Giveaway & Guest Post by Andrea Speed for Riptide Publishing

                                    

Let's welcome Andrea Speed to the Lair...


What draws you to romance? Is it pretentious to just say I'm drawn to writing, and I really don't think much about genre? I'm pretentious then. I write with little regard to genre.


Have you ever written outside the romance genre? If not, do you ever plan to? 
Oh yes, I'm happy to write in any and all genres. But I love writing horror for some reason, and action adventure is quite fun too. I will take any excuse to write a horror story, though. 


What’s the sexiest feature on a man to you? And on a woman? Why? Man? Chest. Woman? Eyes. But I could give the boring answer a sense of humor in both cases as well.


What’s your own sexiest feature? My sense of humor. 
By night you’re a caped crusader, romance writer. What do you do by day? I'm a home health care worker. 


What was the very first romance you ever read?  I bet absolutely no one counts The Left Hand of Darkness as a romance. But I do, and I'd say that was it. 


Who are your latest crushes (celebrity, book character, or otherwise)? Do fictional characters count? Michael from La Femme Nikita (the '90's TV series) is awesome beyond the telling of it. And Nikita was pretty hot too.


Do you ever keep those people in your mind when writing your own works? Not really, although if I can ever figure out how to sneak him into a story, I will.


If you could pick anyone in the world to be the cover model(s) on your latest release, who would it be? Hmm. Shirtless Hugh Jackman? Fine. Especially if he's in Wolverine mode.


What’s your favorite hobby outside of writing? I can't say writing? What about reading? No? Well, I like creating music mixes, and doing basic home projects. Painting can also be very relaxing. 


What would constitute your own personal happily ever after? Alone in a really super plush cave in an isolated place in Tibet. With computer access, of course. (I need to get my crazed loner thing on from time to time.)


Do you own an e-reader? No, not yet.


Why? I'm still kind of attached to my teetering mountain of books. I know I'll have to give in someday, but right now I'm not ready to give up my dead tree remnants. 


Are you a book hoarder?  YES! I will die under an avalanche of books. 


What’s the one question you wish people would ask you when you tell them you’re a writer?  “They still have those?” I'd just think it was funny. 


How do you answer it? “Kinda.” 


If you were doomed to spend the rest of your life on an island with only one book, one person, one food (coconuts and fish aside), and one object from the modern world (computer, deodorant, vibrator, etc.), what would they be? One food? Damn, that's tough. I suppose pizza, and certainly a computer. As for a person, they'd have to be a devoted henchman who will do whatever I order whenever I order. 


Do you have a favorite character out of all the ones you’ve written? Probably Roan.


Why is he your favorite? Well, I can identify with him on a few levels, but who couldn't? He's the ultimate outsider. He belongs to several different groups, but they really don't want him, and he doesn't want them. He has no idea where he fits in the world and why he keeps on going, but he does, and he keeps trying very hard to save people even though he knows full well they probably wouldn't return the favor. Also, he has a fantastic sense of humor for a self-pitying bastard.

Here's the blurb from my Riptide short, Pretty Monsters:

Josh knew the night shift at the Quik-Mart would be full of freaks and geeks—and that was before the hell portal opened in the parking lot. Still, he likes to think he can roll with things. Sure, the zombies make a mess sometimes, but at least they never reach for anything more threatening than frozen burritos.

Besides, it’s not all lizard-monsters and the walking dead. There’s also the mysterious hottie with the sly red lips and a taste for sweets.

Josh has had the hots for Hot Guy since the moment he laid eyes on him, and it seems Hot Guy might be sweet on Josh too. Now if only Josh could figure out whether that’s a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between. After all, with a hell vortex just a stone’s throw away, Josh has learned to take nothing at face value—even if it’s a very, very pretty face.

This title is #1 of the Josh of the Damned series. 

You can read an excerpt and purchase Pretty Monsters at Riptide Publishing.
The second installment, Peek-a-Boo is available for preorder. Buy it and it qualifies you for Riptide's Free Books for a Year promotion.


Where are your favorite online hangouts? What are your daily must-stop blogs and websites?  I suppose I'd best out myself as a Twitter addict. Damn it, I don't know why, but I enjoy the crap out of it. I also like visiting Afterelton.com and the Onion AV Club to keep up on pop culture stuff. 
Speaking of online hangouts, where are yours? Where can your readers find you? I do have my own website, www.andreaspeed.com , and I post the occasional review over at www.cxpulp.com , and atwww.joebobbriggs.com . Also I have a character in the online prose m/m soap opera Redemption Reef: http://redemptionreef.wordpress.com/ 

Okay... Your favorite time.... Giveaway Time!!!!

This will be the rule for all Giveaways this week...

All Giveaways will end Saturday, December 24th at Midnight....

The winners will all be picked and announced....

Tuesday, December 27th!

Now time for the Giveaway!

The giveaway is  ~ Backlist (latest release excluded)... 

What do I want from you.....

Well, you have to leave your email address ~ A MUST.

You have to be a Google Friend Connect Follower of this blog ~ A MUST (I am checking!)

You must leave a comment or question ~ A MUST!

Good Luck!

Oh and don't forget.........

The Giveaway for Riptide: 

From October 1 to December 31, Riptde authors and editors will set sail on a massive

Grand Opening blog tour! 

We're gearing up for three months of games, prizes, interviews, chats, and scavenger hunts, and we'd love to have you along! At each stop along the tour, we'll be giving away great prizes - tons of books from our authors' backlists, swag by the boatload, gift ceritficates to All Romance Ebooks, and entries into the Grand Prize drawings for a Nook, a Kindle, and an iPad.

Go check it out!!!

And remember... Keep it Dirty, Smutty & Hussy!