1/31/2012

Get lost with debut author Anna Randol



Anna lives with her family in Southern California. She writes sultry, adventurous Regency romances for Avon. Her debut novel, A Secret In Her Kiss, is set in Constantinople and earned a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, who called it a “...masterful debut…[that] spins a tale replete with mystery, espionage, and memorable romance.” When she’s not plotting fun, sexy storylines, Anna’s usually eating dark chocolate, having wild dance parties with her kids in the living room, or remodeling her house one ill-planned project at a time. She loves hearing from readers at her website or on twitter!


A SECRET IN HER KISS:

A rare beauty, raised in the exotic heart of the Ottoman Empire, Mari Sinclair knows it’s time to end her career as a British spy when she narrowly avoids a brush with death. Unfortunately her employers think otherwise—and they are not above using blackmail to keep Mari in the Game.

Saddled with a handsome, duty-obsessed “minder” to ensure that she completes—and survives—one last mission, Mari is incensed…for her guardian, Major Bennett Prestwood, is simply too dedicated, too unbending, and too disarmingly attractive. But in the face of dark secrets and deadly treacheries, as the true peril to Mari is slowly revealed, loyal soldier Bennett realizes that, to save and win this extraordinary woman, he will have to do the unthinkable and break the rules—rules that passion and desire have suddenly, irrevocably changed.

CAT:  What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
ANNA:  One with a happy ending. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I don’t care how classic the tale or how beautiful the writing, if it doesn’t end happily, then the book is not for me. Does this mean I am missing out on great literature? Probably. But when I read, I want feel happy and giddy. This doesn’t mean the characters can’t suffer (I love a tortured hero. *sigh*), but it does mean that when I turn to the last page I’d better have a smile on my face.

CAT:  What’s the first book you remember reading? 
ANNA:  Old Hat, New Hat by Stan Berenstain. It was only about twenty words long, and every other word was Hat. But I remember being so stinkin’ proud that I'd read a whole book by myself.

CAT:  What’s your favorite fairy tale?
ANNA:  Beauty and the Beast! The more scarred and bitter the beast the better. I like the idea of love having the power to inspire change in the hero, and the heroine having the power to save the hero through love. Also, I adore that their love is never instant and easy. It’s something that they both fight against and eventually, fight for.

CAT:  What’s your favorite cartoon character?
ANNA:  Mulan. She takes control of her life in order to save her family. She fights better than most men and is clever, too. Yet the last thing she focuses on before passing out from blood loss is Shang’s lips. My kind of woman.

CAT:  What turns you off like nothing else?
ANNA:  Facial hair on romance heroes. I cannot take a hero with a mustache seriously. Even if it’s historically accurate, in my mind it is a big, furry caterpillar crawling across his upper lip. Now to clarify, a little bit of five o’clock shadow? Totally different.

CAT:  What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?
ANNA:  That I am a huge nerd. Yep, I had posters of the crew of Star Trek: Voyager up on my walls as a teen and I’m still in love with Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. There. It’s out in the open. Phew. Now I don’t have to try to hide it if we meet for dinner.

CAT:  Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
ANNA:  Hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top. The more chocolaty the better. In fact, I usually add two or three times more chocolate than the directions call for.

CAT:  What would you say is your most interesting quirk?
ANNA:  I always eat Pringles salt side down. (Yes, one side is salted and the other is not. The convex side, if you were wondering…)

CAT:  What’s your favorite kid joke?
ANNA:  Q: Why is an elephant big, grey, and wrinkly?
           A: Because if it was small, white, and round it would be an aspirin!

        

CAT’S GOTTA ASK
If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?
ANNA’S GOTTA ANSWER Black. It’s classic, versatile, and slimming. How could I go wrong? Oooh, and then I could be worn with all the fun, funky jewelry I love!


GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
Do you have some quirk you try to hide at dinner parties?

Anna is giving away two books! The winners can choose to have it mailed or Anna can send them an e version if they prefer.

23 comments:

  1. Happy Release Day, Anna. Can't wait to read your debut. I do love romances set in exotic locales. I can't admit to any quirks without embarrassing myself.

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    1. Thanks, Jane! (Or do you just not have any quirks and you don't want the rest of us to feel bad?) ;)

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    2. Oh, I have them for sure, Anna. I'm sure some of them are annoying to others.

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  2. Happy Release day! I dont know how much of a quirk it is but i have a hiatal hernia which prohibits me from eating much but if im hungry and i dont listen to the stop eating voice in my head and continue i will either cough alot or get sick....not so cool i went to a marine ball and just took a few bites of everything lol my date probably wondered what was wrong with me.

    babydoll82959307(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. I bet your date thought you were one of those amazing dainty women who can only eat a few bites. And a marine ball sounds like a fun excuse to get dressed up!

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    2. LOL it was i never dress up im a jeans and cute shirt again with a love of shoes ...but that night was gown, hair done and make up done as well. And hopefully he did think that

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  3. So excited about your new release, Anna! :) And I feel the same way about books. Life is too short for sad anything!

    I have to squash the urge at dinner parties to ask for the leftovers. I'm so "farm" programed; the vegetable scraps can go to the chickens...the bits of meat can go to the dogs with their regular food. I get twitchy when I see perfectly good food tossed in the trash. :)

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    1. Ha! I still feel obligated to eat everything on my plate, no exceptions...

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  4. Good Morning Anna ! Welcome to GLIAS. The new release sounds terrific. "Do you have some quirk you try to hide at dinner parties?" Well, you'd have to be invited to dinner parties to develop quirks. Right?

    :-)
    ~Angi

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    1. What?!? I would totally invite you to my dinner parties. You were a blast to talk with at Nationals!

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  5. HI Anna,

    Nathan Fillion - yum! Great interview and your book sounds great. My quirk I try to hide at dinner parties is trying to talk less when I am nervous.

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    1. We need to sit together, and you could makeup for the times when I can't think of anyting to say at all.

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  6. Hi Anna
    I eat with my fingers. I can't help it. My fork is always clean at the end of a meal even if I had rice or couscous. My parents always told me that I have to learn to eat with a fork, in case I'm ever invited for dinner with the Queen of England, and it does worry me sometimes. She might invite me, when I'm a famous best-selling author, for dinner or for afternoon tea. I especially would love to come for afternoon tea. And I won't know which fork to use or how to hold it, and which hand holds the fork and which holds the knife. Or even if one eats crumpets with a fork, or can one just pick them up?
    I'm looking forward to reading your novel. It sounds fab. And I'm also a huge Mulan fan. I wanted to be a fighter too for the longest time.

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    1. Hmm... if I was going to have tea with the queen I would definitely have to do some massive googling of manners first.

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  7. My secret? If the dinner party includes writers or readers, I'm fully engaged. BUT if it's one of those boring corporate dinner events that my hubby likes to drag me to, I retreat behind a pleasant smile and plot books in my head. ;)

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  8. I like blue or dark gray. Blue because it's my favorite color and dark gray because it's slimming and not so severe as black.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  9. Congrats on your new release, sounds really good. I really don't try to hide anything. It is what it is.

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    1. I envy you! It's the attitude I wish I had, but I care way too much about what others think.

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  10. Congratulations on the new book. It sounds like an exciting story. I don't bother trying to hide anything. I figure that it is too much trouble.
    mce1011 AT aol DOT com

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  11. Anna,
    I looove Malcolm Reynolds! Why did they cancel that show???

    Congratulations on your debut. I can't wait to read A Secret in her Kiss. It sounds very exciting!

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  12. Hi Anna,

    A Secret in Her Kiss––I love a good spy story!

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  13. Congrats Anna on your first book. Loved the interview, and the book looks AWESOME. I can't wait to read it. :)

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