Blog Tour: Ardeur by Danielle Gavan (Giveaway too!)

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

You can get to the entire tour schedule by clicking HERE.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!

It is my pleasure to welcome Danielle Gavan!!!

Danielle Gavan lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband of eight years and their two sons. Danielle has been writing since she was in middle school.  

She loves a good book and is usually found with her nose in one. She has an extensive list of them on her book pile. When she's not writing or reading, Danielle keeps herself busy designing book covers and editing.

Her guilty pleasures are her favorite television shows Bones, House and Hawaii Five-0.

Danielle welcomes email and you may contact her at daniellegavan@rhpublishing1.com.

You can also find her hanging out on the forum she shares with Jennifer Feuerstein. The Crowded Minds is a great place to relax and have a little fun.

Find Danielle on the web:

http://www.daniellegavan.net

http://dgavan.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/DanielleGavan

http://www.facebook.com/danielle.gavan

http://everythingerotic.blogspot.com/

http://thedigitaldigest.blogspot.com/

And now... on to the interview!

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Professionally? I’d say 2009. I’ve been writing for pleasure since grade school. The first thing I can remember writing was in seventh grade. A friend and I passed a small, heart shaped sticky note pad between us and we wrote the story together. Naïve tweens that we were, the story had us married to our favorite rock stars at the time. I was wed to Jon Bon Jovi, she to Richie Sambora. Jon and I had nine children. Nancy and Richie had eleven, if memory serves.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

Oh, boy. Do I have enough fingers to count them all? Hmm... Maybe if I use my toes I’ll have enough. Let’s just say I spent way too many years working in the Customer Service/Call Center industry. Wait… I’m sort of still in Customer Service, aren’t I?

? How long does it take you to write a book?

It depends on what else I have going on in my life. Ardeur took me five months to write. The timeframe for my novellas varied. Most of the chapters were written for Everything Erotic, one of the blogs I contribute to, so they were composed a month at a time.

If I’ve got loads of free time, I can usually crank out two to three thousand words a day, sometimes more.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

For the most part, I’m a pantser. I can work with a very basic outline but if I know the ending, forget it. That last chapter, or two, has to be a mystery. If I have even an inkling of how the story ends my muse packs up and takes an impromptu vacay.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

I don’t know if you’d call it a routine, per se. When the kids are in school, the first couple of hours in my day are spent getting them ready and sent off. After that, I’ll grab a cup of coffee or a glass of water and park myself at my desk. I hit ‘play’ on iTunes and let my fingers fly across the keyboard. There isn’t really a ‘right frame of mind’ for me to write. There are, however, wrong ones. If I’m stressed or in a bad mood it’s best I stay away from the computer until I’ve relaxed.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

From my shampoo bottle. Ideas and characters usually come to me when I’m in the middle of washing my hair. I suppose it’s because I’m able to relax for the couple of minutes it takes to wash and condition the curly mess. Other times, I’ll see a picture or hear something and think ‘Hey, that would make an awesome story.” Then we’re off to the keyboard to bang it out before I forget.

? How do you decide what you want to write about?

Usually, I have a list of projects that need working on. Whichever one is closer to completion gets worked on first. At the moment, I’ve got three novellas and a series of novels that I’m working on. The novellas get worked on at least once a month since the chapters from those get posted on either Everything Erotic or Digital Digest. The series gets worked on a bit more often. The first novel is in the revision stages and, my co-author and I, hope to have it out this fall.

? What books have most influenced your life?

Hmm… I’d have to say the books that introduced me to romance novels. Virginia Henley’s The Raven & The Rose, The Pirate & The Pagan, The Dragon and The Jewel, The Hawk and The Dove.  Had mom not handed me The Raven & The Rose to read one afternoon, I may never have discovered this genre and grown up to write romance novels of my own. 

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?

You mean I’m supposed to do other things besides work? lol Kidding. I’m a stay-at-home mom so any time I’m not writing is spent with my kids, taking care of things around the house or running errands. I don’t get a lot of free time. Anything I want to watch on television gets recorded and I watch it after the kids have gone to bed – if I’m not passed out shortly after them.

? What is your favorite comfort food?

Now that’s an easy answer. Basmati rice with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper. Super yummy. Oh, and red velvet cake with thick buttercream icing. Pure heaven.

? What do you think makes a good story?

Compelling characters, a believable storyline and good writing. I’m not a diehard believer in Happily Ever After endings. If the hero and heroine are together and happy, I’m good with that.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

Now that’s a hard one. If we could mash Diana Gabaldon and Laurell K. Hamilton into one person I’d say her. Diana’s Outlander series is incredibly well written, researched and the books suck you into Jamie and Claire’s world from the first word. Laurell’s books are smart, sexy and her characters are incredibly vivid. 

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?

I’ve read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series several times in its entirety. I have all seven books in hardcover, tattered dust covers and all. I also have the Lord John spinoffs.

Fun random questions: 

·        dogs or cats? Cats, even though I’m very allergic.

·        Coffee or tea? Coffee.

·        Dark or milk chocolate? Milk chocolate.

·        Rocks or flowers? Flowers. I’m allergic to those, too.

·        Night or day? Day.

·        Favorite color? Blue.

·        Crayons or markers? Crayons.

·        Pens or pencils? Pencils. 

And now...the giveaway!

You can buy a copy of this great story HERE or HERE.

You can read my review by clicking HERE.

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole.

Happy Reading.