Monday, March 23, 2015

Interviewing Wade and author Grace Marshall. The Executive Decisions Trilogy may be over, but the story continues.


At the end of the Interviewing Wade Blog Tour, Grace Marshall is giving away a $50/£30 Amazon gift card. All you have to do to enter is use the Rafflecopter at the end of the post to gain entries.
1.      Where did the idea come from for the book?
First of all, Lynelle, I’d like to thank you so much for hosting me on the Interviewing Wade Blog Tour and Giveaway. It’s great to be here and to have the chance to talk about my reluctant hero and my intrepid heroine.

Actually Wade’s story has been on the horizon for a long time now. Ever since An Executive Decision, the first of Grace Marshall’s Executive Decisions novels, came out with Ellis and Dee’s story, readers, who loved the book have been clambering for reclusive, nerd genius, Wade Crittenden’s story. Wade plays an important role in all three of the other Executive Decisions novels, but as intrigued as I was by the idea of writing his story, I seriously doubted that Wade would allow me into his reclusive world any further than I’d already come, let alone open up and tell me his story. But, three books in, while the readers loved the Executive Decisions books and the reviews were excellent, the unanimous opinion was that everyone wanted to read Wade’s story.

Wade is the creative genius behind the fabulously progressive, green company, Pneuma, Inc, which he and Ellison Thorne founded together with the Late Beverly Neumann. He is socially challenged, to say the least, and he could teach most recluses a thing or two. While Ellis and Dee work in the light-filled, glass and steel executive suites of the Pneuma Building, which Wade designed, Wade’s realm is the extensive maze of basement and sub-floors of the building affectionately known by everyone else as Wade’s Dungeon.

What happens when the Northwest’s most intriguing, and richest recluse reluctantly agrees to be interviewed by the Northwest’s most talented pit bull of an investigative journalist, Carla Flannery? Carla always gets her story, but sometimes that means making enemies. Wade’s ulterior motive for allowing the interview is to keep her safe by keeping her close when her life is threatened by an unknown stalker. And OMG, do the sparks sizzle when the two are forced into each other’s space, up close and personal!

2.      What genre does your book fall under?
Grace Marshall’s books are sizzling romance. There are parts that are very erotic, but a much softer kind of erotic than the writings of Grace’s alter-ego, K D Grace. In Grace Marshall’s story, the driving force is the relationship that evolves between the two main characters and the crisis that drives them together, so there are also elements of a psychological thriller as well.
3.      Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I never have anyone in mind to play my characters when I write a story and, since I don’t watch a lot of television or films, it’s really hard for me to say based on the few actors I really obsess over. Perhaps Michael Fassbender would make a good Wade. Whoever played Wade would definitely have to be a brooder. For Carla, maybe Amy Adams or 
Jennifer Lawrence. She would definitely have to have a non-traditional beauty.
4.      What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Intrepid reporter gets reluctant interview with reclusive genius billionaire, who helps her solve a kidnapping while trying to keep her safe from a sinister stalker.
5.      How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I was on a pretty tight deadline with Wade, so it took me four weeks to write the first draft. Surprisingly, Wade was way more forthcoming with his details than I ever thought he’d be. J
6.      What did you learn about yourself while writing this book?
This was a great example of expecting a novel to be really hard to write and finding that instead it was a real joy. Both Wade and Carla were very open with their stories. The chemistry between them was magical and they were so much fun together that I had an absolute blast writing under one of the tightest deadlines I’ve ever had. I suppose my lesson is that things in the writing world are never what you expected. There are always surprises. This time they were really, really fun surprises.
7.      What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I will say that though Wade Crittenden is a billionaire, that’s pretty much where the similarity with 50 Shades of Grey ends. I think the feel of the novel is very Nora-Roberts-esque. In particular, the feel is like some of her more stalkerish novels – The Search, Blue Fire, with a bit of The Black Hills thrown in for good measure. Some of the more comedic moments between Wade and Carla have a bit of a Janet Evanovich feel to them. I think Wade himself would be much more at home in a brooding reclusive super-hero comic book than he would be in a billionaire romance. Certainly there’s a bit of Big Bang Theory thrown in with just a tad of Bruce Banner’s struggle for control.
8.      Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I suppose Wade was inspired by my own love for the less-than-traditional heroes in a story. There are so many ways to be larger than life. The fact that he started out as a side character (I won’t call him a minor character, because he never was that) in the first of the Executive Decisions novels and he so easily captured the hearts of my readers told me they felt the same way I do about those wonderful non-traditional heroes. The readers, more than anything else, inspired me to write Wade’s story. The more they asked for Wade, the more I thought about him, and even when I agreed to write his story, I wasn’t quite sure how willing Wade would be. In the end, it was very obvious my readers were right from the beginning. Wade had the most fascinating story just waiting to be told.
9.      What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I think the readers will find Wade’s world fascinating. The complex of laboratories, strange living quarters and dark warrens he’s created for himself beneath the Pneuma Building are affectionately called by everyone who knows him Wade’s Dungeon. The world he’s created is very much a reflection of the inside of Wade’s head, and it reveals so much about who he is and why he chooses to cut himself off from people. I think the fact that Carla can waltz right into that strange world and make herself at home in a way that surprises and secretly delights Wade, as much as it irritates him, will very much intrigue readers.

INTERVIEWING WADE
By K D Grace
Writing as Grace Marshall

Blurb:
The Executive Decisions Trilogy may be over, but the story continues. Intrepid reporter, Carla Flannery, wants to interview Wade Crittenden, the secretive creative genius behind Pneuma Inc. But when, against all odds, Wade actually agrees to the interview, Carla suspects ulterior motives.
Carla has made a lot of enemies in her work and when Wade discovers she’s being stalked, he agrees to the interview to keep her close and safe. As the situation turns deadly, lives and hearts are on the line, and the interview reveals far more about both than either ever expected.

Excerpt:
The dining area smelled of Chinese food. Lynn had spread the feast on the coffee table in front of the ratty sofa. For a moment, Carla stood staring at the food, feeling slightly nauseated. ‘I’m not hungry,’ she said.

‘Come on, you need to eat. With your metabolism, being what it is, if you don’t you’ll have wasted completely away by morning.’ He settled her onto the least lumpy part of the couch and then sat down next to her. When she made no effort, he opened the waxed cardboard containers and surveyed their contents. Then he ladled up a spoonful of egg flower soup and totally surprised her by bringing it, with a steady hand, to her lips. ‘A little bit,’ he said. ‘You don’t want to hurt Lynn’s feelings, do you?’

She opened her mouth, and he carefully spooned it in and watched while she swallowed. ‘Since when have you cared about hurting anyone’s feelings,’ she said. The soup had felt good against her throat, and it wasn’t so difficult to open her mouth when he spooned up the next bite.

‘I don’t, really, and just for the record, Lynn doesn’t care about mine either, but I’m not above lying to get my way.’ He ladled another spoonful into her mouth and this time she made an mmm sound at the back of her throat as she swallowed.

‘And are you getting what you want?’

‘You’re eating, aren’t you?’

He gave a little gasp of surprise when she took the spoon away from him, dipped up a nice fat egg drop and pointed the utensil in his direction. When he stared at her like she had two heads, she laughed softly. ‘Come on Crittenden, open up. Here comes a choo-choo.’ She wasn’t sure if he opened his mouth for the soup or because he was about to say something rude. Either way she took advantage and shoved the spoon home. When he took the bite, holding her gaze as though he didn’t quite understand what kind of creature had assaulted him with a soup spoon, holding her gaze with absolutely no sexual innuendo, but her insides trembled and hollowed anyway.

‘It’s good,’ he said, his cheeks turning a warm shade of pink, as he took the spoon back and returned the favour, and this time he didn’t protest when it was his turn,– even as she picked up a pair of chopsticks and brazenly served up a sloppy mouthful of Singapore noodles while he sat with his mouth slightly open, making her think of a hungry nestling waiting for a worm. The thought made her giggle at the last instant, and he barely caught the end of an escaping noodle in time to slurp it off his chin and into his mouth.

‘You’re sloppy, Flannery,’ he said, licking his lips with two flicks of his tongue that made her breath catch and her nipples ache.

Dear Christ, he had no idea whatsoever what he did to her. This time, as she waited open-mouthed for her bite of soup, his hand was far less steady and at least half of it ended up in her cleavage. She yelped. ‘You did that on purpose.’

‘Did not’ he said. Handing her a napkin and watching wide-eyed as she dabbed away chicken broth.

‘Did so.’

‘Did not,’ he said. Then he filled the chopsticks dangerously full of noodles and brought them toward her mouth. ‘This –’ he fumbled the chopsticks and the whole bite slipped off the ends and right down between her breasts ‘—I did on purpose.’

Buy Links:

About K D Grace/Grace Marshall
Voted ETO Best Erotic Author of 2014, and a proud member of The Brit Babes, K D Grace believes Freud was right. In the end, it really IS all about sex, well sex and love. And nobody’s happier about that than she is, otherwise, what would she write about?
When she’s not writing, K D is veg gardening. When she’s not gardening, she’s walking. She walks her stories, and she’s serious about it. She and her husband have walked Coast to Coast across England, along with several other long-distance routes. For her, inspiration is directly proportionate to how quickly she wears out a pair of walking boots. She also enjoys martial arts, reading, watching the birds and anything that gets her outdoors.
KD has erotica published with SourceBooks, Xcite Books, Harper Collins Mischief Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Black Lace, Erotic Review, Ravenous Romance, Sweetmeats Press and others.
K D’s critically acclaimed erotic romance novels include, The Initiation of Ms Holly, Fulfilling the Contract, The Pet Shop. Her paranormal erotic novel, Body Temperature and Rising, the first book of her Lakeland Witches trilogy, was listed as honorable mention on Violet Blue’s Top 12 Sex Books for 2011. Books two and three, Riding the Ether, and Elemental Fire, are now also available.
K D Grace also writes hot romance as Grace Marshall. An Executive Decision, Identity Crisis, The Exhibition are all available.

Find Grace Marshall/ K D Grace Here:                             
Websites: http://kdgrace.co.uk/         
                http://www.thebritbabes.co.uk      
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KDGraceAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KD_Grace         

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kdgraceauthor/







GIVEAWAY!
Use the Rafflecopter below to gain entry options. Be sure to follow the entire tour – as the more posts you comment on, the more chances you’ll have of winning: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/grace-marshall-5/






4 comments:

  1. I have read the entire Trilogy and would love to know if Wade found love as well.

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  2. Thanks SO much for having Wade & Carla & me over, Lynelle! It's lovely to be here. So glad that you read the Executive Decisions trilogy. I hope you'll enjoy Wade and Carla's little adventure as well. :-)

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  3. I absolutely adored this book. Wade is sex on a stick!

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  4. Seriously drooling over the thought of Michael Fassbender as Wade .....

    ReplyDelete

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