It's my pleasure to introduce Alison DeLaine today. Alison lives in rural Arizona, where
she can often be found driving a dented old pickup truck out to her mining
claim in the desert. When she’s not busy striking it rich, waiting on spoiled
pets, or keeping her husband in line, she is happily putting characters through
the wringer. Visit her at www.AlisonDeLaine.com.
Alison's historical romance, A Gentleman 'til Midnight, from Harlequin HQN comes out tomorrow. I'm reading it right now and loving it!
Please give Alison a warm Romance Dish welcome!
Do you have a favorite place? Somewhere in the world you
can’t get enough of? Maybe you watch all the travel shows, dream of vacationing
there—if you’re lucky, actually
vacation there—and collect stuff that reminds you of your beloved locale.
For me, that place is the Mediterranean. Which is probably
why the Med snuck into my stories. (Another reason could be that I was looking
for an unconventional place to locate my not-really-a-pirate heroine, and it
turns out that the Mediterranean was a hotbed of pirate activity for quite some
time.) It isn’t that I’ve spent much time there, although my husband and I did
take an amazing trip to Turkey a few years ago. (He might describe it as “grueling”…
More about that below.) It’s more that the Mediterranean lives as a magical
place in my imagination.
Here are the top five things I love about the Mediterranean
that also show up in my books:
The sunshine. I’m
a big fan of sunshine. So are my characters. I’m also partial to the idea of a
strong, handsome-as-sin man standing on the deck of the ship with his head
tipped back, basking in sunlight. Maybe with… you know… his shirt fluttering in
the breeze, and his large hands curled around the railing… Anyhow, I digress. I’m
sure you’re not interested in anything like that.
The turquoise water.
It’s true! The water really is turquoise in many places. I like to imagine my
heroine and her crew anchored in a harbor somewhere (in the sunshine, of
course) surrounded by blue-green water that’s so clear you can see all the way
to the bottom. And just maybe, way down there, they might see some…
Ancient ruins. Yep,
I can’t get enough of ‘em. Just be glad that I’ve internalized the “little goes
a long way” concept. I could fill a book with descriptions of ancient ruins. Or
an entire vacation—just ask my husband, who claims he was taken on a forced
march through every ancient site we came across in Turkey. (He exaggerates, of
course.)
Egypt. Well
technically, Egypt itself doesn’t show up in my books (yet) except for an occasional
mention—or, if you’ve read my novella A Lady by Day, in my heroine’s past. For
me, Egypt calls to mind all sorts of exotic, ancient-world imagery, so I can’t
resist tossing it in occasionally.
Pomegranates. Okay,
they grow a lot of places. Such as my back yard. (By the way, that trick about
peeling a pomegranate underwater to avoid the mess? It works.) But they also
grow in the Mediterranean—whole fields of pomegranate bushes—and who could
resist that?
What’s your
favorite place, and what are your top things to love about it? Inquiring minds
want to know! And two lucky commenters will win a signed copy of my book, A
Gentleman ‘til Midnight. (U.S. and Canada only)
A Gentleman ’til Midnight
The complication they don’t want…
Lady Katherine Kinloch survived captivity once. Now the notorious captain of her own ship, she refuses to let anyone jeopardize her hard-won freedom. But on a voyage to England to fight for her family’s endangered estate, Katherine is thrown off course when she unknowingly rescues celebrated naval captain James Warre…a man who stands for everything she despises.
The passion they desperately need…
Haunted by regret for his role in her dark past, James is determined to be more than the cold, calculating officer Katherine expects. Her seduction is his obsession, but his pride hangs in the balance if he gives in to temptation. And hiding beneath the scorching attraction between them lies a secret that could force the two apart for good.
Congratulations to Alison on her new book coming out tomorrow! I like the idea of a heroine as a ship captain. Very intriguing. A favorite place of mine is Chincoteague, Virginia where they have the wild horses. It is a lovely place to visit with the most amazing beaches on Assateague Island.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, I would love to visit there. Those wild horses must be magnificent!
DeleteHi Maureen! I have a friend who has told me about those wild horses, and I would love to see that place. Thank you so much for your congratulations! Katherine and her ship were lots of fun to write about.
DeleteCongratulations, Alison, on your new book! What an intriguing premise for a story. One doesn't usually think of a ship's crew saying, "Aye-aye, Cap'n" to a female. :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place as a girl was Colorado, mainly because that was my dad's favorite place to go for vacation. As an adult, my favorite places are either Denmark, the land of my grandfather's birth, or North Padre Island. I loved the sparkling Kattegat Bay with its many sailboats and the gray-blue waters of the North Atlantic in Denmark. I loved watching the rolling waves of the Gulf of Mexico.
I'm partial to the Gulf of Mexico too, Deb, having lived near it for many years.
DeleteI have to say I've been to Colorado more often than Denmark! But my parents did take me to Denmark when I was twelve. I wish I remembered more about it. What you describe sounds so beautiful. Thanks, Deb!
DeleteBest wishes for continued success with your writing career! Two naval captains, intrigue and chemistry, sounds explosive! I'd love to read A GENTLEMAN 'TIL MIDNIGHT!
ReplyDeleteI've been spending time in Wisconsin due to my daughter's high risk pregnancy. It's made me appreciate the sunny days, warm to hot temperatures and beautiful beaches of Stuart, Florida where I live. There are no high rises there. The temperature is ideal for walking, biking, sailing , wind surfing and reading. Plus it's close enough to larger cities like Miami and Orlando.
I did enjoy the white Christmas. However, the extreme -15* temperature this morning is too hard to deal and to live with for any length of time.
Happy New Year!
Laurie, I grew up in Michigan then spent 20+ years living in Florida. I'll take the warm sun and sandy beaches over snow drifts any day!
DeleteI hope all goes well with your daughter's pregnancy!
DeleteOh my goodness, -15 sounds way too cold for me! I can't even imagine. Thanks for your kind words about my story... It was such fun to write about those two! Wishing the best for your daughter and your return to warmer climes.
DeleteWelcome, Alison and congratulations on A Gentleman 'til Midnight.. I really enjoyed this story and am hoping we'll see more of these characters. Please say there are more books coming!
ReplyDeleteHi PJ! Indeed there are more books on the way. :-) The next one is Nick and India's story, and it will be out in late April. It's called A Wedding by Dawn. Thank you so much for hosting me here today!
DeleteI like being home best despite the cold winters.
ReplyDeleteHome's a good place to be. ;-)
DeleteReally, jcp, you're right!! Home is a good place to be, and after a long day or even a fun day, that's exactly where I want to be. :)
DeleteI'm a homebody too, jcp. Traveling can be fun, but there's nothing quite as comforting as being right here at home.
DeleteHi, Alison! It’s so nice to meet you here today on The Romance Dish. I was really intrigued when you mentioned mining in Arizona. My husband is a huge rockhound and I know he would love to do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to your question, I would have to say that my favorite place is right here in southwest Florida. I love the beautiful weather and the fact that we don’t have winter! I also know that Arizona is gorgeous too. So, I would say that we both have the best of everything.
Congratulations on your successes and I look forward to reading “A Gentleman ’til Midnight."
Connie, you know I'm partial to your area, having lived in SW Florida for many years. Love that part of the world!
DeleteThank you, Connie! There are definitely all kinds of fascinating rocks here in AZ. I'm constantly stooping down to inspect a rock that has caught my eye. You are very right that we both live in great warm-winter climates. It's hard to beat!
DeleteI Alison nice to meet you and congrats on your new release. It sound really good and I love the cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I'm a big fan of the cover, too. :-)
DeleteYou are a new to me author and I love the sound of your story! As to favorite places, I'm not sure I have one. We traveled early on in our marriage and I loved each and every place - it's exciting to discover new places but I'm happy with old places too lol.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's hard to choose a favorite, isn't it? The thrill of discovery can be fun no matter where you are. I'm so glad you find my story intriguing, and thank you for posting a comment!
DeleteI agree with you-the waters in places in the Mediterranean are a turquoise blue that even painters have trouble copying.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place there is the Isle of Capri-I love that place-the food, the scenery, the people. It is one of the prettiest places i have been on my travels around the world.
Your book sounds great-I have added it to my TBR list.
JWIsley(at)aol(dot)com
Hi Joye! I adore Capri! We spent three days on the island my last time in Italy. Gave us more time to explore and enjoy everything she has to offer. Italy is my favorite foreign country to visit.
DeleteI would love to visit Capri. I have a painting of it in my living room! Most certainly not the exact right shade of turquoise... LOL. Italy is wonderful, and I've seen Capri from the mainland -- way off in the distance. Sigh. Thank you so much for commenting!
DeleteCongrats on your release, Alison! I have it pre-ordered.I can't think of my favorite place because I have the wonderful pirate image you painted occupying my thoughts now :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place is a simple place-- my big fluffy chair in my living room. I'm surrounded by my favorite things-- and I never feel more comforted and cozy :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of your book, Alison. It's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI'm a homebody and love having my hubby and kids around. But if I could travel, I'd love to go to Scotland...the land of the kilted men. LOL Or to Greece, for the food. ;)
Marcy Shuler
My favorite place right now is Southern California. Number one reason is because it's home and I miss it, but also because my family and friends are there, the weather is awesome, and you can go from the mountains, to the ocean, to the desert in just a few hours.
ReplyDeletecongrats Allison on the new release! It sounds awesome! I love the beach :) Warm, sunny and near warm water! LOL... it's freezing here so I would love to sit on a towel on the sand and soak in the sun while reading! Thanks for the fun post!
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing news about your release Aliison and have it on my wishlist, congrats. I'd love to be able to visit Italy and Greece, all the interesting ruins and architecture.
ReplyDeleteFla. I love the beach's or any where warm right now.
ReplyDeleteI may have grown up in up-state New York and I live in Rhode Island *the Ocean State" now but my favorite place is Tucson, Arizona where I went to college in the 1960's! I love to take photographs and my favorite one is over my desk and is a picture I took at "Old Tucson" of a "bad guy" falling off the roof of a saloon! I actually took with color film but had it blown up in black and white so it looks "grainy" and like it was taken all those years ago.
ReplyDeleteThere is just something about the wide, wild open spaces outside of Tucson that calls to my soul and makes me think of times gone by, a life so different from today and the thrill of learning new things and going places that have changed so much over time but still are never forgotten!
We have visited many places we have enjoyed and many we would love to revisit. We still have a long list of places we would like to visit.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable trip was to Indonesia and Bali on my way home in 1971 after my Peace Corps assignment. I found the ancient temples, people, and culture interesting. Bali is a pace out of time. Time seems to have slowed and seems important only in terms of cycles. It is a place of ancient cultures and where the spirit world is very much a part of everyday life. I was lucky enough to visit at the local level seeing the country and people as a tourist never can. I would love to go back and share it with my husband, but that isn't possible. 40+ years are certain to have brought many changes plus we would be unable to visit at the "local" level as I did before. I will have to be satisfied with my pictures, items I got, and wonderful memories.