Welcome AK James

Today, I've the pleasure of hosting author, AK James, again. I've previously interviewed AK, also known as Mandy, here on the release of her first novel, Righteous Exposure, a fast paced tale of revenge and redemption.

This time, congratulations are in place again as Mandy celebrates signing up with Choc Lit Publishing for her next release. Exciting times ahead! :-)

Over to you, Mandy...

Thanks for inviting me back, Cathie!

Phew what a year! It's only the end of June and I now have two fantastic publishing contracts! I talked last time about Righteous Exposure released as an ebook with Crooked Cat Publishing, and now I have signed a contract with Choc Lit Publishing!  My novel, A Stitch in Time, will be in published in paperback next April and is a romantic comedy about a time travelling history teacher. 

I'm over the moon to be with Choc Lit as they have a brilliant reputation and their authors have won many awards recently. This year they had three novels, The UnTied Kingdom, Please Don’t Stop the Music and Highland Storms short-listed for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Highland Storms and Please Don’t Stop the Music won Best Romantic Historical and Best Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Awards (RoNAs) respectively.

Not much to live up to then...gulp!

I can't quite believe it all really, and I'm so thrilled. Righteous Exposure has been very popular. I'm happy to say that I now have 16 excellent reviews on Amazon. I pinch myself when I think that all my hard work is actually being read and enjoyed by others. I guess that's what it's all about for me. 

Thanks again, Cathie and I'll keep you posted :)

Blurb:

Revenge, retribution and redemption.

Doctor Alita Ramirez has achieved hard won goals, despite her humble beginnings from a poor Hispanic neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas. When she by chance discovers the truth about her past, she is driven to take drastic action. Alita is prepared to jeopardize everything, even her life, to expose the hypocrisy and cruelty of one man – Robson Cutter. One of the richest men in San Antonio, Cutter is a pillar of his community. Alita’s quest is to reduce this pillar to dust. She knows a dark secret about Cutter that will bring him to his knees, but exposing the past of such a powerful man requires extreme measures. Will Alita have the strength and determination to succeed?

Righteous Exposure is available on Amazon US, Amazon UK & Smashwords 

Excerpt:

  She walked over to the water cooler and filled a plastic cup. Through her tenth-floor window the purple shades of evening were creeping over the city. Houston could be really beautiful at this time of day. The retiring Texan sun painted subtle hues of orange, yellow and red along the tips and edges of stone and aluminium.

  Sand coloured skyscrapers, reflected in the stark glass of the Wells Fargo building, stretched their fun house images to the sky.

  Ramirez sipped her water and even though she was almost asleep, marvelled at the scene. This was the Houston skyline. Monoliths to the modern, sprinkled with the dust of the past swept in from the plains.

  Something about the soft light playing over the white walls of a smaller building to her left suddenly triggered unwelcome images. The intoxicating smell of olives filled her senses, and images of a woman long ago in a big house, frightened, ashamed and dominated, blocked out the skyline.

The memories punched hard in the gut, and Ramirez stepped back under the impact. Images of a young child, small, terrified and powerless, her face cruelly pinched between the finger and thumb of a strong hand, forced their way into her mind. Then insidiously, the vile source of these terrifying images passed briefly in front of Ramirez’ eyes too – he went by the name of Robson Cutter.