Over the past few months I’ve taken part in blog chains and blog hops but I think blog shares are my favourite.

Author Aurelia B Rowl very kindly hosted me during my Big Birthday Promotion but, due to technical difficulties, wanted me to hold back her share until her new book was up and ready to share with you all so, for your delectation….meet Aurelia.

Aurelia B Rowl is a contemporary romance author but you can also find her masquerading as Allie A Burrow, her raunchier alter-ego.

 She lives on the edge of the Peak District in the UK with her very understanding husband and their two fantastic children aged 5 and 3, along with their mad rescue mutt who doesn’t mind being used as a sounding post and source of inspiration. They are all used to her getting too caught up with her latest writing project… or five!… and she is guiltily counting down the months until she has both kids at school full-time.  

Aurelia took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions that will help you to get to know her better…

1 How do you write? Is everything plotted, planned to perfection? Do you ever change tack as you go along or always stick to a pre-made plan?

I’m what I would call a ‘hybrid’ as it seems to depend on the book…my mood…the initial spark. Some of my projects are plotted in their entirety, others are completely off the cuff, but most are a bit of both. I might have an idea for an opening, or even a resolution, and then wing it for the first few chapters. At that point, knowing the characters so much better, I can try and plot the rest but even then, my characters have been known to surprise me and demand things their own way.

 

2 Do you have a writing ritual? Meditation, certain cup for your tea, writing trousers?

I once read a phrase by Wendy S. Marcus—which incidentally, she’d ‘borrowed’ from somebody else whose name escapes me—with the words, “writing as the bullets fly”. That’s basically me. My ritual is to cram as much writing as I can in the two hours I get alone each day, during term-time only, and then have to muddle along as best I can whilst entertaining my pre-schooler as best I can. There is generally coffee and/or diet coke involved, chocolate, and I quite often have the radio on too.

 

3 Aside from writing, what makes you tick? Tell us 5 things about yourself we probably don’t know.

What makes me tick? Hmmm… tricky one.
1) Obviously, my family – it has always been a dream of mine to be a stay-at-home-mum, and although my children often drive me batty, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
2) I am a voracious reader, so if I’m not writing something, you’ll find me with my nose stuck in a book instead.
3) I’ve been vegetarian for over twenty years now, initially because it made me poorly but now I couldn’t imagine ever eating an animal. The rest of my family eat meat though, it’s not something I wish to force on them, although they often have to eat veggie meals as I won’t cook meat for fear of poisoning them.
4) I need a landscape to be comfortable—whether it be rolling green hills or the ocean—but I don’t do so well in cities, which tend to make me feel claustrophobic, or very flat places where there is nothing to see beyond what is right in front of you.

5) I enjoy music and am often caught listening to Classic FM. Many many years, I played the violin in my school orchestra, and my love of classical music has stuck with me. In a similar vein, I also love singing, purely in the comfort of my own home, but it seems to have rubbed off on the kids too.

 

4 If you were stranded on a desert island with shelter, food and water, what 5 items would you want with you?

On the proviso I already have my family and mad mutt with me too, I’d have to have my laptop, kindle, smartphone, solar-powered electricity generator (to recharge said items), and my memory foam pillow.

 

5 On said island, what 5 books would you take and why?

Am I allowed omnibuses? Mind you, I’ve already snuck in my Kindle. Umm…
1) Harry Potter omnibus,
2) Twilight Saga omnibus,
3) the complete works of Shakespeare,
4) 2-in-1 dictionary and thesaurus, and…
5) Hunger Games omnibus.
I’ve read them all before, but could happily re-read over and over to while away the time. And I couldn’t be without a dictionary and thesaurus with all the writing I’d be able to crack on with.

 

6 Off the island now, which famous person would you like to have dinner with?­

My initial thought was Zac Efron—think guilty pleasure—but actually, it could be really interesting to have dinner with Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge.

 

7 Your current writing projects?

Oh, they are far too numerous to mention individually, but there is one I’ve been trying to finish all year that keeps getting shoved aside called Their Last Goodbye. Plus there is the series I’m working on called Peer Pressure, which so far is made up of five titles. Then there are other stories, without even touching on the projects my raunchier alter-ego Allie A Burrow is working on. You can find out about all of my writing projects over on my website.

 

8 Other published work and links….feel free to add as many as you like.

Christmas is Cancelled is my debut, and has come much earlier than I ever envisaged. I also have a story being published by Breathless Press in March as part of an anthology, writing as Allie A Burrow.

Thank you so much Aurelia for sharing with us…I’ve learned loads…a fellow veggie and another lover of the British countryside! Please check out and follow Aurelia at the following places…..

www.aureliabrowl.com

Blog – blogspot.aureliabrowl.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/aurelia.b.rowl

Twitter – @AureliaBRowl

Google+ – +AureliaBRowl

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/aureliabrowl

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/aureliabrowl ………………….. and here is more about Aurelia’s new book!

 

About Christmas is Cancelled…

 

Matilda ‘Tilly’ Carter didn’t think her day could get any worse, but even Christmas had just been cancelled.

The one girl Dean Watson has sworn never to have—never even expected to see again—just flared back into his life and into his home—his sanctuary—like she belonged there. Christmas would certainly be more bearable with Tilly around though…

As the chinks in Dean’s armor appear, Tilly seizes the chance to win her knight once and for all. She’s not about to take no for answer—not this time—but Dean must resist, even as his heart rebels and temptation threatens to undermine his resolve.

Win or lose? Love or honor? Which will Dean choose? Assuming he gets a choice…

Excerpt

Tears welled in her eyes, clouding her vision. She turned and wandered blindly toward the exit as the first tear escaped, forging a track down her cheek for the rest to follow. Tilly took in a lungful of air and then another. Having made a spectacle of herself once already, she really didn’t want to be the cause of yet another scene.

The crowds swarmed around her, with students and family members heading home for the holidays only adding to the usual rush-hour melee of commuters. They jostled past, threatening to swallow her whole, as they rushed en mass in the opposite direction, using their briefcases and suitcases as a battering ram.

It was suffocating. She had to get out of there. Breaking into a run, broken heel or not, she raced through the doors and out into the biting December chill. Her waterlogged eyes struggled to adjust to the dark, dreary sky after the bright station lights, but she didn’t dare slow down, desperate to escape the throng of festivities and merriment.

Carol singers assembled outside burst into a jovial rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” full of joy and happiness. Didn’t they know Christmas had just been cancelled?

“Ooof!” Tilly smacked her shin against the edge of a low bench, too dark to see as she tried to dodge the growing audience. She ended up sprawled across the bench, dropping the handle of her suitcase with a loud clatter.

At least the pain shooting down her leg gave her an excuse to be crying. Unfortunately, it meant she had to stop running too. Not good. Whenever things got too tough, too intimate, or too confrontational, you could rely on her to make a run for it. Running away was what she did best…

A tall figure loomed in the edge of her vision, something vaguely familiar about the man’s loping gait. In an effort to see him more clearly, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, then cringed inwardly at the black streaks now etched all over them. Great. She could add impersonating a panda to her day from hell as well then.

The mascara stung her eyes, rendering her unable to focus properly. She blinked furiously as the man strode past her, talking into a mobile phone in a deep voice that resonated throughout her body and made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A surge of adrenaline rushed to her legs, numbing the pain as her subconscious told her to run. Now!

The cloaked figure stopped mid-stride as if he’d heard her gasp. “Mike, I’ve gotta go,” he barked into the phone, hanging up instantly. He backtracked until he was standing right in front of her, his tone changing from a growl to one of surprise. “Basmati?”

Great. She hadn’t heard the nickname for years—nine years, four months and…sixteen days, to be exact—and even then, only one person had ever actually used it. She screwed her eyes tightly shut, shaking her head from side to side. No. No way. There was absolutely no way this could be happening to her. Not now. Not today of all days… Talk about kicking a girl when she was down.

Links

Buy links –  http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&products_id=407

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16284007-christmas-is-cancelled