Q&A and Giveaway with Cristiane Serruya: Trust: A New Beginning...

I am so happy to have Cristiane here today talking about her new book: Trust: A New Beginning. The blurb for this book caught my attention immediately and I cannot wait to read. I LOVE this cover. Cristiane has been such a pleasure to interact with and from reading her bio I greatly admire her. Please help me make her feel welcome and be sure to leave a comment. 

1 Lucky WINNER will get their choice of either a paperback copy or an eBook copy of Trust:A New Beginning. See Rafflecopter below!!

Synopsis:
They are beautiful. They are rich. They are strong willed and successful. They have everything, but love. And each one of them has a dark secret looming in their past.
This is the first book of a trilogy featuring Sophia, a Brazilian widow, Ethan, an English tycoon, and Alistair, a Scottish banker. In Europe, in the months after October 2009, their paths will cross and clash.

An adult contemporary romance, TRUST: A NEW BEGINNING is lavishly set in a billionaire's Europe, deriving its strength from realistic and dramatic character interactions in their hunt for trust and love.  

Sophia is a 25 year old Brazilian widow. Intelligent and ravishing, she flees from her own country after a tragic incident. Hiding from everyone and everything, she remains alone, torn between the love for a dead man, the torment of living without part of her memory and the fear of moving on. Ethan is one of the most important tycoons in the steel industry. As the memory of an awful evening in his adolescence haunts him night and day, he keeps looking for an elusive woman whom he could love - and who would love him - as he never has in all his 35 years... Until he finds Sophia. Alistair is a 34 year old powerful banker, searching for one–night stands with women who will warm his bed. And that he can punish physically to abate his anger for his late wife's black deeds and his own guilt for being such a debauched man for so many years. Any woman will do, and he has many to choose from, as they all fall instantly for his manly, devilish charming ways.

  

   

What was your inspiration for writing Trust?
I wanted to tell an exciting story about people that are ridiculously wealthy and beautiful but, like anyone, are empty without love. Money helps, but it can’t buy you love.
Trust is an erotic trilogy, so I couldn’t leave out a couple of handsome hunks and a sexy woman. And, of course, hot sex scenes. This is what we want: Lust and love. As for the scenes involving Alistair and Sophia, I would advise you not to read them in public in case you blush.

Sophia is very passionate about her work helping abused women and children. Did you draw on your own experiences as a lawyer when you included this in the book?
Children and women are still very much abused and too many cases still go unpunished. And I’m talking about many types of abuse: verbal abuse, violence and sexual violence. So I wanted to try and raise awareness through her character, but in a way that might touch people more strongly, through fiction.

The character of Alistair has a penchant for BDSM. What can you tell us about this? 
This subject is a new fad. In November 2010, 30 Seconds To Mars released a videoclip for their song Hurricane. It caused great controversy due to the strong and violent sexual content. My book treads on the same subject as my Law School thesis. Alistair’s character introduces my opinions about this subject. Can this unconventional subject be dealt with differently? I’m really excited to hear the readers’ thoughts about it. Unanimity is boring.

Of all the characters in the book, Ethan is the most surprising. He’s like an onion, revealing different layers of himself throughout the book. At first glance, he might seem like just a conceited, power crazy businessman, but further along, we get to see a bit more of what is underneath this disturbed man.
Oh, I love Ethan’s character, but I wouldn’t say he’s surprising. He is like so many troubled people that infest our world today. He’s the product of horrible parents, who, one way or another, profoundly hurt their offspring, because they are selfish, criminally negligent or perverted. Children need care and education. They need limits and love, so they can learn to live in society. That is exactly what Ethan didn’t have.

In the book, the characters are always going away to spend their weekends at gorgeous locations and they have wonderful sports cars and jewelry and clothes. And you describe them perfectly. Can you tell us about this?
I love to travel, wear fancy clothes and drive sports cars. And I wanted my readers to feel what those billionaire characters do, so I’ve used lavish descriptions so that my readers can imagine the scenes in their head. Like a film.
In TRUST there are many beautiful places to visit, many wonderful outfits the characters wear, fancy restaurants where they eat, and so on. I hope the reader will be able to taste the wines, go to the parties, drive the powerful sports cars and lie down in the soft beds with the characters and feel their pleasures and emotions.

What can we expect the installment of the TRUST series?
The next book of the trilogy, TRUST: BETRAYED is going to be released in the middle of March, max the beginning of April. In it, the readers will find an exciting continuation of the story of Ethan, Alistair and Sophia. 

Tell us a little bit about you.

I'm a lawyer, who specializes in cases of sexual abuse and violence against children and women. I also have a Masters in Business Law and a BA in Fine Arts. I speak four languages fluently - Portuguese, English, French and Italian - and I have studied three other: Spanish, German and Hebrew.   
I lived and studied in England, France, Italy and Switzerland and traveling is one of my passions.
After twenty-two years of practicing law, I decided to give writing a go. And - amazingly - it was just the piece that was missing in my life.

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Thanks so much, Cristiane. Loved your post. Look forward to reading Trust. My review to follow.