Suzanna from the Minxes of Romance with a Giveaway!

She doesn’t look much like a minx, does she? She has such an innocent, sweet smile.  But looks can be deceiving.  Suzanna Ross (aka Suzanne Jones) is a longtime member of the romance writers’ blog, THE MINXES OF ROMANCE. They’re a successful group of romance writing women.   Suzanna, an established short story writer and whose debut romance novel was published recently, has come today to give us the info on BLAZE, on the Minxes joint writing project.  It’s an anthology of short romances with a common theme and location, each story written by one minx.   I had plenty of questions ready to keep her  busy, as you can see below …

1. Suzanne, please tell me something about the Minxes. How did you all meet? How do you work together? Do you critique each others’ work?

The Minxes of Romance got together after one of the Harlequin Mills and Boon Competitions a while back. Initially, we set up as a critique group, but we’ve evolved way beyond that. Minxes are friends first now – and it’s a bonus that these friends understand what it’s like when a story isn’t working or are willing to run a friendly eye over a WIP.

2  When you all got together initially, were you all unpublished, or were you a mixture of both?  How many of you are published by now?

Some of us had been published before we got together, but the Minx years have seen us all grow and built on previous successes. Some Minxes have books out with The Wild Rose Press, one Minx has done terrifically well with self-publishing, another has been signed by Harper Collins, two have contracts
with Harlequin Mills & Boon. Really, being a Minx seems to be a magic ticket to success.

3. There’s certainly been a lot of Minxy books published lately, yours, Romy’s, Sally’s and Maya Blake’s. So why this new anthology? 

We’ve been keen to work on a project together for a while. We felt an anthology would showcase our very different writing styles.

4. It’s a collection of fireman romances, isn’t that right? Why did you choose firemen as your heroes? 

Firemen are brave and heroic and seemed to be a good choice for romantic heroes. Also, for some reason,
firemen often have starring roles in our late night Skype conversations.

5. Late night Skype conversations?  That sounds interesting, LOL.!  I think, form the cover, that some may think that the book was some kind of hard core erotica anthology rather than romance! I just think that it looks like the kind of cover women like, that’s all. But seriously, Suzanne, for the benefit of our readers out there, what’s the heat level of the book? Is it hotter than, say, a Mills and Boon Modern(USA Harlequin Presents/Australian M&B Sexy)? 

There’s a mixture of heat levels across the eight stories. But I wouldn’t describe any
of them as erotica. Probably, your suggestion of Mills and Boon Modern (Harlequin Presents) would describe the heat level in the warmest stories very well.

6. Are there any plans for a follow up to this anthology in the future?  Can you give us a hint? 

It’s been such good fun working on this collection I hope we get the chance to do something similar at some point in the future. A follow-up has certainly not been ruled out.

7. Finally, Suzanne, can you tell me just a little about your own releases?  I know you’re debut romance novel TRUST IN ME has recently been released on Amazon.

Apart from my story in the Blaze anthology, I also have a story in The People’s Friend Annual 2013.  My novel Trust In Me (previously published as a My Weekly Pocket Novel) was published as an e-book by E-scape press recently. I’m planning an anthology of short stories previously published in The People’s Friend magazine – The Baby of The Family & Other Stories will be available on Kindle before Christmas. And, looking to next year: My Weekly are to publish another novel (with a medical background this time) in January and The People’s Friend are to publish Sean McIver’s Return (a reunion story) as a Pocket Novel in April. I’m hoping both these will make it online at some point. And Trust In Me will be published in large print format in July. It’s a busy time.

A little bit about Blaze …

BLAZE – Eight scorching tales from The Minxes of Romance …

Romance is in the air for Coombethwaite’s retained firefighters, and none of them will escape its heat unscorched!

Memory’s Flame by Maya Blake

A fiery reunion – when Ellie returns after twelve long years to bury her
grandfather, the last person she expects to see is her first love, Jake Spencer.
One look, one touch and they know memory’s flame is as sizzling as ever!

The Fire Inside by Romy Sommer

Fire fighter Sam Redfern is used to being seen as just one of the boys. Until
TV talent scout and celebrity Ryan Morgan shows up in Coombethwaite and
starts to make her feel very much like a woman. A woman with needs.

A Smouldering Attraction by Suzanna Ross

Shelley Fox is finished with all things romantic. So is Harrison Reid – until he
meets Shelley and realises he might easily be persuaded otherwise.

Locked Into Love by Catherine Coles

Journalist Cassie Parker returns to Coombethwaite with her dream in tatters—
the last thing she needs is to rely on her ex for anything but on her second day
back she needs hunky fireman Ben Spencer to release her from handcuffs!

Hot, Bothered and Bewitched by Jodie James

All alone on her birthday, Wiccan vet Seraphine conjures up more than she
bargained for when she casts a Halloween love spell. Five minutes later a
knock on the door heralds the arrival of handsome fireman Isaac Quinn,
complete with a stray black cat. Is it just coincidence, or has Mother Nature
answered Seraphine’s request with lightning speed?

Lighting Love’s Spark by Sally Clements

Primary school teacher Annabel Jackson knows flirting with the parents is a
no-no, but when single father Daniel Walker arrives at Coombethwaite
Primary in full fire fighter garb clutching an axe, how can she resist?

Worth the Risk by Tara Pammi

Baker Annie Bennett has always stood on the sidelines while life passed her
by. And it has brought Annie nothing but loneliness. With the New Year
coming in, Annie decides it’s time to come back home, risk her heart with the
man she’s always loved. Will her risk pay off or will Marcus never see her as
anything but his best friend?

A Kindling Romance by Lorraine Wilson

Stressed out lawyer Polly Minton felt trapped in her city job and now she’s
trapped again, this time in a Lake District chimney; hunky fire fighter and
local landowner Drew Reynolds has problems of his own but will he be the
one to set her free in more ways than one?

Blaze is available now from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

For more about the minxes, visit our blog : http://minxesofromance.blogspot.com/

To read Desere’s  review of Blaze, go here.

Thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog today, Maria. You’ve been a
lovely host.

Thank you Suzanna.  I just wanted to mention that Suzanna’s novel TRUST IN ME is also available at:

Amazon UK

Amazon International

You can read Desere’s review of it here.

Suzanne is giving away a copy of BLAZE to one lucky commenter, so leave a comment to be included in the draw …