Today I'd like to welcome author Christi Barth to Fallen Angel Reviews. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today Christi.

Please tell us about your book Cruising Toward Love.

Can an unexplained breakup and ten years of heartache be cured by the romance - and endless buffets - of a tropical cruise? When her sister is left at the altar, small town librarian Zoe Balis jumps at the chance to take the bride's unused ticket for the honeymoon cruise. But she didn't count on sharing a cabin with the man who broke her heart ten years ago!

Army medic Nate Hyatt never told Zoe goodbye when he enlisted - or the real reason why he dumped her on prom night after a year as high school sweethearts. And he never stopped dreaming about the girl he left behind. Could this voyage be his chance to fix the worst mistake he ever made? After all, a Caribbean cruise should be romantic… if he can convince her to move past ten years of bitterness and hurt.

Once aboard the luxury liner, Zoe befriends a bored Internet mogul with more heart than tact. Nate vents his problems to a ship's photographer battling PTSD. The four team up on an island hopping treasure hunt. The stakes grow higher with each of Zoe's mysterious brushes with death. They race to discover why she's a target and who's behind it, while still competing in the treasure hunt.

Zoe's never gotten over her first love, and is tempted to let Nate back into her life. But she already lost him once. She's not willing to risk loving a man whose career keeps him in a combat zone. Can Nate breach her defenses and suture her broken heart? Grab a deck chair and see if they survive the stormy relationship seas as they cruise toward love!

When did you first start writing?

I began writing very early. Spent the summer I was 13 knocking out 60 pages of what must've been a truly horrible historical romance. I was a bookworm, and wasn't allowed to watch much television, so writing gave me something to do over vacation. Then I discovered I couldn't stop - the ideas just kept swirling around in my head. Three years ago I finally mustered the motivation to finish my book, and now I'm writing my fourth.

What made you want to become a writer?

A deep and abiding love of books. Any moment spent thinking about books is sheer joy, so why not write them? It was never an intended career choice - more that I simply couldn't stop writing.

What satisfies you about your writing?

Great dialogue. Plot twists even I don't see coming. Every finished page.

Many writers occasionally hit a roadblock in their work. What do you do to avoid them, or, alternatively, to break through them?

Let me preface this by saying how very much I HATE to exercise, or even break a sweat. But whenever I'm stuck on a plot point, I hop on the elliptical machine, and by the time my workout is finished, I've solved the problem. I think it is because I'm almost meditating, with nothing else to focus on but the pain in my legs and the story.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books?

I guess as a romance author I shouldn't admit this, but love scenes are brutal to craft. You can only say he stroked such and such body part so many times, so many ways. The actual writing becomes very clinical and leaches all the sexiness out of it for me. I can grit my teeth through makeout scenes, but when it comes to full blown sex, my requirements are a single white Russian (nope, no other drink will do) and Pink Martini on the cd player.

What can your fans look forward to in the next six months from you?

Cruising Toward Love just released in the beginning of September, so I'm continuing my blog tour well into January. Lots of interesting interviews and exciting excerpts flying around the blogosphere. Hopefully by spring I'll be able to announce when my fourth book will be released.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

A computer. Seriously - being able to type as fast as the thoughts come out rather than writing long hand is a gift. And the connection to the web is even more so. When a research question rears its ugly head, it can be solved in a few minutes. A computer and a good imagination can probably get you 99% of the way through most manuscripts.

What book has influenced your life the most?

I couldn't possibly choose one book (I'm a speedreader, so I've scarfed down at least seven books a week since junior high), but I can choose a single author. Everything I know about writing romance I learned from reading Nora Roberts. Sure, I've read hundreds of other authors, but I feel as if her novels are the primer for my technique, and my voice.

I have found that some authors listen to music while they write. Do you listen to music or is it something that is distracting to you?

That answer changes with every book. It can be distracting, since it is too easy to focus on what the song says, opposed to what my characters are supposed to be saying. When I wrote Cruising Toward Love, however, I occasionally turned on reggae music to get me in the mood, and I listened to jazz when I worked on my book set in Charleston. Right now I'm working on a book about sex demons - I don't think there is any appropriate music for them.

What would you consider your most interesting quirk?

All my heroes are physically based on super hot celebrities - I need to be able to look at pictures of them for inspiration as I write (especially shirtless!). The heroines, not so much.

If you had a warning label, what would it say?

Caution - blunt & snarky

Now for a little fun. Please finish the following sentences:


The first thing I bought when I sold my first book was...

a glass of champagne.

The best present I ever got was...

my engagement ring.

I'd love to meet...

Daniel Craig, just to see all that gorgeousness up close.

Do you have a website or blog where readers can learn more about you and your works?

For more info, please visit christibarth.com and christibarth.blogspot.com/

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thanks so much for reading about me. Now I hope you'll go read my books - I promise they'll put a smile on your face!

Thank you for spending time with us today Christi!

Interviewed by: Tammy