Guest Post & Giveaway: Wendi Zwaduk - SOMEWHERE I BELONG

Hi Everyone. Please help me welcome, Wendi Zwaduk to the blog today. She is here to promote her new erotic romance, Somewhere I Belong. Wendi is going to talk about her love of music and how it relates to her novels.

I want to thank AsianCocoa’s Secret Garden for having me here for the tour. Love the blog! I’m having a blast. 

I was asked to write a post about my love of music and how music relates to my writing. I thought for kicks I’d include some of my favorite sexy songs to write to. But let’s get to why I love to title my books with music titles.  I’ll start with a little back story first.

When I was a kid, I loved music. As far back as I can remember, I’ve wanted to sing and play music. I learned to play the clarinet, became pretty good at it, mastered the bass clarinet and the contrabass clarinet because no one else wanted to.  I thought for a while I’d like to sing in public. That got nixed once I found out that my voice was too low and I wasn’t cool enough to be picked for plays and show choir. Singing to the steering wheel works just fine for me. There wasn’t much that I wouldn’t listen to. If it’s got a good beat and is something I can dance to, I’m good.

So how does that have anything to do with song titles? Simply put, I love music and wanted to incorporate it into my writing. To say that I just write a story for a song is simple and somewhat true, but it’s not all. Do I pick a song just to write about it? Nope.

With Somewhere I Belong, the story had about four other titles prior to getting it’s final title. I called it Farmer for the longest time. Farmer. How exciting of a title is that? Not very. Somewhere I Belong, to me, evokes a story. If I saw a book by that title, I’d want to know about the characters. Why did they need a place to belong? What is their past and how does it translate into the present story? But that’s not the entire reason I ended up with that title.

I have this odd tendency to hear a song and as I’m hearing it, I see a storyline. Sure, I see the storyline that the singer is trying to convey, but I also see a storyline for characters in my head. In the case of Somewhere I Belong, the characters from Farmer screamed “this is my story arc!!”. I’d written about five drafts of the story, but the moment I let the song really wrap around my brain, the characters really worked themselves out. 

Another thing about the title, it’s not like I sit down and say, ‘this will be the title’ just out of the blue. The line has to crop up in the story and not be forced. I had a story one time where it was plunked in and it sounded like it. 

So what do I use to get into the groove to write sexy stories, like SIB? Here’s my playlist, actually titled, “Love Songs for Sexy Stories”. Yeah, I’m a bit of a dork.

“Against All Odds” – Phil Collins

“By the Way” – Theory of a Deadman

“In the Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett

“Honesty” – Billy Joel

“Smoke Rings in the Dark” – Gary Allan

“Feels Like Tonight” – Daughtry

“Careless Whisper” – Seether

“Secret Garden” – Bruce Springsteen

“If I Fell” – The Beatles

“Wherever You Will Go” – The Calling

Yeah, I’ve got an eclectic music taste. What are the songs that get you in the mood to write or even to get in the mood? I’d love to know and chatter about it. Thanks again to AsianCocoa. Talking about music is a lot of fun! Great topic!

Somewhere I Belong
by Wendi Zwaduk
Release Date: December 11, 2011

He never knew what he was missing until he came home to find his place to belong—with her.

Sullavan Tanner walked away from Jarvis, Ohio, afraid to give his heart to the woman he loved. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle, but never quite made it to the big time. Fifteen years later, he’s back and ready to claim what’s his—if she’ll accept his help.

Marley Lockwood’s done asking for help. The family farm is more than she can handle, but if she can survive a cancer scare, the loss of her parents, the abandonment by her first love, and a messy divorce, she can handle anything.

Until Sully shows up.

Although she’s not interested in rekindling the love affair, she’s not above accepting Sully’s hands on the farm. What’s the worst that could happen? They get the farm out of the red and into the black? That’s her plan. They actually fall in love? The past says it won’t work, so she’s not hedging her bets.

Too bad Sully’s not giving up this time.

EXCERPT:

“Dancing isn’t my thing.” Why did Sully make her so nervous? Because Sully made her inner thighs heat and her heart thunder. Of all the men she knew, Sully remained elusive and out of reach. And yet, he’d come back when she needed him the most...like a white knight. God, she had to get the childish, fanciful thoughts from her head and regain her footing in the real world.

Sighing, he eased down next to her. “I don’t buy that for a moment, but I’m not gonna push.” He bumped her shoulder with his, sending a frisson of lust snaking through her body. “I missed our late-night conversations.” A chuckle erupted from his throat. “You know, I never found someone to understand me like you do.”

She balled her fists to keep from touching him and stared at the crisp yellow flames. Sully smelled like sin and pine. “Conversationalist is my middle name.”

Sully cupped her chin, redirecting her gaze. “And all this time I thought it was Elaine.”

Despite wanting to stay, Marley stood. “I never could fool you.”

“Dance?”

She shook her head. “I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“You left after we had sex. Like right after. Was it that bad or was it just a notch for your belt?”

His smile faded. “Marley, that’s not fair.”

“Thanks for your answer.” She brushed imaginary debris from her lap. “You and I work together. There will be no dancing, no kissing, and no love. Got me?”

“Who said kissing?” He stood and grabbed her hand. Sully tugged her away from the fire and the rumble of conversation to the privacy of the back porch. “There’s a lot of stuff you don’t know about, and I don’t know how to tell you, but I absolutely want to kiss you.

Author Bio – Wendi Zwaduk

I always dreamed of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in line. I tend to write books with titles taken from songs because music is one of my many muses.

I earned a BA in education at Kent State university and as well as a Masters in Education from Nova Southeastern University. I've tried my hand at teaching, waitressing, and retail sales, but writing holds my heart.

I love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my menagerie of animals. I have more stories than my brain can handle percolating.  I can't wait to share them with you!

Website/ Blog/ Facebook/ Twitter/ ManicReaders

Giveaway:

Wendi will be giving away a $10 gift card to Liquid Silver Books to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. The more comments you leave the better your chances of winning.

 

To Enter:

Answer Wendi's question from her guest post or leave a comment or question for her and include your email address.

Be sure to visit the other blogs on this wonderful tour. Click on the tour button below for a list of participating blogs.