Tessa Radley

Growing up, Tessa Radley suffered from two addictions--to books and chocolate. Fast forward a couple of decades and the only thing that has changed is that Tessa finds that her To Be Read Pile has grown to staggeringly high proportions as she juggles the demands of writing with keeping up with a madly active family.

A lawyer by training, Tessa always dreamed of becoming a writer and finally decided to Just Do It. She discovered that she likes to write books with a little edge and a lot of emotion—the kind she loves to read. Her favorite kind of characters are those caught in seemingly insurmountable circumstances and Tessa wrestles all day long with how to get them in and out of those impossible situations.

THE BOSS’S BABY AFFAIR

Baby Deception

Widowed billionaire Nick Valentine should have known the new nanny was too good to be true. And when Candace Morrison revealed her hidden designs on his baby daughter, Nick was ready. The sexy schemer would definitely get what was coming to her, but that wouldn’t include Nick’s child. Candace knew Nick had been deceived—but not by her. She was stunned by her boss’s fierce response to the truth—and to their undeniable chemistry. Now she’d stop at nothing to prove her shocking claims about the little Valentine heiress. But would it make them a family…or tear them apart?

Billionaires and Babies:

Powerful men—wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.

EXCERPT

I'm thrilled to welcome Tessa to Get Lost In A Story.  Not only is she an incredibly talented author, but she has generously offered to mentor the lucky writer who wins the Valentine's Secrets Harlequin Mentor Challenge.  After reading her books for years, I am delighted to have gotten to know her as a friend.  

Cat:  How often to you get lost in a story?

Tessa:  I live in stories all the time. So I must be permanently lost <g>. But I love losing myself in a book and finding a whole different world in there. Nothing beats that pleasure…not even chocolate.

Cat:  What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Tessa:  Beauty and the Beast. As a child I loved Snow White and Rose Red but I haven’t red that for years—not even to my kids.

Cat:  Be honest, when reading 1st person...do you miss the hero’s POV?

Tessa:  Yes! Although I have read first person heroine with third person hero POV thrown in…very interesting way around the problem. Huge generalization here, but I find first person novels tend to be about the heroine’s journey first and foremost, rather than the romance. Not about the hero either L. Not really. Although that’s not to say that she’s not thinking about guys, love and sex….of course she is. But, even though she might be talking about guys all the time, the first person heroine tends to be more concerned about sorting out her self, finding happiness—and discovering the meaning of life!

Cat:  Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

Tessa:  I’m UTTERLY addicted to SSQ (http://www.sowetostringquartet.co.za/albums.aspx). At the moment Our World is my fav album, I adore the SSQ version of Summertime.

Cat:  Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Tessa:  Sometimes. And then I curse like crazy when the first sentence gives away the twist I begged my editor to keep off the back cover! Why bother reading the book when you can read a line of review that sums it all up? Aside from fuming over spoilers, I love reading that a reviewer enjoyed one of my books. For me, readers form a kind of Secret Society…and we all love to know what others enjoy reading. It gives me a very special kind of buzz when that turns out to be a book I wrote.

Cat:  What sound or noise do you love?

Tessa:  I love the sound of rain on a tin roof.

Cat:  What do you do to unwind and relax?

Tessa:  Pick a glorious day, set myself up on the beach with a lounger, sunscreen, a cold drink AND most importantly a big, fat paperback. I’m solar powered, I run on sunlight. Just doesn’t happen often enough…

Cat:  What color would you make the sky if it wasn’t going to be blue anymore and why?

Tessa:  Orange. I love sunsets…and I love the energy!

Cat’s GOTTA ASK – Tessa’s GOTTA ANSWER

If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?

Guess ;) (Clue above!)

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

You’re Cinderella. Two guys—identical twins except one’s wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt and the other is wearing a tux--pitch up at the kitchen door to invite you to the ball, what do you do?

Tessa would like to offer a copy of 10 Best Love Stories of 2010 – which includes her RBY finaling book, Million-Dollar Baby Bargain.**

Tessa loves hearing from readers. Contact Tessa through her website at www.tessaradley.com, visit her at eHarlequin or friend her on facebook.

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America  addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Stop back and visit us this weekend when we are joined by Tawny Weber and make sure you come by next week when we celebrate the release of Angi Morgan’s second Harlequin Intrigue, .38 Caliber Cover-up.