Splendid Captivity (the Book, You Pervs, Not the Activity ;-p)

Greetings all! I'd like everyone to welcome fellow Noble author Brita Addams to Fantasy Unbound. She's here to discuss her deliciously titled new book, Splendid Captivity. She'll be answering some questions for us, of course, and also giving away a free ebook copy to one lucky commenter!
First, check out this gorgeous cover art and blurb:

Isabella Malin, a widow, wants to escape her dull life of embroidery and teas. She hires a hackney and goes in search of the Falcon, the notorious highwayman. A little kiss, a bit of a thrill, and she's sure she can once again face whatever her dull life has to offer. When her carriage is stopped and she is kidnapped, she goes without a fuss, never dreaming she wouldn't be allowed to leave.

Julian Madere and his bisexual partner, Nate Thurber, both poor sons of nobility, take to the highway, stealing from the rich and making love to each other to celebrate their bounty. Julian and Nate decide Isabella must be held captive, lest she reveal their nefarious activities as well as their need for each other, both hanging offenses in 1820 England. The three enjoy glorious sexual romps, until the law gets a bit too close to the truth, threatening their developing closeness. While Julian has his eyes on a future with both Nate and Isabella, it seems fate may have other ideas.

Sexual Content Warning: BDSM, m/m, m/m/f.

Interested? You can read an excerpt or buy it here. Now to turn the floor over to Brita, beneath the jump.

What draws you to romance?

I suppose the draw is that I'm such a firm believer in it. I have a happy marriage of long-standing, which shows me it is possible to have love and romance and it not be just a fiction.

Do you prefer alpha/omega relationships in stories, or alpha/alpha relationships, and why?

In my m/f stories (either the ones I read or the ones I write), I want them to be alpha/omega. For me, it seems the way it should be (hold the hate mail, please) but in my m/m stories, I want them to be alpha/alpha all the way.

I still believe a woman should have a man to take care of her, protect her and love her as she deserves. I want him to be all man, oozing machismo and uncompromising valor. My heroines are independent, but hopeless romantics, just like me.

Have you ever written outside the romance genre? If not, do you ever plan to?

I've written genealogy articles, but, no, I haven't really written outside the romance genre and I have no plans to do so. I've found what I should be writing and I'm rather attached to it.

What’s the sexiest feature on a man to you? And on a woman? Why?

Obviously, I can only speak from my own experience. I once managed a rather large apartment complex. My one-day-to-be husband, a certified public accountant, worked for the owner/management firm. Before I actually met him, part of my job was to speak to him on the phone every day, giving him facts and figures from the day's business.

For me, the sexiest feature then and now, is his voice. There is something soothing, comforting and warming in his tone. He knows what to say and how to say it. He inspires confidence and trust, something I desperately needed when I met him.

Today, it is one of the only sounds I long to hear, every day, all day. To hear him call me "Princess" (a whole other story) surrounds me with all I need to start my day off right. I don't know how I ever got so lucky!

On a woman – a nice smile.

What’s your own sexiest feature?

My husband says it's my freckles, but I have never thought of myself as possessing anything related to sexy, so it's hard to say.

By night you’re a caped crusader/romance writer. What do you do by day?

LOL. Actually, I am a romance writer by day and a romance reader by night. I am up very early every morning. After a couple of hours of checking emails, writing a blog, and anything else that needs tending, I usually settle in for several hours of writing.

At five, it is dinner and then an evening with my husband, during which I answer interview questions, write more blogs and research. At nine, I am in bed, where I read for an hour and a half or so, before I'm so sleepy I can't click my reader to the next page.

I am blessed with a husband who cooks and loves doing it, so I have all day to do the writing I love to do.

What’s your earliest childhood memory?

Oddly, my earliest memory is when I was three years old. We were at my grandmother's house, visiting. My mother went outside and I went to follow her before my grandmother could stop me. I was carrying a little rake, one of those with metal teeth. I dashed out of the door and instead of turning to go down the steps, I ran straight and fell off the porch and onto the teeth of that rake. A quarter of an inch higher and I'd be dead, as it would have punctured my temple.

I remember the fuss my Mom and grandmother made, being rushed to the doctor's office and all the ice cream I got while I recovered.

What was the very first romance you ever read?

Summer Place by Sloan Wilson.

How old were you?

I was 15 years old and not in the least bit knowledgeable about what went on, if you understand my meaning.

Were you being naughty and sneaking it off the shelf before you really even knew what sex was?

Oh, yeah. My family had gone to visit my father's sister and her family. I was the oldest cousin and to escape my siblings and younger cousins, I stole into my aunt's bedroom and found a book I wanted to read. I'd seen the film, which starred Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee and just loved it, so reading the book, I reasoned, would be even better.

How did it make you feel, and is that what hooked you on the genre?

Well, I have always been a fast reader and managed a good deal of the book before my aunt "caught me." She was outraged that I was 15 and reading a book about the children of a former couple, who'd married the wrong people and happen upon each other twenty years later at a vacation resort. The two teenagers fall in love and the older couple cheat on their spouses with each other. Pretty heady stuff for an oblivious 15 years old. 

No, it didn't hook me on the genre. I've always been a reader of biographies and autobiographies. I've read tons of them and am fascinated by people and the way they live their lives. I became hooked when I read Phillipa Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl." It combined the biographical elements I love with fiction – a winning combination for me. I've read all of her books and then sought out romances. I've read them non-stop since. 

Who are your latest crushes (celebrity, book character, or otherwise)?

I'm crazy about Gerard Butler and Alex O'Loughlin and of course, my husband. Book characters – there is Vadim Krasnorada from Aleks Voinov's Special Forces, a character I haven't been able to shake. I really wish Aleks would write more about him.

I see we share an obsession for a certain Aussie hottie :-) Do you ever keep him or any other people in your mind when writing your own works?

Not really. I kind of pictured Lucien Damrill in Serenity's Dream, to be Clark Gable and Prentice Hyde in Lord Decadent's Obsession to be Tyrone Power. I write historicals and to recall the older movie heroes seemed right to me.

When I wrote Her Timeless Obsession, under the name, Tina Ordone, the hero, Jeremy Saintaubin was based loosely on my husband. Jeremy carries all the traits I admire in my husband – his caring, thoughtfulness, his ability to love those around him unconditionally and instill great security in those of us who are fortunate enough to live in his orb. Of course, Jeremy also has a soothing voice and wonderfully artistic hands.

If you could pick anyone in the world to be the cover model(s) on your latest release, who would it be?

I've had Jimmy Thomas on two of my covers and I am convinced I should have him on every cover in the foreseeable future. Have you seen this man? He's gorgeous. He's also very outgoing. The cover shot on my newest book, Splendid Captivity, is actually known as the "Brita Bondage Shot."

I knew I wanted a JT cover, but since my story takes place in 1820, the bondage shots with silver handcuffs on Jimmy's website (http://www.romancenovelcovers.com/), wouldn't fit what I needed. Reese Dante, cover artist extraordinaire at Silver Publishing, has worked with Jimmy on many, many covers and they are friends. Sooo, she asked him if he could do some shots with red cloth as the binding.

A couple of weeks later, Reese sent me the shots and asked me to pick my favorite. Jimmy even agreed to hold that particular shot out of the collection until my book was released, so no one else would use it. I've gotten to thank him personally for that and for the "Brita Bondage Shots." Great guy.

What’s your favorite hobby outside of writing?

Oh, boy – I've had so many hobbies in my life. I've been a craft person, flower arranger, cross stitcher and even scrapbooker.

However, my favorite hobby is genealogy. I've been a non-professional genealogist for years and have traced my family back many, many generations. I've even lectured on genealogy on several cruise ships as part of their Enrichment Programs.

I love public speaking and when my daughter was the March of Dimes Youth Ambassador in the New Orleans area, I learned to speak about one of the things closest to my heart – the life of my disabled child. Those lessons have held me in great stead in my lectures.

What would constitute your own personal happily ever after?

To live every single minute of whatever time I have left on this earth, with my husband and around my children. For me, it couldn't be any better.

Do you own an e-reader?

I do own a reader. I used to have a Sony, but just recently purchased a Kindle.

Why?

The simple reason is that I love to read. I don't enjoy reading on my laptop, because I like to read in places I can't take my laptop, like to bed, the car, or the theatre waiting for a movie to start. I love the idea that I can take my reader anywhere, in my purse and carry my library with me.

What's on it?

Since my Kindle is new, I have only a few books on it, but I have nearly a thousand on my hard drive, which will eventually find their way to the Kindle. Right now, I'm reading James Lear, but I have Aleksandr Voinov's collection, Bryl Tyne's and the latest Rachel Haimowitz [editor's note: yay! and also, I swear I didn't pay her to say that :-p], which is up next.

Are you a book hoarder?

I'm not sure – I love books, but in a downsizing move 2 years ago, we donated a ton of them to the library in our new home town. I still have many, many – all favorites I couldn't bear to part with, but I felt the others needed a new home. I hoard the books I absolutely love and find new homes for the ones I probably wouldn't read again.

What’s the one question you wish people would ask you when you tell them you’re a writer?  

Usually, if I tell someone I'm a writer, they get amazingly flustered, like they don't know what to say. Then they want to know what I write. That usually leads to a discussion about erotic romance, but oddly, they rarely admit they read erotic romance. It's always their Mom or sister. Inevitably though, they ask, "Where can I buy your books?"

How do you answer it?

I give them a card with my website address and tell them they can read more about my books and just click the links to purchase. I love it when they ask me to sign the card. Having collected autographs all my life, it tickles me that someone would actually want mine.

If you were doomed to spend the rest of your life on an island with only one book, one person, one food (coconuts and fish aside), and one object from the modern world (computer, deodorant, vibrator, etc.), what would they be?

First, that sounds like bliss – but, let's see – the one book would probably be Aleksandr Voinov's Special Forces. It's very long and one of the best reads ever. The one person would be my husband, no question. He's intelligent, handsome and has the best smile of anyone on the planet. I'm a sucker for a great smile. The one food would have to be his shrimp stew. That stuff ought to be banned in all 50 states, it's so good. There must be a law somewhere against it. The one object would be my imaginary solar-powered e-reader, where I'd have stored the max number of books it could hold. You can't take just one.

Do you have a favorite character out of all the ones you’ve written?

Many writers think of their characters as their children. I don't. Therefore, I can name a favorite without guilt. I would have to say Alexander Chilton, from Chocolate, Tea and the Duchess.

Why is he your favorite?

I think he's my favorite because I haven't yet explored all his possibilities. I picture him to be very outgoing, with a savvy, ready smile and the appearance of being very much in control. We shall see later this year, when another installment of the Sapphire Club series comes out.

Where are your favorite online hangouts? What are your daily must-stop blogs and websites?

Is it bad of me to say that there are very few? I check out Facebook every day, several times a day, but that is really it. Twitter to some extent, but I have still to figure it out. It always seems like a bunch of unrelated one-liners to me, but then I could be missing something.

I don't have blogs that I must read, because I spend my time writing. I do read writing newsletters and news, but if I spent the day hopping from one blog to another, I'd never write, given that I'm one of those people who read every little thing. As much as my husband loves museums, he is loathe to take me to one. I read every card, every tag, every placard.

Speaking of online hangouts, where are yours? Where can your readers find you?

I can be found at http://www.britaaddams.com/. I love visitors and the coffee is always hot. I'm also on Facebook.

What’s your current book list and where can we buy them?

My latest release is Splendid Captivity, a ménage.

Splendid Captivity and my m/m, vampire, BDSM, erotic historical, Love Immortal, can be found at Silver Publishing (http://www.silverpublishing.info/). Love Immortal is the first of my Mysterious Moonlight series. It is a romance with vampire elements, which are secondary to the struggle Laurent Kinsdale and Sebastian Fitzhugh have to maintain their relationship.

The Sapphire Club series, Serenity's Dream, Lord Decadent's Obsession, and Chocolate, Tea and the Duchess, can be found at Noble Romance Publishing (http://www.nobleromance.com/).

The Sapphire Club is an 1816 version of our modern day BDSM sex clubs. It's very exclusive, and provides the well-heeled aristos with a place to, shall we say, explore their baser instincts?

Anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you so much, Rachel, for having me for a visit. It has been fun. It was also fun to have you visit me during your marathon blog tour. Your book has me fascinated, and as I said, it is next up after I finish James Lear.

I wish you much success with Anchored and your future works.

Thanks Brita! It was great fun to visit your blog and great fun to have you here as well!

And a reminder to our readers: one lucky commenter will walk away with a free ebook of Splendid Captivity, so be sure to share the love for Brita below!