Welcome Violetta Rand

Readers, please help me welcome Violetta Rand to the blog. Violetta, my sister also lives in Alaska, in Anchorage.  I've visited several times so I know that you live in a beautiful state.

1.DOES YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS KNOW YOU ARE A WRITER............IF
SO WHAT WAS THEIR REACTION?

 

I presented my mother with a fully illustrated manuscript when I was five. I told her I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I continued to author short stories and poetry throughout my childhood. Blessed with friends who read my material, I continued to learn and develop my skills as an adult. It was generally assumed that one day I’d get there.

 

Now that I’m published, the reaction has been nothing but praise and joy. How often do people really get to live out childhood fantasies? I think my favorite moment was revealing my first book cover to them.

 

 

2.DOES A HERO ALWAYS HAVE TO BE GOOD LOOKING AND WHY / WHY NOT?

 

It’s easy to fall in love with beautiful heroes, especially in historical romances. The introverted beta male is easily overlooked. However, I think some of the most memorable and passionate heroes in history and literary fiction have been average looking guys.

 

A couple great examples…

 

Napoleon Bonaparte’s fervid relationship with his first wife Josephine produced some of the most potent love letters I’ve ever read.

 

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Quasimodo) sacrificed everything for his one true love, Esmeralda. 

 

My new contemporary romance features a 30-something biology professor from California who’s large and awkward. There’s nothing remarkable about his looks, only his heart.

 

 3. WHICH HERO or heroine IS YOUR FAVE TO DATE AND WHY?

 

My favorite fictional hero and heroine are Claire and Jamie Fraser from the Outlander series. There’s something magical about this pairing, their chemistry in and out of the bedroom intrigues me. The more scarred and disfigured Jamie becomes, the more Claire loves him. Add transcontinental adventure and ship wrecks and I’m hopelessly hooked.

 

 

4.HOW MANY WIP ( WORKS IN PROGRESS) HAVE YOU GOT GOING?

 

Two. The third installment in the Blind Series, Blind Vengeance, is half finished and I’m just starting a contemporary romance set in the 1980s.

 

5.ON AVERAGE HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE A BOOK?

 

5 to 6 months (70,000 words)


Violetta, thanks so much for coming today. I really enjoyed your interview.  And now for a blurb, excerpt, and author information.

BLIND ALLEGIANCE

By

Violetta Rand

 

BLURB:  

It’s a risk of a lifetime loving a man you’re supposed to hate…

Betrayed by a brother she hardly trusted before the bloodthirsty Viking, Jarl Randvior Sigurdsson, attacks her home, Noelle Sinclair is conveniently bartered as a means to save her cowardly sibling’s skin. Forced to leave her homeland and accompany the petulant Viking to the untamed wilderness of central Norway, Noelle is ever-aware of the burgeoning dangers around her—including her weakening resolve to resist Randvior.

Should Noelle surrender to his resplendent charms and seduction, or fight with every ounce of strength she possesses to get home?

 

EXCERPT:  

     Dark clouds always gathered in Noelle Sinclair’s dreams. Hundreds of nightmares had played out in her mind since childhood. Why should tonight be any different?

The smell of burning wood invaded her sleep. Smoke snatched her breath and she tried to purge her lungs by taking deep breaths. She ran for the great hall and all she could see were scorched rafters and floorboards. Guards scrambled to the battlements, while women and children fled the castle. She searched for her sisters among the people migrating outside ...

“Fire!”

Noelle’s eyes snapped open at the sound of dire warning. By God, this was no dream! She flung blankets aside and rolled over, shook her older sister awake, and jumped out of bed.

“What’s wrong?” Margaret asked sleepily.

“The castle’s on fire. Get up, now!”

 Margaret scurried from bed and ran with Noelle to the windows overlooking the eastern edge of the castle. Through the swirling fog, Noelle could make out a tangle of men with torches and weapons in the courtyard below. She further scanned the shoreline where the North Sea pounded against the rocks and dunes. The castle was under siege and poorly defended. Most of the soldiers and her father were in Ireland, leaving only her brother and a skeleton army behind.

Her gaze still locked on the beach, Noelle caught sight of three, silvery-white longships anchored beyond the walls. Their blood-red sails snapped in the wind. She stared in horror as the pattern on the sails came into focus—the shape of a dragon.

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

 

Violetta Rand holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy and a master's degree in Environmental Management. Serving as an environmental scientist in the state of Alaska for over seven years, she enjoys the privilege of traveling to remote places few people have the opportunity to see.

 

Violetta has been "in love" with writing since childhood. Struck with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, at five, she wrote short stories illustrated by her best friend and sold them in her neighborhood. The only thing she loves more than writing is her wonderful relationship with her husband, Jeff. She enjoys outdoor activities, reading whatever she can get her hands on, music, and losing herself in the ancient worlds she enjoys bringing to life in the pages of her stories.

http://www.violettarand.com/

 

Readers, please follow Violetta's tour and comment often to be entered in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift certificate.  you can find the tour dates here.    http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/virtual-book-tour-blind-allegiance-by.html