1/11/2012

CRASH into RONI LOREN

CRASH INTO YOU
Berkley Heat
ISBN: 0425245241
Sometimes the past can bring you to your knees...
Brynn LeBreck has dedicated herself to helping women in crisis, but she never imagined how personal her work would get, or where it would take her. Her younger sister is missing, suspected to be hiding from cops and criminals alike at a highly secretive BDSM retreat--a place where the elite escape to play out their most extreme sexual fantasies. To find her Brynn must go undercover as a sexual submissive. Unfortunately, The Ranch is invitation only. And the one Master who can get her in is from the darkest corner of Brynn's past.

Brynn knows what attorney Reid Jamison is like once stripped of his conservative suit and tie. Years ago she left herself vulnerable only to have him crush her heart. Now she needs him again. Back on top. And he's all too willing to engage. But as their primal desires and old wounds are exposed, the sexual games escalate--and so does the danger. Their hearts aren't the only things at risk. Someone else is watching, playing by his own rules. And his game could be murder.



DEBUT “DRIVER” RONI LOREN
wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven't improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she'll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she's not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rockstars, er, rock concerts--yeah, that's it.





FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS
ANGI: How often do you get lost in a story?
RONI: As often as I can! J When I read, I want it to be full throttle. My whole goal is to get lost in the story. If I can keep putting a book down and walking away to do something else, then it’s probably not the story for me. 

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading? 
RONI: The first book I remember reading on my own was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. My 5th grade teacher read a chapter aloud at the end of each school day. I couldn’t wait to know what happened on that slow of a schedule, so I went to the library and read through the whole series on my own. That’s the first time I remember wanting to be a writer. 

ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
RONI: A story that doesn’t connect me to the characters straight away. A great, complex plot is wonderful, but I’m reading it for the characters first. 

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
RONI: If you look at my titles (Crash Into You and Melt Into You) or the name of my series (Loving on the Edge), you can probably figure out I’m pretty inspired by music. Though I do try to twist the song name a bit for the titles. For CRASH, I would say the theme song is Outside by Staind. When I was writing it, that song came on the radio and gave me chills because it fit so well. (Favorite lyrics: Inside you’re ugly, ugly like me. I can see through you. See to the real you.) Both my hero and heroine feel “wrong” on the inside in some way, but of course are perfect for each other. J

ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
RONI: I read wherever I can, though I don’t get to do it as often as I like. Any non-writing time is usually spent with my husband or kidlet. I do try to sign up for reading challenges that give me goals of how many books I want to try to read each year. I keep a running list of what I’ve read on my website.

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
RONI: I wrote a teen romance when I was fifteen. All the male characters strongly resembled members of the New Kids on the Block. Not sure how that happened. And the heroine was named, wait for it…Love. Subtlety was clearly not my strong suit.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
RONI: Dirty Dancing. I think that movie was responsible for turning me into a romance junkie when I was still too young to even understand what romance was. J

ANGI: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?
RONI: Of course! I think that’s the beauty of a good story—you can walk in your imagination for a while.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: Roni, I’m still very close to the characters of my first book. I probably know them better than any others I’ve written. What’s something you’d like to share with readers about Brynn & Reid?
RONI’S  GOTTA ANSWER:  What I loved most about writing Brynn and Reid’s story was that I got to see two separate times in their relationship. Every other chapter jumps back and forth between present day and ten years earlier. So I was able to write about Brynn and Reid’s initial falling in love in college--before they were tainted by too many life experiences. Then I also got to bring them back together now that they were more mature and dealing with some pretty rough history. It made them fully come to life for me because I was able to delve deeper than just the “snapshot in time” peek at them.

We’ll draw from those leaving a blog comment today for a copy of CRASH INTO YOU.
Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

FOLLOW RONI’S DEBUT
Roni Loren --on everything & Fiction Groupie --on writing

UP NEXT: MELT INTO YOU
       July 2012, Berkley Heat
& FALL INTO YOU
January 2013, Berkley Heat


DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join me next Wednesday when I host Harlequin Intrigue author Dana Marton. And come back tomorrow when Donnell hosts Sparkle Abbey. And Friday when Linda Wisdom will be Jill’s guest. ~Angi


?? RONI WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ??
What movie or book made you fall in love with romance?

39 comments:

  1. I've been in love with romance for as long as I can remember. Even as a little kid I always was big on the HEA. I can't remember the exact first movie, but I do remember watching Dirty Dancing(jeez I think I was 4 or 5, scandalous I know) and thinking that Johnny and Baby were so cute together and how much I wanted to be able to dance with him like that. Also around that time I discovered Anne of Green Gables and I fell in love with Gilbert Blithe. I was so upset when Anne first turned him down. I always loved the two of them together and was so happy when she finally realized that she did love him. To this day they are one of my favorite couples.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, I thought I was scandalous watching Dirty Dancing at 8 or 9. ;) I have to say I never read Anne of Green Gables. Sounds like I missed out.

      Delete
  2. Congrats on your debut release, Roni. Someone lent me Julie Garwood's "The Bride" in high school and I've been hooked ever since.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jane! Isn't funny how those books we get our hands on in high school turn out to be so influential on our future reading habits, lol?

      Delete
  3. Hi Roni,

    Wow - your book sounds great. I guess Gone With the Wind and Little Women hooked me on romance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tammy! I grew up with my dad's have movie being Gone With the Wind so I thought it was decidedly uncool. I probably need to go back and watch it with adult eyes.

      Delete
  4. Fun interview, Roni, and these books look so freaking good! OMG, the story that I think got me into romance I first encountered as a TV Mini-series: The Thorn Birds. Oh, the drama. The forbidden love. The painful separations. I was a young teenager, and it was all so titillating! LOL I went on to read the book, too...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Laura! And I didn't read The Thorn Birds, but I got hooked on VC Andrews moves in high school and those were SO melodramatic and tragic. :)

      Delete
  5. Crash Into You looks great.
    I'd have to classify myself more of a newcomer to the romance genre. I usually read fiction that was suspense or sci-fi with only maybe a subtle hint of romance. Then I got into Sandra Brown, then not sure how it happened but I started reading books in Harlequin BLaze series. That hooked me on all romance for sure, from historical to contemporary to paranormal :).
    sharocks13@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sharon! :) And I was actually pretty late to reading traditional romance too. I read mostly suspense and horror when I started reading adult books. It was only in the last few years I found my way to romance. And boy was I happy to get there! :)

      Delete
  6. GOOD MORNING, RONI !!
    Congratulations on your debut week. So glad you're stopping by to "get lost."

    Most everyone knows that my grandmother got me hooked on Harlequin when I was a teen. The other half of that story is that I read everything from the library after my youngest was born (had to stay home with her). I had read so many thrillers or mysteries where the protagonist was just as unhappy at the end of the story as in the beginning. THAT's when I decided I loved romance. I love the possibility of a happy ever after.

    But when I began writing romance, THAT's when I discovered the character growth which romance excells at!! I'm hooked for life.

    ~Angi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for inviting me, Angi! And I'm hooked for life too. :)

      Delete
  7. I'd say Rivers End & Wuthering Heights got me into reading romance. I couldn't get enough of Nora Roberts & I still love her books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deep dark confession: I've never read Nora Roberts. I have a few on my shelf but haven't picked them up yet. This may mean I'm kicked out of the romance club.

      Delete
  8. Prince Charming (in any of the fairy tales) pretty much convinced me at the age of three or four. My how early we are indoctrinated!

    I have heard such wonderful things about your book on Goodreads. CRASH INTO YOU is on my to-read list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Gjillian! I hope you enjoy the book! :)

      Delete
  9. Hi Roni! As a fellow New Orleans Girl, Welcome, and I cannot wait to read your book! The cover alone won me over!

    I loved watching Sex and the City so I decieded to pick up a Candace Bushnell book. That was it, I was in love. And thanks to recommendations of what others bought on B&N and Amazon, I discovered Jennifer Crusie. I love mysteries and adventure stories but I always go back for more romance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sherie! *waves to fellow New Orleans girl* Hope you enjoy the book! :)

      Delete
  10. I can never get enough of Jane Austen's work. I love how proper love is in that period...it seems so much easier than the messy way we handle it today :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, true, though I suspect love was always pretty messy. :)

      Delete
  11. I like romances full of angst so Jane Eyre really worked for me. Tortured heroes are my absolute favorite so Mr Rochester was perfect for me. I also like that the heroine isn't gorgeous.

    Congrats on the new release Roni!

    geishasmom73 AT yahoo DOT com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I LOVE the tortured hero. My have to read and write. :)

      Delete
  12. I only started reading romances a few years back. I started with Lynsay Sands vampire books and then moved to historicals along with PNR and from there I just fell in love with about all romances. I read everything from historicals to contemporaries, paranormals and Sci-Fi, both mainstream and erotic. As long as it has good characters and a good story, and a HEA or HFN ending, I will read it.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. In college I borrowed a friend's copy of Julie Garwood's The Bride. I still haven't given it back. I headed to the library the next day and checked out every romance they had.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, that's two votes for The Bride. I'm going to have to go find that one. :)

      Delete
  14. Hey Roni! So excited for you and not entering, because I am already waiting on my copy (happy happy), but the book and the movie that made me fall in love with romance:

    Trixie Belden and Jim in the Trixie Belden Mysteries, followed as a young pre-teen with Penny Jordan's Escape to Desire. The movie was The Empire Strikes Back when Leia told Han she loved him and he said I know...that scene still gets me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Heather! And *hugs* for buying the book. :) See, this is why I tell my husband Star Wars is really a romance. :)

      Delete
  15. Great interview. Really looking forward to reading Crash. I can't remember the first book that got me into romance, but I started reading Susan Johnson in high school, my first brush with romance. They were steamy historicals and me and my best friend ate them up. I bought several, she bought some, we would read them and switch, LOL.
    Satori1977@man.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Satori! :) And that's always awesome to have friends you can book swap with.

      Delete
  16. LOL! Dirty Dancing is my favorite movie tooooo! How funny! I will still stop to watch the. . . Most of all I'm afraid of living my whole life and never feeling the way I feel with you. . . scene. . . It still gives me those happy tingles!

    :D

    Kele

    Kelemoon@me.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *sigh* Love that scene. See, this is probably why I like your books so much. We're operating from the same romance roots. ;)

      Delete
  17. Pride and Prejudice all the way! I've wanted Mr. Darcy my whole life:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that movie is responsible for many a romance junkie. :)

      Delete
  18. Oops, forgot @veertothewrite mail michele@michelelshaw.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dirty Dancing is one of my all-time fave movies, too!! Congrats, Roni!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for joining us Roni. And mucho continued success on your book release.

    ~Angi

    ReplyDelete
  21. CONGRATULATIONS CARRIE !

    Random.org selected your number as the winner of Roni's CRASH INTO YOU.

    Send an email with your information and we'll get you set up.

    ~Angi
    GetLostInAStory@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete