Interview for Ruthless Perfection by Susie Warren @susiecwarren

Susie Warren writes contemporary romance. Besides being an avid reader, she spends much of her free time crafting intense and complex stories about falling in love. When she is not writing, Susie works as an administrator in a small, independent school while caring for three teenagers and keeping tabs on her inventor husband. With the launching of her first book, The Forgotten Heiress, she has slowly begun to navigate the social media realm.

Susie loves to hear from readers and responds to each email and Facebook post. Please reach out to her via Facebook or Twitter.

For more information on her upcoming releases, new excerpts and other related postings, or to sign up for free promotions, please visit www.susiewarren.com

1. At any given time do you work on only one story and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?

When I started writing, there were often gaps in the time I could dedicate to writing.  In these intervals, new story ideas would surface and I would start a new project if I had a few hours. I would have three or four stories going at the same time. Ultimately, this approach didn’t work for me and nothing got completed.

So out of sheer necessity, I became more disciplined. I started writing an hour each day and wouldn’t allow myself to switch projects. If a new idea surfaced, I would write it down in an idea folder and go back to my current project. Something interesting happened. I became more focused and productive. And I started completing projects.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in?

I’m writing contemporary romance which allows for a wide range of stories. I do read a lot of contemporary romance but also read widely in other sub-genres. If I could write a compelling historical then I would! But my fear is that I would become too lost in the historical facts and details.

3. Do you add an element of romantic suspense in your stories?

I’m drawn to using family secrets in my work but not so much suspense. I like reading suspense for the heighten stakes and conflict but shy away from crime or violence in my stories.

4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?

I live in an 1830’s stone house in New York. My office has refinished plaster walls, built in bookshelves and deep window seats. So I would use unlimited funds to keep my family at bay by hiring a cook to make gourmet meals and a housekeeper to deal with the laundry and dust bunnies.

5. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?

I like the BBC for the understated elegance and true to life characters. If my novel was produced into a show then I wouldn’t want the characters to be airbrushed or made to look perfect. I would want the story to be about real life challenges people face every day. But in a very honest and forthright way.

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!

My third novel, The Exiled Jeweler, is coming out on December 10^th.

A shy heiress to a jewelry empire captures the attention of a celebrated business entrepreneur when she attends a gala at his mansion in Los Angeles. Images secretly captured of her partially nude are released to the tabloids and her overly protective family sends her far away.

 Blurb:

A filmmaker wanting to honor her family’s legacy approaches a reclusive billionaire for help

Isabel Neri’s innocence captures the attention of a well-known Italian marble mogul, Marc Santoro, when she approaches him against her family’s wishes. Wanting to honor her disgraced grandfather, Isabel needs Marc’s permission to produce a film about the Carrara marble industry.

Faced with honoring an old family obligation, Marc allows Isabel to travel to Italy with him but seeks to limit her exposure to his family’s tragic past. Isabel discovers the untold story and challenges Marc to reveal the truth. She is forced to expose her own secret as their desire sparks out of control.

 

Amazon

Excerpt:

She took the glass of cabernet sauvignon he offered her and tried to dispel the growing attraction she felt for him. She reminded herself he was just a man. A man who prized perfection over everything else.

“To your film.”

Taking a sip, Isabel noticed he held her gaze and she felt her heart skip a beat. She needed the project and reminded herself not to be charmed by him. He would be repulsed by her body if she ever let him get too close.

Isabel placed the wine glass on the table.

“I don’t know why you invited me here.”

Marc shrugged his powerful shoulders. He had removed his suit jacket and tie and looked less intimidating in a white button-down dress shirt and gray trousers.

“I’d like to get to know you better before we leave for Carrara.”

Isabel turned away from him. She felt underdressed in her white, button-down shirt and jeans. She had dressed for a long day of filming, not dinner with a perfection-seeking industrialist.

She glanced back at him and said, “There isn’t much to know. I’m a filmmaker from Boston.”

Marc took another sip of wine and his gaze seared into her. She felt her skin warm and resisted moving away from him. She was completely covered but suddenly felt exposed. Why did he have this effect on her? She normally held men at a distance, but she could feel herself being drawn to him.

“You hide yourself behind your beauty. You reveal almost nothing about yourself yet expect others to reveal everything.”

Susie will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

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