AWW Feature: Christina Brooke on Passion

I’m pleased to host Australian historical romance author Christina Brooke at Book’d Out today introducing her newest release, The Greatest Lover Ever.

THE SWEETEST SCANDAL
Beautiful, exuberant, and stubborn Georgiana Black has more spirit than sense – which she learns when an ultimatum to the Earl of Beckenham ends their engagement. Six years later, Georgie is less concerned with impending spinsterhood than with making sure her young sister doesn’t make the same mistakes she did. But soon Georgie stumbles into a scandalous encounter with none other than her former fiance. Beckenham is still breathtakingly desirable – and as iron-willed as ever…
THE TRUEST TEMPTATION
Beckenham’s brief engagement to Georgie taught him one thing – when it comes to a wife, he wants a woman who will do her duty and cause no trouble. When the fiery Georgie falls unexpectedly into his arms, Beckenham remembers just how lushly delectable she is. Suddenly, the idea of actually marrying Georgie is irresistible. Convincing her will take more than a simple proposal, however. In a battle of wills, can passion conquer pride?

You can read my review of this passionate historical romance HERE , but first let me introduce you to Christina Brooke..

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Hi Shelleyrae! Thank you for having me on your blog today.

The late, great Luciano Pavarotti was not only a sublime tenor, he was a font of lovely wisdom that often centered around pleasures of a sensual variety. He said something profound about his art that has stayed with me:

“People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.”

I try to keep that in mind when I write, because while many writers can tell you their daily page count or the number of words they aim to write in a day, I have never been able to work that way. I wish I could! It is the most practical and businesslike way to write, after all.

For me, writing fiction is a passion and a compulsion. If I’m feeling unaccountably grouchy, I suddenly realize it’s because I haven’t written that day. Those around me can tell when the words are flowing because I bounce around the house, shedding sweetness and light like a happy little sunbeam.

Those times are not nearly as frequent as I’d like!

I was a lawyer working ridiculous hours when I started my first novel. By day, I wrote prospectuses, met with financiers and accountants and company directors looking to raise capital for their companies. I advised on contracts, traveled interstate to perform due diligence, verified the myriad details that make up offer documentation.

By night, the world of my imagination opened up and swallowed me whole. I forgot financial projections and contract negotiations and office politics and reveled in the strange exhilaration of putting words on the page.

For five years, I learned everything I could about the craft of writing, about the business, about the market. By the time I sold my first book, I’d resigned from my job and was pregnant with my second child. You should have seen the strange, elephantine dance I did around my living room at four in the morning when the offer came through from New York!

Writing can be hard but it’s never seemed like a job when the words are flowing. When I’m writing well, it feels like I’m tapping into a story that’s already there, complete and perfect, waiting for me. My mission is to get the story down as faithfully and richly described as I can.

The book never quite matches that perfect vision, but when it is put into a reader’s hands, it’s time for her imagination to take over.

It’s a particular joy to write a romance novel where the characters just click the way Georgie Black and Marcus, Earl of Beckenham did in my novel THE GREATEST LOVER EVER was a joy to write. Their banter is witty, their passion fiery, and their love is deep and enduring. I hope readers enjoy their journey as much as I enjoyed writing it!

What is your passion? What books do you love to get lost in? Any recommendations?