Talk About My Favorite Authors: Fadó Trilogy

Today I have a special guest who is promoting her debut novel with a virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Romance author Clare Austin is here today guest blogging about her debut novel and the first book of her Fadó Trilogy, Butterfly. Clare will be on tour from August 1st to 31st so if you want to stop by any of her other blog stops along the way check out her Virtual Book Tour information that will have links to all of her blog spots. Also Clare was here on TAMFA on this past Tuesday, August 18 being interviewed by me about her, her writing and her debut novel. I also reviewed her novel, Butterfly, yesterday if you want to read the review but for now read Clare's guest blog as well as a couple of excerpts from her debut novel.

******

Thank you for having me on your blog today. The idea for Butterfly, my first published fiction, came to me serendipitously. I was looking for something to take to a new critique group I had joined and I didn’t want to hash over an old manuscript. I wrote ten pages of a new idea. As it turned out, the characters were fun, the setting interesting and the story quirky enough to keep me interested. I did start with a different hero and then about fifty pages in I got bored with him…he was too easy for Flannery to walk all over. That was the only major change I made from my original idea, but I found it was essential. She’s a strong heroine and no wimpy guy would survive her.

I spent perhaps nine months on Butterfly from start to final editing. At the time this was a long time for me to finish a book. I had written three manuscripts prior to Butterfly and each took from a month to about three to complete. When I submitted Butterfly, I wanted it to be good right out of the box, so I spent extra time tweaking scenes and polishing details. Perhaps it was mostly luck, being in the right place, finding an editor who was in the mood for this particular book…hard to tell, but Butterfly sold rather quickly. Now I have two other books and a potential third with the same publisher. Angel’s Share, the second novel in the Fadό Trilogy, will be available March 2010 and Hot Flash a stand-alone story that I had written back in 2006 is in final edits. I’m currently working on the third book in the Fadό Trilogy and hope to finish it by the end of this year.

Blurb:

Excerpt #1:

He lost sight of the fiddler in the mobs of tourists enjoying the April sunshine.

No sooner had he decided to give up on his quest than he heard hands clapping in rhythm with the beat of the now familiar Irish drum.

Then he saw her.

She lifted her instrument and, with the surety of a bird’s wing slipping through the air, bow was laid to strings and life was breathed into melody.
He moved to the edge of the gathering where he could have an unobstructed view of the musicians. She looked up, and he thought she recognized him for an instant. Then her eyes turned and followed another.

She smiled and nodded.

Cade had never thought of himself as the jealous type, but he did feel cheated out of that smile. As soon as the last vibration of strings quieted, a man Cade recognized from O’Fallon’s came up behind the fiddler and, with disturbing familiarity, spoke in her ear. She responded with a hug and an adoring look in her eyes.

Cade had been raised to be competitive, in sports as well as in business, and the appearance of a rival on the field made him want to draw blood. He wanted the fiddler in his studio, and if she ended up in his bed, that might be as nice.

He stood and listened until the sun set and the air held a chill that thinned the throng. The musicians were packing it in.

He hadn’t realized he was staring, until she walked up to him and stood so close he could smell the scent of her warm skin in the cool evening air. Her approach to introduction took Cade completely by surprise.

“Are you lookin’ at me or waitin’ for a bus?” she said, one hand on her hip and a sassy smile on her lips.

Excerpt #2:

Flannery swung through the door into the dining room with a flourish but nearly tripped over a bar stool when she saw the now familiar profile, broad shoulders, and curly dark hair of the man who had come to see her sister.

“Sufferin’ ducks, and if it isn’t himself come to brighten the day at O’Fallon’s.” Cade was as compelling as she remembered. Today he was dressed in jeans, a black knit shirt, leather bomber jacket, and a slow smile that would stop a saint in her tracks.

“What can I get you?” She thought a couple of shots of good Irish whiskey would sort him out.

“I’d try the fish an’ chips if you would join me?”

She gave him one of her best smiles, turned toward the kitchen, and yelled, “Hey, Jamie, I’m taking my break. Give us a one an’ one, a serving of the bangers and mushy peas, a couple o’ Harps, and an Inishowen, would you there?”

“Anything for the love of my life,” Jamie called from behind the door.

“Stow it, Jamie Mac!” Flannery shot back, then turned to Cade. “He’s always good fer craic, our Jamie.”

“Craic? Inishowen? One and one? Would you like to translate?”

“Whatta ya mean ‘translate’? You speak English don’tcha?” she teased. “Okay...I’m just giving you a time. ‘Craic’ is fun, ‘Inishowen’ is a whiskey from County Donegal, and a ‘one and one’ is what we, the feckin’ Irish, call fish ‘n chips.”

Flannery’s pulse quickened at the way his dark eyes, shaded by long lashes, swept lazily over her, undressing her, right here in a public place. Yes, as her girlfriends back home liked to say, “He was a ride.”

You can find out more about me by going to my website, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Wild Rose Press. Thanks for stopping by this blog, Clare.

Today I will be reviewing Clare Austin's debut novel, Butterfly, like I promised I would do yesterday in my interview with her. Clare Austin was on the blog yesterday for her interview and will be on the blog tomorrow with her guest blog because she is promoting her debut novel with a virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Clare will be on tour from August 1st to 31st so if you want to stop by any of her other blog stops along the way check out her Virtual Book Tour information that will have links to all of her blog spots. Also Clare was here on TAMFA on this past Tuesday, August 18 being interviewed by me about her, her writing and her debut novel. Now onto my review of her debut novel, Butterfly, which is the first book of her Fadó Trilogy. I love reading about the Irish since I read my first romance novel by Nora Roberts called Three Fates and when I read the blurb for this novel I knew it would be a good book for me to read and review. When I start to read this novel I could tell that the blurb was right and the heroine, Flannery Sloane, is a free spirited bohemian with a soul blessed by Irish musical tradition. She doesn’t give a care for where she’s going or how she’ll get there because joy and passion are her only map. Flann is a wonderful character that I had a pleasure getting to know because she is so different from some of the other heroines I've read and, though she’s not interested in falling in love, she wouldn’t mind a little fun with a fine looking man, which I completely agree with, LOL!

Now the hero of the novel, Hunter "Cade" Kincade, looks like he could fill that bill and have a bit of change left over and that is something I completely agree with because if I were Flann I would totally have him for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But even though Cade and Flann have this instant chemistry that sparks even before they official meet there are some flaws in both of them that may as well stop their relationship before if even gets started. Flannery never wears a watch so she’s late for everything but the downbeat of a fiddle tune which is her entire live since her mother handed her her first fiddle. She’s happy serving pints in the pub that her two older fraternal twin brother, Tynan, and sister, Kerry, run in Boston and also playing for tips and smiles in the Feneuil Hall Marketplace. While Cade thrives on punctuality which really isn't going to work out if he wants to make things work with Flann. He is in the music business with his focus on the bottom line which is why the pretty fiddle player with the bright green eyes would make his next production worth the price of a CD. Their only common ground is the belief that falling in love is a danger to health and sanity. Will it take more than Irish magic to pull a man like Cade into the spell of a woman like Flannery? They are all wrong for each other...and yet they are so right as a couple who will bake their relationship last forever.

I practically devoured this novel in less than a day which means that this book is a great read since at the time I started reading it I was starting my family vacation to the Dominican Republic. Flann and Cade are like polar opposites when I start reading this novel but as I got more into the plot I could see that they are both so much alike if they would only get past their insecurities that formed from their past experiences. I was so sad when I finally came to the end of this novel because I never wanted it to end since I fell in love with both Flann and Cade as well as the wonderful secondary characters that made this novel so much fun to read. As a debut novel Clare Austin has woven a romantic Irish tale with intriguing characters that will keep you flipping the pages until the very end. This is only the beginning of what I feel will be a great trilogy that I will be keeping a watch for. The next two books in Clare Austin's Fadó Trilogy, Angel's Share, (which is about Kerry Sloane) and the yet to be titled third book (which is about Tynan Sloane). I give this book 4 Open Books:

Here is the description of the book from Clare Austin's website and picture:

BUTTERFLY by Clare Austin $ 6.00 (Book 1)(270 Pages)

Flannery Sloane is a free spirited bohemian with a soul blessed by Irish musical tradition. She doesn’t give a care for where she’s going or how she’ll get there. Joy and passion are her only map. And, though she’s not interested in falling in love, she wouldn’t mind a little fun with a fine looking man. Hunter Kincade looks like he could fill that bill and have a bit of change left over. Flannery never wears a watch. She’s late for everything but the downbeat of a fiddle tune. She’s happy serving pints in the pub and playing for tips and smiles. Hunter thrives on punctuality. He is in the music business with his focus on the bottom line. The pretty fiddle player with the bright green eyes would make his next production worth the price of a CD. Their only common ground is the belief that falling in love is a danger to health and sanity. Will it take more than Irish magic to pull a man like Hunter into the spell of a woman like Flannery? They are all wrong for each other...and they are so right.