Cait London Shares Her Expertise!

Please welcome the awesome Cait London! She has graciously taken time to do an interview with me and it has some fabulous advice for authors!

Interview with Cait London


Cait, Welcome to Leah’s Literary Lair. We are so happy you could take time from your busy schedule to chat with us.

I had the pleasure to meet Cait at the Lori Foster Reader/Writer event in 2008 and enjoyed every minute of our conversation. I was so happy to discover that she is as wonderful in person as her books are.

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, your family, etc.
Thank you, Debbie.
I’m a do-er as you can see by my three blogs, http://caitlondon.blogspot.com which focuses on my work, writers’ issues and tips. If you write, do check out that blog and my writing tips, at my website, http://caitlondon.com. http://thesecondcup.blogspot.com features the stuff I’m interested in, daily stuff for women, including favorite makeup, movies, etc. http://myjamjar.blogspot.com is about the homemaker stuff, i.e. making jam and applebutter, sewing, whatever. Plus I’m a grandmother, so I make lots of cookies. My three daughters are currently providing more tots.

I’m also an artist, as you can see at my website studio, large canvases. I’m also interested in computers, graphics (I run my own website and blogs, plus newsletters), and photography, herbs, etc. So I’m one of those artistic personalities, but I never started out wanting to be a writer. Now I am and didn’t happen easily. 7 years, count ‘em, before my first sale. My agent at the time, now deceased, said that 10 years was the average. That was prior to Internet, which makes things easier now, but also makes for more competition.

2. For our readers unfamiliar with your work, please tell us what kind of books you write.

I’ve written a variety of romance, ranging from Desires (Any Tallchief readers out there?), western historicals, romantic thrillers, romantic suspense, and I enjoy adding psychic elements. My psychic triplet trilogy is on the stands now. BTW, I do not consider true psychic work as paranormal, i.e. vampires, shape shifters.

3. I’ve been a long time fan but didn’t realize until I started doing a little research that you wrote under two names, Cait Logan and Cait London. I have read several of the Cait Logan books but didn’t realize it was also one of my favorite suspense authors!

Cait Logan books started in Berkley’s Second Chance at Love category/series and I was invited by Joan Golan, now editor at Steeple Hill, to write historicals. She’s quite the mentor and purchased my first SCAL (category), prior to the historicals, which I also wrote for Dell. I loved writing NW western historicals as I grew up in central WA State, about an hour south of Canada, where there were lots of westerners and rodeos were common. In my reading of others’ books, there is no worse turn-off than not to know the actual landscape and feel of the land. And that is why I drove the Oregon Trail, and the Indian trails in the NW, and up into Canada, for Delilah, my mountie book. I’ve yet to see another book like that, as I am a true researcher. Wedding Gamble was set in MT, and it was also unusual as I researched billiards and it is the only book of its kind in American Billiards Congress museum as I worked with them on research.

4. Do you still write under the Cait Logan name or do you write exclusively under the Cait London name? Do you have any other pen names you would like to share with us? What type of books do you write under these names?

I’ve been tempted to write more Cait Logan westerns, but I don’t know. Most of my books are contemporaries under Cait London. That’s it so far.

5. How long have you been writing and how did you get your start? How long did it take you to be published and what was your first release? When did it come out?

My first, Lady on the Line, a SCAL contemporary about a lady lineman, was published in 1986. It took SEVEN years to publish and that was because I’d met an agent at a conference, who sold that first SCAL to Joan Marlow Golan. Back then, we did not have all the writers’ organizations and Internet information we have now (most long-term writers developed their skills prior to Internet). So it was basically throw what you know out there and waste a lot of manuscript mailing money, learn what you could and try again. Reflecting on how it was to struggle without groups, magazines, Internet, etc., I think I learned more about writing skills from basically just working like a dog with a portable non-electric typewriter. BTW, plotting wasn’t in my skill-bag then, and now I enjoy it. But the editors said I came in with Characterization, already built in, so that was a help.

6. How many books do you have out now and have they all been in the romance genre? I know you have written in many different sub-genres including historical, paranormal and your most recent releases have been a romance suspense trilogy with a psychic twist.

I’ve written about 70 novels and novellas to date, all in the romance genre and all mass-market traditional.

7. Please tell us about this trilogy and when they were released. Are they still available for purchase? I know our readers won’t want to miss these awesome books!

There’s quite a bit about them at my website, and they are available. Most of my Avons are. As the mother of 3 daughters, I already understood the birth-order personalities of the triplets and relationships with their mother. Much of me is in all of my books, including Claire’s (1. youngest/rural MT/At the Edge) handcrafting/sewing, Tempest’s love of color and artistic bend (2. Lake MI/A Stranger’s Touch, NYTs bestseller) and Leona (3. eldest/Lexington, KY/For Her Eyes Only). I feel my family may have an intuitive streak, and linked with Leona’s experiences.

Thanks for the awesome, btw. The triplets are descendants of an ancient Celtic seer and the Viking chieftain who captured her. None of them want their ability, and all have been traumatized by 2 major events in their lives. Their connection is so strong that they cannot live together or near, for any amount of time. And that’s it folks. Each has their own love, their own story and plenty of danger, and Leona’s story, FOR HER EYES ONLY completes the trilogy, though there is interest in Greer, a world famous psychic who helps solve cases.

8. After writing in so many different sub-genres, do you have a favorite? Is there anything that you haven’t tried that you would like to do in the future?

I love all my stories. I worked really hard to craft them from the basement elements, so it would be hard to choose. I’ve written away from my usual, but we’ll have to see if that takes off. If not, I will have tried and have enjoyed the journey. I enjoy most journeys and adventures, and do not think that stories can be crafted by sitting behind a desk alone, rather by experiencing. (No jokes here, please.)

9. What do you have in the works now? Can you give us a sneak peek and give us a release date?
I write every day, but do not have future releases scheduled at this date. FOR HER EYES ONLY was a 10/08 release and since then, I’ve been working on different material and that’s about all I want to say now—suspense, you know.

If you are a writer, please do visit my Writers Survival posts at my blog, http://caitlondon.blogspot.com for info on software, newsletters, etc. I do seminars on The Business of Writing, and those posts are a taste of that.


10. Are you a big reader? What kind of books do you enjoy? Who are some of your favorite books or authors?

I am a big reader. I enjoy almost everything but science, unless it is archeology non-fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction prescriptive, biographies, magazines, too. I read almost anything in paper print, and have not tried the e-formats yet as I work hours on my computer and not willing for more screen-gadgets on my down-time. (Love computers, software, btw.) While I read almost everything, not much sci-fi (Love the sci-fi channel and movies) and vampires (love those movies). Not too much on endangering the child books, either, or forensics, or detective/sheriff/investigators, which I think may be overdone now. Not too much on regency/victorian/etc. However, I always buy Jayne Ann Krentz and love her Arcanne series. Like others, my reading trends are changing and diverse. I’ve just enjoyed Lori Foster’s 2 Servant books. But at the bottom of my reading list is hard-boiled detective/forensics, and that is just a personal taste matter. Not really fond of books in which the heroine is a writer, as that is too close to home. I want to read about different material; however, if the story and character are strong enough, I’ll enjoy it. I would like a really good Viking story, much like Woodiwiss’s. When starting to diversify my writing, I tried a Viking proposal, but the agent said they weren’t selling and wouldn’t market it, so I moved on. Just after that several Viking novels hit the stands.

11. Has anyone or anything influenced you in your writing career? Would you change anything if you were doing things over?

I’ve met and have been influenced by many people, not only in writing, but how they manage their business, lives and careers. In romance, I think we may have partly caused our own put-downs, by simply not acting with better judgment and dignity. In retrospect, I couldn’t have done more ad work/traveling/workshops, as I was a single with 3 daughters, so I stuck pretty much to what I felt I needed to do and that included a day job for insurance, etc. Only when my daughters were almost through college did I go full-time, so I had 13 years or so of writing full time and working at a day job. Imagine 3 in college at one time, and you get the picture. When you get that first big notice as I did, that is the time to step out and make a mark, but I chose to tend to my family obligations. It’s said that it is difficult to recover, once that time is gone, and it is. Yet, I did what I thought was right and do not regret that.

The recommendation as of now, 4/09, is to do as much online as you can for your books, and that would have been a real plus for me back then.

12. I know you are an inspiration and have been a huge help to other authors. You blog, you give talks and answer questions and always have an encouraging word to new authors. Is this something you think should be available for all authors, new and old alike?

All beginning authors, or those moving out into conferences or online, should have some sort of a master guidebook on manners, i.e. how important thank-yous are, even when they are for rejections. The way to start this is for seasoned authors to post their worst experiences from other authors.

On bad reviews: If there is anything no author should do, it is to rake someone else over in a review-like forum. Absolutely vitriolic stuff has no place in reviews. They should be clinical, done in proper format, and not I’m-so-cute show-off style. Just think of how you might feel, if someone took after you in the same manner.

For seasoned authors, some sort of a re-think business questionnaire, i.e. balancing PR time against copy-producing time.

13. Come on and spill the beans….what kind of writer are you? A strict plotter and outliner who plans everything out before you start writing or are you more of a casual style writer? Have your characters ever taken off in a direction that you hadn’t planned and if so what did that do to your story? Did you let them get away with it?

I learned how to plot in several ways and they are listed at my website, http://caitlondon.com. One of the best ways is to number chapters into paragraphs, so you can see where the midpoints are and then see the shape of the novel. This eliminates having to rush through the ending. I typically write 2 proposals, one extensive for myself and a short one for the editor. When in trouble, in the actual writing, I go back to the long one and it always helps me out. But a story does twist and turn on you. All I can say about that is make certain that the lead characters stay that, else you’re in serious trouble. I edit as I go, but in the overall edit, straightening out the threads/layers, I really balance the h/h to see if they are strong enough to match. I also balance the antagonists against the protagonists, as they need to be worthy opponents. In final edit, I may redo the whole first chapters to balance the book. I have to get in and write the characters before feeling how they mesh and bring them to life. Characters have to mesh, the subcharacters’ POV bringing to life the main characters. Think of it like the gears inside a clock, everything revolves around something else, touching and changing it. We’re affected by the lives of others, as well.

Here’s a visual: I think of my story threads as multi-reins on a chariot that need to be controlled. A story has to be controlled, even if it takes off in a different direction.

14. The characters are strong, the twists keep us reading and even though I want that happy ending, I hate for the books to end. If you could choose what you wanted a reader to remember about your books, what would it be?

That it was a gift, something with texture and life, that provided a short escape. However, my writing isn’t for everyone. Some writers are middle-of-the mark, i.e. and no strong feelings are evoked about their work. I’m not one of those. Either readers love me, or they don’t. Apparently, my style and stories incite passion either way.

15. Do you have an all time favorite book or character from your writing? Do you ever base a character from real life people or events?

I do not have favorite books, unless it is the WIP at the time; it’s the same with characters. I do base my characters on real people, live or not, and some events. But that’s only the start of my story-building. I believe a book is built from some nugget and then grows. Or it does with me. BE MINE was built on the image of an Amish girl I saw riding her pony beside the road. So that was a person and an event. I’m pretty fast at generating story ideas, and can look at an old windmill and get a story. I guess that’s where the artist comes in, meshing with the writer. BTW, there is a high percentage of writers who are also artists of some sort.

16. What do you do for fun? I know that you are a painter as well as a fantastic author. How did you make this transition from painting to writing? Do you still paint in your spare time?

Boy, that is a hot topic among those who are both painters and writers. The consensus of the majority is that we can only devote ourselves full-time to one or the other. There are exceptions. I’ve been writing heavily for years, and have only done a few paintings. But I’ve taken lots of photos while traveling and intend on painting them, mostly seascapes. I miss it. The psychology of the writer is interesting. My stories, once started, will not let me rest.

17. Give us an example of an average day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule? A certain word count or number of pages per day?

I’ll start writing fresh copy at 4-5a. Take a break around 9 or so, then edit a bit, do what I have to, etc. and then start working around 4p. But some days, like when I’m trying to get my mind off a story that just ended and before starting a new one, I’ll take a trip. I love to drive, and stories just cling to me then. If in a plot problem, all I have to do is take a long, open-country drive, and it’s pretty well sorted out by the time I get back. But no specific pages per day. I am fast, though, and as the story picks up speed toward the end, I’m really going, careless of anything but my aching body. One time, I was so much in a scene that I felt my fingertips were on fire.

18. What is the best piece of advice you have been given as an author and what would you tell someone just getting started as a writer?

A book is like a song, it flows and has a tempo. When you feel the heartbeat, you’re in the stream and the book is beginning to breathe into life. One of the worst things a beginner can do is to forget that all the elements need to NOT be dissectible. Too much dissection can kill a story, too many cooks in the broth, too. If you’re in a critique group, make certain it’s the right one. I’ve never been in one as I do believe that giving out the story to others is like sharing a first kiss. You can never relive that first fresh blast and the editorial comments are all I want. However, writing is a very individual activity, with individual preferences, and other writers function perfectly well in their groups. I believe that in writing, you get out of it, what you invest in it. No one else can do that for you.

Cait, thank you so much for taking time to chat with us. I look forward to your upcoming books! Please come back and visit us again soon.

Thanks so much for asking me, and I will. And I’m also hoping that my responses to your very good and insightful questions helped someone.

Author Interview with Patti O'Shea

Patti O’Shea Interview

Patti, welcome to Leah’s Literary Lair! We are so happy you could take time to visit with us.

Thanks for inviting me!

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your family, background, etc.

I live in Minneapolis, MN, attended the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism where I earned a degree in advertising copywriting, and went to work for Northwest Airlines–in accounting. I moved around the company until I ended up where I'm at now–757 Engineering. I've always enjoyed traveling and working for an airline gave me an opportunity to visit more places. I've also always had an interest in airplanes and I've learned a lot about them during my time in Technical Operations. Plus, I've been able to get some up close looks that I wouldn't have anywhere else.

For our readers unfamiliar with your work, please tell us what kind of books you write.

My stories are paranormal romance with a lot of action and adventure in the mix and I have a couple of action/adventure futuristic books, too.

Your most recent release, In Twilight’s Shadow, was the second book in your Light Warrior series. Please tell us about this series and the books in it. Will there be more books in this series and if so, what is the next book in the series? Do you have a title and release date yet?

The Light Warriors books are about a society of magic users who protect humans from demons and other dark-force creatures. Each territory has a troubleshooter assigned to it and they handle the problems that arise within their area as well as other assignments that their council might give them.

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is the first book. The heroine is Ryne Frasier and the hero is Deke Summers. The little blurb I use for the book is: When a troubleshooter for a society of magic users rescues a private investigator from a dark spell, she finds more than an ally as she faces down her former mentor.

IN TWILIGHT'S SHADOW is about Ryne's sister Maia Frasier and Creed Blackwood. Maia gave up her magical powers years earlier because she'd fallen to the dark forces, but she's still struggling to cope with the loss. Creed is dealing with his own issues when it comes to dark magic and they're both going to have to defeat their demons–literally as well as figuratively.

The next story is EDGE OF DAWN and it will be released July 2009. During In Twilight's Shadow we find out that Creed has a little sister that he's never met. This is her story. The blurb for this book is: Glass artist Shona Blackwood is ignorant of her Gineal heritage and unaware that people who can do magic actually exist, but when she's targeted for death, troubleshooter Logan Andrews is assigned to protect her. A straightforward job quickly goes askew and what Logan doesn't know might cost both him and Shona their lives.

I'm writing the fourth book in the series now. The working title is IN THE DARKEST NIGHT, but there's been a few other books with similar titles, so it might not be called that when it's actually released. This story is about Logan's brother, Kel. Logan worries about him throughout EDGE OF DAWN and now we'll find out what happened to change him. His heroine has had a rough time with life, too, and they're both wounded individuals who are trying to heal.

How long have your been writing and what was your first published book?

I became serious about writing about eighteen months before I sold my first book in January 2002. I'd been writing before that, of course–since 8th grade–and I had finished three other books, but it was mostly dabbling when I felt like it rather than dedicated, regular writing. Now I write every day.

My first sale was RAVYN'S FLIGHT, released in November 2002 and reprinted in 2006. It's a futuristic romance set in 2040 with a hero in army special operations and a heroine who's part of a colonization assessment team. They're light years from home when all their teammates end up murdered and Ravyn and Damon are on the run from an unknown killer. They have to stay alive long enough for help to arrive from Earth, but it isn't going to be easy.

How many books do you have out now? Do you have a favorite character or book that you have written?

As we start 2009, I have six books and one novella out. My seventh book will be released in July 2009 and the eighth is scheduled for March 2010.

The question about favorite character is tough and I don't think I can pick. I spend so much time with them that each one becomes a really close friend, and while I'm always glad to have finished their story–I want to know what happens!–I miss them when they leave. I tell people it's as if someone you've lived with has decided to pull up stakes and move across the country. Yes, you can visit, but it's just not the same.

Although I can't pick a favorite character, I do have a favorite book–IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR. This used to be impossible to choose, too, but something about this story just wedged its way into my heart. I guess it helps that it's one I really wanted to tell and the fact that I wrote two other books before being able to start this one kept the anticipation high. I also loved Deke's sarcastic, smart aleck comments. And there's Ryne. She's so tough–she feels she has to be–but emotionally her demons are winning the war. Deke anchors her, helps her find the footing she needs to defeat them and move forward.


How did you get started in your writing career? Are you a full time writer or do you hold another job as well?

I have a full-time job at Northwest Airlines in 757 Engineering. I really would love to write full time, but it's not feasible right now. It does get exhausting, though!

My start to getting published was pretty interesting. I mentioned earlier that I'd dabbled and I had submitted two of the three books I'd finished and gotten good rejection letters, but it wasn't until around 2000 that I really committed myself to writing. After finishing the rough draft of RAVYN'S FLIGHT and revising the first three chapters, I sent it out to contests put on by various local chapters of Romance Writers of America and continued revising the rest of the book.

One of the first contests I entered in the summer of 2001 was called the Southern Heat. Among the prizes for winning was being able to send the full manuscript to the final judge who was an editor at Dorchester Publishing.

I had just finished revising the entire manuscript so that it was ready to submit, when I received a letter saying I'd won the Southern Heat and that I should contact the editor of my category to arrange to send my manuscript. This was December 2001. I contacted her, mailed it off on New Year's Eve, and ten days later, went on vacation. I did have internet access while I was away, but I couldn't read my email. (Things have come a long way!) I came home and I had so many messages that it took hours to download all the email. One of the notes was from the editor who had RAVYN'S FLIGHT asking me to call her.

My first thought was that something had happened to the manuscript. Maybe a page had gotten lost or the post office had dropped it in a mud puddle and it wasn't legible. The possibilities were endless and the offices were closed by the time I saw that note. I called the next day, and sold my first book in January 2002.

I understand that you have done a lot of traveling. Do you use these travels as research for your books?

I think everything we see and do shapes us to a degree and that includes the places we've been. I know my visits to different cities and countries have influenced settings in my stories. For instance, when I wrote THE POWER OF TWO and my hero and heroine needed to go to the Raft Cities, I based the poverty my characters saw on my visit to Samarai Island in Papua New Guinea. I've also used a nighttime trip I made to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL and Los Angeles in general for IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.

Is research something you enjoy? Approximately how much do you do for each book and what is your favorite form of research? Travel, internet, printed materials?

Yes and no. I'm insatiably curious about a lot of different things and I always seem to be learning something new. For example, right now I'm listening to a podcast on earthquakes and seismology from the University of California-Berkeley. I have no plans to write a story with earthquakes, but I thought it might be interesting (and it is). Of course, I also had an interest in nanotechnology years before I was published and I didn't think I'd ever need the information for anything, but I ended up using quantum brain nanotechnology as a major plot point in THE POWER OF TWO (2004), so who knows? Maybe one day I will be writing a story that involves seismology.

The less fun part of research comes in when I need specific detail for a book and it's the kind of information that isn't easy or quick to find. I think small facts are important, but some of what I'm looking for can be obscure stuff that gets buried in a much larger sections of data. Or if I don't know the exact terminology to search for, I can end up with far too many hits to wade through, none of which contain the information I actually need.

I like to use the internet because of how quick it is to do a search, but I try to find corroboration since the information can be suspect online. I do have a lot of books filling my shelves, but then I have to figure out exactly which book it is and find it amid all the other volumes, which isn't always quick or easy.

What do you have in the works now? Can you give us a sneak peek? Sure hope so.

Next up is EDGE OF DAWN in July 2009, I'm working on the fourth book in the Light Warriors series for a March 2010 release, and I was asked to submit a story for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE 2. I'm not sure what the release date is for that.

The Work In Progress (WIP) isn't ready to be shared yet, but I'm happy to give a sneak peek at EDGE OF DAWN. I don't even have an excerpt up on my website yet. This is part of a scene that takes place a few days after Logan and Shona meet. It's the second time they've talked to each other.

Logan spotted Shona up ahead and his thoughts derailed.
Friday night her hair had been straight, tamed; today it tumbled in waves to just above the small of her back. Her sky-blue T-shirt was tight and short, baring her midriff and accentuating her full breasts. Her jeans were pale yellow and fit her every bit as closely as the pair she'd worn last Friday. For someone tall and lanky, Shona was nicely curved and Logan felt an unwelcome surge of warmth return. He swallowed hard.
She hadn't seen him yet, not with all the people between them, and he took the opportunity to stop and stare. He was too far away to really see her face, but he remembered--the high cheekbones; the elfin chin; the rich, chocolate-brown eyes now hidden behind dark lenses; and her full lips. Just the memory of her sexy mouth was enough to intensify the heat inside him.
Someone jostled Logan as they walked by and it brought him back to his senses. He closed the remaining distance.
As he neared the coffee shop, Shona caught sight of him and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. Her lips curved and that small, tentative smile was enough to knock him off balance. With a deep breath, Logan reminded himself that he was a Gineal troubleshooter; he was trained to control his emotions, not let emotion control him, but damn, she hit him hard.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey, Shona." He kept his tone easy because she looked anxious. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"I was early."
Her hands tightened around the white, plastic bag she held hard enough to make it rustle. "Is that my jacket?"
"What? Oh! Yes, here." Shona thrust the bag at him and Logan had to make a lunge for it to keep it from hitting the ground. "Sorry," she said, her face flushed.
"Don't worry about it. Want to grab a cup of coffee?" Logan gestured toward the building behind her.
"I was going to invite you to show my appreciation for your help." Her eyes widened. "Not that a cup of coffee comes close to repaying my debt, but I don't know if anything could."
"You don't owe me anything." She tried to interrupt him, but he held up a hand. "I know you're grateful I came along when I did, but that doesn't incur a debt on your part. I look at it as doing what's right, kind of like racking up good karma points with the universe." He smiled at her. "And I have three sisters; I'd like to think someone would help them if they found themselves in a similar situation."
Which was unlikely. If someone was stupid enough to grab one of them, any of his sisters would blast him with a spell before anyone needed to come to their aid.
"Paying it forward," Shona murmured.
"Something like that." Logan took her elbow, steered her toward the entrance to the coffee house, and held the door for her. The place was crowded and there was only a single open table. "Why don't you grab that," he pointed to the one available spot, "and I'll get the coffee? What do you want?"
"No. You take the table and I'll get the coffee. My treat, remember?"
He wanted to argue, but there was something in her demeanor that suggested she wasn't going to allow him to buy. Logan silently capitulated. "A large coffee. No cream, no sugar, none of that other frou-frou stuff. Just black, okay?"


Tell us a bit about your writing style. What kind of writer are you? A plot and outline person or are you more of a pantser style of writer? Have your characters ever developed a life of their own and taken off in a direction that you didn’t expect? If so, what did that do to your story?

I'm more toward the seat-of-the-pants side of the spectrum, but I've shifted over time. I used to be nearly a pure fly-into-the-mist writer, but now I usually have a synopsis before I start writing, and to my surprise, I've liked having that loose framework. I can't see me moving too much farther toward plotting, though, since just the thought of index cards makes me break out in a cold sweat.

My characters arrive as fully-formed people, so they tell me their story and I write it down. If I try to force them to do it my way, progress grinds to a halt and I can't write any further until I figure out what had one or both balking. It happened in ETERNAL NIGHTS when I had Wyatt kissing Kendall. I couldn't figure out why I was stuck after that point, but it turns out it was too early; he wouldn't risk scaring her. I still had the kiss after I fixed that spot, but because Wyatt was only semi-conscious when it happened, it fit better and it also caused more complications through the story.

What's really hard is when the characters keep secrets and then spring things on me just before it's time to reveal it in the book. The most flagrant example of this was in my first book, RAVYN'S FLIGHT. I went through almost half the book before Damon mentioned the big event from his past. I'd suspected there was something that had him so determined to protect Ravyn, but it could have been his personality. Once he finally revealed the truth, more things about him made sense.

Oh, and it happened with IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR and Ryne's past. I knew there was a reason why she was so dead-set against getting involved with a human, but I didn't know what–exactly–that was until right before it was revealed. I tried to talk her out of it because I really didn't want to go there or write it, but she insisted. And it was a pretty big part of what drove her, so I guess she was right.

If the characters give me enough notice before they head off, it's not really that big a deal because I can just adjust as I go along. When they spring a surprise on me right before I'm ready to write the scene where they reveal their secret to their hero/heroine, then it's a little bigger deal and usually involves going back and adding some foreshadowing earlier in the story. With Ryne, I didn't have to do that because I knew there was something and was already foreshadowing, but with Damon, it did involve sprinkling clues in throughout the first half of the book as I revised.

Are you a big reader? Do you have a favorite book or author? Do you read the same genre that you write or do you find this a distraction to your writing?

I used to read a book a day before I sold my first book. I literally have boxes and boxes in my basement filled with thousands of books and bookshelves all over the place. Now so much of what used to be reading time is writing time and I don't read nearly as much as I used to.

Oh, wow, I have a lot of favorite books and authors. It's impossible to narrow it down to one. I do tend to like darker books with lots of action and suspense. My favorite "romance" movies are The Terminator and Speed if that gives any indication of what kind of story I enjoy reading most. And I do read in the genres I write. Since I rarely pick up a book while I'm writing, I don't find it distracting.

I've also begun to read more non-fiction. My latest was Survival Of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem. The book was about why certain genetic diseases are still in our gene pool. I found it utterly fascinating and couldn't put it down.

Has anything been different than you expected since beginning your writing career? The fans, the book signings, promo? What do you enjoy the most?

The biggest surprise was how much time and energy is taken up with things that have nothing to do with the story I'm writing. I'd heard other published authors talk about it, but I couldn't believe it could be that bad. I was wrong. It is utterly amazing how many things eat up writing time. While I'm trying to write one story, I might be doing promotion on an earlier book, reading through copy edits on the manuscript I turned in months earlier, and discussing a future project all at the same time. Then I'll go to my day job and someone will ask me about the book and I have to ask which one they mean.

Favorite thing, hands down, is hearing from readers who enjoyed my stories. I keep each and every email and I plan to scrapbook them all. Before I sold, I never emailed a writer when I loved one of her stories, but now that I know how much it means, I do contact authors whose work I loved.

Give us an example of a normal day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule with a certain word count or number of pages a day?

Now y'all get to find out how boring my normal days are! The alarm goes off at 4am and I hit the snooze as many times as I can before I absolutely have to get up to get ready for my day job. Eight plus hours at work where I tease engineers and do projects, and then home. Chores, errands, email, and if I'm lucky, I can sit down to write by 6pm. If I'm not lucky it'll be 7 or later. I usually write until my brain shuts down and then go to bed to start it all over again the next day.

I do try to do a set number of pages a day and spend the weekends trying to make up for the number of pages that I'm short. I also use my vacation time from my day job to make my deadlines.

What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies or collections you would like to share with our readers?

I scrapbook, although I haven't had much time to do it lately. It's a way to be creative without using the same part of my brain that writes. I also started gardening after I moved into my house. Kind of, at least. I like looking at the flowers, but I mulch so I don't have to weed too often. The coolest thing was that one year while I was standing outside watering my lilies, a hummingbird hovered within a foot and a half of me and I thought, wow! I'd like to start doing container gardening for fresh vegetables. Maybe in 2009.

If anyone is interested in seeing some of my 2008 flowers, I've got a slideshow up here: http://pattioshea.blogspot.com/2008/08/flowers-flowers-flowers.html

If you could give one piece of advice to a beginning author, what would it be?

I've received two really great pieces of advice, so I'll share both. The first was: Writers write.

At the time I heard it, I wasn't putting in the work to be a writer, I was waiting for some magical day when I had more time, when the muse struck, when I had the perfect idea, etc. It didn't sink in right away, but later I realized that if I really wanted to be a writer, I couldn't wait until I found the time–I had to make the time. I really wanted to be a writer, I'd wanted it since I was fourteen, so instead of watching television or whatever, I'd write.

The second piece of advice that really helped me was: The writing process will change and don't try to force yourself to write a book the way you wrote the previous one. Use whatever process that book needs.

Every single book I've written has had a different method of coming to life. I did intensive character sketches when I wrote RAVYN'S FLIGHT, but on other books I've only filled out some of the questions, and in some cases, only the physical descriptions of the hero and heroine. It depends on what I need to do to tell the story. When I wrote THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL, I had to do it at night. I joked to people that because my hero and heroine were nocturnal, they wouldn't come out to work until later in the evening. I thought it was weird, but hey, whatever it takes. Thanks to the advice, though, I've been able to let myself go with the flow and not get hung up on the fact that isn't the way I wrote my last book.

Patti, thanks so much for stopping by to chat. I know we are all looking forward to your next book! Please come back again soon!

I hope you will join Patti at her fabulous website http://www.pattioshea.com to learn more about her current and upcoming books! You won't want to miss them!

The Awesome Jodi Thomas!!!

I recently had the opportunity to interview the awesome western romance author Jodi Thomas. I've been a huge fan of hers for years and her books rate high on my keeper shelf. Hope you enjoy the interview!

Jodi, welcome to Leah’s Literary Lair/Bookstore Deb’s! I have to admit I have a huge, long time fan of your work and I am thrilled that you could take time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.

**Deb, I am glad to be able to touch base with you. Thanks for reading. Most nights when I’m working I stay at the desk an hour longer because I know people are out there waiting. It makes writing so much more fun to know that you’re going on the journey with me. So now to the questions….

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your family, background, etc.

**I’m married to my best friend, Tom, and we have two sons. We’re both Tech grads so football season around our house is crazy this year. I have a master’s degree in Family Studies and am a certified marriage and Family counselor. I’ve taught school, worked at a Museum and several libraries.

Do you have any hobbies or collections you would like to share with our readers?

**Seven years ago I agreed to be Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University. I have the coolest office in the center of the campus. In the mornings I open my do to anyone who has questions about writing. Some afternoons you’ll find me in my office listening to beginning writers read their work. I don’t know if you could call it a hobby but teaching others about writing is a great joy in my life. I’m working with the university to put together a week long workshop in June. Anyone wanting to write can come for a week of work, lectures and fun. Plans will be up on my web site by January.

For our readers unfamiliar with your writing, please tell us what kind of books you write and what is the setting for your books.

**I write books set in Texas. With five generations of Texas blood in my veins, I know the land and the history. I’ve written over 20 historical novels and five set in modern day. I write stories about people. They come alive for me and I hope they will for my readers.

How long have you been writing and how many books do you have published now?
**I sold my first book in 1988. There is a list of my books on my web site www.jodithomas.com


Are you a full time writer now or do you still teach? Did you find it hard to find enough writing time when you are working full time?

**I still teach a few classes and find I rarely write during the day. Still, after 20 years, my writing time is between about 9 and midnight every night.

What was your first book and when did it come out? What genre of book was it?

**Beneath the Texas Sky, 1888. It was a Historical Romance.

What was your reaction when you saw your book on the store shelf? I know I would have been ecstatic! Do you still get a thrill from seeing each new book on the store shelves?

**I loved it. I’d go down to bookstores at night just to look at it. I’d type my name in at the library and yell when I saw it come up.
Now with almost thirty books out, I still get excited when I first see the cover. On my third book, THE TENDER TEXAN, my name was on top. I called my editor and cried saying it made me feel like a real writer. She said, “Jodi, you are a real writer.” That was the first day I believed it.

Tell us about your road to publication. How long did it take you to be published and if you were doing it all again, what would you do different?

**I wrote for about four years before I sold my first book. Sometimes I think I started years before that thinking about stories. I don’t think I’d change a thing, it’s been a great journey.

I know you write mainly western historicals but you have also written some wonderful romantic suspense and mainstream fiction. Are there any other types or genres of books you have written or would like to write in the future? If you could write any other genre you wanted, what would it be and why?

**I love reading other genre, but for me I think I’m writing what I want to be writing. I would like to write a book on writing one day. I’ve also wanted to write a cookbook.

I was fortunate to be at the 2006 Rita Awards when you won another RITA for THE TEXAN’S REWARD and were inducted into the Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Your books have won so many well deserved awards. Did you ever expect that your writing would have this kind of impact in the world of romance readers and writer’s?

** In truth, no. I still feel like I have to work very hard just to get the story down and it’s never a good or as polished as I wish it were. From the beginning I wanted to tell a story of two people in love. It’s not about sex scene, or great bodies, it’s about the passion of loving someone so much you’d give your life for them if it came down to it. That kind of passion lasts a lifetime, not a night.

Your newest release, TALL, DARK & TEXAN, the third book in your Whispering Mountain series is getting rave reviews. I know I absolutely loved it! Please tell us a bit about this book and the others in this series.

**I love the men of Whispering Mountain. They had to grow up fast as boys when their father was killed and the battles they fought left them strong and scared. There is a legend that if a man sleeps on the top of Whispering Mountain he’ll dream his future and at some point in the book each man must face that. For the third book, Teagen’s story, I wanted to write a very tender love story because he’d a man who has been hardened by bad times and loneliness.

How many more will be in this series and can you give us a sneak peek into the next book? Do you have a release date for it yet? I know I’m really looking forward to more of your wonderful books!

**There will be two more. I’m working on Sage and Drum now and loving it. This couple is wild and passionate. The next one will be Duck and the ladies and it will be the three little girls, all grown up, from TALL, DARK,AND TEXAN and the little boy from the first book. His uncles tell Duck to find them all husbands.

What do you have in the works now and do you have any idea when it will be released? Is it connected to any of your previous books or will this be the beginning of another series we can look forward to?

**I have a new book to follow in the line of TWISTED CREEK called REWRITING MONDAY that will be out in April 09. It’s about a small town newspaper that is so bad they have to rewrite every Monday and a big city reporter who gets stuck in the town. Love and adventure follow.

**Sage and Drum’s story will be out in Nov. 2009 It’s going to be a fun story.

I know most of your books have been connected in some way. Whether it be a family, brides, etc. Do you enjoy writing the connecting books more than stand alone titles? I know I love re-visiting characters as the series progresses.

**My characters become like family and I like seeing what happens to them as they grow older through the series.

Tell us about the research you do for your books. Do you do a lot of traveling or online research and approximately how long does it take for you to research each book?

**I always try to ‘walk the land’. In FINDING MARY BLAINE I walked among the homeless in Austin for several days. In TWISTED CREEK I rented a lake house and began the book by the water. For books set in the past I like to drive through on country roads where I imagine the lay of the land looks about the same as it did 150 years ago.

What do you use to keep the pertinent information on your characters, backgrounds etc to keep from mixing them up? Do you use note cards, a spread sheet or do you just have a fabulous memory? I’m always fascinated by the different ways the authors keep track of their characters.

**I have a six foot story board next to my desk where I list all facts in the series and I still have to go back again and again and check.

What kind of writer are you? An organized outliner who plots things out thoroughly or are you more relaxed in your writing style? Do your characters ever take off in a direction you haven’t planned for them and do you let them get away with it. What ever you are doing it obviously works well!

**I sometimes spend months writing the first few chapters trying to catch my character and what I want him or her to be. Then I have a one page outline of where they might go. Sometimes new directions and problems come up. I love that when it happens. On those nights I write longer because I can’t wait to see what is going to happen.

Do you find time to read with your busy writing schedule? If so, please share some of your favorite authors or books with us.

**Of late I read very little. Once I finish a book I’ll take a month and read two or three books a day. I love books and my list of favorite authors is over a 100 long. For me the magic time is on those rare days when an author takes me away and I feel like I’m living in the story. You know those books you carry around with you everywhere just in case you have a minute to read one more page. I’ve even read at stop lights. One of the greatest compliments a reader can pay me is to say, ‘you kept me up all night.’

Do you think your writing style has been influenced by anyone? A family member or another author? If so, how?

**No. it’s the voice I hear when I tell myself a story.

Give us an example of a normal day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule with a certain word or page count per day or does real life get in the way at times?

I leave the house about 9 and drive 30 minutes to work---always listening to a book on tape.
I’m in my office from about 9:30-noon answering e-mail and talking with people who drop in
I eat lunch with writers and friends almost everyday. Canyon only has a handful of restaurants.
From about 1-4 I close my door and try to write but most days something else takes my time.
Around 4 or 5 I drive home. My husband and I eat dinner and watch the news or go out with friends or family.
About 9 I climb the stairs to my study and work until midnight most nights.
All I need is two more hours in the day, then I could buy groceries, go to the gym, work in the garden, read more, watch a movie and talk on the phone. All of which I tell myself I’ll make time for next week.

Jodi, it has been fascinating getting a peek into the life of such a wonderful writer. Thank you so much for coming to visit with us! I know we all look forward to many, many more of your fantastic books!

**Thanks for having me in for a chat. I enjoyed it. Wishing you all great hours of reading and happy trails through life. Love much, Jodi Thomas

My Man Michael by Lori Foster

My Man Michael has been causing an uproar in the world of romance lovers. Fourth in her SBC Fighter series, My Man Michael definitely takes on a different twist. It doesn't take long to realize this isn't your typical Lori Foster book. Is it enjoyable? Yes! Would I recommend it? In a heartbeat! Is it for everybody? No, but then no book is. All that being said, I give you my review of My Man Michael.

Lori Foster continues her SBC fighter series with My Man Michael, and as usual she has a winner! Although a tad different from her other SBC books, My Man Michael will take you on a ride that you won’t want to forget.

Michael “Mallet” Manchester, upcoming extreme fighter in the SBC has a shot at the championship, the one thing he has spent years working and training for. But a sudden and tragic car accident takes that away. Injured, in pain and depressed, Michael “Mallet” Manchester doesn’t have a clue what he is going to do with his life. Fighting was his life and it will take him a lot of time and effort to even be able to walk so fighting was out of the question. So what is a man to do? What can possibly bring Michael back to the life he loves?

Suddenly out of nowhere, Kayli Raine appears, tougher than most women and Michael is instantly captivated. Thinking his pain medicine is causing hallucinations, Michael doesn’t believe her when she offers him a chance to be whole again. But to even think about having that chance gives Michael the motivation to accept her challenge. What comes next is something he never dreamed of and a story that you don’t want to miss!

Lori Foster continues to enthrall her readers with her fabulous characters and setting so real it’s hard not to feel as if you are in the story yourself. Her outstanding books make her a continuing favorite! Way to go Lori!

Bikini Diaries-Review

I had the opportunity to read this spicy romance and hope you enjoy the review.

The Bikini Diaries can be described in one word times three. HOT, HOT, HOT!
Lacey Alexander has once again given us a sexy book with an insightful look into a woman’s world.

Wendy Carnes considers her self a good business woman and has never really expected to have more. On a business trip to Emerald Shores she sees a bikini babe that gathers all the male attention. Wendy begins to wonder what it wonder what it would be like to “be” the bikini babe. Could an average woman make the transition and give herself a fantasy of a life time? Could she really have a one night stand without feeling guilty?

With the help of some sexy clothes and a can do attitude Wendy sets out on her journey to meet her fantasy man and does she ever! Brandon Worth is an extremely sexy man and leads Wendy further into sexual fantasies than she could ever dream. Their journey and growth together will keep you riveted to the page.

If you love a book that sizzles with passion, The Bikini Diaries is a sure winner!

A Taste of Magic-REVIEW

I wanted to share a review I did of a fast fun read called A Taste of Magic by debut author Tracy Madison. Hope you enjoy!

What would you do if your wishes came true? This is the story of Elizabeth Stevens who is having a birthday that she won’t ever forget.

Do you ever have one of “those” days? The ones where you wish you could change it? Elizabeth Stevens is having a rotten birthday. Not only is it the one year anniversary when her rat of a husband left her, now she has gotten suckered into making the man’s wedding cake for his upcoming marriage!

But not all the day is bad…Grandma Verda passes on a “special” gift to Elizabeth that changes her life and those around her. With the ability to add a “wish” into her delicious baked goods, Elizabeth suddenly finds that sometimes you really do need to be careful what you wish for.

A Taste of Magic is a fast, fun read and will definitely be going on my recommended read shelf!

Interview with Jennifer Ashley

Jennifer, welcome to Leah’s Literary Lair. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your background, family, etc.

Oh my, let’s see. I grew up moving all over the place because my father was a chaplain in the military. I lived in mostly in the southwest (Texas, Nevada, Arizona) but went to high school in Japan. Growing up everywhere gave me an interesting perspective of the world, and made me kind of a misfit at the same time. I married another misfit, the son of an Army officer. He joined the Army right before we married, and I went to Germany with him. Now the two of us have settled down in the southwest looking after a succession of cats. We are both book lovers (which is how we met), and we got married so we could purge the duplicates out of our massive book collections.

For our readers unfamiliar with your work, please tell us what kind of books you write.

The question is what kind of books don’t I write? *g* I started out not really knowing what I wanted to write (because I like many genres), so I tried a bit of everything. I was shopping a dark historical mystery and a light romantic adventure at the same time—and they both sold. I was very surprised!

Now I write romances as Jennifer Ashley (historical and paranormal), romances as Allyson James (erotic and paranormal), and mysteries as Ashley Gardner. I throw in a mainstream historical novel now and again. I have a couple of fantasy short stories published, and I’d like to explore more in the fantasy genre.


Many authors use a pen name for their books and often a variation of that pen name for other genres of books. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with privacy and security. Do you use a pen name and if so why? How many books do you have out under each name?

Privacy and security never occurred to me at first! Jennifer Ashley is my real name (it’s on my driver’s license, which, no, I’m not showing anyone). I sold my first book (the light romantic adventure) as Jennifer Ashley, and I intended to write everything as Jennifer Ashley.

Well, we can’t always get what we want. I sold a mystery series to Berkley right after I’d sold the romance, and the publishers didn’t want my name cross-competing. So I had to take a pseudonym (Ashley Gardner), which was probably good, because the mysteries were dark, gritty historical noir, while the romances were light-hearted high-seas adventures. Very different!

A few years later, I decided to try erotic romance, because I’d always enjoyed writing hot, and I wanted to see what I could do. I took another name—Allyson James—and submitted a book to Ellora’s Cave. I took the pseudonym for two reasons: 1. to avoid any contract problems, and 2. I feared I’d fail. If Allyson James tanked, she wouldn’t mess with the readership I’d already built as Jennifer Ashley.

To my surprise, Allyson James did pretty darn good! My first book sold well above the average sales for EC, and got fantastic reviews including a Gold Star award from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. So Allyson James stayed. Now she’s writing hot paranormals for Berkley as well as more erotic romance for both Berkley and Ellora’s Cave.


How did you get started in your writing career? Are you a full time writer or do you work an outside job too? Was becoming an author something you have always wanted to do or did it evolve over time?

I wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old and realized that novels were make-believe written down. I wanted to do that! I wrote stories to entertain myself (I was no child prodigy—they were putrid). I wish I would have pursued a writing career earlier, but I had it in my head that I had to get a “real” job and let writing just be a dream or a hobby.

One day I realized that if I didn’t try to be a writer the dream would never come true. I worked full time until 2001, when I at last walked away from a well-paying day job and announced that I would stay at home and write full time (by then I’d won a few contests and published a few short stories, though nothing that paid more than a handful of dollars.) My husband, bless his heart, said “it’s about time!” and worked with me to make sure we could eat and pay our rent while I did this. We ate a lot of Raman noodles and mac and cheese for a while.

I had the feeling that once I focused on writing alone, I’d get somewhere, and I was right. Once I made writing my job, it became my job. I wrote every day, researched the market every day, worked on finding an agent and a publisher every day. It was hard, hard, hard, but eventually the work paid off. Nine months after I quit my full-time job, I found an agent and made my first sale.

Selling a first novel doesn’t necessarily mean you make a million dollars and get to move to Hawaii. It was still lean the first couple of years, but I stayed home and worked on my career every day, and heck, I still do that. It’s a good thing I like to write, because I sure do a lot of it!



What was your first published work and when did it come out?

My first romance novel was Perils of the Heart, which was published by Dorchester in November 2002, under the name Jennifer Ashley. It’s still in print! My first mystery novel was The Hanover Square Affair, by Ashley Gardner (no longer in print), which I sold at about the same time.


How long did it take you to be published and if you could do it over again, would you change anything in your journey to publication?

I started seriously trying for publication in 1999, after I took a seminar at my local Y by the author of The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit. I’d dabbled with writing and submitting previously, but her talk motivated me to get off my butt and really work at it. As I said, I quit my job in 2001 and finally published in 2002. So about three years from concept to publication.

What would I do differently? Have a plan!! I didn’t know what I wanted to write. Romance? Mystery? Fantasy? Why not all three? The world of publishing, however, isn’t set up to accommodate jacks of all trades, unless you’re brilliant. Publishers like you to be focused, because authors sell better when they write one subgenre, and even one series in that subgenre. I am anything but focused! I get a story in my head, I want to tell it, and I don’t care what slot it fits into.

But… if I find myself in the position of starting all over again, I’ll go in with a more definite plan of what I want to write, who I want to publish it, and how I want to build my career. I’m not unhappy with the way my career has turned out, but I realize now a lot of it had to do with sheer luck.


Has anything been different than what you expected as a published author? The promo, signings, deadlines, etc?

I was an editor at a medium-sized nonfiction publishing house for about five years, so I was aware of the revision/editing process and what to expect from my editor and so forth. A few things are different in fiction, but the basics are the same. I even didn’t mind the deadlines because it’s hard for me to finish something without the whip of a deadline.

However, the marketing side took me by surprise. I thought all I had to do was write my books and turn them in. I soon realized I had to market the books and go to conferences and “network” which means—gasp—talking to people! I’m painfully shy, and walking up to a person and saying “I have a book out, do you want a bookmark?” is like the ninth level of hell for me. I’ve gotten more comfortable with it as I’ve gained confidence in my work and also because I’ve made many friends at the conferences. It’s not as painful now. But I still wish I could just write my books and turn them in! I’ve battled shyness all my life, and I’m still battling it.


I just finished your wonderful book Highlander Ever After, an April 2008 release. Please tell us about this book. Is it connected to any of your other books and if so, please tell us which ones. Will there be more in this series? I sure hope so!

Thank you! This is the third book in the loosely connected “Nvengaria” series, which started with Penelope & Prince Charming. The series is historical romance with paranormal elements, based on characters from the made-up land of Nvengaria. The Nvengarians are dark-haired and blue-eyed, very passionate people—they are intense lovers and violent fighters.

The hero of Highlander Ever After is Egan McDonald, who is the Scottish friend of the Nvengarian heroes of books 1 and 2 (Prince Damien and Grand Duke Alexander). Egan spent some time in Nvengaria, where he was rescued by a 12-year-old girl named Zarabeth. That young lady is now twenty-three and needs to be kept safe from assassins from her volatile country. She travels to Egan’s very remote Scottish castle and is swept up by his rough-and-tumble family and Egan’s own life. It’s one of the sweeter love stories I’ve written (although it’s pretty sexy, don’t worry!).

I don’t know right now if the series will continue. I’m starting a new historical series (without paranormal elements or pirates), and I’m going to see how that goes. But I never say never. I have a couple more stories I can tell in the Nvengaria world.


You have an upcoming release, September 2008, Immortals: the Redeeming. I believe this is the fifth in the Immortals series. Please tell us a bit about this book and series.

Immortals: The Redeeming is the story of Tain, the tortured Immortal who caused everyone so much trouble in books 1 though 4. I have to say Tain is my favorite Immortal, and I love his chemistry with the heroine, Samantha.

Samantha is half-demon and a detective in the paranormal division of the LAPD. She’s minding her own business a year after the close of the big battle of book 4, when Tain pops up to interrupt a sting operation she’s worked a long time to set up. Tain has come to Samantha for help, and she’s floored by her feelings for him. He’s still trying to get over being tortured for 700 years, and he’s not sure his insanity is completely gone.

The whole series (Immortals), is a continuity series written by three different authors about Immortal warriors created by goddesses at the dawn of civilization. They were created to fight against the growing “death magic” creatures, strong beings called Old Ones, who were vampire and demon. Throughout time, the Immortals are “Called” by a spell to assist when things are dire. However, as the centuries rolled by, the Immortals were forgotten, and so was the spell to summon them.

The series begins in present day Seattle, when a witch who is looking for her sister’s killer encounters an Immortal warrior who is searching for his brother, Tain. Thus begins the desperate quest of the four Immortal brothers to find each other, find Tain, and stop the demon who’s trying to drain life magic from the world. That’s books 1-4.

Books 5-8 don’t have a continuous arc, but are about characters readers met in the previous books. I think this next set of books is even better, because we weren’t restricted by the story arc—we just went for it!


One of things I find unusual about this series is the fact that it is written by several different authors, yet it blends wonderfully! Tell us about this series and how did it come about. How many books have you written in this series and will there be more?


This series came about in an email conversation between myself and my editor. Dorchester had done a previous continuity series that I’d wanted to write for, but my schedule didn’t allow it. I asked my editor if they planned to do another series, and if so, could I participate? My editor replied that they had no more series planned, but if I had an idea, I could pitch it.

I wrote back a one-paragraph email with an idea I’d been kicking around about a series based on Immortal warriors who came to help out when people needed them and a little bit about the overall plot. I sent it and figured it would be filed and forgotten.

To my surprise, my editor called me the next day saying it had generated a lot of interest and could I write a more in-depth proposal? After I closed my gaping mouth, I sat down and pounded out my ideas for the characters, the series arc, and plots for four books. (I can work fast when I’m motivated!)

Dorchester accepted the idea and then chose the other two authors (I sent them a “wish list” and then they contacted who they thought would be best). It was very exciting.

Joy, Robin, and I got together via email and took my original idea and brainstormed, brainstormed, brainstormed. They had terrific ideas and fleshed the series out far better than I ever could have on my own.

The first four books came out in 2007. Books 5-7 (The Redeeming, by Jennifer Ashley; The Crossing by Joy Nash; and The Haunting by Robin T. Popp) will be out September, October, and November 2008. Book 8 will be an anthology called The Reckoning and it will be out in March 2009.


You have written historicals, paranormals, mysteries and more! Do you have a favorite genre or setting for your books?

You probably have the idea by now that I like everything! I love paranormals because the possibilities are endless (I grew up reading fantasy, and I’ve have a couple of short fantasy pieces publishing in anthologies). I plan to do many more paranormals.

I adore mysteries—in fact, it’s my favorite genre to read for pleasure. I bet I own the DVD sets of every British mystery series out there (Midsomer Murders is a particular favorite). I plan to continue writing mysteries at some point.

And then there’s historical romance. Sigh… I love writing about the past and seeing it through the eyes of an ordinary person. I enjoy the Regency, and I’m currently writing in the Victorian period. But the other day, I got a hankering for the eighteenth century. And then I have a medieval series swimming around in my head . . .

Is there any other genre of book you would like to write and if so, what would it be?

I’d love to do some romantic suspense someday. I love mysteries and I love romance—RS puts them together. Urban fantasy is another thing I want to write. It combines mystery, suspense, and paranormal, and you can throw a little romance in too. What’s not to love?

What are you working on now and can you give us a sneak peek? Do you have a publication date yet?

What I’m working on now….are you ready?

August 2008: I’ll be in an anthology (as Allyson James) called Private Places with the great, wonderful Robin Schone. That’s published by Berkley, out in August. I’ve posted an excerpt at www.allysonjames.com

Immortals: The Redeeming is out in September 2008 by Jennifer Ashley (Immortals series book 5). An excerpt is at www.jennifersromances.com

I just turned in The Dragon Master, the third in my Dragon series as Allyson James. That will be out in November, 2008. You can see the gorgeous cover at www.allysonjames.com. I don’t have an excerpt yet, because the book is currently being edited, but I’ll post one on my site as soon as it’s ready.

Allyson James has an erotic romance coming out from Ellora’s Cave on July 2, Catch a Falling Star, a blend of futuristic and fantasy. The world-building was fun on that one.

And then: Allyson James again has an erotic paranormal series with Berkley starting in March 2009. Mortal Temptations features a black-winged demigod under a curse, his best friend (a were-snow leopard), and an antiques dealer who is baffled to find a half-naked winged man on the floor of her antiques store. She decides to help him and his friend break the curse. This is a hot, hot, hot read.

As Jennifer Ashley, I’m working on a new historical series (not paranormal), set in Scotland and England. Readers will meet the decadent, scandalous, über-wealthy family of four brothers who each desperately need the love of a good lady. Ian, Cam, Mac, and Hart will make their debuts starting in April 2009.

Also in 2009 will come another new paranormal series from Jennifer Ashley, which is in the preliminary stages so I don’t have much info yet.

I update my websites at least once a month with any new info, covers, blurbs, excerpts, and the like, and I try to update my blogs a couple times a month so readers will know what’s coming when.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What’s the worst part?

Favorite part: Setting my own hours!! I work when I want to work. I sleep when I’m tired. I don’t have to dress up and go to a cubicle and do what someone else thinks is priority. Also I love being friends with other writers. I am still a voracious reader, and I love being able to scream “I love your book!” and hug an author without them calling security (well, most of the time).

Worst part: There is sometimes so much work to do that I go nonstop. Sometimes I have to forgo friends and family and my personal life and just hope everyone understands. I hate that. I try to make it up to them later, but sometimes you can’t.

>How do you keep track of all your pertinent character and setting information? Since you write in so many genres, I would think it would be terribly confusing to try and keep up with all the small details. Do you use a spreadsheet or notebook to keep the details straight? <

Spreadsheet? Notebook? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That would be organized! I do make some notes when I’m brainstorming, but that’s about it.

I must be good at compartmentalizing because it’s not confusing to me at all to write many series and many books. When I open the computer file and start reading and working on that story, I’m focused on that story and no others. I write like I read—I just get into it and shut out the rest of the world. When I write the next book in a series, I go back and re-read the others, not only to remember the details, but to remember the feel of the characters and that world.

>What kind of writer are you? Do you plot and outline or do you have more of a relaxed style of writing?<

I don’t plot or outline before I start writing. I brainstorm and make notes, but my notes are a jumble that no one but me can understand. I rarely write a synopsis before I start.

What I find works best is to simply sit down with all the mess that’s in my head and let the story develop as it will. As I write the first draft I continue to brainstorm and make notes about what will happen next. Sometimes I follow the notes, but if I have a better idea in the meantime, I’ll ignore the notes. I try to let the story progress naturally, one thing leading to the next.

Once I have my first draft (which is very, very rough), I go back and intensively revise. I usually do three drafts altogether—1. the rough, rough draft, 2. the second draft where I combine scenes, rewrite scenes, write out characters who don’t work, etc., and 3. the third draft to revise for prose style and to intensify what’s already there. After that I do one proofread and send it off to my editor.

It’s a good question. Every writer has a different approach, and it’s fascinating to see how we call get from word one to polished novel.


>Tell us what you do for fun. Do you have a hobby or collection you would like to share with our readers?<

For fun, I build dollhouse miniatures. I started when I was ten with cardboard boxes and progressed from there. I’ve progressed to “real” houses and room boxes and collecting the work of other artisans (although I still find cardboard useful :-)). I post my scenes and houses as I finish them at http://www.jennifersromances.com/Miniatures/miniatures.html I just finished a quarter-inch scale Dutch house, which I think looks very cool.

Why do I do this hobby? Who knows? It’s a creative exercise that releases tension from my brain.

I also play guitar and write songs, though I haven’t done as much of that lately as I’d like to.. I did participate in a CD called Stardust County, the details of which are on my website (www.jennifersromances.com) on the right-hand menu.


Do you find time to read with your busy writing schedule? Please share some of your favorite authors or books with us.

I still love to read—my all time favorite entertainment. I try to read at least one book a week, though I wish I could read more.

I love urban fantasy: Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris are two of my favorites (although you can you say the Sookie series is “urban?”). In romance I adore Nina Bangs. Her humor is terrific, and I wish I could think up the things she does! In romantic suspense, the books of up-and-coming RS author Colleen Thompson are wonderful. I hope more and more people discover her, because she is a very talented writer with just the right balance of mystery and romance. I also love fantasy/sf, with two of my favorites being Lois McMaster Bujold and Terry Pratchett.


What was the best piece of advice you have received pertaining to your writing career?

The best piece of advice came from a book whose title I can’t remember (I feel so guilty about that). But what the author said stuck with me—he said that it really isn’t “who you know” that gets you published, it’s your writing. Who you know, he says, can “grease the wheels”—an author friend’s agent might read your novel without it sitting in the slush pile for six months. BUT, that agent can still reject you. She might read you faster, but she’s still looking for a fantastic book that will sell in gobs. Publishers publish books to make money, and if they don’t think your book will make them money, they don’t care whose friend you are.

This statement comforted me, because current wisdom had it that you can’t get published if you’re nobody (and I am nobody). Well, this book said I could get published even if I didn’t know anyone in the business (and I didn’t), I just had to work hard to make my book good! I like having that control in my hands, and it made me work doubly hard. And I’ve learned through experience that he was right. It really is the writing, the ideas, and the characters, etc. that sells the book.


If you could give one bit of advice to a new writer, what would it be?

Keep trying. Persistence pays off. I have watched talented authors, both published and unpublished fall by the wayside because they got tired of trying. It’s hard to be an author, probably one of the hardest jobs out there, but if you keep writing and writing and writing and submitting, submitting, submitting—one day you will get through. It takes some people six months. It takes some people sixteen years. Don’t think you have to follow someone else’s road to success. We each have our own path, and what works for others might not work for you. And again—keep trying!

Jennifer thanks so much for joining us. We wish you continued success and hope that you come back to visit us often!

Thanks so much!!