Let It Snow Books: Interview with Carrie Lofty + Giveaway

Welcome to Day 8 of Let it Snow Books 2012, where for the next three weeks you have the chance to read some really fun holiday posts from some of your favorite authors, both here and at Ex Libris.

Today, we welcome author Carrie Lofty here at Books to Brighten your Mood with a festive post and you will have the chance to win a copy of His Very Own Girl, a historical romance written in such an engaging way only Carrie knows how to do best! Her story settings are always unique and her stories amazing. His Very Own Girl was simply one of the sweetest and best researched Historcal Romances I have ever read.
Here's my review:

I don't think that in my review of His Very Own Girl I'll say about Carrie Lofty something that I haven't already said. The woman is brilliant! Simple as that. It's not that her stories are always amazing (which they are) or perfect or I don't know, it's the fact that as an author, Carrie Lofty has that certain quality that defines her, that separates her and her writing style so... Read the rest of the review here.

-Since this whole event is about the Best Books we read in 2012, could you share with us some of your favorite titles you read this year?
Carrie: I’m actually behind on my reading and have been going through my Kindle to-be-read pile, so my favorites have been titles a couple years old: Victoria Dahl’s One Week as Lovers, Courtney Milan’s Untouched, and Cara McKenna’s novella “Willing Victim.” I could rattle off a dozen of my favorite movies from 2012, but when I’m done with a day’s writing, words are unfortunately the last thing I’m looking to cuddle up with! It’s one of the unexpected drawbacks, for me, that’s come with a professional writing career.

-What makes you feel that Christmas time is finally here?
Carrie: Thanksgiving. I’ve been to Target and Walmart this week, and you’d think that Christmas was the day after tomorrow! It actually adds to my stress level. Already? Should I be shopping so soon? So I’m a traditionalist, I guess. My mom used to cook Thanksgiving dinner while listening to Bing Crosby and The Nutcracker. That was the first day we were allowed to start playing Christmas music, and I still hold off until then!

-Is there anything special you usually do for the holidays?
Carrie: My husband is English, so we’ve added one of his family’s favorite traditions to our American ones. His family left empty pillowcases at the foot their beds, which Father Christmas would stuff overnight—the English equivalent of stuffing stockings. Now our girls get the small presents in their pillowcases, and candy in their stockings.

Christmas crackers began in Britain, and only recently were they introduced to the United States. When I was an exchange student in 1996, airport security wouldn’t let me take crackers home because of the teeny tiny bits of explosives that make them “crack.”

Oh, and sometimes the Christmas tree gives a present. This is another English tradition. As Christmas day is winding down and all the fervor has passed, the “tree” magically gives up one last present to everyone. My girls thought this was a riot when we first did it at my in-laws house in England. “What? From the tree??” They were about four or five.

-Do you have any favorite holiday themed stories (movies or books)?
Carrie: I could go on and on about Christmas movies. I have a set repertoire I watch every year. The standards are, of course, It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas, but I’ve added oddballs over the years, including Die Hard, Love Actually and While You Were Sleeping, which are all set at Christmastime. There’s nothing that says peace on earth like Bruce Willis using mistletoe masking tape to strap a gun to his back, just before he kills Alan Rickman!

-Could you share with us your favorite holiday meal/dessert/candy?
Carrie: At Thanksgiving, I love a recipe I have for a cream cheese filled pumpkin roll. For Christmas, I’m a huge fan of cinnamon sledges. Normally I’m a huge chocoholic, so it’s funny that my two favorites came up as desserts without chocolate!

-What’s one of the best gifts you ever received/gave for Christmas?
Carrie: I sold a series at auction last year, when it was looking like our Christmas was going to be a little spare. My husband and I had wanted a flatscreen TV and had been talking about it for the better part of a year. Various events meant that was looking unlikely. By day two of the auction, however, we went shopping! I was so thrilled that selling my next trilogy meant having the money to indulge in our big Christmas wish.

-Do you prefer an angel or a star on top of your tree?
Carrie: We have a star. Several stars, actually. When the tree-topper star gets replaced, it winds up a regular ornament. Give me anything shiny and beautifully gaudy and I’m there!

-We all love Christmas holidays, but I was wondering if there’s anything about them that you find annoying?
Carrie: I hate doing Christmas cards. The English are persnickety about keeping up-to-date Christmas card lists and they send them out by the bucketloads. So when my husband and I got married, we were inundated with cards! I thought for years I needed to return the favor and be the good in-law…but I can’t stand it. We get far fewer cards than we used to, but it’s an acceptable trade-off for not having to do them myself.

-Let’s say you have the chance to spend the holidays with a fictional character, who would that be and what would you be doing?
Carrie: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who’s Jewish) and I would be celebrating a non-denomination winter pagan holiday of our own making, which would include lots of good food, fantastic conversation, and lots of carnal worship.

-What would you ask Santa to bring you this year?
Carrie: I would like the Black Sabbath t-shirt Robert Downey Jr. wore as Tony Stark in The Avengers movie, as well any clothing having to do with House Targaryen from “Game of Thrones.” I’m a simple fangirl at heart!


Thank you Carrie for stopping by here today and Happy Holidays!


About the author

Summer has been a blast! Available now from Pocket Books are three Christ Family
[http://carrielofty.com/Books.html] romances. FLAWLESS kicked it off with a tale of an estranged couple's search for love. The 99¢ tie-in novella, "A LITTLE MORE SCANDAL" follows two aspiring lovers to London. And the Scottish-set second novel, STARLIGHT, was an RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick. "Richly nuanced characters and a superbly realized Victorian setting come together brilliantly." ~ The Chicago Tribune

I've also launched a co-written pseudonym, Katie Porter [http://www.katieporterbooks.com], with my long-time friend and critique partner, Lorelie Brown. All three of our "Vegas Top Guns" contemporary erotic romances and our holiday CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR have received RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Picks: "This racy, raunchy, hella good read…will move Fifty Shades of Grey to the children's section of the bookstore."

Visit Carrie:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

   
About the Book:
Title: His Very Own Girl
Author: Carrie Lofty
Publisher: Pocket Star
Length: 300 pages
Release Date: September 4th 2012
Purchase Info: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads

From the author of Flawless and Starlight comes an emotional, sensual romance set during World War II about a female British civilian pilot and the American paratrooper medic who opens her heart—only available as an eBook.

After the War took the lives of Lulu Davies’s parents and her fiancé, she promised herself she would guard her heart carefully and concentrate on her great love—flying the biggest and best airplanes in the sky. Lulu is a pilot in the British civilian air force, ferrying planes around Great Britain and keeping her eye on a coveted spot in a training program for world-class pilots. She’s perfectly content to strive for greatness in the skies, and dance with a few GIs on the way.

Brawny, quiet American medic Joe Weber signed up with the paratroopers to escape his checkered past; he’s hoping that jumping out of planes and patching up soldiers will earn him respect and a hopeful future. Joe’s first real test of medical skill is on a pilot whose plane takes a hard landing in a training field; after rushing to the crash scene, he is stunned to come face-to-face with a gorgeous Rita Hayworth lookalike. And when the two cross paths at a dance hall a couple weeks later, he can’t resist the urge to find out more about this spirited, dark-haired beauty.

Their flirtation breaks all of Lulu’s rules, but dance by dance, week by week, walk by walk, she finds herself falling in love with this honest, vulnerable man on the run from his demons. But as Lulu and Joe’s undeniable attraction gains momentum, World War II steadily intensifies toward D-Day. The lovers only have one night together before Joe is transported to France for the Battle of the Bulge, where his skills and his instinct for survival will be pushed to their limits. Lulu distracts herself with flight school and the friendships of her colleagues, but she can’t get the handsome medic out of her head. Only time and hope will tell if her love will return unharmed from War, and if the two will be able to overcome their pasts to form a beautiful life together in peace-time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carrie has generously offered a digital copy of His Very Own Girl in any format to one lucky commenter. (Open Internationally.) All giveaways end on January 5th.

~Fill the form below to enter ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: Starlight by Carrie Lofty

Starlight by Carrie Lofty

Series: Christies, #2
Publication Date:June 26th 2012

Publisher:Pocket

Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages

Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository

An esteemed astronomer, Alex Christie, the eldest and most steadfast of the Christie siblings, has never possessed his late father's ruthless business drive. But to protect his frail infant son from his cruel father-in-law's bid for custody, the young widower must undertake Sir William Christie's posthumous million-dollar challenge: to make a Glasgow cotton mill profitable. At sea in an industrial world of sabotage and union agitation, Alex meets Polly Gowan, daughter of a famed union leader, who hopes to seize a mysterious saboteur without involving the police. Because a sympathetic mill master would aid her cause, Polly becomes Alex's guide to urban Scotland. From soccer games to pub brawls, Alex sees another side of life, and feels free for the first time to reveal the man--vital and strong--behind his intellectual exterior. Polly is utterly seduced. Their ambitions, however, remain at odds: Alex vows to earn the mill bonus to save his child, while Polly fights for the needs of her people. Is there strength enough in their sparkling passion to bind them together in their quests-- and in a lasting love that conquers all?

Review first published at Book Lovers Inc

Carrie Lofty's newest release, Starlight, is just further proof of how talented an author she really is. I have no better way to express myself when I review one of her books. Carrie Lofty is simply one of the most talented voices I have ever read.

Starlight, is the second story in her newest series, The Christies, and it's the story of Alex and Polly. Lofty, after Cape Town, travels her readers at Glasgow this time and tells us the story of a father who would do anything to protect his only child and a woman who fights with everything in her for what she believes just.

Alex and Polly are just perfect for each other and as far as memorable heroines go, Polly surely stands out. She isn't standing out just for her character qualities or because she's a really well-written character - which she is! - but because she's a true fighter, a woman who isn't waiting for her knight in shining armor to run to her rescue, but does anything within her power to make a better future for her and the people she cares for. Yeah, she may be a bit stubborn or use her femininity whenever it suits her but she is loyal and caring and she's not afraid to love and be loved.

Alex on the other hand is so much more than the acclaimed scientist everyone regards him to be. He's a sensual man, possessive and he could be as much a businessman as your typical next door guy. The scene where he plays football with his workers at the mill was just pure delight to read. That one and the one both Alex and Polly go to a bar to investigate some leads. By far the two most enjoying and memorable scenes of Starlight for me.

As I said in the beginning, Carrie Lofty is truly a talented author. The way she writes, the way she sets her stories under unique circumstances just make her novels stand out. I may not have cared in the least for her main couples, but I would still remember her stories for the way she presents them. My only problem was once more that it took me an awful lot of time to finish this book. Like in Flawless, somewhere after the first 2/3 of the book I felt that the story dragged a bit and it tired me. Maybe it's something personal or maybe the story did indeed drag a bit but the thing is that I wanted it a bit shorter to give this book a 5 star rating or maybe I wanted more things to happen in order to sustain my interest.

All in all, Starlight is an incredibly well written book, one definitely worth your time reading. Alex and Polly's story is just too good to miss :)

REVIEW: His Very Own Girl by Carrie Lofty

His Very Own Girl by Carrie Lofty

Publication Date:September 4th 2012

Publisher:Pocket Star

ebook, 300 pages

Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website

After the War took the lives of Lulu Davies’s parents and her fiancÉ, she promised herself she would guard her heart carefully and concentrate on her great love—flying the biggest and best airplanes in the sky. Lulu is a pilot in the British civilian air force, ferrying planes around Great Britain and keeping her eye on a coveted spot in a training program for world-class pilots. She’s perfectly content to strive for greatness in the skies, and dance with a few GIs on the way.

Brawny, quiet American medic Joe Weber signed up with the paratroopers to escape his checkered past; he’s hoping that jumping out of planes and patching up soldiers will earn him respect and a hopeful future. Joe’s first real test of medical skill is on a pilot whose plane takes a hard landing in a training field; after rushing to the crash scene, he is stunned to come face-to-face with a gorgeous Rita Hayworth lookalike. And when the two cross paths at a dance hall a couple weeks later, he can’t resist the urge to find out more about this spirited, dark-haired beauty.

Their flirtation breaks all of Lulu’s rules, but dance by dance, week by week, walk by walk, she finds herself falling in love with this honest, vulnerable man on the run from his demons. But as Lulu and Joe’s undeniable attraction gains momentum, World War II steadily intensifies toward D-Day. The lovers only have one night together before Joe is transported to France for the Battle of the Bulge, where his skills and his instinct for survival will be pushed to their limits. Lulu distracts herself with flight school and the friendships of her colleagues, but she can’t get the handsome medic out of her head. Only time and hope will tell if her love will return unharmed from War, and if the two will be able to overcome their pasts to form a beautiful life together in peace-time.

I don't think that in my review of His Very Own Girl I'll say about Carrie Lofty something that I haven't already said. The woman is brilliant! Simple as that. It's not that her stories are always amazing (which they are) or perfect or I don't know, it's the fact that as an author, Carrie Lofty has that certain quality that defines her, that separates her and her writing style so that you could probably recognise her work, without knowing that it belongs to her.

His Very Own Girl is to this day, my favorite book by the author. As far as historical romances are concerned, this story is my first set in World War II and let me tell you it was incredible!

Personally speaking, World War II fascinates me and interests me like nothing else does. As a kid I would search and find anything that had to do with that period, from novels to documents but whatever I have read to this day is mostly from Greek history. I haven't read much about other countries along that time, and nothing about English history. So His Very Own Girl first and foremost satisfied my inner geek. It's so well researched and Lofty does a splendid job touching and communicating to her readers the feeling of that time that apart from enjoying myself with an excellent story I could actually learn a thing or two.

Carrie Lofty manages to capture the essence of that time period, the feelings, the way people lived, hoping for everything and nothing at the same time, enjoying what they could, while they could, including human relationships. Lofty managed to make her readers see and feel exactly how her heroes feel and what motivates their actions. It's not that this ability of hers as an author wasn't evident in her other stories, but in His Very Own Girl, I think she surpasses herself!

I won't tell much about the story. The premise is very informative and believe me, you don't need to know anything else to fall in love with this book. The amazing writing style, the character development and the setting will do the rest!

Lulu is one of my favorite characters, strong, independent the way Carrie Lofty always writes her heroines. She's not the damsel in distress waiting for her perfect hero to save the day. She's a woman of her own, ready to save the day and do whatever she can for what she believes just.

Joe on the other hand is the tortured hero you can't help but love and hope the best for him. Together they make an explosive couple the reader can identify with and care for.

The plot is evenly paced, full of action scenes and romantic ones along with some others that help you get the feeling of the time and compliment the whole story beyond imagination.

The secondary characters are well developed, as are the main ones, and in overall, there's nothing bad I could say about this book, even if I tried.

All in all, His Very Own Girl is a historical romance, no fan of the genre should miss and Carrie Lofty, one of the best authors you can find out there. She just has that remarkable ability that transforms normal stories to something extraordinary.

*This title was reviewed via Edelweiss

REVIEW: Flawless by Carrie Lofty

Flawless by Carrie Lofty

Series: The Christies, #1

Publication Date:September 27th 2011

Publisher:Pocket Books

Edition:Paperback, 416 pages
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository

A passion this seductive is more precious than diamonds...

Sir William Christie, ruthless tycoon and notorious ladies' man, is dead. Now his four grown children have gathered for the reading of his will. What lies in store for stepsiblings Vivienne, Alexander, and twins Gareth and Gwyneth? Stunning challenges that will test their fortitude across a royal empire...and lead them to the marvelously passionate adventures of their lives.

Lady Vivienne Bancroft fled England for New York, hoping to shed the confines of her arranged marriage to unrepentant rogue Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft—though she never forgot the fiery desire he unleashed with his slightest touch. And when the gambling man arrives on her doorstep for a little sensual revenge for her desertion, he is met with Vivienne's dilemma: She must earn her father's inheritance by profitably running a diamond business worth millions in colonial South Africa.

Swept together in an exotic undertaking filled with heated passion and hungry temptation, will Vivienne and Miles discover that the marriage vows they once made are the greatest snare—or the most treasured reward?

Flawless is the first book I read written by Carrie Lofty. Granted, I was acquainted with the author before while co-writing with Ann Aguirre under the pen name Ellen Connor, so yes, I knew she was a great author, but after reading Flawless, well, I have to admit that historical romance is truly her strongest element.

Lofty's writing style is natural and straight to the point and her fresh perspective of the genre made Flawless all the more enjoyable. I mean we are talking about a historical romance book set in Cape Town, what more could I ask for something new and fresh? Granted, there are other books with similar exotic settings out there, but it's the first one for me, so I just have to say it: I was completely mesmerised by the descriptions and the way Lofty presented her story.

Instead of dealing with formal etiquette and restrictions as many other books of the genre usually do, Lofty took as to a journey far way from everything common, where people live differently and everyone has a chance to become something better or worse. She took her readers on a journey to a town where so much wealth is gathered and hope but depravity as well. That's the place where the author chose to bring her main couple together in hopes of saving their lives and maybe their marriage.

As I said, my favorite part of Flawless was easily the setting and the writing style. Carrie Lofty is just that an amazing author. The other part I truly enjoyed was that Flawless, wasn't your typical HR novel for yet another reason. Here we have some adventure woven in the plot as well and the protagonists fight for their lives and not only in a physical but also in a mental way. I don't really want to say much about the way the story unfolds, because that would spoil things, but trust me when I say that everything about Flawless screams unique and amazing!

The only complain I have here, is that for some reason, I wasn't swept off my feet with the romantic plot, not that it was bad or uninteresting, I just felt that it could have been a little better. But that's a matter of preference, so that's maybe me :)

All in all, Flawless was a fresh and interesting start to a series I will most certainly continue reading!