Degrees of Wrong: Interview + Giveaway!

Today we couldn’t be more excited about bringing you the Degrees of Wrong Blog Tour hosted by the lovely Lynn @ Bringing the Epic AND a giveaway!

Lets start with the book:

This time, the straight-and-narrow path could be the road to ruin.

Dr. Elyse Morgan’s mission: find the cure to the HTN4 virus. The compensation, courtesy of the United Nations: a lab stocked with hi-tech goodies, limitless resources and enough chocolate to make her rear look like a cellulite farm. Bonus: she gets to live.

Rescued (kidnapped) and secreted (imprisoned) on an undersea warship, Elyse adjusts to her assumed identity as a cadet with the finesse of a toeless ballerina. Her sulfuric temper and blatant insubordination capture the unwanted attention of the ship’s captain, the gorgeous, infuriating, engaged Nicoli Marek.

Elyse would rather perform her own autopsy than become the other woman, but Nicoli—who’s as full of himself as he is of secrets—regards his impending marriage as a mere political transaction. And Elyse as fair game.

As Elyse’s suspicions about the UN’s true agenda mount along with her attraction to the relentless, chronically shirtless captain, she must choose between the murky path to everything she’s ever wanted, or the squeaky-clean path of self-sacrifice—which could mean taking the secrets of the virus with her to the grave.

Warning: Features a strong, chocolate-loving heroine who takes no prisoners on the way to saving the world from an epidemic and winning a captain’s heart.

Before continuing reading, please grab yourself some chocolate *puts basket full of chocolates at the entrance* And follow our advice: keep a stash of chocolates next to the book! And don’t read in public, drooling and laughing out loud can make people think you’re crazy!

We had the pleasure, or maybe the scary experience, of traveling in a Transport Pod to board The Bellator where Ms. Scarlett was waiting for us.
On our way down, we were hoping two things would happen: We’d catch a glimpse of The Captain and avoid Lt. Horan at all cost.
Anna offered us a tour, and we couldn’t say no...

To start off, we have an ice breaker question, what's your favorite color?
Red. The kind hookers wear. Sorry.
Ah, Scarlett, makes sense.

Since our blog was founded on the idea of finding mistakes in books, are there any major mistakes you remember from the editing process?  Anything you found after?  Stuff you forgot to put in? Things you wished you did differently?
Hmmm. My critique partner found a mistake that I didn’t see. When Nicoli was taking Elyse to the Admiral’s office. When she’s observing the décor of the office, she thinks to herself something along the lines of “The admiral’s office was luxurious” or something like that, but the point is, she hadn’t been introduced to the admiral yet! She wouldn’t know she was in the admiral’s office—she doesn’t know whose office Nicoli has taken her to.  I felt like such a caveman. Yeah.
Actually, that’s not a bad mistake.

We love Elyse and Nicoli. She’s witty, she’s funny, sensible, chocolate lover, super smart, seems awesome in arguments and trouble magnet. Honestly, she can be our new BFF we’d get along just fine! And him… well he’s also smart, awesome in arguments, loyal and can pull off a uniform as no one else. The dynamic between them is amazing!
How did you come up with them? Where did you get the inspiration for Elyse and Nicoli? Do you find a lot of you in her/his personality?
I’ve always been a fan of feisty heroines. Scarlett O’Hara, Anne Shirley, Lizzie Bennett. And heroes who are their equal/complement in every way—it just takes some time for both of them to realize it. There is a lot me in Elyse. I wish there was a lot of Nicoli in me…Uh, am I allowed to say that here?
I'm sorry...did you say something? I think Nicoli just walked out of the gym
wow... I'm glad they let him carry guns"

We noted your books have water as an important element in your novels… Did you grow up around water?  Or what is it that inspires you to write novels related to water?
I grew up two blocks away from the bay, which opens up into the Gulf of Mexico. My cousins and I walked to the bay to swim every day of the summer. When Disney’s The Little Mermaid came out, whoa. We were duct-taping our legs together and almost drowning and enjoying every minute of it.  That was my first “Wow the ocean=cool” moment. Then that show SeaQuest DSV came out (I KNOW you know what I’m talking about). I always fantasized that I too was a child prodigy like Lucas (and also Lucas’s love interest, because hello, Lucas was played by Jonathan Brandis) aboard a technologically advanced hyper-big deep sea vessel.
Yes, under this elegant, sophisticated composure, I’m a fantastic nerd.

Music and books tends to go together for most people (at least for us). Do you listen to music while you write?  Is there a playlist or song that inspired you during writing?
I totally agree! But I don’t listen to it while I write, I listen to it before I write, to get me in the mood for the scene. I need quiet to actually write. If it’s a falling-in-love scene, I opt for 80s love songs, like music by When In Rome, and Ah Ha. Or Distance by Christina Perri (love that chick!).
If it’s a scene where the main character is changing/growing, it will be something motivational like Skyscraper by Demi Lovato, or Titanium.
If it’s a fight scene, it’ll be Marilyn Manson, Smashing Pumpkins, Paramore, Offspring, etc.

We were lucky enough that Lt Horan didn’t catch us otherwise he might have made us do some push ups... we’re book girls, we can’t do that!

Thank you Anna for stopping by today! We hope you had fun and come over another time!

Thanks to Anna and Shamhain Publishing we have an ECopy of the book and a swag pack (that includes chocolate) to giveaway to one of you, lovely people!
So complete the rafflecopter and good luck!

*EBook is international but the Swag Pack giveaway is US only... Chocolate and posting service = no good.
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