Today we have with us the brilliant Zara Keane I am so in love with her Ballybeg Series its amazing and has some wicked LOL moments, I am so honoured too have her hear today Thank you.
Tell us more about you and what drew you to your genre?
I was born and grew up in Ireland. My mother was an avid reader and there was never a shortage of books in our house. I discovered romance novels the summer I turned 12. I was staying with my grandparents and ran out of books. I borrowed (okay, sneaked) some of my great-aunt’s Mills & Boon collection and was instantly hooked. I loved the idea of books with guaranteed happy endings.
If you could choose any published author who you would love to brainstorm with who would you choose and why?
Anne Stuart. She’s had a long and varied career as a romance author. Many of her books are on my Keeper Shelf. If I recall correctly, she started publishing back in the 70s and she’s still writing today.
When choosing the title for your latest book(s) do you have a certain process? Or do you ask others or do you just wing it?
While character names come to me like magic, book titles are hard.Until fairly recently, I was notorious among my critique partners for leaving it until the last second to name by book. They’d get files called Ballybeg 2, 2nd Draft to critique. Now that I’m indie publishing and need to book editors and cover designers months in advance, I can’t faff around with titles anymore. Once I know the story’s basic premise, I brainstorm titles that I think would fit with an existing series that the book will be part of, or come up with a few new titles for a brand new series. For the first time ever, I know the titles of all the stories I want to write and publish in next year.
Can you share a snippet of your latest book?
Sure! It’s called The Rock Star’s Secret Baby and is the second story in my Ballybeg Bad Boys series. It stands alone well, though, and readers can jump in to the series at any point. This is a scene between the rock star hero, Darko, and Muireann, the mother of his surprise baby.
Darko’s gaze trailed over Muireann’s abdomen, and down to her shapely hips and thighs. “You’re a beautiful woman.”
Her lips curved into a come-hither smile. “You’re not too ugly yourself.”
He laughed and lay beside her. When his fingertips danced across her skin, she sucked in a breath. He skimmed her shoulders, tracing circles around the smattering of freckles.
“They remind me of chocolate chips,” he murmured and dropped a kiss on each shoulder.
Then he drew his tongue down her throat and kissed the pulse at its base. She inhaled sharply.
“Should I stop?” he whispered and ran a palm down her side to cup one buttock.
“No,” she gasped. “I don’t want you to stop, Darko.”
“Damian,” he said softly. “My real name is Damian.”
Do you have someone in your life that you use as a sounding board for any of your ideas or are do you keep it all close to your chest?
I have a critique partner but we tend to trade stories as beta reads these days (i.e.: stories that have been finished and are already reasonably polished). I have an accountability partner who writes in a different genre to me. I also belong to an awesome Chatzy room where we do writing sprints. If I’m stuck on a particular plot point, I can usually find someone there to hash it out with.
Do you embrace the sexy scenes in your book or do they make you nervous?
Neither. 🙂 I find sex scenes challenging to write but not because they make me nervous. I usually wait until the rest of the book is finished and then add in the sex scenes during the second draft. The reason I do this is that I need to know my characters really well before I get them naked. Once I know what makes them tick, I have a better idea of the sort of sex they’d like and the sort of sex they’d have with each other.
What are you currently working on ?
The third story in the Ballybeg Bad Boys series, ‘The Navy SEAL’s Holiday Fling’. I can’t say too much about it at the moment because it contains a major spoiler for ‘The Rock Star’s Secret Baby’. Here’s a mini blurb:
When former Navy SEAL, Liam Ryan, rescues sex toy store manager, Jill Bekele, from a ticking time bomb (literally), they find themselves pitted against a terrorist determined to destroy the holiday season.
If you could choose one of your characters in any of your books which would you say you love the most?
This is so hard to say! Probably Lar Delaney from Love and Shamrocks (he’s getting his own book next year, a romantic suspense called Final Target). Out of my female characters, probably Sharon MacCarthy from Love and Mistletoe. We’d have very little in common but I admire her confidence and ability to find a nugget of humour in the most dire situation.
What’s the one thing in your life you are most proud of?
Apart from my kids,I’m proud that I took a chance and set up my own business. Asmall business owner is exactly what an indie author is, even if tasks are divided into traditional business admin and the creative side of writing books. It’s still early days but it’s going in the right direction. Most importantly, I love what I do and I hope that shows in my stories.
Which author would you love to meet the most?
I’d love to meet the Chatzy authors in person (Zoe York, Sadie Haller, Melissa Blue, Nikki Haverstock, Madelynne Ellis, and many more). In terms of an author I don’t know but admire, the romantic mystery author, Jana DeLeon.
Quick fire questions
Sweet or sour — Sour
Top or bottom — Bottom
Wine or water — Wine
Movie or book — Book
Scream or shout — Scream
Paddle or feathers — Feathers
Below are a few of my Favourite Books that I hope you all love as much as I do.
Excerpt
Vows in Vegas…True Love in Ireland.
Three days before leaving Ireland on the adventure of a lifetime, Fiona Byrne returns to her small Irish hometown to attend the family wedding from hell. When she discovers the drunken vows she exchanged with the groom during a wild Las Vegas trip eight years previously mean they’re legally married, her future plans ricochet out of control. Can she untangle herself from the man who broke her heart so long ago? Does she even want to?
Gavin Maguire’s life is low on drama, high on stability, and free of pets. But Gavin hadn’t reckoned on Fiona blasting back into his life and crashing his wedding. In the space of twenty-four hours, he loses a fiancée and a job, and gains a wife and a labradoodle. Can he salvage his bland-but-stable life? More importantly, can he resist losing his heart to Fiona all over again?
Buy Links.
Excerpt
She’d left him in the past…
Underwater photographer Katy Ryan snags the assignment of a lifetime—the chance to explore the wreck of RMS Lusitania. But there’s a catch: Her infuriating ex-fiancé is on the exploration team.
…He’s about to blow up her future.
Declan “Dex” Fitzgerald is a treasure hunter on a mission. Priceless necklaces are hidden in the wreck of the Lusitania. With a loose idea of where to find the gems, and even looser morals, Dex wrangles a last-minute job on the team. And realizes he’ll have to work alongside his uptight-but-sexy-as-hell ex.
And they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the treasure. With sparks flying and oxygen tanks running low, can Dex and Katy retrieve the gems before the bad guys?
Buy Links.
Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Treasure-Hunter-Ballybeg-Boys-Book-ebook-x/dp/B014JX46GM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Amazon USA- http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Hunter-Ballybeg-Boys-Book-ebook/dp/B014JX46GM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
He’d rocked her world. She’s about to blow up his life.
When a beautiful former fling blasts back into his life, jaded rock star Darko Dunne’s peaceful seclusion on a private island comes to an explosive end. Faced with a band of ruthless criminals and a ticking clock, Darko and Muireann must pool their resources to rescue the baby he never knew he had.
Buy Links.
Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rock-Stars-Secret-Baby-Ballybeg-ebook/dp/B014YVV5UO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Amazon USA- http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Stars-Secret-Baby-Ballybeg-ebook/dp/B014YVV5UO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Huge thank you to Zara Keane we at Cariad Books Love you.
Follow Links
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Cariad Books 