Welcome… Sage Ardman, Author!

Good Morning, Sage. Thank you for being here today. Can you please tell everyone here a little bit about yourself?

I’m 60 years old, married, and have two sons in their twenties, both of whom have left the nest. I live in California, but spend every summer in Ontario, canoeing and enjoying the beautiful waters.
I have always been a huge reader of fiction, but I never knew about romance novels until last year when I wrote “Executive Sweet”. At first, I started reading romance novels because it helped me write my book. But I soon fell in love with romances (well, most of them, anyway) and so far I’ve gobbled up 70 of them. I prefer contemporary adult, but I’ve read a few historical, paranormal, young adult, urban fantasy, etc.
So what was I doing with myself for the 59 years before romance grabbed me by the throat? I’ve been a computer programmer! These days, computers seem less and less interesting, and I spend all my time reading and writing romance.

Executive Sweet is a romance novel. What inspired you to take the leap into writing in the romance genre?

“Executive Sweet” was the result of a huge “what if” question. What if (I asked myself) a CEO intentionally tried to distract his adversaries by bringing a beautiful woman with him whose job was to tilt the negotiation in their favor? Besides being sexy, the woman would have to be business savvy, and also quite adept at playing such a “con game.” At first, I wrote some vignettes about these sorts of business deals. But then, I realized that the love interest would be compelling, and so the vignettes got woven into a romance novel. Although this seems to have a pretty standard “CEO and beautiful woman” formula, it is nothing like the other romances in that category (I know, I’ve searched in vain). In my case, the two of them start off as friendly colleagues, and the hero is much more modest (the usual attitude such men have is that they’re more powerful than everything else that walks the earth).

Your main character, Kay Samson, has found herself in an interesting business situation. Would you have the same confidence as her, if faced in a similar scenario?

One of the things that I did to prepare myself to write “Executive Sweet” was to learn about con games. I’ve read books, watched TV shows, and seen a number of movies. It takes some serious nerve to be able to pull that stuff off, and as much as I wish I could do it, I doubt I’d be able to.

What is your perfect reading/writing day?

I prefer writing to reading, so my perfect day is when I get to work on new material. The characters seem to live in my head, and I can sit for hours, typing dialog that I hear them saying. Later on, I go back over the dialog and add inner thoughts, emotions, and physical actions.

When I’m not writing, I read and read. I can sit for hours reading. And ever since EBook readers came on the market, I’m in love with them. In fact, when I’m forced to read a paper book, I hate it, and can’t wait to finish it.

Besides Executive Sweet, are there other books that you have written or books that you plan on writing soon?

It turns out that “Executive Sweet” is the first of a 3-book series that I’m now calling the “Westerley” series. Book two is nearly done and I expect it in a few months. Book three is already taking shape in my head. All three books share the same characters, but stand on their own as romances. The nice part is that they fill-in for each other, providing further character development, and sometimes even replaying a scene from a different point of view.

Now if you want to go backwards in time, before “Executive Sweet,” you will find that I’ve written two other books. But they’re computer books, and believe me, you don’t want to read them. I know I don’t.

Bonus Questions for Giveaway:
1. What is the first romance book you ever read?
a. Sonia Singh – “Goddess for Hire”
b. Susan Elizabeth Phillips – “What I Did For Love.”
c. Joelle Charbonneau – “Skating Around the Law”

2. Out of the books list above, is there one that you wish you could “live in”?
a. Sonia Singh – “Goddess for Hire”
b. Susan Elizabeth Phillips – “What I Did For Love.”
c. Joelle Charbonneau – “Skating Around the Law”
d. None of the above, because your life has the best romance of all.

I would like to thank Sage Ardman for stopping by here today. She is offering one lucky commenter a paperback copy of her book, Executive Sweet. For your chance to win, just leave a comment below between now and Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 11:00pm EDT. Each comment will count as one entry, however, if you choose to answer either (or both) of the bonus questions and each correct answer will count as another entry. Winner will be selected using Random.org, and will be announced Wednesday, October 2, 2013. You can find my review of Executive Sweet here. Good Luck to you all!

Enjoy!
~Ariesgrl