Monday, July 29, 2013

**Giveaway** - Interview: NYT & USA Today bestseller Bella Andre and her Sullivan series

 Welcome To The Reading Frenzy digital phenom to print author Bella Andre whose talking about her Sullivan series now available from Harlequin–"The Sullivans are a close-knit family of eight siblings and their mother who live in and around San Francisco. There are six brothers and two twin sisters in the family. Each of them gets their own love story

                                                     
                                                         





***GIVEAWAY****
HARLEQUIN IS SPONSORING THIS GIVEAWAY OF
ONE PAPERBACK COPY OF
THE LOOK OF LOVE
US RESIDENTS ONLY
SEE BELOW TO ENTER
GOOD LUCK!!!


Praise for Bella Andre:
"Sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance." ~ Publishers Weekly
"Don't miss a single one of Bella Andre's titles." ~ Affaire de Coeur magazine
"Bella Andre writes warm, sexy contemporary romance that always gives me a much needed pick me up. Reading one of her books is truly a pleasure." ~ New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks
"The Look of Love is an emotionally compelling, thoroughly sexy, lovely read. I can't wait for more Sullivan brothers!" ~ Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author
"The Look of Love is the perfect combination of sexy heat and tender heart. This character- driven romance has brains, brawn and the perfect bad boy to launch a whole family's worth of fun."
~ Barbara Freethy, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"I am absolutely smitten with Chase, Chloe and the Sullivan family. I can't wait to read the rest of their stories." ~ Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews on The Look of Love
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It’s my pleasure to welcome NYT and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre!
Bella welcome to The Reading Frenzy. It’s so nice to have you with us!

Tell us about your Sullivan series and put the books in order for us.

The Sullivans are a close-knit family of eight siblings and their mother who live in and around San Francisco. There are six brothers and two twin sisters in the family. Each of them gets their own love story and the romances are emotional, fun and sexy! Here is the order of the books:

THE LOOK OF LOVE (Chase Sullivan)
FROM THIS MOMENT ON (Marcus Sullivan)
CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (Gabe Sullivan)
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (Sophie Sullivan)
IF YOU WERE MINE (Zach Sullivan)
LET ME BE THE ONE (Ryan Sullivan)
COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (Smith Sullivan)
ALWAYS ON MY MIND (Lori Sullivan)
KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE (Mary & Jack Sullivan)


Where did the idea for the novels come from?

I've always been a fan of connected family series from other writers and it was my dream to create a fictional family of my own that readers would get really excited about. The way readers have embraced the Sullivans from the start has been absolutely amazing!

Will they all be available in print?

Yes!

Is there a printing schedule?

THE LOOK OF LOVE (Chase Sullivan) – out now!
FROM THIS MOMENT ON (Marcus Sullivan) – out now!
CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (Gabe Sullivan) – July 31, 2013
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (Sophie Sullivan) – September 24, 2013
KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE (Mary & Jack Sullivan) – September 24, 2013
IF YOU WERE MINE (Zach Sullivan) – November 2013
LET ME BE THE ONE (Ryan Sullivan) – January 2014
COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (Smith Sullivan) – February 2014
ALWAYS ON MY MIND (Lori Sullivan) – March 2014

You’ve been called a digital phenom gone brick and mortar.
Can you share with us your personal journey to becoming an author?

After writing and publishing two non-fiction books about the music industry (I was a professional musician for 10 years), one day two fictional characters started to have a conversation inside my head, so I wrote it down! The next day the conversation continued and a few months later, I had written the first draft of my first book. I went on to sell romances to three New York publishers and then in 2011 I decided to start self-publishing my Sullivan series as ebooks. Harlequin contacted me about putting the series out in print in 2012 after three of my Sullivan books debuted on the New York Times & USA Today bestseller lists in the same week. The rest is history!

As far as I’m concerned Harlequin rules the world. But from strictly an author and business standpoint why choose them for your print publisher?

I chose to work with Harlequin as my print publisher because they are the best in the world at selling contemporary romance. I knew from seeing the success that they've had with Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery and Susan Wiggs that they would be able to have the same worldwide success in the English language with my Sullivans.

If the possibility of ebooks weren’t possible do you still think you’d be a published author?

Absolutely. I was published before ebooks were brand new and the focus was still almost entirely in print. But I do think the advent of ebooks has opened up writing careers and reading adventures for many, many people!

There are a lot of self published authors struggling out there.
Give them one piece of advice.

Focus on the book. It's easy to lost in the weeds of promotion and marketing and all of the changes in the publishing industry. But the most important thing is and will always be your book, so do your best to block out the white noise and concentrate on writing and releasing the best stories you can.

What are you working on now?
I am working on books about my Seattle Sullivans. Fans didn't want to leave the Sullivans after the first 9 books were done and neither did I, so now I'm telling the cousin's stories. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (Seattle Sullivan #1) has already been released as an ebook and is already a New York Times and USA Today bestseller!

Walk us through one day in the life of Bella Andre.

Get the kids up. Take them to school. Go for a walk through the vineyards with my husband. Come home and start writing. When my 20-25 pages are done for the day, start answering emails and taking care of my publishing business. Take a half hour to go for a swim in the afternoon. Somewhere between 10 pm and midnight, finally close down the computers and get some sleep!

Bella will there be any events/signings where fans could meet you in person?

I have an event page on my web site with future appearances: http://bellaandre.com/events/

Thank you so much Bella for spending a little time with us. Good luck with your current and all your future endeavors!!!

Thank you for having me! If people would like to find out more about me or my Sullivans, they can visit with me at:









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10 comments:

  1. I don't read much Harlequin books but one thing I love about it is the how beautiful almost all their covers are and the romance of the books.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Sandy and Good Luck!!
      I also love the new look that Harlequin is giving thier novels.

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  2. I just finished book three and Gabe oh how I loved him! Awesome interview and if you love romance you should be reading these books..

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    1. Thanks Kim, they are all on my TBR list, you know that huge leaning tower of books :)

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  3. Great stories and even great authors. you know your HEA will be enjoyable.

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  4. A great author is always a source for a wonderful escape on a sultry summer day.

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