AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
I love the ghostly
element in your book. Have you ever seen a ghost yourself?
In fact, I live with a
ghost. Not a sexy one like Lassier. My co-resident is the original owner of my
house, Mrs. Martin. The dear old lady died in her bed and the first thing she
did is chase her ill-tempered husband out of her house. A lovely young family
bought the house. Eventually, the family grew to seven: the parents and five
fabulous young girls. Mrs. Martin never had any children and I think she fell
in love with those girls. Thus, when I bought the house, she was a bit noisy
(boards constantly creaking and doors opening). I believe she was searching for
the girls she’d grown to love.
Eventually, she settled
down (boards stopped creaking), still she keeps moving my area rugs and she
does NOT like having men sleep in her room. That’s happened twice. She managed
to chase a male house-sitter out of her bedroom, but not my dad. However, she
did get his attention with all her stomping and huffing. First I knew of the problem
was when he came into the kitchen and asked if I had a ghost. I laughed and
admitted I did. My dad is probably the least ‘sensitive’ person in the world. I
could only imagine how much trouble she had getting his attention. Poor woman
was probably exhausted.
I also love the fact
that the book is set in an old castle. Can you tell us how you envisioned the
castle? Did you visit existing castles to get an idea, or did the setting just
come alive in your mind?
The Durrans built the
original castle in the 12th century. Protecting the inhabitants would have been
its main purpose back then, thus it had a moat and lots of small openings to
shoot arrows from and protect the heavy wooden door.
However, the Durrans,
while not always nice, were excellent at protecting and growing what was
theirs, so each generation expanded and modified the original castle until
today, it looks like this.
The original tower is to
the far right in this picture. And unlike most modern castles, the moat was
never filled in, however erosion over time has reduced both its depth and width
and now it is hidden by the foliage. A permanent flat steel bridge provides access
to the castle now.
Let me show you the
castle from Senna’s viewpoint.
Senna
took in the ancient castle towering above her. An ageless mystique emanated
from the stone fortress. She walked forward and placed her hand onto the
archway framing the massive carved wood doors. The rough stone felt cold to her
touch, but oddly familiar, as if she belonged here.
They
walked through an entryway of dark mahogany cabinets and benches and entered a
massive room with cathedral ceilings. A sweeping stone staircase curled toward
them from the right, looking like a giant cat’s paw. A thick wooden table, at
least fifteen feet in length, dominated the center of the room. Modern couches
and chairs gathered on the left side, creating a smaller oasis within the
overwhelming larger space
And of course, there’s a
dungeon, even if Gar insists the dungeon is long gone and is now a wine cellar.
As proof it still exists, Lassier, the ghost warns Senna never to go down into
the dungeon where several ghosts are chained for eternity.
The two English brothers
are very different. Can you describe Brendon and Garrison for us?
Brendon lives life for
the moment, and thinks making love is the finest pleasure on earth.
He possesses a boyish
charm, but to ensure the chicks don’t think him too boyish, he’s grown a small
goatee to make him more sensual. Apparently it works. The only female he has
not seduced is Senna. Even when they marry, she intends never to have sex with
him. Given he’ll never be faithful, it is the only way she save herself from a
broken heart.
Gar is a throwback to
Lassier’s father who only loved one woman his entire life.
As the story begins, he’s a bit grumpy and
discontented with life. He dates, but he cannot find anyone to suit him. He has
a great deal of responsibilities, not just controlling the multitude of
ancestral ghosts in the castle, but taking care of his brother. And now, he has
a new worry. Recently, Brendon called and offered to return some priceless
teacups if Gar would buy plane tickets for him and his fiancée to come home.
The young woman has ‘gold digger’ written all over her and there is no way Gar
will allow her to take Brendon’s fortune.
Tell us about Senna, and
what causes her to leave her apartment in the United States and travel to a
castle in England to begin a new life.
Brendon guessed Senna’s bank code and withdrew $400 from her bank account, causing her rent check to bounce. The landlord, upon hearing she wouldn’t have the money for three weeks and then she would need more time to pay for next month’s rent, handed her an eviction notice and said he wanted her out by the end of the week.
What was she to do? She had no money
to rent another place. She had no friends to take her in. She feared she’d be
on the street, homeless and would soon lose her job as well—no one likes a
smelly employee.
While Brendon couldn’t return the
$400, he offered a better alternative than her becoming homeless and stinky.
She could go with him to England. His trust fund had a half million, and if she
married him, she could take charge of the money and spend it wisely for the
both of them.
The idea of marrying Brendon
terrified her, but she agreed on two conditions.
1) She received proof he had a half
million. (The way his eyes sparkled when he spoke of the money made her
question its existence.)
2) She would never, ever, ever have
sex with him. Given his propensity to jump the bones of every girl he meets,
the only way she saw this ever working out is if she never fell in love with
him, because otherwise, he would break her heart.
Brendon agreed, and off they went to
the airport, where Brendon almost causes them to miss their flight because he’s
shagging a contortionist in the broom closet of the bar.
It puts her in a surly mood, which
bodes badly for her first encounter with Gar, who is also in a surly mood
because of Brendon’s recent phone call home.
So the ‘homecoming’ may be a bit
rough.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Two sexy English brothers. One irresistible
ghost. Who would you choose as your lover?
Completely broke and with a criminal record to
boot, Senna Smith is one day from eviction from her apartment when Brendon, her
promiscuous roommate from London, suggests she go to England, marry him, and
manage his fortune. With few other options, she agrees to an open marriage. But
she’ll never, ever, have sex with him, knowing if she falls in love with him,
he’ll break her heart.
As trustee of Brendon’s family fortune, there
is no way Brendon’s older brother, Garrison Durran, is going to let him marry a
self-professed American gold-digger. As Senna tries to embrace castle life and
English society for Brendon’s sake, Gar discovers Senna is the perfect woman
for him--beautiful and intelligent, kind and caring. Now, if she wasn’t already
engaged to his brother…
The ancestral ghost of Durran Castle has to
intervene if the Durran brothers have any chance of an heir. He can’t leave
them to fix matters on their own. They are useless buggers when it comes to
love. As counselor to Gar, matchmaker for Brendon, and lover to Senna, a
ghost’s work is never done.
CONTENT WARNING: Allergy warning: Ghost cat in
book.
“So my brother steals all your money and to
compensate you, he suggests you come to England, marry him, and he’ll give you
his trust fund.” Only his brother could contrive such an absurd plan.
“Yes.”
By her brief answer, he gathered she thought it a perfectly reasonable
solution.
His
brother might be an idiot, but this gold digger would soon discover Gar a force
to reckon with. “Did he steal a half million from your bank account?”
Brendon
laughed. “Do you have any idea how long that would take? Cash machines only
allow you two visits a day at two hundred dollars a pop.”
“How
much did he take?” Gar restated his question.
“Four
hundred,” Senna replied.
Gar
stared up at the ceiling praying for patience, then glared at Ditz. “So why
didn’t you pay her back the four hundred?”
Ditz
stubbornly refused to answer, and instead glanced at the girl.
She
sighed and faced Gar. “Precisely what I asked. He said he didn’t have the four
hundred, but if I married him, he would come into a half million. Since the
landlord planned to evict me, I really had no choice but to accept the offer.”
SPECIAL LINKS
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ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Lover-Liza-OConnor-ebook/dp/B00H1J5OS6/
Print: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Lover-Liza-OConnor/dp/1493667386/
