what to do and what not to do when it comes to writing and marketing a book?

Love it. Love what you do, be passionate about it, and share that passion with people. Don’t “write what you know”, because my day job is doing marketing for a pensions company and trust me, no one needs to know about that. Write what inspires you, what makes something hum in your veins and gets you out of bed every day. If you love what you do, there will be someone out there who’ll love it too.

8. How do you relax?

I don’t. I’m very highly strung, as many of my friends will attest to! I sleep a lot… Sleep is my friend. Oh, and I watch Disney clips on YouTube. I don’t have time to watch a whole film, so having Let It Go on repeat helps.

9. Is there an area in your writing you haven't ventured toward yet that you very much want to?

I’m sort of drawn to, but scared of, historicals. I heard a story about Marlon Brando and how he had a male lover for most of his life, through his multiple marriages to women, there was always this one male lover there for him. I’d love to do something set in old Hollywood: glamour, betrayal, love, drama… a big sweeping love story. I’ve also talked about a modern history story, mid 1990’s, pre-mobile telephones. I think that could be fun.

10. Since social media is a huge deal, how can fans follow you?

 

I have fans?! (No, I know I have fans. And I love both of you.)

I’m on Facebook (ALL THE TIME) – www.facebook.com/annamartinfiction

Twitter @missannamartin (I’m a terrible twitterer. Find me on Facebook instead.)

tumblr blog (so, so, not safe for work. Or for at home, most of the time) annasdenofiniquity.tumblr.com

And I have a website, if you’re looking for an easy place to find all my books and blurbs in one place, plus a couple of freebie stories – www.annamartin-fiction.com

There are NO WORDS to express how much I adore Anna's personality. When I did this interview I knew I appreciated her talent and when I spoke with her regarding this Spotlight, she was outstandingly kind and respectful. When I got this back I was laughing so hard. She is a pure delight... AND OMG LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF SHE HAS COMING OUT! 

She mentioned up there about Book 3 of Another Way series, To Say I Love You.So for those who aren't familiar with that series here are the blurbs to book 1 and 2...

 

 Blurb:

On the surface, Jesse Ross is an average guy in an average relationship with his college sweetheart, Adele. But what his girlfriend doesn’t know is that he’s having an affair—with a man—and exploring his sexuality in ways she never could imagine. His compartmentalized life suits Jesse just fine, and he has no intention of coming out of the closet either as a bisexual or as a submissive.

However, Jesse takes a tumble when his Master, Will, admits to wanting more, wanting Jesse as his partner, not just his submissive. Suddenly Jesse's conveniently pieced-together life isn’t quite so comfortable. In the end, Jesse has to lay it all on the line—for his girlfriend, for his lover, and for himself.

  

Blurb:
"Sequel to Another Way"

It's been three years since Jesse Ross had to choose between his Master and his girlfriend-three years he's spent living in a loving relationship with Will, his Dom, and finally being open about his sexuality. To the outside eye, Jesse and Will's relationship is settled, solid, and romantic: people expect them to settle down, get married, have a family. It takes a car crash to expose the papered-over cracks in their life together.

Traumatized by the crash, Will finds his confidence shattered. After unintentionally causing Jesse pain during the accident, Will finds it impossible to hurt him in the bedroom, and suddenly he has to reassess his ability to be Jesse's Dom. The emotional and physical deadlock leaves Jesse struggling to hold the pieces of their tattered relationship together. The physical scars may heal with time, but the emotional trauma has left more damage than either man could have anticipated...

AND NOW... We talk about the giveaway!!! Anna is giving a lucky person a chance to win a copy of BOOK 3 of this amazing series!!!

Blurb:
After six years of romance and kink, Jesse Ross and Will Anderson have had their ups and downs and come through them stronger and happier. But when Jesse’s mother dies unexpectedly, Jesse is forced to return to his childhood home in Georgia to help his family cope. Will transfers from Seattle to his company’s Atlanta office, but love their way is out of the question while they’re staying in Jesse’s parents’ home. So Will buys a small house for them to fix up and find some privacy.

When their lives start to settle back into something like normality, Will and Jesse resume their recently neglected BDSM relationship. Along with the security of Jesse’s submission comes trouble, as a local man tries to lure a lonely, grieving Jesse away from Will, and one of Will’s coworkers causes tension between them. Both men are forced to reassess what really matters, and where their romance is heading


Simply enter below. The contest will run until Friday May 30th! The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond. Once I hear from you I will send Anna your contact info and she will send you your book. If I don't hear from the winner in 48 hours I go to the runner up.

Good luck everyone and a HUGE thank you to Anna Martin for enduring my painful questions and rewarding you all with this amazing chance to win!







a Rafflecopter giveaway