RELEASE DAY AUTHOR INTERVIEW/GIVEAWAY:Up to Me by M. Leighton

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton, is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you'll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren't roaming in that direction, she'll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office

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I am so thrilled because one of my favorite authors, the absolutely fabulous M. Leighton, has stopped by to chat with us about today’s release of Up to Me, the swoon worthy Cash and what fans can expect to see from her this year among other yummy things. So ladies please help me give a warm Riverina Romantics welcome to M. Leighton!

Delilah: Greetings Michelle and happy release day! It’s so nice to have you here on Riverina!

M. Leighton: It’s wonderful to be here! Thank you so, so much for having me:)

Delilah: SQUEEEEEEE! It’s Cash day, it’s Cash day!! *thud* How excited are you that Up to Me is finally out there?

M. Leighton: I’m about to come out of my skin, I think! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I’m pretty sure I might be producing enough energy to make the hair on your arms stand up. LOL

Delilah: I know no spoilers allowed but how happy are Cash lovers like me going to be today?

M. Leighton: I hope very, very happy! You get to see a lot of the Cash you love, but you also get to see some of his depth, which I think adds so much to his appeal.

Delilah: Down to You was an enormous success with its delectable duo of Cash and Nash. This was one sizzling hot tale with quite a twist to it! What sparked the idea for this story?

M. Leighton: Actually, I didn’t even know it was going this way until I was about 2/3 finished with book one. It was originally going to be a stand-alone, but then I realized there was much more story to tell. I don’t think anything really “sparked” the idea, so much as it’s just the way the story goes. It’s kind of like someone’s life story. It just IS. It’s like it was never any other way. Only this way. Does that sound crazy? LOL

Delilah: Better yet what sparked the idea for that bathroom scene between Cash and Olivia. Which might I add is one of my favorite sex scenes EVER!

M. Leighton: I hadn’t intended for them to have sex at that point, but the momentum of the story, all that pent-up desire and his need to have her when she knows it’s him and to be able to show her how he sees her, just sort of led to that scene. BTW, it’s one of my favorites, too. Holy wow! I love that guy!

Delilah: You are totally double dipping in the alpha male gene pool with Cash and Nash in Down to You and Up to Me. Can you tell us who the inspirations were for these characters? And feel free to be very, very descriptive if you know what I mean. *wink*

M. Leighton: LOL I hate that I don’t have some really cool tales of inspiration, but my characters are never inspired by people in real life. They are born in my head and it’s there that they take on their life, their personality, their soul, I guess you could say. I found Charlie Hunnam after the story was mostly complete and I thought he was perfect. This is why I have trouble doing celebrity casting. These people are strictly in my head and it’s very hard to find a real person that matches their awesomeness. LOL

Delilah: Let me just put it out there that Down to You and Up to Me are probably two of the most lickable covers I have ever seen. Do you do your own cover art or do you have someone do it for you?

M. Leighton: I purchase stock art to use, but I do my own covers. I’m not sure it would be healthy for me to do a photo shoot to get these shots. Bahahahahaha

Delilah: You have great playlists posted on your blog for The Wild Ones, Down to You and Up to Me. How important is music to you when you are writing? And maybe you can tell us which song was playing while you were writing that bathroom scene in Down to You because I will need to download that selection ASAP!!

M. Leighton: Music is so important in my mood for writing. It gets me in the frame of mind I need to be in for particular scenes. When I ACTUALLY write, though, I have to have absolute quiet. I listen to music before and after, but never during. Is that weird? LOL As for the bathroom scene, I know this is disappointing, but I had no musical inspiration for that. It happened so organically, I was completely lost in their world. I think I could actually hear their heavy breathing. LOL In my head, there was only Cash and his words. And let me tell you, that boy has one sexy voice. OMG

Delilah: And while we are on the subject of music let’s talk about the book trailer for Down to You that Rosette from Literati Literature Lovers book club did that totally blew me away! I mean seriously this thing should come with drool warning!

M. Leighton: Rosette is so talented and brought so much of the feel of the book to life with her trailer. I absolutely adore her and her work!! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for Up to Me. *claps hands excitedly*

Delilah: You recently shared some very exciting news with your fans about The Wild Ones series. Can you tell us about that?

M. Leighton: When Berkley purchased it, they wanted a trilogy, so I’m writing two more books, although Trick and Cami won’t be the main focus. I’ve written Rusty and Jenna’s story and will publish it, but it will likely be after these two. I’ve decided to go with characters you haven’t really met yet, the first of which being Jenna’s brother, Jake. He’s a fireman. OMG He’s a fireman! A sexy Southern fireman that I can’t wait for you to meet! All the characters you know and love are in all the books, but the main story will be about people other than Trick and Cami. Did I just ramble on? I think I did.

Delilah: I know how excited you are to be a part of INDIE ReCon which is a free online conference happening February 12th–14th. Tell us all about it!!

M. Leighton: IndieRecon! I’m so happy to be included in it! It’s an effort to help shed light on as many topics that could be helpful to aspiring independent authors and established ones alike. I think it will be a wonderful resource for people just getting started, as well as holding some great alternative information for those who’ve already been doing this. I learn something every day and I fully intend to take advantage of all the brain picking that will be going on.

Delilah: It took you a little while to find your niche in life which is being a writer of sexy heroines and swoon worthy heroes. If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers such as myself what would it be?

M. Leighton: You can be discouraged, but just don’t quit. Don’t let it stop you. Keep on until you have that book written and in the hands of readers, one way or the other. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t.

Delilah: Now that 2013 is here what can fans look forward to from you this year?

M. Leighton: Sequels and a couple of fresh, wonderful stories that are already brewing in my mind. I also plan to go back and write another Madly and another Blood Like Poison, as well as a couple of novellas to tie up some loose novel ends:)

Delilah: My favorite question is up! Tell us five things about yourself that we might be surprised to know!

M. Leighton:
1. I’m tall.
2. In real life, I never say anything stronger than “crap.”
3. I’m a germophobe. Okay, not really, but I’m pretty close!
4. I brush my teeth like 5 times a day.
5. I laugh a lot. Oh, wait. I bet you could’ve guessed that one.

Delilah: Now I can’t let you go today without letting our readers know that they can score some SWEET swag here at your store! http://mleightonbooks.blogspot.com/p/me-store-signed-books-n-stuff.html   Along with being able to purchase those awesome t-shirts of yours that I love so much aren’t they able to have you sign their favorite books and purchase some other yummy swag items as well?

M. Leighton: Yes, I sign and personalize everything that you purchase from my blog. Unless it can’t physically be signed. LOL

Delilah: It has been a supreme pleasure having you hang out with us today Michelle! I hope that you spend your day celebrating Up to Me in a big, big way! Cheers! *raises glass*

M. Leighton: *raises glass* Thank you so much for having me. I’m forever grateful. And I hope 2013 is an epic year for you and all your readers. Lots of love to y’all!

Delilah: Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Up to Me which is out today and stop back here on January 11th to catch my review! And if you would like to learn more about M. Leighton and all her awesome books you can find her at these sites:

Blog: http://mleightonbooks.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @mleightonbooks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-Leighton/189192087759491

I have four (4) sets of signed yummy Down to You and Up to Me cards from the fabulous M. Leighton. For your chance to win this international giveaway just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good luck everyone! And don't forget to enter Sunday Swag where you could score a t-shirt, keychain and shot glass from M. Leighton as well!!

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