An Invitation to Sin(71)
How does being part of the continuity differ from when you are writing your own stories?
When I write my own stories I create everything, including the setting, the characters, the backstory and the conflict. I don’t have to think—or worry—about anyone else. In a continuity, the authors are given a large volume of background information to work with and that can be very challenging. Although there is some flexibility and freedom within the brief, I have to remember that any changes I make might impact on someone else’s story. But I’m still writing a love story between two people and the focus is on their emotional journey so the basic process is the same.
What was the biggest challenge? And what did you most enjoy about it?
The biggest challenge is always being given an outline for two characters and the main plot points. Fortunately, I fell in love with these characters. From the moment I read the brief they came alive for me and I could “see” who they were and how their conflict would play out in the story.
As you wrote your hero and heroine, was there anything about them that surprised you?
I was surprised by just how bad Luca was. But I wasn’t alone in that. Taylor was surprised, too. So we spent the book being surprised together!
What was your favorite part of creating the world of Sicily’s most famous dynasty?
It was lovely to spend my day dreaming of Sicilian blue skies and the sparkling ocean, but the best part for me was writing the dialogue between the hero and heroine. I call this my “banter book.” Taylor and Luca had so much fun together, even during the most emotionally charged intense moments of the story, and I had so much fun writing it.
If you could have given your heroine one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what would it be?
Beware of wickedly hot men bearing champagne.
What was your hero’s biggest secret?
I never reveal a person’s secrets! I can tell you that Luca is not a man who feels the need to hide who he is from anyone, but there are things he prefers not to talk about.
What does your hero love most about the heroine?
Apart from her legs? That she’s every bit as bad as he is.
What does your heroine love most about your hero?
That he doesn’t care what other people think of him.
Which of the Correttis would you most like to meet and why?
Luca! He’s one of the most wickedly gorgeous heroes I’ve written and I love his sense of humor. I know a night with him would be something no woman would forget!
Preview
Please read on for a sneak peek at the next book in
SICILY’S CORRETTI DYNASTY,
A Shadow of Guilt by Abby Green, which features in
The Correttis: Revenge
available in June 2013.
A SHADOW OF GUILT
Abby Green
Gio lifted his arms and brought his hands to Valentina’s face, cupping her jaw, his thumbs wiping away the moisture from her cheeks. She knew she must look a sight, and Gio’s shirt had to be sodden from her tears and runny nose. But she didn’t care. A fierce burgeoning desire was rising within her, something which had been there before but had been put on ice for seven years.
For a long time it had been illicit and forbidden, guilty. But from the moment she’d seen him again it had flamed to life. Yet the contradiction had duelled within her: how could she hate him and want him at the same time? But now those questions faded in her head. Hate felt like a much more indefinable thing and the desire was there, stronger than hate, rushing through her blood and making her feel alive.
She lifted a hand and touched Gio’s hard jaw. He clenched it against her hand. Desire thickened the air around them, unmistakable. As if questioning it, Gio looked down at her, a small frown between his eyes, ‘Valentina?’
It was the same look he’d given her the other night when she’d exposed herself and she understood it now. He’d been asking the question then, unsure of what she’d been telling him with her body language. The knowledge was heady. He wanted her.
One of Valentina’s fingers touched Gio’s bottom lip, tracing its full, sensuous outline. Words were rising up within her, she couldn’t keep them back. ‘Gio…kiss me.’ She’d wanted this, ached for this for so long.
It was only after an interminable moment of nothing happening that she looked up into Gio’s eyes and saw something like torture in their dark green depths. He shook his head. ‘This is not a good idea. You don’t want this, not really.’