Viola: Thanks for having me on your blog, Cate! It’s great to be here. Here’s my bio:
Viola Estrella has had an infatuation with writing since her angst-ridden teenage years when she sat at her secondhand typewriter and pounded out her most personal secrets, fears and desires. Twenty years later, she’s a little less dramatic but still madly in love with the written word.
When she’s not writing or reading, she’s spending time with her loving family and food-obsessed Beagle in a small town just north of Denver, Colorado.
Cate: Happy to have you here, Viola! Please tell us about Bewitching You and where it's available.
Viola: Bewitching You is a contemporary paranormal romance available in paperback or eBook from the Wild Rose Press. Here’s a blurb:An interfering ghost, a nosy mind-reading grandmother, a psychic man-hating mother, and a spell gone wrong are only a few dilemmas Sofia Good has to deal with in order to find love. It’s not easy having control of your own destiny when you can’t even remember what you put on that morning, even worse when you’re given a “gift” of precognition to save people’s lives, and you have no clue how to use it.
Grayson Phillips lost his brother in a senseless accident, and now he’s trying to gain back control by maintaining a safe and uneventful ‘life plan.’ But after sexy, quirky Sofia crash lands into his world he’s forced to rethink his strategy.
When Sofia’s grandmother casts a love spell, it successfully maneuvers Sofia and Grayson into her home in secluded Amish country. Time will tell if the love spell helps or destroys Sofia’s only chance at love.
Cate: Intriguing! That cover's rather bewitching too!
Please tantalize us with an excerpt.
Viola: I’ll give it my best shot. :)
Excerpt from Bewitching You:
He looked down at his glass, swirling it around, thinking about something. Up close, Sofia was even more convinced the man was way too attractive for his own good. For her own good, actually. She wrapped her arms around her belly to keep from reaching out and touching him. Although she knew exactly how she wanted to run her fingers over his jaw to his chin, up to his powerful lips.
“So,” he said, startling Sofia. He stared at her from the corner of his eye. “You said you dream of the future?”
“Oh, well, yes. Sort of.” She wasn’t exactly prepared for that question. Having hidden that fact from most of the people in her life in the past for obvious reasons, she was used to avoiding the subject.
“Sort of?” He turned toward her with a look of interest. The hand that held his glass brushed against her thigh.
Focus, Sofe. “Not sort of. I do dream of the future, but I can change it. Prevent certain things from happening.”
“Like me?”
“Like murders, accidents, and horrible attacks on innocent people. And yes, I can prevent you from happening.” She dared meet his gaze. His coffee brown eyes were soft. The dimple on his cheek deepened as he grinned with apparent amusement.
“Have I been so awful that you’ve grouped me together with your nightmares?”
“They aren’t nightmares. They’re real, and they’re going to happen if I don’t stop them.”
His grin faded as he brought the glass up to his lips and drank.
“It’s all right if you don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter what you think of me, now or ever, since I’m going to do you a huge favor and stop those dreams for you.”
He set the glass down behind her. “Maybe I should go if you’re done with me, then,” he said, but didn’t budge.
“Very well.” Sofia straightened her shoulders. “Sorry if I was such a nuisance. Is that why you’re here? To get rid of me once and for all?”
He chuckled as he moved in front of her, leaning forward and setting a hand on each side of her. His face was so close to hers, she could stick her tongue out and outline the ridge of his sexy, fierce lips. Not that she wanted to, of course.
“Do you want the truth?”
Sofia jerked a shoulder up and resumed breathing. “Sure.”
“Those dreams are all I have to look forward to.”
Cate: Loved it!
How do you pick the character’s names?
Viola: Choosing the character’s names is a process for me. The name has to go with the personality of the character otherwise the story seems off. There have been times when I’ve changed a character’s name mid-book because it was clashing with how the character was developing. For the most part, they usually stick. I find them by searching online baby name sites. I usually choose four or five and write them down. One will grab me and I know I have a winner. The whole process is quite fun!
Cate: I get stuck on names, too. Phone books sometimes work for me.
Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
Viola: Absolutely. They keep me up at night sometimes if I’m on the verge of writing a particularly emotional scene. I wrote a few scenes from Bewitching You on a notepad that I kept by my bed. It was all I could do to finally, finally get some sleep. LOL
Cate: Do you have any other books available?Viola: I also have a sexy first person urban fantasy over at Cerridwen Press, titled Angel Vindicated. I’m really pleased that it’s gotten some fantastic reviews. You can read more about it and Bewitching You on my website, www.violaestrella.com
Cate: Congrats on those fantastic reviews! And another really great cover.
Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Viola: Sure! I write stories with paranormal elements and I love to read them as well. I think it’s a great escape to be able to dive into a world where things are different than the day to day life we live in. Do you agree? What do you think the draw is? Or do you find yourself saying, “What a load of hooey!” I’d love to hear your answers!
Cate: Readers, Viola is giving away an eBook copy of Bewitching You to a random commenter... so start commenting. She'll pick a winner on Wednesday evening. Be sure to leave your email address so Viola can contact you.
