Under the Covers with Victoria Gray

LR: Please welcome Victoria Gray to Under the Covers with Lynne. First important question. Silk, satin, cotton, flannel. What is your sheet of choice and why?


VG: Silk…I love the way it feels against my skin.

LR: It’s a slumber party so calories don’t count. What snacks would you like to munch on while we talk?

VG: Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

LR: Oh, a woman after my own heart! So let’s get comfortable. What do you usually wear to bed?

VG: My husband’s Steelers T-shirt and panties.

LR: As long as you don’t mind my 49’er T-shirt, we’re set. So let’s play Truth or Dare.

VG: Truth

LR: Tell us something not very many people know.

VG: I am terrified of heights.

LR: Oh, I am too! Let me ask some safer questions. What is your favorite color?

VG: Pink

LR: What is your favorite time of day?

VG: Night – I’m quite a night owl

LR: Do you have a favorite flower?

VG: Roses

LR: How about a favorite season?

VG: Summer

LR: Ah, when the roses bloom. That makes sense. If you could have any car, which would it be?

VG: A ’66 Ford Mustang

LR: You’re kidding! My uncle has a blue ’66 Mustang that I’ve been drooling over for years! Who is your favorite actor?

VG: Russell Crowe

LR: Who is your favorite actress?

VG: Meryl Streep

LR: Do you have a favorite band or singer?

VG: The Beatles

LR: What is a movie you could watch over and over?

VG: Romancing the Stone

LR: I just watched that a few weeks ago. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

VG: Diet Coke

LR: Coming right up and for after the interview, can I get you an adult beverage?

VG: Margarita

LR: If you could have lunch with one writer, who would it be?

VG: Teresa Medeiros

LR: What would you consider a romantic date?

VG: A quiet dinner and a nice bottle of wine with my husband.

LR: If you could take a date anywhere in the world, where would it be?

VG: London

LR: What is the best piece of advice on writing you’ve ever received?

VG: Write the book of your heart

LR: That’s good advice. Do you listen to music while you write?

VG: Yes, I enjoy classical music when I’m writing. I have to admit I adore the classic composers…their music is so grand and passionate, and there are no lyrics to distract me.

LR: Where were you when you heard your first book was contracted. What did you do?

VG: After I finished hyperventilating, I called my husband. That night, we shared a nice bottle of wine I’d been saving for just that occasion.

LR: What is your favorite part of being a romance writer?

VG: The wonderful feeling I get when I read a scene I’ve written and it moves me…especially when I go back after some time has passed and the emotions in the scene seem very new.

LR: Least favorite?

VG: Editing!

LR: *Groan* I hear you. Tell us about your newest release.

VG: Angel in My Arms is the story of Amanda Emerson, a Union spy undercover in Richmond, and Union officer Steve Dunham, the man she enlists in the daring rescue of a double agent from a Confederate prison and imminent execution. As the danger surrounding them thickens, every moment he’s with her jeopardizes their lives, but they discover a passion that’s worth the risk.

LR: Do you have anything in the works?

VG: I’ve just finished a sequel to Angel in my Arms entitled Against All Odds. I fell in love with two of the characters in Angel, Will and Kate, and had to give them their own story. They become enmeshed in a net of treachery and vengeance even as their love deepens. I’m also finishing up a historical romantic suspense.

Blurb:

Amanda Emerson must break her cousin, a notorious double agent, out of a Confederate prison before his imminent execution. She’s a skilled Union operative, but for this mission, she needs a man. Even a man who looks and acts like a Viking warrior.

Caught with Rebel battle plans and set for a hanging, Union spy Steve Dunham isn’t about to refuse the assistance of the sable-haired beauty who shows up at the jail and slips him the keys to his cell. Of course, she’s there for a reason besides saving his neck - he’s the key to her plan.

He may be trading one noose for another, but he won’t forsake her. The spoils of his victory will be her surrender. And the terms of surrender will be sweet.





Excerpt:

Amanda closed her eyes and savored his possession. How could anything feel as good as his lips against hers? With his arms wrapped tight

around her, she felt as though nothing could penetrate the tender shield of his embrace.

Wanting him was wrong. He was little more than a stranger. A man she’d teamed with for a mission. He was supposed to be nothing more.

But he’d filled her heart.

His handsome face captivated her all the more for its tiny imperfections. A small scar on his chin. The small bump at the bridge of his nose that told the tale of a long-ago break. Another scar, much more recent, on his jaw that looked to be the result of a man’s ring connecting with his flesh and bone.

He was a warrior. Her warrior. Fierce. Tender. Courageous. Protective.

“You’re so beautiful, Mandy.” His lips trailed the column of her throat.

She nestled against his broad chest. He smelled like bay rum and pine and leather. She’d never realized how tantalizing the scents could be. Mingled with his natural essence, the blend of aromas touched something deep and primal within her. She couldn’t resist the scent. Or him.

He took her hands in his. A sly smile curved his mouth as he studied her. “Such sweet temptation. The question is where to begin.”

She’d wasn’t an innocent, but she’d never experienced the heat of a man’s gaze drinking her in as though she were a fine wine to be savored. When Steve looked at her, she felt wanted.

Desired.

Loved.

Ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly love her.

But he hungered for her touch. That would have to be enough. After all, she didn’t love him.

Keep telling yourself that, Mandy.

She couldn’t love a man she barely knew.

Even if she longed for his scent. For his touch. For the moment when he’d claim her.

Even if she prayed he’d come to his senses and leave her before the rebels captured him and dragged him away to prison. Or a noose.


LR: Awesome excerpt! You can find out more about Victoria Gray and her work at her website. ANGEL IN MY ARMS is available at The Wild Rose Press