Monday, April 6, 2009

Author Interview ~ Alisha Rai


Today, our next guest to be tortured by Kealie on the leopard print couch is Alisha Rai!

Welcome, Alisha! It's very nice to meet you. Where are you from?

All over the east coast. My family moved around a ton while I was growing up, and it fed my wandering spirit. I’ve been in South Florida for the past five years, which is probably the longest time I’ve ever spent in one place. Honestly, I’m starting to feel itchy.

LOL, being an Air Force Brat I have the opposite feeling: I hate to move! About your new book. How much of the book is realistic?

The family of sisters introduced in Glutton for Pleasure are first generation Americans of Indian parents. So am I. That’s about it for mirroring reality through my fiction.

Well, at least you know what you're writing about! What book are you reading now?

I’m powering through Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. I’m honestly not sure what rock I was hiding under that I didn’t catch these books before. I was like, hot tortured heroes in Budapest that I’m not aware of? What?

I had the same reaction, I love Gena Showalter and couldn't believe I hadn't seen those books yet! As a published author do you have any advice for other writers?

Yes. FINISH YOUR BOOK. No matter what story I’m writing, about three chapters in, I used to throw up my hands and think, this sucks, it’s not going anywhere, I should just scrap it. I could never finish a complete manuscript. Then about two years ago, I discovered the secret. Come closer, children: keep writing. You can always come back and change things around. Just try your hardest to get a first draft out.

Very good advice, and it's actually advice I CAN take! So, what would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

This is more of an embarrassing writing quirk. Since I fear my friends may use it to blackmail me, I might as well get it out in public. Way back when, there was a show called Making the Band on network TV (this was before it was on MTV). For some bizarre reason, my sister and I LOVED this show, to the point where it became a weekly date for us. Thus, a band named “O-Town” was formed. They released a song called “All or Nothing” and faded into obscurity.

This is the odd part: this song really helps me think. I don’t know why, or how, but when I was taking classes, I would play it when I was stuck on a paper, and it would clear my brain up. I use it sparingly now, but it is definitely hidden on my mp3 player along with Material Girl (also a thinking song).

NO WAY! Wow, that IS an interesting writing quirk. And family and friends are so like that to hold some silly "obsession" against us! Don't ask my hubby about me and Joey MacEntire...

Now for the fun questions. :::rubbing hands together::: Do you hate how you look in pictures? Why or why not?


Heck, yes. I think most people dislike something about their own pictures. I think it’s the same thing as hearing yourself on the answering machine, one of those, I sound/look like that? For me, it’s my smile. I like it much more when I’m by myself in the bathroom mirror.

LOL, don't we all? I always wonder what wind blew by and made my hair do that and how did I not realize it! What were you doing at midnight last night?

I was getting ready for bed, since I planned to do the nine a.m. tour of Alcatraz (currently visiting San Francisco, which I just love. Particularly this thing you west coast natives refer to as “In-and-Out Burger”).

OOOHHHH, In 'N' Out! Yum, I love their milkshakes. Have you ever cried during a movie? If yes, which one and why?

I cry during movies all the time. I also cry while reading something particularly touching. Heck, I got a bit choked up over some factoid during the aforementioned trip to Alcatraz. I am so not picky about shedding tears. Some movies I have cried during include Lion King, Ghost, The Green Mile, Finding Nemo…I’m a sap.

Well, you're in good company I too am a complete sappy goober. What is one thing scientists should invent?

I have been waiting for a hoverboard since Back to the Future came out. Not that I think kids need an excuse to be lazier, but how cool would that be?

OH, hey, me too! But I think my kids would just kill themselves and I already have enough ER visits with four boys. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Night. Definitely. I don’t think my brain wakes up until around two p.m. Unfortunately, most employers don’t take that as an excuse.

I too am a night owl. Not much I can do to change it... so I write and I blog hop. :-D Doesn't stop the kids from bugging me early in the morning. If y'all would like to keep up with Alisha you can do so at her website or at her Samhain page.

Glutton for Pleasure by Alisha Rai
Samhain Publishing

They’re craving something sweet. She likes it spicy.

Devi Malik knows how to heat things up. She does it every night as head chef in her family’s Indian restaurant. Her love life, though, is stuck in the subzero freezer. Now, with a chance to fulfill a secret fantasy with her long-time crush and his brother, it’s time to put her desire on the front two burners.

For Marcus Callahan, a love-’em-and-leave-’em attitude isn’t only a necessary evil of their kink. It’s a protective device. Lately, though, his brother Jace has been making noises about craving something more.

Jace’s dissatisfaction with their lifestyle grows with every glimpse of sweet little Devi. Yet Marcus is too haunted by the pain of their shared past to give love a chance.

Despite their reputation for vanishing with the dawn, they discover one night with Devi isn’t nearly enough. And Devi finds herself falling in love with two very different men.

It’ll take more than explosive sex to light up the shadows surrounding the Callahan brothers’ secrets. But Devi’s never been afraid of the dark…


Product Warnings
This title contains two sizzling men for the price of one, ménage a trois, oral sex, anal sex, fun toys, great food, and creative uses for syrup and dressing rooms.

2 comments:

Julie Robinson said...

Hi Alisha,

I'm catching up on emails and saw that you were blogging here. I am so glad to know that I'm not the only one who can't stand her voice on an answering machine. And I never take good pictures! They just don't capture my essence. LOL

I do have the problem of not completing a manuscript and I need to remember to just get the first draft done FIRST. That's why I like NaNo. It's helped me a bit.

Julie

Alisha Rai said...

Hi Julie! Good to see you again. Yes, just finish the darn thing already. Nano is great, but I don't think I'm disciplined enough for it.

At any given time, I'll juggle three ms. This works for me, but there comes a point where I'll just shove two to the side and hyperfocus. It's different for everyone.