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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Interview of Author Lynn Crain

Today it's my pleasure to present an interview of romance author Lynn Crain.

Latest Book: A Viennese Christmas

Buy Links:
Amazon US
Barnes and Noble
Kobo Books
Smashwords
Visit Lynn's Website for more Buy Links

BIO:
Lynn Crain realized at an early age she wanted to write. She took the long way to being published by doing a variety of things like nursing, geologist, technical writer and computer manager all of which have added to her detail-oriented stories. Now she’s a full time storyteller and weaves fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales as well as erotic stories for various publishers. She normally lives in the very hot southwest with her family, dog, three cats and she’s gotten rid of her snakes. Don’t ask unless you want to hear some grumbling. Other members of her clan live nearby and include a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons as well as various long-time friends. Currently, her kids have the house because she's run away from home. She is a past national board member of the RWA; founding president of Las Vegas Romance Writers Chapter of RWA; has held the positions of president, vice-president, secretary and contest chair of EPIC. Her latest adventure has taken her to Vienna, Austria with her husband as he works at his dream job. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog http://www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com/ and various other places on the net.

Still, the thing she loves most of all is hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net.

Q: What’s the first thing you did when you received word you’d sold a book?
A: At first, I was stunned then I told myself it was about time. LOL! I’d been writing for nearly 20 years professionally as a non-fiction and technical writer. I started writing fiction when I was twelve and it took me 30 years to be published in fiction.

Q: What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why?
A: The ending. Frankly, it does depend on the book but I always have a good sense of exactly where I want each of my books to end.

Q: What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?
A: Hmmm…good question. I think it would be reading and or research. I love to read anything and everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or learning something new. The latest books I picked up were more advanced books on learning the Gaelic language. It’s for research. Same goes for fiction. I will read any book, any author and will give each book a fair chance to wow me.

Q: You’re on a remote island with a handsome man/beautiful woman (you choose which one), a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?
A: Well, unless the man was my adorable husband, we’d only be friends. LOL! Therefore, I would write. I would write about what we did daily and I’d be plotting some new fiction.

Q: What genre would you like to try writing in but haven’t yet done so? Why?
A: I think I’d love to try my hand at thrillers or mysteries. I love to read them and while some of my plots have thrilling moments, they definitely aren’t the same. The main reason I haven’t done one is that I’m not sure how. If it were a straight police procedural or something I could probably do because there’s pretty much only one way to do them. Mysteries have a lot of red herrings in my opinion and I’m not sure I’d be able to keep them all straight.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Chats, or Twitter. Which do you like best and why?
A: I don’t think I have a favorite any more. I don’t MySpace for a few years but I do Facebook and Twitter daily unless my computer or internet is down. I live in Vienna, Austria and that does happen a lot because I live in a very old building. It seems to happen more when we have certain types of weather, like rain or snow. I have a couple of blogs and love to participate in My Sexy Saturday. Everyone should stop by and see us. We have fun!

Tell us where to find you: website(s), publisher’s page(s), blog(s), Facebook page(s), etc. List them all!
http://www.lynncrain.com/
http://www.lynncrain.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/oddlynn3
https://www.facebook.com/oddlynn3

http://www.mysexysaturday.blogspot.com/

BLURB: A Viennese Christmas (A Taste of Vienna Book 1)
Theme: The heart knows the language of love.
This is a SHORT STORY with adult situations.

Amanda Kranz comes to Vienna, Austria for a job, only to find herself alone at Christmas when she meets sexy historian Henry Jager, who convinces her true love is real and within her grasp.

Sign language interpreter, Amanda Kranz, wants to find her soul mate but fears her chance has past due to the death of her childhood sweetheart. Finding sexy historian Henry Jager during an outing in her new home of Vienna, Austria, may have been a stroke of luck. When his ex-fiancée shows up just as their relationship starts to sizzle, Amanda must decide if standing up for what she really wants will give her lifetime happiness. Or will she be destined to spend her life alone?

EXCERPT:
Her disappointment must have been plain on her face as she found herself suddenly gazing into the greenest eyes in a very handsome male face. A question in German followed as she tried to ascertain just what he said.

“I’m sorry,” she stated, her confusion obvious. “I’ve only picked up a word or two since I’ve been here. Do you speak English?”

“You’re American?” he questioned without the accent most Austrians possessed.

“Don’t make it sound like such a curse. There are a lot of us, you know.” Her indignation evident in her tone.

His rich laughter filled the space, warming her to her bones in ways she hadn’t expected. “Sorry. I guess one does pick up the attitudes of where they live.”

She looked at him puzzled. “That’s that supposed to mean?”

“Henry Jager, American, at your service ma’am.” His sweeping bow brought a smile to her lips.

“Amanda Kranz and I hardly think I qualify as a ma’am.” She stuck her hand toward him. His firm grasp sent an electric sensation as she felt the spark deep within her. She swore he felt it too as his eyes darkened.

“Do you prefer Amanda or Mandi? I know there’s not much of a choice with Henry.” His serious gaze spot of his interest.

Laughter bubbled up in her, the first such emotion in weeks. “Henry is a fine, strong name. And it doesn’t matter much with mine.” His hot look made her want to shiver in anticipation of what she could only speculate.

“Really? I would have thought your business associates would call you Amanda. Now your intimate contacts I expect call you Mandi.”

She gazed at him. Intimate contacts, now there was a misnomer. It had been years since she’d had any intimate contacts of the male persuasion. “Sounds good to me.”

“You gave in too easy.” He reluctantly let go of her hand as his look took on a more serious aspect. “Are you meeting someone?”

She shook her head. “No one to meet.”

“Good.” He grabbed her hand again, placing it in the crook of his arm. “Have you ever been to one of these before?” Henry expertly meandered around people, baby carriages and more as he led her to the next booth.

“Not really. I saw them last year but being so new to the city, I couldn’t bring myself to go to one alone.” She gazed at the Rathaus beyond them, remembering how intimidated she’d been by building even though it had a Christmas tree in front.

His eyes narrowed. “Sounds like you’re still a relative newcomer.”

“I suppose so. I got here in November of last year.”

“Ah – your impression?” His brows lifted when he drew back as if to study her face.

“Very commercialized. I expected something more – ” she struggled to find the right word. “– more homey, more authentic – more Austrian.”

Henry gazed around a moment before looking back at her. “I see your point. This is probably the one Christkindlemarkt that’s got the least to offer in specialized, authentic goods in my opinion except it does have a certain ambiance. And of course, there’s the skating rink as well as the park decorations.”

Her brow arched in amazement. She really hadn’t expected anyone to agree with her. All the women she knew gushed over every one of them. “You agree with me?”

His naughty smile was breathtaking. “Most definitely. This is the one where most of the tourists come. While there are some very Austrian things here hidden amongst the drivel, most are not unique or special in any way.”

“My thoughts exactly. Where exactly does one find more traditional items?” Astonishment spread through her. She had not once heard anyone say a negative comment about Vienna. All her colleagues gushed over the city but as far as she was concerned, it was just another place to live.

They stopped in front of a food booth, the aroma tantalizing. “Would you like something hot to drink?”

The brisk breeze nipped at her cheeks and she felt the cold through her coat. She definitely could use something to warm her up. “Sure.”


Anything else you’d like to add?
I’m working with an agent now and hope to break into NYC soon…I’ll keep everyone posted! Also, I am willing to answer any question from writers and readers alike. I’ve been in this business a long time and love it’s constantly changing landscape. Hope to hear from you all soon!

15 comments:

Sandy said...

Lynn, what a fantastic country to live in. Enjoy as long as you're there.

Nicole Morgan said...

Lynn, that's so cool that you've been able to be in such places I've only dreamed of visiting. I can only imagine how beautiful it is this time of year. *HINT: Send us pics* LOL Thanks for sharing with us today!

Paris said...


Lynn,

Running away from home sounds very tempting, especially when you factor in the charm of old world cities, lol! Christmas in Vienna must be beautiful. Loved the excerpt!

Unknown said...

What a treat to live in Austria for a period of time, and especially to be there for Christmas. Your Christmas story sounds like a fun read, and I love the cover!

Melissa Keir said...

Wow... what a wonderful experience. I've never traveled out of the country, except to Canada. And that's so close.

What a great cover and I loved the excerpt. Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy learning about other authors!

Rose Anderson said...

Loved the post, Lynn. How exciting to be living abroad and gathering inspiration. Thanks for joining us today. Best luck.

Marianne Stephens said...

I'd like to run away with you to Vienna, too...how wonderful to travel and continue to write in such beautiful surroundings!

Lynn Crain said...

Thanks for stopping by, Sandy. I should be here another year or so. It was really hard in the beginning but now it's growing on me.

Lynn Crain said...

Nicole,

It's hard for me to realize that others dream of visiting here. I've come to find most places are like where you're from...the differences like history make them unique...if you want to see more of Vienna come to my A Writer in Vienna blog. I try to share different things about the country there. Starting in 2014, I'm going to do Weird Wednesdays about some of the cultural and social differences I see here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lynn Crain said...

Paris,

Running away from home was enlightening to say the least. Christmas is my favorite time here though the gray I'm seeing outside my window should go somewhere else. LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lynn Crain said...

Gemma,

Austria is a very interesting place overall. I'm glad this is the place where I ended up here. Of course, I'd rather be in Scotland. LOL!

Thanks for dropping by!

Lynn Crain said...

Melissa,

I hadn't traveled outside of the country until I was 42 and it was an eye-opener. I went to Scotland and would love to live there.

Thanks for stopping in!

Lynn Crain said...

Rose,

This place can be very inspiring and I'm lapping up every minute of it!

Thanks for dropping in.

Lynn Crain said...

Marianne,

You can come and visit anytime...I have an extra room...LOL! Recently, I've thought about doing some sort of writers retreat here if I could get a place and people would want to come. I'll think about it some more.

Thanks for having me!

Lyndi Lamont said...

Lynn, glad to hear that Vienna is growing on you. It's a huge change from Nevada. Have a good holiday and good luck with your future projects.

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