Under and Over with Denise Rossetti

Introducing the Passionate Ink Cyber Circuit: We’re a group of writers who belong to the Passionate Ink chapter of Romance Writers of America and write erotic romance. (See the links in the sidebar.) Once or twice a month our members will tour a recent release, so you get to find fabulous new authors for your TBR pile!

It’s my pleasure to introduce our next author out on tour - Barrie Abalard

The Book:

Exes Patti North and Dylan Decker adore each other. Her problem? He cheated. His problem? Her temper. Fixing things will take more than spankings and hot sex, though that’s a good start.

HOT TO TROT, set in the often funny-weird worlds of Boston high-tech and equestrian hobbyists, tells the story of two exes who still adore each other - and still annoy each other-more than any other twosome on the planet.

Available from Loose ID

Read an excerpt

The Interview:

This is the bit where I get to ask all those cheeky questions. Nosy? Moi?

Tell us about your hero and give us five descriptions of his personality.

Dylan Decker is complicated, arrogant (but in a good way), funny, iconoclastic, and sweet.

The odd thing about Dylan is that I had absolutely no one in mind when I first imagined him. Usually some small aspect of someone I know will inspire a character, but Dylan sprang fully-formed from the place my muses live. (Barbara Samuel calls them “the girls in the basement”, and that’s how I think of them, too.)

Dylan has a brilliant mind for software, is tall, dark and handsome, has a great sense of humor, and also has the amount of ego necessary to found a company and be one of its officers - in other words, a lot of ego. I spent many years in high tech as a technical writer, but I never met anyone quite like Dylan.

However, he has a sensitive side - he likes to wear silk undies, he adores horses, and he’s emotionally a very complicated man. That last personality aspect was borrowed from my husband. I rather like complicated men.

In which of your books is the heroine most like yourself?

It’s Patti North, the heroine of HOT TO TROT, the book we’re talking about. Patti loves horses but isn’t a graceful rider, she grew up with few financial advantages, she’s a technical writer, she’s smart, funny (a real wiseass), and loves Champagne as well as her calico cat. Most of those things are based on me.

I never owned a horse like Flash, but I did ride a horse named Flash once, and he was just as adorable as the Flash in the story. He looked the same, too. It’s a good thing horses don’t read, or I might be in trouble for basing my Flash so literally on the real Flash.

What is your favorite part about writing a book? What do you dislike most?

My favorite part is always the first third of any book. My least-liked part is always the middle of the book - sometimes my girls run out of steam at this point, so the writing becomes a chore, and feels like pulling teeth. And the last third is sometimes sort of boring, because I know how it turns out and writing it all down is just too much like, well, work.

I have a very low boredom threshold - can you tell? But I am doing the work I am meant to do. I love every minute, even when it’s hard.

What do you wear while you’re writing?

Whatever I have on. Some days, I never get out of my oversized T-shirt (sweats in the winter), some days I’m fully dressed. But I much prefer casual dress in general-my daughter teases me that I have a denim fetish. I adore jeans and wear them almost every day.

I like to dress up, but only as a rare treat. Just thinking about pantyhose gives me hives, as do high heels - unless it’s for bedroom purposes…

One of the best things about working in high tech was the casual dress-jeans and T-shirts and athletic shoes for me, with a blazer-style jacket that I could put on if I were cold, or if I needed to look more pulled together (for a special meeting or something like that).

The second best thing about high tech? Flex time! I was never at my desk before nine-thirty to nine forty-five. (However, my commutes were long and crappy, so I usually left the house between eight-thirty and eight forty-five. And I never left the office before seven at night.)

Do you have a favorite comfort food?

Veggie pizza. I’m mad for pizza, the more fattening, the better. If I had a last meal, it would be pizza and chocolate-peanut butter ice cream! (I mean, if I were going to be executed that night, I wouldn’t exactly be worrying about my cholesterol.)

Just about anything chocolate will do when I need serious comfort. In the winter, I like hot soups and stews and fresh bread. And homemade chocolate pudding. Mmm, I’m getting hungry - dinner time.

If you could change one thing about your habits, what would it be? What is the one thing you’ll never change?

If I could change one thing, I’d make myself love exercise. I mean, really love it. And be a runner, so I could wear a size ten. Okay, a twelve. I’ve never been a ten in my life.

One thing I’ll never change is my refusal to compromise when the issue is important to me. I will always write what I want to write, the way I want to write it. I will always be true to myself and my muses.

About Barrie

I have been writing and selling erotic romance for over twelve years under the pseudonyms Barrie Abalard, Miss Lee, and Belle. As of 2008, I’ve sold over eighty short stories, eight short novels/novellas, and one long novel. Loose-Id, Amber Quill Press, and Discipline and Desire carry my work.

When I lived in Boston, I was a jack-of-all-trades, mastering two: radio personality and technical writer/online help designer. I also did short stints as a taxi driver, clerical chartist for the Federal Reserve Bank, and temporary office worker for half a dozen companies. However, fiction writing is my first and longest-lived love. (If you can say that three times fast, you, too, might have a career in radio.)

I read widely, adoring a good story with quirky characters. Besides reading, I enjoy being around horses and cats, singing, creating new recipes, taking solitary road trips, and hanging with friends. I confess to being hopelessly addicted to the wonderfully-over-the-top television shows Boston Legal, House, Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and 24, among others. I write comic romance under my real name, and my first release, Cover Me, is now available.

I’m married with a grown child. All three of us live in one of the Middle Atlantic states, along with two persnickety, high-maintenance cats. I believe that a woman should have a past that’s juicy enough to enjoy retelling in her old age. Not that I’m going to tell it here, mind you, and not that I’m old…

Barrie Abalard…stories of love that hurts so good

Visit Barrie’s website, blog and MySpace for excerpts and more info.

And now…do you have questions for Barrie? Fire away!

Don’t forget - every month there’s a chance to win everything droolworthy - Tim Tams and hunkalicious postcards - including Mr Gorgeous . Check the Current Contest page and keep the comments coming!

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