QUICK & QUIRKY Chat with #MFRWauthor @VictoriaPinder

Today, we have a QUICK & QUIRKY chat with Victoria Pinder. 

Victoria grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She always wrote stories to entertain herself or calm down. But her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, and Victoria spent too many years living other people’s dreams, but when she sat down to see what skill she had that matched what she enjoyed doing, writing became so obvious.

Here's what Victoria had to say when we asked her a few questions...       

If money were not an object, where would you most like to live? 

I just asked my fiance (husband to be this month) and he answered 'right here in Miami.' I am sharing because when asked why, it's because our families are here. And I do hate winters, a lot. When a Stark reminds us that 'winter is coming' I shiver from memories. So okay, we just made a deal with this question. We'll stay here in Miami, but move to the nice section of town. And we travel, a lot. 

If you were stranded on a tropical island, who would it be with? 

Well the fiance/almost husband better be there, and he would age like Clark Gable or Cary Grant, all dignified. Actually there is an old movie of Cary Grant stuck on an island running from the Nazis. Father Goose is the name. But let's leave the random children at home. (Says the one who wrote a book about chaperoning students and falling in love on the job.)

Tell us about the scariest thing that ever happened to you. 

I was a preteen brat with the junior rangers program. The national park service took us on a camping trip in Acadia national Park. My mother was a chaperone. Ranger Billy Bob and my mom are trailing in the back. Mom is slow, so I left my friends and trailed back to be with her. We then became slower and lost the crew. We had no flashlight and we were mountain climbing. Mom, Ranger Billy Bob and I were now lost and night was fast approaching. We stuck together and soon Ranger Billy Bob let a tree branch hit his head, blinding him. We stuck closer together and reached a bridge made of a tree. It was an old bridge, but we decided to go across to get down the mountain. Ranger Billy Bob went first, holding the rails. I went second and mom went last. I made it across and turned around. Then my mother fell on the bridge and would have fallen to her death if she hadn't grabbed onto the rails and her butt fell onto a rock underneath. We pulled her back up. Down the mountain, I remember hearing drums and strange thoughts about indians and someone chopping my head off came over me and made me run overtime. I found out later that a relative of mine did get scalped at night. We finally made it down the mountain, but there is no way I'm ever camping again. Not without a Marriott.

What’s your most embarrassing moment? 

Long question. The day I met sitting President Bill Clinton. As a high school brat, here I was one of eighteen teenagers about to meet the President of the United States. A nun who worked for the mayor of Boston lectured us on how we cannot bring up Monica Lewinsky or Paula Jones. So as a bratty teen, I raised my hand then asked, 'Can I ask about Ginnifer Flowers?' Another student hit me off the back of the head and I turned around. There was Bill Clinton. And the entire room full of the press was there for the entire thing. (Clinton never said a word and asked me about college and voting.)

If you were on a reality show, what one would it be? 

I keep having nightmares of becoming Bridezilla. I stopped speaking to my sister for a year after her wedding , and it's not okay. I more fear that my wedding in June will be like the worst wedding in 4 weddings and my wish somehow is that David Tutera will show up and just take care of the whole thing. Is that enough? Weddings are a lot of work.

Which would you choose, city life or country life? 

I've only known city life. I'd like to experience country life for a year as a test, but I have a feeling I'd be a city girl. I like options.

Victoria's most recent release is Chaperoning Paris, a Contemporary Romance, with SoulMate Publishing on June 11, 2014.

Gigi Dumont never forgot how she walked away from the only man she ever loved.

She’s a teacher who has led her students to the finals of an international French competition to be help in Paris. The night before the trip, the Principal tries to cancel the trip before he, in turn, loses his job to her high school boyfriend, Sean Collins.

Sean Collins has survived cancer, a divorce , and Gigi having aborted their child back in high school. He assumed he’d hate her, if they ever crossed paths again. But he discovers she’s exactly what he wants.

When Gigi and Sean are stuck together for a week in Paris, Gigi feels she has lost all her control. How can she survive her attraction to Sean? The man’s sexier now than he was back in the day, and once upon a time, he’d had her heart. She finds herself falling for him, even knowing forever is impossible.

Connect with Victoria in any of these places...

Website: http://www.victoriapinder.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriapinder1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/victoriapinder

Blog: http://victoriapinder.com/?cat=6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120316.Victoria_Pinder

#MFRWauthor BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Defective @Susan_Sofayov

MFRW Author Susan Sofayov released Defective, a Mainstream New Adult Romance with Black Opal Books on April 26, 2014.

University of Pittsburgh law student, Maggie Hovis, battles an enemy she cannot escape—her own brain. Her family calls her a drama queen. Her fiancé, Sam, moves out after she throws a shoe at his head. Maggie knows there is only one way to get him back—control her moods. So she takes the step most of her family is against: therapy.

After a diagnosis of Bipolar II Disorder, Maggie begins to investigate her family tree—which is plagued by mental illness and hidden relatives—and develops empathy for her deceased Great Aunt Ella, who lived her life in a mental institution. But Maggie’s journey leads her into fear and insecurity, afraid she’ll end up like Ella and never get Sam back. But what about Nick, her super-sexy old flame, who wants to reignite their passion? Does it even matter, anyway? Won’t mental illness stop any man from loving her?

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EXCERPT

I knew I shouldn’t go, but this party was important. I had to see Sam. Why couldn’t I get a break, just once?
Saturday morning, after finishing a bagel and downing a cup of coffee, dread took up residence in my stomach and brain. Vacuuming the living room failed to help shake off the feeling, so I crawled back into bed, hoping to sleep it away. At about noon, I woke up with a pounding headache, an indefinable angry sensation, and no desire to leave the bed. Then for absolutely no reason, I started sobbing. Please, I begged the encroaching depression, go away; not now, not today. Please, let me make it to this party.
At six-thirty, I dragged myself out of bed and dressed in the costume. By seven o’clock, against my better judgment, I backed out of my parking spot and began the forty-minute drive to Julie’s house. Common sense warned me to turn around and go home, but I needed this chance to talk to Sam.
While driving down the main street of Zelienople, the absurdity of the costume smacked me in the face. I turned up the radio volume to drown out the horrible litany of adjectives reverberating through my brain, Ugly, fat, worthless, stupid…
As I drove west on the Ellwood-Zelienople Road, self-abusive thoughts replaced the rational ones, and the angry, evil woman living inside my head, who silences me during every episode, commandeered my thoughts. She taunted: Julie only invited you because she pities you. She knows Sam will never come back. You’re ugly and useless, Sam marry you? Ha, such a joke. Stop deluding yourself. No man would waste his life with you.
So absorbed in my masochistic thoughts, I failed to realize my car had drifted into the lane of an oncoming van. Frantic horn honking wrenched my attention away from the costume and back to the road. For a brief second, time slowed and every muscle in my chest constricted around my rib cage. My arms cut the wheel hard to get back onto my own side of the road. Once the van safely passed, I eased onto the shoulder, threw the gear into park, and collapsed forward onto the steering wheel. My hands flew to my head and squeezed. “Shut up,” I roared to the part of my brain telling me I should have let the van kill me.
Ten minutes later, I turned the key and put the car into drive. My heartbeat had returned to normal and air moved in and out of my lungs. I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and focused on the road, knowing full well I was driving in the wrong direction. Home was the other way.

About Susan
Susan Sofayov lives in Pittsburgh, PA with one husband, three children, and the most hated dog in the neighborhood. She and her husband operate a real estate development/management company.  She is a former vice president of child care for a large non-profit organization and holds a BA in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in Teaching from Chatham University.
Susan loves pizza, babies, and gummy bears.  She readily admits to suffering from an acute fear of punctuation marks, especially the ever malicious comma.

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Reviews Say It All
TAYLOR JONES SAYS: In Defective by Susan Sofayov, Maggie is a young woman with bi-polar disorder who gets a serious wake-up call when her fiancé leaves her because, while he loves her, he can’t live with the scary person she becomes when her condition acts up and she has what she calls “episodes.” Willing to do anything to get Sam back, Maggie does the unthinkable, according to her family. She decides to see a shrink and get help.

I found the story extremely interesting as I knew nothing about bi-polar disorder. It is sobering to realize that sometimes people act crazy because they really can’t control their behavior. You simply cannot help but feel for Maggie as she struggles to live a normal life, knowing that she isn’t really normal, but not knowing why. And you rejoice with her when she finally finds a medicine that helps her control her symptoms and “quiet her noisy brain.” It is a warm, inspiring, and moving story and I enjoyed every word. I give Defective 5 Stars.

REGAN MURPHY SAYS: Defective by Susan Sofayov is the story of a young woman with Bi-Polar 2 Disorder. She knows that she has good days and bad days, but she doesn’t know why, and she doesn’t get help, or even realize how serious the problem is, until her boyfriend moves out after she has one of her scary bad days. Devastated, she takes a friend’s advice and decides to go see a therapist to get help, knowing that is the only way she can get her lover back.

Maggie spends the whole of the book trying to get Sam back, even when we begin to see that perhaps Sam is a bit of a jerk and doesn’t really deserve her. After all, instead of trying to help her, he just walks out on her. Which is why the ending is such a pleasant surprise. The book is touching as well as thought-provoking, giving us a glimpse into the daily life of someone whose own brain is her worst enemy. It may not be a page turner, but it is definitely worth the time to read and think about. It will at least make you realize how lucky you are to be normal, and perhaps make you a little more understanding of those who aren’t. I’m giving it 4.8 Stars.

#MFRWauthor BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Dark Mist-The Hidden @LaverneThompson

MFRW Author LaVerne Thompson released Dark Mist-The Hidden, a Contemporary Paranormal Erotica on May 13, 2014.

Can he possess the unattainable?

For over a thousand years, Deacon has led his vampire brethren to live in peace amongst humans. But that was before he entered the dreams of the beautiful Rose, hungering desperately for that which he could not claim because the very laws he had set forbade it. Laws that meant certain death for the Hydden should they be broken...laws that Deacon himself might just shatter for one human. But he hungered for her blood and someone knew it.

Could he take what he desired most while still protecting himself from those who sought to destroy him? Or will Rose mourn the promise of an eternal forever if Deacon brings about his own demise?

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Excerpt

When Rose exited the airport, lightning flashed, illuminating the night sky. For a moment, everything froze, then the world turned dark again. Even though she wore a coat, she shivered and when thunder crackled overhead, goose bumps rose along her arms. This kind of weather always spooked her, but this new job in Memphis should have her crowing in triumph, and she did feel that way, until a moment ago.
She shook her head as she stood in line for a cab. Just nerves acting up, she hadn’t been sleeping lately, but she’d been excited about this move. Rose felt sorry now she didn’t let Krystal come and pick her up at the airport. It’d been late and raining and Krystal Harrington worked as an ER doctor with long hard hours. Still, it would have been nice to see a friendly face.
Rose got into the taxi and gave the driver her destination. Sitting back, she stared outside at the passing darkened landscape. This city would be her new home. Who would’ve thought a girl from a big city like Brooklyn would end up in Memphis? But the company she worked for wanted her at their home office. She would’ve been a fool to turn down the promotion of Executive Business Acquisitions Director for Hydden Enterprises, or HE, as those who worked there liked to call the place. She’d worked her butt off for the company and to get a promotion.
Others told Rose, at twenty-seven, she would be the youngest person in such a high position within the company. She reported directly to the President of HE and would have a staff of four under her supervision. Not too bad for someone who didn’t know who her father was, and whose mother died when she was ten, leaving her alone to grow up in the foster care system. It could’ve been worse she supposed…She’d gotten lucky.
The Robinsons, the family who raised her were good people. She’d been their only foster, but they’d housed exchange college students in the US for a limited time, so Rose never felt lonely, and they’d been heavily involved in the local non-denominational mega-church. Through the church, she’d netted a full-scholarship to college. Even though, she didn’t embrace any one religious doctrine, she did believe something greater existed out there, which no one could control. Then, even at times, it directed humanity onto certain paths. Still, it is up to each individual to decide which road to take or not.
In her case, an opportunity presented itself and she didn’t hesitate to take it. After graduation,

she’d gotten a job at Hydden and thus far, it turned out to be the right decision. Though, she missed her foster parents and didn’t enjoy moving so far away from them. Even if she hadn’t lived with them, since she’d started college, they’d been the first to encourage her to explore this opportunity.
She’d proven herself to the company by working hard and getting an MBA while working full-time and she had her foster parents to thank for her strong work ethic. As a result, Hydden rewarded her with some of the corporate secrets. Like Hydden was really operated and owned by one of the largest churches in Memphis.
The locale of the real head office would be where she would actually work. Yesterday, she’d been happy and excited about this step forward in her career. Now, when the cab pulled up in front of Krystal’s house and the door opened, she found herself hesitating to step out of the car…and with no idea why.

About LaVerne Thompson & Tenaj
The Hidden series is based on the collaboration of two authors.

LaVerne Thompson is an award winning, best-selling, multi-published author, an avid reader and a writer of contemporary, fantasy, and sci/fi sensual romances. She also writes romantic suspense and new adult romance under the pen name Ursula Sinclair. She is currently working on several projects. Visit her at lavernethompson.com.

Tenaj is a pen name for the co-author of Dark Mist. This is her debut published work. She is also a storyteller at RP World Group, a free read/writers site where she’s taken part in several storylines. Visit her at fantasiavirtuoso.com.

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