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.
42 comments:
What is your biggest fear?
What books do you enjoying reading?
Great post! I enjoyed reading both the excerpt and interview. Thanks for sharing :)
What a great inspiration origin for your book!
So many things I loved about this. Beautiful cover, great excerpt and I really enjoyed your comments.
Thank you for the chance to win and happy new year :)
Great interview and excerpt!
The story sounds very intriguing.
Thanks for the giveaway! I like the excerpt. :)
I really enjoyed the excerpt! This sounds like a terrific book, thank you for sharing!
Interesting inspiration! Thanks for the excerpt!
An exciting blurb.
How did you choose the cover for your book?
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. :)
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.
Thank you, Victoria. :)
Thanks Helen! :)
Thank you, MomJane. :)
And a prosperous and happy new year to you too, Lisa! :)
Thanks Cali. :)
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.
I had an awesome time answering your reader's questions. Wonderful questions, beautiful blog! Thank you for hosting, Avid Reader. :)
That's beautiful. I see what you mean about the folorn look now. Thank you for replying!
Enjoyed the interview and excerpt.
Jennifer Rote
This book sounds like something I'd really enjoy reading!
Was it difficult to become a writer?
you're welcome :)
Or even to be published?
If you could live in any time period, when would it be?
Do you ever base characters in your books on people you know in real life?
I really love this book cover!!
If you could be any character in a book, who would it be?
When was your first big break as an author (and how did it come about)?
I just love the book cover, it's amazing!
Did you have imaginary friends when you were growing up?
Happy to be a part of this tour, thank you for sharing!
If you weren't an author, what would you be?
What was the first book that you remember reading?
What's your favourite film?
Did you come up with the title for your book first, or at the end, once you'd finished writing it?
Bit random this time, but are you a dog person, or a cat person? (or neither!)
I enjoyed the entire post and look forward to reading more. Thank you.
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