Thank you, Desiree Holt for joining our Blog Hop. Below is a summary of her most recent book, Finding Julia, a contemporary romance release though Kensington Publishing on September 29.

For Julia Patterson, meeting Luke Buchanan awakens within her a passion she’s never dared dream possible. He claims her body and and helps her remember what it means to be a woman. But Fate has a twisted sense of humor. Just when Julia is ready to step over the threshold into a wonderful new life, her almost-ex-husband is diagnosed with a heart condition that puts her divorce on hold. Turning her back on Luke is the most difficult thing she’s ever done. But Julia has a secret, one that Charles discovers and uses against her.

Years later, when Luke walks back into Julia’s life, the passion between them is just as explosive. But Charles is still controlling her from the grave, and the secret Julia has hidden for fourteen years could destroy their dreams forever.

For more information, and the next stop on the Hop, visit www.desireeholt.com.

I developed a feature blog called Behind the Pages, to help my readers get inside the mind of a romance author. These are the types of questions I like to answer, so I thought I’d pose them to some of my fellow writers.

Until I get a response, I figured I’d interview myself. Yes, it’s a little weird, vaguely egotistical and decidedly lazy, but that’s me in a nutshell.

Me – as interviewer: So, Alleigh, I understand you’ve written a book called “Dare to Love.” Can you tell me a little about it?

Me – as author: First let me say, thank you for welcoming me on your blog. It’s truly an honor to be here.

Me – as interviewer: Thank you for that obsequious response. Now please answer the question.

Me – AA: Fine. Dare to Love is a full-length regency romance released online by Kensington Books. It’s my first novel to be published and I’m very excited.

Me – AI: I’m very excited for you. I’ve read the book and thought it fabulous. Truly fabulous. I just wish I had a modicum of your talent.

Me – AA: (shrugs with a self-depreciating but mildly smug smile.)

Me – AI: All right, here goes. I know my readers, are interested to know:

• Who’s your favorite character in the book?  I know it should be the hero, Dare, but I really enjoyed Jackson, Dare’s long-suffering valet. Originally Jackson played a much larger role and he was pretty funny. He knew all of Dare’s triggers and took delight in mocking him. There’s a shadow of that remaining in the book, but he’s not as blatantly amusing.   
• Is your personality more like your hero or heroine? The hero, definitely. I’m very snarky. That’s not to say I’m as mean as Dare was in the beginning, but  I could never be as nice as Nivea. Never. 
• What’s your favorite scene and why? I have two–is that ok? (Me – as AI: nods with tolerant amusement). Good, well they’re both deep into the book. Dare goes to Joseph’s house and finds his wife is preparing for Joseph’s birthday party. Dare walks into the dessert room and whoosh, the scent…? Well, he finds it very appealing. The second is when Dare visits several tailors in search of a new wardrobe. I laugh every time I read these scenes. Dare is so out of his element and it illustrates him finally becoming human.  
• What did you get stuck on when writing this book? I took some flack in my first few drafts because Dare was too mean. He was a right bastard and people thought Nivea deserved better. It took me a lot of time and effort to make him likable enough for readers to cheer for him. 
• What’s next? First, I’d like to see how this whole ‘becoming a novelist’ thing plays out. It’s a lot of work and I need to focus on building an audience. I have started a second story, a contemporary novella. But I’ve gotten stuck on the conflict part, so I need to wait for inspiration before it moves forward. 

Me – AI: Thank you so much for talking to me today. I know my readers appreciate hearing from you.

Me – AA: This was a wonderful experience. I encourage other authors to participate in your Beyond the Pages blog.