Welcome everyone. I would like to introduce Carole
Avila. He novel Eve's Amulet is releasing today. Make sure to get your copy.
Dawn: It is great to have you with me
today. First tell us a little about
yourself. Your likes and dislikes, your
favorite foods, your special pets? What makes you…you?
Carole: I have so many likes that they’re too hard to
name. If the food tastes great and is healthy, I’ll eat it. If the music makes
me “feel,” I listen to it. If the art attracts my eye, I take it in. I love
being with my three daughters and thankfully, we’re all very close. My dogs,
Kayla and Bostrum, are both like furry kids. What makes me me is that I am very
spiritual and intuitive. As a life coach, generally attracting people who have
endured childhood sexual abuse, I help others move forward beyond fear toward
their personal goals. As an abuse survivor, I have to constantly remind myself
to take care of my needs, too. Writing is a great part of my life, the easiest form
of expression for me.
Dawn: What is the title of your
current work and what is it about?
Carole: Eve’s Amulet, Book 1 is a fun, time-travel
western adventure. It’s partly romance and historical fiction. Mandy Ruhe is
swept back in time to Texas 1845, into the body of ranch owner, Carmena
Luebber. Mandy must assume Carmena’s role until she finds a way back to her own
time. She is caught in the lives of her new employees, and ends up torn between
two men in love with the real Carmena. Mandy's amulet is stolen by a historical
figure and she needs it to get back home before she destroys lives in the past
as well as the future, but the only way to get it back is to participate in a
criminal act that may be doomed to failure.
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Excerpt
Captain
Charles Sanders rose above insanely gorgeous. He could turn the head of a
mannequin. He was the classic image of a steroid muscle man on the front cover
of a paperback romance, an easy six-feet-four—maybe five—inches tall. And the
captain was much closer to my age than Carlos.
No wonder I, or rather, Carmena, was
attracted to him. I wanted to gobble the officer up like milk chocolate, and in
testimony, my mouth remained opened a bit too long. The captain’s smile grew
wider and Carlos cleared his throat rather loudly.
I swallowed. “Captain. It’s absolutely
wonderful to see you.” And it was.
Carlos, out of the captain’s line of
sight, rolled his eyes heavenward. I stumbled past the chairs behind my desk.
“Thank you, Carmena.” The
captain’s masculine voice wrapped invisible arms
around me. “And may I say that it’s always wonderful to see you?”
He glided across the room with the heat
of a professional tango dancer. He took my hands and placed a long, slow kiss
on the back of each one. Goosebumps rose on my arms, shivers did the whole up
and down thing along my spine, and I wanted nothing more than to be alone with
the man.
“I’m so glad you have recovered from
that unfortunate circumstance.” No matter what he said, his words oozed
masculine sensuality.
“Carlos,” I kept my toothy grin on the
officer, “I’ve changed my mind about our last discussion. Perhaps you can
attend to that other matter we were just dealing with.”
“And what matter would that be,
Carmena?” Carlos asked. He enunciated every syllable in the name and stood like
a permanent fixture with his arms crossed.
I waved my hand. “Whatever. Just take
care of it.”
The captain’s blue eyes glittered like
the crown jewels under a spotlight and his smile caressed me like a cashmere
blanket.
“I don’t understand, Carmena,” Carlos
said. “We were just discussing your poor condition after the lieutenant’s
attack.”
“Is it true?” the captain asked, deep
concern evident in his tone, and he held my hands tighter. “Are you unwell,
Carmena?”
“Oh, no. I’m feeling much better now.”
“Why don’t we sit down?” Charles said.
He took my arm, and I felt a girlish flutter in my solar plexus. We sat down on
the leather settee, and Carlos seated himself on the matching chair directly
across from us.
“How are you, Captain?”
“I’m very fine, especially now that I’m
here, knowing you’re well.” His voice, smooth as French butter, made me want to
melt into it.
We continued to hold hands and my eyes
held fast to his. “Carlos, is there something else you need?”
"Yes, actually. We need to finish the
conversation we were having moments before the captain arrived in which you
told me how fatigued you still felt since the attack.”
Alarm washed across the captain’s
handsome face. “Please, Carmena. You mustn’t
try to be brave for me.” The captain unwittingly joined the enemy’s side in the
verbal tussle I was having with Carlos and he abruptly stood. “Perhaps I can
return another day.”
I practically jumped on top of him and
dragged him back down. “But I’m much better today!” I turned to Carlos and gave
him a ferocious stink eye. “Aren’t I looking much better, Carlos?”
“Well…” He rubbed his chin. “Now that
you mention it, you do look a little pale.”
The captain squeezed my hands and I
wished he would kiss them again. “I’m ashamed that I didn’t consider your
physical health more thoroughly before riding out.” I made to protest, but he
quickly added, “I’m also flattered that you don’t want to send me off, Carmena,
but we really do need to put your frail condition before all else. I shall call
on you next week.” He glanced at Carlos. “I’m sure you’ll be feeling better by
then.”
Warm lips brushed the back of my hands
yet again and the captain smiled. “Good evening, Carmena.” He started for the
library doors.
I trailed the captain like a
love-struck teen, hoping he’d change his mind about staying. “It’s much too
late for anyone to be riding at this time of night.”
“Surely you don’t doubt the ability of
a captain in the Texas Cavalry to take care of himself?” Carlos said.
“I don’t mean to insult you, Captain,
but I fear for your safety,” I lied. “There are so many highway men and all
manner of vicious beasts out at night. We’ve plenty of guest rooms to see to
your comfort.”
“Ay,
Diós!” Carlos muttered.
Charles took my hands in his. His smile
couldn’t get any wider, and my heart tried to jump out and rest in his dimples.
“Don’t worry about me, Carmena. Several of my men are waiting at the gate. Now,
I insist that you get your rest so that we may enjoy a proper visit upon my
return.”
“But I’m really feeling fine!”
“Thank you, Captain, for seeing to
Carmena’s needs before your own,” Carlos said.
The Adonis made a gracious bow to
Carlos. To me the captain said, “I will call on you next week when you’re
feeling much better, if I may?”
I pouted despite the offer of another
visit. “Of course.”
He kissed my hands for the umpteenth
time, and I wanted him to stay all the more. Like a needy little puppy I
followed the captain to the door, but he said, “I will see myself out, Carmena.
I’d prefer it if you sat down and rested.”
“Of course. Anything you want,
Captain.” And I meant it.
He kept his smile in check, and Carlos
huffed behind me.
The captain’s long pointer finger
stroked my cheek to my chin, and he whispered, “Perhaps we’ll have time later
to share a few private moments together.”
I sighed and brazenly admitted, “I’d
really like that.”
Carlos grunted. The captain grinned as
he closed the library doors behind him.
I whirled around to face Carlos who
openly smirked. I jabbed my fists on my hips and glared, but my dirty look had
no impact.
Carlos took his seat at the desk and
pointed to my own. “Now, let me think.” He tapped the side of his cheek. “Where
were we before you said how you wanted me to stay in the library with you during
the captain’s visit, no matter how awkward?”
“Diós,” I griped and stomped across the room. I plopped down hard
into my chair and crossed my arms.
Carlos laughed.
“Get on with it,” I said. “What were
you going to say?”
“I was about to tell you everything I
know of the real Carmena Luebber.”
Dawn: How long did have you been
writing and when did you know that writing was what you wanted to do? What kind
of writer are you, a plotter or a pantser?
Carole: When I was 3 years old I knew, after reading
Go, dog. Go! that I would be a
writer. I didn’t learn how to properly write until I was in the first grade and
my first story was cut to shreds by a substitute teacher. I got a big red F on
the paper, like a flag telling all the other kids what a terrible story I had
written. Although I was only six years-old, the paper was marked off for poor
spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and there wasn’t one mention on the content
of my story. I crumbled it up and vowed never to write again. Of course, I did write
but I kept my poetry, fiction, and non-fiction to myself until my best friend,
Laura, told me on her death bed that I was called to be a writer. As soon as I
recovered from her passing, I wrote my first novel, a romance based on a dream
that I had seven nights in a row.
I am a pantser writer. I dream most
of my stories (in full color with surround sound) or with fingers on the
keyboard, I am inspired and just take off.
Dawn: Share your social profiles with
us. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest…where do you spend your cyber-time?
Carole: I am still
learning how to discipline myself as a writer with regards to anything outside
of the actual writing process. I am (slowly) learning how to improve my
website, www.caroleavila.com, and I answer all e-mails there and at info@caroleavila.com. I am at Facebook and Pinterest under Carole Avila. I try to use my
writing pen name at all my social media sites. I’m also at writeme1 at Twitter.
My blog can be reached from my website or by going to caroleavilablog.wordpress.com.
Dawn: If you could travel to any-where
or any-when…when and where would that be? What would you do when you got there?
Carole: I think I would like to remain in America at
the turn of the last century, when so many great industrial discoveries were
being made, like the telephone and automobile. It seems to me that at that time
our technology united people, whereas today, computer technology puts a “safe”
distance between us. Honestly, I’m a very private person so I get hung up in
that, too. I feel better sending texts and e-mails rather than calling or
sending a snail-mail card to someone.
Dawn: What draws you to the genre or
genres in which you write?
Carole: I think that if I had to claim a genre, it
would be romance, but that’s normally not the main focus of my stories. I love
to develop my characters and give them something meaningful to do, or have them
search for meaning. (The Eve’s Amulet series is about women connecting to their
inner resources and using their natural talents wisely.) My writing is
inspired–the thoughts flow in, and I grab hold of them, which explains why I
write romance, adventure, young adult horror, non-fiction, mystery, poetry,
contemporary literary works, and other genres.
Dawn: Who is your favorite author and why?
Which book speaks to you the most?
Carole: That’s like asking “What is your favorite
food or music?” There are just too many fabulous authors out there! I met Ray
Bradbury several years ago and had the most amazing 2-hour conversation with
him on the craft of writing. I met Nicholas Sparks after The Notebook first
came out and liked that he wanted to write romance, not common for most men.
Well written books speak to me the most, regardless of the genre. It wasn’t
until recently that I started reading sci-fi. Once I read Divergent, The Hunger
Games, and The City of Bones, I was hooked.
Dawn: What do you like to listen to when
you write? Music, TV, silence?
Carole: I can’t listen to anything! Music and movies
grab my attention, especially if it’s something I like. I write in silence but
my mind is filled with words, action, and the characters who live there!
Dawn: When do you find the time to write?
Are you an early morning person or a late at night writer?
Carole: Honestly, Dawn, it depends on how much
caffeine I’ve had! If I have one cup of black tea or coffee after 9 a.m., it’s
enough to keep me up past 1 a.m. If I drink a cup at night, I usually see the
sunrise! I love chai tea with cream and hazelnut coffee. It’s sooooo hard to
refuse a cup! My usual internal clock would probably put me more in the night
owl category, although I write during the day as well. Like most dedicated
writers, I write for hours and lose track of time.
Dawn: Tell me about any promotions or
contests you are running? Where can we go to sign up and what are the rules?
Carole: Aarggh
! I’m still working on it. I am still too new to the marketing world, but I see that I have more to do!
! I’m still working on it. I am still too new to the marketing world, but I see that I have more to do!
Thank you, Carole for being with me
today. I enjoyed learning about your
book and look forward to reading it.
Carole: Thank you, Dawn, for generously having me at
your site. I really appreciate your time and energy!
