Interview and Giveaway with Rhyannon Byrd

Hi Rhyannon and welcome to UTC!  Having been introduced to your books years back through the PRIMAL INSTINCT series, I was more than curious to get a chance to read TAKE ME UNDER.

Hi and thanks so much for having me at UTC!!!

The Dangerous Tides series will be your first contemporary series, even though you’ve written some standalone titles.  Tell us more about why you decided it was time to step away from paranormal and go into a contemporary project.

I started out writing contemporary erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave nearly a decade ago, and it’s always been a genre that I LOVE writing. When I started writing paranormals for Harlequin, the plan had always been to keep my contemporary projects going at the same time. But I ended up staying buried in deadlines and never got the chance. So, in the end, it really came down to scheduling and timing. I had to make some major changes in order to get to a place where I could write both, and I’m really glad that I did. When I was finally able to start work on the Dangerous Tides series it was such an awesome feeling!

In a nutshell, how would you describe TAKE ME UNDER?

TAKE ME UNDER is a contemporary erotic romance about a shy divorcee named Reese who moves to Florida in the hopes of escaping a psychotic stalker. When she discovers that her mom has rented her a beach house owned by the town’s sexy bad boy sheriff, Ben Hudson, she’s shocked. But what’s even more surprising is when Ben makes it clear that he’s interested in being a hell of a lot more than her landlord. And when danger follows her to the sleepy little beach town, Ben quickly claims the role of Reese’s personal bodyguard, determined to do whatever it takes to protect her. Ben is definitely one of my all-time favorite heroes and I’m hoping readers will love him as much as I do!

Can you describe the book in 3 words? 🙂

Scorching, sensuous, seductive. 😉

Ben is the bad boy we all love to read about.  What’s the main reason you fell in love with his character?

It has to be the way that he falls in love with the heroine. Ben goes into his relationship with Reese thinking she’s simply a hunger he needs to satisfy and get out of his system, so that he can move on and finally forget about her. But as their relationship develops, he starts to see that what he feels for her has become so much more than that. The way he falls in love with Reese and comes to grips with his emotions is one of my favorite things about the story…and definitely about Ben. When he falls, he falls hard, and it’s lovely to watch such a bad boy tumble so completely.

Keeping the romance going and the relationship believable while juggling the suspense element can be tricky.  What would you say is key to achieving that balance?

Ooh, hard question! But after I’ve thought about it for a bit, I think the key is to weave the suspense into the overall storyline, instead of treating them as two separate elements. Even as they’re falling in love, the situation with Reese’s stalker is always at the back of their minds…and even plays into some of the emotional decisions Reese and Ben make regarding their relationship. As an author, you just have to make sure that the suspense element doesn’t consume their every moment. Giving them some downtime to just enjoy one another and have a laugh is crucial, or else you run the risk of killing the chemistry.

The next in the Dangerous Tides series is a novella in the WICKED AND DANGEROUS anthology with Shayla Black.  HOT cover by the way! 😉  Can you tell us a bit what your story in that will be about?

So glad you like the cover! Shayla and I are really thrilled with how it turned out. My novella, Make Me Yours, falls between the first and second books in the Dangerous Tides series. We meet the hero, Scott Ryder, in TAKE ME UNDER because he works as one of Ben’s deputies. He’s a former soldier who’s been doing his best to start a new life for himself in the picturesque little beach town where the series is set. But there are some aspects of his old life that he can’t forget, and when Lily Heller, the daughter of his former commander, suddenly shows up on his doorstep while on the run from a deadly killer, Ryder’s past and present collide in an explosive way. I had an absolute blast with these characters and can’t wait to share their story with my readers!

Which one of your books was the most fun to write and which one was the hardest?  Why?

I think TAKE ME UNDER was probably the most fun for me, because I was so freaking excited to be writing a hot contemporary again. I was seriously giddy about it, because it’s something that I had wanted to be able to do again for sooo long. The hardest was the 5^th Bloodrunners book that I just finished, Dark Wolf Running. It deals with some really dark, emotional issues, and it took me a while before I felt that I had the right grasp on how the hero and heroine’s relationship should develop. But once I got through the first couple of scenes, it finally started to click for me, and they ended up being one of my favorite couples. But it’s definitely the book that gave me the most grief in the beginning.

Is there one particular heroine in your books that you most identify with?

I think it would be difficult to name a specific one, but there are definitely bits in each of my heroines that I can identify with. However, I do totally relate to Reese’s shyness…and her love of Mexican food. 😉

Many authors get their ideas from everyday life. Do you have a story to share where your real-life experience has influenced your writing?

When we lived in Florida, we would vacation every July in this cute little beach town on the Gulf, and I used that experience as the basis for developing the fictional town of Moss Beach in the Dangerous Tides series. I also wrote a novella for EC called A Little Less Conversation that was based on a fictional representation of the little beach town in Southern California where I grew up.

If we were unforgivably rude and pulled at random five things from your hand bag, what would we find? 

Anti-bac from Bath & Body Works (major obsession)

iPod Nano (I take it everywhere I go.)

lip gloss (another obsession)

Safety pins. Sooo many safety pins! (My kids do a lot of competitive rowing and I’m always having to pin their race numbers onto the back of their shirts, hence the need for safety pins.)

Travel-size Orange Ginger Lotion from Bath & Body Works (yet another obsession)
Tell us the first thing that comes to mind:

* Shifter—Kresley Cole’s MacRieve! I just read an excerpt the other day and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

* Vampire—Underworld! One of my favorite vamp movies. Love it!

* Tattoos—My daughter! She’s only 15, but already has her first tattoo picked out. It’s a line of lyrics from the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Parallel Universe song. I’ve already started researching the top tattoo artists in London, and when she turns 18 that’s where we’ll be.

 

TAKE ME UNDER

Dangerous Tides, Book 1

Format:  Paperback and eBook

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Publication Date:  June 4, 2013

Available at:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Ben Hudson had a thing for shy, sexy Reese Monroe from the moment he first saw her three years ago. Back then, she was married and living in Boston—two very good reasons for the Miami detective with a bad boy reputation to stay away.

But that was then…

Now Reese is divorced and moving to Florida, where her mother has rented her a small beach house—one that happens to be owned by Ben. Living right next door, he can’t get Reese’s soft curves out of his mind. He’s waited three long years to touch her in all the ways he’s been dreaming about, and this time he won’t let anything get in his way.

For Reese, Ben’s sudden advances are thrilling, but leave her stunned. With her limited experience in the bedroom, she never expects a man with such a wicked reputation to go after her. She knows she should be on guard, but he’s a temptation she can’t resist. And when trouble follows her down from Boston, threatening her life, Ben may be the only one who can help her.

 TAKE ME UNDER Blog Tour Schedule

May 31 – June 14

 5/31- Musings From An Addicted Reader (spotlight)

http://musingsfromanaddictedreader.blogspot.com/

 5/31- Romance Junkies (interview)

http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

 6/01- Ramblings From This Chick  (interview)

http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/

 6/01- Scorching Book Reviews  (spotlight)

http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.com/

 6/02- HEA Romances with A Little Kick (spotlight & review)

http://hearomanceswithalittlekick.wordpress.com/

 6/03- Book Monster Reviews  (spotlight)

http://www.bookmonsterreviews.com/

6/03- United by Books (interview)

http://unitedbybooks.blogspot.com/

 6/04- GraveTells  (spotlight)

http://gravetells.com/

 6/04- Wicked Readings by Tawania  (spotlight)

http://www.wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com/

 6/05- The Reading Cafe  (interview & review)

http://thereadingcafe.com/

 6/05- Cocktails and Books  (spotlight)

http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/

 6/06- Tiffy-Fit  (spotlight)

http://tiffyfit.blogspot.com/

 6/06- Darker Passions  (spotlight)

http://darkerpassions.net/

 6/07- Love In A Book  (interview)

http://www.loveinabook.com/

 6/08- Babbling About Books  (spotlight)

http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/

 6/08- Mimmi’s Musings  (spotlight)

http://mimmismusings.blogspot.com/

 6/09- Under The Covers  (interview)

https://archive.underthecoversbookblog.com/

 6/09- Reader Girls  (spotlight)

http://www.readergirlsblog.com/

 6/10- Book Lovin’ Mamas (interview & review)

http://booklovinmamas.blogspot.com/

 6/10- Sassy Book Lovers  (spotlight)

http://sassybooklovers.blogspot.com/

 6/11- Flirting with Romance  (interview)

http://flirtingwithromance.blogspot.com/

 6/11- Books, Books and More Books  (spotlight)

http://booksbooksmorebooks.blogspot.com/

6/13- Offbeat Vagabond  (spotlight)

http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/

 6/14- Reading Between The Wines  (spotlight)

http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.com/

 6/14- Riverina Romantics  (spotlight)

http://riverinaromantics.blogspot.com/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rhyannon Byrd is an avid, longtime fan of romance and the author of more than twenty paranormal and erotic titles. She has been nominated for three Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards, including best Shape-shifter Romance, and her books have been translated into nine languages. After having spent years enjoying the glorious sunshine of the American South and Southwest, Rhyannon now lives in the beautiful, but often chilly county of Warwickshire in England with her husband and family. For more information on Rhyannon’s books and the latest news, you can visit her website (www.rhyannonbyrd.com) or find her on Facebook and Goodreads.

Rhyannon is giving away the following prizes at the end of her tour:

GRAND PRIZE:

• $50 Amazon gift certificate
• signed copy of Take Me Under
• signed copy of Darkest Desire of the Vampire
• BIG swag Pack

 

RUNNERS-UP:

Three (3) runners up will EACH receive all of the following prizes below:

• signed copy of Take Me Under
• signed copy of Darkest Desire of the Vampire
• swag pack