Interview with Alice Gaines (Author of Storm Bound)

Title: Storm Bound
Author: Alice Gaines
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: July 24, 2012
Buy Here: Amazon|Barnes & Noble

Stranded on a steamy tropical island, these three will create their own heat…
Christie Lovejoy is normally all business. But when a hurricane bears down on the exclusive resort she's sharing with two sexy businessmen, it's time to throw caution to the tropical winds. How often do you find two gorgeous men with the hots for you…and the willingness to share?

Wolf Martin and Jon Tucker have been friends for years, and their taste in women has never overlapped…until now. Wolf, Jon, and Christie use the luxurious resort to take the kind of sensual journey that only total isolation will allow. But when the storm recedes, will they be ready to leave their island paradise?


click on the cover above to add this book to your Goodreads TBR list.

Kayla: Where did you come up with the idea for “Storm Bound”?

Alice: Storm Bound is the second in my Cabin Fever series. All of the stories involve people who are isolated in a romantic location and are able to act out sexual fantasies they wouldn’t allow themselves in real life. A luxurious island resort seemed a natural. I threw in a mild hurricane for drama and to get everyone else off the island. That left my heroine, Christie, alone with two hunky guys who’ve been giving off really interesting signals.

Kayla: How did you first start writing?

Alice: I always told myself stories in my head, but I had no idea I could actually write an entire book. What finally got me started was the invention of word processing software for personal computers. (Yes, I did start writing that long ago, lol.) That allowed me to noodle away, knowing I could change things easily.

On top of that, I had a gawd-awful secretarial job. The only way I could get through the day and the super long commute was to make up a story in my head. When I got home, I’d sit down and write what I’d thought up during the day. When I’d written 75 pages or so, I realized that I might actually do this thing. That summer, Romance Writers of America was having its national convention less than twenty miles from my house. It was fate!

Kayla: Who would you consider your mentor?

Alice: I never had a flesh-and-blood mentor. I consider Dwight Swain my teacher. His book, Techniques of the Selling Writer, taught me the nuts and bolts of how to take the movie playing on the backs of my eyelids and put it into words on a page. I see the book’s still for sale on Amazon. You can no doubt buy used copies at www.abebooks.com (I have no connection to the company). I recommend it highly.

So many books on writing are about how to pick your perfect pen and find the right place for inspiration, how to nurture your muse, and other rot. I don’t think writers need to be told to do those things. We’re all brimming with stories. What we need to learn is how best to communicate them to readers.

Kayla: What book has had the biggest impact on you?

Alice: Wow, that’s hard. I’ve never forgotten The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but then, I’ve also never forgotten Lewis’s Space Trilogy. Other books that have stuck with me are The Once and Future King and Gone with the Wind. I guess you can see that being taken out of the real world into someplace larger than life is the common thread of books I love.

I guess the one book that never leaves my thoughts and dreams for very long is Jane Eyre. The idea that a plain Jane can win the rich and powerful Mr. Rochester because of her integrity and decency holds a powerful appeal. Then, she will only accept him on her own terms. Of course, I wouldn’t love the book if it didn’t have a happy ending.

Kayla: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Alice: I’ve already given away the fact that I started writing in the stone age. I’m an white-haired widow lady with an active imagination. I’m from the “make love, not war” generation. We thought we invented sex. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

I live in a house that’s older than I am with a strange cat that lives in my back yard and my darling pet corn snake, Casper. The snake has a much sweeter disposition than the cat. I love to cook, and I grow vegetables in the summer. I also have a passion for orchids, and I’m a rabid fan of the funky soul band, Tower of Power.

Kayla: Could you tell us about “Storm Bound”?

Alice: Storm Bound is a m/f/m ménage. Christie deliberately traps Jon and Wolf in a island resort during a mild hurricane so she can have them all to herself for days. The guys are best friends and business partners, and they’ve never had the same taste in women before, but Christie turns them on big time. They find out, to their surprise, that they don’t mind sharing at all.

There isn’t a single shade of grey or any other depressing monotone in the story. There’s no deep symbolism or self-exploration, either. My slogan is “Nice people having outrageous sex.” My goal is for the reader to have a good time. I hope I’ve accomplished it.

Kayla: What was your favorite part about writing it?

Alice: Aside from the love scenes, lol? Most of my heroes are as good in the kitchen as they are in the bedroom (or almost). Wolf and Jon are competitive about everything, so they try to best each other with their cooking, too. Jon makes steak Diane, and Wolf makes homemade pasta. I love a man who can cook!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I live in a funky, old house with my neglected orchids, a weird cat in the back yard, and my darling corn snake Casper the Friendly Ghost Corn Snake.

Find Alice Here: Goodreads|Twitter|Website

Thanks so much for being a Guest here at Reading On The Wild Side Alice and also for offering a giveaway of an eARC of Storm Bound. It has been fun to do an Interview with you, I hope you come back and visit soon!