Happy Release Day: Interview with Olivia Cunning {Rock Hard} & SIGNED US/Canada Giveaway

I'm so happy to have Olivia Cunning here at Among the Muses today, to talk more about her writing, her yummy Sinners on Tour series, and what's to come!

So, please help me welcome, Olivia Cunning!!

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Thank you so much Olivia, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to stop by and tell us readers more about your writing, newest release, and what you have in store for us next!


First off, can you tell us how you got started as a writer and what inspired your passion for writing contemporary erotica?
   

I started writing in high school. I wrote my first novel at age 19 – a series length contemporary romance. I decided I’d be a novelist and write for Harlequin/Silhouette. Yes, decided. Hey, I was 19. I didn’t know how this worked. I was so excited when my very first query on my very first manuscript got a request to read the full manuscript. And so disappointed when it was rejected. So I tossed that manuscript in a drawer and decided to go to college. I had a family to support. I didn’t stop writing. I wrote a at least one book per year, but I never really pursued publication. I tended to send out a few queries for each new project and after collecting the requisite rejection or three, toss it in a drawer and try something new. I didn’t set out to write an erotic romance. I set out to write a novel about rock stars. The idea bloomed into a romance about rock stars and the erotic part fit the story. Strange way of doing things, I suppose. So I was passionate about writing the book Backstage Pass, and then the series Sinners on Tour, but I never started with “I think I’ll write an erotic romance. What should I write about?” It was more of a “I’m writing about these characters and this plot. Wow, this is quite the erotic romance!”

 The Sinners on Tours series is all about sex, romance, and rock-and-roll! 

Your debut book and first in the series, BACKSTAGE PASS, was a hit; congratulations!! What do you think it is about sexy band members that brings out the hidden groupie in all of us?
    

I think it’s the variety in the characters that make up the group Sinners. There’s a guy for everyone to love in this group. There’s Brian – the considerate, patient, romantic of the group. There’s Sed – the sometimes domineering, passionate, leader of the group. Jace – the quiet, mysterious, wounded-bird of the group. Eric – the funny, lovable, goof-ball of the group. And Trey – the sexy, irresistible, pleasure-seeker of the group. Once you pick a favorite, you’ll get to see him in all the other books, too. And if you change favorites from one book to the next, I won’t tell. The way they interact with each other –as best friends and like brothers— also draws you in to their world.



Please tell us what ROCK HARD, the second installment of the series, is all about.
    

Rock Hard is about the lead singer, Sed Lionheart. He’s been pining away for the only woman who ever had the audacity to dump him, Jessica Chase, for two years now. When they meet again, tempers flare, sparks fly, passions ignite and they have to learn to understand each other if they’re ever going to make their very passionate *cough* relationship work in the long run. They both do a lot of growing in the book. Several things happen in the book that allow Jessica to figure out how Sed ticks. He’s not an easy man to understand. He has a huge heart and he means well, but he tends to screw things up in his attempts to be everything to everyone. It takes him a while to figure out that he has to curtail that need, if he’s ever going to make Jessica happy. If he could just learn to think before he speaks. Ha! Ah, I love him to death. Poor guy.

 Just like with all bands, members have different personalities. 

Can you describe 'who' your hero is in Rock Hard, and what's his perfect heroine?
    

Sed is the leader of the band. He carries the bulk of the responsibility and if things don’t go right, he feels personally responsible. Because of that tendency, he seems to think he needs to “fix” everything. Sometimes he comes across as controlling, but he’s trying to be protective. He wants everyone he cares about happy, healthy and content. His methods are a bit out there. His idea woman doesn’t put up with his crap. She’s a puzzle, a challenge, not the typical women he encounters, who fight each other to get him a beer. Or the honor of obtaining a backstage pass.

Do you keep a collage of celebrity images of who you think each of your characters resembles in your minds eye? If so, would you mind telling us who you picture your band members resembling?
    

Not really. Brian Sinclair looks a lot like Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold and Sed Lionheart looks a lot like M. Shadows, also of Avenged Sevenfold. I got the original idea for the book at an Avenged Sevenfold concert, so I guess that’s where that comes from. Oh, and they are ultimate rocker hotties. The rest of the guys don’t really look like anyone. Jace really looks like his model in the band photo on their official website  www.sinnersontour.com, but I don’t know the guy’s name. I found him on royalty free photo site. The rest of they guys look sorta like their models, but not too closely.



I'm assuming that writing about a fictional rock band, Sinners, has been inspired by listening to music.. right? *g* Do you have your own playlist you listen to while writing? Do any of the songs/bands your listening to help to create the mood, characters, settings, etc.?
    

I have a playlist for Backstage Pass (it’s posted as an MP3 player on my homepage). I always listen to hard rock and heavy metal. Live concerts inspire me to write more than anything, though.



With the Sinners on Tours series following each of the different band members, do characters, settings, storyarcs, etc., carry over from book to book, or can your books be read as stand-alones?

You can read them as stand alones, but I’d suggest reading them in order. There are a couple of arcs that carry through the entire series (the Trey and Brian “thing” for example), but for the most part the entire story is resolved by the end of each novel.



Is it too early to ask about the next book in the Sinners on Tours series? Who will we see and what's his story?
    

I’m working on books for all of the Sinners. The next book is supposed to be about the bassist, Jace, but I’m not sure if that’s what my publisher has in mind, so I can’t say much. I wish I had a more concrete answer for you.
 


Can you leave readers with a sneak peak by a little teaser or excerpt from the second book and newest release, ROCK HARD? *crosses fingers*

“What is this you’re doing?” Sed asked.
 

Jessica gazed up at him with those remarkable jade-green eyes of hers. “What do you mean?”
 

“This. This flirting.”
 

“Do you want me to stop?”
 

“That depends on its purpose. If you’re doing it to mess with my head, then yes, stop, please, it’s torture. But if you’re trying to work me into a frenzy, so I can’t keep my hands off you—”
 

“The second one.”

Now for some quickie responses…




In five words or less, describe your new release... sex, love and rock ‘n’ roll



What I love to do outside of writing... sleep and go to rock concerts



A few favorite romance authors of mine... Nora Roberts (inspired me to want to write), Rosemary Rogers (got me hooked on romances), Judi Fennell (for a light-hearted escape)



A favorite book I’ve read within the past year… I really enjoyed Bound to Please by Lilli Feisty – rock star hero=yum



My favorite type of hero… wounded and silently suffering (see Sinners’ Jace)



My favorite type of heroine... smart



My favorite type of music ... hard rock (obviously)

I can't imagine writing without ...my 8-pound writing wiener



My writing routine includes… a cup of hot tea



Pantser or plotster? Both, I’m a pantser for the first 50K and have to plot the last 50K to take care of all the craziness I’ve created in the first half



If I wasn't a writer I'd be… bored



A place I’d love to visit… Hawaii

One thing I would love to try...skydiving



Is there anything else you would like to tell fans of your books?
 

You rock! I love hearing from you by email, on facebook, twitter, blog comments, Goodreads, book signings or wherever else you happen to find me.

Thanks again, Olivia for stopping by!! Rock Hard sounds fantastic!

~*Book Blurb*~

An ultimatum can break your heart....

Every night lead singer, Sed Lionheart whips thousands of women into a frenzy with his voice alone. But the stage is the only place Sed feels any passion since he lost Jessica...

If you’re not willing to break all the rules...

It shattered her heart, but law student Jessica broke off her engagement to Sed, determined to be successful on her own terms. But no other man can ever hold a candle to Sed...

Then a chance meeting and tortuously close quarters lead to uncontrollable flares of passion and rediscovery of their unique penchant for public encounters. Now, in addition to the risk of mutual heartbreak every time they get together, they’re in danger of truly scandalous public exposure...

Find Olivia Cunning @: Website | Twitter, | Facebook

Giveaway Details:

• Olivia is so generously gifting one lucky commenter an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Rock Hard!!

• Open to US/Canada residents only!

• Comment on something found within the interview and feel free to leave a question!! 

• Leave your email addy with your response.

• Winner will be selected via random.org and notified through e-mail.

• Contest runs 4/5 - 4/9 11:59pm EST

Good Luck!!