An Interview with Rosanna Leo!
I'm excited to have fellow Liquid Silver Books Author Rosanna Leo with me today! We're gonna have some girl talk that may include a certain sexy Greek God...or two. So let's get to it!
First up...tell us about your latest book, Sweet Hell.
Sweet Hell is my story of Dionysus, the Greek god wine. In
my first novel, For the Love of a God, he was the raunchy wingman to my hero.
In Sweet Hell, Dionysus gets to be the hero who’s flustered by my heroine’s
charms. Dionysus is happy with his carefree, sex-fest of a life when he wanders
into the bakery of Josie Marino, a workaholic, Toronto baker. Let’s just say he
has an immediate reaction to her, and it’s not all positive. When she is threatened by a supernatural
entity, well, Dionysus just has to step in, even though they drive each other
nuts.
Naughty, naughty Dionysus. I won't spoil it for the readers, but if you haven't read Sweet Hell yet...Go buy it! It's delicious! Seriously. Go on now. We'll wait.
Okay, moving on! Did you always want to be a writer?
I wrote, even as a child, and entered university with the
intention of taking writing classes. While there, I decided to take some
singing classes for fun. Soon after, my singing teacher suggested I sing
professionally, so I began to focus on that because it was going well. For a
couple of years I sang with a professional chamber ensemble in Toronto…but I
missed my writing! I returned to it shortly after my first child was born, and
haven’t looked back since!
And we're glad you didn't! Keep those stories coming! So, tell me - who,
or what, was your greatest inspiration in your writing
career?
Great question, Parker! I’ve had a lot of inspiration. As a
youngster, it was the books of C.S. Lewis that moved me. As an adult, Diana
Gabaldon hooked me with her Outlander series. Mostly, however, it’s all the
voices in my head that continue to inspire me! LOL! All my imaginary
boyfriends…I lead a very rich inner life.
LOL! I'm right there with you! We have the greatest job, don't we?
For the Love of a God and
Sweet Hell are sexy mythological
books. How much research goes into these stories?
Tons, actually! And luckily there are so many resources.
Every week, I find myself pouring over the old Greek myths and falling in love
with them all over again. I’ve been reading them since I was a kid, and haven’t
stopped being amused by the petty arguments between the gods and their love
affairs. I love to consult encyclopedias of Greek myth, and I even check out
the kids’ books on mythology at the local library- they have tons of pics! However, I only use the old myths as a
basis. My hero Eryx, from For the Love of a God, is completely fictional. And
my Dionysus in Sweet Hell goes on a much different journey than he ever has
before.
What is the craziest thing you have done in the name of
research?
LOL! Nothing too ridiculous…yet. I work in a library
part-time, so luckily I have loads of research material at my fingertips on a
regular basis. So far, I’ve written about characters who have lives/careers
that are fairly easy to research. I also like to draw on my own background, so
I can use those interesting nuggets I’ve accumulated over the years. My hero
from Sweet hell, Josie Marino, is a woman who works in an Italian bakery. I did
that as a part-time job for a while as a younger woman. Josie’s bakery is based
on the bakery in which I worked…right down to the bins of cannoli shells in the
dark basement!
You're making me hungry for...um...cannoli. LOL!
Up In Flames is a
super hot read! What made you decide to write about firefighters?
Well, I have previously worked with women who go insane over
firemen (okay, admittedly, I like ‘em too). However, I’ve seen these women
reduced to dribble when these men walk by. They are wonderful, heroic figures,
but also very charismatic and ooze confidence. I wondered what it would take to
create a woman who isn’t so keen on
firefighters, and what might bring her to that point. Jules Baker, my
anti-fireman heroine, was born from that idea.
When you’re not writing, what do you like to do?
More writing!! I can’t get enough. I have to separate myself
from the laptop some days because my eyes burn. My hubby calls it my “crack.”
However, when not writing, I love hanging out with my sons. They’re 9 and 11
now and say such funny things, and they’re not yet too embarrassed by Mom. I
also love hanging out with my husband. After almost twenty years of marriage, I
still love the bones of him, and he keeps me sane.
What is your favorite author/book/genre?
Oh, so many. I love Maya Banks’s sexy Colter brothers from
Colters’ Woman. I also love Syrie James’s Nocturne. That was a beautiful
book. I really do enjoy my
paranormals and contemporaries. I used to be a big Regency girl, but I’m taking
a little break from those. I really love my vampires and sexy fallen angels and
demons! But I’m also happy with a gorgeous cowboy or rancher or good ol’ boy!
So, what’s next for you?
Our lovely publisher Liquid Silver Books has picked up my
next book, another paranormal. This one is called The Selkie and is about a
mythical seal shapeshifter from the Scottish Orkney Islands. I love my selkie
man Calan. He’s buff and sensual and has a twinkle in his eye. He will come to
the surface Sept. 6!
Whew, sexy mythical seal shapeshifter? I can't wait! I'd like to thank you for being here with me today, Rosanna. It was great chatting with you! Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
Just that I’m so happy you allowed me to join you today,
Parker, and I’m thrilled to be able to share a little of me with your fans.
Thank-you, and see you all online!
Wait! Don't go yet...Rosanna has left a little something behind. Keep reading for a tasty tidbit from her latest book, Sweet Hell.
Dionysus, Greek god of wine and theater, is the world’s
original playboy. But lately, he has been restless, moody, and he knows
something is wrong. His carefree and bacchanal lifestyle is starting to feel
like one long string of meaningless, sexual escapades. Even worse, he is
suddenly aroused by the idea of marriage. And to top it all off, Josie Marino,
the mouthy, disheveled, and eternally annoying woman who serves him coffee at
the local bakery, sets him on fire.
Josie, a Toronto baker of Italian heritage, is not looking
for love or lust. Especially not with Dionysus Iros, the most aggravating,
demanding customer she'd ever had to serve. With his rippling muscles and sexy,
knowing eyes, he's obviously trouble with a capital T. Unfortunately, he's also
the star of her every X-rated dream. She’s known players like Dionysus before,
and one of them almost got the better of her. Josie determines she will not
fall for his considerable physical charms, come hell or high water.
But Dionysus turns strangely protective when a sinister
character arrives at Josie's bakery, and they can no longer deny their unwanted
feelings for one another. They are forced to embark on a bizarre,
sexually-charged journey to hell itself, which threatens to either change them
for the better, or destroy them.
Want more? My, my...such greedy little monkeys today! Here you go...
Excerpt for Sweet Hell:
There were usually two men Josie Marino had contact with at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. Not good contact. Certainly not sweaty, chest-heaving, "take me, take me" contact. And definitely not contact with Petter, the Norwegian male model who lived next door.
Nah. That would have been too perfect, wouldn't it?
Instead, most mornings, Josie had to settle for haggling with her two least favorite men on the planet. Nelson Tate, the deliveryman from her most important supplier. And Dionysus Iros. Worst. Customer. Ever.
Because of the business, she just had to put up with Nelson. He'd been delivering dry goods to her family bakery for years. Had known her parents, schmoozed with her brothers, and basically enjoyed making life hell for her. Not that he was a vicious sort. He was just far too handsy for her liking.
In the case of Dionysus, he was just an early bird and a womanizer. And couldn't function without the coffee she brewed first thing in the morning. Invariably, he was already waiting for her when she got to the bakery each day.
Oh, joy of joys.
Not that he was a horrible person either. He just
intimidated her with his unearthly good looks. Men like him, not that most men
came close to looking like him, rattled her. They were best kept at a distance.
Dionysus was so bloody perfect; Josie wanted to shake him to
see if she could muss his seemingly unmussable hair. Most days, though, she
just contented herself with a lot of grumbling in his presence. He unnerved
her, with his sexy brown eyes and long, dark waves of hair any woman would die
for. To say nothing of his body… No, it was best not to say anything about that
smoking body at all. She couldn’t help hating him, just a little. No man should
look so divine at dawn, when she felt about as put together as a cavewoman.
To makes things worse, the man acted as if he were a Greek
god. His parents, in a tragic case of bad judgment, had even named him after
one. It was no wonder he was so obnoxious.
On this morning, too, he was waiting at the door when she
got there. Looking as if he’d just tumbled off the cover of GQ, and the birds
weren’t even up yet. At least today he didn’t have a sleepy bimbo on his arm,
like he often did.
“Mr. Iros,” Josie drawled, yawning, as she unlatched the
bakery door. “You’re losing your touch. I haven’t seen you with a woman in,
what, forty-eight hours?” She pushed ahead of him into the bakery, catching the
scent of wine on him.
God, how much did the man drink? She was sure he dabbed a
little bit of the stuff behind his ears, and splashed it on his face instead of
aftershave.
On any other man, the strange cologne would have been a red
flag. An indication he drank more than coffee in the morning. But on this man,
it just smelled delicious. As if the scent were his pheromone, oozing out of
every pore, inviting her to mate with him. In very dirty ways.
He chuckled, low and deep, and sauntered in after her as if
he owned the place. Within seconds, he was seated at his usual spot at Josie’s
counter. “Just be a good girl and fetch my coffee.” He lowered his shades and
peered at her through sensuous dark eyes that should have been bloodshot at
that time of the morning, but weren’t. “And don’t forget. Make it a tall,
half-skinny, half-one percent, extra hot, two shots decaf, two shots regular
latte with whip. And exactly…”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “One hundred fifty
degrees. Has it ever been anything less, Your Highness?” She pasted on her
sweetest of smiles and turned to prepare the elixir of the gods. She heard him
huff as he flipped open the day’s newspaper.
“No need to call me that, Josie. ‘My Lord’ or ‘He From Whom
All Good Things Come’ will do just fine.”
She reached for the one percent milk, and contemplated
tossing in some heavy, artery-clogging cream just to soften up some of his
sculpted muscles. A man with that kind of body had to be on some sort of
special diet. With that brawny physique he must spend hours a day at the gym
and ingest copious amounts of protein powders.
She snuck a peek at the bulges rippling under his sleeves,
turning her head sharply when he grinned.
It was one thing to look like God’s gift to women. It was
another thing to act like it.
Thanks again to Rosanna for being here and to you for taking the time to hang with us! To purchase Sweet Hell, go to:
Rosanna Leo writes erotic romance for Liquid Silver Books.
She is the author of For the Love of a God, Up In Flames, Sweet Hell and The
Selkie. Her favorite things are her family, libraries and Nutella. Cute men
make her squeal and she loves turning people on with her love stories.
