Jillian Chantal

JILLIAN: Welcome to my blog, J Rose. I’m happy to have you here.  Before we hear about your new release, SEDUCED BY AN ANGEL, tell us a little about you and how long you’ve been writing.

 J ROSE: I’ve been crafting fiction for over a dozen years now. I started off writing short mystery and horror stories. After a couple of years of selling stories to magazines and what not I decided to try full length. My first novel, VISIONS, is a psychic/romance that released in 2001. To date, only one of the eleven titles I have in publication is NOT romance or erotica.

JILLIAN: All of us that are writers have what I call cover angst. Tell us about yours and if you were happy, thrilled, or just all right with your cover.

J ROSE: Oh boy, did I ever have cover angst in spades with my first novel! In fact, I submitted my own design (I had graphics arts background). I wanted something different from the typical romance cover. The result was intriguing, but in the end I feel deviating from something more formula was a mistake.

Since then, I’ve relied on the publisher’s art department. Some of my covers thrill me to no end! Not all of them completely blew my skirt up, and one or two literally set my teeth on edge. These were some time ago, though, and I figure this bound to be the case eventually when you start releasing numerous titles. Since signing with Siren Publishing, I’ve been quite satisfied. Their designer, Jinger Heaston, is a genius. I love her work!

JILLIAN: Share 5 characteristics of your heroine.

 J ROSE: 1.  Kazia is damaged goods, but you have to dig past her façade a bit to find it. On the surface, she comes off as capable, yet sarcastic. You later realize that biting humor is a survival mechanism to disguise some major fears surrounding intimacy.

2.  She has a strong work ethic. She’ll do just about anything to keep a good job when she sees it—almost. If she thinks she can get away with a little fudging when it counts, she’ll do it.

3.  Something her hero understands about Kazia better than she does about herself is that while she herself is beautiful, she subconsciously scoffs at modern ideals of beauty. She dyes her hair a bizarre shade of silver-lavender to make a statement about bucking trends, though in the end this only serves to heighten her own unique beauty.

4.  While the other potential virgin candidates are chomping at the bit for a shot at the unbelievably erotic archangel, Kazia has no interest in becoming his mate. In fact, she has no interest in losing her virginity—ever.

5.  She has been exposed to just enough supernatural secrets through her unique resort job to have a rather skewed view of angels as pure, trustworthy beings. Her experience has shown a rather carnal, selfish view of all beings at the resort, human and immortal, that makes her even less likely to welcome the idea of taking part in an archangel’s mate hunt.

 JILLIAN: Share 5 characteristics of your hero.

J ROSE: 1.  If Kazia is damaged goods, Andel is the poster child for it—despite being an archangel that appears powerful and self-assured on the surface. His insecurities surrounding physical disfigurements and circumstances of his birth drive him to some pretty bizarre means of claiming the woman he craves while still holding his heart at arm’s length.

2.  As with all angels in the mythos of the IMMORTAL PARADISE series, Angel is no innocent when it comes to the notion of carnal passion, with humans or otherwise. While he might try to hide what is in his heart, what burns in his libido is tough to disguise—an angel’s skin will glow when sexually aroused. The hotter they burn for their partner, the brighter that glow.

3.  His biological clock is ticking its last tock. As the window on his fertility phase is about to close for all eternity, Andel makes a last-minute decision to father an immortal offspring. Or is it last-minute? He might not understand the force behind his yearning for procreation as well as he thinks.

4.  Andel is part of one of the lowest orders of heaven—but he does not always behave like it. There is more to the archangel than meets the eye, and while there were those who ensured his role in heaven was severely limited, his true nature cannot always be controlled, nor denied.

5.  While angels serve the throne faithfully and without question, Andel does not fully trust the realm in which he serves. His reasons are complex, and are put to the test when he seeks to take a mate for the purpose of procreation.

JILLIAN: How did you choose the title of this book?

 J ROSE: The original working title for this book was actually ANGELIC SEDUCTION. Once the book was finished and I had a better understanding of the hero’s actions and motivations, I realized the title might give the wrong impression—that the seduction of his em-sehad, or chosen one, is “angelic” in the sense of being kind, good, and sweet. Not true. He is a good being, but his methods for convincing Kazia to be his are sometimes highly controversial—and, at times, downright coercive. Changing the title to SEDUCED BY AN ANGEL I think lent a better sense of the seeming contradiction between a smoldering seduction and a being that serves goodness and light.

 JILLIAN: Your blurb for this book sounds awesome. Where did your idea for the plot come from? 

J ROSE: This book is part of a series of events that take place more or less simultaneously on a unique, paranormal island. In each book, minor cameo characters or situations can become the central focus of their own story later. In Book 2, TROPICAL HEAT, I was writing the scene where the hero uncovers the existence of supernatural beings. One of those beings is a man with wings he assumes are strapped on and soon discovers otherwise. Later, the heroine encounters the same angel in a passionate embrace in the hallway, and the angel is glowing with desire. I was intrigued by the idea and decided that he needed his story told.

 JILLIAN: If your heroine came to life, would you like to have coffee with her? Why or why not?   

J ROSE: Oh, definitely. We do have a few things in common, both as working women who like to seek out the humor or irony in situations. She’d be a hoot.

 JILLIAN: It’s Valentine’s Day. Any special thoughts about romance or the day itself?

J ROSE: I confess I don’t do a whole lot for Valentine’s Day because I like the idea of perpetuating romance every day, all year long. That’s probably a large part of the reason why I write romance and erotic romance! That said, a little extra “wink” of acknowledgement on February 14 certainly doesn’t hurt, and as I’m a fan of scheduled spontaneity it’s a calendar day I definitely look forward to!

JILLIAN: Which would you prefer if you could only have one for Valentine’s Day- chocolate, roses, or a massage? Why?

 J ROSE: Gonna have to go with chocolate on this one. It’s quite a versatile gift, you know. It can be eaten, drunk, drizzled, licked…well, you get the idea. 😉

EXCERPT and ORDER INFO:

SEDUCED BY AN ANGEL by J. Rose Allister

Book 3 of the IMMORTAL PARADISE series

Contemporary Fantasy Romance

Siren Classic, Rated Sizzling

Buy Link: http://bookstrand.com/seduced-by-an-angel

When an angel glows, sparks will fly…

Seven virgins are brought to a unique island to be propositioned by a sexy archangel in search of a mate. Hotel employee Kazia is mortified to learn she is one of the candidates–and that her job depends on her cooperation. Despite her misgivings, she finds herself drawn to Andel’s eroticism. But both of them have secrets that could keep him from claiming her. How can they overcome the past–and heaven itself–in order to consummate their passion?

Excerpt:

“Seraphim are immediately recognizable for a number of factors,” Andel said, “one of which is that they have more sets of wings than other heavenly beings. It also makes their glow almost impossibly bright, even among our kind. So after I was born, my mother cut some of them off.”

 Kazia sucked in an audible breath. “That’s awful.” She walked toward him with a horrified expression. “I’m so sorry, Andel.”

He watched as her hand came out to caress the side of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his head into her warm, velvet touch. His tongue felt thick when he spoke. “It’s okay. I don’t recall any pain. I know she only did what she felt would protect us both.”

Kazia shook her head. “I’m still sorry.”

He felt his face light up where she stroked him, and he couldn’t help himself. He gathered her into his arms and brushed his lips against hers. Every molecule electrified, and he moaned at the feel of goose bumps dotting his mortal flesh. The tingling was not at all unpleasant when evoked by a woman who drove him to near madness. He ran his fingers through her pale tresses, marveling at the silken feel of her unique hair.

She seemed pliant in his arms until his tongue flicked out to taste the seam between her lips. “Andel,” she said in a whisper against his mouth. “No.”

Kazia pulled back. Her cocoa eyes were dark with desire, and her porcelain skin reflected not only moonlight, but what he knew was his own pulsing glow. The sight of her was irresistibly sensual, and he reached for her again.

She stiffened and stepped back. “I can’t. Please understand.”

Without another word, she turned and ran. He stared after her, throbbing with need and struggling with the urge to go after her despite the resort’s restrictions. His cock and testicles ached with the fierce longing to mate with her. Every inch of him screamed with the need to release his seed while she shouted his name in ecstasy.

For a good twenty minutes, he stayed in the shelter of the palm trees, wondering whether she might come back and how she could affect him so powerfully. Why wait around in the shadows for someone who didn’t want him? He had plenty of other women right here who would willingly take him into their beds this very moment if he wished. He could buck the celibacy tradition and relieve the unbearable sexual tension that had been building over the past six months. Or, he could go ahead and choose one of the maidens who were still pure and initiate the reproductive ritual. There was so little time left. Why hold off any longer?

He returned to the private beach, deep in thought. With a careful glance around, he took off, soaring up to his balcony within moments. He knew good and well why he didn’t simply seek an end to his sexual solitude. The reason was a simple, singular, four-letter word.

Hope.