Meet Clarissa Yip

Today I welcome, Clarissa Yip to Meet the Author Monday.
Don't foget to leave a comment. Two lucky winners will recieve choice of Love by Auction or Unforseen Reunion so make sure Clarissa and I can find you.

Hi Clarissa. It is good to have you here.

It’s good to be here. I’m so excited.

And I am excited to have you take time for a visit. It seems to me that with the growth of e-books, the publishing field is changing. You are among a rising group in the new literary world – a jack of all trades. Every literature lover enjoys books for different reasons, but as an author, editor and a reader, which literary hat do you enjoy most?

I actually love all three, but writing makes me happy the most. It gives me a break to run off with my muse. I love helping my authors grow and they’ve helped me also. I don’t think I’d be here without my wonderful crit partners either. (* waving *) And I’ve been an avid reader since I was nine. I can’t imagine living without books. So, I get a little bit of all worlds and it’s fun.

It sounds like you enjoy the writing aspect of your career a good deal. In fact you just released your first story, Love by Auction. As a new author, has anything surprised you about the process or experience in general?

Well, besides the amount of author paperwork? LOL. No, not really, but it’s interesting sitting on the other side of the fence as an author, instead of an editor, and having to endure the torture of doing my own edits. Once I’ve seen a story so many times and each word is tattooed in my brain, I’m ready to run away from it. But the end product is always the best part. And seeing my own name on a cover is always exciting.

Do you have a blurb and/or an excerpt you’d like to share?

Intent on leaving the Date for Charity Auction, billionaire Mark Passmore vows not to bid, until he sees the gorgeous blond strut across the stage. Need overwhelms his senses and he has to have her.

With an etiquette drill sergeant and society snob for a mother, Rebecca Hathaway a.k.a Ice Princess accepts an extraordinary dare—one that lands her in the arms of her ex, except he doesn’t know it’s her.

After an explosive passionate night with Mark, Rebecca sneaks back to her mundane life of tea parties and book clubs. But she knows she’ll never be the same again.

Although he’s ended their relationship three years ago, Mark has never stopped loving Rebecca. When he learns the truth of Rebecca’s role in the action, will he forgive her for her betrayal or walk away again?

So now that they’ve had a taste of Love by Auction, tell readers what makes your characters and their story special.

Well, I’ve always been a closet writer, always hiding in my own world, and I gave a piece of myself to Rebecca. She’s the shy, responsible type that wants to make everyone happy. Rebecca kind of forced me out of my shell for a little bit. Truly, I’m not the daring type, but Rebecca made me want to be. And I’m such a softy for reunion/second chance stories. My heroine is the type that follows rules until temptation crosses her path a second time and she receives the chance to be someone else for a little while. Mark, my hero, is sexy, hot, and definitely charming, but he knows what he wants. He’s the guy that makes any woman feel beautiful, the one that can tease them out of their hiding places. But I’m not going to give away everything. You’re just going to have to read and find out. * wink *

I read Love by Auction before your visit, but I promise not to tell. Do you have anything else in the works or are you sitting back and enjoying the ride for a while?

Coming Soon

I’m actually a very busy girl. I never sit still for too long. Don’t know how I handle it all either. But I do have a few more releases coming out. Unforeseen Reunion will be out with Decadent Publishing in a few months. Bachelor’s Return will be out with Lyrical Press April 2011, and I recently signed a contract with Cobblestone Press for One Unexpected Night. So, I do have a lot going on and I’m definitely enjoying this ride.

Wow, you and your readers have a great deal to look forward to. That’s fantastic. Speaking of readers, since this is an opportunity for readers to meet their favorite and soon to be favorite authors, tells us a little about yourself.

Well, I currently live in Hawaii, but I’m allergic to the sun (No, not really. I tan too easy and I like hiding in my cave) and then I’m allergic to the snow when I’m in New York. I’m actually an East Coast girl, but I do a lot of traveling when I get the chance and I never know where I’m going to be. Besides reading, writing, and editing, I love scrapbooking, video games and new tech toys. I’m a sucker when there’s a new invention on the market, which explains where most of my paychecks go. But I do like going to the beach and meeting new people in general. I find everyone else’s life more fascinating than mine. I also have a great love for Asian languages since it was my major in college (Yeah, it should have been English), but I haven’t had the chance to utilize my degree either, except I do hope to see my books in other languages some day.

English is a good thing, but so is knowing other languages. Multi-lingual and multi-talented. Impressive. With all those skills under your belt, if you could do one thing-anything at all-what would it be, and what do you think your choice says about you?

This is a toughie. I want to do a lot of things. Now you got my mind running in circles. But I guess if I really had to answer, I’d say travel to Europe and Asia. I don’t like plane rides, but I’d love to go to Italy and drink wine. (Okay, it’s more than the wine, maybe the cute guys, but…lol.) I think it says that I have a bad travel bug, and I can’t sit still. Is that a bad thing?

Not at all. That’s one of the joys of being a writer or even an online editor, you can work from anywhere in the world. I wouldn’t mind writing from Australia or the bonny shores of Ireland. Unfortunately, cute guys are off limits for me as hubby might protest. For now though, before you run off to exotic and erotic places, where can people find you and your work?

Come visit me at http://clarissayip.com. I’m also on twitter and facebook. I love hearing from people, even if it’s just to say hi. Or even email me at clarissayip@gmail.com.

Great! Thanks for hanging out with me and my visitors today, Clarissa.

Thanks so much for having me, Becca! You’ve been so wonderful and fun to talk to. I really enjoyed being here, and I hope everyone visits!