Name Before the Masses Tour & Giveaway for Untangle My Heart by Maria K. Alexander

Welcome to my stop on author Maria K. Alexander’s Name Before the Masses Tour for Untangle My Heart, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions.  Please leave a comment or question for Maria to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of Maria’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  I apologize that my review is running late, but it will be posted this week.

Me: Untangle My Heart is the first book in your Tangled Heart Series, how many books are you planning to write in this series? Will we see Kate and Edward in your other books or does each book feature different characters?

Maria K: Hi and thanks for hosting me on your blog today to talk about Untangle My Heart. There are two other books planned in the series. The next story continues with Kate’s sister, Vicky, and begins a few months after Untangle My Heart ends. Kate will play an important role in the story, as it will close the loop on the DiSilva-DiFrancesco feud. Edward will be there as well, and will lend his pragmatic sense and support to Vicky. The third book centers on the eldest DiFrancesco, Nick. I love Nick and can’t wait to write his story. You’ll learn about some of the challenges in his life in Untangle My Heart and that will continue in Vicky’s story.

Me: How long have you known you were a writer and not just a reader? 

Maria K: I’ve always been a dreamer. I wrote poetry in high school and even started a story at one point. I may have always wanted to write, but college, work, grad school, marriage, and kids kept me busy. Around eight years ago I started seriously thinking about it, but didn’t get the nerve to do anything until five and a half years ago. By that time, I pretty much had the characters and plot in my head so when I bought my laptop, I just started writing.

Me: Who would you say has been the greatest influence on your writing? 

Maria K: I started writing without knowing anything about goal, motivation, and conflict or the writing craft. Shortly after I began writing, I took an online Ed-to-go class at my local community college. It was specifically about writing a romance novel and was taught by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lori Wilde. It was an eight-week class packed with great information and showed me how much I needed to learn (and had already done wrong). Through her class, I learned about Romance Writers of America and joined. Through RWA, I found a local chapter in my state and started attending. Both steps were pivotal moments in my writing career that have helped me learn, network and take my writing to the next level.

Me: Has your family been supportive of your "second" career?  

Maria K: My family has been extremely supportive. I write in the very early morning and late at night. I try to find a balance, which is sometimes difficult with two kids who have active schedules. Sometimes the writing has to take precedence and other times my family does. My parents and extended family and friends have also been very supportive and are probably more vocal champions about my writing than I am.

Me: Why contemporary romance? What drew you to this genre?

Maria K: I’ve always read contemporary romance. I have almost all of Danielle Steel’s books and my Nora Roberts collection is pretty large, too. I also enjoy books with mystery/suspense (Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, Fern Michaels, Janet Evanovich) and thoroughly enjoyed writing the light suspense theme in Untangle My Heart. Although I read a variety of genres, including historical, paranormal, romantic suspense, and YA, I’m still drawn first to contemporary.

Quick Get to know you questions:

1. Favorite meal? Veal Marsala

2. Beer or Wine? Wine

3. Silk or cotton? Cotton

4. Do you prefer men in boxers, briefs or nothing at all?    I like some mystery…boxer briefs

5. How did you celebrate your first release? I brought a bottle of champagne to my parents’ house and enjoyed a dinner with my family.

Untangle My Heart

By Maria K. Alexander

Tangled Hearts, Book 1

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Release Date: November 24, 2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 346 Pages

ISBN:  978-1-628302-02-8

ASIN:  B00GVKRLOG

Buy Links: Amazon │B & N │Kobo │ARe │The WildRose Press 

About the book: 

When her marriage ended in tragedy, Kate DiFrancesco rebuilt her life, but has never gotten over the pain of what she lost. Seeking the help of an ex-lover ignites feelings she’s promised never to have again. She’ll need to untangle herself from dangers in her past in order to break the hard shell around her heart.

Edward Weston has a lot to prove, both to his stuffy upper-crust British family, and to  himself. Working alongside Kate, a woman he had a casual relationship with, stirs unexpected feelings. Helping her family makes him realize what he's missing. For the first time, he wants more than a one-night stand.

When Kate is threatened, Edward must overcome feeling unworthy to protect the woman he loves and fight for the family he never thought he’d have.

Excerpt

“Good morning,” he said. “Ready to go?”

“I’m all set.” She swung her laptop bag over one shoulder and grabbed the handle of her suitcase with her opposite hand.

“I’ll take that,” Edward said, reaching for the suitcase.

“I have it,” she snapped and held firmly onto the handle. His old-fashioned ways sometimes annoyed her and today was one of those days. Why was he always trying to be nice to her? It would be easier to maintain her distance if he wasn’t so damned considerate. Damned British manners. “I don’t need your help.”

He raised an eyebrow at her outburst but let go of his hold on the suitcase. “Fine. I see someone didn’t get her coffee this morning.”

“Wrong. I had two cups.” And a restless night of sleep with alternating dreams of Edward and Lucas. Frustrated from tossing and turning all night, she’d gotten up at four and started baking.

“I made biscotti if you’d like some.” She handed him a white bakery bag, hoping her offering of food would compensate for her irritable mood.

He opened the bag and pulled one out. “Are they safe to eat or did you use arsenic instead of sugar?”

Rather than dignify him with an answer, she leaned forward and took a bite. It was still warm and the chocolate chips melted in her mouth. Edward’s gaze studied her mouth as she chewed and for a minute Kate thought he may take a nibble out of her.

“Perfectly safe. I swear,” she said after swallowing.

He popped the other half in his mouth. “Not bad.”

“Not bad, my ass,” Kate said.

“That’s pretty fine, too.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A romantic at heart, Maria K. Alexander spent hours as a young girl getting lost in and wishing to be one of the heroines in the stories she read. Books gave her the ability to go to another world where she loved meeting new characters, learning about their problems, and watching them fall in love.

Maria blogs about her writing journey with The Violet Femmes at http://thevioletfemmes.com. When not writing, Maria loves to read, bake, downhill ski, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. Maria lives in New Jersey with her husband and children, and writes in her “spare” time between juggling a full-time job and her kids’ busy schedules.

You can keep in touch with Maria at:

Website: http://mariakalexander.com

The Violet Femmes Blog: http://thevioletfemmes.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MKAlexander1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maria-K-Alexander-Author/201236689917319

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/mariakalexander

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