Friday, August 23, 2019

Interview with Aimee O'Brian, STEAL MY HEART


Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Steal My Heart is a fun, sexy romp. I like to call it my naughty cop-cat burglar romance. Here’s the basis of the story:

While house sitting a mansion, Detective Lexanne Harris plans to act out her sex-with-a-cat-burglar fantasy with her new boyfriend, but a case of mistaken identity lands her a rollicking orgasm and imminent career disaster. Determined to stand by the law and fight for justice, she finagles her way onto the case, but the more she investigates, the more the lines of justice blur, until what’s wrong becomes way too tempting.

I’m currently writing another fun, mistaken identity novel involving one of Lexanne’s friends.

Do you have a favorite character?
The female protagonist is my favorite. She knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to act on it. She’s a bit of a badass. When she screws up she’s not afraid to own it, at least to herself.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
The first burglary victim that Lexanne speaks with in the course of her investigation was not supposed to be a significant character. I intended the beautiful Barbara Jane Bench to be a symbol of the wealthy woman who tries to appear twenty-five forever, but Barbie kept reappearing in scene after scene. Her character came out of nowhere. She just appeared on the page and helped shape the plot. She’s much more than that ex-trophy wife she initially appears.

How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
I’ve written four novels, and this is the first to find a home with a publisher. I still plan to either find a publisher for the others or to self-publish them. They’re great stories, very character driven, all contemporary romances, ranging from sweet to hot. And each one contains elements of suspense. Naturally, it was the hottest one that got picked up first.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
Songs inspire me. I can visualize an entire plot or climatic moment while I’m driving in the car with the radio on. But when it comes to actually writing, it’s ambient noise that I go for. A song can take me off to a different moment in the story, and I need to stay in the scene I’m writing. To stay focused I mostly I write in restaurants on my lunch hours or in coffeehouses on the weekends.  The bustle of people moving around doesn’t bother me. I’ll sip my latte and shut out my surroundings. Usually, I’ll surface one hour later, two to three if I’m revising.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
My publisher takes good care of me, and they’ve handled all of that. My book is for sale at the Tule Bookstore, Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Amazon Kindle UK. You can find all the links where my books are for sale on the Tule Publishing website: https://tulepublishing.com/books/steal-my-heart/#order

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Writing the next book while marketing is extremely difficult for me, but I expect I’ll learn to handle it better as time goes on. Both writing and marketing are crazy fun, but they require different parts of the brain and different skillsets.

I have tremendous respect for full-time authors who manage it all. They’re working on the next book and stop when the edits come back from their publisher. They knock those out and get back to writing the next book. In the meantime, they’re marketing their current books that are on sale. I don’t know how they do it all so seamlessly, but I plan to learn. It’s the life I want, so I’m working toward it.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
My passions show up in my books. I love art, food, wine, and coffee. Not necessarily in that order. Every one of those elements shows up in Steal My Heart. I’m familiar with the artists I reference in the novel. I have two Michael Parkes prints hanging in my home.  I once got lost staring at a row of Edwin Deakins in the Crocker Museum in Sacramento. I looked up and my husband had moved on. We have a rule in museums, we always turn right, so we can find each other if we get separated. I stared at those paintings by Deakin so long—I loved them so much—that when I found my husband, he was four right turns and four rooms away.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
Dogs or Cats? I’ve had both and loved them all. Chocolate or Vanilla? Definitely chocolate but mocha flavored is number one, especially if we’re are talking ice cream. Which takes us to Coffee or Tea—by now, you can guess my answer to that. Talk or Text? I’m old-fashioned. I love an actual conversation. Day or Night? I’m a sun-baby. Give me a sunrise with all the possibilities it brings.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on a second mistaken identity novel featuring one of Lexanne’s friends from Steal My Heart. This novel is again set in hot, hot, hot Los Angeles, this time in the realm of LA fashion.



Steal My Heart
Aimee O’Brian
Published by: Tule Publishing
Publication date: August 5th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When a fantasy turns into a cold reality
Lexanne Harris had a plan down to the last sexy detail. Never did she think her attempt to spice up her love life with her boyfriend would involve her in a burglary with a sexier than sin thief whose emerald eyes and serious between the sheets skills are impossible to forget. As a police detective she is expected to stand on the side of the law and fight for justice. But what happens when the lines of justice blur and what’s wrong becomes way too tempting?
The situation might be challenging but Lexanne is determined to get assigned to the case, recover the jewels and catch the culprit.
The question is: What will she do with her sexy cat burglar when she catches him?



Author Bio:
Having lived in both California and Texas, Aimee O’Brian now resides in the beautiful wine country. With her three children grown and experiencing their own adventures, she and her husband are free to explore the world. When she’s not reading, writing, or planting even more perennials in her garden, she can be found stomping through ancient ruins and getting lost in museums.


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