Nancy Jardine - Take Me Now blog tour

Today, I welcome Nancy Jardine, whose new contemporary romance, Take Me Now, is released this week from The Wild Rose Press. She also has a historical romantic novel out later this month, The Beltane Choice, published through Crooked Cat Publishing. What an exciting time!

To celebrate the release of Take Me Now, Nancy is on a blog tour - starting right here! So, make sure to check out her fabulous prizes below. What a great selection of goodies!

So, to start her tour off in style, I've asked Nancy some questions...


1) Congratulations on your new releases TAKE ME NOW and THE BELTANE CHOICE. What made you become a writer? And why romance?
My being a writer has developed from my primary teaching days when I created material for use in the classroom. Teaching Primary 7 for decades meant I was used to creating material that was quite lengthy, though at that time it was mostly non-fiction writing I was producing. However, I always enjoyed creating the beginnings of fiction stories to use as scaffolding for the kids to develop their own work. It was only after I volunteered to write two very lengthy non-fiction projects for school (both around 100,000words) that I realised I wanted to write fiction for myself. I chose to write romance since it wasn’t at all relevant to my teaching. And to a selfish degree, it was for my own satisfaction!

2) Tell us about your writing day. Do you have a routine, or just scribble when you can fit it in? Do you write in a 'home office' or at the dining table?
Where I write is a combination of your last sentence. In my house there is a study and a large dining room. My husband uses the study all day long (he’s just completing a Masters Degree with The Open University he started 10 years ago). While teaching I used the study in the evening, no problem, and shared the study space amicably to produce my stuff for class. Since I gave up teaching last year, and now write almost full–time, we can’t seem work in the same room all day long. No fights-just too many distractions! I moved my office desk into the dining room and happily write away in there. I’m usually there by 7.30 or so but don’t really have a routine as such. I’m usually checking emails and FB while having my OJ and coffee. After that I write. Lately, I seem to be writing lots of blog posts and not much on the WIPs!

3) What are your favourite reads, and why?
For years, while teaching, I mostly wanted ‘easy reading’–nothing demanding of energy I didn’t have in the evening. Only during holidays would I read more challenging lengthy novels like War and Peace, Tolkien, and what I’d call my classics collection. For me that meant romance was a good option, for most of the year, and I enjoyed them. Before I took up writing seriously I was reading at least 20 books a month! Reading mostly romance became a habit, I guess. 

Now, when I squeeze in time, I’m reading all kinds of genres. I’m not exactly a fan of paranormal romance but I’ve read a lot more of that over the last year, and I’ve read more of what I’d call general contemporary fiction. I’ve also been trying to squeeze in historical research for my ancestry hobby, and to give me more fodder for writing my family saga and my time-travel books for children.

TAKE ME NOW 
BLURB: 

Nairn Malcolm’s looking for the impossible. He needs a highly skilled, enterprising aide who’ll be at his beck and call 24/7. No ordinary Jane Doe will do. He doesn’t expect the only candidate who drops in at his Scottish castle for an interview to be so competent…or so stunning.

Aela Cameron’s got exactly the right mix of talents to satisfy all Nairn Malcolm’s needs, and more. She loves the jobs he needs done, adores his castle, and finds his frenetic lifestyle energising. But she’s only looking for temporary: not to fall in love with the man.
Can Nairn convince Aela she’s tailor-made for him in every way…and not a passing fancy?    

   
EXCERPT: 

Unadulterated vigor oozed from every last bit of him—overall a dangerous concoction. Something stirred way-down-low inside Aela again. He was a real honey, and the bee in her wanted to be very sticky. 

Her mind whirred. The man bore a vague resemblance to the ruggedly handsome thirty-two year old Nairn Malcolm of the internet photograph, but would the blonde limpet in the recent celebrity snapshot want to curl herself around this forbidding wreck of a man? Aela thought not. She wondered, though, if his blank expression was caused by current circumstances, or if this was his normal demeanor, since he hadn’t been smiling in the photograph either. 

With the high granite wall as his backdrop she could easily imagine this man lording over the castle, ruthlessly challenging any invaders to his domain. Taking any woman he wanted? Now there was a thought she was happy to entertain. A tiny smile broke free. Tamping down her crazed imagination she re-assessed him. 

What had the guy been doing to get himself in such a state? 

Who was he?

Thanks for a fabulous interview, Nancy. Loving the excerpt! :-)


Buy links:
The Wild Rose Press:

Print:  http://bit.ly/MrlI8x   E book formats: http://bit.ly/MQJXvw

Amazon: Print: http://amzn.to/LEUb1g

Take Me Now YouTube Trailer link - http://youtu.be/stDC4Yhm2r0

Website: http://nancyjardineauthor.weebly.com

Blog: http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com

FaceBook:  http://facebook.com/nancy.jardine.56

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nanjar/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com@nansjar

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6166205-nancy

LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-jardine/3a/9b0/a91

Question for Wednesday 1^st August: 

Which room does Nancy use now to do her writing?

**My-TAKE ME NOW-Tour Contest** 

To celebrate the launch of Take Me Now I’ll be giving away 2 e copies of Take Me Now, 2 e copies of Monogamy Twist, and 4 goodie bags of Scottish Castle Gift Cards and Tags to some lucky winners. 

At each tour stop I’ll be asking a different question. To be entered into the draw find the answer to the question set and send the answer to me at nan_jar@btinternet.com by Saturday the 11^th August 2012. The more questions you answer, the better your chance will be! (ie send in four answers -your name’s in the draw four times) The draw will take place at noon (GMT/ UK time) on Sunday 12^th August. 

Check my blog for other stops on the tour, and find out when the extra special ‘giveaways’ will happen: http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com

Good luck!