A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: INFERNO OF LOVE - HOMETOWN HEROES SERIES AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Inferno of Love (Hometown Heroes #2)

by Allie Boniface

To kick off her post about INFERNO OF LOVE, Allie Boniface has let me interview her.

Caroline: Tell us about growing up.

Allie: Hi Caroline, and thanks so much for having me here today! I am a born and bred New Yorker who grew up in a very small town in the middle of the state and now lives in a very small town closer to New York City. I do love big city life and have lived in a few, but there's a very nice, peaceful, safe vibe to small towns that I love too. Of course, saying that, small towns also have their own dark secrets, complicated histories, entwined relationships that sometimes go back generations, and challenges as time marches on, and that's what I draw upon when I write my books.

I was most definitely a bookworm growing up. I graduated at the top of my class and went on to do other scholarly high-achieving things in college and graduate school too. Today I'm a high school English teacher living with my husband, also a teacher, in the Hudson Valley. No kids – unless you count the 75 or so that I teach each year!

Caroline: Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Allie: I love women's fiction and contemporary fiction overall, though I've also been reading a lot of Young Adult lately. Favorite authors, just because they're great storytellers, are Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and John Green.

Caroline: What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Allie: When I'm not writing, reading, or grading papers, I'm a gym rat. I love working out plus it keeps me sane during the school year. My favorites are Zumba, kickboxing, and yoga, but I'll take on the challenge of weight lifting too. Running is my second favorite when I can't get to the gym. All you need is a pair of sneakers and a road in front of you!

Caroline: Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Allie: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt said this, and I believe it and try to live it every day. There is so much in life that can terrify us, from the everyday to the enormous. Facing down our fears is the best way to make it through.

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Allie: My whole life.

Haha. It feels like that sometimes! I've been writing seriously, full-length novels, for about 10 years. My first book was released with Samhain Publishing in 2007.

Caroline: Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Allie: Although I do prefer to plot, I've learned over the years to let my characters deviate when they want to and grow within my outline. They're going to anyway, so I might as well go with it! But in all honesty, some of the best and most interesting scenes do emerge when writers let themselves go.

Caroline: So do I. I believe that makes us plotzers. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Allie: I write contemporary romance, so almost all my stories are somehow based on people I know or events I've seen or experienced or read about. I love examining the interactions between people – and not only the romantic ones, but the friendships and the family dynamics and even those of strangers and enemies too. It's fascinating.

Caroline: Since you have a time consuming day job, I imagine setting daily writing goals is out of the question. Do you get a chance to write every day?

Allie: Since I teach full time, it's hard to write every day. I don't set daily goals, though when I sit down to write, I do aim for at least one hour/one chapter. It used to take me about a year to write a full-length novel, but I've gotten that down to about 8-9 months now.

Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Allie: My favorite reviews or emails from readers are ones that say they loved the emotions between the characters. I hope that my readers find hope and belief in true love when they read my books.

Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Allie: Long-term I'd like to publish at least 2 novels a year. I'm also in the process of working on a Young Adult novel, and I'd like to see where the possibility for that might go. It's definitely a genre I'm interested in both reading and writing.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Allie: Sure! I'm working on the 3rd book in the Hometown Heroes series, Labyrinth of Love, but before that comes out, I'm excited to announce that I have a trilogy of novellas releasing this summer: The Cocktail Cruise Novellas. They feature intertwined characters and all revolve around romance on a cruise ship: Tequila Sunrise, Sex on the Beach, and Between the Sheets. Make sure to follow my website, blog, or Facebook and Twitter pages so you'll know when they release!

Caroline: Sound like fun reads. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Allie: Never give up. Be persistent in your dreams of writing, and learn as much about the craft and your particular genre as you can. Also, develop a thick skin, because not everyone will love your books. Poor or mediocre reviews, or rejections from editors or agents, can sting. Allow yourself time to feel lousy, and then move on.

Caroline: Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

Allie: I'm going to Iceland on vacation for the second time, this spring. It's a beautiful, unique country with a laidback vibe, and it's only a 5-hour flight from New York. I can't wait to go back!

Caroline: That’s the way I feel about Ireland and the UK. Is your book a series? Your book is a series. Tell us about the series.

Allie: Inferno of Love is the second book in the Hometown Heroes series. Beacon of Love, the first, introduced readers to Lindsey Point, Connecticut, a small coastal town with a haunted lighthouse and a whole slew of local townspeople – some with pretty dark secrets. Inferno of Love picks up about a year later, when the heroine Aubrey returns to Lindsey Point with no memory of the summer she spent there twelve years earlier, falling in love with Finn. When Finn sees her again, and discovers why she doesn't remember him, it's all he can do not to tell her about their history together...

Caroline: Thanks, Allie, for sharing with us. And now, here's more about INFERNO OF LOVE.

Quick Facts

Release Date: February 23rd, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Formats to buy: Kindle, epub and Paperback

INFERNO OF LOVE Synopsis

What happens when your soul mate returns after twelve long years – and has no idea who you are?

Aubrey Anderson is a pediatric occupational therapist who’s spent the last twelve years rebuilding her life after a car accident killed her boyfriend and crushed her legs. A series of strokes on the way to the hospital left her with no memory of either the accident or the weeks leading up to it, so when she starts having nightmares she can’t explain, she decides to return to the scene to see if she can piece together her past.

Finn Cavallo is Lindsey Point's resident playboy, owner of a popular bar, and hero of the Cove Fire, when he pulled seven people from a burning building twelve years earlier. But his flirtatious personality hides the heart of a man who lost his soul mate the night of the fire. When Aubrey walks into his bar with no memory of who he is or what they had, he’s stunned – and it takes everything he has not to tell her about the summer they spent falling in love.

It's only a matter of time before bar conversation turns to passion on the beach and more. But when a series of events raises suspicion that Finn himself might have started the Cove Fire, Aubrey is forced to do whatever she can to discover the truth about both their pasts, including going back to the spot where it all began...

PURCHASE

AMAZON

B&N

Excerpt:

Aubrey stared at her glass of wine. "God, I just – I wish I could remember something."

            Finn fell again just like that, watching her catch her bottom lip in her teeth as she mulled over her words. The rhythm of her voice, the way her eyes caught the light…he was nineteen all over again, crushing on another man's girlfriend without a clue of what to do about it.

            Only he wasn't nineteen anymore.

            And Aubrey wasn't here with another man.

            Forget it. He was done thinking. He moved from around the bar without a word, and as he closed the distance between them, she slipped from her stool, moving toward him and landing in his arms like she'd been there all this time. His hand went to the back of her head, cupping it and easing it closer. Her chin lifted, and he caught her mouth with his, loving the way her breath hitched in her throat. She melted into him, the warmth of her curves searing his skin and soaking into the very core of him. His eyes closed.

            He slid his tongue over her bottom lip, taking it slow, waiting for her to step back or break the connection. She didn't. A minute passed, then another. The kiss deepened, and he wasn't sure who pressed first, who wanted more urgently, but it didn't matter. Their tongues met, twisting over and under, delicious and wet and so hot he could barely stand it. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his waist to slide down the back of his jeans and pull him close, closer, until he knew she could feel the way he rose under her touch, wanting her like no other woman he'd ever been with.

            "Oh, Finn…" she said into his mouth, and the words set him on fire. He couldn't wait, couldn't hold back one more second. His palm skimmed down her dress and beneath it, to the swell of her ass and skin so smooth he wanted to taste it. She rose onto her toes, and her mouth crushed his until she pulled her lips away and moved them to his neck and his jaw line and up to his ear, leaving a breathy trail every place she touched.

            "Listen, we – " know each other. We've done this before. He had to tell her. Didn't he?

            "I don't want to talk."

The Author

Allie Boniface was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She currently teaches high school English in the lower Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband and two furry felines. She is the author of six contemporary romance novels; INFERNO OF LOVE is the second in her Hometown Heroes series. Allie loves chatting with other authors and readers and can be found around the Web (visit her on Facebook or Twitter, and stop by her blog to check out the latest news). She loves attending writers' conferences, giving workshops, swapping stories, and generally talking about romance. Allie loves stories set in small towns and is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all!

Find more about her at:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Other books by Allie Boniface: