trueromance

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Extra Innings by Debbi Rawlins
One sentence summary: The book is an Encounters, a trio of novellas revolving around three minor league baseball players hoping to be called up to the Majors and the three women who challenge them more than the game.
Tell us one quirky thing about your heroine? Naturally I like all three women, and choosing one I like the best feels too close to naming a favorite child. That said, Tori tickled me. The woman has no concept of censorship. Bless her, she says all the things I wish I could.
What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing? One hero is an enigmatic short stop, another is a bad boy pitcher who’s already pitched in the Majors, and the third a heartthrob first baseman.
What you think readers will like best about this book? The stories are fun and fast paced, with the heroines achieving what few of us mere mortals can.

If you had the chance to go out with a celebrity, be it a sports figure, movie star, singer, anyone, who would it be, and what about him or his profession do you find attractive? This is just between you and me. of course

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Hard to choose just one, but I’ll pretty much see anything Bruce Willis does, and I’ve watched Pretty Woman and Pride and Prejudice an obscene number of times.
2. What’s your favorite cartoon character? I had a ridiculous crush on Johnny Quest.
3. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? Anything to do with animals
4. What do you do to unwind and relax? I love to read, grow flowers, not to be confused with weeding, play with my dogs and annoy my cats.
5. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? Any time before women wore pants would have been a deal breaker for me. If I ever wear a dress again it’ll because someone held me down and sprayed it on.

Hotshot by Jo Leigh
One sentence summary: He shattered her heart once, can she dare to let him get close enough to do it again?
What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Sara is an Air Force Captain
What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Luke is an Air Force Pilot
What you think readers will like best about this book: The passion and the redemption.

Have you ever reconnected with a guy from your past? Was it disappointing or did it change your life?

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Too many to name, but some are Raiders of the Lost Arc, Love, Actually, Sin City, Broadcast News
2. What’s your favorite cartoon character? Rocky & Bullwinkle
3. What do you do to unwind and relax? Hang out with my pets.
4. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? Least: Upper Palaeolithic. So few really great handbags. Most: 1930s-40s. Of course, I’d want to be as tall and gorgeous as Kate Hepburn while I’m there.
5. Dog person or cat person? Both. We have four dogs and five cats, all rescues!

Too Hot to Touch by Julie Leto
Scene you like most and would never cut: I love the final scene where the hero has to use skills he disapproves of in order to get the heroine back. She’s brought him to his knees. That’s always fun.
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: My heroine would never be caught saying, “Well, officer, you see, I lied about who I was and I’m actually a fence dealing in stolen goods.” It’s all true, but she’d never say it.
Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? My hero is not quirky. He frowns at quirky. Unless it’s the heroine, in which case he embraces it. Heroine: I think the fact that she lives a double life is fairly quirky.
What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: She’s a fence, meaning she moves stolen goods for her adopted brother, who is a thief. But she’s also an art expert.
What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Alex would never be unemployed! His family owns an auction house in Madrid and he runs it.
What you think readers will like best about this book: I think the readers will love the subtle references to a certain legend regarding a mask-wearing bandit who made the ladies swoon all over colonial California. And they’ll love Alejandro, because he’s the quintessential tall, dark and handsome hero.

Readers always seem to love spin-offs and sequels. How many is too many?

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Star Wars, or what George Lucas wants us to call now “A New Hope.” This story ignited my imagination in ways that directly led to me becoming a writer.
2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? The kind that is well-written and emotionally compelling. It can be anything, but it’s the writing that grabs me and takes me away.
3. What’s the first book you remember reading? Misty of Chincoteague, about the wild horses. I distinctly remember that book.
4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? The better question is what is NOT my favorite fairy tale. I adore fairy tales.
5. What do you do to unwind and relax? Ha! I wish I could say I escape to my vacation home in the south of France, but honestly, I usually try to find a Criminal Minds or NCIS marathon to watch on television. I do love to travel, though.

Cowboys Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson
One sentence summary: When an injury ends Logan’s pro baseball career, he heads to the Last Chance Ranch and discovers that Caro Davis makes him forget all his troubles!.
Scene you like most and would never cut: When Logan’s thrown from his horse into a patch of wildflowers and ends up with them in his hair.
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “My glass is half empty.”
Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Logan can juggle cocktail shakers.
What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: She’s a bartender.
What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He was a pro baseball player and now has to figure out what to do with his life.
What you think readers will like best about this book: COWBOYS LIKE US is about resilience — finding new dreams when old dreams die.

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Anything starring Colin Firth.
2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? A swashbuckling adventure in which I picture Colin Firth as the hero.
3. What’s the first book you remember reading? THE SECRET GARDEN, which I now picture starring a young Colin Firth.because guess what? The boy in that book is named Colin.
4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Beauty and the Beast, which I’d love to see enacted by Colin Firth.
5. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? I love you all almost as much as I love Colin Firth

The Braddock Boys: Travis by Kimberly Raye
One sentence summary: A sexually frustrated wedding planner meets the ultimate Texas bad boy (oh, and he’s also a vampire).
Scene you like most and would never cut: They’re like my babies. I love them all!
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “I can’t do that”. Holly is the ultimate wedding planner and she wants to make dreams come true for her brides.
What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He’s a working cowboy who trains horses. Very good at what he does because of his vamp senses. Can communicate telepathically with the animals and understand their primal instinct.
What’s next: I’m currently working on the last book in the Braddock Brothers series—this book features Colton and will finally give the brothers closure on the tragedy that destroyed their family. Oh, and I’ve just discovered Twitter. I’m becoming a major Twitter whore.

What’s your favorite hero type? Cowboys? CEOs? Cops? Vampires? Which type of man really floats your boat?

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? The Terminator. The romance was skimpy, but those few moments were smokin’ hot!
2. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? It’s so comforting to know that I’m not the only hopeless romantic out there.
3. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? A baker. I love to bake goodies in my spare time. (Cupcake Wars here I come!)
4. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? Neither. I’m a diet coke fanatic and yes, Brenda, it is possible to consume an entire six pack in less than three hours.
5. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Regency. Too many rules. Most? The Wild West. No rules!

Undeniable Pleasures by Tori Carrington
One sentence summary: In UNDENIABLE PLEASURES, the third and final book in the Pleasure Seekers miniseries, bad boy Jason Savage from RECKLESS PLEASURES is all over over a special case involving a difficult federal witness…along with sexy club owner Jordan Cosby, who has ‘pleasure’ written all over her…
Scene you like most and would never cut: Oh, that’s a tough one! Each scene is so tightly connected to the next if you were to cut one, the entire story might unravel. But I know that’s not what you mean. Hmm…in this case, I’d have to say one of my personal favorites is when Jason and Jordan indulge in a hot and heavy hallway make-out session at his grandmother’s house and she catches them. Instead of scolding them, however, she merely asks they not get anything on the rug…and points out there is a perfectly good bedroom nearby. Few things are more satisfying than when a character – secondary or otherwise – surprises you….
Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “No.” Well, at least not to a perfectly good proposition from a perfectly yummy proposition maker. Too suggestive? Well, then, let’s go with “Single With a Cat.” Of course, this is before she’s put in protective custody and ends up spending more time in her apartment in two weeks than she has in the past two years and one of her friends gives her a black, long-haired female named Cleo to keep her company. Then again, by book’s close, it appears she’s not going to be single for very much longer, either….
Tell us one quirky thing about your hero and heroine: She loves breakfast cereals…the sweeter and more kid-like the better. He loves to cook…the more complicated and gourmet the better. A match made in Food Network Heaven…
What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: An inactive Marine, he’s one of the original six partners of Lazarus Security, which usually handles more important cases than Jordan’s… But as luck would have it, this particular one turns out to be one of his most important to date….
What you think readers will like best about this book: The interplay – sexual and otherwise - between these two strong-willed, independent characters. She’s the ultimate bad girl to his irresistible bad boy. They’re lucky to make it out alive, much less in love. Also the fact that it’s intimately tied into stories that have come before.
What’s next: RED-HOT SANTA, Harlequin Blaze Uniformly HOT! available December 2011. While UNDENIABLE PLEASURES is the final book in the Pleasure Seekers Miniseries, I’m thrilled to report Lazarus Security stories will continue, beginning with RED-HOT SANTA, which features Jason Savage’s younger brother Jackson and Jackson’s longtime best friend Maxine McGuire…who decides she wants to take “friends with benefits” to a whole new hotter level….

When did you first discover the hotness that is Blaze? Have you been with the line since the beginning? Or are you just now picking up the awesome titles?

About Me:
Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? Tony and I are both coffee fiends. Rare is the time you’ll find us without a cup at our elbows. I do tea every now and again, usually green. In the summer, I’m also a huge fan of frappes, a favorite of our comedic mystery gal pal Sofie Metropolis, who drinks ‘em all year long. For info on all of our titles, visit us at toricarrington.net. For fun and easy Greek recipes, go to sofiemetro.com.

Setting: London, England, in 1821
Subgenre: Regency-set historical
Hero: Stephen Parker-Roth
Heroine: Lady Anne Marston

One sentence summary: Trapped between a secret and a lie, Lady Anne Marston must disentangle herself from her sham engagement to the charming, maddening Mr. Stephen Parker-Roth (the “King of Hearts”) before the truth comes out–or her heart gives in.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I have to say I like all my scenes or they wouldn’t be in the book! However, in every one of my books, there’s always some odd little scene that sticks in my mind, but readers might not really notice. In The Naked King one of those scenes is when Stephen is sitting in the blue parlor at Crane House with his parents, Lady Anne, Miss Strange, and Lady Brentwood. Stephen’s mother, in giving Lady Brentwood some parenting advice, mentions that she’s stopped trying to control the actions of her adult children. This is a surprise to Stephen. I guess I find this funny because I think I’ve stopped trying to control my children–and my children might be as surprised by that as Stephen is.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “Let’s go for a walk in the garden, Lord Brentwood.”

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero: Stephen acquired his nickname–the King of Hearts–because of his skill with cards…at least that’s what he says.

Tell us one quirky thing about your heroine: Lady Anne hates to shop.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Lady Anne doesn’t have an occupation; she’s the daughter of the Earl of Crane–aka “Crazy Crane.” Crazy Crane and Anne’s stepmother are apt to go off searching for antiquities at the drop of a hat, leaving Anne in charge of everything back home. When The Naked King begins, they have just dumped Anne in London along with her half siblings. She has to orchestrate her half-sister’s come-out whilst keeping her twin half-brothers and their dog out of mischief with only her eccentric elderly cousin to help.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Stephen Parker-Roth is a botanist and plant hunter. While he has his own estate, he enjoys organizing plant hunting expeditions and bringing back new plant species that he shares with his older brother John.

What you think readers will like best about this book: I think they’ll fall in love with Stephen–and I hope they laugh a lot.

What’s next: I’m starting a new series of Regency-set historical romances–a novella and a trilogy–about a matchmaking Duchess, nicknamed the Duchess of Love, and her three sons. I’m anticipating the first story will be released sometime in 2012.

And now a question for everyone out there in the blogosphere–What book do you remember loving from your childhood?

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Probably Chariots of Fire. I love running; I love the Olympics; I loved the moral challenges in the film; and I was very pregnant with my oldest son when I first saw the movie.

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? A romance! I have to have a happy ending.

3. What’s the first book you remember reading? Gee, I think I go back to the Dick and Jane books which weren’t exactly great literature. My dad used to read Dr. Seuss to me–loved them all, so maybe The Cat in the Hat was the first book I read by myself. I used to devour the Nancy Drew stories, and I loved books with magic or fantasy in them: all the Mary Poppins books, Five Children and It, Half-Magic, and the Lloyd Alexander books. I was a big science fiction fan, too–I loved Andre Norton. And of course I was a huge fan of Georgette Heyer, arguably the mother of the Regency romance subgenre.

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? My second son, when he was only 2 or 3, had me read him The Story of Jumping Mouse by John Steptoe over and over. It’s not a fairy tale, exactly–it’s based on a Native American legend–and it may not really be for young children, but I found it haunted and rather spiritual.

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character? I don’t think I have a favorite character. I used to have favorite programs like the Flintstones and the Jetsons.

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? Thank you for reading Naked!

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? Can I be a duchess? No, I guess not. Back in the days when I went to an office, I wrote regulations for the US Department of Agriculture’s school nutrition programs. Anyone remember ketchup as a vegetable?

8. What do you do to unwind and relax? When I’m not writing, I like to exercise–I swim with a Masters group (swim team for adults) twice a week and go to the gym most other days. And I like to hang out with my husband, sitting around weekend mornings, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper together, or going on adventures, like exploring London or LA both of which we did this year without a car.

9. What does love mean to you? Love is the feeling you have as a young child for your parents–and an adult child when those parents are elderly and need help; the heart squeezing feeling you get when you look at your sleeping baby–and the anguish you feel when that baby’s sick; it’s the excitement and pleasure you get when you see your new love–and the comfort and warmth you feel when you’ve spent so many years together you often repeat the same conversations.

10. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? I hated the itchy wool leggings my mother made me wear as a kid in the late 50s and the white cotton gloves and the Easter bonnets and the dresses. I like comfort and simplicity–and easy launderability, it that’s a word. I like zippers–I even like Velcro. So I’m happy with today’s fashions.

11. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? I have to say I have the character first, and then I go looking for a name to fit him or her. I’ve made a list of names from Shakespeare and the Bible and other sources to help me find names that might have been used during the late 1700s/early 1800s. And with Regencies, I often have to choose a title as well–Duke of Alvord; Earl of Westbrooke–and I’d better be sure to get all that right. For many Regency readers, a peerage error jumps off the page at them and annoys them like a pebble in their shoe for as long as they’re reading.

12. Dog person or cat person? When I was a child, I wanted a cat, but my mom wasn’t a pet person (though I did have a turtle for a while). Once I got married, I had kids (four sons) and that was challenge enough for me. When the kids were older, it turned out two of them wanted a dog and two of them didn’t–and I know who generally is left holding the bag–ahem–with pet care. I didn’t want to sign up for that duty. Frankly, when the cub scout pack gave me a plant as a thank you gift one year, my first thought was: Oh no, not another living thing to take care of! But I like both cats and dogs when they belong to someone else.

More Naked books by Sally MackKenzie:

Setting: Norfolk, Virginia to World’s End, Maine (Road trip, anyone?)
Subgenre: Paranormal Romance
Hero: Justin Miller
Heroine: Lara Rho

One sentence summary: A fallen angel goes on the lam with a man no angel could resist.

Scene you like most and would never cut: When the demons attack, trapping Lara and Justin on a burning bridge, and he takes her in his arms and…Oops. Spoiler. Well, anyway, I like that one, because everything changes after that.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “Rules are made to be broken.” But of course Justin convinces her to break every one.

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Justin would tell you he’s just a regular guy. He’d be lying, but that’s what he’d say.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Lara is a Seeker, a fallen angel trained to find and save others of her kind before the demons get to them.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He’s a sailor, a drifter, who doesn’t remember his past and doesn’t have much of a future. Finding out who he is and what he should be doing drives the story.

What you think readers will like best about this book: That breathless first-love, falling-in-love, give-up-everything-for-love experience. That sense of discovery and risk. This is a sort of a Romeo and Juliet story. Well, except that the hero actually has a sense of humor and the story has a happy ending.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: I got a lot of mail after Sea Lord asking what happened to the young selkies who were lost, Iestyn, Roth, and Kera. Some of those questions get answered in Forgotten Sea.

What’s next: Another children of air story, a historical novella in the Christmas anthology Tied With a Bow. (Think Scarlet Pimpernel with angels.) And next summer I’ve got another beach read coming – Carolina Home, the first in my new Dare Island series, with the same sense of place and character and community as the Children of the Sea books…but no demons.

Question for everyone:
It’s hard for art departments to depict blond heroes, but I’ve had two fabulous Tony Mauro covers in a row, with models and moods that exactly capture the feeling of the stories. Here they are, Daniel Craig (from my RITA nominated book, Immortal Sea) and young Brad Pitt (from Forgotten Sea).
Which one would you like to take home? One randomly chosen commenter will get the book of her choice.

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Princess Bride. I’ve always wished Buttercup was a little more resourceful, but who can argue with True Love? Oh, and The Long Hot Summer with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward because (major sigh) they had True Love.

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? I’m a huge fan of friends-into-lovers stories in every subgenre.

3. What’s the first book you remember reading? I remember being taught to read by a nun with a pointer: “Oh, oh, oh. Look, look, look.” I was terribly disappointed when I raced home and started pulling books out of my parents’ bookshelves and couldn’t find the two words I recognized. But the books I best remember reading on my own, the ones that plunged me into another world, were C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Beauty and the Beast.

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character? I just watched Tangled and fell in love with the horse.

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? Thank you!

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? Can I get paid for walking on the beach? No? Okay, I can’t think of a thing.

8. What do you do to unwind and relax? That walk-on-the-beach thing. Which means most of the time, I am not relaxed.
9. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? A pot of coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. Milk, no sugar. I experience life in a caffeinated state.

10. What does love mean to you? Being seen. Being heard. Being challenged. After mumbledty-mump years of marriage, I can tell you that my husband sees the very best in me and supports and challenges me to be my best self. That’s something I put in all my books.

11. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? Least? I did the 1980s once. I wouldn’t do that again. Most? The 1920s. All those long, lean, elegant lines and men in hats.

12. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? Sam. And I’m going to, in the book after Carolina Home.

13. Dog person or cat person? Both.

Virginia Kantra and The Mythology of The Children of The Sea

More books in The Children of the Sea series:

Setting: Regency England

Heroine: Lady Lucinda Grey

One sentence summary:

In The Devil in Disguise, a seasoned spy and a captivating Lady learn that passion is a very dangerous game.

Scene you like most and would never cut:

I actually really like the end of the first scene in chapter one, where Lucinda interacts with her maid, Mary. It was a late addition at the suggestion of my editor, and I was quite happy with how it turned out. It’s funny and, in my humble opinion, endearing, which speaks to my writing style.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:

Lady Lucinda Grey would never be caught dead dancing with the Duke of Clairemont. Ha!

What celebrity is your hero like:

Good question! I think he has some Gerard Butler in him—tall, dark, devastatingly handsome, and the strength and tenacity the Scottish actor showed in his movie, 300. But honestly, Will is his own man, so it’s hard to encapsulate him in just one actor.

What celebrity is your heroine like:

You know, I’m not a writer who has a perfect mental picture of my characters, so this is a little tricky. But I would have to say that Lucinda has a bit of Diane Kruger in her looks-wise, and even in her personality. Both share an intelligence, strength, and sense of humor that make for an irresistible combination.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be
doing:

Oddly enough, this Regency Lady does have an occupation. Lady Lucinda is part owner in a Thoroughbred horse breeding endeavor. She shares her duties with the Furies, her highly entertaining—and occasionally trying—aunts. But no one knows that the women are the force behind what will become one of the most successful breeding businesses England has ever seen. So don’t tell!

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be
doing:

When not convincing beautiful widows to do away with their clothing, Will is a spy within an elite covert organization known as the Young Corinthians. He’s served crown and country for most of his life and dedicated himself heart and soul to the task.

What you think readers will like best about this book:

I’ve heard from readers that they are enjoying the return to classic historical romance that The Devil in Disguise presents, with a deeply emotional and moving story, vibrant characters, and high adventure while infusing the tales with a modern sensibility and sophistication.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:

Well, I’ve had many people ask for Will’s brother Michael’s story, so maybe he’ll be next. After the three books I’m working on currently, of course!

What’s next:

The smoldering series of undercover seduction and adventure continues in the second book of my Regency Rogues series, The Angel in My Arms, which will be released on June 28, 2011.

In The Devil in Disguise, a hidden truth is necessary to save a life. Would you be able to forgive someone for a lie if it was told to protect you?

Setting: Nantucket, Massachusetts
Subgenre: Romantic Suspense
Hero: Colton Lang
Heroine: Vivi Angelino

One sentence summary: When risk-taking PI Vivi Angelino steps into the stilettos of an A-list movie star as a body double to lure and trap a serial killer targeting Oscar winners, FBI agent Colton Lang will do anything to protect her…including throw his well-worn rule book away.

Scene you like most and would never cut: The mile-high lap dance. In this scene, Vivi Angelino is forced to do whatever it takes to keep FBI agent Colton Lang from blowing her cover. And it takes…creativity, nerve, and the ability to unzip thigh-high boots with your teeth.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “We have rules about things like that.”

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Lang uses words like malarkey and cockamamie and he likes to golf and live by the rules. And, whoa and damn, does he have a weakness for Vivi Angelino.

One quirky thing about your heroine: Vivi likes Lang…despite the fact that he uses words like malarkey and cockamamie and he likes to golf and live by the rules. (And a skateboard is her preferred mode of transportation around Boston.)

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: A private investigator and former reporter, Vivi is the founder and driving force behind a fledgling security and investigation firm, The Guardian Angelinos.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: He’s the Assistant Agent in Charge in the FBI’s Boston office, seeking a promotion to SAC in the LA office.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The combustible chemistry when opposites attract, and the surprising depth of the emotional impact of that. (They surprised me!)

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Gabe, Gabe, and more Gabe…the elusive secret agent cousin who swears constantly but wears a cross around his neck. What’s the deal with this gorgeous Gabriel? Devil or angel?

What’s next: Plenty of books coming in 2012, but right now I’m just enjoying the thrill of back to back releases in the Guardian Angelino series and the fun of seeing these characters brought to life.

At the heart of FACE OF DANGER is a love story about two people who, on the surface, seem completely wrong for each other, but are really a perfect fit. How do you feel about “opposites attract” love stories? Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or what?

Setting: Contemporary, Montana
Subgenre: Paranormal
Hero: Nick Chien
Heroine: Jessie Healy

One sentence summary:
A wounded Native American shapeshifter’s efforts to escape three blood-thirsty ghosts, places him at the mercy of an enemy healer with supernatural powers as dangerous as his own.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
My very favorite scene is when Jessie, a dream walker who visits the dreams of humans to help them recover from trauma, uses her gift to enter Nick’s dreams in an effort to discover if he is telling the truth. He is so badly injured that she has never actually seen what he looks like until this moment and she is so overtaken that she makes an unforgivable breech of ethics and makes love to him, knowing that he will not remember her intrusion upon waking…but he does. She is so snagged and the fallout is huge for them both. Boy, I love that scene.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
She hates Skinwalkers and has been trained since birth to see them as her deadly enemy. So she would never touch one, heal one, harbor one or love one. But then she does all of those.

What is your heroine’s occupation:
She’s a social worker who helps children overcome extreme mental trauma.

What is your hero’s occupation:
He runs a group of eco-friendly mutual funds and buys land to be preserved as wild space, because he is, after all, a wolf. He’s also a billionaire. Having a long life has such privileges.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
Watching two enemies discover that everything they think they know about each other is wrong as they battle the irresistible attraction for one another.

What’s next:

GOLD RUSH GROOM (Sept. 2011)
A greenhorn prospector is about to lose everything to the surf when a pretty hauler offers to rescue his gear if he’ll agree to be her partner until Dawson City.

SOUL STALKER (Dec. 19, 2011) In the next installment in my Tracker series, a Native American shape-shifting raven needs the help of an enemy, who can speak to the dead, in order to stop a supernatural killer.

For excerpts visit www.jennakernan.com.

QUESTION:
The heroes in my TRACKERS series include a grizzly bear, a timber wolf, a raven and soon, a buffalo. What animals would you like to see as a shapeshifter?

A Song for My Mother

Setting: Small town of Dreyerville, Michigan

Heroine: Marly Hanson

One sentence summary: A mother/daughter story. Marly and her mother face the dark secrets of their past to try and rebuild the love they once shared.

Scene you like most and would never cut: Where Reed’s friend Emily is desperate to find her lost little boy.

Thing your heroine refuses to face. The awful memories of her childhood.

Tell us one thing about your hero? Your heroine. Reed has faced grief and loss of his own, as Marly has done, which is why he understands her. Marly needs the kind of man who will stand by her, which Reed Bennett is.

What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Marly is a school teacher. She is determined not to get involved with Reed and return to Detroit where she has a job waiting.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Reed is the Sheriff of Dreyerville County.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The touching relationship that begins to grow between mother, daughter, and granddaughter, Katie

What’s next: Up next for me is the reprint coming in July of MAGNIFICENT PASSAGE, my very first novel, a Western Romance, with a fabulous new cover.

Do you think all mothers should do what they can to protect their children from adversity, or is it better to confront hardships as they come our way?

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? One of them is Quigley Down Under. Tom Selleck in a pair of chaps? Amazing!

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? Romantic action adventure.

3. What’s the first book you remember reading? One was Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor.

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Cinderella

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character? Bugs Bunny

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? Reading is my salvation, my escape from the problems of the world.

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? I’d probably be a real estate agent again–but I’d rather be an astrophysicist!

8. What do you do to unwind and relax? Have a glass of wine and sit on my deck looking out at the mountains and reading a book.

9. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? Coffee, for sure, with lots of cream.

10. What does love mean to you? Love means having someone there for you when you really need them. And being there for them when they need you.

11. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? The 1700’s would be torture. Those cages the women wore and only taking a bath once a month! The twenties, fashion wise would have been delicious.

12. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? Sage for a woman (but I’m starting a book with her in it next week!).

13. Dog person or cat person? Cat person. I love them!

Setting: England 1815
Subgenre: Historical
Hero: Mr. Diccan Hilliard
Heroine: Miss Grace Fairchild

One sentence summary:
When plain Grace Fairchild wakes up in bed with aristocratic Diccan Hilliard, she doesn’t only have a sudden marriage to deal with, but secrets that could destroy not just her marriage, but her life.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
My favorite moment is when Diccan tries to kick Grace out of the house she has inherited. Grace’s reaction is something I’ve wanted a heroine to do for a long time.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
The very last thing I can ever imagine Grace doing is having a temper tantrum. I don’t think it’s genetically possible.

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero?
His horse, described as the ugliest horse in Christendom, is named Gadzooks, and enjoys nothing better than biting the hand that feeds him.

Heroine:
Grace has filled her inherited home with packing crates. It’s what’s inside that is the surprise.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
From the time she was born, Grace has followed the drum with her father, living all across the world in military environs. She is an expert in moving, provisioning, nursing and making a home from nothing.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Diccan is a rising diplomat, who has, until recently, been stationed in Brussels. He also belongs to a group of aristocrats nicknamed Drake’s Rakes who clandestinely help protect England.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I hope what they like the best is Diccan’s growth, as he comes to know the stranger who is now his wife (did I say how much I love marriage of convenience books?)

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
That would be Lady Kate Seaton, who is Grace’s friend. But don’t worry, I’ve just finished Kate’s book.

What’s next:
ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS, which will come out in October. To protect her from dangerous traitors, Lady Kate Seaton is locked in a deserted estate with Major Sir Harry Lidge, the man who betrayed her ten years earlier.

And last but not least, when I was in India I bought a lovely ruby and emerald bracelet that I think would look gorgeous on somebody’s wrist. So I’ve decided to have a contest on my Facebook page, Goodreads and my website. Fun prizes will be copies of my books. The Grand Prize will be the bracelet. Stop by and take a chance. www.eileendreyer.com.

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Ooh, that’s a tough one. I’m a huge movie buff. But I’ll give it to The Quiet Man. First of all, I grew up on John Wayne movies(I have 5 brothers). And I’ve always believed that an alpha male needs an alpha female, and you can’t have an alpha couple better than John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. And boy, did those two have chemistry. A lovely romance, all in all. Not only that, it was filmed in one of my favorite spots on earth, Connemara, Ireland. Add a great supporting cast(who is better than Victor McLaughlin in anything?), and one of the best fight scenes ever filmed, and it’s a delight every time. (Great. Now I’m homesick for Ireland. Sigh. I’m going to have to pull it out and watch it….or Ryan’s Daughter, or Matchmaker, or Waking Ned Devine….)

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
Actually, it’s exactly what I’ve written in Never a Gentleman. My very favorite story is a marriage of convenience story. I simply love to watch two strangers negotiate what seems to be an impossible situation. They have to begin the journey resenting each other. They don’t want to be together. They don’t want to like each other. It’s only through work and, of course, chemistry, that they can see their way through. I think those HEAs, are particularly satisfying.

3. What’s the first book you remember reading?
The first book I remember is the Nancy Drew mystery, The Hidden Staircase. I know I’d read a lot before then. I haunted the library like Oliver Twist the orphanage’s dinner table. But for some reason, Nancy Drew was the first story I remember on its own. I think it was because ole Nance was such a kick-butt kinda girl. She really spoke to me. Not only that, she had a boyfriend, but he wasn’t the one solving the crime. It was Nancy.I really liked that.

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Hmmm. Sleeping Beauty and Snow White never much appealed to me. As you can guess from my love of Nancy Drew, I’m not wild about heroines who wait around for something to happen. I like a girl who takes matters into her own hands. I was going to say Tam Lin, because I love the idea of the heroine facing off with the Faerie Queen herself to save her love, but it occurred to me that Tam Lin wasn’t a very heroic male. He deflowers Janet, gets her pregnant, and then asks her to save him. Yeah. If it were my fairy tale, he’d be waiting a while for that to happen.

I love a strong heroine, but I like a strong hero just as much. So I choose Beauty and the Beast, because I love the idea of not only seeing the worth no one else does (in fact, that is the theme of NEVER A GENTLEMAN, although in reverse), but of taming the beast. And really, the two of them save each other. I think that’s the best kind of relationship.

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character?
Great question! I’m going with Daffy Duck. I love those anti-heroes. Especially if they have a great sense of humor. And tell me if you’ve ever heard anything funnier than What’s Opera, Doc? (Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit….)

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers?
I’ll be frank. I’m not writing radically different historical romance. I’m not going to invent a new genre. I love the standard stories. What I try and do is take the stories that I love and give them a few new twists and insights that make them completely mine.

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer?
First of all, a matter of clarification. I’ll always be a writer, even if I don’t publish anymore(quickly making gestures to ward off the evil eye). I actually tried to stop a couple of times. It didn’t work.

But if I weren’t published, I’d probably return to being a trauma nurse. What I’d really like to do, though, is organize specialized trips to places I love. Most people don’t know that I am the Queen of Internet Travel(you can follow my adventures on the Travel for Fun page of my website). I adore traveling, and sharing the places I’ve come to love with other people. I also love finding neat out-of-the-way places, and great deals. In fact, planning is half the fun of a trip for me. So, if somebody pays my way, I might just do that for a living.

8. What do you do to unwind and relax?
You asked at the perfect time of year. I have fallen in love with gardening. There is just something about playing in the dirt that is greatly satisfying for me. After all, the only thing flowers want from you is to be fed and watered. They don’t want an education, or the car keys, or a tattoo, or a deadline or revisions….they just want to bloom. I like that in flowers. My neighbor says he can always tell it’s spring when he sees me sitting in the dirt listening to spring training on the radio. Which, in fact, just happened today. Of course, I also read voraciously, I do needlework, I love movies, I walk, and oh, did I mention that I am addicted to traveling? Oh, and baseball? Go, Cardinals!

9. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Yes, thank you. Mostly I drink iced decaf tea with Sweet n Lo. Hot tea with Chinese food. But I have a favorite coffee shop, and if I don’t have iced coffee(a bit of skim milk and sweetener, thank you), I drink hot coffee with cinnamon, nutmeg, cream and sweetener.

10. What does love mean to you?
This is also a timely question. When I think of love, I think of my mom and dad, because nobody exemplified it better. And I just lost my dad recently, which has made me reflect. Let me tell you about him. He loved my mom until the day he died. He loved every one of us kids, and all of our spouses, and our children, his siblings and his friends. And what he gave to all of us was respect, laughter, tenderness, curiosity, imagination, courage, generosity, guidance,patience, and an ear for listening. A strong shoulder, a helping hand, and the firm belief that no one could be more special than the people he loved.

11. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why?
Oh, that’s an easy one. I look at women who lived during the Victorian era and wonder what the heck they were thinking. If the corsets didn’t kill me, the hoops would have. I am not especially coordinated. I’d be on my nose half the time with my bloomers showing.

Most?
Also easy. Regency. I don’t have an hourglass shape. I’m more straight up and down, which would be hidden beautifully with the Regency attire. In fact, I’ve spent a lot of my life in empire dresses. The only drawback would have been the fact that they weren’t notorious for dressing for the cold. I guess I wouldn’t have been very fashionable, because I like pneumonia just a bit less than I like corsets.

12. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet?
Actually, after 38 books, I’ve gotten to use pretty much every name I’ve wanted. My problem is that for some reason in every book I’ve written, the heroine turns into Maggie at least once. My copy editors have been great about catching it, but it has snuck through a few times. In fact, if my readers can find any, I give prizes. Just get in touch with me through my web site.

13. Dog person or cat person?
Yes. I grew up with animals, everything from gerbils to Great Danes!(great dogs!), often at the same time, and can’t ever imagine being without them. We lost our last dog two years ago(my lovely Molly, a black lab/ great dane mix). Since our children are now grown and we tend to travel a lot, we’ve decided that for now, we can’t have another dog. Dogs need their humans, especially Danes. I really don’t think it’s fair to a dog not to be there for him. So we have two cats. Cats will punish you for leaving, but it’s just the principle of the thing. As long as they have food and each other, they’re perfectly happy. Since my two are litter-mates, they’re wonderful together, even sleeping curled around each other. And they’re both affectionate boys(especially around dinnertime).

I love marriage of convenience books. I think there isn’t anything more satisfying than watching two near strangers navigate the rocky shoals of marriage together. What is your favorite story line and why? (Beauty and the beast? Love on the wrong side of the tracks? Reunion of old loves? Love and danger?…)

The Scent of Life

As authors, we talk a lot about how to evoke all the senses when we write, and I truly believe that a certain scent can take you back to a particular moment in your life just like a particular song can.

For instance, when I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to cuddle up to our parents in church, except during the long sermon. If I managed to finagle a seat next to my father, (there were a lot of us) I’d tuck my hand into the crook of his elbow, push my face against his coat and just breathe him in. Now my dad smelled of cigarette smoke, damp wool and beer, not perhaps the most pleasing of scents, but intrinsically him. When I catch that combination of smells forty years later, I still think of him.

So when I embarked on my Tudor Vampire series and we decided to use Rose in the titles, I thought a lovely complement to the books would be a rose scent. Considering that roses aren’t native to England, they are very entwined with British history. The rose is the national flower of England, and we’ve all probably heard of the War of the Roses and the Tudor Rose that united the two warring factions.

I was lucky enough to connect with Julie at Latherati on Etsy and between us we came up with a unique rose-based scent using Tudor herbs and spices to promote the books. The fragrance is packaged in miniature bottles and bars of soap that are ideal to carry in your purse.

I’ll be giving away a copy of ‘Blood of the Rose’ book #2 in the Tudor Vampire Chronicles and a set of rose soap and perfume to one commenter. Here’s my question: What are your favorite scents and why?

Kate Pearce
http://www.katepearce.com

ALMOST HOME by Mariah Stewart
On sale 3/22/2011

Setting: St. Dennis, Maryland’s Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay
Subgenre: contemporary romance/women’s fiction
Hero: Wade MacGregor
Heroine: Steffie Wyler

One sentence summary:

I’ve never been able to sum up any of my books in one sentence!
Steffie and Wade have been circling around each other for most of their lives.
When Steffie was thirteen, she mapped out her life goals: Make ice cream; marry Wade; live happily ever after.
She’s thirty now, and starting to think that maybe one out of three may not be too bad – but she’s never stopped fantasizing that Wade will come back and sweep her off her feet.
Stef’s thrilled when she finds out that Wade is back in town – but the thrill turns to a chill (sorry – couldn’t resist!) when she realizes that he hasn’t come back alone, and that reality isn’t going to live up to her fantasy.

Scene you like most and would never cut:

There are several. I really love the scene where Wade finally tells Steffie what really happened in Texas. He puts it all out there and it’s emotional and hard for him to talk about, but he knows he owes her the truth.

But I also love the scenes between Steffie and her best friend, Vanessa Keaton – particularly the scene with the Ouija board! I’ve had readers tell me they wish they had either of these two as their best friend!

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:

Silly boy, of course I’ll give up my business and the wonderful life I’ve built for myself to follow you anywhere!

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:

Stef owns a business she started from scratch – an ice cream shop called One Scoop or Two?
She makes all her ice cream herself and spends a lot of time working on new flavors that are distinctly hers.
She’s justifiably proud of her success.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:

Wade owned a successful brewery in Texas called KenneMac Brews. He was an inspired brewmeister – one who spent a lot of time working on new and distinct flavors of beer.
Right now he is unemployed, but he’s got a job offer working for another brewery.

What you think readers will like best about this book:

I think readers will love to see how things work out for Steffie. Readers tell me that they adore Steffie and were waiting for her to have her own book, so I hope I did her justice.
They’ll see a side of Wade that no one will expect. I’ve enjoyed watching their relationship change and grow.

I think readers enjoy the interaction of all the characters in St. Dennis. There will be a few new ones introduced, but everyone from the first two books is still in around, so you know that Grace Sinclair will offer her commentary on events via her diary entries, and there’s still some question of whether or not there’s some magical something going on in Vanessa’s house. Actually, there are surprises for a lot of characters in this book!

There are secrets – old and new – to be revealed, and
wrongs to be made right – just like in any real town where real people live. And just like in a real town, there are moments of fun and laughter and warmth, and moments of sorrow and pain and fear, all the emotions that we all experience in our lives.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:

I still get mail every week asking for a book about Jack McGowan (brother of Daria – LAST BREATH – and Sam – PRICELESS)- I actually had another one this morning! I just haven’t found the right story for him, so poor Jack is still lost in the jungle somewhere in South America!

What’s next:

HOME TOWN GIRL will be published in October. I’m betting that by the time readers get to the end of ALMOST HOME, they’ll have a pretty good idea of who that girl is, and who the guy will be who tries to win her heart.

Both Steffie and Wade have started their own businesses. If you could start up a business of your own – if you had the backing and the time - what kind of business would it be?
Giveaway - US only — 5 randomly chosen commenters - good luck!

About Me:
1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Forrest Gump!
2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? I read everything, but I do enjoy a good thriller!
3. What’s the first book you remember reading? The Golden Books – Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Engine That Could (remember those???)
4. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? How very much I appreciate them and love hearing from them! I resisted Facebook because frankly, I thought I’d hate it – but I’ve “met” so many wonderful readers there that I have to admit I really enjoy it.
5. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? I think I’d have to go with retired. I can’t think of anything else I’d ever want to do.
6. What do you do to unwind and relax? Read and garden. Bird-watch. Spend time with my family. Go out to lunch with my daughters.
7. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? Coffee, please, with half & half and Sweet & Low
8. Dog person or cat person? I really love all animals, but I’m definitely a dog person. Right now we have Riley, our almost-12 year old golden retriever, and Bowie, a two year old rescue boy – he’s part retriever, part shepherd, part hound of some kind (he has a hound voice!). And since the younger of our daughters came home to go to law school, we also have her Jack Russell terrorizer…er, terrier – Carson Palmer (yes, named for the Bengals quarterback – what can I say? The ex-boyfriend who gave her the dog was from Cincinnati!). Carson bullies the big boys like you wouldn’t believe – and they let her get away with it. She’s such a diva!