Her Heart's Liege Blog Tour! (+$25 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Her Heart's Liege 

Author: Olivia Fields

Series: N/A

Pages: 351

Date Published: 2015

Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press

Format: Kindle

Genre: Romance

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:

Tomboy Alex Bonham has fought tooth and nail to become captain of the king's guard. When her country is invaded, she is ordered to escort the king's son, a charming ne'er-do-well, away from the front lines for safekeeping.

Alex struggles to deny her growing attraction to Prince Holden while protecting him from robbers, Danes...and even himself. When they are drawn into the battle to defend East Anglia, both the prince and his captain must grow up. Can spoiled Prince Holden mature into a good man who can lead the kingdom--one Alex can trust with her heart?

~Olivia's Hobbies!~

Hey Olivia! Good to have you on the blog today :) One of the best things about having a book blog is being able to get to know authors on a personal level and just find out more about who they are and what they do...call it fan-girling if you will, but I love getting the inside scoop on the day to day of an author's life! So tell us...What are your hobbies and how have they enriched your writing?
One of the big rules of thumb for writers is “Write what you know.” Therefore, in order to be really versatile and convincing, a good writer should know everything!

Obviously that isn’t a realistic goal, but one way I tackle the problem of knowing what to write is to learn lots of diverse hobbies. Hobbies help me expand what I know and bring a convincing edge to the small details that fill in around the edges of my plots. They also keep my mind fresh and challenged when my writing threatens to stagnate.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Camping and camp cooking. I was a Girl Scout from Brownies to Seniors, and that knowledge always comes in useful when I’m writing. Characters frequently have their little worlds disturbed and wind up spending the night in the great outdoors—often with limited success at achieving comfort. If you know how to tie a few knots or build a fire and then cook over it, you can have a great deal of convincing fun with putting your protagonists out in the wild and making them cope with the hardships and privations that come along with having no roof over their heads. Succeed or fail, realism makes it convincing.
• Making chain mail. I’ve been weaving mail and maille jewelry for about five years, and as a historical romance writer, I find it especially helpful to know just how the work of armoring is done. I have the skill to patch armor on the go, and I know how both long it takes and how abominably heavy the finished product is.
• Throwing pottery. I can describe a village craftsman throwing pots in a way that doesn’t leave anyone raising an eyebrow going “Um, no, actually….”
• Blowing glass. Same deal! I’m exceptionally proud of the few little pieces I’ve made. They’re hardly masterpieces, but the experience helps me bring the village craftsmen to life.
• Knitting/weaving/dyeing/sewing/fiber crafts. These are all invaluable skills for a writer to know. If you don’t believe me, search for knitting fiction on Google! Gil McNeil, Debbie MacComber, or Maggie Sefton’s popular knitting-based book series all tap into this quiet little self-contained culture in a variety of brilliant ways. Thanks to knitting, I know a thousand ways my characters can keep their hands busy or earn a livelihood. 
• Hand to hand combat: One of the most challenging and rewarding of the hobbies I’ve pursued, this skill helped me make Alexandra convincing in Her Heart’s Liege. Any woman in Alex’s position as a guard captain would have to know how to defeat attacks from big, tough, heavy men while leaving them in no condition to renew the battle. I modeled Alexandra’s mentor on my personal hero Bruce Lee and her martial arts style on his creation jeet kune do, a fighting style invented to allow a small, weak person to subdue a much more powerful, larger opponent using speed, cunning, joint manipulation, and redirection of force. 

Olivia, you have no idea how freaking cool you sound. So, you're a kick-butt writer, and in your free time you blow glass, fight with swords, and make chain mail...You're like the Midieval Domestic Goddess! Can we hang out sometime? Lol! Thanks for being here on Unabridged Andra's! 

~Try an Excerpt!~

"I make you nervous." The corner of Prince Holden’s mouth quirked up, self-deprecating.

Alexandra didn't try to deny the truth. "You do. Any time someone treats me like prey, I get uneasy."

He didn't attempt denial. "I don't usually pursue women."

"No, they jump into your bed all by themselves." She gave him a wry stare.

He shrugged, equally off-hand. "Near enough."

"Then all you have to do is find a bed and wait. I want no part of it."

"I'm tired of prey that doesn't put up a struggle." She could see something almost weary in the set of his shoulders.

She raised a brow at him. She'd believe him on a cold day in Hell.

He shrugged and shifted uncomfortably. "Serving girls and barmaids are all very well and good for a night's pleasure, but they have nothing to offer afterward. All the ladies at court are shallow and dull." He pulled a wry face. "I'd rather court a girl with something to her. Like you."

Alex resisted the desire to squirm uncomfortably under his warm regard. "The problem with me," his brow furrowed, "is that everything has always been too easy." He leaned toward her, intent. She could sense how important this was to him.

He reached out and touched her cheek lightly with his fingertips. "But you aren't easy at all, and I find I quite like it."

~Meet Olivia!~ 

For years, college professor Olivia Fields has been writing romantic tales to pacify her muse and entertain her friends. She believes in making her characters work for their happy endings.

When not at her keyboard, Olivia enjoys nature hikes, photography, and the constant companionship of several rather irregularly trimmed Shih Tzu dogs. Olivia’s first published novel, Her Heart’s Liege, will be released in March 2015 by Rogue Phoenix Press.

Olivia will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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