Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway - Phantom of the Opera by Wendi Zwaduk

Welcome to my stop on Wendi Zwaduk's Virtual Book Tour for The Phantom of the Opera.  Please be sure to leave a comment or question for Wendi below to let her know you stopped by and also to enter her giveaway for

a gift basket to a randomly drawn commenter during her tour.  You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment the better your odds of winning.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spicing Up the Classics during the Holiday Season by Wendi Zwaduk

I want to thank Queen of the Night Reviews for having me visit on my tour. I love to stop by new to me sites and I’m glad to be here. I was asked to write about spicing up the Classics during the holiday season. 

I’ll start with spicing up Phantom. Adding heat to Phantom wasn’t my idea, but I’m not complaining. I was asked by Total-E-Bound to select a Classic story and make it spicy. Talk about fun, but hard fun! As much as I thought I knew about the Phantom, I knew nothing. It’s so much more than a complicated love story. There are little hints in the text leading the reader to wonder what exactly happened when the doors closed. Once I was given the reins to run with the love scenes, I did with abandon.

I’ll admit I’ve taken some heat for making Phantom hinky. Readers expressed the need to keep the book pure like Leroux wrote it. That’s fine. It didn’t need a hot face lift. There are those who swear the ending is wrong and shouldn’t have happened the way it did. I’m not so sure about that. There are dimensions to Phantom that are truly sexy, especially if he’s portrayed by Gerard Butler. But there are some dimensions of him that are downright scary. I liked the sadness in him and yes, I wanted him to win the day. But Leroux had other ideas. In keeping with his text, I didn’t play with the outcome.

But I did enjoy giving Phantom a spicy slant. I’m the type of person who wants to know what happens when the door closes. Do they just kiss and go to bed or does the heat really kick up? There were quite a few scenes in Phantom that just begged to be expanded and the door thrown wide open. I worked very hard to keep with the time period. There are some crazy layers to their underclothes in that time period. Makes getting naked rather complicated, but added a nice twist to the story. I also worked hard to keep in the same voice of Leroux. He writes in a very...omniscient point of view. I write in third person. Mixing the two was complicated, but I think what I ended up with turned out pretty well. 

So how does spicing up Phantom lead to spicing up the Holidays? My version of Phantom has plenty of heat to warm up the chilly holiday nights. It also lends to a toasty session with the one you love. Hey, why not try what Phantom, Raoul and Christine did? Plus, Phantom is a great gift. It’s classic and guaranteed to steam the ereader!

Once again, thanks to Queen of the Night Reviews for having me. I loved writing this topic and love taking about Phantom, so I’ve had a great time. Now for the readers, are there any classic books you would love to see with a heated makeover? Any you think should be left alone? Let me know! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Phantom of the Opera (Clandestine Classics)

by Gaston Leroux & Wendi Zwaduk 

Total E Bound Publishing

Release Date: September 3, 2012

Length: 268 Pages

Amazon

Blurb: 

 

The Classics Exposed…

A chance sighting at the Opera, fated love, and three lives in turmoil.

One man pledges to own her, while another wants her heart. The Opera sets the stage for romance and intrigue. In the catacombs below the building lives a man rife with sorrow and passion. The Phantom. But he’s not content to live alone. He wants to possess the one woman who can set him free.

His Christine.

Viscount Raoul de Chagny doesn’t believe the rumours of a Ghost living below the Opera. He only has eyes for Christine, his childhood friend and first love. Together they embark on a sensual journey of discovery and fiery desire.

But she can only have one man. Will love raise her up or tear their world apart?

Excerpt:  

“I cannot.” He threaded his fingers into her hair, drawing her close. “I have the most indecent thoughts when I’m near you.” He spoke against her lips. “I can’t help but want to ruin you, only to keep you in my arms a bit longer.”

The most beautiful shade of red spread across her cheeks and slipped down the column of her neck. She glanced at the door, then shot from her spot on the bed. Christine twisted the lock and pressed herself against the door.

“What kind of indecent thoughts?” she whispered.

“To lash you to my bed with your body bared to me. I want to take you over and over, hearing you cry out my name. To watch you give me pleasure with your submission to me.”

“I’m not educated in the way to love a man.” Her chest heaved with each breath. “Will you teach me? I want to be yours, if for only a short time. I want you to show me how much you love me. Teach me?”

“Yes, my love.” He held out his hand to her. Christine twisted her fingers with his and eased onto his lap. Her eyes widened.

“What are you asking of me?”

“Your submission. Allow me to direct you as if I were the composer of one of your songs. Do you trust me?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 AUTHOR INFORMATION:

I always dreamt of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in line. I earned a BA in education at Kent State University and currently hold a Masters in Education with Nova Southeastern University.   

I love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my menagerie of animals.  I also write under the pen name of Megan Slayer. I’m published with Total-E-Bound, Changeling Press, Liquid Silver Books, Turquoise Morning Press and The Wild Rose Press. Come join me for this fantastic journey!  

If you like my work, tell your friends and email me. I love hearing from readers!

LINKS:

Site: http://wendizwaduk.com/

Blog: http://wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendiZwaduk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wendi.zwaduk

Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendi-Zwaduk/195277927167481?ref=tn_tnmn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/wendizwaduk

Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3495446.Wendi_Zwaduk

On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/wendizwaduk/

On Google+ : https://plus.google.com/115637543946745656739/posts

On Romance Novel Center: http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/wendizwaduk

Newsletter sign up: http://ymlp.com/xgjmjumygmgj

 

Please be sure to leave a comment or question for Wendi below to let her know you stopped by and also to enter her giveaway for a gift basket to a randomly drawn commenter during her tour.  You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment the better your odds of winning.