January 30, 2011

Falling in Love in California with Tina Donahue

As far as I’m concerned, I live in one of the greatest states in the country. We have the ocean, mountains, the desert and yes – casinos!! There’s not a whole lot more to ask for, except maybe a great romance—what I call ‘heat with heart’—that takes place in our fabulous state.
Within the last year, I’ve written two – Adored—my award-winning romance with San Francisco and Los Angeles settings. And more recently the highly praised In His Arms, which also takes place in the Bay Area. I’ve always loved it there—not only for its natural beauty but Ghirardelli Square. Chocolate heaven. And the restaurant in Neiman Marcus is one of my absolute favorites, especially around the holidays.
Of course, I like to travel, at least in my novels. My most recent romance (released December 15) is Sensual Stranger, which takes place in Indulgence, a sleepy Arizona town, where motorcycle performance artist Toni Starr finds herself stranded and just about out of luck until she meets Zach. My next release (February 2011) is The Yearning, my first paranormal romance. It takes place in Key West Florida and involves a very unique curse, a young woman in peril and a hero with a telekinetic gift.
You can find Sensual Stranger at this link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8932-50-sensual-stranger.aspx
The Yearning is here: http://samhainpublishing.com/coming/the-yearning
And here are my links:
Email: tina@tinadonahue.com
Website/blog: http://www.tinadonahue.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

I’d like to offer a contest. One lucky commenter will have their choice of one of my following books**:
1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
2. Adored – ebook
3. Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
4. Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
5. Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
6. Take My Breath Away – trade paperback
** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks.

31 comments:

  1. Hi Tina, I was in California too many years ago but remember the beautiful coast. I hope it's the been preserved. I like the name of your newest book and hero. Did you have help discovering their names?

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  2. Hi, Nora!

    Yes, they're preserving the coastline out here. Thank goodness. It's too beautiful to mess with.

    For my newest book did you mean "The Yearning" (or "Sensual Stranger"?). They've come out pretty close in time.

    For all my books, I generally pick dozens of potential titles. I especially like looking at lyrics of love songs to see if I can work them into a feasible title. With the characters' names, they just sort of pop in my head and I want them to match the characters' personality, etc. In "The Yearning" I thought Jasmine, the heroine's name sounded very erotic and yet elegant. The hero's name, Mike, sounds strong to me. The same with Zach, the hero in "Sensual Stranger". And Toni Starr, the heroine in that story, has a name that, to me, sounded like a performer. :)

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  3. Thanks for the blog on California. I lived there briefly in the late 70s near SF. The cable cars were like being in a theme park for me, especially when they led to Ghiradelli Square and the CHOCOLATE factory. AHHH! Perfect weather, too!

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  4. Hi Tina,

    I'm glad I got to read a little something about where you live. I too live in a beautiful state.

    We'll like your state in a lot of ways, we have the mountains, the ocean and the beautiful Waterfalls and Pines in the state along with some of the best Barbeque Pork in the United States. Eastern style of course, lol. I also notice one thing since I've been home. And that is we really have a lot of wonderful book authors who live in this state. Katharine Ashe, Nicholas Sparks just to name a couple. I love it.

    I've read the excerpts to The Yearning and His Arms and you know I think there great. Heres to wishing you many more of your great writes.

    Teresa

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  5. Tina, good to see you here representing your beautiful state! I have never been to California, but I would love to get there some day. Continued success with your books!

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  6. Hey Tina--it's me, Sarah, here on the East coast waving to you on the west coast and wishing you every success with your fantastic books. Can't wait until The Yearning releases.

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  7. Hey, Fran, Teresa, Miriam and Sarah. I just love it in California. Yes, the summers in Palm Springs get smokin' hot, but our winters - wow - just gorgeous. Makes it hard to stay inside and write. :)

    Thanks for all your kind comments. I truly appreciate them.

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  8. Tina, CA's beautiful variety of land/climate, people, etc. has appealed to people for generations. Never been there in reality so it's fun to travel there in books. Nice post. Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author, http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff

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  9. Hey Tina,

    Never been to Cali, but I'd love to just once. It's on the Bucket List, along with Scotland. Well, I've been to Scotland but too long ago to remember anything and long before my appreciation for all things kilt-wearing was born. Heh I think I have just about all your books on my wish-list. Slowing making my way through. :D

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  10. Fran and Liz- thanks so much for stopping by. Cali's just great. I do have a hankering, though, to go to Spain (my bucket list wish). I used it as a backdrop for one of my historicals and fell in love with Andalucia and Granada.

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  11. Thank you for sharing about California. I had the pleasure of living there for a year and loved the mix of mountains, ocean and natural areas. California has so much more than big cities.

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  12. I would love to visit California. I think the RT conference is there this year, wish I could make it this year!! Everyone says it is so beautiful!!

    Good luck with your new book!!

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  13. Great post, Tina. I'm a California girl, born and bred, and love it here. While I've visited other states,the weather, coastline, the people, and the fact all my family lives here, makes this my favorite place.

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  14. HI TINA, STILL FOLLOWING AND REALLY NEED SOME JACK AND HOT GUY!! LOL

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  15. Lived in CA for two years...loved the weather! Did all the sightseeing/tourist stuff. Even experienced an earthquake (minor) and didn't know it was one...I though it was a truck rumbling down the street!
    Prices for everything, however, seemed to be higher than I'd paid in other states.
    Have fun on your CA blog tour this week!

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  16. Tina,
    Congrats on the latest release The Yearning. I have that and Sensual Stranger on my TRL.
    I've never been to Cali but have a few friends there who moved from the East Coast and love it.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750@aol.com

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  17. Hi from very cold Boston, MA area

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  18. My father l8ies in CA and I love to visit him. Last time he took me for Nessy burgers. Have you ever been there? He lives in Sandiego
    debby236 at att dot net

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  19. You're quite the prolific author! Congratulations to you.

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  20. I lived in sunny SoCal when I was a kid. I loved it there and have only been back a couple of times since I've been an adult. The last time was maybe twelve years ago. You make me want to visit again.

    But I love my North Carolina too. We have the beaches and mountains and everything in between. Just like Cali.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  21. Tina,
    I've always wanted to visit California and thanks to your wonderful descriptions I felt as if I have :-)

    The Yearning sounds fantastic!

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  22. TINA--I enjoyed your enthusiastic post about your beloved state California. Over the years, I've been in the state for one reason or another, and always enjoy it. (on my blog at the top I have a free read about my childhood titled "California Cousins.")
    Unfortunately, someone grabbed Texas before I did, so I'm left out of Annette's 50 states. What a great idea. Celia

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  23. Hey, Penny, Judy, Cathy, hotcha12, Marinne, Carol, Margaret, Debby, Heidiwriter and Tess - thanks so much for coming by and for saying such nice things about Cali!! I love it here. :)

    Debby - I've never been to Nessy Burgers, but I love the San Diego area.

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  24. have you visited all of the places that you have written about or do you just do research? what makes you choose to write about those states/areas (arizona, etc.)? I haven't visited any of the places that you mentioned but now I want to visit the Bay area to experience chocolate heaven. :)

    jessangil at gmail dot com
    -Jessica

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  25. Hi, Venus and Celia - yeah, I love my Cali - wouldn't live anywhere else, unless I had a chance to move to Spain, particularly Andalucia or Granada. :)

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  26. Hey, Jessica - some of the places I've written about I've actually visted - like San Francisco and Key West. Others, I had to research. I love to travel. Some day, hopefully, I'll be able to write full time and be able to visit the locations I write about.

    Generally, I choose the locations because they fit the feeling of the story. For example, The Yearning is very sultry and the climate in Key West fits it perfectly.

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  27. Hey Tina, this sounds like you enjoy torturing us midwesterners! Our forecast says by mid-afternoon tomorrow the snow will start, and we will get from 12-20 inches of snow! I tried to pick up a coupla things at the grocery store today and there weren't any parking space, because people were in full-panic-mode, buying enough food to feed an army! Sheesh! My kids are hoping for school cancellations...actually, me too, because that would give me more time to write!

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  28. I feel for you, Fiona - I know what snow is - used to live in the snow belt - got out as soon as I could. However, our summers here in Palm Springs are pretty brutal - 127 degrees. Whew.

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  29. you have so many good books are gear and we are getting snow

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  30. Hey, Desi - snow huh? Wow. We had a little rain here yesterday, but the temps have been mild, thankfully.

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  31. Thanks to everyone who dropped by and commented.

    I've chosen the winner of my contest and it's (drum roll please) - Penny Ehrenkranz - Yay, Penny!!

    Penny, please contact me at tina@tinadonahue.com for your prize. :)

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