The Wednesday Interview

Amanda Sidhe has a brand new book released at Cerridwen Press on January 31st. Her Dangerous Promise is a romantic suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat. Amanda is an interesting woman – check out the interview below and then immediately click on the cover to find out how to buy the book.

1. Name your special talent.

I am a licensed medical massage therapist. So basically, I turn people into pudding for a living. Being able to manipulate muscles and joints in a way that both feels wonderful and is healing takes a special talent.

2. Martians knock on your door and ask to borrow you car for the evening. Do you scream and shut the door? Ask if they have insurance? Ask them to wait while you get a camera or none of the above?

I grab the keys and tell them I’m driving. Wouldn’t the evening’s adventure make perfect material for a book? Even if all they wanted to do was some mundane chore like moving furniture or get groceries, I could pump them with questions. Who knows? I might even solve the mystery of the crop circles. Are they some cosmic code with answers to universal questions or just intergalactic graffiti?

3. Is what you look for in a man what you write in the hero?

In some cases yes, especially Thom Brady in Her Dangerous Promise. He is strong and reliable, and not just physically, but emotionally as well. Of course, being drop-dead gorgeous doesn’t hurt either!

4. Do you think your heroine is like you and if so why?

The journey Mary takes in the story is one I believe I have walked as well, only not to the same extreme. Having lived her life up until now without any crime or danger knocking on her door, her world seemed very safe and secure. Only when she becomes a target does she have to find a way to deal with the situation for which she’s completely unprepared. It’s not easy for her to admit to herself or anyone else that she can’t solve her own problems.

5. What do your friends think of your writing?

My friends are very supportive. They keep me motivated asking me for my next new story. I love to secretly watch when they read the manuscript and see them gasp or jump at something they’ve read. The absolute best is when they have not finished a story but stop to threaten to disown me if the characters don’t escape some peril they are facing.

6. Do you believe in soul mates or is it just hype?

I do believe in soul mates as well as karma and reincarnation, which means that while you might have a soul mate out there somewhere, the karma and timing may not always work out in every lifetime. Even though I don’t have my perfect soul mate in my life right now, knowing a few couples who are very much each other’s soul mates give me hope and keep the romantic stars twinkling in my eyes as I watch for my own to appear.

7. Where can people learn more about Amanda Sidhe?

My websites are at www.AmandaSidhe.com and www.myspace.com/AmandaSidhe . I also have a newsgroup on yahoo at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmandaSidheRomance/

Her Dangerous Promise - the Blurb...

Inspector Thom Brady can’t understand why school teacher Mary Seeton won’t confide in him about her recent abduction. There is no doubt that she’d been forcibly taken and somehow escaped, but she refuses to tell him anything about her experience.

Mary made a terrible promise, one she can’t forgive herself for. In order to escape her mentally challenged kidnapper she promised not to tell on him. The lives of the children in her class depend on her keeping that secret. Only with super sexy Thom hounding her, soon her abductor figures she broke her promise and no one is safe. Racing against time the couple risks their lives and their growing relationship to catch the desperate and dangerous kidnapper.

The Excerpt....

Mary replaced the phone on its cradle and then sipped at her drink. “Thank you. Hopefully, though, we can just put this whole situation behind us.”
“Can we?” Thom watched Mary closely.
She felt her cheeks flame under his scrutiny. Why was she blushing? His strictly professional interest in her shouldn’t send her pulse skyrocketing.
Thom rose and circled the counter to join her in the kitchen. He reached to cover her hand with his but she drew back. Undeterred, Thom drew closer. Mary backed into the refrigerator. He penned her into the corner between the refrigerator and the kitchen counter, placing one hand on the refrigerator and the other on the counter. “Do you feel safe, Mary?”
“I’m… not afraid of you, if that’s what you mean.” She raised her chin to glare up at him defiantly. The breathlessness in her response might have given away her nerves but that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with Thom’s closeness. The rest of the room vanished behind the width of Thom’s shoulders so her vision found nothing but his well-muscled torso or his too handsome face to alight upon. He planted his feet wide of her stance, well and truly trapping her.
Thom leaned even closer, only inches away from her. His sultry gaze swept over her and lingered on her parted lips. “But you are afraid. You’d be a fool not to be.”
“Wait a minute—”
“You think it is over?” he murmured, locking those intense green eyes on her that made her feel so exposed and vulnerable that they should be illegal. “You think this maniac won’t come back? Won’t try again?”
“Thom—” Mary didn’t know what to say. He invaded her space, claiming it as his own. The heady mingle of his cologne and masculine scent rippled tectonic surges pulsing in her bones. Consciously, Mary forced herself not to touch him, not knowing if she’d push him away or pull him to her. His body pressed close, too close, meaning to intimidate, which it did, but it also excited her until she couldn’t think straight.
He didn’t wait for a reply. “You escaped from him once. You won’t next time. I guarantee it.”
“But he won’t come back.”
“He won’t? Why not?”
Mary considered that. Why wouldn’t he come back? Because of her cat? Because of her promise? What if he changed his mind?

Thom watched the play of emotion on Mary’s face. She hadn’t considered that he’d come for her again. Mary crossed her arms protectively and gripped the insides of her elbows so tightly her fingertips turned white. Her wide, dark eyes darted around as if an attack might come at any moment from any direction. She was scared now and he needed her scared. He confronted her before she slipped back into her tight lipped reserve. “Did he tell you he wouldn’t?”
“Thom, please.” Mary pressed her palms to his chest, trying to gain room to maneuver but he wouldn’t allow it. Zinging heat radiated from her palms down his stomach and to places lower.
He pressed closer still, so only a breath of air separated their bodies. Dropping his voice to a dangerous whisper, he said, “He’ll come back, Mary.”
She gasped.
“He’ll watch you.” He bent closer, his lips nearing her ear. Purposefully, he exhaled his hot breath on her neck, sending shivers through her. “He’ll stalk you. He’ll wait until you are alone.”

The moan she let out stirred him to the core. His mouth watered. The plan, to scare Mary into talking to him, had a decidedly different affect on him. As close as he pressed, he didn’t—wouldn’t—touch her, even if he ached to do just that. Swallowing, he remembered the reason for the tactic. Either due to denial or naïvety, Mary didn’t recognize the depths of her peril. He feared for her safety with every fiber of his being. He had to make her understand the danger. Softly, he murmured, “Then, when your guard is down and no one is around to save you,” he paused, letting the uncertain silence stretch, “he’ll come for you again.”

Mary slumped against him, her head pressing to his chest. “I can’t.”
Thom wrapped his arms around Mary. He rested his cheek on the smooth flow of hair on top of her head and inhaled her delicate scent. He rubbed his palms up and down the stiff fabric of the scrub top he’d scrounged from the hospital for her to wear. Damn, she felt good, fitting perfectly, as if designed precisely for him. Thom’s muscles hummed with excitement wanting to press her even more tightly and much more intimately, against him. “Trust me, Mary.”
She sobbed, “I can’t. Please, don’t ask me again.”
Thom leaned back, pushed Mary to arm’s length by her narrow shoulders and searching her face. “Why? Why won’t you tell me?”
Mary refused to meet his gaze. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

***Click on the Cover to buy the book***

5 reasons to buy

- romantic suspense is hot
- Secrets are fascinating-
- What is the promise???
- Inspector Thom Brady
- you gotta love a good cop story
- And you deserve a well written romance to escape into.


Anny has the next episode of the saga on www.annycook.com. Kelly is discussing the uses of cocktail umbrellas on www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

Last day of my contest....

Finmctionwere – what does this mean? I write these obscure abbreviated notes to myself as I am writing. I saw this one today. What was I thinking? It’s obviously some brilliant abbreviation for some fantastic idea I had but I will never know. So – leave a comment on this blog (with your email address) with what you think Finmctionwere means and the answer I like best will receive the first copy of Shades of Gray when it is released 6th February through Ellora’s Cave. The competition closes at midnight (USA EST) Thursday 31st January and the winner will be announced on Friday 1st February’s blog. Enter as many times as you like. If you are under Witness Protection and don’t want everyone knowing your email address then by all means email your answer to me on amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au – put ‘Amarinda comp’ in the subject line.


www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?