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Friday, October 5, 2012

Blog Tour: "Blaze" by Joan Swan


Welcome to our stop on the Joan Swan Blaze Blog Tour.

Phoenix Rising Series

FEVER
Book 1

Dr. Alyssa Foster will admit to a bad boy fetish…
But when she finds herself face to face with a convicted murderer with a ripped body, a determination for freedom and an eye on her as his get out of jail free card, Alyssa knows she’s in deep trouble…. Not just because Teague Creek is a prisoner desperate for freedom, but because his every touch makes her desperate for more.
A man with a life sentence has nothing to lose…
Teague Creek has one shot at freedom, but his plan to escape with a hostage develops a fatal flaw: Alyssa. On the run from both the law and deadly undercover operatives who know of his strange abilities, he needs to avoid trouble, but every heated kiss tells him the fire between them could be just as devastating as the flames that changed him forever.
Purchase Links:

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You can read Fran's 4.5 Moon Review HERE

BLAZE
Book 2

The hotter they come, the harder they fall…
With a man like him, every mission becomes personal…
Ever since FBI agent Keira O’Shay started tracking a young boy named Mateo, she’s felt a connection even her empathic abilities can’t explain. Sheneeds to save Mateo from the cult leader holding him hostage. Nothing can interfere with that—not even the reappearance of Luke Ransom, the hot-as-hell fire captain she’s regretted walking out on for three long years.
Losing Keira left Luke vulnerable—in every way. When they were together, the powers each possesses were mysteriously enhanced. But it’s the sexy, surprising woman beneath the tough exterior that Luke’s really missed. Even if she betrayed him utterly. And even if agreeing to help her uncover a government conspiracy means watching his life and his heart go up in flames again…
Purchase Links:

Add to your Goodreads Shelf


You can read Fran's 5 Moon Review HERE



We would like to Welcome Joan Swan to Book Lovin’ Mamas today. We’re so excited to have you here!!!

Hello!! Thank you for having me!!

1.  Tell us 5 things about yourself that readers may not be able find out about you on the web.
 
·         I’m a McDonald’s groupie and have breakfast there while I write nearly every morning. My only exception is when my husband and I go out for our “breakfast date” once or twice a week.

·         I desperately want to be an excellent knitter, but I seem to have to take out everything I start after about 5 rows.


·         My birthday is on the cusp of two different signs, Cancer and Leo, and I swear I’m half of each.


·         I don’t eat vegetables. **Collective gasp here** When I was a kid, I spent many, many hours sitting at the dinner table “until I finished my vegetables”, and ended up getting sent to my room because I wouldn’t relent and eat them. I still won’t eat them (because I don’t like the taste of them).

·         My favorite color as a kid was yellow. My mom said she never had to worry about me being happy.

2.  What does a typical writing day look for you? 

Like chaos. A mix of writing, blogging, IMing, tweeting, Facebooking, emailing, talking with my daughters, running errands…all without any rhyme or reason.  And that’s on a day without the day-job mixed it!

3.   Could you give us a little sneak peek of how your research process happens with a new book or series? 

Ummm…J…*crickets*…that depends.
If I’m writing on a subject I know well or have previously written about and have done research on…I actually do most of my research while I’m writing: books, internet, magazines, interviews with experts, documentaries, movies, courses, seminars, lectures, etc.
If I’m writing on a subject I know hardly at all or not at all, I generally do a major chunk of the research before I start writing with the same resources as above and stop researching when I feel the story bubbling out of me – that means I have enough information to get started.  Then I switch to the research-on-the-fly method.

4.  When you’re not writing, what are your hobbies/interests?

Because I have a day job and a family, there isn’t much time for anything other than writing in my spare time.  But I knit, swim, love to go to movies, garden, work on computer/print graphics…

5.  Can you tell us a little bit about how you came up with the Phoenix Rising series?

The series developed out of the idea for book 1, FEVER. And FEVER, the story of an unusually gifted prisoner who has been wrongly convicted and escapes by taking the wrong woman hostage, came from my work with prisoners in my day job.

6.  This new release, Blaze, is the second book in the Phoenix Rising series. Was it easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, Fever?
 
                They were both difficult in their own way. 
FEVER was difficult because I had to rewrite it a few times. I originally wrote FEVER as a straight romantic suspense right at the time the RS market tanked. My critique partner suggested I add a paranormal element as paranormal romance was very popular at that time. Of course, that required rewriting the entire manuscript, but I liked where that idea took the story and the potential it gave the concept as a series, so I did it. And it sold. But my editor felt the second half of FEVER lost its momentum, so I ended up rewriting the second half of the manuscript again.
BLAZE was the first second book I’d ever written. All my other books had been first books, nothing had followed another story. So there was the whole overarcing plot idea to get my mind around. Not only did I have to think about how to transition from the end of FEVER to the beginning of BLAZE, but I had to think about transitioning from the end of BLAZE to the beginning of RUSH, book 3…without having written RUSH yet!
 
7.  Do you ever base your characters on people you know in real life?
 
                No, though I may use pieces of many people to add flair to one character.

8.  Who is your favorite character in the series so far?
 
                Sigh…I hate to admit it because it bolsters his already inflated ego so…but Mitch.
Mitch Foster is my heroine’s brother and a secondary character throughout the series.  He’s an attorney who fights for the unjustly accused and frees innocents from the grips of the powerful and manipulative.  Mitch is a shadowy guy—in a good way.  He’s powerful because of contacts he’s made through his career.  The people he’s helped—people of the military and political variety—are eager to repay the favor whenever he needs something or finds himself in a scrape.
Mitch’s drive to slay dragons—the bigger, the uglier, the better—stems from some incident in his past that he guards as his darkest secret.  I have an idea of what it is, but I can’t tell, or it would just ruin his book.  Let’s just say it has turned him into a very jaded man who trusts very few.
He has a cutting, sarcastic wit, a deep love of all things baseball, and an unequalled cunning for outmaneuvering the enemy.  He’s a chameleon who can be the slickest, high class attorney or the rebel  in camouflage, wielding an M14 like a pro.
Have I mentioned he’s handsome?  Or built?  Or sexy?
Did I need to?
Oh, and another fun little tidbit about Mitch is that my critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, basically sculpted him.  She named him after a baseball star she adores and of course gave him the baseball fetish. So, Mitch is really her brainchild, my sculpted hunk. J

9.  If you could be any one of your characters, from any book you’re written, which one would you be and why?

                Mitch…I think that’s self explanatory. J

10.  Do you have anything specific you want to say to your readers, maybe about what’s coming in the future from you or anything else?

I’d like to thank them for all their support in both reading my books and recommending them others and taking the time to leave reviews.

I’d also like them to know that I have a reviewer’s-only giveaway on my website and that I choose a winner every month. I also have a special offer for a free book in the back of INTIMATE ENEMIES if they feel inclined to leave a review for that novel. It need not be good, only honest.

Fun quick questions:
11.  Coffee or Hot Tea:   Diet coke
12.  Beach or Mountains:  Both, I like variety
13.  Sunrise or Sunset:  Sunset, I’m NOT a morning person.
14.  Summer or Winter:  Fall and Spring
15.  Country Music or Rock N' Roll:  Both



Short:
Joan Swan is an award-winning author of sexy romantic suspense and occasionally throws in a paranormal twist or two for some extra spark.  In her day job, Joan works as a sonographer at UCSF Medical Center. She lives on the central coast of California in beautiful wine country with her husband and two daughters.
Longer:
I was never a star English student or a Literature buff, but I’ve always had a creative soul and an active imagination. Writing was a natural culmination of those two talents.
Sexy romantic suspense is my genre of choice, and, occasionally, I like to dabble in the lighter side of paranormal as well.  I write the Phoenix Rising Series, FEVER, BLAZE, and two more books coming in 2013, for Kensington and the Covert Affairs Series, INTIMATE ENEMIES, independently.
A triple RWA Golden Heart finalist, I am a lover of craft and closet-hoarder of writing craft how-to books. I’m a recovering OCD perfectionist…bet you can just imagine how well that’s going.
In my day job, I work as a sonographer at UCSF Medical Center, rated one of the top ten best medical centers in the nation – a location with an intensity that makes me slightly—okay majorly—insane. This seems to work well with my inner writer. Access to abundant character material—and I’m not only talking about my patients—is a fringe benefit.
I’m married to my own personal hero, a veteran firefighter, we have two beautiful daughters and are blessed to live in the heart of wine country on the gorgeous Central Coast of California.
To keep up with my latest news & releases please visit me online:




Joan has offer up a paperback copy of Blaze to one lucky winner. To enter just fill out the rafflecopter below. This giveaway is for US/Canada Only!


Joan Swan's BLAZE Blog Tour Schedule
Tour runs from September 17 - October 6
PLEASE ADD THISTO YOUR POST FOR JOAN OR LINK TO BLOG TOUR BUTTON
September 17 - Grave Tells - http://gravetells.com/
September 18 - Book Reader Addicts - http://bookreaderaddictsgiveaways.blogspot.com/
September 19 - Pearl's World of Romance - http://pearlsworldofromance.wordpress.com/
September 20 - Under The Covers - http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.ca
September 21 - Reading Between The Wines - http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/
September 22 - Riverina Romantics  - http://riverinaromantics.blogspot.com/
September 23 - Reading on The Wild Side - http://readingonthewildside.blogspot.com/
September 24 - United By Books - http://unitedbybooks.blogspot.com/
September 25 - My Keeper Shelf - http://mykeepershelf.blogspot.com/
September 25 -  The Reading Café  - http://thereadingcafe.com/
September 26 - Ramblings From This Chick - http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/
September 27 - I Smell Sheep - http://www.ismellsheep.com/
September 28 - Paranormal Haven - http://www.paranormalhaven.com/
September 29 - Just Romantic Suspense - http://www.justromanticsuspense.com/
September 30 - Just Romantic Suspense - http://www.justromanticsuspense.com/
October 1 - Close Encounters With The Night Kind - http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/
October 2 - Book Monster Reviews / Literal Addiction -
                Book Monster - http://bookmonsterreviews.blogspot.com/
                Literal Addiction - http://www.literaladdiction.com/
October 3 - Books-n-Kisses - http://www.books-n-kisses.com/
October 4 - Readers Confession - http://www.readersconfession.com/
October 5 - Book Lovin' Mamas - http://booklovinmamas.blogspot.com//
October 6 - Cocktails & Books - http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/



a Rafflecopter giveaway

23 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow - thanks for the inside info on Mitch :) He captured my heart in the first book and that continued on in the second. I cannot wait for his book. Loved Blaze and how we got a better understanding of what happened in the warehouse. Looking forward to Rush..

Victoria said...

Hi Joan - I have to tell you that you're not hiding your MacDonalds love form us on the web :).
It's so good to hear that Mitch will be seen throughout the series. Like Cindy I really enjoyed his bits in FEVER.
Thank you!
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

Joanne said...

I love Mitch. It's great to know we will be seeing him again. Blaze sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read it.

e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

Unknown said...

This looks like my kind of read. Thanks for the giveaway.

Nice interview. I swear I've had my eye on these two books lately. I'm going to have to just buy them now. :) Good luck with your tour.

donnas said...

Congrats on the release! Cant wait to read it.

SdyLion said...

I have been following this tour all over the blog sites and I really am excited about your latest release. This is an incredible series and you desire the best in success. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com

magic5905 said...

Book looks great. Thanks.
magic5905 at embarqmail dot com

Lisa W said...

Love the character interviews!
modularmates(at)comcast(dot)net

Joan Swan said...

Thanks Cindy! So glad you've enjoyed the series so far!

Joan Swan said...

LOLOL, Victoria!! I guess I'm not, huh? :)

Joan Swan said...

Hi Joanne, yes, Mitch is one of those irresistible ones.

Joan Swan said...

Hey Melissa, hope you love them!

Joan Swan said...

Thanks for following the tour Syn!!

Cathy V said...

I'm looking forward to starting this book. Thanks for the giveaway :)
kitcat76@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I can't wait to read Blaze! I loved Fever! Those covers are also drool worthy. :-p

Di said...

Lookin' forward to this one after Fever!
sallans d at yahoo dot com

Julie said...

I loved Fever and can't wait to read Blaze. Mitch does add a different dynamic to everything that goes on, but I really can't wait to learn more about Luke. Thanks for the giveaway.

laurie said...

blaze looks like a really good read. i haven't read any of joan's as work but with me not working i will have to wait to get this book

parisfan_ca2yahoo.com

Tina B said...

Oh, Mitch. ;)
I love him, but from the excerpts that I have read with Luke, I am definitely warming up to him! Hehe.

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