Monday, January 4, 2016

Virtual Tour + #Giveaway: A Jar of Dreams by Clarissa Cartham @ccartharn @GoddessFish





A Jar of Dreams
by Clarissa Cartham

GENRE: Contemporary Romance




BLURB:

When Eric Tanner, an assassin, is targeted to be murdered by his former employer, he seeks refuge in the house of a blind woman, Anne Mullen.

Eric knows how to live in silence. He’s done it all his life. So when he discovers Anne is blind and living on her own, he thinks this would be his perfect hideout.

But then he makes the mistake of his life. He forms an attachment to her. And for a man in his profession, such attachments are a weakness. Now, he must do everything he can to protect Anne from the world he’s come from.

Goodreads ~ Amazon


EXCERPT:

He kissed her on her temple. He loved how she could nestle against him whenever she wanted. He wished he could do more than just kiss on her brow. He tucked her hair behind her ear and let out a sigh.

“You sound tired.” She smiled.

“I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.” He helped her up to her feet.

“I see.” She nodded thoughtfully. “Is it work? Have you found anything yet?”

“Work?” He frowned. Work was the last thing on his mind. He had contacts that could hook him up for more hit jobs. But as long as he lived with Anne, he had to stay as far as he possibly could from that world. It was keeping an eye on that treacherous bastard, Cavallo that kept him awake more than half the night. Last he heard from Bobby was that they were heading towards Boston. Cavallo had picked him out in a CCTV camera at the bus terminal. He wasn’t too sure which it was- that Cavallo was much cleverer than he appeared to be or that the man had simply become too familiar with him.

“Well, yeah, to some extent,” he added slowly. “It’s only a matter of time though, and I’ll get it sorted.”

“What color is it? The rose?” she asked, trying to bring back the cheer into their conversation again.


He gave a glance at the rose and then cupped her face, his thumb brushing the edges of her lips. “Red,” he whispered, his heartbeat pulsing rapidly within his chest walls. She tormented him. And if he knew any better, he should start making his exit out of Boston. “It’s red.”


AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

What inspired you to write A Jar of Dreams?

I was reading an article about a homeless woman who had hidden herself in a man’s apartment in Japan for almost a year. She had basically made herself a home in his closet without his knowledge. And that’s how my creative wheels started churning, except the intruder is now an assassin and then for extra measure, turned the owner of the house into a blind woman. I was intrigued by the idea and wanted to find out for myself what the outcome would be in such a case. And hence came forth, A Jar of Dreams.


When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I wanted to be a writer probably as young as seven years old. I’ve always loved to read and thought there was no better career than one where I could bring stories to life.


What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?


Probably, three years old and they were the typical alphabet books and nursery rhymes. I remember being so captivated by the illustrations.



What genre of books do you enjoy reading?


It really depends on the day and the mood.  Today, it’s horror. By tomorrow, I’d want a romance.  I think it depends on the plot and the writing style. If it interests me, I’ll read it.



What is your favorite book?

It’s a toss between To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and The Trial by Franz Kafka.


You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?


Um… again there are two contenders for this spot- Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. Only because I’ve read almost all of their popular works.



If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?


My romantic side of me wishes it was Victorian. I would love to have worn those fancy gowns and have men woo me like Charles Bingley and Darcy of the Jane Austen novels, but reality tells me times then was not quite so easy. For example I would never survive the bathroom of those days. My safest best is the eighties. Living with tape recorders, VCR’s and cameras with negative reels wasn’t so bad at all. Those days when Michael J Fox, Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford were the hot dudes, screaming cowabunga like a mutant ninja turtle and the jokes were from MASH and Happy Days. It isn’t such a bad deal.



When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?


The only aspect I find difficult about writing is the importance of being patient. The process does tests me because I have an obsession to draw the story out to the best of my ability but at the same time I am always too eager to get to the ending. Otherwise, I find writing comes easy to me because I really enjoy doing it.


Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?


If I have the urge to play with a cat or dog, I go up to my family or neighbors. I would love one of my own one day. A dog especially. However, I am not ready for such a relationship or commitment just yet. (winks)


What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?


A dish of flan! I’m craving for one now. (Groans)


Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

If you want to write, then write. Don’t think whether you are good or gifted enough to do it. You won’t know it unless you try. Give it a whirl and find out. Have an adventure! Take the leap!


AUTHOR BIO:




Clarissa Cartharn is the author of romance novels such as Captive, Red Collar and the romance thriller/ suspense Jar series.


Once an English teacher, she embarked on a law profession before finally realizing it was writing she really wanted to pursue. After almost eight romance novels, each with eclectic themes ranging from a Cinderella re-telling to the barren war torn lands of Afghanistan, Clarissa is currently on a journey with her next novel titled The Yearning.



Giveaway:

$25 Amazon/BN GC




Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.


42 comments:

Mai T. said...

What is your biggest fear?

Anonymous said...

What books do you enjoying reading?

Victoria Alexander said...

Great post! I enjoyed reading both the excerpt and interview. Thanks for sharing :)

Unknown said...

What a great inspiration origin for your book!

MomJane said...

So many things I loved about this. Beautiful cover, great excerpt and I really enjoyed your comments.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the chance to win and happy new year :)

Unknown said...

Great interview and excerpt!

Rita Wray said...

The story sounds very intriguing.

Cali W. said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I like the excerpt. :)

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed the excerpt! This sounds like a terrific book, thank you for sharing!

Ran said...

Interesting inspiration! Thanks for the excerpt!

Mary Preston said...

An exciting blurb.

Unknown said...

How did you choose the cover for your book?

Clarissa Cartharn said...

My biggest fear is that if I ever revealed my biggest fear, some crazy person would torment me with it. ;)In all seriousness though, it would probably be the sea. I love it, I am obsessed and enchanted with it, but if you sat me in a dinghy, I'd shake like a blue-bottle jelly fish had stung me. The funny thing is I can swim. My only explanation for such a reaction is that I've seen Jaw one too many times. :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

I sometimes feel I am the most eclectic person when it comes to reading books. For me, it isn't the genre that matters. It is the plot and the writing style which is important. If it has a subject matter that's peaked my interest, I would read it. As a result, I read a wide variety of genres from bio, to philosophical, political, science- fiction, horror and romance and I enjoy them all.

Clarissa Cartharn said...

Thank you, Victoria. :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

Thanks Helen! :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

Thank you, MomJane. :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

And a prosperous and happy new year to you too, Lisa! :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

Thanks Cali. :)

Clarissa Cartharn said...

I run through a lot of images and try to tap into what story it tells me. In the Jar of Dreams cover above, I loved the forlorn look in the woman's eyes and the imploring way in which the man looks at her. It was the closest image depicting Anne and Eric. And the field of wild grass symbolises the wildness of their world in which they're trying to root their love.

Clarissa Cartharn said...

I had an awesome time answering your reader's questions. Wonderful questions, beautiful blog! Thank you for hosting, Avid Reader. :)

Unknown said...

That's beautiful. I see what you mean about the folorn look now. Thank you for replying!

Wild N Mild $$$ said...

Enjoyed the interview and excerpt.
Jennifer Rote

Nikolina said...

This book sounds like something I'd really enjoy reading!

Unknown said...

Was it difficult to become a writer?

Victoria Alexander said...

you're welcome :)

Unknown said...

Or even to be published?

Unknown said...

If you could live in any time period, when would it be?

Unknown said...

Do you ever base characters in your books on people you know in real life?

Unknown said...

I really love this book cover!!

Unknown said...

If you could be any character in a book, who would it be?

Unknown said...

When was your first big break as an author (and how did it come about)?

Unknown said...

I just love the book cover, it's amazing!

Unknown said...

Did you have imaginary friends when you were growing up?

Nikolina said...

Happy to be a part of this tour, thank you for sharing!

Unknown said...

If you weren't an author, what would you be?

Unknown said...

What was the first book that you remember reading?

Unknown said...

What's your favourite film?

Unknown said...

Did you come up with the title for your book first, or at the end, once you'd finished writing it?

Unknown said...

Bit random this time, but are you a dog person, or a cat person? (or neither!)

Unknown said...

I enjoyed the entire post and look forward to reading more. Thank you.