May 24, 2010

Q&A with Anna Campbell


I'm delighted to welcome author Anna Campbell to the LoveCats blog today! Thanks for joining us, Anna. I'm thrilled you can join us!

Hi Emily and LoveCats buddies! I wish I had a cat -- the closest I come to pets are the wild bearded dragons in my garden and they're not exactly cuddly! Thanks for having me here today! As you know, I'm a dedicated reader of the blog!


Anna, you have a book out shortly. What's the title and when can we find it on the shelves?


My latest release is MY RECKLESS SURRENDER and it's out in North America TOMORROW! Wow! It's also being simultaneously released in Australia as a trade paperback with a gorgeous gothic cover. The official release date here is 1st June, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few are out there already. In Australia and New Zealand, the book will be available at Target, Big W, Kmart and all good bookshops. You can read an excerpt and the blurb on:
http://www.annacampbell.info/recklesssurrender.html.


Please tell us a little bit about the book, Anna.

I describe this story as a dangerous seduction in Regency London. Actually, I'm giggling here -- I originally typed that as 'sexuction' which isn't a bad description. This is my hottest story yet! Diana Carrick has been offered the chance to make all her dreams come true, but first she has to seduce the rakish Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft. Of course, nothing goes to plan and she's head over heels in love -- and trouble -- before she knows it!

You've spent a lot of time with your characters. Can you give us the skinny on the hero and heroine? What are their most appealing (or irritating) character traits?

It's a good think I like my characters because I DO spend a lot of time with them. Here's the lowdown!

Diana is strong and determined and willing to think outside the box. She's also a woman of talent and ambition in a society that doesn't recognise those qualities in a female. Her faults include her willingness to risk everything to get what she wants, without taking all the facts into consideration. She's also inclined to believe she can handle anything that comes her way -- which can lead her astray!

Tarquin! Oh, Tarquin, sigh! I have a bit of a crush on Tarquin. He's my first non-tortured hero, at least until he meets Diana! He's a man with his own code of honour, including his determination to defend those weaker than himself. He also knows himself inside out and he's willing to accept the consequences of what he does. On the minus side, he's inclined to act the master of the universe (goes with the territory when you're a Regency rake), although he gets his way through charm rather than arrogance, and he has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility.

How long did it take you to write this book? Did the words flow, or was it like pulling teeth?

First drafts are always hard for me! This one was no different. I basically do a book a year.

How do you plan on celebrating the release?

Ha ha! I have a VERRRRY nice bottle of red that might see the light of day! Drop in if you're passing. I know you like a nice drop, Emily!

Anna, thanks so much for joining us today! It's been a pleasure having you on LoveCats.


Who's not dying to get their hands on a copy of MY RECKLESS SURRENDER now? Fortunately for someone, Anna has generously offered a signed copy to one of today's commenters! To start the ball rolling, she has posed the following question:

Do you have a favourite character in romance? What are their good and bad qualities?

51 comments:

  1. Anna, WELCOME to LoveCats! It's too cool to have you here!

    I'm so excited about your new book, My Reckless Surrender! It's going to be another Anna Campbell for my keeper shelf!

    I do have a favourite character from romance... you know my heart belongs to Kylemore from your Claiming the Courtesan - but I think Tarquin from MRS is going to give him a run for the title!

    Enjoy that special red! Mmmm, might find a way to be "just passing" myself!
    ;)
    Sharon

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  2. Wow, Anna, that sounds like a premise I can't miss! And I do love your Aussie covers - they make such a gorgeous matching series together.

    Enjoy the bottle of red!

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  3. Sharon, you're most welcome to a drop (I said a drop, hon!) of my special red any time. Hey, I love that you love Kylemore. He was so deliciously tortured, wasn't he? I just got a really nice review from Janga over at the Romance Dish and she said Tarquin is now here fave AC hero. That's always lovely to hear! Thanks for having me as your guest today. You know I'm already a fan of the blog! I just wish I had a groovy pet I could send in for Catwalk day!

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  4. Thanks, Rachel! And thanks for having me as your guest today. I love the Aussie covers - that wonderfully gothic feel they kept. Because all the books have a gothic feel. Probably CTC, Untouched and COS more than the other two, but it's definitely there all the time!

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  5. I don't really have a fav romance character. Although there are some characteristics that drive me nuts. Heroines or heros that are too stubborn for their own good. But, I do love a character with a sense of humor.

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  6. Tanja, the sense of humour is major, isn't it? I've given all my heroes and heroines a SOH (of various degrees of grimness, it must be said). Can't imagine falling in love with someone who doesn't have a SOH! Thanks for swinging by!

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  7. Hi Anna, Hi Emily =)

    I don't have favourite characters in books, really. I read so many that it's hard to take absolutely everything in. If I had to choose, I'd say Lady Mara of the Acoma in the Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts Mistress of the Empire series. Mara starts out in the wrong place at the wrong time but then she grows into a hard assed ruler. She goes astray but hwo doesn't. I could read these three books over and over and over!
    My fave on the screen is Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge and MRS reminds me of this. There's the promise of a better life, a powerful man she detests and the man she sholdn't love but does with every breath till her last. *sigh*
    I've read MRS and it is fantastic! And I've said it before and I'll shout it again, well done, Anna!!!

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  8. Hey Anna! Swinging by from the Romance Bandits Lair to see if I can bum a bottle of red wine...oh, you were saving that? Grins. Hello Love Cats! What a great interview on our Anna. :>

    As to fav romance characters, I'm fond of Matthew, and Verity and her man, and of Christine Well's Louisa and Jardine. OF course I love all the Romance Bandit heros and heroines. Grins. Eve and Roarke from JD Robb's In Death Series.

    Gosh, there are WAAAYYYYY too many!

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  9. I have bought every book Anna and I must say I do love your tortured heroes.

    My fav - hard one - I think Gideon from Anne Gracie's A PERFECT RAKE would have to be right up there. He was such a different hero.

    Bronwyn - I LOVE the Daughter of the Empire books. Raymond E Feist is one of my inspirations.

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  10. Hi Anna! Enjoy the red...
    Favorite character? Very hard. Rupert from Loretta Chase's Mr Impossible; Eve Dallas; your Verity; a lot of Jenny Crusie's characters... thankfully across the genre there are a lot to choose from!

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  11. Tracie, I have them all from Magician right through to newest ones! And now I've moved onto Robin Hobb with her newest arriving from the Book Depository (thanks for that one, Anna) today. Now it's a toss up between reading or editing...

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  12. Hi Anna, if you are wanting a kitten or two just give a holller on my facebook wall and we can take it from there because I have kittens ready to go to a new home in about 6 weeks. Now to answer your question, if I were to pick just one it would be darn hard because all the characters are my favorites in some way or the other but I would have to go with Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake. Mainly because who doesn't love a tough as nails woman who swears like a sailor and needs to be violent with her job? At the same time she is surprisingly tender and vulnerable with those that she lets herself love, and the scenes where she is intimate? Yowza they are hot!

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  14. Hey, Bronwyn, thank you so much for shouting about MRS! You know, I hadn't thought about that connection with Moulin Rouge but YOU'RE RIGHT! Even down to voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Snort! Mind you, Diana gets to live and enjoy her happy ending. Still laughing at you pulling your own name out of the raffle basket to win the copy I gave away in Adelaide! Seemed kinda fated, stalkey!

    Actually I DO have favourite characters although the list is about five miles long. Isn't it odd how people who are really only made up of black marks on a page emerge as so incredibly real? I think there's such magic in a good reading experience!

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  15. Ah yes, poor Matthew *sigh* He was exceedingly lovely.

    Anna, your post is sending me back to the early 90s when I nannies for 4.5 seconds in the UK. My charges were brothers Caspar and Orlando and I regularly looked after their friends Chrispian, Tarquin, Bertie and Dickie. OMG, LandRover anyone?

    It made me so homesick for Oz where they'd be Cas, Lando, Chris, Tarqs, Rob and Rick. Same country where you'd be Cambo.

    Though I often did think that Tarquin would make a good historical hero. Now you've proven it!

    So lovely to have you in the sandbox...

    xx

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  16. Hey, Jeanne, waving madly at the lair! I'm so looking forward to my launch party there on Thursday! Mayhem will ensue - and you're always in the middle! What a great list of faves - yeah, I know, I lap up compliments like a love cat laps up milk! I imagine Eve and Roarke will be on a lot of lists, actually! Some of mine are Dain from LORD OF SCOUNDRELS, Esmond from CAPTIVES OF THE NIGHT, Julian from KNAVES' WAGER. Uh-oh, I seem to have my needle stuck on Loretta Chase heroes. And doesn't that reference date me?

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  17. Hi Tracie! Lovely to see you - and how cool you've got all the books. Big mwah from the Sunshine Coast for you! I love Gideon in The Perfect Rake - I love that he fell in love with his plain heroine and thought she was absolutely beautiful. Loved that he laughed through his pain too. What a hero!

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  18. Hi, Anna! Congrats on MRS release. I can't wait to get my hands on it tomorrow :D

    One of my favorite characters is Cian MacKeltar from Karen Marie Moning's Spell Of The Highlander. Oh, baby, what can I say?! I'm a sucker for dangerously gorgeous Highlanders, but then who isn't ;) I love that Cian is so protective and loyal to those he loves and to tell the truth, I'm having a hard time coming up with Cian's bad qualities lol! It must be because I'm seriously crushing on this particular Highlander.

    -Okie B

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  19. Keziah, the red will die in a good cause, snort! If you're passing, pop in - I know you're partial! Do you remember that lovely Scotchman's Hill we had in Melbourne? Yum! Hey, you mentioned some of my faves (and thanks for putting Verity in such great company). I read part of Mr. Impossible in my workshop in Adelaide last weekend - it's such a beautifully written book and Rupert is one of my faves too!

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  20. Do you all know about the Book Depository? They post books anywhere in the world POST FREE! It's amazing! http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/

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  21. Kelly, don't tempt me with the promise of kittens ;-) I'd love a pet but it's just not practical in my current circumstances, sadly. One day! I grew up with pets - I always feel something's missing that I don't have a dog or a cat! I love your selection of favourite character! And why she is the one you picked. I think favourite characters always have those contrasts and contradictions in their natures - and flaws too! I think that's what makes them interesting to us.

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  22. Great interview, guys! Will have to have a glass of red for you tonight to celebrate, Anna - probably won't be as good as yours... Favourite characters are so hard to chose and I'm so fickle - I fall in love with each new book. Have just finished rereading Bron Parry's Dark Country and have to say Gil is pretty hot!

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  23. Hi, Anna! I'm a bit late in dropping in to celebrate the release of your latest book! I feel like I've been waiting forever to read about Tarquin and Diana.

    Congratulations.

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  24. Anna,
    I"ve got my spare wine glass, an extra bottle of bubbly, and I'm on my way!!!! LOL
    I seriously love that cover, the colours are gorgeous =)

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  25. Anna, I wish I could be sharing that bottle of red with you...or bringing my own bubbles to your place to celebrate! Could even bring some cheese too. :-)

    Congratulations on another release which I know will be as spellbinding as your others.

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  26. Hi Anna! It's so nice to have you here today! I've been thinking about your question all morning, and the heroes who come to mind are Crusie heroes, in particular Phin, whom I DID NOT like when he first strolled into Welcome To Temptation -- that whole 'cool blond' thing. But I completely fell in love with him by the end of the book. He was REALLY uptight about his shirts, which would probably be irritating in real life, but was very funny in the book!

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  27. Nikki, Matthew sends his respects ;-)

    Hey, they're ALL great names for historical heroes. Can I steal them? Although maybe I'll pass up Landrover, the Duke of Campbellandia! Or perhaps Lando of Cambo! ;-)

    Lovely to be here! You know I think this is such a fun blog! Never fails to raise a smile!

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  28. Hi Anna --
    Beautiful cover, great characters and a wonderful blurb...I'm sold! Congrats on your new release.

    Others have beaten me to it but Eve and Roarke are my favs.

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  29. Okie, unhand that man's kilt! ;-) Snort! Oh, KMM does luscious heroes, doesn't she? I remember having a serious crush on Dageus from one of her other books. Yum! Thanks for swinging by!

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  30. Helene, I've got Dark Country on my TBR pile. I loved her first book AS DARKNESS FALLS! And Bronywn's a RITA finalist this year - how cool is that? And do please raise a glass to the success of MRS!

    I'm actually on Helene's blog today if you want to know even MORE about Anna Campbell (snort!). http://www.heleneyoung.com/2010/05/anna-campbells-reckless-surrender/

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  31. Hey, Jo, another lovely Bandita sister! It's out TOMORROW!!!! How cool is that? Thanks so much for swinging by!

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  32. Hey, Mel, that sounds darn good - especially the extra bottle of bubbly! Thanks for saying you love the cover - I think it's gorgeous!

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  33. Oh, no, Yvonne, NOT THE CHEESE PLEESE!!!! Snort! The bubbles are always welcome - especially if they're French. Yvonne is my partner in crime from South Australia - I was onside anyway but I was REALLY onside when she turned up with a bottle of French bubbly at the airport!

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  34. Hey, Emily, thanks so much for inviting me here today. I'm having a great time! Oh, Phin! He's gorgeous! I liked the fact that his outside in many ways contradicted his inside, if that makes sense. That tension made him an interesting character because if he was just Mr Blond Cool, he would have been a bit dull. But of course Mr Blond Cool wouldn't go for Sophie. Yeah, the shirts were funny - and I loved that he was a pool fanatic!

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  35. Anna, actually I'm surprised we haven't had MORE Eve and Roarke! They always seem to pop up on these popularity contests. Thanks so much for swinging by - so glad the book has you intrigued!

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  36. Well done Anna on another fabulous looking and sounding book. I guess I'd better get the house in order, essentials out the way etc. cos once started, your books are SO hard to put down!

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  37. Okay, Anna, I'll say it!
    I adore Roarke! Yummy, yummy. As for his good characteristics, apart from his Irish accent and dark good looks, sigh,he adores his wife and would do anything for her.
    But then I have loads of other heroes I adore, and I know you love C.S.Harris too, so you understand what I mean when I say Sebastian St. Cyr is even more tortured than your own heroes, Anna, and I'm a real sucker for every tortured hero. Sebastian is always the defender of the underdog, yet manages to get himself into terrible situations romantically. Poor man.
    Good luck with the new book, Anna,
    Suzi

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  38. Ooh, Zana, how lovely! What a great thing to say - you know yourself the best thing you can hear from a reader is that they stayed up all night to finish one of your stories! Congratulations on all the buzz about TEMPTING THE NEGOTIATOR!

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  39. Hey, Suzi, did you know I've got a review of WHAT REMAINS OF HEAVEN up on the Romance Dish today? And I say exactly what you do - Sebastian is the tortured hero par excellence! He's gorgeous! Thanks for the good luck!

    Oh, the addy: http://www.theromancedish.com/

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  40. Anna, just had a look at the Romance Dish -- and I can see that Sebastian St Cyr is a hero I have to become acquainted with (after Tarquin, of course!). Thanks for the heads-up. Now I'm looking forward to My Reckless Surrender and to the St Cyr series!

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  41. great interview Ladies

    it seems like I have been waiting forever to read MRS and I don't have long to wait now YAY

    Favoutire charaters in a book hard choice for me I have read so many awesome books. I tend to get close to the characters from books that I have just read and I have not long finished Christine Well's SLS and what is there not to love about Jardine and of course Louisa is such a strong wonderful heroine, but I will always have a soft spot for Verity and Kylmore from CTC love them with all of their qualities because no one is perfect LOL.

    Congrats on the releas Anna

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  42. Hi Anna!!! I hope I'm not late for the party. Can't wait to read this book! The cover alone makes me want to buy it. ;)

    I too have sooooo many favourite characters it's hard to choose. But I love Mary Balogh Regency-set 'Slightly' series. Freyja Bedwyn a Duke's sister is in no way perfect, outspoken with a large nose, while Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere is a pretty boy, hell-raiser. Just love the chemistry between the two. Opposites attract. Gotta love that.

    Great to see you here, Anna.
    Tam :)

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  43. Hey Anna and Emily,

    Umm, how many characters am I allowed to name? I know I'll write this and then think of someone even more favourite, I always do.

    I can really relate to Isla in Shona Husk's 'An Elemental Tail'. I remember being a poor student. I adore Anna's Kylemore - maybe because he was the first? (AC hero I mean). I absolutely fell in love with Brockmann's Cosmo in Hot Target, I know I'm not with the crowd there but what's not to like about tall, silent and deadly with such strong ethics?

    I'd better stop before the keyboard gets full of drool.

    H! :)

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  44. Emily, don't you know the C.S. Harrises? I think you'd love them!

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  45. Tamara, I really like Mary Balogh although I haven't read that particular series. That sounds like a delicious story, though! I must get them! Thanks so much for swinging by - you're never too late to the party!

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  46. Hey, Helen, lovely to see you here! Thanks so much for following so many of my blogs! Honestly, I think you know more about me than I do these days! LOL! Oh, I love Louisa and Jardine from Christine's SLS. What a great book that is! And thank you for mentioning Verity and Kylemore. I loved them with all their flaws too!

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  47. Hey, H Maree, you never forget your first - hero, that is, LOL! Thanks for mentioning Kylemore! It's nice to drool over heroes past, isn't it? I'll have to check out the other two you mention.

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  48. Thanks, guys, for a great day! And don't forget to check back to see who won today's prize! Love Cats, you rock!

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  49. Oh my heck!! everyone is writing about their favorite characters in Anna's books?? I think I find my favorite, and fall in love with HIM of course, and then their love story, there's always a wonderful love story, Then Just when I think I have that figured out, I read another of Anna's books and find another Favorite!! so I cant say I have a real fav... I love them all! and when I read them over and over I find that they become a part of me...
    I read tons of books, about one book every day or two.. I read Karen Moning, Pamela Palmer-Montgomerie, Uh, Yea Monica Mcarty Highlander's series!!! Holy crap- to have a man, In a kilt fight for you to the death!! wow!!! and they seem just so sexy- earthy, tough, masculine, and Flat out MEN!! wow! I am a sucker for those books, and Yes I have read them Over and Over and Over.. ha ha,.. I like also, Kerrelyn Sparks, vampires stories, they are cool.. ummm Kresley cole rocks!! Jasmine Haynes- wow.. talk about steamy!! I actually have a ton more but I borrowed a bag full out to my best friend, and YES yours were amongst them.. ha ha I told her to read them first they were my favs!!! Oh and P.C. Cast, The House of Night series.. I love series books that take the same characters into the next books.. But like I said, I have almost all of my books memorized.. and my daughter just counted the ones I have so far- over 100.. ha ha I love to read!!! So I cant wait to get your new book coming out!!and more when I find them! Thanks for being such a great writer and a great correspondent!!

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  50. Wow, Rexine! Thanks for that fantastic wrap for the books. I hope your friends likes them! You mention some really great authors in your list. Nothing like a great book, huh?

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  51. Your absolutley right there!! Books are my life these days, and beings that I have no life, they take me places that I couldnt ever go!! which is soooo wonderful!!! I missed a few authors,, and I hate to do that. Miranda Neville is one- she rocks!!! I am soooo sure I missed tons more... But I cant name them all of you'd be here for days!! ha ha.. Thanks for responding.. I love finding all the new books that my fav authors come out with and keeping up with the latest... and I also love finding New authors that have "like" writing styles, if you know what I mean!! I am always looking for something or someone new to try out.. ha ha.... thats where you came in, thanks to Pamela Palmer!!! she sent me a huge Tote full of autographed books and there were a few of them that were yours, and I was hooked instantly! So thanks Pam!! shes a sweet lady- as are you!! I love it when a famous Author will take time out of their hectic schedule to write back to their fans, that means the world to us, and keeps us so very loyal!! Have a wonderful day- I have tons of things to do today so no reading- my son graduates High School tomorrow morning bright and early!! ugh!!! not a morning person.. ha ha!! Glad to see you enjoyed your trip!

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