Q&A Interview with Sidney Ayers, Author of Demons Prefer Blondes

Sidney Ayers, Author of Demons Prefer Blondes,

visits for Q&A at Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf

By the way - I love your website brand “Sinfully Snarky Paranormal Romance”! And scanning your blog entries made me hungry for breakfast. :-)

SA: French Toast sandwiches are evil, huh? But not as evil as the fudge recipes I used to post.

Q1. This a favorite question I ask authors who write series: When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

SA: Each book is stand alone, so I tend to plot each book separately. However, I do have an idea which characters I want to have their “Happily Ever Afters” with.

Q2. I note that you like to use humor in your writing. Do you incorporate that through visual imagery, dialogue or some other special way?

SA: A little of everything. Dialogue, action, and imagery all combined into a huge smorgasbord of snark.

Q3. You write in several genres. Do you have more than one Work in Progress in different genres? Does this ever get confusing?

SA: Right now I am concentrating on the Demons Unleashed series. I do have several WIPs in different genres that I intend to polish and finish up when I have time. I cannot balance projects well, so I do better when working on one at a time. That’s why I have so many unfinished manuscripts.

Q4. Does your voice change when you write in different genres?

SA: For my erotic fantasy, it didn’t really change. It’s still pretty sarcastic and snarky. The historical I was working on does have a different voice. Sarcasm doesn’t translate well in the Regency time. 

Q5. What kind of research have you done for your Demon series? Did you do anything "hands on" or unusual when researching these books?

SA: Sorry, but I’m a little too chicken to actually do anything “hands on” where demons are concerned. *giggles* For research,  I’ve scanned a few demonology books and websites. I also watched a few of those cheesy paranormal investigation shows. Horror movies, like Omen and The Exorcist are great inspiration too.

Q6. In Demons Prefer Blondes what is something your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying?

SA: She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing pointy toe, high heeled shoes. She prefers the comfort of tennis shoes. She calls them torture devices in the book.

Q7. Do you have an ancillary character that you had the most fun with?

SA: Gerardo, all the way. He’s so very flamboyant and fun. Squeaky holds a special place in my heart too.

Q8.  Do your work career/hobbies/interests influence your writing?

SA:  I am a computer tech by trade. It doesn’t affect my writing, but helps me with saving money hiring a web designer. I also find ways to incorporate my craft hobbies into promo. I made bookmark charms from shrink dinks. Talk about channeling your inner child.

Q9. Do you read for pleasure and if so who are your favorite authors to read?

SA: I’ll  read anything that piques my interest. I am one of those people that will pick up a book just from a blurb alone. However, I did thoroughly enjoy Katie MacAlister’s Aisling Grey novels.

Q10. If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be? 

SA:  If I could be any demon, I’d be the demon of…

Thank you so much for sharing a bit about your author life with us.

SA: You’re welcome. It’s been fun!

DEMONS PREFER BLONDES BY SIDNEY AYERS – IN STORES JUNE 2011

A Bad Day For A Demon

Rafe Deleon is a senior demon and he resents like hell his assignment to Earth to retrieve the Chest of the Damned before it falls into the wrong hands. But then he meets beautiful, intriguing succubus Lucy Gregory, and she’s just unleashed a whole load of trouble…

Really Sucks For A Succubus

Lucy’s chic suburban beauty salon has suddenly become the Underworld’s center of mass chaos and destruction. The only good thing in a day going rapidly down the tubes is the arrival of a gorgeous demon who’s adamant that he can help her…

But Lucy has quite a few deeply unpleasant—not to mention deadly and hateful—surprises ahead of her, and surely there’s never been a worse time to try out a new boyfriend…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sidney Ayers writes light paranormal and erotic romance. Her manuscripts have won or placed in the MORWA Gateway to the Best, the Valley of the Sun Hot Prospects, the Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight, the Heart of Denver Molly, and the Finally a Bride contests. She lives in Michigan where she is working on the next book in the Demons Unleashed series, Demons Like it Hot—in stores December 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.sidneyayers.com/.

Q&A Interview with Matt Dunn, Author of Ex-Girlfriends United

Today we say hello to Matt Dunn the author of the fun story, Ex-Girlfriends United.

Q1. How did you get started writing romantic comedy?

MATT:  I'd wanted to write a novel for a while, and I had a rough idea about a group of friends and their relationships, but didn't know where - or how - to start. Then I read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, and it was a revelation; I thought it was the best, most entertaining book I'd ever come across. Reading that made me think there might be an audience for the kind of thing I wanted to write. So I sat down at my laptop and started typing.

Q2. Is that what you set out to write?

MATT:  Very much so. I basically wanted to write High Fidelity. Six books later, I'm still trying.

Q3. Do you have plans to write any other genres?

MATT:  I'm writing something a little more serious at the moment. It's still a romance, but I'm finding it hard to keep the jokes out of it, so I guess I'd better stick to what I know!

Q4. Do you include personal experiences in your writing?

MATT:  All the time. A frightening amount of the things I write about have happened to me in some way, shape, or form. Though I of course reserve the right to embellish them for comic effect. Even though they may not have seemed that funny at the time.

Q5. What do you like, or dislike about promotion?

MATT:  I like it all. It gives me a chance to write something different, whether it's a magazine feature, something for a newspaper, a short story, or even a guest blog piece. Plus author events are fun - it's great to meet people who like what you write. Remember, for most authors, the majority of the year is spent in a darkened room with just our laptops and the characters we create for company. It's therefore a refreshing change to interact with real people!

Thank you for sharing.
Please see my review and Giveaway of the ARC copy which is posted next.

Q&A Interview with Neil Cullan McKinlay, Author of From Mason to Minister

Please help me welcome Neil Cullan McKinlay for a brief Author chat at Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf.

Q1.  I'm always interested to discover the story behind the story. Where did you get the inspiration and the courage to write From Mason to Minister: Through the Lattice?

Neil:  Two interesting words in your question jump out at me: “inspiration” and “courage”. I think that the inspiration to write From Mason To Minister came from having such a good story to tell! Not everyone enters into Freemasonry searching for God. And who would have thought that I’d find exactly what I was looking for? I wanted to tell everyone how this happened. However, I thought it would add to the reader’s interest if I painted in a bit of the background to the whole thing. So, essentially I’ve written a memoir which relates the story of how I went from being a confused non-Christian to fully embracing Christianity. The bonus part of my book is that I went from being a Freemason to becoming a Presbyterian Minister.

Now, regarding the “courage” aspect of your question, writing a book that makes many allusions to Freemasonry and some of the inner workings of the Lodge does, now that you mention it, take a certain amount of courage. Masons take oaths and vow to never disclose certain things about the Lodge. Some Masons see this as a promise to say virtually nothing at all about Masonry, while others realize that it is a promise only to conceal and never reveal the rituals and modes of recognition and perhaps some other things. This is not because Masonry is clandestine, but is simply to guard those distinctives that make Freemasonry what it claims to be, i.e., “a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.” Thus, on the one hand, “courage” was needed in the face of the possibility that Freemasons may accuse me of saying too much, and on the other, that some Christians may disparage me for not fully exposing what they think is a purely occultist organization! But, because a vow is vow, I tried hard not be for or against Freemasonry, but only to tell me story as it related to the Lodge.

I agree you had an interesting story to tell and I think you did a very fine job of balancing the disclosed history and impact of Freemasonry while maintaining respect for not revealing details of the rituals.
Q2.  Since you were writing from your personal experiences did you experience any extra special difficulty?

Neil: I think in some ways writing from personal experience made things a little easier. I only had to remember things rather than have to come up with new ideas. I guess if there was any extra special difficulty it was in the thought that, here is a man in relative obscurity writing what essentially is his life-story, his memoirs. It’s not like I’m a pop or rock star, a famous actor or some celebrity. These are the people that seem to attract most people’s attention. Having read some of the bestselling books by author Dan Brown, such as The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and, The Lost Symbol in which books he makes a lot of references to Freemasonry (especially in The Lost Symbol), I knew that many readers have a great interest in knowing what Freemasons do and want to know what the Lodge is all about. The extra special difficulty for me was in the fact that I wasn’t writing a book about Freemasonry, but rather about me searching for and finding God – in which Freemasonry played a large and leading part. If it were fiction I could make it as exciting as you like! But I had to restrict myself to fact. The end result is, I believe, that readers of From Mason To Minister will find it an interesting, informative, and most of all, edifying read.

Informative and edifying are excellent descriptor words for your memoir.

Q3.  As I read From Mason to Minister I really enjoy the easy phrasing and prose as well as the scripture references. Did this come naturally to you as “thoughts” or was it something you had to work at?

Neil: I’m happy to hear that you enjoy the easy phrasing! I think preparing Sunday sermons for years helped with the easy phrasing aspect of my writing. Part of a preacher’s job is to take complex and profound (scriptural) ideas and present them in an understandable way. This technique has spilled over into my writing. Yes, genre and intended audience must be considered, but even when writing academic papers and theological treatises, easy phrasing helps to relay the message. In other words, wouldn’t the reader rather that the writer do all the difficult work beforehand, rather than the reader having to labor hard to understand what the writer is trying to communicate? For the reader prose is a labor-saving device! Also, one of the goals of a preacher/teacher of the Gospel is to teach others how to apply the scriptures in their daily lives, i.e., to think scripturally – as in weighing up everything in the light of the whole Bible. Therefore, I find that after years of hard work on my part that scripture references now tend to come to me naturally!

I had not thought about the skills you learned in preparing sermons but that makes good sense and I think I spotted that even more so in the later portion of the book.
Q4.  Could you please share one surprising thing about your experience writing this book, or about something else related to your career as a writer.

Neil: I hope this is not too subtle or cryptic, but in my book I mention that I had attended church for a brief spell in my late teens. The only thing I can remember from any of the preacher’s sermons was a funny anecdote he told about an astronaut. Then later on in the book I relate how the painting of an astronaut my big brother Fearghas had painted (it’s on the book’s front cover) had been used by God in my conversion. The surprising thing is that I hadn’t drawn the connection between these two astronauts till after I had received and had read a published copy of my book. This seems to me as if God has a sense of humor! It was as if God had used the preacher to plant the astronaut image in my mind with the purpose of revisiting it later in my life to use in my conversion. The first astronaut is back on earth speaking with friends about a place with no atmosphere. The second astronaut is adrift in the atmosphere with no friends, gasping for air and crying out to God. Yes, “Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there.”

Oh yes - I definitely think God as a wonderful sense of humor!

Q5. Do you have any rituals that help you get in the mood to focus and write?

Neil: As reading scripture before praying helps to get me into a praying mood, so reading other people’s work helps to get me into a writing mood. I usually match genre for genre when it comes to my reading and my writing. If I’m writing fiction then that’s what I’m reading. No, I’m not seeking to emulate others, but only to educate myself. I guess it’s a case of input producing output. But, I suppose boiling the kettle and pouring myself some green tea to sip while writing sounds a bit more like a ritual. Each sip is as a pause for a moment’s reflection.

*smile* I drink lots of green tea during the winter but not so much now that it is summer.

Q6. Was your family supportive of this book effort?

Neil: All our kids are married and have left home. I would on occasion bounce ideas off of Dorothy just to get her thoughts – which she was happy to give. My biggest support came from my eldest brother Fearghas. With Fearghas living in Scotland and me living in Australia there were plenty of email exchanges. Fearghas gave me a great deal of encouraging support.

I caught in the book that you seemed to have a particularly strong relationship with Fearghas. So nice to have that support not only from a friend but a friend who is a brother in fact and in Christ.
Q7. Do you plan to write any other books in the future?

Neil: Try stopping me! I currently have a few book-sized manuscripts looking for the right publishers. It’s a great shame that very few publishers accept unsolicited material. However, I do understand the great tomes of manuscripts they would have to wade through to find even one worthy of publishing. I suppose becoming published helps put an author in a privileged position to get the ear of potential publishers. At the moment I’m trying my hand at writing a historical fiction piece with the emphasis on fiction. In it I get to experiment with some theological principles, such as, e.g., will the aging process be slowed down in the future (optimistic Postmillennial) Millennium? (See e.g. Isaiah 65:17-25, verse 20 in particular).

Your fiction manuscript sounds interesting too! Best wishes on those publishing efforts.

Q8. Do you have any advice you would share with other aspiring authors?

Neil: I know I’ve already mentioned that there’re few publishers accepting unsolicited material, but aspiring authors should try hard to find and approach publishers suited to their genre. Finding the right publisher is like falling in love and getting married, it’s a two-way affair. You need to be prepared to woo them. And be prepared to listen to their advice without feeling threatened. Whereas writers are focused on writing, publishers see the big picture which includes returns on their investment. 

Good words of wisdom. I think many author's get a real shock when they finally get their book completed and they not only have to find a publisher but then they realize that they have to promote as well.

Q9. What do you hope your readers will get from reading this book?

Neil: I hope that readers will want to pick up the Bible and read it, and that they will see God displayed in the handiwork of the things that He has created in the light of what they read. I hope that those readers who already know God will know a closer walk with Him after reading my book, and that God will be pleased to use my book (as one little source) to challenge those who don’t know Him to seek Him in His Word!

I will say a hearty "Amen" to that.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts today and your memoir for reading interest.
My review post and Giveaway of this interesting book will be posted tomorrow, June 14.

Q&A Interview with Grace Burrowes, Author of The Soldier

Please help me to welcome author Grace Burrowes to Martha's Bookshelf today.

First let me say Congratulations on the success of your debut novel, The Heir, which has reached #31 on The New York Times eBook Fiction Bestseller List! That is a great achievement.

Q1.  I'm always interested to discover the story behind the story. Where did the inspiration for The Heir and The Soldier come from?

Grace: Thanks for the congrats! Making any list, much less THAT list caught me completely by surprise. As for The Heir and The Soldier…. There I was, minding my own business, scribbling away on the story of Douglas, Lord Amery and his dear Guinevere, and a complication popped up in the person of our own Gayle, the Earl of Westhaven. As readers know, Gayle was at one time engaged to Gwen, though that’s a story for another day. When I’d completed Gwen and Douglas’ manuscript, Gayle stuck in my mind—a younger son headed for the law, having to step into the role of heir while the family finances were in serious disarray and the Duke of Moreland yammers ceaselessly about holy matrimony… A good looking, single fellow with that many problems must be in want of a romance novel.

And again, I was minding my own business, scribbling away at Anna and Westhaven’s little book, and lo, out of the early morning mists of Hyde Park, comes this other fellow on his steed, none other than Devlin St. Just. Did anybody tell me Westhaven had an older half-brother? No, they did not. Am I complaining? No, I am not, but I am a little curious to know what other details this family is holding back on me and my readers.

Q2.  When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

Grace: As is likely apparent from the foregoing, I am a victim of a mischievous imagination. Even for the books where I think I have the plot’s architecture figured out, I get thrown curve balls.

Q3.  Is there an ancillary character in your books that you had a lot or fun with? Might they appear in a future book?

Grace: Better to ask if there’s an ancillary character who isn’t going to appear in a future book! I was a little worried about Morgan, the hearing-impaired younger sister of the heroine in The Heir, because she had a significant crush on Lord Val even though she’s too young for him (at seventeen). Lately she has seen fit to admit this and a more suitable fellow has dropped into her life.

Valentine, of course, gets the next book. Douglas (Lord Amery), Heathgate, Greymoor, Viscount Fairly, Hadrian Bothwell, and a score of others all have books at least drafted, as do three of the Windham sisters.

Q4.  What would you say makes a romance novel a great love story?

Grace: Romance novels are essentially stories of courage and perseverance. It takes buckets and buckets of courage to trust another person, to become vulnerable to them and to accept their trust and vulnerability in return. In most novels, this already rocky relationship road gets further complicated by serious external problems, so when the happily ever after arrives, the characters have had to suffer—but suffer productively—to win through. We all want to know we’re lovable, we all want to know our suffering isn’t pointless. Romance novels that are well written address these fundamental needs.

Q5.  In your previous guest post you shared an interesting research tidbit about sidesaddles. Would you please share another surprising thing about your experience writing these books, or about your research?

Grace: OK, you asked for it: I toured a house in Edinburgh preserved as its wealthy owners furnished it circa 1811. Right there in the dining room, on a lower shelf of the gorgeous sideboard where all the food would be displayed, was a lovely old chamber pot. It had a special little niche where it sat until the ladies would withdraw, and the gentlemen would heed nature’s call while the port was passed around. I’d thought this practice was reserved for drunken lords of Georgian years, but I was wrong.

Q6.  Is any of your writing from your own experiences or is it completely your imagination?

Grace: This is an interesting question, because the grist for the imaginative mill is directly or indirectly my experiences. I love to bake, for example, so when Emmie punches down bread dough, I know exactly how that sounds, feels, and smells. I’ve done a lot of horseback riding, and I have a degree in music. (Westhaven is nudging me to also admit I’m a lawyer.) But I’ve never been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, never tried to parent a child I wasn’t related to, never fired a gun at anything living. I guess it’s a mix.

Q7.  Do your work career/hobbies/interests influence your writing?

Grace: Absolutely.  As noted above, I rode, I played the piano, and so forth. Then too, as a lawyer, I deal daily with unsalvageable relationships. It’s gratifying to be able as an author to take a relationship that appears to be in dire straits and have everything come up roses for the characters. 

 

Q8.  When you get time to read what authors do you read?

Grace: JR Ward, Mary Balogh, Loretta Chase, Robin Kaye, Carolyn Jewel, Sophia Nash, Meredith Duran, Julia Quinn, Julia Ann Long… so many books, so little time!

Q9.  What do you hope your readers get out of your books?

Grace: A few hours of entertainment, a smile and a sigh, a way to forget whatever mundane sand is getting into their gears so life doesn’t feel quite as burdensome.

Q10.   If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

Grace: Gads… How about, once upon a time there was handsome swain minding his own business, and along came….

Thank you for taking time to share. And thanks for writing wonderfully entertaining books.

THE SOLDIER BY GRACE BURROWES—

IN STORES JUNE 2011

Even in the quiet countryside he can find no peace...

His idyllic estate is falling down from neglect and nightmares of war give him no rest. Then Devlin St. Just meets his new neighbor...

Until his beautiful neighbor ignites his imagination...

With her confident manner hiding a devastating secret, his lovely neighbor commands all of his attention, and protecting Emmaline becomes Deviln’s most urgent mission.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace Burrowes is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Heir, also a 2010 Publishers Weekly Book of the Year. She is a practicing attorney specializing in family law and lives in rural Maryland, where she is working on the next books chronicling the loves stories of the Windham family. Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish will be in stores in October 2011, and The Virtuoso will be in stores in November 2011, with more to come in 2012!  For more information, please visit www.graceburrowes.com. 

For a chance to win a copy of this AWESOME book - check my Review and Giveaway Post.

Q&A Interview with Katie Lane, Author of Going Cowboy Crazy and Make Mine a Bad Boy

Today please help me welcome author, Katie Lane.

1Q. When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

Katie:  I have never sat down to write a series.  It always happens about halfway through the first book.  An Ah-ha moment so to speak.

2Q. What inspired you to write this genre?

Katie:  Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss

3Q.  Do your work career/hobbies/interests influence your writing?

Katie:  Everything influences my writing.  The monster truck with the flapping flags that passed me on the freeway.  The twins the mother was trying to corral at the grocery store.  The friendly people of west Texas.  The neighbor’s dog.  Pretty much everything. 

4Q.  Did you find anything "hands on" or unusual required when researching these books?

Katie:  I traveled to west Texas a couple times.  I said it was for research, but mostly I just went because I love the people and BBQ.

5Q.  Do your characters live with you or haunt your dreams as you write?

Katie:  Both.  My husband jokes that he needs to add on another room.  And when I’m deep into a story, a night doesn’t go by that I don’t dream about my characters.

Thank you, Katie for sharing your humor in your answers and your books! 
Check out the Review and Giveaway post for a chance to win BOTH books!

Q&A Interview with Margaret Mallory, Author of The Guardian

Please join me in welcoming Margaret Mallory today at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

1Q. When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

MM:  I didn’t know I would get published when I wrote Knight of Desire and wrote it with no plan for a series. Fortunately, there was a great secondary character who emerged in that book and then in Knight of Pleasure who begged for his own book and became the obvious choice for the next hero.

That worked out well, but when I started this new series, I wanted to have it more planned out. I did character sketches of all four heroes and heroines and their basic relationship conflicts. Over the series, I’ll have each hero accomplish an important step toward securing their imperiled clan. I wish I could say I have the plot worked out for all four books, but I don’t! 

2Q  When researching a book, have you ever found anything "hands on" or unusual required?

MM:  I was lucky to be able to visit Scotland last summer. It made a big difference to see the castles and countryside I was writing about in this series. I also found places that I hadn’t planned to include in my books but decided I had to work in.

I wanted to see Stirling Castle, in particular, to find out if the scenes I set there in THE GUARDIAN would work. Was the outer close as big as it looked in pictures? Would my heroine be breathless after running across it?

3Q. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this time period?

MM:  I prefer my men wielding swords, so that helped set my time period.
For a historical backdrop, I look for a time of conflict and great change. I decided to set my series in the wake of the Scots devastating defeat to Henry VIII’s forces in 1513 at the Battle of Flodden. Thousands of Scots were killed, including the Scottish king and many nobles and chieftains. I have my four heroes fighting in France at the time, and they return to find their clan in peril, their king and chieftain dead, and everything changed.

4Q Is any of your writing from personal experiences or is it completely imagination?

MM:  I definitely drew on my personal experience in portraying Sìleas as a funny-looking, late-blooming, thirteen-year-old in chapter 1. It gave me great satisfaction to make this ugly duckling blossom into a beauty who knocks the hero’s socks off when he returns five years later.

5Q. Do your characters live with you or haunt your dreams as you write?

MM:  They are pretty much my life. ;)  Sometimes I can’t get to sleep because I’m thinking about them. I keep a tablet on the bathroom counter so I can write things down and get back to sleep.

Visit my review post to enter the GIVEAWAY for The Guardian.

Q&A Interview with Roxanne St. Claire

Please help me welcome Roxanne St. Claire to Reviews at Martha's Bookshelf.

Q1. I love series and I like to ask this question:  When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?

 

Roxanne:  It really depends on what the publisher is expecting.  When I proposed my first series, I only plotted one book, but laid out how the series might unfold.  That ended up being eight books and two novellas.  With the Guardian Angelinos, I plotted the first book and identified future heroes and heroines, as well as their possible storylines. 

I write stand alone books in a series.  They are sometimes very loosely connected stories, but the story never requires someone to read another book in the series.  For me, as a reader, that is critical; I don’t want to feel like I’ve missed something.  The characters will reoccur and might even have an arc from one book to the next, but job number one is to make each individual book awesome on its own, then make sure the “world” of the series is behind it.

Q2. What most inspires your plots?

Roxanne:  I ask myself three questions:

1.  First, about the characters I have in mind:  How can I make this person’s life hellacious?

2.  And about the series: What kind of story would my readers love to read in this series?

3.  And then about the problem the characters have to face: What if THIS happened to THAT person? 

Usually, after I answer those three questions, the threads of a plot start to tickle my brain and I begin to weave them into a story.

Q3. Is there an ancillary character you had the most fun with while writing the Guardian Angelinos series?

Roxanne:  Uncle Nino!  This 80-something (he won’t tell) year old Italian (grandfather to the Rossi family, great uncle to the Angelino cousins) is the glue that holds the entire series together!  He loves to cook, solve puzzles, dole out wisdom, and get involved in the lives of the Rossis and Angelinos.  He is employee #3 of the Guardian Angelinos (twins Zach and Vivi Angelino are #1 and #2) and he’s in every book in the series so far.  Readers love  him, and his recipes, many of which are on my web site.

Q4. Have you had to do any unique research or what was one of the most surprising things you learned in researching for any of your books? 

Roxanne:  I had to research bioterrorism for the plot in SHIVER OF FEAR, and that was kind of frightening and eye-opening.  The poison used as a tool of terrorism in SHIVER OF FEAR is purified botulinium toxins.  That would be…botox.  Obviously, there are huge benefits to this substance.  (Ask any movie star!)  But, in the wrong hands (as it was in my book), botulinium can be turned into a gaseous form and released into the air, causing paralysis and death to anyone who breathes it…and they won’t know for a few days.  Terrifying.

Q5.  If you could have a theme song for the Guardian Angelinos, what would it be? And/or do you have a dream cast for your books? 

Roxanne:  I never answer the dream cast question!  If someone wants to make my books into a movie, I’ll be thrilled with whoever they cast.  A theme song is a very interesting thought, though.  It would have to be emotional, yet hard driving, with an irresistible beat and an unforgettable melody.  I’ll have to work on that one!

Shiver of Fear Image Cover

Face of Danger - Cover Image

Author Image and Profile

Shiver of Fear - Excerpt

Face of Danger - Excerpt

BlogTalkRadio - Romantic Suspense Interview w/ Roxanne

Roxanne's Sites:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads

Q&A Interview with Ciji Ware, Author of A Race to Splendor

Please help me give a warm welcome to Author Ciji Ware.

Q1. I'm always interested to discover the story behind the story. Where did the inspiration for A Race to Splendor come from?

Ciji:  When we first moved to San Francisco from Southern California in 1998, we rented a flat four blocks from the fable Fairmont Hotel, atop Nob Hill.  I soon discovered the apartment house had been designed and built by Julia Morgan, the first licensed woman architect in the state, in the wake of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and firestorm. Not long afterward, I learned that Morgan, at the mere age of 34, had also gotten the commission to restore the badly scarred Fairmont in a year’s time, all of which seemed incredible. I started digging and the story turned out to be so amazing…I knew immediately I had the subject for my next historical, A Race to Splendor—right in my own backyard!

Q2. Tell us one surprising thing about your experience writing this book, or about the research for this book.

Ciji: I was amazed to learn that the famous architect, Stanford White of New York (who built, among many stellar buildings, the Washington Square Arch), was originally hired post-quake in 1906 to restore the wounded Fairmont.  Three weeks after he got the job, he was murdered by his lover’s husband!  
In the chaos following the quake and fire in San Francisco, all the other local designers and builders were taken, except for the “Lady Architect,” who, at that point in her fledgling career, had a hard time getting hired--so Julia Morgan got the gig! It was a fluke, really.  Later on, she gained great fame as the architect and builder of the Shangri-la known as Hearst Castle on the central California coast—constructed during the years 1919 to 1947.

Q3.  Which did you find more difficult: writing nonfiction or fiction?

Ciji: This may sound strange, but I spent 23 years of my earlier career as a working reporter and on-air commentator, meeting deadlines every day when I was a broadcaster for ABC in Los Angeles.  For me, writing news and nonfiction was a “job” and I gained the confidence, toiling all those years, to do my “just the facts, ma’am” assignments with no fuss, no muss.  There was no time or room to indulge in “writer’s bloc.”  Writing fiction has always been for me an absolutely pleasure, and I suppose having to produce words each day for all those years with no excuses has rendered me one of those writers who simply write and don’t agonize over it much.

Q4. Is any of your writing from your own experiences or is it completely your imagination?

Ciji: My nonfiction (the latest of which is Rightsizing Your Life:  Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most) has parts of my own story woven throughout all the factual and prescriptive material in such a “self-help” genre.  When it comes to fiction, my commitment to getting the facts right (even if I’m chasing a story that’s two-hundred-years old) has brought after researching and writing six historical novels to the subject of “What were the women doing in history?”  And that’s probably because I was “the only woman in the room” years ago in many of my on-air jobs--a female broadcasting pioneer, I guess you’d say—and so I’m always seeking to find other women in earlier eras who broke those barriers in their fields.  I found women playwrights at Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres in London; I discovered women musicians in the court of Marie Antoinette; I uncovered women artists working for Josiah Wedgwood in his pottery factories.  I think my own experiences of working in fields dominated in the twentieth century mostly by men has been a central theme in my own fiction.

Q5. Do your work career/hobbies/interests influence your writing?

Ciji: It’s kind of the other way around!  After I wrote my first historical, Island of the Swans, a biographical historical centered on the life of Jane Maxwell, the 4th Duchess of Gordon,  I became what my husband of 35 years fondly calls “a Scot-o-manic,” dressing everyone in a kilt whenever the occasion slightly called for it.  During that period, I learned Scottish country dancing and even joined a troupe (akin to American square dancing), and, after living and working in New Orleans for a year writing Midnight on Julia Street, I became a passionate devotee of southern specialties like gumbo and grits and even bought a guest house in the French Quarter!

Q6. How long does it take to research and write your books?

Ciji: That’s actually been a problem in my career—I cannot research and write a decent historical novel in a year.  Because I’m such a stickler for the facts--and because I earn a living by my writing; it’s not a hobby--I have to work simultaneously at writing jobs that actual pay money. That has meant I always had a “day job” writing, as with my 17 years at ABC in LA, or I’d stop to write a nonfiction book which I found paid a living wage, or take a gig, as I did last year, writing a 9-part series for AARP, The Magazine.  Since my background was as a reporter (and even with the Internet saving huge amounts of time), I still insist on “going there” to see and experience what I’m writing about.  That has meant eight trips to Scotland; many to France, New Orleans, Natchez, or wherever else I set my books, since the setting is just as much a “character” in my books as the heroines and heroes.  My first novel took five years; Wicked Company took three; and I managed to do the paranormal historicals like Julia Street, A Light on the Veranda, and A Cottge by the Sea in two years.  My publishers would rather it be different, but they know I’m not a lazy bones…just fanatically thorough, I guess you’d say.

Q7. Do your characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?

Ciji: I feel the most awful pang when I finish the book and the characters stick with me for months afterward.  I’m currently having dreadful separation anxiety from Amelia Hunter Bradshaw and J.D. Thayer in A Race to Splendor.  These two, in particular, have been hard to let go of as I almost get the sense that they’re still walking around Nob Hill!  We’re having a big launch and costume party for the book at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel this month, and I fully expect Amelia and J.D. and maybe the “real” Julia Morgan to show up.  Many people will be in 1906 attire as we’re holding the event on the eve of the 105th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake and firestorm.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll turn up?

Q8.  Do you have any rituals that help you get in the mood to sit down and write?

Ciji:  A cup of tea by my side—but away from the keyboard, as I have twice tipped liquid into my laptop. Aaaarg!

Q9. What do you hope your readers get out of your books?

Ciji: I write to entertain and enlighten and I hope my readers, especially of the new one, A Race to Splendor, will come away from the book dazzled by the courage and moxie it took for these fabulous women to excavate and renovate a gorgeous beaux arts hotel in 1906-07! I also want them to revel in the story of a woman, Amelia Bradshaw (a composite character based on the lives of the people who worked with Julia Morgan restoring the Fairmont to its former splendor), who struggled with the same issues that many working women—and men—face: how to integrate their passion for what they do with the important “others” in their lives. Can they learn to balance love and work and responsibility?  By what means are genuine partnerships between men and women forged so that everybody wins?  These questions faced pioneers in any field, and they are central to what my latest book is all about. Plus, I want readers who don’t live in San Francisco to leave their hearts there when they close the book.  Those of us who do inhabit this wonderful region have already lost ours….


Q10.      If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

Ciji:  What makes me happiest in all the world is_______?  (Not what you think should make you happy, but the thing or activity that makes your heart soar?)

 Ciji enjoys hearing from readers at www.cijiware.com

Thank you for such an informative interview, Ciji.
Check the Review and Giveaway for a chance to win the ARC for this fine book.

Blog Tour Q&A INTERVIEW with Marie Force, Author of Everyone Loves a Hero

Marie Force Interview, Author of Everyone Loves a Hero

I took a look at your website and have to say I am impressed by how many books you have recently released or have coming out soon.  Thank you for visiting today.

MF: Thanks so much for having me!

Your bio gives some history on your life and getting to the writing career but I have some more specific questions.

Q1.  With several different plot lines I am curious how you come up with the different ideas.

MF: The ideas come from all over. Everyone Loves a Hero was inspired by a brief encounter at Reagan National Airport between an arriving pilot and a blonde woman who rushed into his arms. The Fatal Series was inspired by a news story in the Washington Post about a congressman who was found dead in his home. At first the death was investigated for possible foul play, but it was later determined he died of a heart attack. But I wondered what would’ve happened if he’d been murdered. Sometimes the idea comes from asking a question like that. A handsome guy in a Mercedes inspired my book The Fall. His initials followed by MD were on his license plate, and I wondered where that doctor was going. The Fall is the answer to that question. Finding ideas is often about being open to them.

Q2.  How long did it take to develop the plot and write the story for Everyone Loves a Hero?

MF:  It’s very geeky for me to admit this, but I actually keep a log on how long it takes me to write my books. Here’s the entry on Everyone Loves a Hero: Began: May 10, 2007.  Finished: July 15, 2007. Sold: November 2009. Published: February 2011. I also did a rather significant revision in 2009.  You can see from these dates that nothing happens fast in publishing!

Q3.  Did you have any personal experience with airlines or airports that led to this story?

MF:  For someone who TRULY hates to fly, I spend way too much time in airports. I work full-time for a company headquartered 300 miles from my house, so I’m required to fly just about every month or two. Both Everyone Loves a Hero and Love at First Flight were inspired from events I witnessed in airports while traveling for work.

Q4.  How about art? Since Olivia is an artist do you have some side art talent that you pulled from for her character?

MF:  To be honest, I have NO business writing about an artist. I know NOTHING about art, and I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. I did some basic research to ensure that Olivia’s talent rang true. I keep waiting for someone to call me out on how I failed, but so far, so good. I guess I did okay.

Q5.  Was there any special research needed for Everyone Loves a Hero?  

MF:  I talked to pilots and aviation professionals, such as my dad, who was an aviation mechanic. I also read a lot about Captain Sullenburger and how he managed the aftermath of the landing on the Hudson. Since Cole was single when he had his heroic moment, his experience was vastly different, but there were still parallels that could be drawn between the two.

Q6.  What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating Everyone Loves a Hero?

MF:  I learned that I really, truly, madly, deeply love Cole! J

Q7.  If you had an opportunity to provide only a two or three sentence "teaser" quote from your new book,

MF:  Olivia to Cole: “You haven’t even left yet and I already miss you”.

Cole to Olivia: “I’d like to show you that you can be foolish and safe at the same time, but you’ll have to take a leap of faith. You’re going to have to trust me and believe just a little bit.”

Olivia to Cole: “It only took ten minutes for today to top yesterday.”

Q8.  Is there an ancillary character you had the most fun with in this or another of your books?

MF:  In this book, I loved writing Cole’s “schlep” of a friend Tucker, who lives vicariously through Cole. In my Fatal books, I love writing Sam’s partner Freddie, who is such a TRIP.

Q9.  Do you have any rituals that help you get in the mood to sit down and write?

MF: No, I really don’t. I write after dinner when my kids are settled and work is done for the day. I have very little time to write so I have to really make it count when I do have time.

Q10.  If you could have a theme song for Everyone Loves a Hero, what would it be? And/or do you have a dream cast for your book?  

MF:  I don’t have a song in mind, but as far as casting is concerned, I’d say Ryan Reynolds for Cole and Mandy Moore for Olivia.

Q11.  What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?

MF:  I hang out with my husband, kids, my dad and our naughty puppy Brandy. I love to read and wish I had more time to read all the great books on my iTouch waiting for me to have time to get to them. Right now I’m working through the eight books I was sent for RWA’s RITA published author contest.

Q12.  If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

MF: Um… ahhh…. I guess I would want them to say they enjoy my books and want more of them!

For Fun:  How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

MF: I had a launch party for Line of Scrimmage that was a really fun night!

Thank you!

MF: Thanks again for having me!

EVERYONE LOVES A HERO BY MARIE FORCE – IN STORES FEBRUARY 2011

Fame has its perks…

Reluctantly famous, First Officer Cole Langston finds being in the spotlight has its advantages—until he meets Olivia. Having women throw themselves at him everywhere he goes becomes a serious problem when he's trying to convince her she's the one…

And its price…

Olivia has trouble trusting a guy like Cole, and everywhere she turns she sees reasons to run. But he's the only man who's ever seemed to understand her as an artist and as a woman…

Cole is working overtime to prove to Olivia that he's serious, but her deep seated mistrust and his entourage of unwelcomed fans may be more than they can overcome…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Force is the author of Line of Scrimmage, Love at First Flight, Fatal Affair and Fatal Justice, as well as True North and The Fall (available as eBooks through Amazon.com). She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Authors Special Interest Chapters. Marie lives in Rhode Island with her family and their feisty dog named Brandy. To find out more information about Marie’s upcoming releases, please visit http://www.mariesullivanforce.com/.  

See my review and giveaway for a chance to win 

your own copy of  Everyone Loves a Hero.