"House on Hundred Hill" review and Giveaway

Hi Guys!

I have author Jemima Valentino here with us today, promoting her newest novella "House on Hundred Hill." When Jemima sent me the ARC for “The House on Hundred Hill" to read she warned me about its contents, especially as it is intended for adult audiences and contains BDSM. If you know me, I don’t care what it is, as long as there are words in it, I will read it. That doesn't mean I will like it and enjoy it, however, I am damned glad I read “The House on Hundred Hill.”

Here is a little bit about the Author:

Jemima Valentino is an English 30-something; married to an excessively patient man with two beautiful daughters and an excitable cross-bred mutt called Eddie. She is also a writer of dark paranormal romance, BDSM erotica and modern fiction.

Jemima fell in love with reading and writing as a child but it was only in 2009 that writing became an obsession. After months of procrastination and plucking up the courage, she published

'His Elle' in January 2011 and now has a full blown desire to continue writing.

The House on Hundred Hill: The Nephilim Book One

Jessica Rylan has spent her entire life trying to fit in, despite feeling deep down that she doesn't quite belong. A slave to passions that she doesn't quite understand, she does her best to simply ignore her burgeoning sensuality. Little does Jessica realize that a seemingly chance encounter with the handsome Nate Black will turn her world upside down.

All it takes is one garden party invitation to pull her into an ancient struggle, one where she must place her trust in Nate and his mysterious brother Draven to survive. As Jessica becomes seduced by the ancient and mystical world of the Nephilim, she finally begins to understand her own dark desires. Because Draven Black is searching for something... Something only Jessica can provide.

My review:

“The House on Hundred Hill” is a novella of approximately 35k words/ 120 pages. I sat on the couch today and finished it within hours. I dove right in into Jessica’s life and her struggles with her own inner demons, those she fought so hard to hide. Throughout the story you can’t help but develop feelings for both Nate and Draven, even when the later can sometimes sound too much like a grandpa, that is when he is not spanking naughty Jessica. I obviously won’t give the end away, but it saddened me the tiniest… Oh, and don’t call her Jess or Jessie, she hates that! I truly enjoyed the story and Jemima’s writing. Looking forward to Book Two!!!

INTERVIEW:

1- When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I received the first five start review for my first novella 'His Elle'. I remember telling my mother about it, and she asked if I'd ever write anything that she and her friends could read. The answer is probably not. After that, I was included in some #WW (Writer Wednesday) twitter tags with some awesome indie writers, and I was so proud to be thought of by others as a real writer.

2- What inspired you to write your first book?

I am asked this question quite a lot and if I told you the whole truth I'd probably be sued! The reason being, is that my first novella is based around the last night of a relationship between a submissive and her Master. It's a story of healing through BDSM and the idea came to me when I hooked up with an old friend and was fascinated by her alternative lifestyle choices. I must point out though that only the idea for the story is based on my friend's lifestyle, not the actual story itself.

3- What book are you reading now?

The Sookie Stackhouse series - yes, the whole series, one book at a time. I am a HUGE True Blood fan and can't wait for the new series (we get it so much later than the US!), so I'm reading my way through the books just to see what happens next. It's funny though, as the books are so different from the series on the television, and I think it's the only time I will ever say that watching it is better than reading it (mainly because of Eric and Alcide... need I say more?)

4- I'm sorry, What? I heard Alcide and kinda spaced out *wipes drool* Ok, moving on.. What was the hardest part of writing your book/s?

Probably the characters. I have difficulty sometimes in giving them depth so often I will rewrite an entire character, or even write them out of the story completely when I'm half way through a new book. My editor (the incredibly awesome Philip Ellis, author of Sweet Tooth), is fantastic at telling when a character doesn't work. In 'The House on Hundred Hill', Nate Black was originally named Marvin, and Philip told me it was the least sexiest name in the history of names. Hence, the name was changed to Nate. Thank the universe for the sound advice of a good editor and friend!

5- I do know Philip, just last week I reviewed "Sweet Tooth" and I am so glad he adviced you into changing the name. Marvin would not have been sexy at all. Please scratch that off your name list, if you have one. Haha, well do you have any advice for writers?

Read and write as much as you can. You can never read enough as a writer, and you can also never edit enough. Get someone else to read your work (preferably several people) before you even think of publishing and make sure that no matter what happens in your life, you make time to write something new. There is nothing worse than stagnating with a story idea that is going nowhere.

6- What can we expect next?

Well, now here's a leading question! Only because I should be working on the next instalment of The House on Hundred Hill series, however, as normal I have become distracted and am currently
working on a new book about post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe following a war between humans and supernatural's, where the supernatural community are held as prisoners of war. That's all I want to say just now as I'm only 3 chapters in. It will be something totally different (yet again) from my other work so I want to see how this one turns out before I start to promote it as a work in progress.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog Lucy, it's awesome to be here and I really appreciate you helping me to promote my new book The House on Hundred Hill.

Jemima x

Buy Links:

Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/House-Hundred-Hill-Nephilim-ebook/dp/B005ME377C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317456926&sr=8-1

Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Hundred-Hill-Nephilim-ebook/dp/B005ME377C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317457013&sr=8-1

The House on Hundred Hill will also be available to purchase soon on:

Smashwords, Kobo, Diesel, All Romance Ebooks, and B&N Nook Book

Author Links:

Website - http://www.jemimavalentino.com

Blog - http://www.jemimavalentino.blogspot.com

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/JemimaValentino

Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jemima-Valentino-Author/232810170090039