A Little About Oliver...

Today we have Sharon Donovan and she is going to tell us about Oliver.  Also for "1" lucky commenter, Sharon is going to give away a Oliver T-Shirt.  I look forward to visiting with all of you....

A little about Oliver!

For those of you who follow my blog

http://sharondonovan.blogspot.com

You’ve already met my sexy cyber butler and know that he serves your favorite drink with a wink and a smile. What you may not know is that Oliver serves as my butler to amuse himself on his days off from his real job (as he points out to me on a daily basis) as a secret agent man for the FBI. It’s true, Oliver has put his life on the line countless times to save the women and children, traveling undercover to remote corners of the world as Mozambique, Egypt and Bangladesh.

 I created the character of Oliver shortly after creating my blog. Knowing I wanted to promote fellow authors once a week, Wednesday Spotlight was born. The interviews were fun, and while I tried to ask questions that hadn’t been asked a million times over, I soon realized blog interviews were quickly becoming yesterday’s news. Something fresh needed to be done and it came to me at the bar and grill I go to once a month with my writers group after the meetings.

 The bistro has a warm and friendly atmosphere. This group of talented writers have become some of my best friends, and sharing ideas and challenges over a glass of wine and scrumptious appetizers is very rewarding.

 Our waiter, an outgoing man with the gift of gab and a memory like a steel trap to boot, inspired the character of Oliver. He knew us all by name and impressed us by never forgetting our favorite drink and choice in cuisine. The entire scenario was rather reminiscent of one of my all time favorite television shows of the 80s Cheers—a place where everybody knows your name!

 One night after returning home from a meeting and jaunt to our favorite watering hole, I turned on my computer and began doing my feature for Wednesday Spotlight. That’s when the idea of Oliver Butler for my blog hit me like a bolt of thunder. I got a sexy male model and ran with it. Oliver is a butler, bar tender, gourmet chef, lady killer and secret agent man. This man of many talents knows everybody’s name and will serve favorite drinks with a wink and a smile!

 With the dawning of a new year came the launching of a new endeavor, featuring the man who wears many hats. Every Wednesday, those who have something to rant and rave about are invited to come into Oliver’s bar, order your favorite drink and vent to your heart’s content. Oliver promises to lend an ear and offer up a heaping portion of sound advice. But you know what they say about being forewarned and forearmed. Take  his advice to heart or take it with a grain of salt. But whatever the case, take it in the spirit with which it was given and roll with it.

Dear Oliver can be read every Wednesday on my blog

http://sharondonovan.blogspot.com

If you would like to be a guest, contact me at

Sharonad@comcast.net

As if all this isn’t enough to keep Oliver busy, he began bugging me about starring as romantic hero in one of my books.  What can I say.

Charade of Hearts is a romantic suspense set in tropical Hawaii. It is one of the mysteries in the Jewel of the Night series for the crimson line of The Wild Rose Press. This book features Oliver, the sexy cyber butler on my blog as well as on the author roast. Here’s a teaser.

While scuba diving off the coast of Diamond Head with her diving partner on a quest to find a family heirloom, underwater photographer Dominique St. John witnesses his brutal murder and photographs it, ensnaring her in a deadly jewel ring. And when the investigating officer turns out to be her partner’s identical twin, a man she knew nothing about, her life becomes a Charade of Hearts.

Welcome to the world of greed, intrigue, deception and murder. And at its core is a blue diamond worth millions.

As honest as his twin was corrupt, Honolulu Homicide Detective Oliver Carvalho must convince Dominique that her diving partner and best friend was a crook. In a race against time, Oliver must rescue Dominique from a ruthless killer. But his biggest challenge proves to be mending a broken heart torn by betrayal that can only be redeemed by love.

Steamy excerpt...

With an abrupt bang, the line went dead. Dominique sat staring at the phone cord dangling in mid air, polarized. She felt the tremor from deep in her gut, rising high in her chest and through her throat. Her mouth was wide open but nothing came out. But when she heard a sharp wrap at the door, she erupted like a quaking volcano and let loose with a piercing wail that rattled the chandelier.

“Dominique, open up. It’s the police, Detective Oliver Carvalho. Let me in.”

Racing to the door, hands trembling as her fingers fumbled to undo the dead bolt, she flung the door open and thrust herself in the detective’s arms. Her voice came out in jumbled fragments. “He…the attacker…” she jabbed her forefinger over her shoulder toward the bedroom phone where the receiver dangled. “Said he’d call back…twenty four hours. Wants them, diamond and camera. Feed me to the sharks if I call the cops.” Her voice broke, tears streaming down her face and onto Oliver’s shirt collar. “He knows my name…saw me take pictures…he’s…”

“Easy,” Oliver’s muscular arms draped around her waist. Then he walked her backward to the bedroom, giving her a gentle shove onto the bed. Then he snatched up the receiver from the rug, clapped it to his ear. Lips puckered, he slammed it back into the cradle and stared at her.

His fiery gaze was scorching hot. A slow heat burned in her belly as his eyes rake her long, slender neck, stopping to linger on her exposed cleavage. Then lower still to her bare legs where the cherry red silk robe rode high on her upper thighs. Then that penetrating gaze seared into hers. His words came out, laced with enough heat to have her quaking at full throttle.

“Tell me what he said, word for word.”

Dominique licked her lips, reached for her cocktail. The ice cubes had melted and beads of moisture had seeped onto the teakwood night stand. She took a sip. “He told me he knew I had the diamond and he knew I took pictures. He said I had twenty-four hours to hand them over, that he’d be in touch. He said no cops…or…” her voice broke off, lips quivering. “He threatened to feed me to the sharks, said they were hungry. He said Roberto, he called him lover boy, just wet their appetite for dessert.”

The detective nodded, prodding her to go on. “What else?”

“Nothing, the line went dead. Then you knocked at the door. I thought it was him, the caller. I thought he came to…”

Detective Carvalho waved off what she was about to say. “I went to the Honolulu Clinic this morning because I had more questions. They informed me you’d been discharged and had been transported by taxi to this hotel.”

Dominique stared at the detective, mute. His eyes were identical to Roberto’s. It was disarming. How could she possibly accept the fact this man standing less than a foot away from her with desire burning in his eyes wasn’t Roberto? She couldn’t. Her mind refused to accept it. She had to send the signal to her brain because her heart sure wasn’t getting the message. But when his scorching gaze raked her body, evoking feelings in her Roberto never had, her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to reach for him, coil herself in his strong embrace, feel his heart beat with hers. And she wanted him to rip off her sexy lingerie and devour every inch of her body. She bit her lip, mortified. How could she be thinking about sex at a time like this? And why was Roberto’s twin brother stirring her blood to liquid heat with his burning gaze? Not once had Roberto evoked such feelings in her. She reached for her drink with such swiftness, she felt her silky lingerie slither past her shoulder and down her arm. And then

Charade of HeartsOliver’s story!
AVAILABLE NOW!http://www.thewildrosepress.com/charade-of-hearts-p-4346.html

Sharon Donovan lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her family. Prior to the loss of her vision, she was a legal secretary for the Court of Common Pleas where she prepared cases for judges in Domestic Relations. Painting was her passion. When she could no longer paint, she began attending creative writing classes and memoir workshops. After a long and winding road, a new dream arose. Today, instead of painting her pictures on canvas, Sharon paints her pictures with words.

Sharon writes stories of inspiration and suspense. She has certificates in business and medical transcription. Echo of a Raven, a narrative non-fiction about her struggles with diabetic retinopathy, received a CTRR award for outstanding writing, and The Claddagh Ring is a 2009 CAPA nominee for best inspirational of the year. Other books by Sharon Donovan are Mask of the Betrayer, Touched by an Angel, Lasting Love and Her Biggest Fan. Charade of Hearts is coming soon from The Wild Rose Press.

You can visit Sharon at

www.sharonadonovan.com

or write to her at:

sharonad@comcast.net