Good morning. It’s Meet and Greet Monday! 

With us today is Romance Author, Faye Avalon.
Welcome, Faye!

Did you make any resolutions for 2014?
My main resolution is to be more organized and not leave everything until the last minute. Aside from that I have many goals, mostly writing-related, which include starting a paranormal series and trying my hand at short stories.

Tell us, what’s the first thought that comes to your head when you read the following words...
Romance … my husband
Disneyworld … fun!
Vacation … Monte Carlo
Dean Winchester … Yum!
Thor … Double yum!!

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where do you live, do you have a significant other, any young Avalons running around?
I live in the UK with my amazingly supportive hubby. The patter of tiny feet in the Avalon household are of the four-legged variety as we foster puppies destined to become assistance dogs.

Tell us about your “big break” in the publishing world. Was there any one person believe in your work first (besides yourself of course)? What did you do to celebrate your first contract?
Well, my husband believed in me even when I lost faith in myself. When I landed the first contract he took me out to lunch and bought me a pair of ‘designer’ shoes I’d had my eye on.
***OOOH, huge points to hubby!***

Did you always want to be an author?
It was at the back of my mind for many years, but the day job as an adult education co-ordinator took up most of my time and energy. Writing has always been a pleasure though, even the academic essays I’ve had to write over the years. Then after one of those milestone birthdays, you know…the ones with a zero at the end, I decided that I owed it to myself to start writing down the stories that always buzzed around in my head. I gave up work just over a year ago and since then have enjoyed being a full-time writer.

What is your favorite junk food?
Chocolate, although I consider it a healthy essential, at least in my house it is.

What are you a collector of? (ie: types of knick-knacks, purses, shoes, etc?)
Purses, or handbags as we call them in the UK. Can’t resist, simply cannot.
***Me too!!!***

What five items do you take everywhere with you – besides cell phone, keys and purse/wallet?
Notebook, pen, bus pass, lip gloss, handcream.

What is your favorite TV Show? 
Hawaii Five-O

No matter the story, where do you always draw inspiration from when you begin each story?
Knowing that whatever conflict I set up for the characters, their growing love for each other will always overcome it in the end.  Ahhhhh.

What three words best describe you?
Passionate, enthusiastic and reflective.

What three words would your family use to describe you?
Stubborn, impatient and hardworking.

Where have you traveled that you’d love to return? What made it so special the first time?
Kenya. We traveled there many years ago and spent a magical night at Treetops. Watching through the night as the animals came to the watering hole was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

If you were given an all-expense paid, five day/night trip to anywhere, where would you go?
Monte Carlo. I love the glamour and glitz, plus it’s one of the best places to find inspiration for future stories.

What is your one pet peeve about the writing business?
Book piracy. There are enough free books on offer out there without having to download illegally.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Paige Tyler, Desiree Holt and Lora Leigh.

Who is your celebrity crush?
Alex O’Loughlin.

Who/What are you currently reading?
Dark Rapture by Michele Hauf

What do you find most challenging about writing?
Writing myself into a corner. I find it almost impossible to stick to an outline and continually veer off course, then have to spend time getting back on track or end up writing a story completely different to the one I had planned.

 

From Faye:
A few years ago we decided to have our own dog. As we’d never had a dog before, mostly because we’d both been out at work all day, we thought it would be a good idea to start by fostering for a local rescue centre.  Having thought about it for a while, I knew it wasn’t really an option for me as I’d never be able to give the dog back when the time came. Most of the dogs requiring fostering were at the centre because they had been taken away from owners accused of mistreating them in some way. If the court case came out in the owners favour, the dogs would have to be returned to them. No way could I cope with that!

The rescue centre suggested we might be interested in another type of fostering…that of puppies destined to become assistance dogs. We would be given a puppy at seven/eight months old and keep him/her until they were old enough to go into advanced training, usually between twelve and fourteen months old. At first I had the same reservations about having to give them up, but after much deliberation realised that these puppies would be going on to do the most amazing job by helping children or adults who would cherish and rely on them. So we applied and a few months later were accepted. Our first puppy was a little monster, but so adorable he melted our hearts. He responded well to basic obedience and we enjoyed a year of puppy fun and games.

When the time came to give him up I cried for a week, but then our second boy arrived. He was equally challenging, but again he was a charmer and another week of almost constant weeping when he left made me realise that I just couldn’t do it anymore.

But we’d made so many new friends from being involved with the scheme that we were asked if we’d consider short term boarding. This involved having the puppies when their trainers went on holiday or needed a break for any reason,  this can be anything from a weekend to a few weeks. We’ve been boarding now for almost a year and love every moment. We’ve had such an amazing variety of little characters, some returning to us for several visits before they eventually go into advanced training. It’s not quite so gut-wrenching saying goodbye to them, but I’d be lying if I said that my heart doesn’t break a little each time. Every one of them takes a little piece of my heart with them when they go.

Some people consider us doggie experts by now and have asked us if we’d consider looking after their dog while they go on holiday. It’s hard to say no. So as you can imagine, our house is rarely free of four-legged lodgers and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Right now we’re puppy/dog free for a couple of weeks and the house is scarily quiet…and clean! But at least I’m getting a whole lot of writing done, that is until the next little monster comes thundering through the front door and steals yet another chunk of my heart.

Blurb for Bad in Bed:
Amber walked right into a cliché when she found her fiance in bed with her best friend. With plenty of practice she plans to discredit his claims that she is lousy in bed, but his warning that her physical scars repulse men is more difficult to bear.

Memories of his past have taught Ethan to keep women at a healthy distance. Instantly attracted to Amber, he finds it strange that she’s happy to indulge in a quickie in a shop doorway, yet resists his attempts to get her naked.

When her secrets are revealed, Ethan sets out to make Amber see that not only is she dynamite in bed, her scars in no way diminish how desirable she is. When Ethan enlists the help of his friend Marco and sets up a threesome, he hopes this will not only improve Amber’s sexual confidence, but will prevent him losing his heart.

 

Buy Links:
Evernight Publishing
All Romance eBooks

Social Media:
Website: www.fayeavalon.com
Blog:  http://fayeavalon.wordpress.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/faye.avalon.1
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Faye_Avalon

 

 

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