Blog Tour: Guest Blog with Anne Mallory {In Total Surrender} & Giveaway Entry Stop

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Why we love a broken hero.

I think there are many reasons readers love broken heroes.  Some want to see the hero saved.  Some want to see him renewed.  Some want to watch him face down whatever life throws at him.

But I think the key word is “hero.”  A book about a broken protagonist can be different than a book about a broken hero.  While both might be compelling, they are born of different constructs.  To me, a broken hero is a man who even with a tortured soul, will never give up.  He is a man who does not accept failure even when he is bleeding inside.  Even when the odds are stacked against him, he still persists.  A heroine (and a reader) can count on a man like that, no matter what life delivers.  And when such a hero is no longer broken...a happy ending is all the sweeter.

Broken heroes are some of my favorite type of hero to write.  The journey of such a character – the strength of such a character – is a heady thing to explore.

Who are some of your favorite broken heroes in cinema or books?

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Blurb:

The first kiss was dangerous enough…

Andreas Merrick is the king of London’s dark underworld, having amassed unimaginable wealth and power…and a fierce reputation that leaves even the bravest men quaking in their boots. Yet one person is maddeningly unintimidated by his fearsome presence: the persistent Miss Phoebe Pace.

And one kiss always leads to another…

Equal parts honey and steel, Phoebe will stop at nothing to find her missing brother and save her family. Though associating with Andreas means peril and scandal, she never expects to experience a passion so intense that it threatens to consume her. But enigmatic Andreas is no ordinary man to love. He brings dangers from all sides – without and within – while tempting her beyond her wildest dreams…

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More About Anne Mallory ...

Some people have always known they wanted to write. Others fall into it and discover its inherent joy. I’m somewhere in between. As an avid reader, writing a novel had always tickled the back of my mind. There seem to be a lot of people who say, “Someday I’ll write a book.” For me, the feeling tickled, moved into an incessant knocking and finally became a dull roar. All I needed was to make that “someday” into “today.”

I’ve always considered myself a creator, so transitioning to writer was not as grueling as it might have been. From creating two minute stories for people on the street, to creating jewelry, crafts, stained glass, pottery, music, crazy art projects… the list of things I like to create (and buy all the necessary materials for) keeps getting longer amidst my family’s exasperated groans. I love to start something from scratch, and then mold and shape it into a finished project. Writing books provides a challenge I accept with relish (and a bit of hair pulling). Building a world, populating it with characters and giving them a script and satisfying ending – what more could a creative type ask for?

I’ve always loved romance novels, ever since I started sneaking them from my Mom in elementary school. I mean, what’s not to love? Rakish men and smart, feisty women, adventure and mystery, the love and loyalty between two people. Give me a roomful of romances, some Agatha Christie, some Edgar Allan Poe, the Harry Potter series and an armful of other fantasy novels, (and steady meals with chocolate) and I’m in heaven.

Anne Bytes (or pseudo trivia)

• Started writing on September 11th, 2001 as an escape from the day (needed an escape with a happy ending).

• Thinks that 11pm is a perfectly normal time to begin reading a 400 page book.

•  Escaped from Alcatraz http://www.annemallory.com/dungeon/sharkfest/ (story here).

• Got a hole-in-one on a Par 3 and was just happy to have beaten her Dad on a hole for once. After a quick rotating hip dance, she was surprised to see her Dad still looking from the tee to the hole where the ball had bounced once and dropped in. His mouth was hanging open. Anne’s response? “What?” (In coding terms, Anne != golfer. That’s “Anne is obviously not a golfer” for you normal people).

• Loves tubing (behind a boat) and roller coasters (Cedar Point, here we come!).

• Loves paddleball, especially “extreme” paddleball. In the normal variety of paddleball, she helped score 432 hits with Cousins J and Mg one summer day.

• Played at Carnegie Hall and was so excited she launched her violin bow across the stage when she got to the picking section of the piece. Thankfully said bow was recovered in time to start bowing once more.

• Saw a Great White Shark in real life (at Monterey Bay Aquarium, thankfully).

• Wrote her first (and only until Masquerading) book in sixth grade. It was a thriller/mystery centering around two sixth grade detectives. Her Mom assures her it is still well loved (read: stashed in the attic).

• Began Masquerading the Marquess on Good Friday 2002, sold it on Good Friday 2003.

• Considers herself a hobby collector. Friends and Family like to call her hobby “pack ratting.”

• Can relate to the line in Office Space, “Um, I’m gonna need you to go ahead and come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around nine, that would be great. Oh, oh, yea… I forgot. I’m gonna also need you to come in Sunday too.”

Giveaway Details:

• Anne Mallory and Harper Collins will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 

• Leave a comment along with your email addy.

• Contest will run the duration of the tour.

• The more places you stop on the tour, the greater your chances of winning!! :)

Tour Stops:

September 26: Reading Romances
September 26: REVIEW ONLY: Reviews by Molly
September 27: Black Velvet Seductions
September 28: Book Junkie
September 29: Among the Muses
September 30: Romancing the Book