Welcome back to one of our featured authors Dianne Venetta!
We chatted with her recently
and here's what she had to say...
and here's what she had to say...
TBB: Thanks for joining us today, Dianne. Tell us about where you're from?
DV: I’m originally from Miami, but my entire family has since migrated to Central Florida. Most of them moved after Hurricane Andrew, though I left much earlier, after high school which was prior to the major Cuban and South American influx. Which is ironic, because I happen to love the Spanish culture—food, music, people—I even speak Spanish! Everyone assumes it’s because of my time in Miami, but I actually learned the language in college. As for food, people and music? Have you ever eaten tapas while listening to Flamenco? Ever danced the merengue with a handsome Latin American? Hmm. You should try it some time! BTW – you’ll find some of this influence in my current releases.
TBB: Hola! Maybe I should have started your interview with "Bienvenida!" instead? Speaking of "lustful" ideas...how did you come up with the title for this book?
DV: Lust on the Rocks embodies a woman’s lust for sexual freedom. Samantha Rawlings is a career-minded woman chasing her ambition, uninterested in marriage and family and having the time of her life. Until Victor Marin, that is. He proves a challenge to her lifestyle, pulling from her a desire to settle down with just one man. But this would jeopardize her free-wheeling ways and like a shipwrecked boat, her “lustful lifestyle” could soon end up on the rocks. And of course, pun intended with the reference to her favored martinis!
TBB: Sounds like a hot read. What are you working on now?
DV: At present I’m writing the third in this series. The first is titled Jennifer’s Garden which epitomizes the showdown between a career woman’s criteria for the perfect husband and what true love means. Jennifer is a cardiologist who believes she has found her perfect mate until one Jackson Montgomery shows up in her life. He turns everything she believed true about herself and what she wanted from a man upside down.
Sam faces her own set of challenges in Lust on the Rocks while my next book deals with a woman’s inner insecurities. Sydney Flores appears powerful on the outside but on the inside? She harbors doubts about who she is, what she wants from life and how best to get it. While the three are connected by characters, they do not have to be read in order—so start where you like! The third will be out summer 2012.
TBB: I love a great series. I know you'll gain a big following to find out what happens next. Sounds like writing keeps you busy but what do you like to do when you're not writing?
DV: When I'm not writing I'm gardening—at home, at school with the students, at a friend's house. And I’m totally organic because as a mom, I care about what goes into my kids' bodies. But more than a food staple, gardening provides personal reward because I can plant the seeds, watch them grow, harvest the bounty and reap satisfaction in knowing I achieved something. Yes, I realize the whole she-bang happens without my help in the wild of nature, but my garden grows because of me! :) You can follow all of our adventures on my Garden Blog.
TBB: Oh, that sounds great. I need to be more like that with my kids. But, luckily, I have a hubby who loves to cook healthy. He takes up the slack for me in that department. Speaking of hubbies, what does your family think of your writing?
DV: As my novels are romantic women’s fiction, my husband doesn’t pay too much attention. I fill him in on the major themes and such (not to mention a few of the more sensual scenes—just to make sure they work!) and he’s good to go. But now that many of the women he works with (hospital, doctors’ offices) have read my books, boy—does he get an earful!
My 9-year-old son peeks over my shoulder while I’m at the computer and it always seems to be at the WRONG time. “Mom, your character said damn! That’s inappropriate!”
AGH! So much for trying to set the right example. :) My 11-year-old daughter understands my novels deal with adult subject matter and she has a few years before she’ll be able to read them, but she likes the idea that I’m a writer.
TBB: I love it! So hard to write the "good stuff" with children peering over your shoulder. I know this from personal experience as well. LOL
Now for the tough one, if you had to describe this book using ONLY ONE word, what would it be?
DV: Unexpected.
TBB: Oh, nice. Expect the Unexpected! What has been your biggest reward as an author thus far in your career?
DV: That’s easy. Connecting with readers who enjoy my work is by far the best reward of all. Now I’m a writer who would write these books, even if my daughter was the only one who ever reads them, but knowing there are people out there who enjoy my characters, my settings…
It’s simply wonderful.
TBB: Thanks for the chat, Dianne. Everyone please be sure to check out our featured book of the month, Lust On the Rocks!
Want More Dianne?
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