Release Blitz Red Dahlia by Vivian Winslow @bookgossippr @Vivwinslow #BlueDahlia.

Red Dahlia
Vivian Winslow
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: December 03, 2014

Purchase: Amazon US 

Having discovered her mother’s and Shane’s devastating betrayal, a determined Dahlia seeks to find what was taken from her and to chart a new life for herself. With the help of Vi’s friend, Englishman Thomas Squires, a dashing and enigmatic clandestine operative, Dahlia chases leads across London and Paris. Will Dahlia be able to right the wrong and allow herself to love again?

Mature readers only. 18+

Excerpt

Red Dahlia
Gilded Flower Series
By Vivian Winslow

Prologue

My Dearest Dahlia,

I hate that I’ve waited so long to tell you this. Hell, I hate myself for what I’ve done. This is the tenth letter I’ve written you. Each time I promise myself I’ll send it, but I don’t.

She’s still alive, Dahlia! Our daughter, Marissa, is alive. Remember when your mother arranged her transfer to the NICU in a nearby hospital and told you she died a few days later? It wasn’t true.

I visited her everyday that she was there. Then one day, she was gone. A nurse told me that she had been transferred to another hospital, but I couldn’t figure out where. I contacted your mother who came to see me with a lawyer. She offered me a lot of money if I’d give her up. At the time I refused. I couldn’t do that. But you ended things when I went to see you later that day to tell you what happened. You were done with me. Your mother was right. I was a complete fuck-up and loser. I felt like shit. It was my fault you were in such bad shape. I was never there for you. How could I be there for our baby? I couldn’t be the father I wanted to be. I was broke, and she told me she would revoke your trust fund and leave you penniless. I couldn’t do that to you.

You think your parents gave me money as some consolation prize if I dropped out of your life. They were also buying my silence. I signed my life away to them. If I ever told you about Marissa, your mother swore I’d pay and my family would suffer. Back then my mom couldn’t pay her rent and the government was giving her a hard time about survivor benefits. Somehow, your mother magically made the issues disappear. Her influence was that deep, but I don’t need to tell you that. I knew that she would make my life miserable if I ever told you the truth.

I hit bottom after you left. It took me a long time to clean up and figure out what I was going to do with my life. Once I did, I realized my goal was to make things right for you and our daughter. If only I had worked it out sooner, maybe it would’ve been different for us. I regret giving up the two of you. A better person would’ve refused your mother’s offer. But I wasn’t that man then. I don’t know if I can ever convince you of how much I love you and will always love you.

I’ve tried to find Marissa. I even hired an investigator, but came up with nothing. Your mother doesn’t want her found.

Maybe, if we find each other again, we’ll be able to search for her together.

All my Love,

Shane

Funny Q&A with Vivian

1. If you were a dessert, what would you be?

         Oooh. Definitely something salty and sweet. There’s a dessert at Big Gay Ice Cream down on the Lower East Side called the Salty Pimp. It’s a soft serve vanilla cone with drops of Dulce de Leche and covered in chocolate. I love anything you eat with your tongue.

        

2. What 3 things are essential in your bedroom for a sexy/romantic night in?

         Music is a must.  I change it up quite a bit depending on my mood. Also, the right man (I’m married so that’s a given : )). And, depending on our mood, a toy, prop or just us. Sorry, that’s 2-2 ½ things. Oh, I guess sleeping children. There’s nothing romantic going on when they’re awake.        

3. What do you like about writing erotic romance?

I like that I can take my characters to the edge of and beyond their limits.  I also get to define what those limits are. The beauty of digital publishing is that there are no set parameters for a particular genre. So it’s been a lot of fun incorporating various elements from other genres (women’s fiction, suspense, etc.) and creating really hot sex scenes to go with them. It’s pure freedom, which for a writer is extremely difficult to find and balance.

4. If you could sleep with any of your characters who would it be?

            Ahem. No disrespect to the hot man in my life or to those I write about. I’ve had sex with them all (in my head, except for my husband), and the one I think I’d come back to time and again is Alejandro. He’s a true alpha. Not overly dominating in the way that readers have come to expect because of books like 50 Shades. Rather, he’s confident and secure in his masculinity and is completely self-possessed. To me, that’s what makes a true alpha male. They’re not necessarily assholes or dominants. I think those qualities can often confuse what makes a man a sexy alpha versus a crazy, stalker with low self-esteem masked as an alpha. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that when I picture him, I see William Levy. So hot.

            And confession. Gustavo is a close second. Just once though. I’d have to get it out of my system. Lol.

5. Spanking, yes or no.

            Abso-fuckin’lutely. Caveat. Can’t be overdone or done every time. Then it’s just abuse, which is so not hot.

6. Do you like to be tied up. If so, why and with what?

            Same answer as above. I have an adventurous spirit, and I’m usually game for anything. Whatever is around can work, like a t-shirt. I’m usually a fly-by-the seat-of- her-pants kind of person so sometimes you have to just work with what you have.

7. What do you for inspiration for your love scenes?

            Personal experiences aside, I have quite an imagination. : ) I’ve been writing love scenes since I was a young girl. If I’m feeling a need for a kick-start, I’ll listen to sexy music, which varies depending on the scene, if it’s animalistic or sensual.  I might also read a scene from a sexy book. It doesn’t hurt to look at some hot guys on the Internet. But that’s a last resort. It’s important to connect with the character and figure out what kind of lover he is, for example, rough, gentle, confident, or dominating, and then go from there. While the books are centered on the female characters, their sexual experiences are defined just as much by the men they are with as it is by them. It’s a mutual scene, so it does take two to make it work. 

8. Which character has surprised you the most and why?

            Gustavo, without a doubt. He’s played so many roles in my mind throughout The Gilded Flower series. I never conceived him to be a villain. Originally, I wanted him to be an open and intense lover for Lily, one who would challenge her and force her to grow and face her fears. As the series progressed, he kept appearing, and thus his role had to change. I secretly hoped he would be her HEA until mid-way through Calla Lily when I realized that wasn’t going to happen. So then he needed to assume a new role. As the series continues, his story deepens and becomes more nefarious. I love it, and I appreciate how his character is so malleable like that. Makes him even more appealing. Amoral characters don’t lose their sex appeal (most of the time).

            A close second is Dahlia. I expected a lot out of her, but now that I’ve written the end of her Trilogy, I just want to hug her for how far her character has come.

 

About the author

Vivian Winslow was born and raised in Southern California. Before becoming a writer, she made a career out of moving around the world every couple of years thanks to her husband’s job. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and two elementary school age children, and is grateful to finally have a place to call home for more than two years. New York is the perfect city to indulge her love of shopping, the arts and especially food.

If she’s not at home writing or running around the city with her kids, you’ll most likely find her indulging in pizza on the Lower East Side or having a cocktail at her favorite bar in Alphabet City. That said, she’s still a California girl at heart and would gladly trade in her heels for a pair of flip-flops to catch a sunset on the beach. .

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