Friday 11 June 2010

Interview: Ashlyn Chase + Strange Neighbors giveaway *CLOSED*

Today I have the honour to welcome Ashlyn Chase, the author of Strange Neighbours.

At the end of the interview there is a contest of her book, so do not miss that.

Welcome :)

Tell me something about yourself, so we get a better understanding about the woman behind the author.

That’s always such a hard question. I just tell people I’m an Almond Joy Bar. A little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet. I simply want to give my readers a scrumptious, satisfying experience.

Before becoming a published author, I worked as a nurse for twenty years. I had always been creative, but jobs in the arts are few and far between, so I did what I had to do to pay the bills. At last I found my chance to do what I really wanted, and since then, life has never been so sweet.

Your newest book is called Strange Neighbours; can you tell me what it is about?

I’m in love with this new series. It’s about an apartment building full of paranormal misfits in Boston’s Back Bay. As you might expect, it’s another one of my romantic comedies. The building is a typical nineteenth century brownstone mansion, converted to six apartments, plus a top floor penthouse.

Our series includes some really fun characters. A were-raven with a morbid sense of humor, an Alpha were-wolf who was kicked out of his pack for being too nice and now drums up business for his security-system business by moonlighting as a thief, two witches with an owl familiar who work as phone-sex actresses, a sarcastic ghost, and an “unofficial” resident in the basement—a vampire who fancies himself the neighborhood watch-dog and vigilante crime-fighter. The new landlord, occupying the penthouse, is a professional baseball pitcher with a secret of his own. But being only half-shapeshifter, he doesn’t have the greatest control over his shifts. He hired his busybody aunt and unemployed uncle to manage and maintain the building.

As they say, birds of a feather flock together, and with the exception of the latest tenant, a very human nurse on her own for the first time, all the hooting, howling, and hollering that goes on drives the busybody building manager a little nuts.

Book one is about the romance between the nurse and the landlord. As soon as she moves out of Apt 1B, her best friend, a lawyer, moves in. Our human lawyer hooks up with the werewolf thief in book two. Book three involves a witch-war over the vampire. Our witches are cousins from opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, and for a while it’s a bit like the civil war all over again.

If you could share a flat with any of the tenants in Strange Neighbors, then who would it be?

What a great question! I love it. Well, I’m sure I’d avoid sharing 3A with the ghost. He likes to play pranks on people! The witches are already sharing a one bedroom apartment across the hall. The Vampire hides in a secret compartment behind a false wall in the cobwebby basement. Yuck. Not for me. The werewolf has a nice place. Loads of books on shelves lining his living room walls. Plus he strong in case I can’t open a jar. Yeah, I’d probably room with Konrad. 

(B: Konrad does sound interesting, I think I'd choose him too. I love books...and werewolves ;)

I must ask, any special interest in baseball, or was that just for fun?

Just for fun. Actually, I’m a football fan, and Tom Brady inspired the series. I had heard that he owned a condo building in Boston and lived in one of the units. Well, I had to change the details enough so that it wouldn’t look like I was actually writing a romantic comedy about him. His wife Giselle probably wouldn’t appreciate that! So I created Jason Falco, star lefty pitcher for the Boston Bullets and apartment building owner. He lives in the penthouse, of course.

Is there any genre you still want to try?

I don’t know. If there’s no romance, there’s no story in my opinion. I tried writing Young Adult once, but without the sex, it was just boring! (Laughs)

I see that you have written a lot of other books. Could you tell me about those?

My other books are erotic romances. Most are flat-out comedy and many are also paranormal. So if you like the hot love scenes between Jason and Merry in Strange Neighbors, you’ll enjoy all of my crazy books. http://www.ashlynchase.com/eroticbooks.html  

Who is your favorite hero or heroine from your books? What makes them so special?

That’s another really hard question. I still love Jake, the undercover cop in Quivering Thighs. And Shane (Crusher) Derby in Demolishing Mr. Perfect. Of course Adrian in Vampire Vintage was fun and drool-worthy. Randy has a special place in my heart in Being Randy as well as Dennis in Oh My God. Most of my heroes are incredibly charming. Usually they have good senses of humor and will put up with anything the heroine throws at them without losing their tempers. They can be rocked off balance though, and it’s fun to see that happen.

Which book of those you have written is your favorite, and what makes it so?

That’s like asking me to choose my favorite kid! (Laughs) I guess I can admit Oh My God might be the most important since it was my first erotic comedy, and that’s when I discovered my voice. I’m also very fond of the book I wrote with Dalton Diaz called Love Cuffs.

Are you working on something new and exciting right now?

Yes. I’m halfway through the third book in the Strange Neighbors series. This time it’s the vampire’s story. He moves into Apt 1B, known as ‘the love shack’ because anyone who moves in there finds the love of their lives before the last box is unpacked. (grins)

(B: Ooooo, I like the sound of that.)


What kinds of books do you read? Any fav authors?

I love reading the few authors that write in my subgenre of paranormal romantic comedy—Mary Janice Davidson, Gerry Bartlett, Katie McAlister…

Any advice for wannabe writers?

Never. Give. Up. It might not be the first book that gets published, or the second. It might be the fifth or the tenth, but keep on writing and submitting. It can’t happen if you quit.


Thank you so much for visiting today Ashlyn. It has been fun :)
And now for the Contest thanks to Sourcebooks.

Rules:
1. Ends June 14th (2 winners)
2. You need to Ask a question, or comment on the books.
3. Open to US and Canada
4. Please leave me a way to contact you if your email is not in your profile.

To the rest, be free to ask questions even if you are not entering :=) The more the merrier.


STRANGE NEIGHBORS BY ASHLYN CHASE—IN STORES JUNE 2010
He’s looking for peace, quiet, and a little romance…
There’s never a dull moment when hunky all-star pitcher and shapeshifter Jason Falco invests in an old Boston brownstone apartment building full of supernatural creatures. But when Merry MacKenzie moves into the ground floor apartment, the playboy pitcher decides he might just be done playing the field…

A girl just wants to have fun…
Sexy Jason seems like the perfect fling, but newly independent nurse Merry’s not sure she’s ready to trust him with her heart…especially when the tabloids start trumpeting his playboy lifestyle.
Then pandemonium breaks loose and Merry and Jason will never get it together without a little help from the vampire who lives in the basement and the werewolf from upstairs…

About the Author
A multi-published, award-winning author, Ashlyn Chase specializes in characters who reinvent themselves, having reinvented herself numerous times. Among her many day jobs, she has worked as a psychiatric nurse, run blood drives for the Red Cross, and now uses her degree in behavioral sciences to avoid writing exhaustive character sketches.  She lives with her true-life hero husband in beautiful New Hampshire.  For more information, please visit http://ashlynchase.com/.

28 comments:

  1. I have been seeing some great reviews for this book - It's definitely on my To Be Bought list (my wallet is hoping I win it, LOL!). Love the diversity in the apartment complex, sounds like a fun read!

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  2. This does sound like a fun series, and I love how the author describes herself as an Almond Joy.

    A question - Who is the strangest/oddest neighbor you've ever had?

    carolsnotebook at yahoo dot com

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  3. Wow Awesome Interview Ash! I think I told you I'm really new to reading. Not even a year yet til Aug 2010. But I'm excited about your book because I've never read any romance books that had comedy in them, so this will be my first and I'm wondering how I'll feel about it. My husband tells me all the time I have no sense of humor and if that's the case I take after my Mom. lol
    I'm anxious to find some time to read your book. I like to read a book within 2 days. I don't like reading a little bit each day, I like it to stay fresh in my mind. So I'll pick a couple days a week to devote myself to all the books I've gotten for & from Authors. If only I wasn't so addicted to my computer. LOL It's terrible really.
    I had a question before I read your interview but you answered it. I didn't know you were a nurse for so many years that's amazing too. Your quite accomplished woman Ash! That's fantastic, I'm so happy you followed your dream of writing and have done so well and your so happy with it. This series is going to be a huge hit! The first book has gotten so many great reviews already!

    I'm glad I found you Ash! Your the greatest!

    chirth7@yahoo.com

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  4. What a great question, Carol!

    We have some neighbors now that we call teh vampires! They keep all their windows covered all teh time and never come out except at night.

    It's entirely possible that they're just night workers, but their license plate says 'THINK'
    Hmmm. I can't help but!

    And thanks, Christine, for following me on my blog tour! You're the greatest too.

    Hugs,

    Ash

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  5. Hi Patti,
    Lol, I am sure your wallet would like that ;)

    Carol
    Thanks for stopping by today. I wish I could have thought of such a quirky way to describe myself too, lol

    Hi there Christine
    Thanks for coming by my blog. I am the same with books you know, I'd rather read a lot than little bits here and there.
    Good luck in the contest!

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  6. Hi Ashlyn
    I was wondering about book 2, I can't remember now if I made it up in my head or read it..is book 2 about Konrad?

    I am glad to have your over today. I enjoyed the book, and my fav character..haha the whole bulding

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  7. Yes indeedy. Book two is about Werewolf Konrad and Merry's best friend Roz, a lawyer.

    Here's a teaser:

    Desperate for change, Roz Wells moves into a new apartment, but she'll get more than she bargained for when she starts dating the dangerously hot guy upstairs, who happens to be a shapeshifter and possibly a criminal!

    Komrad Wolfenden has made a living staging break-ins to spook people into buying his security system, but when he's accused of a serious crime, he'll have to enlist the help of his neighbor/girlfriend to keep his cute, slightly criminal rear end out of jail.

    Heh heh...that's all for now!

    Ash

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  8. I like to follow writer’s blogs as I feel I learn from each one. I have a book of Communion devotionals at the printers I authored, although I don’t consider myself an accomplished writer. I am a follower on your blog and invite you to follow mine as well…and please leave a comment when and if you visit.

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  9. Thanks Ashlyn!
    I sure hoped it would be about him, and her after reading the end of book 1. And I do love shifters (especially wolves). I am glad you have one of those there.

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  10. Sounds like a fun book.

    How did you come up with the idea for a were-raven?

    sgiden AT verizon.net

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  11. I like the injection of humor into the characters. SOunds like a fun series!

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  12. This sounds a fabulous read because I feel like it's going to make me laugh and I love humorous romances. Definitely on my TBR pile.

    lilazncutie1215 @ yahoo.com

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  13. Thanks for visiting Sandy, and Jeanette :)

    DC
    Humour sure makes things fun, lol, pretty obvious, but hey it's late her for me :)

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  14. Hello!

    What is your opinion on book trailers? Do you think they help in book sales?

    Thanks,
    Tracey D
    booklover0226 at gmail dot com

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  15. I'm not entering because I'm in Europe :(
    But this book is on my wishlist. I loved the interview! :D

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  16. Did your young adult book every get published and if so what is the name?

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  17. Hi Ash,

    I absolutely LOVE that you set it in an old Brownstone. That sounds so romantic and sensual!

    However, I am disheartened and saddened by you NOT saying that you LOVE baseball...tsk tsk tsk...LOL jk.

    The book sounds fantastic...as usual!

    Nicole :)

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  18. Great interview!
    Strange Neighbours does sound very good. And great advice for wanna- be writers.
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  19. Hi Tracy, Carolyn
    Thanks for the visit :)

    Janna
    Glad you came by :) Must have something for us international people one day too

    Hi Nicole,
    Lol, lovely comment, will not step in between your baseball talk :)

    Naida
    :) Alwys good with advice

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  20. What a wonderful review! Your series sounds really unique and fun Ashlyn.

    I wondered if your background in health care impacts or inspires your writing in anyway.

    Thanks for the interview and giveaway1

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  21. I have only recently heard of this series. It sounds great and I plan on reading it soon!
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

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  22. Don't enter me.
    Just wanted to say I totally agree about that:
    "I don’t know. If there’s no romance, there’s no story in my opinion. I tried writing Young Adult once, but without the sex, it was just boring! (Laughs)"

    LOL so true!
    Great interview!

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  23. Fun interview and Strange Neighbours sounds like a fun read, something very appealing about paranormal misfits :-)
    Ashlyn love your Almond Joy bar description, totally cracked me up!

    I'm an Aussie so don't enter me in the contest, I just wanted to say Hi

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  24. Hi B and Ashlyn!

    I've seen this book and I've been hearing good things. I'll be looking to pick up a copy!

    Sounds like a great read! Love the crazy feel and laughter! Thanks for the interview, loved the answers. (chuckling here!)

    Dottie :)

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  25. Lea, the rou
    Thanks for stopping by!

    Susi
    Lol, so true isn't it ;)

    Hi teddy :D

    Dottie
    Nice to see ya too

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  26. this one sounds awesome and I love the author's words!!!

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  27. Well, I've never heard about this book before but it sounds like a wonderfully light, interesting read.

    Please enter me into the contest. I'll send you my contact info.

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  28. Ashlyn's book sounds great. I love the cover. Thank you for the giveaway.

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