Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bonus....Guest Blogger!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Beth here.

Normally here at SIS, on Tuesdays, we feature music reccomendations. But normal can be boring. So today we're featuring a guest blog by a fantastic, sensual author-- Amanda McIntyre.

Amanda writes for Harlequin Spice. She's a star on the rise and I'm not saying that because I know her and really, really like her. She's a fantastic storyteller and We're thrilled to be sharing in the excitement of her latest release: TORTURED. Take it away, Amanda!

August 25, 2009
Day twenty-two of the blog tour


TORTURED, erotic medieval, Harlequin Spice, Aug.'09-Amanda McIntyre)
See the book trailer at: tp://www.amandamcintyre.net/tortured.html#trailer

In a time of chaos, darkness, and violence, it is better to live only in the moment, lest your memories eat you alive.

A young woman blessed with sight seeks vengeance against a tyrannical lord responsible for her mother's murder. Forced to become an executioner's apprentice, she encounters a Roman prisoner who offers her a way to escape her prison and find a future. Torn between desire, duty, and the chance for revenge, her choice to live or die leaves her TORTURED. (Available now, Harlequin Spice-Books Aug. '09)

* * *

Here I am on the last leg of my Internet road trip that started on August 4th. I have seen so many new places, met some new friends, and given away many books!

I want to thank Beth for having me here at her cyber-diggs! They are very Beth and will you look at those kudos from Booklist and publishers weekly!! Hoity toity, girlfriend!! But, all kidding aside- I could not wish more for you, nor think you more deserving of all your successes! You see Beth here is a gem, a rare find of a genuinely fabulous human being. Continued success, my friend!

So after twenty-five blogs, you sort of wonder if folks really want to hear your story of how you came up with the idea for this book... or how did you do the research for the love scenes? If you want to read those answers, you have to go back to the beginning of the tour! NOT! Really, here is a quick recap…

Whilst surfing the Internet, trifling through medieval history( a pastime I’m sure is enjoyed by many) I ran across an obscure bit of information about a medieval female executioner…da doo.(If you’ve seen Little Shop of Horrors, you’ll understand the back-up singers in my story!)
Let’s see…where was I? Oh, yeah, so I thought to myself, what a strange bit of information. I wonder what type of woman it takes to be a medieval executioner?(Doot Da Doo) So I asked myself, but what if the woman didn’t have a choice? What if for some reason, she was forced to this life…maybe a total eclipse of the sun? No, it wasn’t that. It was really much worse.
First rule of writing fiction: Make it worse.

It was the “Adventus Saxonum”- “the coming of the Saxons”…and thus my heroine, Sierra, the daughter of a Celtic Seer, used as guide by the kings before her—came to be.

Reviewers have described TORTURED as “a disturbingly touching tale of hope, love and survival.”(Romance BookWyrm) and most recently likened in tone to Braveheart (which is both humbling and scary.)

But it is definitely outside of the box, of that there is no question. Why the Dark Ages? I think it was the challenge of seeing whether an erotic romance could be written in such darkness, could it survive? Though the journey is not an easy one, love finds a way. You can read a never before excerpt at my blog McIntyre’s House of Muse www.mcintyreshouseofmuse.blogspot.com

I hope you’ll check out TORTURED if you like the adventure, danger and romance of dark, uncertain medieval times!

I’d like to give away a copy of TORTURED today to those who leave a comment to the following question: If you had to choose another era you could live in, what era would that be and why?

Leave your comments here and I’ll be checking in periodically throughout the day!
Next on tour stop: Emily Bryan’s blog www.emilybryan.blogspot.com
May the wind be at your back~
Amanda
www.amandamcintyre.net

24 comments:

Beth Ciotta said...

Good morning, Amanda and welcome to SIS. We're thrilled to have you here. I LOVE the cover for TORTURED. So sexy. And the story sounds intriguing to say the least. Amazing how one tidbit of research can ignite a concept for an entire story.

Now that we have you here, I have a question. :) Are you a pantser or plotter? How long does it typically take you to write your first draft?

SIS Beth

Amanda McIntyre said...

I have answered that question in so many varied ways over the years. I've now come to the conclusion that I'm likely something in between--
(a pantler? a plotser?;)
*remenber: you asked.

Allow me to explain...the muse likes her freedom, as most muses do. So when I get a seedling of an idea, I may jot down an entire synopsis as it comes to me. Then I go back and flesh out, tweak-whathaveyou.

Other times, I may be limited by certain guidelines or parameters that I need to follow. For example, in Winter Awakening (Winters Desire anthology , Harlequin Spice-Books, Nov.'09)my writing partners and I had a single historical event that translates into each of our stories in different ways(each story is set in a different time period)

Writing historical can sometimes hold you to certain parameters as well, making it crucial to needing to plot certain scenes-- but once the fence posts are set, I tend to let my muse run amok and we usually end up taking the secret paths, the precarious journeys over the raging rivers, and the scenic route from the hill ;)

I'm not really sure I fully answered your question there, Beth. LOL How about you? Panters or plotter?

I've always wondered...can readers tell the difference?

Amanda

Anonymous said...

She's a plotser wearling pantlers.
:D
I am too, but we never let our pantlers show.
LOL
G.

Tori Lennox said...

My first instinct was to say the 1920s, but now that I really consider the question it would have to be the 1930s/40s. I'm into Big Band music and I would love love love to see all the big names playing the famous ballrooms and nightclubs. The fashions are pretty cool, too. :)

Amanda McIntyre said...

Genella , it makes us sound like we're in deer season LOL

A.M.

Amanda McIntyre said...

HI Tori
Nice to have you drop in ! Your taste in music is fantastic! Very rarely do you hear of someone that loves Big Band! I do agree though the music of Glenn Miller is phenominal! Oh, now Im going to have to go break out my CD....

A.M.

Jane said...

It would be interesting to experience life in Ancient Rome with all the political intrigue and extravagance of the upper classes. I would like to attend one of those famous Roman feasts.

chey said...

The 1950's.
I like the music and the cars!

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Hi Amanda,

Welcome to SIS. We are thrilled to have you.

I love the concept of your story and can't wait to read it.

Hmmm...if I had to choose what era I would live in, I think it would either be the 20's or Renaissance.

Feel free to drop by anytime,
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi

Beth Ciotta said...

Amanda, thanks for answering question on pantster vs plotter. As for the Anthology--first, congrats! An awseome opportunity, to be sure. Secod--I imagine it must have been a unique chalenge working within certain perameters with two other authors... but, fun too!

As for me and whether I fly by the seat f my pants or plot, these days I fall somewhere in between. Half and half.

SIS Beth

Beth Ciotta said...

Oh! I forgot to answer what era I would live in. Tough to narrow it down to one. Nice if I could sample of bit of several. For instance... The American West, the 1920s, 1940s or--stepping into my way back machine--the Renaissance period. Fun to read everyone else's picks!

SIS Beth

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for guest blogging here at SIS. Your story sounds very interesting and I can't wait to read it.
As to which era I would choose to live in, I would have to pick the 1920's. I love the cars and the way people dressed. It seems like a very classy time. My second choice would be the Renaissance period.

SIS Bren

Amanda McIntyre said...

do the three of you realize you all said you loved the 20"s? Do I sense an anthology coming on?
thanks Beth for the antho snaps;) It has been a lot of fun. It wasnt really soemthing we thought long and hard about--it was very kismet, I think or something!
we;re actually in process of building a shrine...er, website called www.CelticSpice.com

we've contracted three anthologies using the prmise of a prologue , celt legend, lore of in the case of Winters Desire -A druid priestess chant on the dawn of Winter Solstice.

each novella then, is told in historical sequence
through different eras.
we have others coming out for Beltane and Samhain and working on a Midsummer one now.


But whiel each story stands alone, it has the initail beginning woven into each.

did that make sense? LOL

A.M.

Amanda McIntyre said...

HI Bren, thanks to you sistahs, for having me!;)

You have very cool diggs here! So this 20's fascination you all seem to have...are we talking gangster? like Chicago?
the RT BOOK reviews just did a piece on books set in this era..asking if this is the next trend?

what do you all think?

A.M.

Amanda McIntyre said...

thats Elle, and the same goes to each of you! Please feel free to guest blog at house of Muse--we have a good time, and also at the Lust in Time Manor! Lord Craven-Moore would find you three quite tasty I'm sure! ;))

A.M.

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Hi Amanada,

I would love to see a 20's trend. Now that you mention it, I can only think of 1 or 2 books I've read that were set in that era.

Gives me something new to ponder!

SIS Barb

Amanda McIntyre said...

Jane! Hi! Omygoodness Ive been researching more of Rome these days! Truly! Its for a "whatever happened to Torin?" (Sierra's brother in Tortured)It will come out next fall in a Spce Briefs!

have you watched King Arthur???? you will have to play my music game on Emily Bryans blog tomorrow!! ;))

A.M.

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Lord Craven-Moore? How delightfully intriguing!

SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi

Fedora said...

Finally had a chance to pop by here and say hi, Amanda, and hi, Barb, Bren, and Beth!! Sorry to be so absent as of late! (Just got the kids all registered for school today, so that fun starts up again tomorrow!)

Ooh, the 20s? I can only think of one or two books I've read set in that time! As I mentioned on Beth's blog, I'm not sure I could choose to permanently relocate to another past era! There are too many modern conveniences I'd miss! But I'd love to hop around a bit--do you think I could find a time machine that would let me sample a week or so at a time? :)

Amanda McIntyre said...

and the wnner at SIS today is Fedora!

I have your addy Fedora! Thanks for stopping by and thanks to SIS for having me!

May the wind be at your back~

Amanda

Beth Ciotta said...

Woo-hoo!!! Congratulations, Fedora! And thank you for being here Amanda. You were a joy! Come back anytime!

SIS Beth

Tori Lennox said...

One of my favorite mystery series is set in 1920s England. The Daisy Dalrymple series by Carola Dunn. They're fun! And they have a romance too. :)

Fedora said...

Woot! Thank you so much, Amanda, and SIS!

Amanda McIntyre said...

I Tori
I just wanted to comment on this series! I saw it the other day in a BBC book that I get! Looks wonderful! I love the BBC ;))

thanks for stopping in at SIS!
Your welcome Fedora!!

A.M.

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