Cat Johnson Braves Doll Lil’s Word Association Challenge!

Kitt: Hi Aleah, we’d like to welcome you to Paperback Dolls! We’re so happy to have you here.

Aleah: Thanks! I’m so excited to be here!

Kitt: Since this is your first time at Paperback Dolls, can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

Aleah: Sure! I’m a bike riding, movie watching, blue jean wearing, seafood eating; beach obsessed twenty-something who needs to get her nails done.

Kitt: When did you first start writing? What made you decide – ‘ok, this is it, I’m writing a book’?

Aleah: My first book was bound in cardboard and shelving paper. My kindergarten teacher loved it. I’ve been writing—obsessively—ever since.

Kitt: Do you have any authors that you took inspiration from or influenced you the most?

Aleah: Um, will I sound like too much of a cliché if I say Jennifer Crusie? Then there’s Janet Evanovinch, and Carly Phillips. Of course, I’d kill for the comic timing of Terry Pratchett or the verbal efficiency of Robert B. Parker.

Kitt: When you want to get away from your own books and take a break, what do you read?

Aleah: Murder mysteries from the eighties, fantasy from the nineties, romances from Jane Austen to the lastest Susan Donovan novel, the New York Times, and anything else that comes my way. I’m an equal opportunity reader.

Kitt: Can you tell us a little bit about Too Hot to Handle?

Aleah: Honey Moore’s made a pledge, no more stealing cars and no more lusting after Jack Ogden. But when an arsonist torches her house and chases her all over Los Angeles, she’s forced to throw herself on Jack’s Mercy. Hopefully, no one will think of looking for a convicted felon in an LAPD detective’s apartment. As for Jack, he’s a drop dead sexy workaholic who’s willing to sacrifice everything to protect Honey from the arsonist determined to kill her. The logline says it all: ‘He stole her heart, she stole his car.’

Kitt: Are any of your characters, such as Jack Ogden, based on other people? Do you have mental images for your characters?

Aleah: I wish Jack Ogden were based on a real person! In my head, he’s a cross between Clive Owen, Robocop, and the perfect man. You know, the man you met the other day who’s smart, funny, and drop dead gorgeous, and you haven’t known enough to learn any of his flaws.
Am I the only one who thinks like that?

Kitt: Was there a particular scene or part of the book that was more challenging to write, if so, can you explain?

Aleah: Each scene is more challenging to write than the last one. The hardest part for me was editing, luckily I had a great editor at Entangled Publishing (Shout out to Ruth!), which made all the difference.

Kitt: If there is a lesson that each of your main characters need to learn what would it be?

Aleah: Jack needs to learn how to leave his job at the office. Being a detective’s a rewarding career, not a life sentence. Honey’s pretty nifty, she just needs to learn how to believe in herself.

Kitt: So, what’s next on your “to-do” list? We know you are busy promoting your new book, but are there any new works in progress we can be anticipating? Or are there any other genres that you’d like to explore?

Aleah: Cross your fingers, I’m hoping to be able to announce signing a new book with Entangled any day now. In the meantime I’m thinking of branching out into fantasy. Sinfully sexy romantic fantasy, but still fantasy. Maybe something like ‘a troll walks into a bar.’

Kitt: We want to thank you so much for taking the time to visit us and answer our questions! We are super thrilled to have you on Paperback Dolls. Best of Luck to you!

Aleah: Thank you so much! I just want to tell people that they can follow me at www.aleahbarley.blogspot.com and to remind them that they can get their very own copy of Too Hot to Handle at Entangled Publishing.

Aleah Barley is a writer of humorous (she hopes) contemporary romance. After living all over the United States, she recently moved to Motor City with a fluffy Maine Coon Cat who is constantly trying to appropriate her computer. Her debut book ‘What Goes Around’ is due out from Entangled Publishing’s Indulgence line any minute. She is hard at work on her next book.

Find Aleah: | | |
Buy the book: Entangled Publishing | | Barnes and Nobles Nook

She was playing with fire…

Honey Moore has made her pledge: no more stealing cars and no more lusting after Jack Ogden. But when an arsonist torches her house and chases her all over Los Angeles, she’s forced to throw herself on Jack’s mercy. No one will look for a convicted felon in an LAPD detective’s apartment, right?

…and he didn’t want to get burned

Jack doesn’t need a woman like Honey in his life. She might be sexy, but trouble follows her everywhere. But it’s hard to walk away from someone who lives at full throttle—and even harder to keep her safe. Now he’ll have to sacrifice everything to protect Honey from the arsonist determined to kill her.

Read the first chapter.

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Paperback Dolls is made up of women from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds, different tastes and beliefs that were brought together through a love of reading. We like to think of ourselves as a cyber version of "The View" that focuses on books, authors, and reading. We are proof positive that one common love can unite the most opposite of people and form lasting friendships that introduce other ways of life and perspectives to each other.

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