Yep, we said we had a surprise, and here she is! The newest member of International Heat…

ANNE RAINEY!

Welcome, welcome, welcome to International Heat. We are so excited to have Anne join the crew. Well, do you blame us? Have you read her books yet? They are brilliant!

So, like with Lexxie, I put together a couple of questions to ask Anne. I figured it would be way cooler for her to tell you all the info, rather than hear it from me second hand.

Here’s Anne…

😀

Jess

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1)????? Anne Rainey: Pen name or real name?

Pen name. Writing hot stories is fun, but it means I need to be all mysterious and crap. lol

2)????? If it’s your pen name, how did you come up with it?

I had about five different combinations. My cousin picked the one he liked best and I went with it.

3)????? Tell us about your books.

I write contemporary romance. Some are very erotic, but most fall under the steamy category. My characters are regular people. Construction workers, bookstore owners, mechanics, coffee shop owners. They?re us really! Muddling their way through a relationship and hoping to find their very own happily-ever-after.

4)????? You write searing hot erotic contemporary romance. Any other genres you’d try your hand at?

I?ve written one vampire romance titled ?A Diamond at Midnight?, which can be found at The Wild Rose Press. I?m planning another titled ?A Taste of Mary?. It?ll release in 2011 with Samhain Publishing. I?m open to any genre, with the exception of historical romance. I just don?t have what it takes to write historical.

5)?????? Which is your personal fave of all your books, and why?

Ah, that would be ?Forbidden Fruit?.? Ava, the heroine, is a total tomboy. The hero inadvertently makes her feel ugly and so she gets revenge. I can relate to Ava because I was always the tomboy. ?Forbidden Fruit? will forever be special to me. (Note from Jess: You’ll find an excerpt of Forbidden Fruit at the bottom of this post.)

6)?????? My fave question: You have to have a menage with any two people. (Yep, someone’s holding a gun to your head.) Who are they?

Quentin Elias and Jason Statham. Both are sexy as sin and yes, bald. So hot!

7) ? ? ?? What’s coming soon from Anne Rainey?

What She Wants is coming August 3rd to Samhain Publishing.? My first hero with a tattoo and he?s bald. 😉
Here?s more about it:

(Note from Jess: Awesome, awesome cover!)

Summer just got a whole lot hotter?

Summer Chase has already loved and lost once and she has no intention of going through that pain again. But when a hunky Camaro driving P.I. shows up at her B & B looking for a room for the week, she sees something more than a hard-bodied guest.? For the first time since her husband?s death, Summer?s sexual interest is awakening, and she?s not about to hit the snooze button!

Gage Knight is a P. I. in desperate need of a vacation. His impromptu trip to Cape May, New Jersey seems just what he needs to relax and unwind. But when he knocks on the door of Chase?s Bed & Breakfast and comes face to face with sexy owner, Summer Chase, relaxing drops to the bottom of his to-do list. Now all he wants is a tasty Summer treat, and he plans to take his time, savoring the curvaceous beauty one inch at a time.

Question is?can she watch Gage drive off into the sunset when the week comes to an end?

You can read an excerpt from What She Wants here.

8)???????? Are you offering a prize this week on International Heat?

Yes! Comment on my blog posts this week. I?ll be picking three winners from the comments. They?ll have their pick of ONE of my current releases, ebook or print. Also, Friday, there?s a BONUS contest. I?m keeping that one under wraps until Friday though. Hehe!

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Forbidden Fruit: An Excerpt

?You look incredible, Ava. Every man in this room wanted you the instant you walked through those doors. Including me, baby.?

Ava forced herself not to react to the heat and promise in his words. She had a few questions for him before things went too far.

Pushing back enough so she could look into his eyes, Ava nearly swallowed her tongue. He was so tall and she was all of five foot four. He made her feel more feminine than any skirt ever could. She pulled herself out of her wayward thoughts and asked, ?What about the woman I saw you with a few minutes ago? Do you want her too??

He frowned down at her, as if he had no idea who she was talking about. ??Huh??

Ava rolled her eyes. ?Don?t tell me you don?t know! She practically flung herself at you.? He still looked bewildered, so she added, ?Blonde. Tall. A chest that looks like maybe it?s been under a knife.?

Ah, there it was. Recognition at last. Mention boobs and a man?s memory suddenly became crystal clear. She wanted to smack him. She wanted to kiss him. Maybe she?d do both before the night was through.

?First off, I wasn?t with her. She came onto me. I turned her down. She?s not the woman that has my dick as hard as a damned tire iron right now, Ava; that would be you.?

She stubbornly ignored the erection pressing against her belly?or tried to anyway?and narrowed her eyes on him. Luke wasn?t a one-woman man. He liked variety. A fact that had left her feeling raw on more than one occasion.

?Maybe she?s not the one you want right now, but I?m betting you jotted down her phone number.? She needed to know. At the very least, Ava needed to know that she was going to have his full attention tonight. If only for one night. Ava badly wanted to experience the whole of Luke McGiffin. Preferably before reality came crashing back in on her with all its merciless force.

?I told her I wasn?t interested. She wrote her number on my hand by her own volition, but I went to the bathroom and washed it off.?

He held out the hand in question. Even in the darkly lit nightclub, Ava could see the smudged ink. She shrugged, secretly pleased that he?d washed off the hussy?s phone number before coming to her.

Luke?s hand grasped her waist and her heart skipped a beat as his heat seeped through the silk of her blouse. ?If it hadn?t been for that little pit stop, I would have been the one dancing with you instead of Pete and Griff,? he growled. Ava felt her blood sing in her veins, all at once on fire and raging out of control.

Another slow song picked up where the other left off. They moved to the music. Ava let her mind drift in the sensual haze Luke weaved around them. After a few minutes, she became aware that he?d somehow maneuvered them down a long empty hallway, well away from everyone else. It was dark, shadowed, and not quite as loud in this part of the nightclub.

Luke tipped her head up, his blue-eyed heat all but demanding her undivided attention. ?Come home with me, Ava. Let your guard down for just this once and come home with me.?

?Because you?ve seen my legs, Luke?? She was desperate to scream ?yes!? The sickening truth of it was she?d follow him anywhere. But she was just woman enough to want to know which version of Ava Sweet he wanted. The tomboy animal lover or the skirt and strappy sandals version she?d created just for him. ?You can see that I?m a flesh and blood woman so now I?m worthy of your attention? Is that it??

Luke?s hand tightened on her jaw and she winced. He loosened his fingers a fraction, but didn?t let her go. ?I told you on the phone I?d seen past the clothes a long time ago,? Luke chastised. And then in a much softer tone, ?My comments to Pete hurt you. I?m sorry, baby. But damn it all, I didn?t want him thinking of you in a sexual way. I don?t want any man thinking of you in that way. Only me. Don?t let my big mouth ruin what we could have.? His tone went as soft as velvet sliding over her skin. ?We?ll be good together. I know it in my bones. You know it too. Let me make you feel good.?

He didn?t wait for her answer. Luke?s head swooped down as he took her mouth in a scorching show of possession and need.

Ava did the only thing she could in that space of time. She dug her hands into the luxurious softness of Luke McGiffin?s hair and hung on for the ride. No matter the reason for Luke?s sudden interest, she was being given a chance to make love to him. Ava wasn?t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

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