PHANTOM
OF THE OPERA
By
Wendi Zwaduk
BLURB:
The Classics Exposed…
A chance sighting at the Opera, fated love, and three lives in turmoil.
A chance sighting at the Opera, fated love, and three lives in turmoil.
One man pledges to own her,
while another wants her heart. The Opera sets the stage for romance and
intrigue. In the catacombs below the building lives a man rife with sorrow and
passion. The Phantom. But he’s not content to live alone. He wants to possess
the one woman who can set him free.
His Christine.
Viscount Raoul de Chagny
doesn’t believe the rumours of a Ghost living below the Opera. He only has eyes
for Christine, his childhood friend and first love. Together they embark on a
sensual journey of discovery and fiery desire.
But she can only have one man.
Will love raise her up or tear their world apart?
EXCERPT:
“I cannot.” He threaded his fingers
into her hair, drawing her close. “I have the most indecent thoughts when I’m
near you.” He spoke against her lips. “I can’t help but want to ruin you, only
to keep you in my arms a bit longer.”
The most beautiful shade of red
spread across her cheeks and slipped down the column of her neck. She glanced
at the door, then shot from her spot on the bed. Christine twisted the lock and
pressed herself against the door.
“What kind of indecent thoughts?”
she whispered.
“To lash you to my bed with your
body bared to me. I want to take you over and over, hearing you cry out my
name. To watch you give me pleasure with your submission to me.”
“I’m not educated in the way to love
a man.” Her chest heaved with each breath. “Will you teach me? I want to be
yours, if for only a short time. I want you to show me how much you love me.
Teach me?”
“Yes, my love.” He held out his hand
to her. Christine twisted her fingers with his and eased onto his lap. Her eyes
widened.
“What are you asking of me?”
“Your submission. Allow me to direct
you as if I were the composer of one of your songs. Do you trust me?”
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
I
always dreamt of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome
heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in
line. I earned a BA in education at Kent State University and currently hold a
Masters in Education with Nova Southeastern University.
I
love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my
menagerie of animals. I also write under
the pen name of Megan Slayer. I’m published with Total-E-Bound, Changeling
Press, Liquid Silver Books, Turquoise Morning Press and The Wild Rose Press.
Come join me for this fantastic journey!
If
you like my work, tell your friends and email me. I love hearing from readers!
Interview:
Thank you for having me on this tour. I'm glad I got to stop at a new to me site. I'm glad to be here. :-)
What made you decide to take on a hauntingly classic tale like Phantom of the Opera and add your own flair to it?
I chose it because of the haunting quality absolutely. Everyone can feel for Phantom. We want him to win the girl, even though he's a little loose with his wires. I also chose it because so many of the scenes begged to be written with heat. Phantom takes Christine to his lair underground...she and Raoul play hide and seek in the backgrounds of the Opera. Christine and Raoul investigate the stairways under the Opera. All these could be reasons for quickies or a little bondage play. I tried to keep all the heat organic as well. I wanted the parts that scorched to feel like they were supposed to be there if Leroux could make the story hotter. Plus, I wanted to be able to show just why Raoul felt he'd lost so much when he lost Christine.
Did you have a particular man in mind when visualizing the Phantom for inspiration?
Gerard Butler, hands down. First off, I knew he was in the movie version made a few years ago, but that wasn't the main inspiration. I'd seen an interview he did with someone, I can't tell you who it was now...might have been like the Tonight Show or something, anyway, he was asked to sing. He got right up there and just belted something out. It was great. Having not seen the movie at that point, I had no idea he COULD sing. Seeing him do so was hot. And I knew there had to be someone who could play sexy with just the right amount of lunacy. Gerard can do that. But another one who could've been good in the part would've been Bradley Cooper. He plays unhinged while being sexy, too.
It’s hard not to attach music to this story because of the context as well as the musical renditions, did you find yourself listening to any of it when writing this story?
No. Not at the outset. I was busy trying to absorb the story first off. I wanted to be able to add that heat without it feeling 'added'. Granted, the music Andrew Lloyd Webber added is fantastic and so sexy. But when I started, I kept to silence to really get into the character's mindsets. Once I felt I was there, THEN i played the soundtrack over and over and as many different versions as I could find. There were at least two or three versions. I loved it.
LINKS:
On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/wendizwaduk/
On Google+ : https://plus.google.com/115637543946745656739/posts
On Romance Novel Center: http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/wendizwaduk
Giveaway:
Wendi will be awarding a gift basket to a randomly drawn
commenter during the tour.
Thank you for hosting today
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you for hosting me today. Great question! Now for the readers, is there a particular song or play list that gets you wanting to read? Or makes you think of a book and you have to go read it?
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I love some good ole George Strait to get me thinking about hot cowboys. Gets me wanting to read some Lorelei James or Mari Carr or Jayne Rylon.
ReplyDeleteMel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com
Great choice, Mel. I always get in the mood to read hot and sexy when I listen to Gary Allan. Love him. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. Thanks for hosting. Sounds like a super sexy read
ReplyDeleteThanks Maria, I hope you enjoy the book. :-)
ReplyDelete