AMELIA GREY: Thank you! I’m pleased you keep asking me back. I don’t ever get tired of talking about writing. I love it and of course I love to talk about my books on your fabulous site!

I’ve always wanted to know how author’s come up with their pen names. Are they personally chosen or chosen for you? And is there a reason it’s done when the author’s picture is posted on their site or book? I’ve found many with different names BUT are clearly the same person. In your case, you’ve written romance novels under the current name Amelia Grey, previously as Gloria Dale Skinner in the early 90′s, and also as Charla Cameron from the early 90′s (I’m assuming you no longer write under those name). Was there a reason for the name changes when the genre remained the same? And is there even a reason for a pen name when an author’s picture is still used on marketing materials?

AMELIA GREY: Oh, that is a very good question. When I sold my first book I published it under Gloria Dale Skinner back in 1990. It was a historical and was being published by Warner Books. But a funny thing happened along the way to the first book coming out. I sold a contemporary book to Harlequin and at that time Warner didn’t want me using my name on a contemporary book so I had to take a pen name. My daughter’s name is Charla and my son is Cameron so that is how I took the name Charla Cameron. I only wrote that one contemporary book because I was contracted to write a historical every nine months and didn’t have the time to write more. Later, when I sold a Magnolia Road book to Pinnacale, I was still writing as Gloria Dale Skinner and once again I had to take another name so I chose the same name of Charla Cameron. I don’t think publishers are as worried about authors competing within different houses now, but at the time, if you were contracted with two houses most of them wanted you to write under different names.  When I decided to leave America Historicals and write Regency I moved to Berkley Books and my editor suggested that since Gloria was known as a writer of American Historicals why not start in a new country with a new name. It sounded like a good idea to me I suggested the name Amelia Gray. I thought it sounded very British and my editor said it will when we spell Gray the way the English do–Grey. So that’s how I became Amelia Grey and ten books later I’m still Amelia.

Let’s talk about book re-issue. As an outsider (but more an insider than the usual book reader) “re-issue” makes one automatically wonder if they call it re-issue because there was an issue to begin with? Course I’m sure that’s not really the case with most book re-issues, at least when it comes to the writing. (Sorry, my ADHD mind wanders occasionally when something makes me think about something else.)

The real question…When it comes to re-issues with new covers to suit the current time and trends, are you involved with the cover design in any way and do you and your editors revisit the story and make changes or add to it?  I would think that a re-issue is a good time to take all the previous feedback from your readers to make a story more memorable. Another question I have on the topic of re-issue- is it typical to re-issue mainly when you switch publishers? Or only if the new publisher buys the rights from the old publisher?

AMELIA GREY: You are full of good questions today!  I published five Regencys for Berkley and then had to stop writing for a couple of years for family reasons. When I started writing again, I sold to Sourcebooks. I asked Berkley for the rights back to my first five books and when I got them, I resold them to Sourcebooks. So it’s usually the author who re-sales her books to new publishers.  Now, Sourcebooks is re publishing my first five Amelia Grey books. They are publishing one new book and one reprint each year to give me two books out a year. They have to put new covers on the reprints because covers remains with the publisher, only the book is returned to the author. And, yes, Sourcebooks always asks me to give them cover ideas, even with my reprints. As in my latest book A Gentleman Says “I Do” I suggested that the heroine should be holding a piece of parchment with writing on it behind her back and that’s exactly what they did. And I need to add that Sourcebooks has given me fabulous covers for my reprints. As far as tweaking the old books, yes we can do that to some extent, but usually there isn’t the time to make large changes or to completely rewrite a book even if we wanted to. But there is always some things we want and need to change before the book is reprinted.

Have you ever thought about writing something completely different from what you’re known to write as? Or maybe you’re already or have done that under another pen name. Has it ever crossed your mind or has anyone suggested you try another genre all together different?

AMELIA GREY: I love romance. It’s all I want to write. Last year I published a nonfiction book called Fall In Love Like A Romance Writer as Amelia Grey. I asked well-known authors to tell me their own true love stories and then I made a collection of their responses. It turned out to be a wonderful book. So I enjoyed doing that but I don’t have the desire to write anything that isn’t a romance book.

OK, enough about your “multiple personalities” and book re-issues …I know we need to talk about your latest book today. So let’s make the 4th question be about that.

A Gentleman Says “I Do” comes out this month and it’s the 5th novel in The Rogues’ Dynasty series – Tell us about this particular story in the series and how you came up with the plot (I know. typical question that I’m sure you’ve answered hundreds of times…but it still has to be asked.:-)) If I was a publisher, what would your pitch be to get me excited about your novel?

AMELIA GREY: I think the best way to do that is to give you the blurb synopsis I gave to my editor. It sold her on the book and hopefully your readers will be just as excited and ready to read the book as she was:

A Gentleman Says “I Do”

Iverson Brentwood has finally met his match. Catalina Crisp heats his blood like no other in his history as a confirmed bachelor.  She is the most beautiful and alluring young lady he’s ever encountered, and her lovely countenance has stopped him dead in his tracks. But no matter how attracted he is to the intriguing Catalina, he can’t give into his desire to possess her in every way… for she is the daughter of the man he’s sworn to destroy.

Catalina’s father is a well-known poet and a writer, but wastrel whose disappearances continuously put their household one step away from destitution.  Something drastic must change, so it is with quill in hand, that Catalina completes her father’s latest parody of the twins Iverson and Matson Brentwood’s spectacular arrival in London.  When the writing hit the streets and parlors of London , it’s not long before a darkly handsome man is at her door, looking for her father.

Seeing the dashing rogue in the flesh, Catalina wishes she could write her way out of Iverson Brentwood’s life. And yet, for a bewildering moment as her heartbeat races and her throat goes dry, dallying with the rake seems like the perfect fictional escape—and it’s all she can do not to throw her arms around him and give into the madness of the intriguing man.     

And before we close…a bonus question…What’s the most unique question you’ve been asked by an interviewer? (I promise, I won’t get upset if it’s none of mine. Promise.)

AMELIA GREY: It has to be when it was a series of questions that I could give short answers about me. Let me find the interview and I’ll copy and paste some of it here. It was just a lot of fun and nothing serious about them.

My favorite book is:

Charlotte’s Web.  I know not a romance but a favorite carried over from childhood.

My favorite movie is:

“Enemy At The Gates, Braveheart, Gladiators, Dances With Wolves, Last of the Mohicans, and too many more to list here.

The author who influences me the most is:

Amanda Quick’s

If I received a free trip to anywhere in the world where would I visit:

London, England!

My favorite historical time period is:

Regency!

Mr. Darcy or Mr. Rochester:

Mr. Darcy

Chocolate or Strawberry

Strawberry

There were a few others but you get the picture. It was fun to answer 20 quick questions about me. And as you can see sometimes with movies you can’t settle on just one. Since I answered this interview a few years ago, there are movies I could add to it. For instance, I saw Hugo over the Christmas holidays and absolutely LOVED it!

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day chatting with us! It’s always a delight to have you here and I look forward to future books and re-issues I’ve not yet read. Come back soon!

AMELIA GREY: Thank you, thank you! I so enjoy being here and your questions were great!

I love to hear from readers. Please contact me at ameliagrey.com, ameliagrey@comcast.net, or find me on www.Facebook.com/AmeliaGreyBooks 

Amanda lives in the Pacific Northwest with her officer and a gentleman husband and their two remarkably active, naturally brilliant children.  They share their home with two fiendishly destructive cats and one lazy dog. {from author’s bio}

******************************************************************************************

The Book Faery Reviews: I’ve read the first 2 Highlander books and enjoyed them very much. In fact I interviewed you back in 2010 when you released The Highlander’s Sword.

Amanda Forester: Yes, I remember!  I’m happy to be back!

TBFR: To those who are not familiar with your upcoming novel True Highland Spirit, how would you describe the story?

AF: The year is 1355.  England and France are at war and tensions are high between the English and the Scots.  In an impoverished Highland clan, Morrigan McNab learned to survive with a sword in her hand.  Taking command, she is determined to protect her struggling clan, no matter the cost.  When an elusive French knight offers gold to fight against England, she joins the call to arms.  Sparks fly on the battlefield as a forbidden passion smolders between Morrigan and Sir Dragonet. Yet Sir Dragonet holds a secret that will destroy the hope for a life together, and will make them rivals on a dangerous quest for a mysterious relic.  As they fight beside each other against the English, and against each other to find the treasure, their love becomes a greater force than either can control.

TBFR: What inspired you to write Historical Romance based around the Scottish during medieval times?

AF: Writing historical romance started for me in reading historical romance.  My love for stories about relationships began with Jane Austen, and soon spread to the genre of Regency romance. I was first introduced to the wonders of the Scottish Highlands by Julie Garwood, and I was hooked.  These stories so inspired my imagination that I started to write some of my own. Preparing for my first book, The Highlanders Sword, I had in mind a particular historical scenario I wanted as the catalyst for my heroine’s adventure.  I researcher historical times and clans until I found what I was looking for in the Grahams of the 14th century.  I love medieval times because there is such a high level of drama, with war, intrigue, pageantry, and chivalry all combined with kilted Scots and knights in shining armor.  What’s not to love?

TBFR: What’s your research like when writing your novels? Is it mainly reading your research, or do you travel to various spots, and talk with other scholars?

AF: So far most of my research has been reading books and searching online resources.  However, one of my dreams is to travel to Scotland to do my own research.  I would love to explore the castles, visit the museums, soak in the scenery, and, let’s face it, drool over the sexy accents!

TBFR: Any challenges with writing the latest novel in the series, True Highland Spirit? (To those who’ve not read any of them, they can be read as standalone and not really in any particular order) Who would you say was the most difficult or most agreeable character in the novel as you wrote?

AF: True Highland Spirit posed a challenge because the heroine of the book was a formidable woman who could hold her own in battle.  She was not going to be overly impressed or easily wooed, so she had to meet someone completely different from the men she was accustomed to leading, someone who would be able to sneak past her natural defenses.  Enter Sir Dragonet, a French knight on a secret mission who was no more interested in falling in love than she was.  Since both these characters are very strong and rather obstinate in their determination to avoid romantic entanglements, I had to throw them together in ways they could not escape so that they could find their happily ever after.  They forgave me eventually, but they were cranky at me for much of the book!

TBFR: Are you working on a 4th novel and if so, could we get a peek preview?

AF: For my fourth book I am looking to try something a bit different – Regency!  Yes, the era of Jane Austen is calling, complete with Napoleonic spies, a pair of matchmakers, ballroom drama, and a duke (of course!).  I still want to go back to the Highlands, however, and I hope to go back to write more Highlander books.  Poor Gavin Patrick–I left him in France and he must find true love, which I suspect may be closer than he realizes!

TBFR: Any last words for our readers?

AF: I hope you will enjoy True Highland Spirit!  I love visitors so stop by my website.  If you are interested in reading the first two books, The Highlander’s Sword and The Highlander’s Heart, they are currently offering a special promotional discount on the e-book (they are also available in paperback too!).

TBFR: Thanks Amanda for taking the time out for this interview. I look forward to finishing The Highlander’s Spirit and of course reading any of your future work.

AF: Thank you so much for inviting me for a visit!

The Highlander’s Series represents Amanda’s first venture into writing historical fiction, so she would greatly enjoy hearing from readers.

Morrigan McNab learned to survive with a sword in her hand. Taking command, she is determined to protect her impoverished clan, no matter the cost. When an elusive French knight offers gold to fight against England, she joins the call to arms. Sparks fly on the battlefield as a forbidden passion smolders between Morrigan and Sir Dragonet. Yet Sir Dragonet holds a secret that will destroy the hope for a life together, and will make them rivals on a dangerous quest for a mysterious relic. As they fight beside each other against the English, and against each other to find the treasure, their love becomes a greater force than either can control.

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402253079
• ISBN-13: 978-1402253072

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Chapters | Powells

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Sourcebooks we’re giving away TWO copies of True Highland Spirit this month to anyone who stops by with a US/Canadian mailing address (Sorry no PO Boxes). Winners will be notified within the a couple days AFTER the month has ended via our RSS newsletter (see sidebar to subscribe) AND on our Facebook Page (see sidebar to “Like” us). You must follow us on Facebook, follow through email subscription, or pay attention to any reply from The Book Faery Reviews within to know if you’ve won as no other notification will be sent out.

Matthew knows that he died twenty years ago. He has, after all, been bouncing around New York city ever since, causing mischief and having fun as a supernatural being. But recently some problems have been cropping up: not only is he hallucinating things in garbage cans, but his mentor doesn’t think he’s working up to his full potential, his best friend can’t offer any solace but drunken confusion, and his wife is dying in Central Park.

See, the past twenty years haven’t meant a thing because now it’s time for Matthew to make his second choice and become a tester of humanity.

And that’s all before the zombies show up.

Come explore the world of Matthew and Epp and see what a samurai from Feudal Japan has to do with the course of modern physics, what a two-thousand year old Roman slave has to do with the summit of Mount Everest, and what a dead man from Brooklyn has to do with the fate of the world.

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Kindle | Smashwords | Nook | iBooks |Diesel | Sony Reader

AND NOW THE INTERVIEW…

THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS: What is your favorite line from a book?

JOSEPH DEVON: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The last line in The Great Gatsby. Capping off that entire story as well as reflecting on Nick’s train journey back home…gives me the chills every time I read it. It’s just perfect.

TBFR: How do you describe your writing style?

JD: I try not to. Ha…I really don’t know how to answer that. That question makes me instantly sheepish. Um, but I like to weave together a lot of different stories into a climax. I love exploring relationships and I’m told I have an ear for dialogue. I also love a little action, a little suspense, and I’m not adverse to some plot twists.

TBFR: Do you hear from your readers? What kinds of questions do they ask?

JD: I get a decent number of emails from readers. They tend to tell me how attached they became to certain characters, which is such a wonderful thing to hear. They also get a little angry at me if something bad happens to a main character, which is also a great compliment. Oh and they all want to know when book three is coming out.

TBFR: How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?

JD: Nope. No formulas, no outlines, not if I can help it. I used to write like that and things started feeling way too forced, I didn’t like it. I tend to have a few major scenes in mind when I’m writing that I want to get to, but I take my starting points and then try and let my characters naturally find their way from plot point to plot point on their own. Letting them be themselves and having their own internal motivations drive them to where I need them to be always works better and often leads to far more interesting scenes than I could ever come up with ahead of time.

TBFR: What books have you faked reading?

JD: Haha…I don’t know that I’ve ever done that. I actually have read Ulysses, though in a class, as well as a number of the other bigger clunkers. Plus if I don’t like an author and stay away from them I’m more than happy to voice that opinion. You shouldn’t fake read anything, you should just be you. No?

TBFR: If everyone was forced to read three books, what books would you suggest?

JD: James Joyce’s The Dead, it’s the last story in The Dubliners. The rest of the short stories can be a bit thick, and it took me a few tries to read The Dead, but once it clicked it became one of those collections of words that I need to read once a year.

The Old Man And the Sea, because lets face it, you should probably keep lists like this to short books so you don’t scare people away, and that’s a nice short glimpse of what Hemingway can do.

And then one of my books. Because I might as well get some marketing in while I’m forcing these poor people to read things.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Joseph Devon was born in New Jersey and currently lives in New York. He’s been a student, a nanny, worked at the Ground Zero recovery project after 9/11, and of all the things he’s created he is probably most proud of the character Kyo. He writes a blog at josephdevon.com and also enjoys photography, so he’s also at flickr, and tumblr, and twitter too, and sometimes he thinks maybe he has too many social networking outlets.

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR…Website  | Twitter 

March 1st – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
March 2nd – Farrah K. @ The Book Faery Reviews
March 2nd – MK @ MK McClintock Blog
March 5th – Inga K. @ Me And Reading
March 6th – Bob Mi. @ Beauty in Ruins
March 7th – Darlene G. @ Darlene’s Book Nook
March 8th – Morgen B. @ Morgen Bailey’s Writing Blog
March 9th – Meredith Al. @ From Meredith Allard
March 12th – Miranda Wh. @ Ricochet Reviews
March 12th – Beverly G. @ Everyone Loves A SiNner
March 13th – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
March 14th – Laurie J. @ Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews
March 14th – April R. & Wendy @ My Book Addiction and More
March 15th – Bobbie @ Nurture Virtual Book Tourz™ Blog

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review as part of the NURTURE Virtual BOOK Tourz.

GUERLAIN – LAVANDE

Guerlain created this soliflore in the 1840s… over 170 years ago! It was reprised again in the 1920′s but was no longer produced beyond WWII. Anything but a ‘typical’ Lavender scent, Lavande has a complex backbone of shimmering citruses, lavender, tumbling florals, vetiver and darker, mossy accords. It is distinctly Guerlain in it’s approach as more of an ‘abstract’ of Lavander than a literal interpretation. Its deeply aromatic heart and exceptionally mossy base are unparalleled in modern perfumery, making it a regrettable loss to the annals of perfume history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.  Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.  Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com.  The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.  She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it’s financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451621302
• ISBN-13: 978-1451621303

PRE-ORDER NOW for March 23rd release:

I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Melissa Douthit grew up in North County of San Diego, California. After graduating with a Computer Science degree in Southern California, and working for a summer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, she moved to the Bay Area to work at NASA Ames Research Center for a year and then at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for another four years.

From there, she moved to Monterey, California, to work at the Naval Postgraduate School on a government project for two years. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, working with the Army Corps of Engineers on another government project. Since high school, she has been a voracious reader of books of all genres, with an emphasis in fantasy and science fiction. Her literary work is strongly influenced by her professional experience and includes many elements of her scientific background.

You can find out more about Melissa on her website: http://melissadouthit.com

The Firelight of Maalda…Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis.  There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years.  During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has thefirestone and that he plans to use it.

What is the firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it?  What are the Naezzi?  What does the title, The Firelight ofMaalda, really mean?  And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?

In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out.  It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.

GET THE BOOK… Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Be sure to grab the two novella prequels, The Vanishing and The Journey Begins, which are currently free on Smashwords for you to download, whichever format you need.

• The Vanishing, the hero’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75235
• The Journey Begins, the heroine’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73993

To enter, answer this question…

What’s the first thing to come to mind when you think of
a fantasy adventure story from your youth?

Today we have romance author Patricia Rice with us here at The Book Faery Reviews. She’s promoting her 49th novel, The Lure of Song and Magic which is a continuation of her Magic series. If you read all the way through to the end, you’ll find out details on how to win a copy for yourself from me.

So let’s get to the interview as I’m sure you’ll find her as much of a delight as I did.

The Book Faery Reviews: Hi Pat! Thank you for stopping by The Book Faery Reviews!

Now let’s pretend we’re in a NC coffee shop and someone out of the blue interrupts my coffee break with you (of course inside my head I’m jealous someone’s taking up my time with you…haha) asks you what you did for a living. After you mention you are an author who’ve they’ve never heard of, he asks what you write about and what you recently wrote about. How would you describe The Lure of Song and Magic to someone who’s never heard of your magic series or any of your previous novels?

Patricia Rice: Thank you so much for inviting me to visit! You have a very impressive website.

Lifting my “I’m not cynical, I’m just experienced” coffee mug and admiring the ambiance…  If that’s a “he” who is rudely interrupting us, I’ll simply tell him I write romance, and he’ll wander off and not bother us again unless he’s selling something!  But for someone genuinely interested in the romance genre—I’d tell them The Lure of Song and Magic is a contemporary romance with a hint of mystical magic from a siren’s seductive, and sometimes destructive, song.

TBFR: Without giving away too much, what was your favorite scene from the book?

PR: For angry gut punch—an early scene where Oz knocks aside all Pippa’s defenses, and she comes up fighting and nearly takes him out. For humor, when Pippa sets loose all the town’s wannabe TV stars, catching Oz in the midst of a three-ring circus of dancing grannies, lassoes, and singing cowboys.

TBFR: Last year I read Merely Magic and enjoyed it. Felt there was a nice even balance between the magic, romance, and history. Not too much of one element over the other. I hope to get a copy of book 2 and 3 of the historical Magic series to read more about the Malcolms and the Ives. The Lure of Song and Magic is the contemporary continuation of the series. Which era did you prefer writing in for the Malcolms and Ives? The historical or the contemporary? The concentrated details within the story are obviously going to be very different, but I wonder if it is harder to write within a time you didn’t exist in and experience or is it easier to pretend you were there in the past while you wrote? I will say that when I read Merely Magic, I felt as if I was actually there in that time with those people and the families in the woods. It was fabulous. I’d probably have to be in character for some time to be able to write something from the past so others could feel the realism of the time.

PR:  Thank you! That’s the finest compliment an author can receive. I’ve been writing historicals for years, and there’s just something very familiar to Georgian England so that I feel right at home. Of course, I’m not, and I had to do considerable research on many details. But the same can be said of contemporary California. While I’m familiar with the area I’m writing about, the details had to be researched and portrayed in such a way that a reader anywhere can understand the world I’ve created. That goes doubly so when dealing with the supernatural—the world has to be rock solid so the reader can believe the impossible.

The beauty of writing, though, is that an author can write and revise scenes long after the first draft is complete. That’s when those truly delicious tidbits materialize.

TBFR: I read you were a former CPA. Actually, my day job has me in the marketing department of an old non-profit organization for CPAs and I have to say that I’m surprised with all that creativity. Doesn’t exactly fit the CPA “profile” and I’m sure I’m not the first to say so. What made you change careers that are practically opposites? You sound like you’ve learned how to tap both sides of the brain well at the same time. What’s your secret?

PR: I’ve always been able to work from both sides of my brain. Had I been rich enough, I would have also earned a degree in psychology because I’m fascinated with how the brain works. (I test highest in aptitude for science!) I’ve always written stories and always kept accounting records—tracking where my meager pennies went in grade school. As time went on, it was far easier to find bookkeeping jobs than make money at writing. But I sold my first book the same week I started my first accounting job. Hard work is the only “secret” I know.

TBFR: There are some people that are in the closet when it comes to reading and writing romance novels. Myself, I’m a huge fan and definitely loud about it (just ask the people who interviewed me! haha). My friend who shares the love is quite the opposite when it comes to public display. She won’t let people see a romance cover if she’s reading one and she’d definitely never mention it if she was asked what her current read was. Makes me cringe when she tears the beautiful covers off if she’s commuting with her book and told her that she should just get an eReader if she didn’t want people to see what she was really reading. She thinks people look at reading romance novels as silly reading and it’s nothing but porn for women. (Personally, I get more out of them than a cheap tease but that’s just me. I can usually find SOMETHING else beyond just steamy scenes even though they’re definitely fun to read.) Do you think the rise in eReader sales will increase the sale of romance novels in e-format for that same reason my friend had? And when you decided you wanted to write romance novels, were you open and loud about it or where you in the closet and trying to keep it quiet until you knew you were loved by many fans?

PR: I respect every reader’s choice of reading material and how they choose to talk about it. I think it’s much more fun to openly and honestly discuss the books I’m reading. That’s how I learn about new authors. I had to tell my Southern Baptist deacon bosses what I wrote because I didn’t want them caught off guard. After that, everyone was curious and I’ve probably introduced a lot of new readers to the genre. But readers who don’t wish to tell everyone that they’re sentimental or enjoy reading about people falling in love or who maybe think they ought to be reading more intellectual material are entitled to their fears or beliefs. I don’t know how many people in this day and age of profanity and violence on TV still believe love is something to hide, but e-readers are perfect for those who do. And just to be clear—I think violence is way beyond more harmful than sex. We don’t hear about people dying from making love, do we?

TBFR: As a published author, are you involved in any of the marketing and promotions of your books? And if so, what method of marketing and promoting would you say to be the most effective in helping you sell your books?

PR: I may have many interests and abilities, but marketing is not one of them. I keep wishing for a marketing godmother to wave her magic wand. Instead, I let my publisher’s more experienced publicist do her thing, and I hire people to do bookmarks and websites and all those things. That still leaves me to write the blogs and do the social media, but I treat those like the old book tours, a way to talk with my readers. So, please, stop by and talk books because I’m truly lousy at promoting them! As for what works best—word of mouth, always.

TBFR: Other than the marketing and promoting of books, any advice when it comes to the writing process that you wish you had known when you first started writing?

PR: I wish I’d known that writing wasn’t a job where if I worked hard enough, I’d be promoted. Or a cozy little career where I could sit in my room and scribble all day. There are days when I think running a restaurant might be easier, except I can wear slippers while I work.

TBFR: Growing up in your tween-teen years, who was your favorite author and/or book series?

PR: I read as eclectically then as now. I loved the Betty Cavanna teen romances, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury…

TBFR: Good authors that I too read growing up! And last but not least, what’s one question you’ve been dying to answer but have never been asked before?

PR: Where do you get those fabulous slippers? Thank you, I knit them myself.

I’d rather ask readers…Do you use Facebook to follow authors? I recently crashed mine and had to start all over (http://www.facebook.com/OfficialPatriciaRice) and I’m wondering if it’s worth the effort.

TBFR: Well, thank you again for visiting us here at The Book Faery Reviews. Hope to have you back again in the future. Happy writing to you!

PR: It’s been a pleasure and hope to visit again soon!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…With five million books in print and New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists under her belt, Patricia Rice’s emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances have won RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards and have been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories. A former CPA, Patricia Rice currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, please visit http://www.patriciarice.com/ or follow her on Twitter, @Patricia_Rice.

 

THE LURE OF SONG AND MAGIC BY PATRICIA RICE
IN STORES JANUARY 2012 

Her voice was a curse… 

When Dylan “Oz” Oswin’s son is kidnapped, the high-powered producer will do anything to get him back. Desperately following an anonymous tip, he seeks help from a former child singing sensation called Syrene, only to find she’s vowed never to sing again. Immune to her voice but not her charm, Oz is convinced she holds the key to his son’s disappearance—and he’ll stop at nothing to make her break her vow.

Only he can make her sing…
She knows the devastation her talent can bring. There’s more than a child’s life at stake, but Syrene cannot unleash her dangerous siren’s voice upon the world, even for a man who is impossible to deny…

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (January 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402255748
• ISBN-13: 978-1402255748

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Sourcebooks, we’re giving away TWO copies of The Lure of Song and Magic by Patricia Rice to a randomly selected commenter of this post. This giveaway will run now through 11:59pm Friday, February 3rd and is open to those with US/Canadian mailing addresses (no PO Boxes).

On to the interview…

Welcome Cate to The Book Faery Reviews!

CL: Thank you so much!  I’m excited to be today’s guest.

I read that you wrote your first novella at 12 and full manuscript at 16, both of which you still have in the back of your filing cabinet. Have you ever thought about editing/revising them for publishing?

CL: Absolutely.  :-)  I read through part of the full manuscript, a young adult fantasy romance, a couple of years ago, and decided there was a workable story there.  However, the style of novel writing has changed a lot since I was a teenager; books are much faster paced today.  I also approach my writing differently now that I’ve published seven novels, and would need to do extensive revisions on the manuscript.  It’s a project I plan to tackle one day.  Not in the immediate future, though.

In one sentence, how would you summarize your latest romance novel, Lucky Girl?

CL: When American beauty editor Jess Devlin goes to England for a wedding, she meets again sexy marketing exec Nick Mondinello and tries her best not to fall in love with him.

You have several Historical Romance books under the name Catherine Kean, what inspired you to write Lucky  Girl, a contemporary romance, and under the name Cate Lord? Was the book written from the heart or from a life experience?

CL: Lucky Girl was written as a challenge.  My muse snuck the glimmer of an idea into my mind, and I just couldn’t let it go.  Part of me was curious to know whether, after writing dark, angsty, adventurous historicals, I could pen a light-hearted, funny, contemporary romantic comedy.  I think it’s good to stretch creative boundaries sometimes, and writing Lucky Girl was a positive challenge for me.

You asked if the book was written from the heart.  Yes.  All of my novels are, but this was one was especially close to me because it’s loosely based on a year I spent in England.  I lived with my uncle and aunt in Hertfordshire and on weekdays, traveled by train to London to attend classes.  On weekends, I partied with a wonderful bunch of friends I’d met through my English cousins.  I met my charming British husband at one of these parties. J  Jess, the heroine of Lucky Girl, isn’t me, but some of her experiences are based on situations I encountered.

Reading Lucky Girl was certainly refreshing without having to pick thru all of the super model musts and realizing Jess is just like a best friend next door.  What took you in that direction as opposed to the usual beauty queen most women read about in romance novels?

CL: First off, thank you!  I wanted Jess to be like a best friend, and I’m so glad she came across that way.  That’s one of the reasons I wrote the book in first person, and from her viewpoint.  Jess embodies all of the issues that affect most modern women, with her concerns about her weight, physical appearance, finances, dating, workplace politics, job performance, fashion disasters, relationship with her mom, and more.  Jess is definitely a neurotic, quirky gal, but I intended that, because if we can laugh at a character, sometimes that humor encourages us to take a closer look at ourselves. J

I also wanted to show how much Jess changes through the book.  While Lucky Girl is a light read, at heart it’s the story of how she heals emotionally.  In the early pages of the book, she’s got very low self-esteem, thanks to her unfaithful fiancé, and that lack of confidence is reflected in the way she thinks about herself and the world around her.  By the end of the novel, she’s “whole” again.  She’s happy in her own skin, and that’s due in part to the love of the right man: Nick.

In Lucky Girl, where did Plucky Penguin and his sidekick, Chicky Dee, come from?

CL: How I loved these fun characters! J  Plucky Penguin is a James Bondish spy hero extraordinaire (and yes, he’s a penguin), and Chicky Dee is his sassy female sidekick.  Both are products of my wild imagination, as is the cancelled British TV show called The Adventures of Plucky Penguin that’s mentioned in the book.  Jess constantly imagines Nick as Plucky Penguin, and herself as his Chicky Dee.  It was a lot of fun being able to add extra humor into the story through these clever penguins.

And lastly, any sneak peaks into a future novel contemporary or historical?

CL: I’m actually working on two projects right now, both paranormals.  One is contemporary and one is historical.  I’m also mulling over a follow-on book to Lucky Girl.  So, my muse and I have plenty to be working on.  More details, when I can make them available, will be posted on my websites: www.catelord.com and www.catherinekean.com.

Thanks so much Cate for stopping by and answering our questions. We do hope you come back again for your next novel!

CL: Thanks!  I’d love to come back for another interview.  I really enjoyed this one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Cate Lord has always loved to write. She penned her first novella at age twelve and her first full-length manuscript at sixteen.

After completing a B.A., double major (first class), in English and History from the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada, she was accepted into the post-graduate Works of Art Course run by Sotheby’s auctioneers in London, England, where she studied centuries of history, antiques, and fine art.  She worked in Canada for several years as an antique and fine art appraiser.

Busy working on her next novel, Catherine lives in Central Florida with her husband, daughter, and a very spoiled rescue cat.

Jessica Devlin isn’t looking for love. Heartbroken after being dumped by her unfaithful ex-fiancé, she’s determined to have a fabulous time during her vacation in England where she’ll be maid-of-honor at her cousin’s wedding. After working overtime as beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine, avoiding dating, and putting on ten pounds, Jess is ready to toss her past like an empty lipstick tube and party like a single gal.

But when she steps into the church on her cousin’s wedding day, she sees the one man who could sabotage her plan—James-Bond-gorgeous Nick Mondinello. She’s never forgotten the London marketing exec who held her in his arms after her beloved grandfather’s funeral two years ago. Ambitious, and lusted after by women everywhere, Nick is completely wrong for guarded, Plain Jane Jess.

Could Spy Man Nick ever fall for her? Nope. Not unless Jess is one lucky girl.

• Genre: Contemporary Romance
• Length: 268 pages
• Launch Date: September 2011
• ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-20-6
• Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-21-3

For the Viel and Powers families, revenge served cold is not on the menu.  Fuelled by a long-standing feud between the clan patriarchs, nothing less than hot-blooded vengeance will do…

Well, as it turns out, scores of people would write about angels, and they’d beat me to the punch. So many, in fact, that literary agents around the Twitterverse would start moaning about how sick they were of angels. “No more!” they insisted. “It’s overdone! Enough with the angels!”

But by then, I had a trilogy full of angels under my belt, and embedded deeply in my heart. No way was I giving up on them.

I knew my angels were a little bit different. They lived in a celestial St. Petersburg of an earlier age, and there were no religious elements in my Heaven—no God or Devil, only the angelic Host of the nobility and the peasants they called Fallen. And fall they did, but it was where they fell that really grabbed hold of me. If Heaven was like St. Petersburg, I reasoned, then that was where they’d wind up in the world of Man.

Thus began an obsession with Russia that would lead me to teach myself the Cyrillic alphabet and the basics of the language, and would lead me all the way to St. Petersburg itself, and beyond, to the ancient kremlin of Novgorod.

The rest of my journey was only in my head, but my virtual travels would take me across Russia from the Far East on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and yet farther north to the White Sea port of Arkhangel’sk (which had gotten the idea of Russian angels stuck in my head in the first place). Eventually, my fallen angels would lead me into the icebound Beloe More itself to the islands of Solovki, of which Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago, “It was a place with no connection to the rest of the world for half a year. A scream from here would never be heard.”

The island fortress and monastery once used as one of the Soviet Union’s most infamous gulags is just 150 kilometers from the Arctic Circle. You can’t get much farther north than that…except, as one of my characters puts it, “the euphemistic North” of the Seven Heavens, where it all began.

So there I was, four years later, with 300,000 words’ worth of Russian fallen angels and a querying landscape that was apparently lousy with their Western kin. Luckily, I found an agent who loved them anyway. And today, my little demons have finally been officially loosed upon the world.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on angels, fallen and otherwise. Had enough of them? Or can’t get enough?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Jane Kindred began writing romantic fantasy at the age of 12 in the wayback of a Plymouth Fury—which, as far as she recalls, never killed anyone…who didn’t have it coming. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed. Jane is the author of The Devil’s Garden (Carina Press/June 2011) and The Fallen Queen (Entangled Publishing/December 2011), Book One of The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy.

You can find Jane on Twitter: @JaneKindred

on Facebook: www.facebook.com/somewherebetweenheavenandhell

or on her website: www.janekindred.com

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

• Title: The Fallen Queen
• Author: Jane Kindred
• Genre: Fantasy with Romantic Elements
• Length: 314 pages
• Launch Date: December 2011
• ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-52-7
• Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-53-4

 

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to the author, Jane is letting us give away 1 copy of The Fallen Queen to a randomly selected commenter on this post. This giveaway will run now through Friday 11:59pm December 16th. This is open WORLDWIDE. Printed copy can be mailed to US/Canadian addresses or E-copy if you’re international.

To ENTER giveaway leave a comment for Jane. EASY!

Of course we always love it when you…

1. I’m an obsessive movie attender. I love to go by myself. It’s my alone time. Sometimes I sneak out to go to a movie by myself. I attend movies with my wife and friends but I also really like to go by myself. I’m not sure why I like to do that. I could have worst habits I suppose.
2. I lay awake in bed at 3 a.m. sometimes imagining conversations or chapters in an upcoming book. I get some great ideas. It’s just not too good for logging in your eight hours of sound sleep. If you were normal you wouldn’t be a writer anyway, I guess.
3. I was once a co-defendant with 60 Minutes and Dan Rather when I worked for a newspaper in Wyoming. They did an expose on corruption in the town. I got grouped in with them. I was later dropped from the lawsuit. However, I still have the court papers that lists me as a co-defendant.
4. I love to eavesdrop on conversations and watch people in restaurants or coffee shops. I use it to help me with dialogue. The downside is that some young women probably think I’m creepy. I find their real dialogue endlessly fascinating.
5. I have to be listening to music on iTunes while I write. I don’t know why but it helps a lot. Music invokes feelings and emotions and I find myself tapping into those as I listen to music. During the course of writing a novel, I usually hone in on certain songs which would be a soundtrack for that book. Those songs are ones which really touch the vibe I’m going for in the story.
6. In “The Illusion of Certainty” I have two of the characters compete in the Hood to Coast relay race. It is 197 miles and begins at Mt. Hood east of Portland, Oregon and ends on the beach in Seaside, Oregon. Participants will each run 15-20 miles in the race. I ran Hood to Coast seven times. I still try to run each day…but not that far.
7. Peacock Lane, the Christmas street, mentioned in “The Illusion of Certainty” is a real place. I had a good friend who bought a house there. She invited me to her Christmas party each year.
8. I met my wife in 8th grade. We started getting serious about one another later in high school We been married since 1970 and have known each other since we were 13.
9. I have always wanted to write a mystery or a detective series. I’m actually working on the first book in the hoped for series right now. I hope I can do it. I find myself think about committing crimes now and clues for solving them. I’m not sure how good a criminal I am yet.
10. Even though I live in Seattle now I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am an avid San Francisco Giant baseball fan. My first game was when I was eight years old. I went to the old Seals Stadium with my dad. There have been good times and bad but the Giants are kind of in my DNA.

I hope you will continue to follow my adventures and writing projects at my blog at www.gregmessel.com. My writing has taken me to places I didn’t think I would go and in directions which surprise even me. Join me for the journey and I would love to discuss it all with you…unless I’m at a movie.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol.

You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.  Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

The Illusion of Certainty follows two parallel storylines. Marc is a successful businessman who seems to have everything—a great job, a beautiful wife, a house in an upscale neighborhood of Portland, Oregon and two great kids who are preparing for college. But something is not right. Marc is unsettled by the sudden change in his wife, Aimee, who seems distant and unhappy. What’s going on with her?
The second storyline involves a successful young attorney, Alexandra Mattson. Alex, as she is called by her friends, meets a handsome young cop, Sean, during an unexpected crisis in her neighborhood. Sean and Alex seem made for each other and begin to merge their futures in a world of uncertainty.

The only certainty in life is that we will face uncertainty. Despite all fo the technology and controls available in the modern world, sometimes the only comfort comes from the human touch.

• ISBN-13: 9781936750528
• Publisher: Sunbreaks Publishing
• Publication date: 7/20/2011
• Pages: 452

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Welcome Lisa! So glad to have you here today with us. In 2 sentences could you summarize your latest in the Zodiac series, The Storm that is Sterling.

Oh man! That is hard. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Sterling Jeter, Renegade Super Soldier, is fearless, powerful, and wildly unpredictable. His life-threatening mission is to save the beautiful, brilliant astrobiologist Rebecca Burns from ruthless villain Adam Rain. But their immutable mutual attraction threatens to put them in the path of death… or worse…

I know – I cheated. I’m terrible at two line pitches.

The hero’s in your novels are all typically dark, dangerous, and sexy like most found in romance novels. Why do you think we’re so drawn to these kind of men? (*yes, I’m guilty and found the bad boy I grew up with in real life. lol*)

I think these type of men have that real hero quality – the man who would die for us – that every woman wants, but he’s not always easy to find. A man who is wickedly dangerous to everyone but us, but honest and good. I always think of the Tim McGraw song lyrics – I might be a real bad body, but baby I’m a real good man.  I played that song a lot writing Sterling.

You write romance novels in a variety of genres. Is there one style you find easier to write in or enjoy writing the most? If so, what makes it more fun to write? Is it the research you have to do for a more authentic story? Or is it just plain fun to write?

I love all the genres I write in. I actually like writing a dark paranormal and then getting a break to write a light contemporary. The dark deep stories with intense plots are pretty exhausting but in a good way. I love it. But the break for fun and light is nice. I tend to write places I’ve been and I do research. I have military family and a fiancée in med school so he helped with some of the medical stuff on this one. When I wrote Beast of Desire for my Nocturne  series I talked to a museum and when I wrote Hard and Fast I talked to a pro-baseball coach and put a dedication in the book to him. I son went to school with his son so it was great.

Most romance novels have the happily ever after. Have you ever thought about writing one that ended differently in the very end? Do you think all romance novels should have the happily ever after? It seems most I’ve read end in the couples quickly getting together and quickly marrying in the end and living happily ever after.

An HEA is mandatory for a romance. Editors would make us fix it if we turned it in otherwise. To do something different would have to be fiction, just not romance. And certainly there are great books like that in the market.

Wonder if I’m the only one that new romance novels had to have HEA’s…wonder if a romance novel that ends with one of the characters dying in the end changes from romance to just dramatic fiction even if they were in love until the end…hmmm…think A Walk to Remember, Sweet November, and One Day perhaps (all of which are movies based off books)?

Have you written a book that you’d like to see rewritten or have rewritten because you didn’t like how it originally was written? Or all books complete and finished forever once it’s written the first round?

Editors typically have authors do revisions. It’s part of being a writer. We partner with our editors to make the best book possible. That said, I have some very early small press books I cringe when I read. I’ve tried to get the publisher to let me have the rights back but they won’t. GRRRR. So hate that. I can’t do anything about it.

When you’re not writing, do you like to read a particular genre or have a favorite author?

It really depends on a lot of things. Once I am deeply into a novel and I am plotting I can’t read. The other story might interest me and make me stop thinking about mine. I don’t watch much television then either. I also have to be careful with first person. I recently wrote a first person that my agent is shopping now and right after that I had a 3^rd person story to write and a 1^st person story on my ipod.I kept trying to write in 1^st.I had to stop listening.

Any last words for the readers at The Book Faery Reviews?

Thank you so much for having me today and thank you so much for checking out my books!

Thanks for stopping by Lisa! I look forward to continuing the Zodiac series with Sterling.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Award winning author, Lisa Renee Jones, has published more than fifteen novels in several different languages, spanning multiple genres of romance – contemporary, romantic suspense, dark paranormal and erotic fiction. In each book the hero is dark, dangerous, and sexy. She debuted for both, Nocturne and Blaze, on the Bookscan bestseller list. You can find Lisa onTwitter, Facebook, and her blog for regular updates. Lisa now has a Fan Page at Facebook.

Meet Lisa in person! Lisa’s attending the following events in 2011:

2011 RT BOOKLOVERS Convention
April 6-10
Los Angeles, CA
www.rtbookreviews.com/convention-home

7th Annual Reader & Author Get Together
from Lori Foster, Dianne Castell, Linda Keller
Friday, June 3 — Sunday, June 5, 2011
Cincinnati Marriott North at Union Centre, West Chester Ohio
www.lorifoster.com/community/readergettogether.php

Romance Writers of America
31st Annual Conference
June 28 – July 1
New York, New York
www.rwanational.org/cs/conferences_and_events

RomCon® 2011
Aug 5 (9 AM) – Aug 7 (2 PM), 2011
Denver, Colorado
Crowne Plaza Denver Airport
15500 East 40th Avenue – Denver, CO
www.romconinc.com/index.php/convention

Sterling Jeter, Renegade Super Soldier, is fearless, powerful, and wildly unpredictable. His life-threatening mission is to save the beautiful, brilliant astrobiologist Rebecca Burns from ruthless villain Adam Rain. But their immutable mutual attraction threatens to put them in the path of death… or worse…

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Publication Release Date: November 2011
• ISBN-10: 1402251599
• ISBN-13: 978-1402251597

Read an Excerpt

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble |Books-A-Million | Borders |IndieBound

In 2 sentences, how would you summarize Anessia’s Quest for those not familiar with it?

Anessia’s Quest is a story that portrays the abandonment and abuse many children suffer. These broken, deserving children can find love, purpose and healing if compassionate people accept and nurture them.

Was there an inspiration behind the novel you could share with us?

Brooke Moss: Thanks for having me, Farrah! It’s a pleasure to be on your blog today.

The Book Faery Reviews: Thank you for giving The Book Faery Reviews the opportunity to ask you questions about you and your latest book The What If Guy. One of our reviewers read your book and was surprised at how much this story touched her.

BM: Aww, I’m so glad. I love knowing that my story touched someone on a deeper level than they expected. That shows me that I’ve done something right.

TBFR: In 2 sentences, could you summarize your book for our readers here at The Book Faery Reviews?

BM: Autumn Cole has been avoiding her hometown for entirely to long, and now–between her father needing her, and her tween son needing some stability–she’s back. Enter one good looking ex college sweetheart turned junior high history teacher, and hilarity, and maybe even a few tears, abound.

TBFR: Is there some inspiration behind the book’s topics of alcoholism, single motherhood, and new love that you’d mind sharing?

BM: Both topics are close to my heart, and subject matter that I’ve dealt with at some point in my life. I feel like romance novels don’t often get a fair shake. It’s not always light and fluffy (though I do have my fair share of fluff), and sometimes romance novels can tackle the tough stuff, too. I took two topics that I felt like I had enough personal experience with to convey the story properly, and ran with it. In this case, it worked in my favor. And I’m so proud of Autumn, Henry, Elliott, and Billy’s stories, it brings a tear to my eye.

TBFR: What was the most challenging part of writing The What If Guy?

BM: Finishing it. I could have gone on to tell Henry and Autumn’s story for another 100K words. Easily.

TBFR: Any advice to someone writing their first work of fiction? {hint-hint…this one’s for me as I begin this month with NaNo}

BM: Never give up. Ever. Write your book. Then edit it to a sparkling shine. Then…edit it again. When it’s sparkly and shiny and perfect, query it. If you get rejected a hundred times, write another book. Then edit it. Then query it. Then, while you query it, write another. And so on and so forth. The advice is: Never give up. Keep writing. Don’t ever stop with one book. Always keep cultivating new ideas, and writing more books.

TBFR: Are you currently reading a novel right now? What is it? Or are you instead working on your next novel? If so, could you give us a sneak peak into it?

BM: I’m doing both! I am currently reading Kristan Higgins’ “Until There Was You”, and like all of her other books, it is wonderful. I seriously doubt that woman can write anything that doesn’t rock. I am also just starting my seventh book, and on submission with my sixth. I also have a romantic women’s fiction trilogy coming out June, July, and August of 2012. Think “My Best Friend’s Wedding” meets “Pretty In Pink” with a dark twist.

TBFR: What does your personal library look like? I find our books can give us a glimpse into who a person is like. We’d love a glimpse into your library or writing space. If you’d like to share a picture, we’d love it even more!

BM: Argh…I don’t actually have a pic of my office! But I will describe both my library and my office for you…

My office is painted a lovely shade of periwinkle blue called “Babbling Brook”, which my husband found hilarious when he picked it out. I have a long desk that runs half the length of two of the walls, in an “L” shape. There is a dark wood wardrobe on one side of the room that holds a TV, because I would die if I couldn’t watch “Top Chef” or that new show “Once Upon a Time” while writing. (Have you seen it?? Totally amazing.) There is a closet with a bookshelf that holds all of my paper copies of books I’ve bought at signings (I’m a fan first–always) and that I’ve won at conferences )Just got back from ECWC–it was fabulous!) and in the far corner is my treadmill…which I loathe.

My library is mostly located on my Nook. (Though, I try really hard to download books from independent sites, or sites of locally owned stores first, as I am a major locally owned business supporter.) I have every book Kristan Higgins has ever written. Why? Because I am stalking her. Well, sort of…I also have them all because she’s brilliant. Haven’t read them? Get them now. You won’t regret it. I also have a fair share of Nora Robert’s books. Mostly her contemporaries, with no magical elements, though I do have a few of those, too. I have a few YA’s on my Nook as well, but I am extremely picky with which YA’s I read. Entangled Publishing has put out some impressive YA’s lately that have been blowing my mind! I also have a lot of Jane Porter, and will buy pretty much anything that Liza Palmer puts out. Why? Because she is amazing and gifted, and can make me laugh so hard, I feel like I am going to throw up…and then make me cry in the same paragraph. Love her.

TBFR: Brooke, we’re happy to have had you here at The Book Faery Reviews. Looking forward to your future works and having you come back again.

BM: Thank you so much for having me! It was an honor. Find me elsewhere on the web, at my website, blog, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook.

Fondly,
Brooke Moss

After losing her job at a swanky Seattle art gallery, single mother Autumn Cole reluctantly returns to her tiny hometown of Fairfield, Washington. Autumn’s disgruntled twelve-year old son isn’t thrilled about going from hip to hick, but Autumn’s got it worse. She’ll get to resume her role as the town drunk’s daughter.

When his public divorce turns ugly, history teacher Henry Tobler decides to disappear. He finds exactly what he’s looking for amidst Fairfield’s quirky residents, but when the woman he’s pined for since college shows up and nearly breaks his nose in front of a classroom full of twelve-year-olds, his newfound peace threatens to crumble.

Autumn cannot believe Henry is in Fairfield, or that fate chose such a miserable time to drop him back in her life. She and her father face a crisis decades in the making. Can rediscovering love–and herself–with her “what if” guy teach Autumn to forgive before it’s too late?

• Genre: Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction
• Length: 274 pages
• Release Date: August 2011
• ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-18-3
• Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-19-0

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Entangled Publishing and the author, we’re giving away ONE e-copy of The What If Guy to a lucky reader of The Book Faery Reviewers. This giveaway is open internationally and runs through the month of November. Winner will be selected December 1st.  Just leave a comment for the author to enter!

Please tell the readers about your current book.

Eternus begins with an average American girl. She is determined to make it through her day with as little attention drawn to her as possible. Rhiannon begins to think she is loosing her mind when dreams and nightmares of a vivid nature haunt her. Her quiet, anonymous world unravels around her as she learns her soul has been repeating since 800 A.D. She tries to avoid the truth but is forced to face reality when her stalker discovers her existence-again. His sole sport is to hunt her and kill her each time she returns.

Who or what inspires your writing?

Alison Joy Baker inspired me to use my imagination when I was young. Bound by a wheel chair and three years younger than me, her mind and enthusiasm for everything creative opened my world to that of creation and belief. Alison gave me more gifts in her short thirteen years than anyone has ever given to me.

We would play for hours every day during the summer. We went on many trips from our homes in Idaho to New Jersey to spend time with her family. When her body began to deteriorate the airline would no longer allow us to fly. Our alternative was to take the train. Four and a half days and four nights of constant train. I read Willow by George Lucas out loud (we had not seen the movie yet and I am glad, the book gave so much to our imaginations). I remember laughing so hard at some of the scenes. Alison would cover her mouth and howl, I would tear up from the effort and the poor older gentleman in front of us would turn and glare at us multiple times (he must not have enjoyed it as much). To our benefit, as I reeled in my cackle (yes, I have a cackle, not a laugh), I noticed the older woman sitting across the aisle from us grinning from ear to ear. She was enlightened by the story.

To this day, I can see Alison reading my work. I know she would have been my biggest cheerleader. Actually, scratch that. She was far better then myself, I would be bowing to her accomplishments!

When did you know you would be a writer?

If you ask my Mom, she would tell you that I wrote an assignment in first grade that spelled out in three very short chapters – and by very short, I mean one or two sentences per chapter – my life from getting a boyfriend to writing my life story (that is probably why it was so short).

In my adulthood I have been a closet writer for a long time. Chalk that up to a bad experience early in my college career. My professor had a one track mind – give Kimberli a D on every paper. Devastated, I took my work to my dearest aunt, an English teacher in the public school who actively graded the college’s graduating senior thesis’. After multiple rewrites, she too gave into the quandary of trying to figure out what exactly the professor wanted. Tail between my legs, I avoided English like the plague for the next few years.

Theater, of all things, brought an inkling of writing back to me. After an assignment that required critiquing a play, my professor asked to publish my work in the college library for reference material. After I awoke from the fainting spell, I realized there might be hope for my pen yet.

Still, I did not keep anything I secretly wrote (I know, I know… big no-no for any writer).

My next professor slammed me with possibilities and belief. Just what I needed! He had me writing unbelievable (to me) papers. Where did they come from? Who was this woman?

Not Pulitzer Prize by any stretch of the imagination. To me, it proved I was not destined to be the illiterate bumpkin I believed myself to be. THANK YOU TO ALL those great teachers and professors that spark the person into the path that greatest suits them, and in turn, bless the rest of the world!

Despite all that, I still did not know I was a ‘writer’. I read a quote from Stephen King recently. In general terms he said he thought anyone was a writer that; wrote something, sent it to someone else to publish, they received a check for the work, they cashed the check, it didn’t bounce and they paid a bill with it. Under those provisions, I am officially an author!

It took a major period of frustration in my life to cause me to sit down and start writing. I had a nagging voice in the back of my mind constantly for years that I ignored and when my fanny hit the couch and I started to write, I wrote for six hours straight. I had no idea where my first book would go, it just poured from me.

How long did it take you to write your first novel?

From start to finish, I wrote in a little under six months. It went through a year of editing. UGH.

That was six months of my family having to eat what ever they could throw together.

What was the hardest part of writing for you?

Editing. I became so sick of looking at my words over and over again. I had to force myself to get back into the pages.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Five deep seated squats ending in a skyward jump, then five twirls to the left and a blowing kiss to the right, I can then sit down to write.

Not really.

I require a few cups of coffee to rewire my brain, and then I’m off. I know, coffee… It is really my only true vice, other than writing.

Have you written anything else?

I am almost finished with book two of Eternus now. I just love writing this series. I have to stop and think about the multi-dimension of the work – with Rhiannon’s lives repeating. It makes it a challenge to imagine how she perceives it and how she deals with it. Let me tell you, I am having major insomnia from this! All the twists and turns are popping into my mind while I am trying to sleep. I went from looking healthy to black bags under my eyes. I might look pathetic, but in reality, I am truly happy!

YES! Wow, it’s like something flipped a switch in my brain. We will be on road trips or I will be driving alone and a thought will pop into my brain… what if this, or what if that. Sometimes I see situations or hear someone else’s story and wonder, “what if it had unfolded differently?” and then, voila! That might make a good scene in a story.

I will write it down. Sometimes I end up with multiple chapters.

I have a book almost completed doing that.

It might be worth mentioning that I bought a voice recorder for my car. I actually use that when I am driving. I don’t write and drive…very dangerous and illegal in most states.

Any advice to aspiring Authors?

DON’T STOP! You were given a passion for a reason. You will reach someone you are intended to reach.

My grandfather had a plaque on the wall in his office. It was in Latin. I asked him frequently to tell me what it said, to which the response was always an abrupt, “no”. My grandmother always did her funny, tilt the head, ‘you better not go there’ glare at him when I brought up the subject.

It was not until I was older that I found out the meaning was, “Don’t Let the (B-word with male connotations) Get You Down”. When I have embarked on those treacherous and tumultuous phases of life, which we all must endure, that phrase has run through my head. The Latin one. The one read phonetically by a young child. If a drop dead gorgeous Latin speaking man were to say those words to me, I am sure I would not know what the heck he was saying. None the less, I impart to you those words of wisdom in English form, because, as authors, the critic is more common and likes to hear their own words more than the rave reviewer.

Also, keep in mind, to have a critic is good. It means your work has enough teeth to inspire enough venom in someone to actually take the time to write a critique. For every critic, I wager there is a new follower that took your work and related to it, even if they did not leave a review.

Who are your favorite Authors (and books)?

I love to read and listen (audio book while driving) to Dean Koontz. My favorite series by him is Odd Thomas. I love the descriptions he uses in his books! I reread portions and close my eyes to absorb the feelings that the words invoke. Amazing! (Again, when I listen to his books on audio book. I will pull over before I close my eyes and feel the words.)

My favorite re-read authors are;

Jean Auel and The Clan of the Cave Bear series

W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear

The First North American’s Series—My favorite (I read it at least twice a year) is The People of the Lakes!

The Anasazi Mystery Series—I read this series at least once a year. Fascinating events and they tell a wonderful story of a murder mystery set in ancient Anasazi times.

Sandra Brown—I loved Envy, but who didn’t?

Nora Roberts—All that I have read so far.

Michael Crichton—He can scare you with the unknown that could be… Don’t want to turn off the lights when I read his.

Steven King—WOW. Only read his when my husband plans to be home and in the same bed during the read and for a least two months post read. ie. No working nights or traveling.

Books in general—I have read so many books that I enjoyed but did not follow the author after that read.

Which book has impacted you the most?

For my graduation from High School, my aunt (mentioned above) gave me, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss.

As a typical teenager I thought, “What a weird gift. I am a ‘new’ adult, I don’t need a children’s book.” I read a few pages and put it aside.

I read the book to my first born daughter. At that time, I had moved from Idaho to Philadelphia, PA at the Naval Yard (yeah, I know, there is no Naval Ship Yard in Philli anymore! Get over it, and no, don’t look up the date it closed, that will age me J). Oh, what a change, Country Girl to Big City. OUCH. I did not leave the base for a full three months. After that, for another three months or so, I only left if someone came with me.

From there we moved to Florida. Great state – no mountains. We tangled with Big Bertha (hurricane). She never came ashore, but the scare and the drive inland by myself with two little kids, in bumper to bumper traffic, following my neighbor (native Floridian) as she laughed at the poor little Idaho girl who knew nothing about hurricanes, was enough to lay claim to a small hurricane story.

Onward still. Driving back home after the naval career ended and getting to see the greatest country in the world first hand (and rather quickly) was wonderful.

The places, yes the places.

Now the book is poignant and important. It is tattered, ragged, and well used.

Dr Seuss said it well,

“I’m sorry to say so

but, sadly, it’s true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.”

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (And believe it!)

After life tested the theories in this book – a revelation was laid at my feet. Every single event in life can be equated with an excerpt from one of Disney’s or Pixar’s movies. We should probably listen to our children’s problem solving skills more. Time tested, children approved. (Maybe not the “candy for breakfast” everyday idea.)

What am I currently reading?

Storm Born by Richelle Mead

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel

(Can you imagine getting these books mixed up in your head?)

How do readers find out more about you?

Visit the blog, http://eternityseries.wordpress.com/

Twitter, @EternusSeries

Like Eternus on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Eternus/148654121845378

Eternus Webpage, http://www.eternus.me/

Try and imagine with me for a moment how you would handle it if, in the deep of the night, when your house is still and your breathing is deep, that your mind conjures something akin to the devil himself, grabbing at you, ripping pieces from you and you know it is your final moment. You are trapped, and pain is lancing through you. Horror and a desire to live are the only thoughts running through your mind. You smell his rotten breath, and feel his floating body against yours. Claws ripping into your skin. And his laugh, gutturaland chilling…

And then you wake up.

How would you possibly live with those kinds of nightmares? Not always the same, but most ending with my life being ripped from me. It is always the same monster yet the setting all changed. I began to dread falling asleep. I wanted my normal back.

It was hard to find out my secret. I did not want to be that different from everyone. I rebelled against the knowledge of my repeating lives. My innocents shattered. I believed I had my entire life still in front of me, I would be able to make normal mistakes and try and learn from them. Instead, as my dreams rushed in, so did some of the memories of the past lives.

As it turns out, I know nothing and at the same time, I know more than any normal human could create in their imagination.

My dreams started after I ran into an old…friend.

He consumed my thoughts and unwontedly so! I wished to have my normal, boring, blend-in-where-ever-I-go life back once the strange things started to happen.

My soul is old, about 1210 years old to be exact. Try and  imagine having that many memories come back to you? Overwhelming is an understatement! Oh, the places I have seen and the pain that became me.

I have a lot to tell you, but I don’t have time to share all the details with you now.

Thanks for visiting with me, I hope we can become great friends!

Rhiannon

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to the author, I’m giving away 1 e-copy of Eternus (no restrictions). This giveaway runs now through the end of July. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment or question for the author, Kimberli Reynolds. 

Award winning romance author, Leigh Michaels, is stopping over with her exclusive interview today at The Book Faery Reviews. Author to about a hundred books, she is currently promoting her latest novel, Just One Season In London published by Sourcebooks Casablanca and released just this month. Now on to the interview!

Welcome “Leigh” to The Book Faery Reviews! We’re absolutely delighted to have you here today and since I enjoyed reading your last novel The Mistress’ House, I couldn’t wait to get a copy of Just One Season In London to read more by you!

Let’s first talk about your name since Leigh Michaels is a pen name for you. I’ve always wondered why some authors used pen names. Why did you choose to use a pen name, did you come up with the name yourself, and how long have you been using it? Do you sometimes wish you wrote in your real name or any future plans for doing so?

When I chose my pen name I was just signing my first contract with Harlequin, and at the time the publisher preferred for authors to use pen names. I was happy to do so, and I chose a combination of part of my own first name and my husband’s first name – mostly because before I’d sold that first book, he never said, “You could use all this time to get a real job.” I like using a pen name because it helps to keep just a little distance between the real person and the writer/celebrity. That helps keep me from feeling too important when I’m in my real-life role – and I’m less likely to throw my weight around. I’ve used my real name from time to time on non-fiction projects, like local history books – but I have no plans to write fiction under my real name.

I read that you were a teacher and an editor. How long have you been teaching romance writing? You are an editor as well; do you edit a variety of genres or just romance? How did you get into doing both?

I started teaching at the community college level years ago, with courses like freshman comp and creative writing, so it felt natural to move into specialized seminars for writers and then to online classes for romance writers at Gotham Writers Workshop (www.writingclasses.com). My first all-romance class was about 15 years ago, and three students from that class have gone on to publish commercially, with more than 30 books between them. One won a Golden Heart (unpublished manuscript) and one a RITA (published book), both awarded by Romance Writers of America. Since then I’ve had a large number of students become published – something which is really fun and rewarding for me. (It’s like becoming a grandma – I didn’t do any of the hard work, but I get to brag about the baby.) The editing grew out of the teaching career. I critique mostly romance, but occasionally I dip into other genres if I feel drawn to the story. And I acquire and edit non-fiction books – mostly local history – for the small publisher my husband and I operate (www.pbllimited.com)

You’ve written 80 contemporary romance novels and you have 3 historical romance titles: The Mistress’ House, Just One Season in London and The Wedding Affair (which will be in stores in September). Have you decided to switch over completely to historical or do you just write what comes to mind at the time?

I actually don’t plan very far ahead – which sometimes drives my agent around the bend – but for the foreseeable future I’m planning to stick with historicals. However, there are always a few contemporary ideas which are just too good not to use… so it will depend on how I feel in any given year.

With your historical romance novels, have you done any special research to help you in writing accurately for the time? Travel to historical places? Or is it just book research?

I’ve been researching the Regency period forever, first by reading novels set in the Regency period and then looking up all the non-fiction resources I could find. But I have spent significant time in England, and there’s nothing like walking along the street where Jane Austen lived for a while, or seeing the architecture of the period which still survives, or strolling through gardens at Hampton Court or formal rooms at Windsor Castle or Apsley House, to get the feel of how people lived.

What was the first romance novel you wrote? If you could revamp it today, what would you have done differently to it—or would you leave it alone? Have you found your writing has evolved since then?

The first romance novel I wrote has long since been consigned to the fire – literally – along with the next five I attempted. Burning them was a very freeing experience, trust me! The first one I sold was called The Grand Hotel, and I think it still holds up quite well, all things considered. But yes, if I was writing it today I’d approach the story much differently. My writing style has tightened up and become much more direct – and funnier – since then. And I think the heroine would be a little less rigid, too.

Other than romance, what do you like to read? Do you have a preference in genre when it comes to your personal reading? What do your own reading bookshelves look like?

I read a lot of mystery, mostly cozies, and also science fiction, fantasy, and alternative history. And nonfiction – a lot of magazines but also books about oddball topics, because a writer never knows what fact will come in handy someday. My office has a wall containing all the editions of my books and a wall of reference stuff, but I also have a sitting room lined with shelves of favorites and keepers. It’s a very peaceful, quiet room where I could stay for a month at a time and never get bored.

Now let’s chat about your latest novel out this month, Just One Season in London. In no more than 5 sentences, could you give us a description of the story?

Viscount Ryecroft has a beautiful sister to marry off – but no money to fund a London Season for her, so perhaps he needs to find an heiress for himself first. Sophie Ryecroft is willing to marry for the good of the family – but she can’t meet the sort of man Rye has in mind for her except in London. Rye and Sophie’s mother, Miranda, will do anything for the sake of her children – even taking up again with a man she knew long ago and  offering to be his mistress. And they have Just One Season in London to make their dreams come true.

Is there a back story of how you came up with the idea for the book? 

At first I thought this was the story of a mother and two daughters, but then – fortunately for me – Rye reared up off the brainstorming pages and demanded to get a full role in the story.

Which character did you find the most enjoyable to write and why?

I loved them all – because they’re truly a loving and happy family, each willing to sacrifice to make life better for the other two. But Sophie was a great deal of fun, because she’s young enough to do the unexpected, naïve enough to be surprised when her ideas don’t pan out the way she wanted, and hopeful enough to bounce back regardless.

You’ve spoken at events, taught workshops, and been on blog tours. What’s something nobody has asked you that you wished they did so you could share it with their readers and others? And what would that answer be?

My students will tell you that I’m never short of an opinion or hesitant to share it – at least about writing and publishing. So if there’s something I think the audience is longing to ask, I generally go ahead and answer anyway. But one of the questions I wish hadn’t come up was a reporter who asked – with a wink – if I actually did all the things I’d put in the book. After a frantic rummaging through my memory to recall exactly what HAD been in that story, I took the dull – but safe – route and said “No.” She seemed very disappointed…

Thank you for being a guest at The Book Faery Reviews today. It was an absolute pleasure!

Thank you for inviting me!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Leigh Michaels is the author of nearly 100 books, including 80 contemporary novels and more than a dozen non-fiction books. More than 35 million copies of her romance novels have been published by Harlequin. A 6 time RITA finalist, she has also received two Reviewer’s Choice awards from RT Book Reviews, and was the 2003 recipient of the Johnson Brigham Award. She is the author ofOn Writing Romance, published in January 2007 by Writers Digest Books. Leigh also teaches romance writing on the Internet at Gotham Writers’ Workshop.  She lives in Ottumwa, Iowa, where she is working on her third book from Sourcebooks, The Wedding Affair, which will be in stores in September. For more information, please visit www.leighmichaels.com.

JUST ONE SEASON IN LONDON BY LEIGH MICHAELS—IN STORES JULY 2011

A family that courts together…

Viscount Ryecroft has a beautiful sister he needs to marry off… if only he had the money for her Season in London.

His family is in financial ruins, and his mother is willing to do anything to help her children, including sell herself to the highest bidder…

Finds passion on their own…

Sophie Ryecroft will sacrifice love to marry for the good of her family… but instead finds passion and solace in an attractive alternative.

With so much riding on their one and only Season in London, Rye, Sophie, and Miranda can’t help but get hopelessly entangled with all the wrong people…

Celebrated author Leigh Michaels effortlessly weaves three tales of unexpected romance with surprising twists you won’t soon forget.

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Sourcebooks, I’m giving away 2 copies of Just One Season in London to someone with a US or Canada non-PO Box mailing address. This giveaway runs now through the end of July to those with an US/Canadian mailing address (No PO Boxes).

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment or question for the author, Leigh Michaels.