Fan2Author Interview with…Máire Claremont!

b2bMelanie: Hello Máire and welcome to b2b! I’m so happy you’re here! The buzz about ‘The Dark Lady’ is great! How exited are you with ‘The Dark Lady’ coming out?  I can’t even imagine the feelings you’re going through! The only closest I can compare it to is sending my kids off to the Kindergarten and hoping they’ll do good without me there to guide them….

Máire Claremont: Oh my!!!! I am totally over the moon. The release has been so exciting. I can barely believe it is all real. And yes, it is a bit like sending your baby into the world and hoping that no one bullies it.

b2bMelanie: Before I start with my interview, won’t you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit about yourself and your début novel?

Máire: Well, I am a bit of a gypsy soul! I love to move. I’ve lived all over the US and the British Isles and Ireland. I have an M.A. in Drama and adore film and live theaters. My début is a bit on the different side. Very dark, focusing on a heroine escaping the insane asylum.

b2bMelanie: Máire, I am such a sucker for a tortured hero, and in ‘Dark Lady’ I had two-for-one. Both Eva and Ian traveled some rough road to their HEA and you made them work for it!

I found the story truly unique and exciting to read. You had me on pins and needles all through out! What made you choose this premise?

Máire: You know the premise was completely unmeditated. It came to me as I tried to go to sleep one night. The story literally came to me in the dark and I had to get up and start writing.

b2bMelanie: I must say that the many scenes you wrote just tugged at my heart-strings… How hard of a time did you have going so deep into the psyche of your Ian and Eva? I wondered if the intimate and sensual scenes came easier than those of Ian and Eva’s personal suffering. By the way, who did you model Eva and Ian after?

Máire: Oh thank you!!!!!!! Sometimes it was very tough, mining their grief and walking their paths with them. I loved writing the intimate scenes because it was a chance for them to be happy amidst their sorrows but it was also really natural to write the darker scenes as they were so true to character. Eva and Ian aren’t mirrored off anyone or anything. They are completely unique to me.

b2bMelanie: I think Cover Art is almost as much important as the content of the novels, but I find that not many publishers are acknowledging the artists or the models, and as an avid reader I love all aspects of the novel I’m about to read.

Tell me about the cover art for this book. It is stunning. This woman looks just like what I pictured Eva to be.

Máire: I got SO SO lucky!!! Jon Paul was the designer. Signet just really went to town on giving me the most beautiful cover. I sent them some images and we had a cover conference about the feel. Wait until you see Lady in Red’s cover!!!

b2bMelanie: You sure did! Jon Paul is such a sweetheart, not goona even attempt to hide my adoration for the man!

Let’s talk titles…How hard is it to ‘name’ your ‘baby’? Have you gone through more than one and can you tell us what they were? 

Máire: The Dark Lady was ALWAYS the title. I was so lucky. It came to me. It’s a reference to Shakespeare’s Dark Lady sonnets. And my editor loved it and it never had to change.

b2bMelanie: Do you let someone read your work during your writing process? Who’s the lucky person and why? Or do you wait ‘till it’s finished, then you let someone read it…and who?

Máire: Oh yes! Delilah Marvelle author extraordinaire reads everything I write! Lacey Kaye also often looks and my amazing agent Helen Breitweiser!

b2bMelanie: OMG! The Delightful Ms. M. sure is lucky! I can’t tell you how lucky I was to meet her last year. Adore her!

We all have favorite books, authors… How about you? Are you willing to fess-up?

Máire: Elizabeth Hoyt is my very favorite historical writer right now with Delilah Marvelle making a very close second. They both write amazingly detailed deep books.

b2bMelanie: Totally with you on that one!

What’s on your TBR right now?

Máire: Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt and Forever A Lord by Delilah Marvelle.

b2bMelanie: I don’t have Hoyt’s, but now must get it. As for Delilah’s book, I read it as soon as I got my special ARC copy and loved it!

Now, that ends up our ‘professional’ portion of this interview. Are you ready to get personal? Or are you going to chicken out on me?

Máire: Do I look like a Chicken?!? LOL.

b2bMelanie: HAHAHA!…Let’s get Personal:

So, tell us something personal about yourself that you’d like us to know…anything that makes you comfortable…or not…like how many times did you fall in love?

What’s your favorite meal of the day (food)? Flannels or Silk? Do you like to cook? What’s your favorite spot in the house? Cats or Dogs? Champagne or Beer?  Your favorite time of the year? What are your fears? Your joys?

Máire: Oh Wow! I am almost never in love! I think that’s why I love romance. I can fall in love whenever I want!

M favorite meal is dinner. I adore Indian food! Chicken tikka Masala?? nom nom om.

I’m flannels all the way because they are the best to write in!

My favorite spot in the house is. . . the bed. I even write in it.

I adore cats!! Always have. I love their snobbiness.

I’m a total Champagne girl. I adore bubbles!

My favorite time of year is Fall. I love the transition and the turning of the leaves! Such a gorgeous time of year!

Fears?? Failure of course or rejection. The nice thing is with all the writing, I’ve had to face my fears. And the more you face those fears, the stronger you become.

I do cook and actually like it unless I’m cooking just for me.

My joys??? Traveling!!! I could travel all year long and never get tired of living out of my suitcase! In fact, that’s my goal, to be able to travel ALL the time.

b2bMelanie: Máire, thanks for ‘coming over to play’! I wish you a long and ‘muse’ filled writing life. It has been a pleasure and much fun to host you and get to know you.

*For Author’s Bio, please click on her photo. 

*Máire can be found here: Website / Blog / Facebook / Tweeter / Pinterest / 

“The Dark Lady” now available at: Amazon / Kindle / B&N / Nook /

*For an EXCERPT please click on the book cover.

GIVEAWAY

One commenter will win a choice of copy or eBook

of THE DARK LADY and all you need to do is answer a question…

If you could travel to any time, what it be and why??

* US only!

Fan2Author Interview with…Danelle Harmon!

I am a brand new fan of this author and I am on the hunt! For the past week I’ve been tracking Danelle Harmon’s back llist because I fell in love with her story telling.

Recently I read five of her brand new back list releases as my review assignment for RCJR eZine and my blog. To Christine Morehouse I say, THANK YOU for introducing me to such a great author and her awesome series. Please help me welcome an author that I hope will become, if she already isn’t, your favorite as well.

b2bMelanie: Hello Danelle! Are you enjoying your summer so far?

Danelle Harmon:  I’m having a great summer, Melanie!  I hope you and your loved ones are, as well!

b2b: Actually, it has been a mixed bag, but the weather is getting to a point of tolerance now that we’re out of the 100 degree’s!

How exited are you with ‘Wicked at Heart’ coming out?

DH: I’m thrilled, especially as it has a beautiful new cover and one that I actually love!  I really fell in love with the hero of this story, and I hope readers will enjoy his journey as much as I did.

b2b: I definitely did! Loved the story!

It’s no news to my readers how much I enjoy reading the ‘behind the story’ notes of any book, so tell me more about your research and ‘behind the story’ of ‘WaH’.

DH:  I wrote Wicked At Heart while I was still living in England, so I took a lot of inspiration from my setting.  Oxford was only six miles away, and of course, the English countryside, which figured in a good part of Wicked At Heart (I set part of the book in the Cotswolds, one of my favorite areas of England).  It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many resources, and such beauty and history!

b2b: Cotswolds is now officially added to my Bucket List.

Just if someone out there hasn’t read any of your books, would you tell us a bit about them and what’s coming up for you in the future? Will you be releasing more of your backlist or will you concentrate on the future books?

DH: My career as an “Avon Lady” included ten books published by them; to date, five of them have been released as e-books, and I’m currently working on the sixth, Captain Of My Heart, which will, I hope, be available sometime in late August or early September.  I plan to revise and update all of my backlist, and when they are all available, with their beautiful new covers, I’ll finish the story that so many people have asked me for: that of Perry, Lord Brookhampton and the youngest de Montforte sibling, Lady Nerissa.

b2b: Let me tell you! I am really looking forward to all of them, especially Nerissa’s story. I truly thought that she needed her own book.

Which one of your books was the hardest and which the easiest to write and which couple did you like the best?

DH:  Without question, the hardest was The Beloved One.  Actors have to “inhabit” a role when they play it, and I believe that is true for authors, too. I get very wrapped up in my characters when I’m writing about them, and Lord Charles’s (the hero of The Beloved One) heartbreaking plight took a lot out of me, emotionally. Because of that, it got to the point that I was having trouble making myself sit down and spend time with him, so one winter weekend, I packed up my laptop and checked in to a local beach hotel and there, wrote a good part of the book.  I’ve never had to do that with any of my other books, and maybe that’s one reason that Lord Charles is my favorite of all the dashing, aristocratic de Montforte men… we really wrestled that story, the two of us, and I felt his pain right along with him.  As for couples, I don’t think I could pick any one set of characters … there are things I like and admire about all of them, I think.

b2b: You know, after five books that I’ve read, I think that ‘The Beloved One’ is my favorite!

Do you have a hard time writing the intimate scenes?

DH:  Yes; but to be honest, I can’t think of a romance writer who doesn’t!

b2b: LOL! Do you let someone read your work during your writing process? Who and why? Or do you wait ‘till it’s finished, then you let someone read it…and who?

DH: Nobody reads my work during the writing process, and I don’t belong to a critique group… in fact, I’ve never belonged to one.  Occasionally I’ll bounce ideas off my husband or a friend, but for the most part, I fly solo.

b2b: Now that’s interesting! Tell me about the cover art of your books. I can see that you have new Kindle covers for your backlist and I just love them. Who came up with it? What about the older ones?

DH:  Awww, thank you!  I just love my new covers!  Unlike with the older (paperback) versions, where I had zero control over the covers (and cried many a tear when I’d get my first look at them … the old covers for Wicked At Heart and The Beloved One were ghastly and looked NOTHING like my characters!) I had very specific ideas about what I wanted on the cover of each e-book.  Much to my delight and excitement, designer Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs was able to bring those ideas to fruition… I love her work, and can’t thank her enough for these beautiful new covers!

b2b: She did an outstanding job in creating these covers. They are amazing!

Let’s talk titles…How hard is it to ‘name’ your ‘baby’?

DH:  My very first book was originally called “Forever A Free Prince” (my working title), but Avon, with an eye toward marketing, changed it to Pirate In My Arms.  The titles of the nine books that followed were all mine; I don’t seem to have any trouble naming books.

b2b: You are lucky, then. Some authors agonize over it.

We all have favorite books, authors… How about you? Are you willing to fess-up?

DH:  I read very, very little when it comes to romance, so I really don’t have any favorites within the genre.  I do like historical fiction, though, and occasionally will pick up something by Dean Koontz or Tess Gerritsen.  I loved the Joshua books by Joseph Girzone.

b2b: You know, I hear that a lot and it makes a lot of sense.

Some authors write at certain times of day or week. What’s your typical writing schedule and what gets your creative juices flowing? If you have any tips to help other aspiring new authors out there, feel free to share!

DH:  I wish I had a “schedule,” but, I’m also a mom, and as anyone with children knows, when it comes to kids, the old adage “the best laid plans…” certainly holds true.  Our daughter is home from summer camp now, so my writing time is very late at night.  I cannot work with interruptions, and in a house with my family and four dogs up and about, my best … perhaps my only … work gets done after they all go to bed.

b2b: LOL! So I see that it doesn’t differ from most mom’s out there. They all do the bulk of their chores after the household ‘settles down’.

I honestly enjoyed every aspect of this book. What inspired it and who did you envision as Damon?

DH:  Damon is a very wounded hero, and in adulthood, he’s paying the price for having an abusive mother who never showed him any love.  As a result, he’s prone to panic attacks, anxiety, and has an impossible time seeing the beauty in the world about him.  He’s angry, without knowing why, but he yearns for so much more.  I know people like Damon, loved ones who suffer panic attacks and anxiety disorders, and I must confess that my empathy toward them inspired me to write Damon’s character.  I wrote the paperback version of Wicked At Heart in the mid-1990s, and the young, intense, gorgeous and still relatively unknown Ralph Fiennes was the person I envisioned as Damon.

b2b: I am not surprised. He would definitely do justice to the role of Damon with his intensity and voice.

What do you like to read and what’s on your TBR right now?

DH:  I’m currently reading With Fire And Sword:  The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution by James Nelson, who’s actually quite well-known for his great fiction.  It’s a great read, and I’m enjoying his portrayal of Dr. Joseph Warren, the young, handsome, and sadly forgotten patriot without whom, I think, we probably wouldn’t have had a revolution.  Dr. Warren is one of my very favorite historical personages, right up there with British Admiral Lord Nelson.

b2b: Cool. I’ll make sure to look it up.

Now, that ends up our ‘professional’ portion of this interview.

…Let’s get Personal:

So, tell us a bit about yourself, something personal that you’d like us to know…anything that makes you comfortable…or not…like how many times did you fall in love? Flannel or Silk? Cats or Dogs? Champagne or Beer?  Rock or Classical? Movies or TV?

DH:  I can’t remember how many times I’ve fallen in love, but I’ve been happily married to my husband Chris since we tied the knot back in Abingdon, England, in 1995!  As for your other questions:  Flannel (it gets cold here during a Massachusetts winter!) … Dogs (I have four German Shorthaired Pointers ranging in age from one to fifteen years), though I do love kitties, too (my allergies don’t!), and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer, please!  My iTunes library is pretty eclectic, but I’m a big fan of the British band Oasis (which was HUGE when we were living in England); I also love Madonna, Lady Gaga, the Bee Gees’ older stuff (before the disco era), and anything with great energy to it.  I don’t watch TV (every time I get hooked on a show it gets canceled, so I don’t bother anymore!).  I’m a huge and devoted fan of Jesus Christ Superstar — the movie, the soundtrack, the live production — and have seen it on stage more times than I can count.  I even have a photo of myself with Ted Neeley, who’s holding a copy of The Wild One!

b2b: Danelle, you’re one fun lady! You’ve been very gracious to stop by and play, and I thank you so much. I am sure that our readers will be thrilled to learn that you’ve offered FIVE lucky winners   (one book per winner/title of their choice) ALL FIVE of your books as a giveaway, and all they have to tell us is this: how much of sensuality do you like to read about? No sexual contact whatsoever, sexual contact all over, or are you somewhere in between?

You can reach Danelle on Facebook, Tweeter and her website. To buy her novels right now, just click on the cover.

Fan2Author Interview with…Sheri Cobb South!

K- Hi Sheri!  Thank you so much for coming to visit with us and chat about your books!

K- Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career as a writer?!  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?  How old were you?  Was there a particular moment that stands out as significant or was it just always natural to you?

SCS – To tell you the truth, I don’t remember when I first decided I wanted to write! I’d always loved to read—got my first library card at age 3, because I could already write my name—and I wrote my share of angst-ridden pre-teen poetry at 11 or 12. I always knew that “someday” I would write a book. It wasn’t until I was 28 years old and saw the big 3-0 looming on the horizon that I realized I could spend the rest of my life saying “someday,” or I could sit down and write! So I pounded away at a manual typewriter, literally cutting and pasting the manuscript pages until I had a finished draft that had to be completely retyped. My goal was to be published by the time I was 30, which shows how naïve I was about the publishing business! My first novel, a YA novel called Wrong-Way Romance, was published by Bantam as part of its Sweet Dreams series in February 1991, five months before my 32^nd birthday. I still occasionally get emails from women in their 30s who read that book when they were teenagers and still remember it.

K-  What is your favorite genre of book to read?

SCS – I’m a “book slut.” I’ll read almost any genre as long as it’s well-written, humorous, and has a hint (or more than a hint!) of romance. The Regency romances of Georgette Heyer are among my favorites; I love their clever dialogue and elegant prose. I also enjoy classic mysteries and the time-travel books of Connie Willis.

K-  What is your favorite genre of book to write?

SCS – I love to write (and read!) romances where the attraction between the hero and heroine is shown through witty repartee rather than physical urges. I enjoy writing Regency romances for this reason, and when the market for traditional Regencies collapsed several years ago, I tried my hand at a Regency mystery series as a way of writing the things I love in a more marketable form—thus the John Pickett mystery series was born. My new release, Babes in Tinseltown, also features humor and a chaste romance in a historical setting, this time Hollywood in the 1930s.

K-  Do you have a particular place that you visit or work that gives you inspiration for your books?

SCS – I recently had a chance to meet science fiction superstar Connie Willis, who told me she does all her writing at Starbucks; when she tried to write at home, she was constantly distracted by other things she “ought” to be doing. I decided to give it a try, and found that it really works! Starbucks offers wi-fi, so I can spot-check details of research that arise, but the internet connection is too slow to effectively read and/or write email, post to Facebook, shop Amazon, play Candy Crush…you get the picture. Since I started working at Starbucks, I’ve written about 120 pages in just over a month, which is fast for me, as I tend to be a slow writer.

K-  Do you have a favorite character or couple that really speaks to you?

SCS – My favorite romance hero is Hugo Darracott of Georgette Heyer’s The Unknown Ajax. He’s got such a wicked sense of humor! Everyone underestimates him, but in an emergency he’s quick-thinking and strong. I also love Dorothy Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey. As far as couples go, one of my favorites has to be Captain Harry Phillips and Princess Sonya Irena of Moldavia, whom he has to smuggle out of Austria in the final days of WWI in the underappreciated novel Flight From Bucharest, by R. T Stevens. Of my own characters, my favorite has to be Ethan Brundy (The Weaver Takes a Wife), followed by John Pickett (In Milady’s Chamber, A Dead Bore).

K-  So, lets talk hobbies… what do you like to do in your time off, when you’re not writing?

SCS – I love old movies, which is why I decided to write a book set in 1930s Hollywood. I also enjoy needlework (knitting, crocheting, and counted cross-stitch). Music is a big part of my life, too. I sing in church choir and play the clarinet in community band.

K-  With summer in full swing, can you tell us a little bit about what your summer plans are?

SCS – I’m looking forward to attending the Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim later this month, as well as the Beau Monde conference for Regency writers held the day before RWA kicks off. On a personal/family level, our recent move from Alabama to Colorado has opened up a new part of the country for us to explore. Last month we spent a week at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Since we live only about 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, we’ll make several trips there this summer to do a little hiking.

K-  Can you tell us a little bit about your next release?

SCS – My newest release is Babes in Tinseltown, a humorous historical mystery set in 1936 Hollywood. It tells the story of Frankie Foster, a sheltered Southern girl hoping to make it big in the movies. She’s working as an extra when the producer drops dead on the soundstage. With filming suspended, Frankie knows it’s up to her to find out the truth about the producer’s death if she is to save the picture and her own career. Library Journal called it “a light 1930s Hollywood confection…[with] fresh characters [who]bring the cozy to life.” Babes in Tinseltown is available in both trade paperback and electronic editions.

Also, the second John Pickett mystery, A Dead Bore, is now available in electronic format through Belgrave House/Regency Reads. Idealistic young Bow Street Runner John Pickett and the newly widowed Lady Fieldhurst, whose husband’s murder was the subject of In Milady’s Chamber, are back together again, and the romance quotient is kicked up quite a bit. A Dead Bore was originally published by Five Star, whose heavy-duty library bindings unfortunately make the hardcover edition very expensive, so I hope the electronic format will be a more affordable option for readers.

K-  What can we expect from your books?

SCS – Not everyone is comfortable with the increasingly erotic levels of sexuality in romance. Those are the readers I write for. I hope they feel they can count on me to give them a funny yet romantic read in a vivid historical setting, whether that setting is Regency England or 1930s Hollywood.

K- Thank you so much Sheri for answering some questions for us!  We look forward to learning more about you and your books!! We also had so much fun browsing Sherri’s website, and are bringing you a couple of fun items from it today. If you’d click on the pictures of the Regency Lady and Lord, you’ll be able to dress them up! You can also help the hero and heroine from the Pride and Prejudice get all ‘dolled up’! How fun is that!

To know more about Sherri, please click on her photo, and to purchase some of her books she’s talking about, please click on their cover.  To one lucky commenter a copy of Babes in Tinsletown will come your way!  Thanks Sherri!

Fan2Author Interview with…Genevieve Graham!

Hello Genevieve!  Welcome back!  We are so happy to have you back here to talk about the release of your second book Sound of the Heart!

KG- So, let’s get right to the goodies and the “other” star of our interview.   Can you tell us a little bit about your newest release Sound of the Heart?

GG- Hi Kristal! Glad to be back.

Sound of the Heart is the companion novel to Under the Same Sky. That means they’re a series, but not sequels, so you can read them standalone, too … though I’m happy to say that reviewers of this book have said they’re now going back to check Under the Same Sky because they liked this one so much!

The funny thing about Sound of the Heart is that I never intended to write it! When Penguin offered me the contract for Under the Same Sky, it was on the basis that I would write a second book. Of course I said, ‘Sure!’ when they asked, but it was a bit of a challenge to come up with a whole new book—Under the Same Sky was literally the only thing I’d written to that point! But I was lucky because Dougal, my main character, is quite happy to tell his story. He’s somewhat of a ham. Loves to talk, be the centre of attention, defend the weak, etc

KG-  He certainly is and of course that is why I loved him and why all of our readers are going to love him!

KG-I reviewed your debut novel Under the Same Sky and simply LOVED it.  I raved about it to everyone that would listen!  Can you tell us how Sound of the Heart differs from Under the Same Sky?  How are the books similar, if at all?

GG- First off, THANKS for raving! For a new author like me, every sale is an important one, so I’m really hoping everyone else is passing along the word, too!

Sound of the Heart takes place at the same time as Under the Same Sky, but Dougal’s adventures are completely different from those of his brother. Two parallel lives. Andrew believed Dougal had been killed, along with thousands of others, on Culloden Moor. Andrew escaped the killing field after the battle was done, but Dougal wasn’t quite so fortunate. He ended up a P.O.W., and learning about how those men and women survived really broke my heart. It is impossible to me that human beings can treat each other like that—then and now. But one of the big differences between these books is the personalities of the main characters. Dougal is a strong, hardy man, but he also has a great outlook. Like Andrew, he’d defend the weak and be loyal to the end, but he has a lighter point of view. His dialogue is funnier, and his friends seem to reflect that.

KG- How can our readers get a copy of Sound of the Heart?  Is it available as an ebook?

GG- Oh yes. Both Under the Same Sky and Sound of the Heart are available everywhere, including on e-book.

KG- So, its been a few months since we have talked to you last.  What have you been up to since we last spoke?  Book-wise, summer-wise, life-wise?

GG- Wellllll, I’ve just finished a 50 stop blog tour, which was a lot of fun but WOW. I also run an editing business, editing novels for authors around the world, and because I knew I’d need time for promoting my two books I put the editing on hold for a bit. Now I’m right back into it, working with all different kinds of books. It’s really an interesting business.

KG-  50 stops!  That’s wild!!  And pretty amazing!!!

GG-  I’ve also been working on my own books, which is the best of all.

KG- We just had this discussion on the blog, so please humor me.  I’m having a love affair with summer at the moment. What are you favorite things about summer?  Any big plans?  Im taking a trip to the Outer Banks in August and I am living every single day for that trip!  LOL

GG-  My favourite place to work in the summer is in my “outside office”, the screened-in gazebo my husband built for me last year! We have a lot of black flies up here, so the screen keeps the little buggers out. Sometimes the Atlantic wind comes up and I need a blanket, but really, what can be better than writing in the outdoors? My family usually joins me after a while—my husband loves to nap out there while I type—so sometimes “my” little office is full of our two teenage daughters, our little white dog, occasionally a chicken or two, and the two of us. When that happens, well, let’s just say writing gets put on hold for a bit.

KG-  This office sounds like just my cup of tea!!!  Where can I get one?! 

GG-  We’re travelling to Alberta for three weeks to visit family, and we’re looking forward to showing the girls the city. We moved from Calgary to Nova Scotia in 2008 because we wanted to get away from the noise and speed of the city. Sometimes they complain that they don’t get to go to the malls anymore (yay! That’s a good thing!) so we’re surprising them with a two day visit to the West Edmonton Mall.

KG-  That sounds absolutely lovely!

KG- What is next for you?  What can us eager readers be on the look out for?

GG- The third book in the MacDonnell clan series is Out of the Shadows, and it has been sitting—unread—on my editor’s desk for a year now. She’s waiting to hear about sales on the first two books before Penguin takes a chance on this new author again. It’s kind of a stressful position to be in, waiting to see, but I’m not too concerned. I have submitted another historical adventure book to my agent and am working on a time travel adventure right now. I have a chicklit as well, but I’ve put it to the side until I settle a few of these other books. Oh, and I’ve started a fourth in the MacDonnell series, but I want to wait and see how that all goes with Penguin before I go any farther.

GG-  I’ll definitely be back when (not if!) my next book is out!

KG- You are welcome to join us anytime!!!

GG-  Thanks again for having me here, and for reading Sound of the Heart.

KG-  Thank you so much for stopping by to talk with us again!  It is always a pleasure to have you here with us and we love to hear what you have going on and when your newest releases are going to hit shelves!

*To find out more about the author click on her picture

*To purchase her books, click on the covers

Fan2Author Interview with…Donna Cummings!

b2bMelanie: Bookworms, please help me welcome Donna Cummings with my first question…

I never read any of your work before ‘Lord Midnight’, so please tell us a bit about yourself and your writing career as well as the book. When did you know that writing was what you wanted to do?

Donna Cummings: Melanie, thanks so much for having me here today. I’ve actually had a lot of other careers, including attorney, and retail store owner, and while each job required me to use my writing abilities, it just wasn’t the same as writing romances! So I started writing those to entertain myself while working at jobs that weren’t always as satisfying. But really, what could possibly be as satisfying as writing sexy, humorous romantic stories? That’s a career I’ll always love.

b2b: How cool to find out we have retail experience in common. Although, I never owned  it, I loved working in it.

Donna, ‘Lord Midnight’ was an enjoyable read from start to finish (bookworms, for my review of it click RRAH). What was the idea behind it? When you write, what comes first, the plot, voice, characters or setting?

DC: I’m so glad to hear how much you enjoyed Lord Midnight. And I love that you called it “delicious”. The story started from a couple of unrelated ideas that crashed into each other in my brain, while I was doing research for something else. I read a newspaper article talking about how tough the job of the U.S. vice president can be, since that person’s future essentially depends on something awful happening to the president. And it made me think what might happen if something dreadful happened to the heir to an English title–and even worse, what if it happened because someone didn’t want to wait their turn?

When I write, the characters usually appear first. They’re typically in the middle of a conversation, chatting away, and I have to figure out where they’ve been before that scene, and where they’re headed. It’s always fun, and almost like solving an intriguing mystery.

b2b: I truly enjoyed the slow build-up of their relationship and loved the banter between them, but what made this such an enjoyable read for me was the friendship that first develops between the hero and heroine and I wondered why you chose that route?

DC: I’m so intrigued that you mention the friendship angle; because I’m not sure I realized it was there until now! I love characters who banter with each other, and I’m a huge fan of witty dialogue, and fortunately I have characters who love to banter and engage in humorous exchanges. I think it’s a great way for characters to get to know each other, and humor also allows people to let down their guard, which is necessary when you’re learning to trust someone, and fall in love.

b2b: Would you mind telling us who inspired your hero and heroine? And speaking of, who is your favorite hero?

DC: I don’t have a specific inspiration for either of them–although there was this one barista at Starbucks with long blond hair, and I kept wondering if his first name was Gabriel. . . Ahem. My favorite romance hero is a Georgette Heyer one, but not her typical Regency heroes, although I adore them too. This one is an English pirate by the name of Beauvallet, and he is witty, constantly laughing in the face of danger, and recklessly doing the impossible to win his lady-love. I just can’t resist that kind of hero.

b2b: Donna, do you think that there is a difference between, and specifically, what sets apart in your opinion the ‘traditional’ regency novels from ‘historical novels set in the regency time period’?

DC:  I actually started writing traditional Regencies, and at the time they were typically shorter books, with witty dialogue, humorous situations, and absolutely no sex in the love scenes. I think readers and writers wanted to explore different aspects of that era, as well as a wider range of emotions and sensuality, so now we have an amazing choice when it comes to what’s available in Regency-set historicals. Lord Midnight was actually my first “non-traditional” Regency, although it’s definitely not the last. I like the combination of humorous and sexy, so I guess I’m writing a blend of the two types.

b2b: What’s up next for Donna Cummings?

DC: I’m working on several things right now. I just finished a contemporary novella which is part of an anthology that came about in a fun way: someone posted a pic on Twitter of a hot guy on a train, and our comments quickly turned into “let’s each write a story based on the concept of a stranger on a train”. I’ve also been posting some excerpts on my blog of a contemporary romantic comedy/mystery titled I Do. . .or Die, and I may self-publish it soon. I’m also finishing up another Regency historical, Lord Wastrel, which is excerpted at the back of Lord Midnight. The hero and heroine — Hugh and Felicia — make me laugh a lot, and they have a wonderful friendship — so I’m hoping that will be an enjoyable read too.

b2b: Donna, thanks so much for coming over to play! I hope you come back often to chat with us! I’m looking forward to it!

DC: Thank you. I will definitely come back to play! I had a great time!

I’ve got an e-copy of Lord Midnight to give away, and it’s available internationally (as long as you can read on Kindle or Nook). Tell me about the romance hero you find irresistible, and why.

Melanie here. Here’s a bit about Donna: “… worked as an attorney, winery tasting room manager, and retail business owner, but nothing beats the thrill of writing humorously-ever-after romances.

Currently I reside in Massachusetts, although I fantasize about spending the rest of my days in a tropical locale, consuming mojitos for breakfast and wearing flip flops year-round.

You can find out more about me, and my books, here.”

Fan2Author Interview with…Kate Noble!

Kristal: Hello Kate!  Thank you for visiting with us on our blog!  We are so excited to have you here with us!

Kate Noble: Thank you for having me!

K: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  Maybe give us a little back ground into your decision to become a writer?  Maybe tell us a childhood dream or two that helped you see out your dreams?

KN: I have always been in love with a good story.  When I was a kid I would devour books, movies, television, plays.  My dream job as a child was to become a Disney animator.  I ended up going to school to study filmmaking, and but I found I gravitated to writing the scripts, as opposed to being behind the camera.  Thus a love of writing was borne.  It’s a little round about, in terms of becoming a novelist, but I got there eventually.

K: I see that you mainly write historical romance.  And I literally gobble up the historicals, they fascinate me.  I’m not sure that I could ever have the creative ability to tell a 300 page story about my fascination, but you do it so well!  How did you come to love that era?  Does it take a lot of research to see your stories come to life?

KN: When I started reading romance novels as a teen, I gobbled up historicals, in particular Amanda Quick.  And when I read Pride and Prejudice, my conversion to a historical lover was complete.  So, it was natural that when I started writing novels, they would be in this genre I adored.

One of the reasons I love the Regency is the rules of the era.  Dancing with someone told the world you were interested in them, the way a lady held her fan could tell you whether or not she liked you.  And taking a lady’s hand was tantamount to an engagement.  Nobody did wanting like the Regency did.

Yes, research is a huge part of the job – after all, research is what creates the place and time the story lives in, and gives it its atmosphere.  But you can’t let yourself get swallowed by it.  When it comes down to it, I’m writing about people, and their relationships.

K: Any favorite movies or books or even music that inspires your work?  I know that I need complete silence to even open a book, but I’m sure there is quite the process to get the juices flowing when writing an entire novel!

KN: Yes, there are movies and music that inspire my work, but it varies with every book.  For instance, I consider If I Fall to have been heavily influenced by the Indiana Jones films and by The Princess Bride.  But my previous novels had their own influences.

As for music, I will usually create a playlist of songs that speak to the plot, the characters, an emotion or any particular scene in the story.  And I’ll listen to that playlist over and over again.  It can be modern music – I’ve put Coldplay and Linkin Park on If I Fall’s playlist – or it can be music from the Regency Era.  For instance, in the book I’m currently working on, Beethoven’s No. 23 piano sonata plays a prominent role – thus, I listen to it almost daily.

K: Have you done any traveling lately?  We’d love to hear about any book tours or just leisurely vacations you’d like to tell us about?

KN: The most recent traveling I did was to Peru.  My boyfriend and I went to Machu Picchu, and it was a truly wonderful, beautiful trip – in fact, I think I’m going to have to write a Peruvian hero in one of my books!

K: What is next for you?  Can you tell us about your new book If I Fall that released in April??

KN: I’m so pleased with fans’ reactions to If I Fall!  Everyone who read Follow My Lead wanted Sarah Forrester to get a story of her own – she was rather cruelly hurt when we last saw her, having her heart broken by the duke she was supposed to marry.  Now, to survive socially, and to protect her vulnerable heart, she has transformed herself into the Golden Lady – the most sought after young woman of the ton, the light of every party.  The only person who can see through this shiny, brittle façade is Sarah’s childhood friend Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, who has recently returned to London from years at sea.

Jack will do anything to bring back the happy, kind Sarah he once knew – even something as ridiculous as dressing up as her childhood hero, the anonymous British spy the Blue Raven – to wake up the real Sarah.  Unfortunately, the real Blue Raven doesn’t find Jack’s disguise nearly as clever.  But he does need his help in finding a killer, one that might just target Sarah next.

I also have a special e-novella out now too!  It’s called The Dress of the Season, and it’s such a happy little story, about second chances and seeing someone with new eyes. Harris Dane, Viscount Osterley, orders a very fine and scandalously cut dress to be made for a certain lady he wishes to woo. While with the dress designer, he also orders a pair of gloves to be sent to his ward, Miss Felicity Grove, to wish her well for the new Season. But when Felicity accidentally receives the dress, along with Osterley’s affectionate note, it sets into motion a tale of scandalous misunderstandings and love in the last place you look.

K: Any book recommendations for us?  What have you been reading in your spare time?  Im sure we would all love some recommendations for some beach reading!

KN: What spare time?!  All kidding aside, I find it very difficult to read while I’m working on a book, but I do manage to sneak a book in here and there.  The most recent book I read and loved was Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas.   I’ve always loved Lisa Kleypas’s historicals and I’m just now discovering her Texas-set contemporaries.  It’s fantastic!

K: Thank you so much for stopping by and answering some questions for us!!

And now for our Giveaway. b2b will give one lucky commenter Kate’s eNovella “The Dress of the Season” if you tell us what TV/Movie actor reminds you of your favorite hero! Speaking of, who is your favorite hero?!

*Sorry, US only*

Fan2Author Interview with…Marilyn Brant!

K:  Hello Marilyn!  Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with us!  It is a pleasure to have you here! 

MB:  Thanks, Kristal—it’s wonderful to be at bookworm2bookworm!! Thank you so much for inviting me.

K:  My first question involves your extensive travel!  On your bio, I read that you have traveled to 46 states and over 30 countries??  That is amazing.  I have only ever been to a handful of the states and Canada!  How do you decide where to go next?  Do you have a favorite place to travel to? 

MB:  When my husband and I met, we were both public school teachers. During those few years that we were married but before we became parents, we lived in a little apartment and we’d save up all year and then choose a few interesting spots to visit during summer vacation. My husband still teaches world history, so he particularly loved getting to visit some of the incredible historical sites he talked about to his high-school students—like those in Italy, England and Greece. And I studied French for 5 years and had an insatiable love of Swiss chocolate, LOL, so between the two of us, we wanted to see A LOT of places!

We traveled as backpackers then. We never checked our luggage on a flight, so everything that we brought for one of our trips had to fit into a carry-on backpack. For us, that made it easier to travel light and visit multiple places on a trip. When we went to Europe, we would purchase Eurail passes in advance so we’d have full access to their extensive train systems. It allowed us to easily change plans because we could hop on almost any train we wanted with very little notice. We might decide to begin our journey in Austria but, then, while we were there, some random person we met would tell us we just had to visit this small community in Switzerland…so we’d look at our map, consult the train schedules and figure out what connections we needed to get there. (That actually happened by the way—it’s how we discovered the beautiful town of Zermatt in the Swiss Alps.) It was very freeing and really fun to be able to be that flexible.

Of course, that was 15 years ago, and our lives have changed a lot since then! We now have a house, a teenage son and aging parents who need care. We can’t just take off and go to Europe for a few weeks. However, we really wanted to introduce our son to the joys (and, sometimes, the challenges) of travel, so we went on our first international trip as a family last month, and we took him to England and northern Wales. My husband and I hadn’t been in the U.K. since 1996, so it was thrilling for us to go back there for a week and a privilege to get to see our son experiencing the wonder of places like Stonehenge and the Tower of London for the first time.

K:  Do your extensive travels inspire your books?  Any particular place that brings out the creative muse in you? 

MB:  I love so many, many places…sigh. I’d dreamed of visiting the Alps since I was in 6th grade. I even wrote a descriptive piece for my middle school English class on the beauty of the mountains there, though it would be more than a decade before I’d get to see them with my own eyes.

When I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into an exchange program through AFS, and I spent the summer when I was 16 in Brisbane, Australia. I *loved* that! If I hadn’t already been a totally travel-obsessed kid that trip would have made me so.

But the place I always think of as my “creative muse” is Venice, Italy. I love everything about that city. The uniqueness of it. The colorful masks. The way the light plays against the many footbridges and piazzas and how the reflection of the buildings in the water makes it seem like the paint is sliding off of them and into the canal… And, oh, there are to-die-for gelato shops and beautifully crafted pieces of art and jewelry to look at and be dazzled by. There are the historical sites, the famous rituals/carnivals and the fact that the place has looked essentially the same for centuries.

So, short answer: Yes. My travels have definitely inspired my books. My most recent novel, A SUMMER IN EUROPE (Kensington), is all about a woman who’d never before left the United States but is getting to discover the beauty of Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and England for the first time…and how those experiences change her perception of where her life is and where it’s going.

K:  I see that you are a Jane Austen fan!  My daughter and I have watched Pride and Prejudice a hundred times.  I really am a sucker for the epic love story.  Have you read all of her books and seen all of the movies about her?  How much of Jane’s influence can we see in your books?   

MB:  Depending on the book you’re reading, Austen had quite a lot of influence! My debut novel, ACCORDING TO JANE, is my personal homage to her. Austen has been my favorite author since I was a high-school freshman, and my first book is about a woman who has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice…for about 2 decades! (It takes my heroine a long time to get the love thing right, LOL.) And, yes, I have read all of her published novels, as well as quite a few biographies and letters she wrote and unfinished writing projects. I don’t think I’ve seen *every* movie made about her or adapted from one of her books, but I’m pretty close on that. I don’t blame you for watching PRIDE AND PREJUDICE a hundred times, by the way!! I’ve watched and read that brilliant story countless times, too.

Two of my other books—ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAE and FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE—reference Austen’s novels in there somewhere, but A SUMMER IN EUROPE has some Austen-esque elements. It also shares a lot with E.M. Forster’s classic story, A ROOM WITH A VIEW, which is another novel I’ve loved for years.

K:  All of your books have received wonderful reviews.  People love them and relish the characters and the dimensions of your stories.  How does it feel to know that people love your books so much? 

MB:  Oh, thank you for saying that! I know that no author can be loved by *everyone*—much as we wish we could. However, I do feel tremendously excited and honored when readers will take time to leave me a comment on Facebook or to send me a tweet or an email saying that they read one of my books and it made them laugh or it touched them in some way. It’s the best feeling. I also love when they post reviews on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads or their personal blog and recommend one of my books to others. An honest, enthusiastic review from a reader is like getting a very special gift. It’s proof that a connection exists between us—a bond of understanding authors and readers share—and, to me, that’s priceless.

K:  What inspired you to become a writer?  Was it something you always knew you wanted to be or did it come to you over time?  Can you tell us a little bit about the creative process that takes place in your mind? 

MB:  The reason I became a writer was because I felt so indebted to other authors for either giving me a fun story to escape into or convincing me that they really understood whatever struggle I was dealing with in my life at the time. I’ll always appreciate Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips for creating such laugh aloud romantic comedies, and I’m just as grateful to Sue Miller, Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg for making me feel as though I wasn’t alone in being frustrated with many real-life issues or relationships. It’s my biggest hope that I can be an author who brings that kind of humor and/or reassurance to a few readers out there, too.

As for the creative process, I think it mostly comes down to the fact that I ask myself hundreds of “what-if” questions every day. “What if you had to run an ice cream parlor for the summer with the guy who’d broken your heart a decade before…and he didn’t even know it?” Or, “What if Jane Austen could advise you on the guys you’re interested in…and what would happen if you didn’t listen to her or if she were even wrong on occasion?” Or, “What if you were given an amazing summer trip as a gift but you’d never been far away from home before…how would you feel being truly out in the world for the first time?” I think creativity originates in curiosity, so I really enjoy contemplating all kinds of questions like these.

K:  What can we expect next from you?  Any books in the works right now?  What releases can our readers watch out for in the future? 

MB:  I’m working on three different projects right now, and I hope all of them will be published in the next year or two. The first is a new romantic comedy that (fingers crossed!) will be released at the end of this year. (I’ll always post the publication dates of any upcoming books on my website: http://www.marilynbrant.com) The second project is the first book in a romance/women’s fiction series set in a warm climate that involves a cast of funny, unique characters and a community that cares deeply about the environment. And the third is a project I’m in the midst of writing, and it’s a little too early for me to describe it accurately. I’m still learning who these characters are and what they desperately need in their lives. Every day, I’m excited to get back to it so I can figure out a little more about them and delve a bit deeper into their story…

Thanks, again, for having me as a guest today. It was a pleasure to be here!

I’ll give away a PDF copy of my romantic comedy, DOUBLE DIPPING, to one of the commenters on this post .

Fan2Author Interview with…Anne Gracie

Kristal:  Hello Anne!  I’d like to welcome you to b2b and thank you very much for taking time out of your busy day to visit with us!  Feel free to chatter as little or as much as you would like with our readers throughout the day!

Anne Gracie:  Thanks so much for inviting me, Kristal. I’m so pleased to be here. Hi Everyone!

K:  So, I’ve been digging around a little on your website being nosey and I am truly in awe of your childhood!  All the places you traveled, all the experiences you must have had, all the ANIMALS!  What was that like for you, having such a full childhood?  Did you have a favorite place?  How about a favorite animal?

AG:  Well, it was great for me — I don’t know how it was for my parents with all those animals. <g> But I kept adding to the menagerie. I used to bring them home just on dusk, knowing my parents wouldn’t make me go out in the dark to return them. And my mother would carry on, “You’re taking that creature back first thing in the morning, missie. I’m not having another animal in the house. It’s always me who has to feed them and clean up after them and — oh, look at that poor little creature, it’s starving, poor little mite.” And she’d be feeding the kitten or whatever it was, and all the time raving on about how it was going back and she wasn’t having another animal in the house… and by evening, she’d be sitting down after dinner, trying to knit with a kitten purring on her lap or fighting with her wool, and muttering about too many animals… And they always stayed. I even brought home a white cockatoo once that I found down the swamp —  a tamed bird who wouldn’t have survived in the wild. He was a beautiful, cunning bird with an evil sense of humor.

As for a favorite place — we lived in so many places, I have favorite places everywhere. In one town I used to love going down with my dog to what we called the swamp — a big lake, surrounded by grass and reeds taller than me. I’d spend all day there sometimes. And when we lived in Scotland I used to wander along the ‘burn’ — a little stream that ran through the woods.

Also in Scotland we had an attic, which I thought was very romantic. I’d read about them in books all the time, but we generally don’t have attics in Australia. I loved looking out of the sloping window set into the roof of the attic, gazing out over the rooftops of the village where we lived. From that window I could see the ancient Pictish tower, one of only three remaining in Scotland. I’ve been thinking about that attic a lot lately, as the heroine in my current story was looking out of an attic window when she got a bold idea that changed her life. She’s in London, though, not Scotland.

K:  I love the premise for ‘Bride by Mistake’.  I am all about a war-torn hero and I certainly worship at the altar of Isabella’s pluckiness.  Was it difficult to write such intense characters with the amount of depth they both brought to the story?  Did they kind of lead you along and write their own story or was it one that you had decided upon without their help?

AG:  Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. My characters always lead me along, though normally it’s a bit of a wrestling match and involved a lot of rewriting.  It might sound a bit weird, but for me, as if my characters actually exist and discovering them is a kind of archaeology — I have to dig around to find out what makes them tick, and they’ll often surprise me. To mix my metaphors, it’s a bit like tuning a musical instrument — you know when you’ve hit a wrong note, and have to rewrite and rewrite until it rings true to the character.

K:  I truly felt the emotions, the love, the transformation of these characters over the length of the book.  Along similar lines to my last questions, what was that writing experience like for you?  I know how it felt as a reader but I can’t even imagine as an author what it is like writing these characters as they change and evolve into the characters that they are meant to be.

AG:  Thank you. For me, digging deep into a character’s past and psyche is what stories are all about. I take a while to get started on a book, fiddling and writing and rewriting, trying to get the right angle to start the book. Once I do, I’m off and running, but all the way through I’m asking myself, why did he do that, why did she think that? What does she really want? etc. And that involved going deep.

By about half way in, I’m obsessed by the story and it’s quite hard to pull my head out of that time and place and those characters. I’ll even wake up with a scene rolling in my head like a movie, and I have to write it down by hand before I get up, otherwise I’ll forget it.

My friends know now that when I’m in the zone  I’m no fun and won’t come out to play until the book is done.

K:  Your history, education and professional endeavors certainly lend themselves nicely to your career choice as an author.  Was it always that way?  Did you always want to be an author?

AG:  No, it always amazes me that with parents who were teachers, nobody ever suggested to me I should write stories – not even when I was a kid and made up stories to tell the pets. Not even when I drove people crazy whining about having nothing to read. I was a huge bookworm and read constantly, and my best presents were always books, but I don’t remember ever thinking of being a writer. I think I imagined that writers were special people, far beyond my reach.

I remember saying once to a friend in high school that I  could write a book, but it wasn’t a serious thing.  You know how you say stuff at that age? Writing fiction wasn’t even an option at high school or university, though we did do creative writing sometimes, but I never understood what that was. We did all these weird writing exercises. If someone had ever said, “write a story” I would have loved it.

Writing a book only became a real possibility in my mind when a couple of people I knew got published, and I thought, “I want to do that.” And then, when I was overseas, traveling on my own, I had the time to think and to write — I wrote a whole novel by hand in exercise books. And that’s when the possibility became a plan.

K:  Is there any one heroine or hero who is reminiscent of your own character?  Is there one that you found to have traits similar to your own as you write?  Or maybe one that you relate to more than the others?

AG:  No, not really. I suppose the admirable things in my heroes and heroines are things I value in people — kindness, honor, loyalty, sense of humor, etc. but if I even suspected I was writing someone like me, or even like a friend of mine, I think I’d freeze.  My characters have to be free to be themselves.

I’m fond of all my characters, maybe some more than others. For instance, Harry,  in HIS CAPTIVE LADY is a hero I’m very fond of — he’s not a man for speeches, Harry. He’s the quiet, deep kind of hero, and when he committed himself to the heroine, he gave himself wholly. Bella in BRIDE BY MISTAKE was a heroine I was fond of, too — she was gutsy and loving and led with her heart. Ayisha in TO CATCH A BRIDE was also a heroine I loved — a little spitfire, but she was justified. But I pretty much love them all — I couldn’t write them if I didn’t love them.

K:  So, you’ve written many books and received many wonderful awards for your talent!  What wonderful accomplishments you have made in your career this far!  What are your plans?  What happens next? What can ours readers expect from you in the coming year or two?

AG:  Thanks, Kristal, I feel pretty fortunate to be able to continue writing. It’s a magic job, to be allowed to spin stories and to have other people read them — it’s the kind of thing I used to get into trouble for in school — daydreaming. <g>

I’ve just signed a contract for a new series, about four “sisters” in London — a Bride series — though only one of the four girls expects to be a bride. I’m working on the first of them now and I have to say, I’m enjoying the sparks that fly between the hero and the heroine. And I’ve just written a scene where some of the characters from my first Berkley book, THE PERFECT RAKE, appear, which was fun.

K:  Anne, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing a little of yourself with b2b and our readers.  We are simply tickled to have you here with us!

AG:  And I’m delighted to be here, too, Kristal and the other b2bers. Thanks so much for inviting me.

Kristal here- Anne has graciously agreed to give away a copy of one of her books to one very lucky commenter!!!

Fan2Author Interview with…Katharine Ashe!

Kristal: Hi Katharine!  Thank you so much for joining us today for an interview!  We are very honored to have you on the site with us!  Feel free to stick around as much as you would like to chat with our readers as well!

Katharine Ashe: Thanks for hosting me today, Kristal. I’m honored to be here!

K: At what age did you know that writing was what you wanted to do?  Did you have an “AHA” moment or was it something that you always knew?

KA: Even when I was a small child writing fiction made my heart sing. The thing is, history made my mind dance. And as I grew up I got this Really Silly Notion that the mind’s interests were more impressive than the heart’s. You see? Really silly. But not only silly… Tragic. Because that is CLEARLY NOT THE CASE.

So as it happened, I went to graduate school for my PhD in History, and became sad because my mind danced day and night while my heart only occasionally smiled. Late in graduate school I started writing stories again — historical romances — and my heart declared, “Finally!!!” That was my “Aha!” moment. I could do both at once! I finished my PhD, got a job as a professor and started a family, but through it all I kept writing. It gives me joy and energy and profound happiness.

K: So I’m loving the first book in The Falcon Club Series.  “When A Scot Loves a Lady” is so exciting, there is so much going on in the story, every single page is something new to discover. Is it difficult to write a story that has so many great elements and get them all just right?

KA: Thank you!! As a reader my favorite kinds of books have intricate plots, rich emotional landscapes, and mysteries that keep me turning pages. So that’s where my imagination goes when I begin to develop one of my own books. It’s true, sometimes this gets me into trouble as I’m writing; I occasionally end up in places I didn’t anticipate. But that’s the great fun of writing a love story: the hero and heroine always set me straight when I try to take them places they don’t want to go. At the center of everything are those lovers careening delectably toward their Happily Ever After.

K: Let’s talk Scotland, Scottish men to be precise.  I LOVED Leam.  I felt like he had all the right stuff- everything that I look for in a hero.   Did you do a lot of research on Scotland and Scottish men to make Leam’s character true to form?

KA: I’m so glad you loved Leam! It was so much fun writing him — a combination of alpha lord and thoroughly skirt-whipped male.  I’d been reading history books about Scotland for years. Then I finally took a journey to Scotland… and I fell in love. It is a land both gorgeous and dangerous, hospitable and harsh, rustic and sublimely sophisticated. The green hills, the castle ruins, the heather waving on the hills, the fields of sheep, the art and music and busy cities were all fabulous, but the people were even more wonderful. I felt entirely at home, completely welcomed, and utterly happy. After that, writing a Scottish hero seemed the most natural thing in the world. And I do love a hero with a secret identity, so that was great fun too.

K: The chemistry between Leam and Kitty was great, right from the very beginning!  Can you tell us a little bit about how these characters came to be?  Maybe share a secret or two about your writing process?

KA: I set out to write a story about a man and a woman who believe they are unquestionably wrong for each other but who, from the moment they meet, can’t keep their hands off each other. It happens sometimes, that chemical whatever that crashes two people together, and it can be earth shattering. I’d known Kitty for a while; she’s the sister of the pirate-earl hero in my “Captured by a Rogue Lord“. She’d been hurt as a young woman by a very bad man, and I wanted her to find happiness with a very good man. But the walls she erected around her heart over years were going to take a powerful force to knock down. Unanticipated, unwanted, and uncontrollable lust was that force!

But not just lust. For just because Kitty thinks she and the Earl of Blackwood have nothing whatsoever in common doesn’t mean they actually don’t. But Leam knows the truth, and their passion scares him to death. I loved playing with their consternation over their desire, and their absolute unwillingness to admit to something a whole lot bigger than lust between them.

K: Can you tell us a little more about your other series, The Rogues of the Sea series?  How many of them are there?  How many more will you write?

KA: My rogues of the sea are powerful men — peers on land as well as lords upon the ocean. They are driven not by wealth or status or even duty, but by conviction that their mission is noble. Their heroines are daring women, strong and brave enough to win these men’s hearts. I’ve written three Rogues of the Sea novels and one novella (“Swept Away by a Kiss“, “Captured by a Rogue Lord“, “In the Arms of a Marquess“, and “A Lady’s Wish“). The heroes of the novels have secret identities to protect the people they help, and my novella features a Navy war hero, whom I adored writing. The books are all stand-alone and very loosely tied.

K: Last but not least and along those same lines can you tell us what is next for the Falcon Club series?  You have two more books scheduled to come out this year, can you tell us a little bit about them?

KA: Book #2 of the Falcon Club series, How To Be a Proper Lady, has a seafaring hero too! Captain Jin Seton is a former pirate with a very dark past and a lost lady in his sights, and he’ll stop at nothing to find her. The moment I wrote the first lines about Jin in “Captured by a Rogue Lord”, I knew I had to tell his story, and I knew precisely who his heroine would be — Viola Carlyle, kidnapped by smugglers fifteen years ago and fighting mad to be dragged back to England now. Jin is sublimely confident and totally caught off guard by his quarry. Also, I really love writing about men who can command the sea — the most dangerous, unpredictable force of nature there is. Or… come to think of it… that’s love!

In book #3, “How a Lady Weds a Rogue”, a hardened spy meets his match when a country miss demands that he play the role of hero in her quest. But the road may prove more dangerous than she imagined when her wanton desire for her Knight in Shining Armor and his intoxicating embrace turn out to be the real adventure…

“How To Be a Proper Lady“ is coming June 26, and “How a Lady Weds a Rogue” on September 25!

K: Thank you so much for stopping by to visit with us!  I am so excited to see what our readers think of your new book, “When a Scot Loves a Lady” and get a peek at my review!

Thank you, Kristal. I’ve had a wonderful time!

Kristal here! Ms. Ashe is giving away an autographed copy of her award nominated novel

“Captured by a Rogue Lord” to one of you! Who’s it gonna be?

Fan2Author Interview…Genevieve Graham!

K: Hello Genevieve! We want to sincerely thank you for granting us an interview.  We are thrilled that you are here!  I am excited to share with our readers your first novel, which is causing quite a buzz, as well as hearing a little bit about your plans for us readers for the future.

UNDER THE SAME SKY is your debut novel.  Can you tell us a little bit about how this novel took place in your head?  How did this wonderful story come to life for you?

GG: Hi Kristal! Thank you so much for inviting me here today. And thanks for saying that – it’s causing a buzz? I didn’t know that! Yay! I think people are finding it’s a different kind of romance, something unexpected, and they like that.

I never planned on being an author, and it didn’t happen until I was over forty. I was an obsessive reader, picking up anything and everything ever written by Diana Gabaldon. I absolutely love her writing, and have read the series at least four times (and listened to it an additional three times!). When I’d finished it the last time, I felt kinda lonely, kinda deflated after all that adventure was done … so I told my husband I was going to go off and write my own. I still remember the way he shrugged and said, “Okay. See you later.” Like it’s an everyday thing, right?

When I started to type, I had no idea of what I wanted to write. None. I just sort of sat there, staring at the screen. Then … it was almost as if I heard a voice telling me what to write, except it wasn’t that exactly. It’s was more like I felt what I was supposed to write. I felt Maggie, and I let her take over. She didn’t ask. She told me, showing me the dark details of her life, letting me in on her little secrets. I felt badly for her, because she’d obviously had a rough time of it, and I just knew things weren’t about to improve anytime soon.

Then I started to get a picture in my head of a quiet, dark warrior in a kilt, a man with a deep need inside him that he told no one about. No one but me.

Three hours later I came upstairs and plopped about twenty pages on my husband’s lap. He looked surprised, read them, than looked surprised again. “Hey, that’s not bad,” he said. And he’s supported me every step of the way since then. I’m so lucky.

K: I am hearing so many good things about UNDER THE SAME SKY!  People are writing that they can’t believe it is a debut novel because it is so wonderfully written.  It has been called EPIC…  Epic is a pretty big claim!  How does that make you feel, to hear that people love this book so much?

GG: I know! Epic! The book came out a month ago, and I’m still wandering around in a fog. I have to say that it’s very surreal; first of all, just knowing people are reading what I wrote. Then to realize they like it? I feel awesome, Kristal. Like there’s a part of me I never knew existed until all this happened, and that part of me is having a wonderful time.

K: I love to ask this question, because I’m a nosy girl.  And I’m always curious about how the mind works.  How do you get in the “mood” to write?  Is there something special that inspires you?  Music, lighting?  Somewhere special in your house that inspires you or lends itself to some solitude?

GG: I like to write every day if I can, though my other business is editing, so I’m often working on other people’s novels instead of my own. I have a quiet little office in my house, and I usually burn candles and sip on herbal tea while I write. If I can, there’s no noise at all, and definitely no music. It’s kind of strange, because my university degree is in Music Performance and I love classical music. Maybe it’s because I think too much when I hear it. I need quiet so I can disappear into the story without distraction.

K: UNDER THE SAME SKY is very, very well written.  I was hooked after the first sentence.  I was in awe of your ability to have these characters know and love one another from afar and yet make it work so beautifully.  How did you research for a story that spanned continents?  The Highlands and colonial America are wonderful, vast, wild places that I’m sure conjured up some wonderful romantic ideals but did it require a lot of research on your part to put it all together?

GG: Thank you, and yes. I had no idea how to research for it, but I knew it had to be right. Initially I wrote this book just for my own enjoyment, and if I’d put in bogus facts I would have disappointed myself. I loved using tiny details – for example, the name of the ship, the “Boyd of Glasgow”, and its captain are the actual real names for that date and port of departure.

I began by researching in the library, but I have the attention span of a gnat, so that didn’t work out. I started googling different topics and came up with all different kinds of answers. Eventually I ended up working with some incredible people online. For the Highlander information (among other sources), I worked with a terrific man named Guy from http://www.HistoricHighlanders.com, and he nitpicked about the tiniest—and yet incredibly significant—details. And for the Cherokee knowledge, I went to a man named Ironhead Vann, who is the great-great-great grandson of ‘Chief’ Rich Joe Vann of the Old Cherokee Nation. Ironhead’s gorgeous site is http://www.CherokeeByBlood.com.

K: Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel, SOUND OF THE HEART, which is coming out May 1, 2012?  I will say, it looks wonderful, but let you describe it for our readers.

GG: I don’t want to give too much away, but SOUND OF THE HEART focuses on Dougal, the brother of the hero in UNDER THE SAME SKY. The brothers were separated at Culloden Moor in April 1746 and both assumed the other had been killed in the battle. But Andrew escaped, and Dougal had a far rougher time of it. Along the way, though, he discovers true love … then loses it when the love of his life is stolen by the English and shipped to the new world as a slave. When I was researching for this book I discovered that white slavery, especially among Scots of that time period, was rampant. We never hear about that. The truth is that some of the transported Scots were called “indentured servants”, but others were actual slaves. I found that to be both horrifying and fascinating, and I plan on learning more about that. Anyway, the book follows both Dougal and his beloved through their own separate adventures, and we all just have to hope for a reunion … heh heh

K: What are your plans for after SOUND OF THE HEART?  Are there other books in the same vein as these two?

GG: Yes again. The third book, OUT OF THE SHADOWS features Maggie’s sister, Adelaide, and is already on my agent’s desk. I’m just waiting to see what will happen with it. This is a tough economic time for publishers and they have to be really careful signing debut authors. I have my fingers crossed! And … book #4 (untitled so far) is under way. It’s about Janet. So many readers said she deserved a book, and about a month ago she told me she had a great story to tell, so what else could I do?

K: Can you tell us who some of your favorite authors are?  What kinds of books you enjoy and genres that you prefer?

GG: I prefer what I call “Historic Adventure” over “Historic Romance” in many cases. I lose myself in heart wrenching suspense, gritty adventures, and the dangers that these people had to face. I think my favorite aspect of writing Historic fiction is that, well, who is to say those stories never happened? When I write, I feel like I’m “channeling”. Doesn’t that mean those people have passed?

I love anything by Diana Gabaldon, Sara Donati, Penelope Williamson, and Jennifer Roberson, and recently I’ve really been enjoying the work of Kaki Warner and Joanna Bourne. To hold my attention, a story has to be compelling, intelligent, emotional, and unpredictable … is that asking too much?

K: Thank you so much for stopping by and chatting with us and our readers!  We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to spending time with us!

Kristal here. For one copy of UNDER THE SAME SKY please tell us when was the last time you read a debut novel that knocked your socks off?!