Talking With: Liv Rancourt

Thanks so much, Lola, for the chance to be a guest on your blog. I had to answer six questions – can’t color in the lines, either – but I’ll try to keep my answers short. 😉

What inspired you to write this book?

Between the Sheets is a story about the shenanigans at a weekend retreat for music teachers. Most of the significant people in my life are musicians, and some of the most influential teachers I know teach music, and the story is my way of saying kudos to them. I did my best to create characters who are real and human and sexy (some of them, at least), who also happen to be music teachers.

 

What types of books do you enjoy reading? What is on your nightstand?

I’m all about the romance, with some creepy paranormal/horror mixed in. Recent favorites include The Quick by Lauren Owen (shivery fun!), Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun (title = goofy/Hunter = HOT), and A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan (fabulous historical m/m action). Last night I started Charlaine Harris’s new one, Midnight Crossroad, which features one of the minor characters from the Harper Connolly series. Only about a third of the way through, but it’s too much fun so far!!

 

Do you listen to music when you write?  If so, what?

Sometimes, not always. I don’t create an individual soundtrack for each book, but I do usually have Pandora playing, and I’ll often identify a theme song for whatever I’m working on. For Between the Sheets, the theme song is something bluesy and rocking, like Tom Petty’s American Girl or maybe Tumbling Dice by the Rolling Stones.

What is your favorite part about being an author?

Making shit up!!

Excuse my outburst, but I love to let my mind wander and dream up new ways of messing with my characters. The getting it down on paper thing is a bit more challenging, but it feels good when it’s done.

 

If a celebrity did the audio book reading, who would you pick and why?

In my dreams, Benedict Cumberbatch and Orlando Bloom would wrestle for the right to do the narration, because they have such lovely….voices.

 

We’re at a bar with your hero and heroine, what are they drinking?

Randy’s got some history with the demon drink, so he’s having Coke. Maggie’s got a beer, because she’s that kind of girl. She also plays first base on her coed softball team, and her favorite band is Albannach (Scottish drums and pipes). Randy thinks bagpipes are hard to take at the volume Maggie likes to play them, but he also thinks she’s the prettiest thing he’s seen in a long time, so he keeps his mouth shut. He does sometimes turn the stereo down when she’s not looking….

 

Dessert time! Give me your “either—or” answers

• Chocolate, fruit or other?
  • Duh, chocolate.
• Warm or cold?
  • Warm, as in on-a-beach warm.
• Buttercream or fondant?
  • Fondant.
• Cookies or brownies?
  • Cookies. I have a short attention span, and there are more varieties.
• With nuts or without?
  • Mostly without, though I do make exceptions.

Thanks again, Lola!

You’re welcome.  I had a chance to read Between the Sheets and loved it.  For readers wanting more, here’s the blurb.

Life for music teacher Maggie Schafer has been full of flat notes lately. Sick of being single and celibate, she vows to get her groove back at the upcoming Western Washington Choral Directors Annual Retreat. 

Too bad the only guy who seems interested is a pompous dork who thinks he’s God’s gift to women—and the music education world. When he gets a little too arrogant and crosses boundaries, gorgeous pianist Randy Devers swoops in to run interference. After sharing a shockingly hot kiss in front of the whole conference, Maggie and Randy come up with a plan to pretend they’re dating.

However, the more time they spend together—and the more physical their “pretend” relationship gets—the more she wonders if there could be anything beyond just smoking chemistry and a friendly agreement between them.

Maggie’s got history, Randy’s got baggage, and they’ve got a weekend to get their rhythms in sync and figure out how to turn their solo lives into a beautiful duet.

 

Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22731244-between-the-sheets)

Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-the-sheets-liv-rancourt/1120082650?ean=9781440584855&itm=1&usri=9781440584855&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10:1&r=1,%201)

Kobo (http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/between-the-sheets-29)

Google (http://books.google.com/books/about/Between_the_Sheets.html?id=t98-BAAAQBAJ)

Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Between-Sheets-Liv-Rancourt-ebook/dp/B00N0Y5WV0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1409150375&sr=8-2&keywords=liv+rancourt)

Liv Rancourt writes light, funny, contemporary romance and urban fantasy. Her novel Hell…The Story was a 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinal entry. Previous publishing credits include Forever & Ever, Amen, a paranormal romance from Crimson Romance, and A Vampire’s Deadly Delight, an urban fantasy novella from Black Opal Books. She has also contributed several short stories to the Ten Tales series edited by Rayne Hall and she is represented by Margaret Bail from Inklings Literary Agency.

Liv’s day job is as a neonatal nurse practitioner, and she’s taken care of small and sick infants for almost thirty years. Before she got serious about writing, she spent her free time fronting a rock band and hanging out in the church choir. Currently, she lives in Seattle with her husband, her two kids, and a slightly addled menagerie.

She can be found on-line at her website & blog (www.livrancourt.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/liv.rancourt), or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/LivRancourt).