Today I am happy to welcome to Book Lovers Inc. Nina Croft, author of sci-fi and paranormal romances. Recently she released a sizzling contemporary romance set in sunny places with a  dashing hero, so of course I was curious to hear more about what inspired Luc, the irresistibly charming rogue of  Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire (you can read my review here). Please give Nina a warm welcome and answer her question to be entered to win a copy of her novel.

The Lure of the Mediterranean

I think one of the things I’ve always loved best about reading romance is being transported to fabulous, exotic places—preferably hot.

I’m English, and I grew up in a small town in the north of England, in an area known as the Lake District. It was a beautiful place, but the sun rarely shines and it rains there—a lot.

I yearned for the sun, and when I started reading romances in my early teens, I was always drawn to the ones with hot, sultry settings and with tall, dark, handsome heroes; Greeks, Italians, Spaniard’s, all hot-blooded and spectacularly rich (owning their own island always helps). I dreamed of one day lying on a sun-kissed Mediterranean beach with a stunningly gorgeous, very-nearly-naked hero of my own. He’d be all golden skin and rippling muscles, and one look from his dark eyes would melt me into a puddle in the sand.

It never happened. I found a lovely English guy instead, but we did travel a lot when I was younger, and I spent a lot of time lying on sun-kissed beaches. And when it came to settling down, it was hardly surprising that I ended up not far from the Mediterranean. In fact, I now live on a farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, which looks down onto the Mediterranean Sea. I love the area, the people, the food, the fiestas… It’s a fabulously inspiring place and it’s not unexpected that I now find myself unable to resist the lure of writing about Mediterranean men.

Luc, the hero of Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire, wasn’t inspired by any one man in particular, but by an amalgamation of all those Mediterranean heroes I dreamed about. Here’s my heroine’s first impressions:

Where Nina lives now

“He was very tall and lean, with midnight black hair and golden skin all wrapped up in a dark business suit, maroon-colored tie and pristine white shirt; he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, with the sleek, carnal good looks of a fallen angel. A deep scar ran from his right eye down across his cheek lifting the corner of his mouth, turning his masculine beauty into something dangerous, and Lia felt the muscles in her belly clench.”

One of the other things I love including in a story, is contrast. Contrast between the hero and heroine and between the various settings where the book takes place. And having one of the characters of a different nationality immediately increases that contrast. Lia, my heroine is typically English and comes from a small village in the countryside. Luc’s half Italian. His mother was Italian and came from a wealthy background, his father was a small-time London crook. So the story shifts between the sleazy strip clubs of Luc’s upbringing, to the London of the staggeringly rich, and finally, to Luc’s fantasy Italian island and that sun-kissed beach I still dream about.

And my next Indulgence includes a stunningly sexy Spaniard, so I’m sticking to my love of Mediterranean heroes. Is there a type of hero you go back to again and again? Let me know for a chance to win an ecopy of Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire.

Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire by Nina Croft

Seduction by any means necessary…

Olivia Brent is happy with her quiet life in the country, until the imminent loss of her home forces her to embark on a search for her estranged father. Catapulted into a world of criminals and totally out of her depth, Olivia is rescued by the stunningly gorgeous and enigmatic billionaire Luc Severino.

Luc has never considered himself a knight in shining armor, and if he had been, then Jimmy Brent’s daughter was the last person he would choose to rescue. But Olivia is the key to finding her father, and Luc is willing to use any methods available, including blackmail, to persuade Olivia to help him find Jimmy and finally put the past behind him.

And if blackmail doesn’t gain her total cooperation, then perhaps a little seduction will…

Read and excerpt here

Buy at: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Books on Board

Read my review

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina writes all types of romance often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Entangled Publishing have generously offered an ebook copy of Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire to one lucky commenter!

All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment about the post and answer Nina’s question: is there a type of hero you go back to again and again?
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).

This giveaway is open to all!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, April 15th, 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

About Stella

Stella is a proud bookaholic and a self-taught multilinguist in training. Besides reading, her other great passions are travelling and baking. When she is not globetrotting she lives in sunny Budapest, where she loves to spend her free time preparing (and feasting on) delicious cookies or devouring equally yummy books. Her favourite genres are urban fantasy and romance and she couldn't live without her daily dose of sunshine. Besides being the Latin Lover on BLI Stella also blogs about books and a bookish life on Ex Libris.

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