Welcome one and all! I have with me today, Debora Dennis, author of The Kandy Shoppe. Please pull up a chair and get comfy as Debora tells us more about herself and her book.
Hello Debora, I’m happy that you have joined us today. I must say The Kandy Shoppe is a wonderful read.
Thanks for having me, Liadan! I’m thrilled to be here. I’m so glad you enjoyed The Kandy Shoppe. It was so much fun to write and it’s getting some great reviews!
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I’m not one of those people who can say I’ve wanted to be an author forever. I guess I just didn’t realize as I got older the cast of characters and plots I had parading routinely through my dreams would start to make me nuts if I didn’t let them out. I wrote in drips and drabs for years just to keep my sanity and about four years ago I finally accepted the calling and got down to business.
Your book, The Kandy Shoppe, came out June 1st. Congratulations! What gave you the idea to write about an ice cream shop?
During my weekly trip to the grocery store, the ice cream aisle is always my last stop. It was winter and I had to laugh that I was still feeding my ice cream addiction even in sub-zero degree weather. Then I thought what a perfect idea for a summer read!
I really loved the interaction between Jason and Kandy. It’s obvious you had fun writing them. Could you tell our readers about them?
Sure! They were a fun couple to write, mainly because they’ve been crazy about each other for years, but had both managed to fight it for just as long. Kandy’s very sarcastic and uses that sarcasm as a shield against Jason. Poor Jason knows he screwed up with her the first time, but has been having one hell of a time breaking through her defenses. I really enjoyed the push/pull of their relationship.
Would you mind sharing a blurb?
Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of Chapter three:
Kandy stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in a thick green towel. Her thoughts immediately drifted to Jason and his tight green t-shirt.
Closing her eyes, she could still smell the musk of his skin, taste the saltiness of his flesh on her tongue and imagine him rubbing against her all over again. A scene she’d replayed in her mind all afternoon. The vivid memories of his touch, of the way her body responded to his every move, continued to arouse her hours later.Damn him.
She’d barely finished zipping the back of her black dress when the doorbell chimed. He was early.
Halfway down the staircase, she caught his silhouette through the frosty glass of her front door. Bathed in the soft hues of her porch light, the rough edges of a long-ago broken nose and his squared jaw blurred together sending a tingle of appreciation down her spine.
“You’re early,” Kandy said opening the door for him and motioned him inside.
“Really?” He looked at his watch, a wicked grin on his face. “I think I’m late. Five years, in fact.”
As though she’d been struck by lightning, she stood there and stared at him. He’d shaved. The unruly black locks from this morning were now tamed into his infamous bad-boy style. The neck of his white dress shirt opened against a tanned neck to reveal a hint of the soft hairs she’d run her fingers through only hours before to feel his heart beat beneath one finely sculpted chest. Her clit was already pulsing, her panties dampened. She didn’t dare let her eyes wander any lower than the crisp white fabric stretched across his wide shoulders.
He stepped forward and the purely masculine scent of him ambushed every rational thought she tried to muster to remember their morning exploits didn’t mean anything between them would change.
From behind his back, he pulled a single peach rose. “To new beginnings?”
Smooth.
Unable to speak for fear she’d say something outlandish, she simply nodded her head and took the peace offering. The soft petals tickled her nose as she inhaled its sweet fragrance and tried to pretend everything was normal.
Where can our readers find you around the web? Do you have a blog?
I update my website (www.deboradennis.com) regularly and I try to blog at least a few times a week (www.deboradennis.com/blog). I’m a regular lurker on the Coffee Time Romance forums where I have my own author group and can sometimes be found posting on my publisher’s blog (www.bladepublishing.org/weblog). I love hearing from my readers and have a guestbook on my website or they can always email me at Debora@deboradennis.com.
With summer here, do you have any plans or will you be busy writing?
I have three kids, so I don’t foresee being as attached to my computer as I am during the winter months. My husband and have some short trips planned with the kids and a few weekend trips just for us, but in between I’ll be writing every morning. Deadlines don’t take vacations, so I have to stay on track even when the summer sunshine is calling for play hookie!
What’s next for Debora Dennis?
I’m so glad you asked! Blade Publishing will be releasing my holiday themed novella, Her Knight Before Christmas, in December 2008. It’s a lighthearted, spicy novella set in New York City ten days before Christmas. I’m also hard at work on another project for Blade Publishing that is at the moment expected to be a January 2009 release. All I can spill at the moment on this project is that it’s a romantic comedy that will benefit a charity to be named soon and involves a pretty darn sexy handyman!
Who is your favorite author and why?
It’s impossible to narrow the field down to one, so I’ll just toss out a few names that frequently fill my bookcase or topple off my bedside table. Bertrice Small, because nobody does historical like she does. Jude Deveraux, because her book Knight in Shining Armor is the most worn on my bookshelf and I’d still never part with it. Nora Roberts, Christina Dodd, Sandra Hill, because their just a joy to read.
Debora, I’d like to thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us. I look forward to many more books from you.
Liadan, thank you for having me. I really enjoyed being here and am pleasantly surprised I made it through my very first interview without spilling coffee on anyone!
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