Guest Author, Helen Brenna
by sue on Jun.11, 2010, under Book Chat
Helen Brenna
ALONG CAME A HUSBAND
Setting: Mirabelle Island, a fictional island set within the real Apostle Island chain on Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin.
Subgenre: Romantic suspense/small town setting
Hero: Jonas Abel
Heroine: Missy Charms
One sentence summary: Missy gets a second chance to get love right when her supposedly dead, FBI agent husband turns up on her doorstep with a gunshot wound, but can Jonas figure out how to be the man Missy needs before his undercover mission gone bad catches up to him?
A “supposedly dead” husband? What’s that all about?
Let’s just say Missy and Jonas’s first attempt at marriage was a little rocky, and Jonas had Missy’s best interests at heart when he faked his death in an FBI training exercise. For the past four years he’s been deep undercover, but when he starts to suspect a leak at the FBI Missy’s the only person he can trust. So it’s on to Mirabelle.
What’s one thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing?
Eating a thick, juicy T-bone steak. She’s a vegetarian! She also blesses the jewelry she makes for Whimsy, her gift shop on Mirabelle Island, practices healing touch massage, and reads auras. But there’s more than meets the eye to Missy. She been hiding her past from everyone on Mirabelle and it’s about to catch up with her.
What’s one thing your hero would never be caught dead doing?
Eating tofu, of course. He’s a meat and potatoes kind of guy.
Your Mirabelle Island setting sounds fanciful. Was that deliberate?
Not entirely. That would imply far better organizational skills that I have ever possessed. But sometimes I think contemporary romances are missing that special fantasy element that comes automatically in historical romances. My Mirabelle Island is the best of both worlds. It has all the modern conveniences of today within a historical-like setting.
Part Michigan’s Mackinac Island (where Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour’s movie Somewhere in Time was filmed) and part Wisconsin’s more rustic Madeline Island, Mirabelle has cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, Victorian B&Bs, picturesque lighthouses and a cast of colorful secondary characters set alongside a beautiful virgin wilderness.
My hope is that readers will not only get carried away by each hero and heroine’s story, but also by the location. I’ve had a lot of readers say they’d love to go on vacation to Mirabelle, so I think it’s working!
This is the fourth in your Mirabelle Island Superromance series. Do we have to read the first three to catch up?
Absolutely not. Of course, I’m hoping you’ll like Mirabelle Island enough to want to go back to the first three stories (and forward to the next three coming in 2011) but each Mirabelle story (they’re a mixture of romantic suspense and straight romance) stands alone.
You’re up for a Romance Writers of America RITA this year. Was it fun getting that call?
In a way this call was even more exciting than my first RITA final in 2008. While my experience being double nominated with my first book TREASURE was unparalleled, I had all the time in the world to write and revise that book before it sold. FROM THE OUTSIDE, my current RITA nominee, I wrote in 3 months. It was an amazing affirmation that I’m on the right track.
What’s up next?
THE MOON THAT NIGHT, a non-Mirabelle Harlequin Superromance releasing in November 2010. This is a sequel to FINDING MR RIGHT and little sister, Kate Dillon’s story. It’s an adventure suspense, a race to steal several ancient Greek statues that takes Kate and Riley, her bodyguard from FMR, to Rome, Athens, Moscow and Istanbul in a desperate attempt to save Riley’s kidnapped sister-in-law.
And in 2011 I’ll have out three more Harlequin Superromances set on Mirabelle Island.
And there’s just one more thing I’d like to add … if you’ve never read a Harlequin Superromance, give one a try. And if you used to read this series and haven’t lately, come back for another peek. We’re the most varied of all the Harlequin lines. Our stories can be suspenseful or not, sexy or sweet, small town or big city, serious or funny, and everything in between, but they’re always great romance.
Discussion question: Missy and Jonas get, in a way, a do-over in their marriage. If you had a do-over in your life what would it be? A vacation? A relationship? Prom night?
Thanks for letting me visit!
Helen
www.helenbrenna.com
www.ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com
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June 17th, 2010 on 4:00 am
Hello, also love the Madagaskar movies, awesome movie!
June 16th, 2010 on 8:12 am
Hi Joanne, Carol, SiNn and Candice!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from everyone’s posts it’s that it’s not too late for some things. Right? Rather than calling it a do-over, let’s call these things do-it-nows!
Candice, check out the very real Mackinac Island, Michigan. It doesn’t have the same kind of wilderness setting or Mirabelle, but it’s a close second. Fun place to vacation. And not too far to drive from a lot of points in the upper midwest.
June 14th, 2010 on 9:15 pm
Hi Helen,
I enjoy your books. Congrats on your new release. I’ve been married many years, but if I had a do over, I think I would have done some things differently. But I guess our mistakes are part of the growing process.
Your Island sounds as if it’s the perfect location for a vacation. Too bad it’s fictional.
June 12th, 2010 on 6:13 pm
hum any do over i think id of told my better half when we were teenagers how i felt before he moved away but when i think on it our love story sounds so much better when you tell that part of it too
so maybe id of taken a road rip with my friend before we both settled down
June 12th, 2010 on 4:30 pm
Hi Helen,
I have to get the first 3 and then this new release because I love it. Thanks for being here. You are a new to me Author and now you’re not.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
June 12th, 2010 on 10:57 am
This book sounds great. Hope to read it. I am lucky in my life so really cannot think of any big do overs, maybe a meal that did not turn out so well.
Joanne V.
June 12th, 2010 on 9:16 am
Hi Natalie’s mom, Rose and Cories! Glad the book sounds good and I hope you get a chance to read it. It’ll be in bookstores through the end of June and after that you can order it either through your fav store or on-line.
Cories, so sorry you have health issues from you job and I hope you have an opportunity to go back to school!
June 12th, 2010 on 1:37 am
Hi! This books is going on my list for my next trip to the book store.
If I can have a do over… maybe college. I would chose a different major, one in which a job wouldn’t land me in the hospital. I’d like to stay healthy even though my illness is what brought my boyfriend to me.
June 11th, 2010 on 9:23 pm
This book looks very good. Would love to read it.
As for do overs, I really cannot think of anything. I have had a good life - am an older lady and have no complaints.
Rose G.
June 11th, 2010 on 7:14 pm
Cant think of any do overs but love to read this book.
Natalie’s Mama
June 11th, 2010 on 4:29 pm
Hi Bev!
Oy, you hit on an angsty one for me. As a stay at home mom for much of the last 18 years (always trying to get published, though) I think balance is important. There are definitely times I wish I’d kept at my career in accounting! Go figure.
But, hey, you may have a second chance at it if your kids decide to be parents! Grandma! Yes!
June 11th, 2010 on 4:18 pm
I can’t wait to read this book! I love your writing.
My do-over is that I would have spent more time with my kids when they were younger. I was a stay at home mom until they started school, but after that I went back to work and I feel that I didn’t give my kids enough quality or quantity time. They turned out fine, but I’ve always wondered……
June 11th, 2010 on 2:17 pm
Hi Robin. Your comment reminds me of the movie The Family Man with Nicholas cage. I can’t remember the exact setup, but somehow Cage, who’s some big business exec gets to see what his life would have been like if he’d married the woman he’d loved, Tia Leoni, had 2 kids and lived a life in the burbs. It wasn’t all that great of a movie, but still interesting. I wouldn’t trade my kids for any do-over I could possibly think of!
June 11th, 2010 on 10:50 am
Sounds like a great series. I don’t read as many Harlequins as I used to, having got caught up in all the paranormal romance stuff out there now, but I still go back to Harlequins when the mood strikes. You can always count on a quick read that will be enjoyable and satisfying!
As for a do-over, it’s hard to think of anything that I could do over that wouldn’t affect my life in such a way that I would not be where I am right now. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but those mistakes brought me to this point in my life, with two beautiful daughters, and I would go through all of those mistakes again if a do over meant not having them.
June 11th, 2010 on 10:23 am
Hi Mary Anne and thanks for your thoughtful comment. I don’t think it’s controversial at all, and, as a matter of fact, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Living in the past would suck.
I’ve - hopefully - come to embrace the fact that without the past I wouldn’t be who I am today. So yay to all my mistakes and successes! And yours, too!
For me, though, part of thinking about “do-overs” is coming to terms with the mistakes I may or may not have made and part of that process includes learning from each and every one of those situations. Exactly as you said.
Hopefully, if I’ve written the story the way I’ve envisioned, that’s what Missy and Jonas get an opportunity to do. Not make the same mistake twice!
June 11th, 2010 on 10:10 am
Hi Virginia! Nice to see you here!
I did get a college degree and I’d still go back to college in a heartbeat if I had the time. What a great environment - all the learning, the youthful exuberance. We’re never too old!
June 11th, 2010 on 9:45 am
Thank you for your post, Helen. The pictures are lovely.
If you’d asked me this question a year or so ago, I could’ve given you a long, LONG list of things I wish I’d done differently. But now I realize I shouldn’t think along those lines.
I know we’re not supposed to bring up controversial matters on this blog. However, I can’t answer your question otherwise, so here goes: I believe in karma. It’s part of my religion. And if my take on karma is correct, everything that’s happened in the past has done so because it HAD to happen. Past events couldn’t possibly have turned out any other way.
Sure, I could mull over the past and castigate myself because I should have majored in a field with better employment prospects. Or reproach myself because I didn’t dump Guy A sooner or try harder to hang on to Guy B.
But I think I’d put my time and efforts to better use if I learn from my mistakes and go on from there. I already know what I did wrong in the past. Now’s the time to apply those lessons in the present.
Focusing on what I’m doing right now will create the karma for a future that’s happier than the past. And of course, today is all we have to work with.
As comedian Benny Hill put it, “Live each day as though it were your last. Someday it really will be.”
June 11th, 2010 on 9:09 am
How nice to visit with a Harlequin “SuperRomance” author, especially when she’s the lovely and talented Helen Brenna! I adore “SuperRomances”–the longer-length format gives the author lots more room to develop the characters and the story line. I have read many, many “SuperRomances”, and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve been touched, surprised, amused, intrigued and delighted. So many talented storytellers in the “SuperRomance” authors group!
My do-over: I would have found a way, somehow, to improve my education while handling all of my family responsibilities and working full-time. I graduated high school at age 16 (skipped a grade) and immediately took over care of my grandmother and also worked a part-time job. Later, I cared for my mother while working a full-time job. I did start college at age 47, obtaining a career studies certificate and graduating Summa Cum Laude. That first day of college, I felt just like a six year old starting the first grade! I still don’t “have a degree”, which is essential for so many reasons, most importantly for today’s job market.
June 11th, 2010 on 7:07 am
Pat L - relationships … wouldn’t it be great if we really did get a do-over in life? But then I wonder if it wouldn’t be one of those be careful what you wish for kind of things!
June 11th, 2010 on 7:05 am
Hey Laurie - my dad just turned 85 and has had some health issues this last year. He’s been so healthy and vital his whole life, I have to keep reminding myself that he’s not going to be here forever.
And thanks for the other Wisconsin ideas. I’ve been to Door County - love that area, too, and the Bluff country - which borders my home state, Minnesota! Not familiar with the other areas, but WI is beautiful.
When my kids were little we’d have contests to see who could hold their feet in Lake Superior the longest. Even in August that lake is FREEZING!
June 11th, 2010 on 7:00 am
Thanks Jane C! Don’t know if you’re in a position to actually redo school, but as for being more adventurous … there’s no time like the present, right? lol I tried mountain biking for the first time a couple years back. Oh, and snowboarding, too. Got a few bumps and bruises, but they were both fun!
Hi Katrina. The 2 pics with buildings are from Mackinac Island, Michigan, part of my inspiration for Mirabelle. The pic with the lighthouse and kayaks is from Madeline Island, Wisconsin.
As for the guy … I know I don’t always understand until after the fact why I do or don’t do things. There are 2 guys from HS I’d love to explain “me” to!! Glad you’re liking Superromances! Yay!
June 11th, 2010 on 6:02 am
Right now with what is going on def. a relationship. LOL.
June 11th, 2010 on 5:54 am
I’d spend more time with my dad before he died.
Hey I’m from Wisconsin there are many, many beautiful spots to see: The whole Kettle Moraine, Holy Hill, Copper Falls, Door County, The Bluffs along the Mississippi River, tons of lakes, parks, biking trails, hiking trails… I grew up in Two Rivers right on the Lake Michigan shoreline, gorgeous sunrises, beautiful stretches of sandy beach, swimming, lot’s of dunes, camping at Point Beach State Forest !
The first picture is Mackinac Island the other two could definitely be in Wisconsin. Madeline Island /Bayfield is beautiful! However, Lake Superior is always freezing!
June 11th, 2010 on 3:26 am
What a fun question! And, I have to admit, I’m shocked that those pics are of Wisconsin. I only visited the state once, but I don’t remember seeing anywhere like that!
If I could do one thing over, there’s a guy I dated whom I would’ve treated better. It was at a time in my life when I kept a lot of secrets, and it affected the way I acted around him. I didn’t treat him really badly, but I know I confused him and couldn’t tell him why. I’d go back and either tell him what I was going through or just be friends, because it wasn’t fair to him for me to try to start something when I wasn’t ready.
Whew - heavy stuff this morning!
Oh, and I love Superromance! I just read my first one a couple months ago. Good luck with this one!
June 11th, 2010 on 3:25 am
Congrats on the new release, Helen. I would probably wish I was more studious in school and more adventurous and willing to try new things(sports, foods.)