Interview with Joanne C. Berroa

Today, we've got an interview! This is super exciting for me, because not only do I love author interviews but I love pirates! So, let's just right in here!

Welcome Joanne! Why don't you tell us about your latest work? 
Hi! My latest romance is Rapture on the High Seas and it was released on 12/10/14 by Rebel Ink Press. It’s a contemporary romantic suspense novel about the daughter of a billionaire banker and a Somali pirate leader.
What inspired it? 
While eating pizza at Pizza Hut one day, my son and I were talking about my novels. He said I should do a contemporary romance about a woman who is captured by modern day pirates. We brainstormed while we waited for our pie to be cooked and my son jotted our thoughts down on a table napkin. When I came home, I wrote a quick outline and the story of Rapture on the High Seas was born.
Is there something you are currently working on?
Yes, I’m working on a sequel to the popular The Diamond Cross. The original story of Hungarian immigrants ends with the marriage of the hero and heroine, and the sequel picks up their story seven years later. It’s entitled The Diamond Legacy.
Is there a topic you would like to write about but haven't gotten around to yet?
I have an outline already done for another romance. It’s a romance/mystery and I can’t wait to get started on it. It’ll have a surprise ending that no one expects!
When did you finally feel like you could call yourself an author? 
I’ve been writing since I was seven years old. Back then I wrote short stories dealing with space travel and science fiction. At nineteen, I wrote my first romance novel. I was published by traditional publishers back in the early 80’s. My first published novel was entitled The Barbary Coasters and was under the pseudonym Lee Davis Willoughby. Later, Rebel Ink Press released five novels under my own name.
What made you decide to submit your writing to a publisher? Was it scary the first time? 
I was married to a published author and he put in a good word for me with his agent. She submitted my works to publishers and I got my first offer in 1982. Yes, it was scary, but I had my husband to help guide me every step of the way.
Other than writing, what are your favorite things to do?
I’ve been a piano teacher for 38 years. I have my music and lots of crafty things to keep me busy. I also love shopping for bargains at thrift stores.
Are there any websites where readers can connect with you? 
www.joannecberroa.blogspot.com
www.joannecberroa.wordpress.com


Rapture on the High Seas: Joanne C. Berroa, release date 12/10/14.

Blurb:
Laurel Vanderman Delacroix is the daughter of billionaire Victor Vanderman, owner and CEO of multi-national World One Bank. Although Laurel has a high level job within the family business, her life is unfulfilled, and she takes an extended African vacation with friends aboard her multi-million dollar yacht. She never expects to be hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, some three hundred miles out in International waters off the coast of Tanzania. She has no way of knowing that this is no random act of piracy. Someone who wants to bankrupt her father set the hijacking in motion, and the perpetrator doesn’t care what happens to Laurel and her friends in the process.
The Somali pirate leader who captures Laurel and her friends aboard Bubbles is extremely competent and dangerous, which makes him a force to be reckoned with. He’s also an astute businessman with millions in his Swiss bank account. Will this Somali pirate carry out his mission and put Laurel’s and her friends’ lives on the line, or does he subscribe to another agenda? Will he capture Laurel’s heart along with his ransom demands, or completely destroy it?
My Somali Pirate is a contemporary story of danger, intrigue and betrayal. Above all else, it’s a sensual tale of love that’ll leave you feeling warm all over and believing that nothing is ever as it seems.

Excerpt:
His scowl made her heart hammer and he crossed the distance between them with panther-like grace. Before she could blink, a six inch blade materialized in his right hand and with a flash, he yanked the sheet away from her and slashed the scanty material at the center of her bra, severing it. Rendered with precision and skill, she felt no pain and the knife drew no blood, but the bra fell open, exposing Laurel’s upturned breasts to his lascivious gaze. She gasped. The haughty pirate touched the tip of the knife to his lips and licked it as though it had just sliced through a savory steak. His face harbored a smug smile. “That could’ve been your throat, Mrs. Delacroix. Luckily I was aiming a bit lower.”
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