BEST IN SHOW
Mina’s Adventures Series, Book 6
By Maria Grazia Swan
Interview:
Crystal: I am honored to host Maria Grazia Swan today. Welcome Maria! I'm so excited to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?
Maria: It’s so hard for me to talk about myself...I won’t bore you with the same stuff you can find in the bio or by reading my blogs. I’m Italian. Okay, I have dual citizenship, but I was born in Italy and wasn’t that young when I first arrived in the United States so I tend to write all my main characters as Italian women living in the United States, I know..how original can you get, right? I have 2 sons and 2 grandsons, the only other female in the household is a tiny white ferret I was tricked into taking in and now love her so much she is even in one of my books. I visit Italy often as the rest of my family is there, but I would not consider moving back permanently. My dream is to have my books translated in Italian so my sisters and my friends can read them and then hit me on the head when they figure out I’m actually talking about them..sort of…
P.S. I’m from the Northern part of Italy. Think Venice and the Alps.
Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?
Muffled sounds surrounded Mina. Awake and aware, she simply couldn’t get herself to open her eyes and let the world in. The only voice that could have changed her mind wasn’t there, or she didn’t hear it.
“Mina.” A whisper, “I know you can hear me.” Gino. “Non dire niente, fingi di non ricordare.”
Why was he speaking Italian? Not speaking—whispering. He wanted her to pretend she didn’t remember. Didn’t remember what?
“Is she awake?” An unfamiliar woman’s voice. “The sedative should be wearing off by now. If she feels okay, you’re welcome to take her home. She’s one lucky lady.”
“She is. She is.” Gino again.
“Mr. Lovato.” A man pronounced Gino’s last name Lovado, the Spanish way. Who was he?
Curiosity won. Mina opened her eyes and blinked at the brightness spilling in the window from outside. A hospital room? Diego. She searched with her eyes without turning her head. The accident. The man speaking to Gino was a cop in uniform, with papers in his hands. He would know. She must ask. Now.
“Sure officer, that’s fine. I’ll let the insurance company know where to send their expert. You think it’s a total loss, huh? That’s too bad, only leased it a week ago. Well at least my friend here is going to be okay.” He turned to look at Mina and winked. She opened her mouth to speak, and his expression changed, a clear warning for her to be quiet?
Pretend you don’t remember.
Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?
Maria: It’s a spill over from a Cat to Die For. That book got me so much fan mail clamoring for more books with cats and Diego. That Diego—he gets more fan mail than I do. So much so I’m beginning to believe he really exists.
Crystal: What are you currently working on?
Maria: I’m working on a new series, it will still have elements of mystery but perhaps with more romance. I was told by a best selling female author that I ‘do angst’ very well. I confess I love to write tense romantic situations, I live for drama.
Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?
Maria: Not sure we can call it routine…procrastination is a better word, but yes. I tend to write a chapter at the time. I’m not like some prolific authors who can skip from middle to end to chapter 2 and still get a functioning plot. I’m pretty much from a to b to c..but it gets even more complicated. I first must visualize the complete chapter in my head. My most productive times are while driving or doing yoga. Yoga is fine, driving not so much..I have high car insurance bills to prove it. Once the chapter is completed in my head, I sit and write it.
Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?
Maria: The original story had a young female show cat (Persian breed). While I was working on the story, my cover designer would send over ideas and pics. At times when I’m stuck I tend to look at images connected to the subject of the story I’m working on. In this particular case I needed inspiration regarding this show cat and I found a page (yes, google, of course) filled with all kind of cats. Old, young, sitting, sleeping, you get the picture. And then—bam—l see this fluffy cat with crazy eyes. Now I’m talking to crazy-eyes-cat. At that point I had to have the cat in my book. I sent an urgent message to the cover designer asking if you could somehow use this strange cat for the cover and once she said yes I tweaked the story and worked old Princess into the plot. Oh, regarding research…I had no idea what kind of Persian this cat was. Posted on Facebook and finally a well-known cat breeder from Australia provided answers.
BLURB:
Crystal: I am honored to host Maria Grazia Swan today. Welcome Maria! I'm so excited to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?
Maria: It’s so hard for me to talk about myself...I won’t bore you with the same stuff you can find in the bio or by reading my blogs. I’m Italian. Okay, I have dual citizenship, but I was born in Italy and wasn’t that young when I first arrived in the United States so I tend to write all my main characters as Italian women living in the United States, I know..how original can you get, right? I have 2 sons and 2 grandsons, the only other female in the household is a tiny white ferret I was tricked into taking in and now love her so much she is even in one of my books. I visit Italy often as the rest of my family is there, but I would not consider moving back permanently. My dream is to have my books translated in Italian so my sisters and my friends can read them and then hit me on the head when they figure out I’m actually talking about them..sort of…
P.S. I’m from the Northern part of Italy. Think Venice and the Alps.
Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?
Muffled sounds surrounded Mina. Awake and aware, she simply couldn’t get herself to open her eyes and let the world in. The only voice that could have changed her mind wasn’t there, or she didn’t hear it.
“Mina.” A whisper, “I know you can hear me.” Gino. “Non dire niente, fingi di non ricordare.”
Why was he speaking Italian? Not speaking—whispering. He wanted her to pretend she didn’t remember. Didn’t remember what?
“Is she awake?” An unfamiliar woman’s voice. “The sedative should be wearing off by now. If she feels okay, you’re welcome to take her home. She’s one lucky lady.”
“She is. She is.” Gino again.
“Mr. Lovato.” A man pronounced Gino’s last name Lovado, the Spanish way. Who was he?
Curiosity won. Mina opened her eyes and blinked at the brightness spilling in the window from outside. A hospital room? Diego. She searched with her eyes without turning her head. The accident. The man speaking to Gino was a cop in uniform, with papers in his hands. He would know. She must ask. Now.
“Sure officer, that’s fine. I’ll let the insurance company know where to send their expert. You think it’s a total loss, huh? That’s too bad, only leased it a week ago. Well at least my friend here is going to be okay.” He turned to look at Mina and winked. She opened her mouth to speak, and his expression changed, a clear warning for her to be quiet?
Pretend you don’t remember.
Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?
Maria: It’s a spill over from a Cat to Die For. That book got me so much fan mail clamoring for more books with cats and Diego. That Diego—he gets more fan mail than I do. So much so I’m beginning to believe he really exists.
Crystal: What are you currently working on?
Maria: I’m working on a new series, it will still have elements of mystery but perhaps with more romance. I was told by a best selling female author that I ‘do angst’ very well. I confess I love to write tense romantic situations, I live for drama.
Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?
Maria: Not sure we can call it routine…procrastination is a better word, but yes. I tend to write a chapter at the time. I’m not like some prolific authors who can skip from middle to end to chapter 2 and still get a functioning plot. I’m pretty much from a to b to c..but it gets even more complicated. I first must visualize the complete chapter in my head. My most productive times are while driving or doing yoga. Yoga is fine, driving not so much..I have high car insurance bills to prove it. Once the chapter is completed in my head, I sit and write it.
Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?
Maria: The original story had a young female show cat (Persian breed). While I was working on the story, my cover designer would send over ideas and pics. At times when I’m stuck I tend to look at images connected to the subject of the story I’m working on. In this particular case I needed inspiration regarding this show cat and I found a page (yes, google, of course) filled with all kind of cats. Old, young, sitting, sleeping, you get the picture. And then—bam—l see this fluffy cat with crazy eyes. Now I’m talking to crazy-eyes-cat. At that point I had to have the cat in my book. I sent an urgent message to the cover designer asking if you could somehow use this strange cat for the cover and once she said yes I tweaked the story and worked old Princess into the plot. Oh, regarding research…I had no idea what kind of Persian this cat was. Posted on Facebook and finally a well-known cat breeder from Australia provided answers.
BLURB:
Mina Calvi, Italian transplant to Southern California, thinks her love life might finally come together, just as her professional life has. Her Furry Friends Foundation, a no-kill shelter for rescued cats and dogs, is a success, and Mina hopes she may find a loving forever home for herself, in the arms of Diego Moran, her elusive, frustratingly mysterious, on again-off again, lover.
When a seemingly innocent night out with friends lands Mina in a hospital bed and Diego undercover, and not the covers Mina wants him to be under, Mina has to draw on all her new-found maturity, and all her supportive friends for strength.
Meanwhile, a Best in Show cat takes up residence at the Ritzy Cats B&B, Mina’s other venture, setting Mina on the trail of a suspicious character who might not have the cat's best interests at heart.
Add a Matchmaker to the Stars, a temperamental Italian chef and the usual menagerie of people and pets, stir it all up and you have an entertaining, hard to put down romantic tale of suspense.
Cozy Romantic
Suspense, 188 pages
Excerpt:
Did he love her?
In the heat of the night, love was a given. But as daylight unfolded, her insecurities found their path to her heart. Mina didn’t move, afraid the slightest shifting might wake him. His chest rose and fell against
her back as he breathed peacefully. Their bodies touched, connected in a perfect fit. A match made in heaven she repeated to herself, in heaven but not on earth?
her back as he breathed peacefully. Their bodies touched, connected in a perfect fit. A match made in heaven she repeated to herself, in heaven but not on earth?
The longing she felt for him transcended sex and lust. Eyes closed, she revisited their good-bye two years ago in the cemetery in Italy, and that sense of unconditional love he’d brought into her life. It was the
kind of love Mina assumed girls customarily expected from a father, a brother, a kin. But that was only a guess, a yearning, since she’d grown up without parents or siblings, so she had never experienced such love, until then, during that magical Italian summer.
kind of love Mina assumed girls customarily expected from a father, a brother, a kin. But that was only a guess, a yearning, since she’d grown up without parents or siblings, so she had never experienced such love, until then, during that magical Italian summer.
Diego stirred and brushed his lips up and down the nap of her neck. “Missed you,” he whispered.
Now wide-awake, Mina quipped, “You missed me? How?”
“How?” In one fluid motion he spun her around, her body pressed against his. “How did I miss you?’
He paused, his eyes burning from a surge of passion she hadn’t seen coming. “For the last two years I carried with me the image of you in your red dress. The way you looked the last time I was near you. It’s branded in my soul. I couldn’t rid myself of it. Even now a glimpse of a red dress would arouse me. I’d be aroused not by the woman wearing it, but by the memory of you in that red dress.”
He paused, his eyes burning from a surge of passion she hadn’t seen coming. “For the last two years I carried with me the image of you in your red dress. The way you looked the last time I was near you. It’s branded in my soul. I couldn’t rid myself of it. Even now a glimpse of a red dress would arouse me. I’d be aroused not by the woman wearing it, but by the memory of you in that red dress.”
Books 1 thru 5 Available at Amazon
About the Author:
As a young girl, her vivid imagination predestined her to be a writer. She won her first literary award at the age of fourteen while living in Belgium. As a young woman Maria returned to Italy to design for--ooh-la-la--haute couture.
Once in the U.S. and after years of concentrating on family, she tackled real estate. These days her time is devoted to her deepest passions: writing and helping people and pets find the perfect home.
Maria loves travel, opera, good books, hiking, and intelligent movies (if she can find one, that is). When asked about her idea of a perfect evening, she favors stimulating conversation, Northern Italian food and perfectly chilled Prosecco--but then, who doesn't?
Find Me Here:
Giveaway:
I Love My Cat Locket Pendant (US only)
Paperback copy of any of Maria’s Books, winner’s choice (US only)
Ebook copy of any of Maria’s Books, winner’s choice (Intl)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hy Crystal (love your name) thank you so much for hosting me and my book, cats, lovers and all.
ReplyDeleteHello Maria, I love that necklace. I operate a small shelter for elderly cats, and all I wear is cat jewelry. I love your work. (jozywails@gmail.com)
ReplyDelete