Safari Moon by Ann Christine

Hey guys! Welcome to today's blog tour. Sorry this post is a little late, I was in school. Yep, so let's welcome Christine and her wonderful book, Safari Moon! My review isn't done yet, but expect it in a couple of weeks! Sorry, I have like crazy amounts of tests:(

Safari Moon by Ann Christine

Solo St. John, a wildlife photographer, is preparing for a trip to Alaska. Suddenly, Solo finds women of all sorts invading his privacy, his home and his office, all cooing nonsense words and blatantly throwing themselves at him. Solo doesn't know why, and he has no idea how to rid himself of the persistent women. He finally decides to beg a favor of his best buddy Nyssa Harrington.

In love with Solo for the past ten years and knowing he doesn't return her feelings Nyssa doesn't want to talk to Solo. She knows if she accepts his phone call, she will not be able to resist the temptation to hope again.

Buy it from here!

Christine Young writing as Ann Christine

Born in Medford, Oregon, novelist Christine Young has lived in Oregon all of her life. After graduating from Oregon State University with a BS in science, she spent another year at Southern Oregon State University working on her teaching certificate, and a few years later received her Master's degree in secondary education and counseling. Now the long, hot days of summer provide the perfect setting for creating romance. She sold her first book, Dakota's Bride, the summer of 1998 and her second book, My Angel to Kensington. Her teaching and writing careers have intertwined with raising three children. Christine's newest venture is the creation of Rogue Phoenix Press. Christine is the founder, editor and co-owner with her husband. They live in Salem, Oregon.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Publisher

Time for a short excerpt!

Wanted: A professional wildlife photographer to take pictures in the Alaskan wilderness. Experience first hand a real safari moon. Call(555)381-1252 or send resumes to 2286 Main, Suite 2D Bend, Oregon.

Solo St. John was in the middle of an erotic dream about his buddy, Nyssa Harrington, when the click of his front door shutting brought him to instant alert mode.

Solo looked up, caught a flashing glimpse of a good deal of naked flesh; long legs, perfectly rounded derriere, and a waist he could span with his hands. The intruder's long blond hair curled around her shoulders an inch above the ties of her bikini top.

Then he saw the skunk. He blinked twice.

This woman and the skunk were not the subject of his brief and very strange dream, a fantasy that made his mind speed along at sixty in a residential zone. This was someone he had never seen before and he resented the intrusion.

"Hello," she cooed seductively from his living room. "Will you come out and play?"

The skunk stuck a black and white head around the open door to his bedroom. A second later the animal turned and lifted his tail before disappearing into the living room.

Solo was out of bed and pulling on his jeans before the count of five. Yet in that short time, the lady in question, along with the skunk that was now exploring his fireplace hearth, had taken over his living room.

The lithe, supple blond sported an expensive camera, and all the while the lady in question babbled nonsense words.

"I'm willing, able, and eager." She posed for him, a pose meant to entice.

And now, let's welcome Christine to the blog!

Inspiration

Wikipedia:
Inspiration or Inspire may refer to:
▪ Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production
▪ Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible
Creative inspiration, sudden creativity when a new invention is created

On todays blog we will consider artistic inspiration. So what inspired me to write Safari Moon? Or to write anything?

My inspiration, in general, comes from life and watching things, people, animals... A beautiful spring day can inspire a love scene. From the love scene the characters might come to life within the pages of a book. I find inspiration from photographs, books, traveling, visiting other countries. Books from tiny bookstores in out-of-the way places can inspire all types of characters, scenes, descriptions and conversation. When in Scotland and visiting the Edinburgh castle I found a book on haunted castles, how the ghosts died and how they haunt the home they once inhabited. From this one purchase I have at least three books waiting to be written. In Astoria, Oregon I found a book about prostitutes who lived in the American west. This book and some of the secondary stories was an eye-opener for me. Many of these women did many charitable acts and most had not become prostitutes because that was their life's dream. Very interesting were the stories about how they arrived at the brothels and what they made of themselves afterwards.

So what inspired Safari Moon? I have always toyed with the idea that best friends can evolve into a romantic couple. After all isn't this what happens in modern day romances? I created Solo St. John: rich, born with a silver spoon, handsome, creative, photographic memory, confident in everything except romance and relationships. Then I paired him with Nyssa Harrington. She is in most ways opposite Solo. She grew up poor, gorgeous but didn't know it, over-the-top intelligent, left-brain. I create opposite personality profiles wherever possible. From this point the story evolves.

The bicycle tours were inspired by the real life adventures of my parents. I was always so jealous. They began riding after they retired. From short rides around town they progressed to longer rides, including Bike Oregon, then went on to tours all over the world. On the tours they would ride an average of 60 miles per day. The tour company provided back up vans to help with flat tires, mechanical problems as well as fatigue. Their adventures took them to places including Alaska, New Zealand, Greece, Bali, Tasmania, the Natchez Trace and New England to name a few. In Safari Moon the book is set mainly in Alaska and the tour Nyssa is training and studying for is in Greece.
My artistic side created Solo's career as a wildlife photographer. I have always been a bit envious of the photographers who shot the wonderful pictures in National Geographic. And in Safari Moon Solo is looking for that one perfect picture that will be remembered.

Among my favorite authors are Stella Cameron, Susan Wiggs, and Heather Graham. I had the honor of meeting Stella and Susan at a conference put on by the MidWillamette Valley RWA several years ago. They are warm generous women who were a joy to visit with. Heather Graham I have not met, but her book, Pirate's Pleasure, was the first romance I read and I instantly fell in love with the genre.

I would like to thank Always a Book Lover for hosting me today. And I hope everyone who stops by here will leave a comment and perhaps check out Safari Moon by Christine Young writing as Ann Christine.

Ann Christine will be giving away the following prizes:

* A Safari Moon bookmark to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop.
* ebook copy of The Gift (part of A Valentine Anthology) and Star Crossed (part of St. Patricks Day anthology) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
* One commenter during the tour will win the right to have a character named for them in her next release--either Ghost Dance (a western historical romance) or Rebel Heart (science-fiction romance)
* Two randomly drawn commenters during the tour will each win a $25.00 GC to Starbucks
* The host with the most comments (excluding the author's and the host's) will win a $15 GC to Starbucks


Go here to check out the other stops!

So yep, that's about it for today! Do leave a comment and stand a chance to win some prizes!