CHATTING WITH: Tanith Davenport

Welcome to the blog, Tanith

What gave you the idea for your book and how long did it take you to write?

I originally planned out “Photograph” several years ago, having watched a programme on women in the military, but it took on new life after reading a quote from an Isaac Asimov essay referring to a colleague of his who had got published in a journal that never accepted science fiction. The concept of someone else succeeding in doing something you had always dreamed of but never dared to try struck a chord with me and inspired my heroine Tara.

If there was a soundtrack to accompany your book what five songs or pieces of music would you choose and why?

1.      “Photograph” – Def Leppard. This is the song which inspired the title, as it’s written from the POV of a man pining after an unattainable celebrity.

2.      “Break Me Shake Me” – Savage Garden. I had this song in my head when writing the  first sex scene between Tara

3.      “Be Mine!” – Robyn. The yearning expressed in this song makes me think of Tara’s longing for Liam.

4.      “What Can I Do” – The Corrs. Again this applies to Tara and Liam, but also Ryan’s thoughts about Tara.

5.      “Apple Eyes” – Swoop. Ever since I first heard this song I imagined it playing when Tara sees Azure and Liam first approaching the yacht in the tender.

How do you fit your writing around your home life?

I have a day job and a husband who also uses the computer, so generally I do a lot of planning while watching TV and then spend an hour a day typing madly.

Do you enjoy research?

I love research. It’s one of the most interesting parts of being a writer – as well as the deep research you do for background, you never know what you’ll need to Google at any one point. I have one friend, a doctor, who has been asked all sorts of bizarre questions.

If your book was turned into a film who would you like to play the main characters?

Sara Paxton. She’s one of my favourite actresses – I think she would be able to capture all the facets of Tara’s personality.

Author Biog:
I have been writing for ten years and first got into erotic romance through the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writer's Scheme; they critiqued my debut novel "The Hand He Dealt", which was published in June 2011 and was nominated for the Joan Hessayon Award.

I live in Yorkshire with my husband and two bratty tuxedo cats. When I'm not writing I spend my time watching horror movies, listening to rock music, travelling to new places and trying out new restaurants.

http://tanithdavenport.com

https://www.totallybound.com/photograph

Thank you for visiting with us today,Tanith.

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October Releases

Carole Matthews WITH LOVE AT CHRISTMAS
Little Brown
paperback
25th October 2012
£6.99

Can the imperfect family really have the perfect Christmas?

Juliet Joyce adores Christmas.  She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand. Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet’s father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day.  And has the chaos got too much for Juliet’s husband Rick?  With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled… WITH LOVE AT CHRISTMAS

 www.carolematthews.com

Phillipa Ashley MIRANDA'S MOUNT
Piatkus Entice
ebook
4th October 2012
A sexy, funny contemporary romance set in Cornwall…

When Miranda finds herself fighting for her home, her job and her heart, sleeping with the enemy may not be the best tactic…

With no family of her own, Miranda Marshall has developed a healthy respect – some would say obsession – with other people’s histories. As property manager of a spectacular island castle in Cornwall, she’s made St Merryn’s Mount one of the UK’s most popular heritage attractions. While she may have the castle running like clockwork, Miranda hasn’t bargained on its sexy owner returning to claim his birthright. Dark, handsome and with a rakish reputation, Jago St Merryn not only looks like a pirate but is intent on flogging the Mount to a soulless leisure corporation. Miranda faces the battle of her life as she tries to persuade him to face up to his past and continue the St Merryn dynasty. But Jago has his own reasons for jumping ship and when he throws down the gauntlet to Miranda, she’s forced to delve into painful memories she’d much rather keep hidden…

Liz Fielding FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN

HMB Riva

Paperback/ebook

1 October

£3.49

Armed only with a photo of the house her grandfather stayed in, the village, and the name Lucia, Sarah sets out to find the woman who saved her great-grandfather's life during the war.

www.lizfielding.com

Christine Stovell MOVE OVER DARLING
Choc Lit
Paperback
7 October 2012
£7.99 

When is it time to stop running?  Coralie Casey doesn’t like the hand fate has dealt her so she’s taken charge of her own destiny.  Setting up ‘Sweet Cleans’, her range of natural cleaning products for body and home, she wipes away the past and starts afresh in Penmorfa, a quiet coastal village in west Wales.

Gethin Lewis thinks he’s about to escape Penmorfa for good.  Now an internationally-acclaimed artist living in New York, all he has to do is return to his home village one last time to wind up his father’s estate.

But the people of Penmorfa have other plans.  Securing a new work from a major artist could mean a big boost for the village.  And who better than Coralie to persuade Gethin to help the place that once rejected him – even if she has to go all the way to New York to seal the deal?  Yet it seems everyone in Penmorfa has something to hide; as truths are uncovered which threaten to split the community apart, Coralie also has to face the fact that some stains just won’t go away.

christinestovell.com

Nina Harrington MY GREEK ISLAND FLING

Mills & Boon

paperback and ebook

October

Could writing someone else’s life story mean re-writing her own? Sipping a cocktail under the warm Greek sun, Lexi Sloane can almost taste success. Ghost-writing a celebrity memoir on a postcard-perfect island will be the career breakthrough she’s been working towards for years…but only if she can persuade the infuriatingly guarded Mark Belmont to open up about his famous mother. Mark grew up in the spotlight and learned young to stay cautious and alert to intrusion, so Lexi has her work cut out. Lexi is hiding too – behind the experiences of those she writes about…Could she learn to be the star of her own life?

If you like the films Mamma Mia or Love Actually, you’ll love this.

http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/riva/my-greek-island-fling.htm

Tanith Davenport I HEARD YOUR VOICE

Total-e-book

EBook

22 October 2012

£2.48 on pre-order, £2.75 after

Paranormal investigator Tamar Steele is stuck in a loveless relationship with arrogant medium Reed James - until one night she sings to herself and is knocked down by an invisible force. Somehow she can raise spirits with her voice. And one matchmaking spirit is determined to turn her life upside down.

Website: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1811

Rena George Another Chance

My Weekly Pocket Novel

4th October, 2012

 "Rowan Fairlie, head teacher at Balcreggan Primary School, had no idea how her life would change when wealthy Clett Drummond and his two young daughters, Charlotte and Poppy, took on the tenancy of Ballinbrae Farm.

Clett insists he's come to the Highlands to help the girls recover from their mother's recent death in a car accident, but Rowan suspects there's more to it.

And why does her growing friendship with the family so infuriate the new laird, Simon Fraser?  Is his apparent hatred of Clett merely jealousy because he wants Rowan for himself, or are the two men linked by some terrible way from the past?"

http://renageorge.com/blog/

Annie Burrows HIS WICKED CHRISTMAS WAGER, a short story

Harlequin
ebook

$2.39

The last person Lord Crispin Sinclair expects to see in a disreputable inn is the woman he's there to forget: Lady Caroline Fallowfield. He hasn't forgiven her for marrying another man--or forgotten their mutual passion. When she implores him to come home for his brother's Christmas nuptials, he agrees--if the now-widowed Caroline is willing to share his bed and take another gamble on love...

Ann a Jacobs THE TRADER’S DREAM #3 in The Traders series

Hodder & Stoughton, 11 October 2012

Hardback

£19.99

1869: Bram Deagan dreams of bringing his family from Ireland to join him in Australia, but a typhus epidemic in Ireland decimates the Deagan family, leaving only Maura Deagain left to look after her orphaned nieces and nephew. Forced to abandon her own ambitions, Maura sets sail, travelling via the newly opened Suez Canal. It is only when a storm throws her and fellow passenger Hugh Beaufort together that Maura realises this journey may also give her a chance to realise a dream she set aside years ago – to have a family of her own.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=The-Traders-Dream&bookID=65

Angela Britnell  HUSHED WORDS

DC Thomson

Paperback

18 October 2012

£1.99

Cassie Moore and Jay Burton have a one-night stand on holiday in Italy but when fate brings them together again it's the start of a rocky ride towards lasting love. Cassie's a single mother of a troubled teenaged son and Jay has forged a successful financial career in London, far from his large Irish family. They rekindle their sizzling romance but Cassie's overwhelming family problems make a future with Jay seem nothing more than a dream. Jay's fear of commitment  and growing dissatisfaction with his extravagant lifestyle lead him to make a drastic change. When he discovers the direction he wants to take Jay finds the courage to lay it all on the line with Cassie.

www.angelabritnellromance.com

Interview with Tanith Davenport

A warm welcome to Tanith Davenport, whose debut novel, "The Hand He Dealt", has been shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon New Writers' Award. Many congratulations on your short listing, Tanith, please tell us about your journey as a writer, how you started, and the excitement of getting that first call.

I had been working on my first novel for three years when it was accepted, including the rewrite suggested during the New Writers’ Scheme. Before then I had written various novel-length pieces but never with any intention of getting them published, which is just as well as they weren’t very good!

My husband and I were on our way out for dinner when the email from Total-e-Bound popped up on my phone. I had always thought I would run around screaming if I ever got published, but instead I spent the evening wearing a ludicrous grin and celebrating with champagne cocktails.

Where do you find inspiration for your ideas and characters?

All kinds of places, but I admit that dreams are responsible for a lot of them. I tend to dream very vividly, which gives me the advantage of having effectively lived through whole sections of storyline. Anything that makes a vague kind of sense gets written down and used later.

Do you have a yearning to write some other type of novel, and if so, what genre would it be?

The advantage of writing romance is that you can cover a lot of genres, so if I feel the urge to write paranormal fiction I can call it “paranormal romance” and it will still fit. However, I would love to try literary fiction one day.

If you were fortunate enough to win the Hessayon Award who would you wish to thank?

A lot of people! Most specifically, I would like to thank my NWS reader, whose guidance led to the rewrite which ultimately led to my contract (I know who it was, although I don’t know if I’m allowed to give her name). I would also thank my fiction writing tutor, Valerie Loh, who first directed me to the RNA; Debi Alper, who was my book doctor at a publishing workshop I attended before submitting my novel to publishers; and let’s not forget my husband Mark, who has had to put up with such inane queries as “What would happen if you squeezed a full can of beer?” and “How would a ghost come out of a bathroom mirror?”

Can you tell us about your work in progress and how you got the idea for it?

I have just had accepted a paranormal erotic romance which is the first in a series about a team of paranormal investigators. It began when, after watching shows such as Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters, I decided to go on a paranormal investigation myself to see how they worked. It wasn’t the most exciting experience of my life – we didn’t get much more than a few bumps and bangs – but it served as great writing material, and I am now working on the second story in the series.

Does your dog or cat help with the writing?

If I’m having trouble with a scene, I’ll go and sit on the sofa and my cat Tigger will join me – it’s amazing how therapeutic petting a purring cat can be for a brain crash.

What was your most embarrassing moment at an RNA event?

I was so badly sunburned at the RNA conference in 2010 that I looked like a Belisha beacon.

Which is your all time favourite book?

It varies, but right now it’s “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith.

What would represent a romantic gesture to you?

Offering a massage, or to buy me dinner. I’m not one for flowers and chocolates.

Do you have any little phobias, superstitions or habits connected with your writing?

I can’t write in a dressing gown, which means that even on weekends when I don’t have to leave the house I still have to get dressed before I can write.

Thank you for talking to us Tanith. We wish you continued success with your writing and good luck with the Joan Hessayon Award.

To find out more about Tanith and her work visit her website here: http://www.tanithdavenport.blogspot.com/