Christine's Words

Another Wednesday is under way…and what does that mean?  Time for WHAT TO READ WEDNESDAY!  Today we have romantic suspense author CHERYL YEKO visiting.  She’s here today telling us all about herself and she’s brought along an ebook copy of her book PROTECTING ROSE, which she’ll be giving to one lucky commenter!

Welcome to What to Read Wednesday Cheryl!  I’m thrilled to have you here.  In five sentences tell us about you the person and not the author.

I’m happily married to my hero, with two children and three grandchildren.
I love to read, write and play piano. I’m a lucky woman and my life is filled with a loving family and good friends. I’ve entered a very exciting time in my life with the release of, Protecting Rose. With raising a family behind me, I’m looking forward to concentrating on a fulfilling writing career.

It’s great to be in a such a good place in your life to pursue what you want   What’s your favorite word?

Love

I LOVE that word too!  Three things you never leave home without?

My clothes, my cell phone and my Kindle.

Have you always wanted to be an author or what made you become an author?

I dreamed of being an author when I was in high school, but ended up as a legal assistant instead. Not as much fun, believe me.  Last year I decided to try my hand at writing, and Protecting Rose is my reward.  How fun is that!!

That’s an awesome achievement Cheryl!  What is a typical writing day for you?

I recently left my day job and restarted my mobile notary/virtual assistant business that I started about ten years ago. Although I’ve been out of it for about three years, my client base was still there and I’m getting back into the swing of things. This also allows me to write more, as I’m in charge of my own schedule.

As such, I’m up in the middle of the night doing a lot of writing. My muse loves to get up around 1:00 a.m. and write until 4:00 or 5:00. Then back to bed for a nap before starting my day. When I’m not conducting business, I’m writing.  I probably devote 6 – 8 hours a day with writing activities. Some days longer. I’ll write for a few hours then take a break to devote some time to my other business, work out, play the piano, or do some housework, and then it’s back to writing. When I’m not working on my WIP, I’m working with my Crit. partners, or taking a writing class. My life revolves around ‘all things writing’ now. It’s an obsession.

On the weekends, I take time out to enjoy my grandchildren, who usually spend their weekends with us. Although I still find time to sneak away and write, at least a little. LOL!

Now that summer is arriving, I plan take a few hours a day and laze in the pool my husband bought for me last year.  Even while lazing in the pool though, I’ll be plotting in my head!

I’m the same…writing is 24 – 7…just a minor obsession.  LOL  What genre or genres do you write?
Romantic Suspense.

Do you see yourself trying another one in the future and if so which one?

Yes.  I have two more books planned with characters from Protecting Rose. The second in the trilogy was just contracted with Soul Mate Publishing and the release date is early Fall. It is titled A Man To Trust.  Look for it!

Here’s a short blurb of A Man To Trust:
She barely survived an abusive marriage and didn’t mourn the death of her husband in a drug deal gone bad. But can she survive losing her heart to the handsome detective who thinks she’s a criminal? He soon discovers the beautiful widow is not what she seems. As his distrust of her ebbs, his desire to possess her grows.

Passions soon collides when he’s entrusted with her safety after she’s targeted by an unknown enemy. Now it’s up to him to keep both her and their chance at happiness alive.

Then I would love to give a paranormal book a shot. I absolutely love Vampire and Werewolf books.  Total Alpha men, with a heart of gold.  Yummy.

Although, I have something rather unique in mind…still in the early plotting stage.

Congrats on your shiny new contract (awesome blurb too) and good luck with your paranormal plotting!  Tell us about your latest release?

PROTECTING ROSE:
2012 Winner of the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and
Finalist in the 2011 Launching a Star Contest.

Rescuing damsels in distress is all in a day’s work for Detective Nate Stone. After saving a beautiful woman from a burning car and an assassin’s bullet, he vows to protect her. But the determined assassin always seems to be one step ahead of the game. Suspecting a leak within his Department, Nate takes Rose and runs. He soon discovers that the hardest part of the mission is resisting his desire for the woman who trusts him with her life.

Rose awakes in a hospital with no memory, only to discover that someone tried to kill her. Her only chance to survive an assassin’s game of cat and mouse is the man who saved her and who has promised to protect her. She may not know her past, but she knows her heart, and it longs for her protective warrior, who ignites a passion in her she can’t deny.

Share with us two things you loved about your hero?

My hero is tough and kind. Not only does he offer Rose his full protection, he treats her with gentle tenderness.  A warrior and a gentleman all wrapped up into one totally scrumptious guy.

Your heroine?

I love the way she manages to overcome her memory loss and fear to enjoy life.

Now let’s play LUCKY SEVEN….Pick seven words to describe your book.

Action, Suspenseful, Thrilling, Roller Coaster, Love, Sweet, Tender.

Great words!  Describe your hero through your heroine’s eyes (and feel free to quote her)J

Nate is handsome, sweet and gentle. Unless I’m in danger. Then he turns into the fiercest warrior.  I love that about him!

Yummy…me too!  Lol  What book are you reading now?

J.R. Ward – Lover Reborn

What inspired you to write your latest story?

I love reading and wanted to see if I could do it.  I’m happy to say, it seems, I can!

Please share an excerpt of your book!

Here’s a cute little scene I wrote with my husband in mind.  He’s a car guy and the green Mustang is actually one he owns:

They stopped at the weathered red barn. Nate reached into a flower-filled bucket, brought out a key and unlocked the full-sized double door. He threw the two sides open and Rose stepped inside.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The barn overflowed with equipment, cars, and snowmobiles.

She spotted a dark green Mustang in the corner. It reminded her of a car she’d recently seen in some movie on Turner Classic. “Wow, impressive.”

Nate seemed pleased. “Thanks.” He walked to the Mustang to stroke the hood. “This one’s my baby. I bought it about five years ago, and I’ve been restoring it ever since. At the moment, I’m rebuilding the carburetor. Well, at least I was before I went under cover.”

“How long were you undercover? No, never mind.” She snorted on a laugh. “If you tell me you’ll have to kill me, right?”

“That’s right, ma’am,” Nate deadpanned with a wink.

Rose counted five snowmobiles, including one child-sized machine and a motorcycle. She admired the gleaming black motorcycle. “What a beautiful bike,” she exclaimed. “Do you think we could take a ride?” She glanced at him hopefully.

The low sexy rumble of his laugh sent tingles down her spine. “That’s my brother Jerry’s Harley. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we took it for a quick spin.”

Nate went to a cabinet on the wall and opened it to take a key off a hook. He picked up a red helmet from a bench on the way back and handed it to her. Then he retrieved the black helmet off the back of the bike and put it on before checking that hers was on properly. He tightened the strap securely under her chin and tweaked her nose with a grin.

“Are you ready?” His eyes gleamed with laughter and excitement.

Rose filled with anticipation as Nate lifted the bike off its kickstand and wheeled it outside before throwing his leg over the seat. It took only a moment to start the bike. The rumble of the powerful engine shook the air. He grinned and held out his hand to her.

The butterflies in her belly stirred. She placed her hand in his and swung her leg over the bike to settle behind him.

Nate reached back, placed his hands at her thighs, and pulled her close, until she was pressed intimately at his back. “Hang on tight, babe,” he said above the roar of the bike’s engine.

Wonderful excerpt!  What’s your current WIP?

I just finished with “A Man To Trust” and as mentioned above, the release date is anticipated sometime in October.

It’s loosely based on a two-week double murder trial that I was a Juror on last summer.  It was a fascinating case and touched every emotion imaginable.

Two young men from decent families became drug dealers.  Another young man of a local well respected and wealthy family became a user and also stored drugs on his property for his dealer.  He then skimmed drugs off the top and was caught.  High on drugs, and feeling threatened by the men, he planned their murder.  Luring them into the woods on his 300 acre sod farm, he shot them with a sawed off shot gun and slit their throats.  Wrapped them in chains and moving blankets and dumped them in his private lake on the farm.

It was a very high profile and emotional case.  Families were devastated, children were left fatherless.  This case had a little of everything.

Taking many liberties with the case, my goal is to build a romance between the lead detective on the case and the widow of one of the murdered drug dealers.

I’m also just finishing up a Novella tentatively entitled “Taken”. It’s my first attempt at a Novella and I’m having a lot of fun with it.

Once the Novella is completed, I plan to write the last in the, Protecting Rose, series. Rick and Sheila’s story. No title yet.

Tell us what excites you about writing and getting published.

Well, of course I love the fact that I’m published.  Very exciting.  But the knowledge that I actually did it. Was actually able to write an entertaining story that people are enjoying is really the prize for me. It’s just way cool.

The possibility that I could make a living at it is also exciting.

Congrats, it’s an awesome feeling for sure!  Finally Cheryl, where can we find you and your book?

 

http://www.cherylyeko.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Yeko/167503089995030#!/pages/Cheryl-Yeko/167503089995030

https://twitter.com/#!/cherylyeko

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6661257-cheryl-yeko

Book Trailer:  http://youtu.be/eOJ9Tk5OokM

http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/protecting-rose/

http://www.amazon.com/Protecting-Rose-ebook/dp/B006P5SO8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325281696&sr=8-1

http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/

REMEMBER TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR AN EBOOK COPY OF PROTECTING ROSE!  GOOD LUCK