Guest Author & Giveaway: Tawna Fenske featuring Making Waves

I happen to really love Pirate Romances...it's like my "dirty little secret" kind of love :)  And I often lament that there aren't more Pirate Romances published these days...let alone one that is not a historical, ie a contemporary setting.  That's like finding buried treasure, my friends because it almost never happens.  I like them so much that I'm seriously considering dedicating a whole week to a variety of outstanding ones.

So, when I heard about Tawna Fenske's debut novel, Making Waves, I was excited for two different reasons.  (1) Pirate Romance-like,  and  (2) after reading the cover quote, "Hilarious, a wild, sexy romp with a fresh, fun take on love" I thought to myself that I might have found an Contemporary Romance author that I could love, much like I love Jill Shalvis' sexy fun romances.  Who wouldn't want more of those?  

Tawna Fenske is my guest today to share a bit about her "Piratebitch" of a romance, Making Waves :)  Read and enjoy!

Want to know a secret?

Every manuscript I’ve written has a working title that bears little resemblance to the finished title stamped on the cover of the book. Though I’m delighted with the title for Making Waves, that will never be the book’s name in my mind.

To me, it will always be Piratebitch.

That’s what I called it from the day I first began crafting the manuscript, and it’s how I continue to think of it even when all the reviews refer to the book by its real name.

Piratebitch – er, Making Waves – is the story of a guy who spends his life playing by the rules as an executive for the world’s largest shipping company. When the boss screws him over in a shady layoff, Alex decides he’s had enough of the rules. He makes a plan to reclaim his life, pension, and dignity by sailing to the Caribbean and intercepting the boss’s illegal diamond shipment in the most dysfunctional pirate mission in history.

Reviewers have dubbed the book a “pirate farce,” a description I think is pretty accurate. One thing I wanted to do with this book is take the traditional pirate romance cliché and turn it on its head.

But that’s not to say I think pirate romances deserve mockery. On the contrary, there’s a reason they’re so popular. There’s something appealing about a guy who breaks all the rules to get what’s owed to him. There’s something sexy about the element of danger. There’s something hot about a take charge man with a great set of pecs and a cutlass in his trousers and—

Is it hot in here?

The heroine in Piratebitch – er, Making Waves – isn’t your typical damsel in distress with heaving bosoms and an ill-fitting bustier. She’s quirky and more than a little socially awkward (the reasons for which Juli would prefer to keep to herself). Though her presence on the ship is the result of a bad reaction to seasickness medication, she’s hardly an unwilling captive.

In fact, she urgently wants to belong to the misfit pirate crew, despite the fact that they’re clearly more suited for the boardroom than the poop deck. She hasn’t found a career that holds her interest so far, and piracy seems like a viable option. Getting into the spirit of her new career, she turns up in one scene wearing an eye patch fashioned from a pair of black thong panties.

But Juli also embraces some aspects of the pirate crew cliché. She loves the idea of belonging somewhere, even if it’s with a band of corporate castoffs attempting a high seas diamond heist. She’s inspired by the camaraderie and mentally stimulated by mission.

She’s stimulated by a few other things, too, something this book certainly shares with pirate romances of yore.

What do you find most appealing about pirate romances? Are there elements of those tales you’d just as soon see take a walk off the plank? Please share!

And happy sailing to all of you! Arrrr!

She always wanted to belong…just not to a dysfunctional pirate crew

Juli has trouble fitting in, though she’d prefer to keep the reasons to herself. But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns.

He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior…

But Alex isn’t feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb. Meeting Juli doesn’t do much to restore normalcy to Alex’s life either, but it sure is exhilarating!

As Alex and Juli bare their secrets—and a whole lot more—they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful.

Read an excerpt

Congratulations Tawna on your debut, and thanks for being a guest at Seductive Musings today!  If you'd like to learn more about Tawna Fenske and her "Bombshell" path to publication, you can find her at her website www.tawnafenske.com, Facebook, Twitter, and her blog "Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing"...kind of like "Don't Feed the Animals" ;)

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Making Waves, her publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca would like to giveaway a copy of the book to TWO piratebitches, er lucky Musings followers.  Here's how you can enter to win...

Ways to earn entries:

• Mandatory:  Answer the questions Tawna asked readers in her post and leave her some general comment love. (more than "I'd like to win".) (good for 1 entry)
• Mandatory: You MUST be a Google Friend Connect (GFC) follower in order to be eligible to win (unfortunately an email subscriber, or subscription in Google reader, and a follower are not the same thing so make sure you are signed up as a follower if you'd like to win this book)
• Just For Fun:  Since National Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming up (Sept 19th).  Tell me what your Pirate Name is after taking the What's My Pirate Name Quiz?  (Mine was Captain Charity Flint...I'm likin' it...ARRRR!)
• If you have a blog, or even if you don't, you can earn extra entries by telling your friends. If they successfully enter to win and mention that you sent them you can each earn extra entries. You can blog about it with a link to this post, post it on Facebook, Twitter, email...or even word of mouth (good for 5 entries for the referrer and the commenter for each friend) . Please note that to earn the points they must mention your GFC name so that I can match you.
• Purchase any item from the Seductive Musings Amazon store by using this link, or the Amazon widget contained within this post and email a copy of your purchase receipt to me no later than the deadline to enter (email available in sidebar). Sorry purchases made prior to this date do not apply, and link contained in this post must be used. No faxes or snail mail copies are allowed. No purchases are necessary to win. (good for 25 entries, or 50 entries if a purchase is made from the featured author's available titles)

How to enter:

• You can choose to enter as many different ways that you want, but please place all of your entries in ONE comment 

Rules and disclaimers:

• This contest is open to US & Canada addresses only.
• You must be at least 18 years or older, or of legal age in your country
• The contest will end on August 27th at 11:59 pm EST and winner will be posted after they have been selected
• Winner(s) will be selected using Random.org
• The winner(s) will have THREE days from the date they are posted to provide a mailing address. If you do not contact me within three days a replacement winner will be selected. NO EXCEPTIONS
• The book(s) will be mailed directly from the publisher or author and no substitutions are allowed
• Winners will be subject to one copy per household, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, that you will only receive one copy of the title in the mail
• Seductive Musings is not responsible for prizes that are not honored, distributed in a timely manner, lost, stolen, or damaged during transit 
• All giveaways are subject to change/cancellation without prior written notice

Good Luck!

*Seductive Musings is an Amazon affiliate and receives a very small referral fee for purchases made via the links on the blog and through the Seductive Musings Amazon Store. Read the full disclosure here.