Author Alexandra Forry Discusses Sedona as the Setting for WILDFLOWER

Kinky Vanilla Romance is pleased to share Wildflower by Alexandra Forry. It is a contemporary romance novel available now. I often wonder how/why authors pick the settings of their books. Today, Alexandra explains her choice of Sedona for the setting of Wildflower. She makes Sedona sound good!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alexandra will be awarding a $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. Remember, the more you comment, the better your chances to win.
 

 

Wildflower by Alexandra Forry

 

In this beautiful and moving story of love, growth, and redemption among the stunning red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, Sydney—a teenaged Army orphan—discovers that love knows no bounds and life has many twists and turns of fate. After she is forced to move in with her late mother’s sister Blanche and Blanche’s abusive alcoholic husband Dean, Sidney finds purpose and friendship in Lexy, the daughter of Max Heller the City’s most prominent widower and business magnate. Unknowingly, the girls’ antics awaken Blanche’s lost and suppressed passions and stirs Max’s long-thwarted drive to build a loving and complete family. What emerges is the wonderfully successful Epicurian Café, the brainchild of Blanche and Sydney actively encouraged by Max and Lexy. The Café quickly becomes a center of the community, the start of a new life for Blanche and Sydney, and a chance for Max and Lexy to discover true love and the meaning of commitment. An emotional roller-coaster with its exciting twists and turns, Wildflower is an exhilarating and satisfying read

Sedona, Arizona as the Setting for Wildflower

Hello, I’m Alexandra Forry author of Wildflower, and for this Guest post today I’m going to tell how I wound up picking Sedona Arizona out of the billons of small towns and cities in the USA. For starters I love to write about places that I’ve been because when I write the scenes in my story it makes it easier to imagine because it’s like going back to some of my favorite spots when I’m writing.

So why did I pick Sedona to set Wildflower in? While I was a teenage my family’s summer home was in Sedona, I spent a summer there getting to know the town of Sedona and what it had to offer. I always thought the town was great to set my book in, all kinds of people from all over the world come to see the stunning Red Rocks and the vortexes that are around the town. Sedona had something to it that I can’t explain on paper, one who has been there would know what I am trying to say.

Sedona has all kinds of people living there, movie stars, billionaires, and such to a normal Joe. Since my story calls for that kind of lifestyle. Also it’s very artiest, that I’m planning to explore in later wildflower novels.

I just could see a Coffee shop owned by someone in a high end shopping center. Whenever I go there I get a lot of my ideas for my book that I have to take a day pull out my laptop and write. Some of my best scenes in Wildflower were written right in Sedona.

I want to thank Kinky Vanilla Romance for the honor of having me and my book Wildflower on this blog today. If you have any questions or comments, I will be happy to answer.

Excerpt

 “Why don’t we open a business? Like a simple sandwich and coffee shop,” Sydney announced with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“A sandwich shop?” Blanche asked, looking surprised and a bit taken aback.

“Yeah, why not?”

While Sydney waited for an answer, Blanche just looked at her, dumbfounded

“Sydney, I would love to open a sandwich shop, but it takes a lot of money--money that we just don’t have.”

“Oh please, Aunt Blanche! I bet you can get a loan from the bank. It will be exciting!” Sydney pleaded.

“I don’t think that your uncle will approve. Sydney I love your idea, truly do! I was taken aback at first, because it has always been a dream of mine to open a little shop of some kind on Main Street,” Blanche said wistfully. ”It costs a lot of money to open up a business, besides I have an offer for a job in Prescott.”

“Pooh on Uncle Dean, and turn down that job. For me, please? You can ask Annette how to open a business--she will know, since she owns her own business.” Sydney said begging her aunt. 

“I will think about it, okay, Sydney?” Blanche said making her way to her closet and picking out a dress.



Author Bio and Links

Alexandra Forry was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has Cerebral Palsy but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants! Omerta Affair was her first novel, then she came out with Timeless Endings, which is the same story line as Omerta Affair but aimed as a woman’s romance. Alexandra is currently working on her fourth novel. She enjoys being a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers as well as RWA. http://www.alexandraforry.com/

Links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter 

Where to Buy: Amazon

Timeless Endings by Alexandra Forry | Author Interview and Giveaway

Kinky Vanilla Romance is pleased to share Timeless Endings by Alexandra Forry. It is a contemporary romance novel. Alexandra agreed to answer some interview questions for me. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alexandra will be awarding a $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. Remember, the more you comment, the better your chances to win.

Timeless Endings by Alexandra Forry

Evelyn turned toward the lights of the city. The view was breathtaking as she stood looking down on Las Vegas, lovingly wrapped in Tony’s arms. It was a moment she would keep deep in her heart, forever. “Look at this—The City of Gold!” Evelyn exclaimed as Tony kissed her forehead. “And it’s all ours, Eve!”

Thus begins a heartwarming and harrowing tale of life and forbidden love lost to one generation and found in the next. Caught between a turbulent love triangle that shook the very foundations of the Mafia’s Las Vegas Empire, and a deadly struggle for wealth and power, Mob Boss and “King of Las Vegas” Tony Torino, his mistress hustler and onetime showgirl Evelyn Rosenberg, and her husband top Chicago mobster Charlie “Gus” Rosenberg live and love in defiance of the violent and unforgiving laws of the Mafia. All that remains is Evelyn’s carefully preserved diary left by Gus to be discovered by his daughter Adriane and Tony’s son Victor as they pack up her late father’s belongings. Through the vivid and brilliant use of flashbacks, juxtaposed with current events, we witness one of the most beautiful and ill-fated love stories of the last century. As Victor, a forest ranger who fled his family’s Mob past, and Adriane, an attorney being pressured to work for the Mafia, read through the diary old hatreds and new alliances rise leaving us to wonder if history will repeat itself.



Excerpt

“Come sit down,” Tony said as he led her to the couch.

They fell into an embrace, as the rain continued to pound the window.

“I keep thinking a lot about our night in Chicago,” she whispered, breaking the silence.

She looked up to see a grin spreading across his face while he played with her hands. “Yes, that night was very special to me, Eve."

“Yes, it was to me, too. We never really talked about it. Tony, why were you gone when I woke up?” They looked at each other with longing in their eyes.

“What would have happened if we had spent the whole weekend together? Going to the wedding together; me meeting your son. Only to have you leave me to fly back home?”

“But you called a month later, telling me that you were coming out."

“Eve, my intent was to fly to Las Vegas just to see you. Then I found out that Sadie was pregnant, that lead to a bad miscarriage and that's why I backed out. When I finally got out here you were with Gus.”

"I was really looking forward to seeing you, Tony, when you called to tell me that you..."

"I'm here now, Eve, that's what really matters," he whispered lovingly. She felt the sexual tension building up between them as he ran his hand down her cheek.

"It’s funny how you end up meeting someone, never knowing that someone will be an important part of your life.”



Author Bio and Links

Alexandra Forry was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has Cerebral Palsy but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants! Omerta Affair was her first novel, then she came out with Timeless Endings, which is the same story line as Omerta Affair but aimed as a woman’s romance. Alexandra is currently working on her fourth novel. She enjoys being a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers as well as RWA. http://www.alexandraforry.com/

• Website 
• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter  

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Author Interview


Why did you decide to publish a second version of Omerta Affair under the title Timeless Endings?

Great question to started off with, the reason was to make it more a romance than mafia. Omerta Affair has a lot of foul language and a lot of people had a hard time understanding what “OMERTA” meant (That means, code of silence.) It was kind of hard to sell. So I decide to re-title it that make women want to pick it up and want to buy it. I also took out the foul language and made the main love scene more romantic in Timeless Endings.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) of Timeless Endings to write and why?

I have to say that I love chapter 10, it has a big shocker to it that keep you reading on. A lot character building happen and to me, it’s like act 2 in a play.

How much of a story did you have in mind before you started writing?

All that I know is that I wanted to tell this romantic story line but I want to make to tell it in an unusual way by having the characters discover a secret love affair between their parents.

How did you know you should become an author?

I always dreamt of being an author when I was a young girl. I love books since I was a baby. My mom had told me that I always have a book in my hands acting like I was reading it, and that was way before I learn to read.

What are the most important elements in good romance writing, in your opinion?

Love, unconditional love between the main characters is the most important elements to me. But the lover don’t have to be soul mates to love each other, I like to explore all kinds of romantic in my writing. To me their all kinds of romantic love in life.

Has your life changed significantly since becoming a published writer?

Yes, in a way it truly did. I am busy with book signings and promoting my books. Who ever said that writing isn’t a real job was full of it and has no clue.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you, in any way, either growing up or as an adult?

That’s hard to say because I was a bookworm when I was growing up, and there is so many books that inspire me and my life.

What project are you working on now?

Sorry it’s a secret, Top secret!

What is your favorite mafia movie and why?

Casino (1995) with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone. It’s a great move and I love it because it’s more than a movie to me, let’s just say I’m lucky to say that this move is a part of my life. When I first saw it, I never saw a movie that had so many levels of humanity to it. I say that it’s really the first of its kind. Their a part that I found so interning and well play out, when Sharon Stone character (Ginger) went to see Joe Pesci character (Nicky). You can see Nicky is having a hard time fighting with being true to his childhood friend to (Sam) Ginger’s husband and his sexual attraction toward Ginger. Their a song playing in that sense that made you wonder if that song was how Nicky felt about Ginger.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I just love butterfly! :-)