Three couples each receive an exclusive invitation to the fantasy holiday destination of a lifetime…
The host: Martin McKenzie, global billionaire and media mogul. Charismatic, powerful and always gets what he wants.
The location: A breathtakingly beautiful undiscovered island, nestled in the Aegean Sea. Private, secluded and not quite as it seems.
The details: Seven days of pure hedonism, five-star luxury tailored to every desire, also includes… secrets, lies, and infidelity. As the guests begin to enjoy everything the luxury island has to offer, cracks begin to surface between the three couples.
But that is not all. Someone is watching them. When they discover the truth – it will be explosive in more ways than they can ever imagine.
Today is the release day for Pleasure Island and to celebrate I am joined by the lovely Anna-Lou Weatherley to talk about her new book.
The Cover to Pleasure Island is by far my favourite of yours, what were your immediate thoughts when you first saw the cover and did you have any input into the design?
My first thought was, Oh WOW! I loved it; the colours, the setting, the typeface, the summer vibe and the girl looking over her shoulder suggesting a hint of intrigue....My editor Claire and I discussed ideas for cover over lunch one day and she had a very strong concept in mind so I can't take much credit for it! We discussed the fact that we both wanted it to suggest there was more to the book than a straight forward sexy beach read and convey the idea that there was something else a little darker, which I think it has. It's my favourite cover to date too!
Was there any particular inspiration for this book?
The concept and idea of reality TV played a small part, the world's obsession with voyeurism and the whole Big Brother culture and where it could all lead...Martin McKenzie wasn't exactly based on Simon Cowell (I'm sure Simon is much nicer!) but as a powerful media mogul he was somewhat of an inspiration. The story and the plot itself just came to me, I'm not exactly sure how or why but I'm so glad it did - I just hope the ideas keep coming!
Do you find it easy to write sex scenes?
I love writing sex scenes, realistic ones (I hope). I'm very conscious about sex scenes being cringy as I've read some toe-curling ones myself. I try to make them sound authentic and believe that less is sometimes more. Too many adjectives can kill a good sex scene. Sometimes it's what you don't say. Oddly, a lot of the sex scenes I've ended up writing have been horrible in that the characters don't feel comfortable, or feel guilty, or regret it, or don't enjoy it. Sex can be messy emotionally and otherwise but I do try to make it as realistic as possible. Sometimes writing a scene can, how shall I put this, make me feel it, which I hope is a good sign the reader will too!
The setting of Pleasure Island sounds like a place I would like to disappear too, was it based on anywhere you have visited?
It's a culmination of everywhere beautiful I have been and would like to go! I wrote this book during a tricky phase in my personal life and often dreamed of being away on a tranquil beach with soft powdery sand and still clear water, somewhere peaceful and calm and sunny, surrounded by nature. I suppose I was thinking of somewhere private and luxurious like Necker Island, though I have never been there (Richard, in the slim chance you'll ever read this, please feel free to invite me!) and also I had Santorini in Greece in mind too, it's a stunning island!
What was the last book you read and would you recommend it?
The last book I read was by one of my all time favourites, Martina Cole's, The Good Life. It was, like all of her novels, unputdownable. She's the queen of creating flawed, love to hate, realistic characters and has always been a big inspiration to me.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, I hope you are enjoying the celebrations that launch day brings!
MY REVIEW
I was looking for a new kindle book to read and I know we
should never judge a book by its cover but when I came across Pleasure Island
by Anna Lou Weatherley I was enticed by its dazzling exotic cover and once I
read the synopsis I was excited to see what this book was about.
Three couples have received an exclusive invitation to a top
secret luxury holiday on a private Island but each couple do not know why they
have been chosen or what they are on the island for, little do they know that
they are being watched by their puppet master Martin McKenzie and he has some
big plans for them….
This is a fast pace, action packed read that held my
attention the whole way through. I love the whole “Big Brother” scenario of
watching people 24 hours and seeing people’s real personalities coming to light
which is what this book does but takes it to an extreme level by putting them
in situations that wouldn’t typically arise without the little “help” they
received!
Other than Nate and Angelika I can’t say I liked or warmed
to any of the characters but that wasn’t an issue as I still found they each
brought an entertainment factor to the book and for some of the characters who I
really didn’t like such as Billie Jo it was great to watch her come unstuck! Martin
McKenzie was a twisted and revengeful character and from the start of this book
I knew this controlling and sick character was going to be trouble.
Any of you who do not like a sizzling racy reads with steaming
sex scenes then this book will not be for you! I have to say the scenes were
written with confidence and skill , so often when sex scenes are written about
you can almost feel the authors awkwardness seeping through the pages often
using cringey words and the scenes doesn’t flow but Anna Lou takes the
challenge with both hands and delivers these scenes with ease. The steaming sex
scenes fit in perfectly in this modern scandalous read.
There is a glamourous and modern feel to the book in one
light but there is also a sick and twisted side too. There are numerous amounts
of twists and turns, some I could see coming and others that took me by
surprise. Fans of Tasmina Perry and Rebecca Chance will love this book, it is full
of drama, revenge, twists and turns and not forgetting those sizzling sex
scenes too.
Kindle Paperback
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