An ALL FOR YOU Interview with Christi Barth

Small-town park ranger Casey Hobbes has spent her life under the radar, carefully guarding a secret. "The forest flirt," as her best friend calls her, keeps things casual with men. That way she'll never care enough to be tempted to share the truth about her past. But when she spots a half-naked stranger on the lake's edge, Casey can't resist his muscles or his charm and she's all-in for enjoying both, while keeping emotion out of it. What could be the danger of one summer fling?

Professor Zane Buchanan has built his entire career on exposing the dark realities of cults, but one—the Sunshine Seekers—remains infuriatingly impossible to crack. Zane's shocked to discover its sole anonymous survivor is hiding in his new hometown. It's nearly impossible to concentrate on work, however, when he's derailed by his attraction to the beautiful blonde in khaki uniform shorts.

As things between Casey and Zane heat up, she struggles with keeping her past from him. And Zane's on a quest to expose the truth, no matter the consequences. Will their growing emotions finally unseal Casey's big secret? Or will she turn her back on love to keep the past safely buried?

Today Christi Barth stops by the blog.  We’re talking about her latest book, All for You.  

Hi, Christi.  Thank you for joining me today.

Hi. Thanks for having me back.

First off, I have to ask....What's your fascination with having your heroines see the hero of the story for the first time half-naked?  I mean in Up to Me, Ella spotted Graydon without his shirt on and now you have Casey doing the same with Zane.

Whoops. Where were you when I needed a beta reader for this series? I promise the hero in book 3 is fully clothed in his introduction! Seriously – wouldn’t it be fun if you could meet men like that? I guess it is because….I like half-naked men? Yeah. Let’s go with that.

I can’t read to read the hero in book 3’s story.  Tell me about your writing style.  How do you write your books?  Do you start with just a scene and go from there, or do you write in sections (beginning/middle/end)?

I write in order. Start to finish. Period. No skipping anything.  That is inviolate – pretty much my only writing rule/hangup.  My books are so dialogue driven that everything flows from what happens before.

Wow, that’s pretty interesting.  What's your favorite part of a romance novel to write? (The beginning, the first meeting, first kiss, getting to know each other, first love scene, big fight, HEA or something else?)

I do so love the witty banter.  If I could write nothing but banter and romance in a book (leaving out all the conflict), I’d be a happy camper.  So I really love the getting-to-know-you scenes, where the H/H really get into it with each other.

Zane is like the master of the get to know you questions.  Which character (Casey or Zane) was the hardest to write and why?

Casey.  Hands down.  She is stubborn and scared behind all her bravado, and that can be hard to make likeable and realistic.  But I did – don’t worry! (smile) Zane was so fun and easygoing he required zero effort whatsoever.

You have another job, outside of writing.  Where and when do you find time to write?

LATE at night.  I usually start about 9pm and go until midnight (unless I’m writing sex or am close to the end, at which case I go much later).  Hopefully the day will come when I won’t have to shoehorn writing into my schedule. And I used to do it on the reclining couch until I got a fabulous new office chair for Christmas that makes me want to sit at my desk.

I love the cover for All for You.  Did you have any say in choosing it?

Sort of?  Casey is a park ranger in a real state park famous for its 19 waterfalls in 2 miles.  Significant (ahem – sexy!) scenes take place at those waterfalls, so I begged and pleaded for them to be on the cover.  I even sent links to Watkins Glen State Park so the artist would know what sort of falls to picture.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for me!

Are you kidding – I love visiting here – thanks for having me!

Purchase All for You from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Goodreads

Shore Secrets Series:

Click here to read my review of All for You

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.  A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning.  Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary romance.  Christi is President of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

Places to find Christi Barth:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads