Interview with Dianna Love

I’m thrilled to introduce Dianna Love to you today! She is a New York Times bestselling author, and writes in multiple genres – high octane romantic thrillers (Slye Temp series), urban fantasy, and young adult (Red Moon Trilogy under the pen name Micah Caida). Some of her most successful books are The Curse (Belador), Rise of the Gryphon (Belador) and Alterant (Belador). 
GIVEAWAY ALERT:
Dianna is offering a generous GIVEAWAY today to one lucky blog commenter – one e-book boxed set of the first three Slye Temp books (her new romantic thriller series) – winner will need to have a Kindle or Nook account. 

NOTE: The winner of the GIVEAWAY is Cara Marsi.

 

Q:   Please share your journey to publication, and the story of when you got ‘the call.’

A:   I was actually in New York with my husband on business at the time, and I invited the editor who had my book to meet me for coffee. We met right before I headed to the airport. She was very bubbly and said she liked what she’d read so far, but couldn’t say anything else yet. As soon as we got in a cab on our way to La Guardia Airport, I got “the call” from my agent saying that the editor had decided to buy my book, but they (agent and editor) hadn’t connected until just then (right after my coffee meeting).  That’s why she couldn’t tell me. Protocol is that the editor tells the agent, who then tells the author. It was so wonderful to have my husband with me to celebrate the moment. We got to the airport to find a mile-long security line, but when they heard us talking about me selling my first book and that we might miss our flight home, the other passengers moved us up the line on their own. Very sweet memories.  

Q:   Do you plot your novels in detail or are you a pantser?

A:   My friends joke that I’m not just a Type A--I’m actually a type AAA--and it’s absolutely true, so I do like to plot, but I’m more of a hybrid. After writing the first book by the seat of my pants (that’s how we all pretty much start out), I did not want to do it that way again. Now, I like to figure out the powerful points in the story (major twists, significant “ah ha” moments, etc.) and how the stakes will go up. Once I have that and I know my opening, I start writing a few chapters to get a feel for the characters and setting. If I like it at that point, I stop and map out the scenes so that I know the story will work, then I start writing. Knowing that all the major threads will eventually weave into an explosive ending gives me the freedom to write at will with no worries. Due to this, I constantly have surprises pop up and know that I can keep them without running the story off track. 

Q:   Please tell us the title of your favorite book. Name three writing books on your keeper shelf.

A:   This is not a plug, but my number-one, go-to book is Break Into Fiction® that Mary Buckham and I wrote from workshops we’d taught internationally. That’s because we created this program for ourselves to begin with, because we wanted a way to know we had a powerful story before investing months of writing. We were so pleased with the program we built, we decided to share it with other authors because it worked for a plotter or a pantser (seat-of-the-pants writer) – something we’d never seen before in the writing community. From those workshops, we created the Break Into Fiction® book that has the Power Plotting templates in it. Next to that, I’d have to say Writing Active Setting (3-book series) and Heroes & Heroines Archetypes. 

Q:   Which of your own books is your favorite, and why?

A:   That’s like asking which is my favorite child (which would be my fish since I don’t have any mini-mes). My favorite book is always the one I’m working on, which right now is DEMON STORM (book 5 of the Belador urban fantasy series releases this month).

Q:   What 3 things are almost always in your refrigerator?

A:   Wine, cheese and Hershey’s Kisses.

Q:   Which of the characters you have created is your favorite? Why?

A:   That’s another tough one, but Evalle Kincaid is like no other character I’ve written. She’s tough, loyal and vulnerable, and Storm has to be one of my all-time favorite heroes. She and Storm deserve each other, but that doesn’t mean being together is ever going to be simple, as they found out in RISE OF THE GRYPHON (Belador book 4). I love watching the relationship between Evalle (a half-blood Belador) and Storm (a skinwalker who shifts into a black jaguar) develop. This series is an ongoing story built around Evalle and her two best friends, Tzader and Quinn, who have their own romantic problems.

  

Q:   What’s your most romantic personal memory you can share with us?

A:   I’m glad you added “that you can share with us,” because I’m a very private person who holds those really special moments with my husband close, so they aren’t for the public. Like the night he asked me to marry him – beautiful and in an intimate setting. But years ago when we were headed to New England for some business during the winter, a client who knew we enjoyed skiing invited us to come up a couple of days early and stay in Lincoln, New Hampshire, where she set us up at a wonderful inn. It was just the two of us and felt like a scene out of a romantic movie. We dined at the inn with a view of snow falling gently over the small town. It was an unexpected treat that we’ve never forgotten.  

Q:   Do you draw on real life experiences for your plots and characters?

A:   I think as authors we are always absorbing things around us – people, settings, situations and so on. I never choose a specific experience or person to include in a book, but I’m sure many have inspired my writing. I read a very small article (maybe one big paragraph) in Woman’s World years before I ever considered writing. The article had a photo of a woman all in white powder-looking stuff. She was a living statue. That was the inspiration for the heroine in a novella. 

Q:   Is there a genre you’d like to write in that you haven’t yet?

A:   I have a contemporary romance series I’d like to write that I just don’t have time for yet. I love writing the big high-concept romantic thrillers. Urban fantasy requires tremendous world building, and they’re also large books. I’d like to be able to write a series of shorter stories.

Q:   Have you made any career decisions you regret?

A:   I don’t believe in regrets. I believe you make the best decision you can for that day and keep moving forward. My personality is one that does not gravitate to the easy path, and I’m fine with that. I love challenge. With challenge, there is no crystal ball to tell you how each decision will turn out, but if you choose a path based on honor and sincerity then I feel that path is the correct one. 

 

Q:   What advice have you got for aspiring authors?

A:   Write, write, write. Oh, you wanted NEW advice, huh? That is still the best advice, but after that I would say write what excites you. Find your passion for writing and never let go of it. For example, I’m not a fan of research unless it’s something I’m curious about. Then I dig forever to get the answers I need. So I wouldn’t commit that level of effort unless I was really engaged with my story idea, and really passionate about what I wanted to write. In other words, I wouldn’t do that kind of work just for the latest hot genre. Years ago when my agent first presented the Belador series idea to several New York houses, the editors all said they loved the idea, but marketing did not know how to promote something that unusual. If I wanted to make it a vampire story (during the surge of vampire stories), then they would buy it. I didn’t write vampires, and that’s not what made me feel passionate about writing, so I said no thank you. Fast forward six years – the Belador stories were published as they were envisioned and became a NYT bestselling series.

 

Q:   Which form of social media do you prefer for book promotion?

A:   I think of social media more as presence marketing – where I go to engage with my readers as if we’re at a virtual coffee shop. I tend to chat on FB more than anywhere else, but I’m getting more comfortable with Goodreads. 

Q:   What is your most effective form of promotion?

A:   Building my reader base one reader at a time.  I don’t think anything you do will drive a thousand readers to you in one week (unless your publisher stuffs a million copies of your unknown book in stores, but that only happens on occasion and usually AFTER the book is a big hit). What I do believe is that every reader matters, no matter how much or how often they read. I think each one deserves my attention when I’m available to the public. In return, they tell other readers about my books and post reviews. That is the number-one way to promote an author/book. It has to come from the heart on both sides.

Q:   Do you attend reader-oriented conventions? Have a favorite one?

A:   There’s that “f” word again that keeps giving me trouble! :-;. I do attend reader conventions and have enjoyed many of them. They were all great opportunities for me to visit with my long-time readers and also meet new ones.

Q:   How do you feel about Indie publishing and the e-book trend?

A:   I have ALWAYS been a big supporter of authors choosing the paths that best suit them. I believed in Indie publishing when it wasn’t favored highly as it is today. I’m technically a hybrid, because I’m published by New York and I also have my Indie books – Slye Temp romantic thriller series and the Red Moon Trilogy, a sci-fi/fantasy young adult series written by USA Today bestseller Micah Caida (the pseudonym for Mary Buckham and me).

Q:   What are you reading right now?

A:   The Rosie Project – fascinating!!

Q:   What are your non-writing hobbies, or what do you do to relax?

A:   I LOVE to saltwater fish and to ride my BMW motorcycle. Either one of those is a wonderful break for me. 

Q:   If you were stranded on a desert island and could choose one person and one thing to be stranded with, who and what would they be?

A:   My husband and a loaded e-reader with a solar battery. J

Q:   Tell us a secret about you that nobody knows and we’d be surprised to find out.

A:   It wouldn’t be a secret then, would it? J It’s not a secret, but I don’t often speak of some very unusual supernatural things that have happened to me and those around me.

Q:   What’s your favorite food?

A:   Fresh-boiled, large gulf shrimp.  My husband cooks them to perfection.

Q:   Coffee, tea or wine?

A:   Coffee until the day is done… then wine. J

Q:   What’s your favorite movie?

A:   There’s that word again, dang it. ;0) I LOVE stories, so I love movies.  My favorite is a great story line with action and romance. Anything from The A-Team to the new Star Trek to all the Marvel superhero movies to Princess Bride to Pretty Woman and on and on. J

Q:   Do you prefer Oceans, Deserts, or Mountains?

A:   Oceans.  Always give me water.

Q:   What trends do you see coming for the book industry?

A:   I don’t know about trends, but I see readers sorting through the mess and finding the stories that they love in spite of all the hoopla going on. As long as that happens, trends will come and go, but solid writing will endure.

Q:   Tell us about your new book.

A:   In the Belador series, DEMON STORM picks up where RISE OF THE GRYPHON left off.

    With Treoir Island in shambles after a Medb attack that left the survival of the missing Belador warrior queen in question and Belador powers compromised, there is one hope for her return and their future – Evalle Kincaid, whose recent transformation has turned her into an even more formidable warrior. First she has to locate Storm, the skinwalker she’s bonded with, who she believes can find the Belador queen. But Storm stalks the witch doctor who’s threatening Evalle’s life. When he finally corners the witch doctor, she throws Storm a curve that may cost him everything, including Evalle. The hunter becomes the hunted, and Evalle must face her greatest nightmare to save Storm and the Beladors or watch the future of mankind fall to deadly preternatural predators.    October 20, 2014… the epic Belador saga continues.

Q:   What’s on your agenda in 2014 and beyond?

A:   I love reader luncheons because they’re intimate, and I’m attending one called Sweet Tea and Chocolate Cake (I was in at “cake”) in Augusta, GA on November 8^th.  I enjoy unique reader events so much that I’ve joined up with a group of authors for a Keeper Books Tour where we visit 3-4 locations in a large city (instead of the quick one-day stops in a handful of major cities that’s been the norm for author tours). To find out more on this new local author touring program, visit www.KeeperBooksTour.com where you’ll find the first tour in the Atlanta, GA area. Also, I have always wanted to attend RomCon, and I will be speaking at the September 2015 event in Denver, Colorado. I’m planning on attending the RWA Conference in New York, and BEA during 2015, too.  

Dianna, thanks for letting us get to know you better today. We wish you a stellar launch of DEMON STORM, on October 20^th!

ABOUT DIANNA
New York Times bestseller Dianna Love once dangled over a hundred feet in the air to create unusual marketing projects for Fortune 500 companies. Now she focuses her energetic muse on storytelling. The first book she wrote won a RITA® Award and sold out in six weeks. She writes high-octane romantic thrillers and urban fantasy.  DECEPTIVE TREASURES, book five in the new, fast-paced Slye Temp series released April, 2014, and DEMON STORM, book 5 in the NYT bestselling Belador urban fantasy series is out this month. Dianna lives in the Atlanta, GA area with her motorcycle-instructor husband and a tank full of unruly saltwater critters.  Excerpts at www.authordiannalove.com.

CONNECT with Dianna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dianna-Love-Fan-Page/144494875593699 , sign up for her Street Team at https://www.facebook.com/groups/456015887852513/ , or find her on Twitter at @diannalove

Why authors' careers are becoming a lot like those of politicians

When I started writing, I honestly thought that most of my time would be spent researching and penning my stories with an occasional book signing or interview thrown in.

Wow, was I dumb.

Every year - hell, every day brings a new social media platform that authors flock to, engage in and use to promo their work.

People, we're fast becoming like politicians. The DC crowd governs 1% of the time - excuse me, make that .01% of the time. They spend the rest of their hours schmoozing with donors, attending fundraisers, looking for cold, hard cash to get reelected and voting themselves pay raises. 

Poor overworked babies.

For us, it's not so pretty. There's FB, Twitter, Triberr, Google+, Pinterest, various blogs and countless other places we must visit each day for exposure to build our brands and engage potential readers. Add to that web parties to introduce new titles, never-ending contests, updating a website daily, doing edits on contracted manuscripts, putting together proposals then submitting them, begging for reviews and you have 26 hours of work for one day.

Then, it's time to write. For maybe 10, 15, 20 minutes in between all the other stuff.

(Banging head against desk).

I wish it was the other way around. Lots of time to write with little to no marketing. Maybe in my next life.

Often, interviewers have asked me what advice I'd give to newbies.

Here goes:

1. Get a marketing degree so you know exactly what to do to sell your novel before you write one word of it.

2. Marry someone who knows marketing inside-out and has awesome contacts in the publishing, film and TV industry. Trust me, that makes life super easy.

3. Own your own publishing house, TV station or film studio. Ditto the 'making things easy' part

4. Resign yourself to the fact that you'll be pushing your books more than you'll be writing them. Will this ever get better? Damned if I know. With the Internet, I'm beginning to doubt it.

At least I'm truly happy and satisfied during those 20 minutes a day when I can write uninterrupted, live in a world where guys are hot, honorable, and kind, and where the heroine gets her HEA in the end as she damn well should.

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My newest release Intimate Details (menage) is releasing November 4. Don't have a cover as yet but here's the blurb:

As a computer hacker, she demands justice.

As a woman, she craves two powerful and commanding men.

Shana’s been hacking one of Manhattan’s most corrupt executives, making him pay for what he’s done to his victims. Using her skills, she convinces Mike and Cody to hire her at their intelligence-gathering firm, where intimate details help their clients.

Never has Mike met a woman as delicious as Shana. Smart as hell, curvy and assured, she’d be a delightful challenge in bed. Cody’s carnal hunger is equally intense. He and Mike want to know everything about her.

She won’t divulge the secrets of her past. All she can offer is unquenchable desire and her heart.

During weeks of shameless lust and pleasure, Mike and Cody peel away the layers of Shana’s life. The stunning truth changes everything. They’ll do all that they can to keep her safe…and in their arms.

Website – Twitter – FB Fanpage – FB – Pinterest – Amazon – Triberr

What Would You Say to Your 8 Year-Old Self?

I just finished watching Disney's, "The Kid" with Bruce Willis and enjoyed it just as much this time as the half-dozen or so other times I've watched it. The movie poses an important question and always makes me wonder how if I knew then what I know now, how much different would my life have been?

Everyone wants to think they would have made smarter choices but the older I get, the more I speculate that this may not be the case. We make conscious decisions based on the belief system that is instilled in many of us at a very early age. Sometimes, it takes a few decades before we can either overcome what we were taught or figure out that maybe we should have been paying more attention.

Thinking back, I was actually asked to join a critique group more years ago than I care to claim while attending a book signing. I declined. I had an old car, two babies at home and a lot of responsibilities. I'd gotten a personal day off of work to attend the signing. Did I miss an opportunity that day because I didn't realize that if I'd only asked for a little more help at home, I might have become a little more serious about my writing a little sooner?

If I had realized it at the time, would I have warned my 8 year-old self to pay closer attention, be braver and believe in my dreams if I'd had the chance? I'm not sure that at the ripe old age of 28, I would have understood what was happening. At the end of the movie, both the 40 year old adult and the 8 year old child are confronted with their older self, the guy who flies a plane, has a wife and a dog named Chester. Everything the 8 year old had ever wanted.

At 40, Bruce Willis' character finally understood what had been holding him back. The writer's were spot on, that's an age when I think many of us start questioning what we've done with our lives. At 40 I would have told my 8 year old self not to be afraid to pursue her dreams, no matter how uncomfortable that made people. That being strong had nothing to do with gender or physical presence.


Whatever your age now, what would you tell your 8 year old self that might make life a little easier, or at least more understandable?

Until next month,

Happy Reading!
Paris Brandon

A Season for the Senses by Rose Anderson

It’s official. The seasons have changed. In my neck of the woods, yesterday’s early autumn storms brought heavy rain and cooler temperatures. I’m good with that. Of all the seasons, I love fall the best. What’s not to love? To me, autumn is a treat for the senses.

First off, autumn is filled with pleasant sights.

I think it safe to say most people are familiar with the colors of autumn. Shrubs and trees of all kinds don bright yellows, blazing oranges, and an array of reds and browns. In my area, if conditions are just right, even the oaks will turn bright maroon.

How about pumpkins? I was a city girl for the first twenty-three years of my life. Back then, any pumpkin came from the grocery store. I experienced my first pumpkin patch after moving to the country with my husband and young daughter. There were acres of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes there and I was thrilled. Next to trees in autumn finery, nothing says fall better than orange pumpkins piled high next to bushels of multi-colored gourds.  Add to that clusters of Indian corn hung here and there. Their hard colorful kernels remind me of mosaics of semi-precious stone.

I love Halloween decorations in the small towns around me too, but I’m more of a traditionalist. No zombies or horror for me. I like my ghosts, skeletons, and pointy-hat witches amid the jack-o-lanterns. And I absolutely love seeing mobs of little kids Trick or Treating with parents in tow.  :)

It might just be me, but clear autumn days always seem to have brighter skies – bright blue skies or grey mackerel skies just appear more stunning. One of the coolest things overhead has to be the V’s of geese heading south for the winter. Another favorite of mine – those massive flocks of migrating songbirds that roll and shift through the sky like waves. 

The night skies this time of year are pretty nice too. Away from city lights, I have skies dark enough to see the constellations. Aquarius, the water bearer, and Pegasus, the winged horse, both have their place in the sky now. They’ll soon make room for Orion and the rest of the winter stars. If you have a telescope of eight inches or more in aperture, you’ll be able to see Neptune and its largest moon, Triton. Go out on a clear night. The planet Venus starts to climb the night sky and gets brighter by the day. By the end of the month, it’ll be one of the brightest “stars” in the sky.

Autumn has great sounds.

As the leaves fall, the sound of the wind in the trees becomes sharper. Those stubborn leaves that refuse to let go rattle and rustle with each blast. Who doesn’t like the crunch of leaves underfoot? It’s like shuffling through the dried memories of summer.

One of the best sounds of autumn has to be those migrating geese, ducks, and sandhill cranes flying overhead. I hear them all day long this time of year and never tire of it. Canada geese often stop at the wetlands around my home. They fly low to land and are anything but graceful as they careen and slam into one another. The sound they make is reminiscent of styrofoam chunks smacked together. Second to that, those huge flocks of passing birds I mentioned above. They often stop and rest in the trees in my yard and chit chit chit as they talk to one another.  When they leave their roost they do so in a loud whoosh. Sometimes they come in such numbers even Alfred Hitchcock would have been inspired.

On a smaller scale, this is the cricket time of year. Salamanders are chirping too – the sound somewhat similar to a fingernail running down a few teeth of a comb. I also enjoy the sound of logs popping on a campfire. Occasionally we’ll build a fire at night and drum with friends.

Autumn also comes with great scents and tastes.

A favorite of mine is the heady scent of burning of leaves or the lingering smokiness from a log fire. I love the accent smoke leaves on everything. It's a scent made even better when the air is crisp and clean. 

I’m a soup person – I love making them, love eating them, love smelling them simmering on the stove. I especially love when my husband comes home and raves over the wonderfully delicious aroma at the door.  I’ll add another sense to the rest ~ Autumn is a perfect time for snuggling! Here's an autumn favorite to get you started.

Butternut Squash Bisque (soup to snuggle with)

I large peeled and cubed butternut squash.
1 48oz carton of chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium onion  minced
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste
3 t. butter
1 1/2  bricks of Neufchatel cream cheese (also known as Light)
Optional topping - a dollop of crème fraîche, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt 

Prepare your squash. (Wrapping the squash in plastic wrap and microwaving until it feels soft to the touch is much better than fighting the hard peel with a paring knife. Let the squash cool, then scoop out the cooked pulp. Discare seeds or bake with a little salt like pumpkin seeds) Sautee onion in butter until translucent. Add squash pulp and stock  Simmer until squash is cooked through. Add cayenne. Cube the cream cheese and stir in until melted. Puree with a stick blender or in small batches in a food processor. 
Serve it in a mug. Add a grilled cheese sandwich alongside. Then go snuggle under a cozy blanket with your puppy, your kitty, or your sweetie.   :)

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About Rose 
Rose is multi-published award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest. 

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Interview of Author Joanne Jaytanie: Birth of a Character

“Hey, I know her…He sounds just like my brother… I’m sure that character was fashioned after me.”

Do writers really use people they know as characters in their books, or are they created in our mind? I can’t speak for everyone, but I use a mixture. I’m a people watcher. At the park, Movie Theater, mall, coffee shop, or airport, I love to watch people interact and react to each other. I pick up on their quirks, irritations, and positive traits. When something catches my eye, I whip out my iPad and make a short note. I have a file full of notes and when I start to give a character life, I will often pull from that file to round out his or her personality.

I have to admit, I don’t always use strangers. I have been known to incorporate a few traits of friends into the mix. For example, the idea of The Winters Sisters Series rolled around in my mind for a while, with one missing link, I couldn’t come up with my first heroine. One day my Veterinarian girlfriend, Cindy and I were sitting on the floor of an exam room talking while we waited for the acupuncture to do its thing on one of my Dobermans. We chatted about everything we both did for our canine family and what they meant to us. It was that very moment all the pieces fell into place and Victory Winters was born; she was based on my very dear and caring friend.

So, I guess my advice is always play nice. Because you never know, someone might be watching you….

BIO:
Joanne was born and raised in Sherburne, New York, a quaint village surrounded by dairy farms and rolling hills. From the moment she could read she wanted to explore the world. She lives with her husband and Dobermans, in their home in Washington State, with a panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains. Joanne’s favorite stories revolve around paranormal and romantic suspense. She loves writing about the twists and turns of her character’s lives and the trouble they find themselves involved in, coupled with building an everlasting relationship.

BLURB:
A small town can be a quaint, friendly place to call home. It can also be an impossible place to find a date. When Tegan, the owner of Que Syrah Syrah wine shop starts a Tuesday night singles-mingle, Laura, Chloe, and Becca are the only attendees—not a single man in sight. They continue to meet every Tuesday, but secretly change their name to The Love List. They write the names of a few single men and drop them into a basket. They women draw a name and promise to ask the man on a date. The Love List seems a success as one by one the women find their true love. Except in Laura’s case, date after date she is plagued with losers. She is certain the basket is cursed.

Travis Jerome is new to town. He notices a “Help Wanted” sign outside of a Victorian house and jumps at the chance to get back to his roots and have the feel of a hammer in his hand. He gets an extra bonus when he meets the attractive owner of the home, Laura Tate. Unfortunately she doesn’t appear to have the least bit of interest in him.

For something to last a lifetime it must start with a strong foundation and build up from there.

Buy Link:  Amazon
Website

Keeping The Real Me In My Heart and Off The Page

I've been a musician for all but the first four years of my life. A pianist primarily but I also played the violin in junior high school (not overly well but at least practicing didn't make me sound worse), taught myself guitar and the flute. Majoring in music in college, piano was my prime instrument, with organ and harpsichord as secondaries.

Thousands of lessons performed on dozens of pianofortes, my technique and skill at making music with ten fingers on 88 keys was shaped by many, many teachers. Some were positive influences, some not so much. For instance Dr. Ego, (not his real name and too kind at that), a college piano pedagogy professor. He hurled my brand new, two-volume collection of Beethoven sonatas (a Christmas present from my mom), across his studio and ordered me to leave because he didn't approve of that particular publication of Beethoven's works. End of that lesson and end of him being my piano professor. I dropped him faster than I could say allegro non troppo. Not a nice man. He should have stuck to performing instead of teaching. Being good at something doesn't mean you're adept at imparting your knowledge of that talent to others. Even so, I learned something from him (mainly what kind of teacher I'd never be), because that's what we do, right? Learn from the good experiences as well as the not-so-good.
 

With Beethoven's infamous fiery temper, he and Dr. Ego could have been cousins

So, at my core I am a musician and lover of music, and because I am, I deliberately avoid having musicians as characters in my books. I'm afraid my character will be more me and not them. Too easy to shape the character after myself and if I wanted to do that, I might as well write an autobiography.

The female protagonist in my Games People Play series is an exception to my No-Musician-Character rule but she's not a performer. Her old upright piano is more her therapist than an instrument she's trying to master. She turns to it when she's overwhelmed by life and needs to blank out for a spell.

My latest historical, Almost Denied, is also an exception but an unplanned one. I was reading an article about Antonio Vivaldi, (1678-1741), one of Italy's most famous composers and touted to be the most recorded composer of all time. That article led to one about the Ospedale della Pieta, an all girls orphanage in Venice, Italy. Originally a hospital during the Crusades, it became an orphanage and then a music school. Vivaldi wrote many works for the schoolgirls at the ospedale. 

Well, I couldn't let that information just take up space in my head and not use it to shape a character. But to maintain distance from my own musician character,  I made Gianna LeBon a composer and a cellist. I know enough about both to make her skills sound believable without pouring too much of myself into them.

Every student I've had has taught me how to better teach the art of playing the pianoforte. Every teacher I've studied with and every musician I've accompanied has influenced my piano playing skills, two in particular and I can't write about this subject without acknowledging both. My mother and first piano teacher, who passed away two months ago, and Doris Bardon, a woman 35 years my senior and my two-piano partner for nearly 20 years who has been gone 8 years. Two superb musicians and profound influences in my life.

While I was writing Almost Denied my mother asked me what the story was about. After I told her she said, "Well, it's about time you worked a musician into one of your stories. Music is what you know the most about."

I took that as a compliment.

Do you have a talent or skill that you purposely avoid giving to your characters? Or have you been successful at writing it/them into a story with enough detachment that it truly is your character's talent and not your own?

Blurb for Almost Denied 

No one is going to take Gianna LeBon’s land and home from her. Not any man, not for any price, especially the charming Colonel Ross Rayne. And pretending to be married may not be enough to save it or her.

Ross knows how to deceive an enemy but he’s never had to use those skills on a woman. He regrets agreeing to undertake a mission of procuring the LeBon’s property. Instead of dealing with Mr. LeBon, he’s stuck with his pig-headed wife.

Can the charming Colonel win against a determined woman fighting for her home and family? Or will they be forced to walk away from their only chance at happiness?

Excerpt

 Never had Ross seen a vision as captivating or sensual as Gianna LeBon making love to her cello, for that’s what it looked like and he suddenly was absurdly envious of that instrument.

His groan startled her. The bow stopped moving and her eyes sprung open.

“You.”

“Yes. Me.” He opened the door further. “May I come in?”

A table to her right held a single lamp, the only light in the room. Composition papers and pen and ink were spread across the tabletop. Even in such low light Ross saw her cheeks color when she looked down at her bare legs. She dropped the bow and eased the cello forward, no doubt to put herself to rights.

“No, please. Don’t move.” Permission to enter hadn’t been granted but he didn’t care. He was going in. He closed the door behind him and walked toward her, his heartbeat twice as fast as his footsteps. “Have you any idea the picture you make, Gianna? You and the cello as one self, each separately beautiful but together you are magnificent.”

The flush on her cheek deepened, eyes lowered when he stopped before her. Embarrassed by his boldness or from being seen so exposed? Probably both. Ross drank in the sight of her and tried not to feel like an ogling letch. The loose bodice of her dress gaped, exposing the upper curve of her breasts. He wanted his mouth there, wanted to trail his tongue over the soft skin and dip it between the two small mounds. She could feel his stare, he knew. Her mouth parted and breathing quickened. She licked her lips but still didn’t look up at him. Ross’s gaze swept over her thighs, skin pale and perfect as a pristine beach. The cello, centered between those thighs, concealed her body’s sweetest space. He wanted his mouth there also. Her flavor on his tongue, the scent of her skin and damp flesh filling his mind. He would be the first to know both. But he wouldn’t stop there. A lady’s knees shouldn’t be overlooked, the sensitive hollow at the back of them so delicate. Imagining tasting and kissing every inch of Gianna LeBon made him painfully hard and he only made it worse by noting the shapely muscles of her flexed calves and feet so small they wouldn’t fill his hand.
He’d put himself in grave danger of shattering even before touching her. Which he absolutely must do. Now.

Ross reached for the neck of the cello, his hand covering hers. Her head snapped up, eyes blinked open.

“May I?”

She swallowed hard. “May you what?”

His smile must have registered his lascivious thoughts because she gasped.

“Relieve you of this.” Ross felt her hand clench around the narrow neck of her instrument. He watched her, patient, knowing he would win this battle of wills and wants. Another hard swallow and the tip of her tongue wetted her lips. One more of those and he might just lose the ability to be so damned patient.

Something else he must have unconsciously registered because her hand relaxed and she leaned back in her high back chair. If he were keeping score there would be a marker on his side of the board. And there would be far more when the game was done.


Available in print and ebook. Buy links:
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Also just released, Almost Perfect, an ebook boxed set with all five of my historical romances in the  Almost series. 99 cents this week!

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Meet Angela French From Heartsong Cowboy

Meet Angela French from The Heartsong Cowboy

Today, I switched with Nicole Morgan. Don't worry. She's going to stop by on October 9th instead. So it's just you and me today. I thought I'd introduce you to a mom who is driven to do what's best for her daughter...not just out of love but guilt-- Angela French.

What is the name of your character?  Is he/she fictional or a historic person? My main character’s name is Angela French. She is a fictional character.

When and where is the story set? The story The Heartsong Cowboy takes place in modern day North Dakota.

What should we know about him/her? Angela is a single parent. Her husband died of cancer when her daughter was three. She loves being a mom to her daughter, Taylor and running her small restaurant- Café French.

What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life? After a traumatic incident, Angela’s daughter stopped speaking. Angela is dealing with guilt that is normal of a single parent but with the accident, she feels more responsible. She seeks out anyway to get her daughter to speak again.

What is the personal goal of the character? Angela would love to hear her daughter speak again, even just a sound. She feels responsible and can’t let go of the guilt.

Blurb:

Can two people, one horse and the power of love cure a little girl?

Angela French blames herself for her daughter’s lack of voice. Determined to do anything to correct the situation, she seeks out Jake Kyncade, the owner of The Heartsong Ranch.

Jake Kyncade hides his own sorrows behind his no-nonsense demeanor. Helping children becomes one way to correct his past. Using equine therapy, he sets out to make a difference.

Can Jake help Angela’s dreams come true or will Jake’s past bring more heartache? Will love save them all?

The Heartsong Cowboy Book Trailer Video

The Heartsong Cowboy is available in the book bundle Cowboy Up! This set has seven sexy cowboys and the women who love them! For only $0.99, you get six sinful stories full of tight Wranglers and Stetsons. 

Thank you for stopping by today! The fictional Angela French is based on my own "mom guilt" but also a piece of a real incident that happened when I was teaching at a college preschool. I love to weave pieces of real life into my books. If you are an author...where do you find your inspiration?? If you are a reader, what type of stories inspire you??

 Seven men as tough as the west…

          Seven women who know how to...

Cowboy Up

A boxed set of seven romantic novellas by seven award-winning authors experienced with writing about the men of the West.

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