#TeaTime with Robecca and author Estelle Pettersen as we chat about her new release in #RainbowDesire

Meet author Estelle Pettersen author of Flowers for Kate in Rainbow Desire

  • What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, to date?

Do not give up on writing. There was one point in my writing career where I wanted to give up due to the imposter syndrome among other things, but I had to push my doubts and anxiety away to keep writing. I have mentors and friends who help me along the way. 

  • What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

If you choose to become an author, do it because you are passionate and confident about it. It should be more than just a hobby or career – it’s a passion. Regarding confidence, it is okay to bend a few writing rules to find your own voice and style. Think of authors like Jon Fosse who are appreciated for their unique styles. 

  • What are two things your readers do not know about you?
  • I am an introvert who likes to keep to myself. I am sensitive to “noise” and I keep away from crowds. 
  • I suffer from chronic pain, which I’ve learned to live with. It slows me down a great deal, and I am a full-time working parent in addition to being an author. 
  • Let’s talk about sex. How steamy are your books?

My stories vary – my published work is steamy, four to five flames with some BDSM elements. My latest story, Flowers for Kate in Rainbow Desire, an LGBTQ+ anthology published by Black Velvet Seductions, focuses more on the emotional factors in a relationship. It explores happiness, loss, grief, and a discovery of everlasting love. 

Blurb of Flowers for Kate in Rainbow Desire

It’s 1988, a decade after video killed the radio star. Disco’s out of fashion, and pop music dominates the dance floor.

At twenty-two, Kate Calloway is a bangle-loving university student finding her way in life with her friends. She’s allergic to pollen and hates flowers until she meets the mysterious Dahlia, a florist who takes her breath away.

Kate wants Dahlia, but does Dahlia feel the same for Kate? Will they forge an unbreakable bond of love, or will circumstances tear them apart? Find out in this short story about finding true love.

Flowers for Kate is a short story in Rainbow Desire, an anthology that celebrates life and love in its kaleidoscope of exotic rainbow colours. The stories within the book also reflect its vibrant shades of romance from light and dark. The LGBTQ+ anthology features work by international and award-winning authors. 

Book link: https://amzn.to/3ATp0jl or https://books2read.com/u/mYZPQd

Excerpt of Flowers for Kate

This is the moment the protagonist, Kate, meets Dahlia for the first time:

The club’s speakers blared U2’s haunting song, “With Or Without You.” I felt desire running in my veins when I spotted the goddess, Isis, on the dance floor. She was a ripe slice of heaven in tight jeans, an off-shoulder T-shirt, and white high-top sneakers. The dark-haired angel danced with her friends in the most alluring manner, leaving me in a trance. Her slender body swayed in perfect sync to the song while the men dancing near her inched closer. She ignored them, closing her eyes and touching the curves of her sensuous hips. 

Seduce me, I wanted to say to her. 

Seduce me with your dance. 

Seduce me with your body. 

Seduce me with your eyes. 

As if she heard me, her eyes fluttered open and gazed toward me. She slowed her dance almost to a halt and bewitched me with her soft stare. Her eyes, dark and hauntingly beautiful, sparkled with passion as her full lips curved up in a captivating smile. Damn, you’re all woman, and you’re beautiful! I grinned, showing my large front teeth. I felt as if someone had cast an Egyptian love spell on me, and I was spiraling over the edge, losing control.

About the author

Estelle Pettersen is an Australian author and former journalist whose romance stories explore empowerment, freedom, and finding one’s strength. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Journalism and Psychology, from the University of Queensland, Australia. Her second degree is an MBA from Queensland University of Technology, Australia. She is a member of Romance Writers of Australia and is passionate about history, languages, cultures, traveling, food, and wine. She is happily married and living in Norway these days.

Connect with Estelle here:

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/estellepettersen

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/author/estellepettersen  

Author website: https://elusiveromance.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elusiveromance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elusive_6788

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elusive_6788

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20482227.Estelle_Pettersen

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/estellepettersen

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/estellepettersen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estelle-pettersen-3716741b1/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/estelle-pettersen

Rainbow Desire anthology book link: https://amzn.to/3ATp0jl or https://books2read.com/u/mYZPQd

The Christmas Gift

Sassy | Holiday | Billionaire Romance


The Christmas Gift

ROBECCA AUSTIN

Blurb

Ivy

It was supposed to be a one-night stand. A hot night of sweaty indulgence with a man she’d vetted. A man she could play with and then walk away from, someone who ticked all her boxes. Instead, she was facing off with Corin, a man who hijacked all her rules and made her knees weak.

When the pregnancy stick turns pink eight weeks later, all her carefully laid plans go down in flames.

Starting over in a big city is no challenge for Ivy. She’s intelligent, successful, and can readily form a plan. Too bad her strategy didn’t involve her new boss turning out to be her baby’s father.

Cor

Straight-laced and uptight ought to be kryptonite to Corin’s carefree, love-them-and-leave-them lifestyle. Yet, the memory of the one night with a mystery woman haunts him. When he’s finally convinced himself his memories of that night are overblown, she turns up at his firm with the Christmas gift he didn’t know he needed.


Curves for Christmas (Series)

Santa’s sleigh is loaded with a dozen sexy treats for twelve of his curviest sweethearts! Curves for Christmas is a collaboration of short holiday love stories from twelve of your favorite authors. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, and cozy up to these steaming hot book boyfriends.

This holiday season, escape to Fitzpatrick Place in Bourbon, Texas where great friendships, sexy men and a crazy landlady make life more fun.

Excerpt from The Christmas Gift

September

Wheelcaster Waterfront

Ivy

The most swoony man Ivy Collymore had ever met, dropped himself into the brown leather seat on the opposite side of the booth. She’d already ticked and double-checked her list for the perfect casual set-up, and this man wasn’t the person she’d planned to meet.

From under her lashes, she took in his sleek man-bun and the open collar of his shirt, then bit the inside of her cheek when he caught her staring. He was even brazen enough to smile knowingly.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Before she answered, he picked up the menu. Her gaze followed his smooth movements as he got more comfortable, loosening the button to his suit jacket.

Drat! At the purr of his Southern drawl, her heart raced and she swallow to stop the unexpected feeling, but her body had other ideas as it continued humming. She shouldn’t have looked at him twice. His type—with his playboy carefree vibes—wasn’t on her carefully constructed agenda for the evening. She needed a one-night stand she could have fun with and walk away from, not to be another name on a scorecard of some overly cocky guy.

He arched a brow when she didn’t answer.

She did mind. He could have chosen any one of the three lounges in the hotel. With his sexy-as-hell close-shaven jaw and raven-black hair, he was going to intimidate the hell out of her date when he showed up.

Politeness won…barely. “The seat’s empty.”

Why did his eyes have to be equally alluring? Not that weak brown that faded in light, but cocoa bean brown. Those eyes were now aimed in her direction.

Did you grab The Christmas Gift yet?