Guest Author Alisha Rai

I would like to Welcome Alisha Rai to Book Junkie today as my Guest Author celebrating her latest release Veiled Desire released Feb 02 from Samhain Publishing. Which, if you haven't had a chance to read is fantastic! Leyla & Mason both desire each other, but Mason is Leyla's brother's best buddy! Do you see the drama ahead for them? There is actually more humor then I expected and was pleasantly surprised, Alisha created two characters who capture your heart and the erotic love scenes don't hurt either!


Can you tell us a little about your newest release Veiled Desire?
When I started writing Veiled Desire, I only had one scene in my head: the very first one, where my heroine, Leyla happens to look next door and catches Mason parading around his house in a pair of snug boxer briefs.
Then I had to start thinking of their back story, and what made this voyeurism sexy instead of, well, creepy. It just made sense to make Leyla the treasured older sister of Mason’s childhood friend. Of course, hijinks ensue.

I really like this story because underneath the sexiness, the main characters are genuinely nice people, people I’d like to know, and they have an extremely sweet romance.

Are there other genres you would like to explore?
I love paranormal, and I dipped my toe into that pond with Cabin Fever. You can definitely expect some more from me on the witches and warlocks front.
I have some shapeshifters and vampires kicking around in my head as well. Stay tuned.

When reading a book I often imagine the characters in my head as thought I am watching a movie play out. If you could cast Leyla & Mason for a movie who would play them on screen?
Leyla, I’m really not sure…I don’t think there are any Hollywood actresses that come to mind. Mason, though, would totally be a very young Brad Pitt (like in Thelma and Louise, but scratch that kinda jerky personality—Mason’s pure adorable.)

What was your favorite scene to write in Veiled Desire?
The first scene is pretty fun for me, but I think the best scene, and the one I’m getting the most feedback on, is the one where Leyla’s brother discovers what’s going on between his best friend and sister and…well, I can’t say anymore without giving away spoilers. It’s funny, though.

If you could be any of your heroine’s who would you be?
I would love to be Devi. Getting paid to cook? Heck, yeah. (Plus the men don’t hurt. Hehe.)

What 3 qualities do you look for in your Heroes?
1) Sweetness. I know alphas are all wonderful, but even my alphas have a layer of pure kindness and gallantry right underneath the blustering.

2) Sexiness. And I’m not just talking biceps, though those are nice. I think confidence is the best kind of sexy.

3) A weak spot. No one’s perfect. Some sort of weakness makes the hero seem more human and approachable.

Have you ever encountered someone who said, “You write what!!! “?
Absolutely. Luckily, romance authors and readers are incredibly supportive and frank. For every person who doesn’t understand why I write what I do, I have a buddy I can call up and ask to proofread my sex scenes for me. It all works out.

How long did it take you to get published?
Not too long, once I figured out what I was doing wrong. I wrote about four books over the course of two years, and tentatively tried submitting a couple of them. I won’t bore you with the rejections. Then I got serious, buckled down, and wrote Glutton for Pleasure. It was accepted pretty quickly.
My first efforts are tucked away in a dark corner of my hard drive somewhere. They may or may not ever be touched again.
The lesson I learned: if the first thing you write isn’t accepted right away, don’t get desperate. Put it aside and write something else. It could be that the market isn’t right for those initial attempts, or like in my case, your writing just needs more work.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve done in the name of research?
I love research! Granted, some of the research is boring (like right now, I’m researching accounting to write an embezzling villain), but I also get to do cool stuff like search out books about BDSM for an upcoming story. Er, I have to make sure I’m home when the UPS guy brings those.

If you could ask readers any one question, what would it be?
Oh man, just one? Okay, I’ll do a broad one: tell me what you liked/didn’t like. Even though I can’t please everyone, I love hearing about what worked/didn’t work for you. E-mail me, tweet it at me…whatever. I’m pretty accessible.

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I want to give Alisha a huge Thank You for stopping by. I am so happy that I picked up Cabin Fever months ago just because I was first attracted to the cover. What I found out once I turned the pages was a very engrossing and honestly just a great story between two lost souls. What I got in return? I discovered Alisha and no I can say that I will be a life-long fan!

Where can the fans find Alisa? To keep up to date on my writing and just life in general, please visit my blog, friend me on facebook , follow me on twitter or just go old school and shoot me an email (alishawrites@gmail.com). I love to hear from readers!