Feature on Bellissima, Anya Richards & Giveaway

This week's Feature on Author is on Anya Richards and her latest release Bellissima. She came with giveaways!

Tell us about yourself?

Well, the last time I was here people seemed to like the fact that once upon a time I was a beach bum, but I don’t want to be a bore with the same old stories *grin*. I’m just an ordinary woman, wife, mother, foodie, crafter, law clerk, editor, who happens to have an extraordinary alternate life as an author. I consider myself blessed to have a talent I can both love and share with my readers.

To learn more drop by Anya’s website make friends with her on Facebook  or follow her on Twitter. 

What inspired you to be a writer?

I think there is a special gift in each of us and my gift is storytelling. The inspiration was there from I was a youngster, but it took a long time for me to recognise it and allow it free rein. Wanting to finally follow a dream took me from ‘wanting’ to ‘doing’ and I can’t encourage everyone enough to go for whatever it is they feel passionate about!

How did you choose your genre?

In the case of Bellissima, it was a story that had to be set in the past. The present world has its own problems and prejudices, but for this particular story the Victorian era seemed perfect. It was a time of great change, of flux, and yet there were elements of the past still holding sway. It was a conflicted time that suited my unlikely lovers perfectly.

What made you tell this story and why did you write this book?

Bellissima was one of those stories that came from a simple thought… How would a nouveau riche Victorian household view a foreigner? And what type of person would see past the strangeness to the man beneath? I wanted also to write a story about ordinary people—not a lord or lady or prince—just people with the types of problems you or I could have, even if the context was different because of the difference in the times. A woman trying to better herself against the odds, making hard decisions to do so. A man who wants to forge his own path, even if it puts him on the wrong side of his beloved father. These are issues that are still very relevant today, but in the book I got a chance to explore how they might play out in the Victorian era.

How did you come up with the title?

I confess, my editor came up with it! I had a totally different title picked out, but it was slightly deceptive in our modern context, where any book with “Master” in the title would be assumed to have BDSM elements, which Bellissima doesn’t. I love the new title, since it encapsulates two of the main plot points, Jane’s hiding of her beauty and Sergio’s Italian heritage.

What is your favourite scene?

I think I’d have to say, the black moment. Both characters are completely themselves at that point, both devastated and wanting nothing but the best for each other, completely at odds at what the best means. And when Sergio tells Jane what he wants for her—for them—it makes me melt. Hopefully I’m not alone!

 Tell us a little about your book?

Bellissima Blurb:

Jane Rollins is anything but plain, but to keep her position as housekeeper to a wealthy family, she is content to hide her beauty behind a dull façade. This deception has become second-nature to her—until dance master Sergio Fontini waltzes into her life.

While the other inhabitants of the house see him as a foreigner and beneath their notice, Jane sees strength, barely leashed power, and an aura of iron control—an irresistible, arousing combination.

Sergio sees through Jane’s disguise to the woman beneath, and the desires in her veiled gaze call to him like the utterly irresistible strains of a beautiful symphony. The circumstances couldn’t be worse, for seducing her will endanger both their livelihoods.

Yet there are lessons he cannot resist teaching her, steps of a dance that crescendos to her final surrender…

Buy Links

Samhain

Bellissima on Amazon Kindle

Bellissima Amazon UK


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