Making Out Like A Bandit (In More Ways Than One!)

An guest blog by Virna DePaul with Tawny Weber

Thank you so much to my friend Tawny Weber and all the hackey hudjson for having me here today. With my first debut novel, Chosen By Blood (A Para-Ops Novel) having just released, you can bet I’ve been doing a lot of promotion, and that includes a lot of blog writing. That’s why I hope you’ll indulge me as I do a post that’s a little different, just for fun.


10 Things I Love About The Hero Of My Debut Novel:
1. His name. Knox Devereaux. As sexy, sophisticated, and complex as he is…
2. His body. Actually, both of his bodies. His “normal” one, and the one it transforms into when he’s impassioned (by blood lust or just plain lust).
“Beneath his loose clothing, his muscles hardened and swelled. Knox grew taller, broader, not enough to rip his clothes but enough to make them strain their seams. He felt his fangs lengthen and knew from the sound of Lucy’s gasp that his eyes had shifted from silver to a demonic, glowing scarlet. Control slithered away and a primal growl vibrated in his throat.”
3. His loyalty to his clan.
4. His love for his family.
5. He’s a vampire.
6. His passion for the heroine.
“’There is no us,’ Felicia said sadly.
‘I refuse to accept that.
‘You desire me now, but you’re right—I have limited years on Earth. I need to live those years honoring what I believe. I don’t believe in—in what you’re asking me for. Besides,’ she reasoned desperately, ‘I’m just a passing fancy. When I’m gone, you’ll be glad—’
‘No.’ He growled and pulled her into his arms. She saw the terror that flashed in his eyes. ‘No.’ Before she could stop him, his mouth took hers. And it was exactly as she’d feared it would be.
Devastating.
His mouth took but it also gave. It plundered even as it cherished. His tongue rubbed hers, then retreated, mimicking a different dance and causing the music to swell even louder, until it obliterated everything but the moment.
It was heaven. The kind of heaven one only dreams about, especially when her life has been filled with fear and uncertainty and pain. The kind of heaven that a mortal can’t have.
She wrenched away and backed up, wiping her hand against her lips.
He was breathing roughly, his expression almost desperate. ‘You can’t run from this forever, Felicia.’”
7. His sense of humor.
8. He’s a bad ass.
“Knox returned his attention to Hunt, who not only met his stare head-on, but jerked his chin in challenge. ‘Might as well get it over with now,’ Hunt drawled.
Laughter, a sinister, chilling sound, tickled Knox’s throat.
Oh yeah, he thought.
Things were going to get a whole lot more fun before the day was through.
Knox took three lightning-quick steps toward Hunt, then froze. His nostrils flared as he caught her scent. A second later, he saw the woman standing just behind Hunt.
Felicia. What was she doing—
Before he could complete the thought, a heavy weight slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of him and propelling him off his feet. He didn’t stop until his body slammed into a wall on the other side of the room. Knox hit the ground. Stunned, but immediately moving into a crouch, he blinked as dust and plaster rained down on him, momentarily obstructing his vision. When it cleared, he saw Felicia wrestling with the
werebeast. And then he saw the werebeast shove her down.
With an enraged shout, Knox teleported so fast he caught her before impact. He lowered her, gently but swiftly, then almost instantly wrapped his fingers around Dex Hunt’s throat. Imagining that Hunt’s throat was an aluminum can, Knox squeezed.
Only one thought remained.
Kill the bastard who’d touched Felicia.”
9. His love for his father, the same father that was branded a traitor for telling humans how to kill vampires:
10. Uh, he’s a (Hot) VAMPIRE:
“Felicia grabbed his hand. It was dark out, almost too dark for him to see her, but she wasted no time in cupping her hand around his neck and pulling his head toward her. Not to her lips but to her neck.
‘Drink from me… I feel fine, Knox. I promise.’
He swallowed hard. Felt his mouth watering. “I’ll drink just a little. Just enough to . . .” Without another word, he gave in…Her taste filled his mouth, then his throat, then spread to every part of him…He felt the urge to suck her dry, to drink and drink and drink until every last drop of her was inside him...
Still, he forced himself to slow down, to suck softer, to pull back slightly. He felt his renewed strength, even with the small amount of blood she’d given him. He didn’t want to take too much—
She pushed his head down deeper, whispering for him to take as much as he wanted, and her full acquiescence was too much to fight. He might not need more of her blood, but he wanted it.
He gave himself over to his hunger. Planting his hands on her hips, he rubbed his body against her as he drew on her vein in long, languorous pulls. He lifted his hands to her breasts, cupping them. He felt the strong urge to leave her vein so that he could suck at her nipples.
That’s when he knew he would always be drawn to Felicia for who she was and not what she could give him.
He would always want her more than he wanted her blood.”
Virna DePaul is a former criminal prosecutor whose debut mass market paranormal romantic suspense novel, Chosen By Blood (Book 1 in the Para-Ops series), comes out May 3, 2011 by Berkley Books. In addition, Virna writes contemporary romantic suspense for Harlequin Romantic Suspense (Dangerous To Her, September 2011) and HQN (new series launching April 2012). Virna has also self-published several novels, including "A Vampire's Salvation," "This Magic Moment," and the "Red-Hot Cops" series under the name Ava Meyers. Visit her at www.virnadepaul.com.
Virna is giving away a Para-Ops tote filled chocolate, a Para-Ops mug, sunglasses, and my e-books, A Vampire’s Salvation, a paranormal vampire novella, This Magic Moment, a contemporary romance, and my craft book with Tawny Weber, Love Writing: A Guide To Writing and Getting Your Romance Novel Published (Without Losing Your Perspective, Passion Or Sanity).
Blurb of Chosen By Blood:
United by fate. Bound by desire.
Five years after the Second Civil War ends, humans and Otherborn— humanlike creatures with superhuman DNA—still struggle for peace. To ensure the continued rights of both, the FBI forms a Para-Ops team with a unique set of skills.
Leader of an Otherborn clan, half-breed vampire Knox Devereaux would do anything to find a cure for the anti-vamp vaccine slowly starving his people into extinction. When the FBI contacts him about leading a team of hand-selected Others on a mission to reclaim the stolen antidote, Knox accepts. His new assignment places him in direct contact with Special Agent Felicia Locke, the beautiful human he’s craved since their very first meeting.
In bookstores now and available on www.amazon.com!
Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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When in Rome, Do Something FORBIDDEN!

by Anna Campbell

I first had the great pleasure of meeting today's guest, Christina Phillips, at the Romance Novelists' Association Conference in Leicester in the U.K. in 2004. We were the lone Aussies (well, Christina was born in the U.K. but currently lives in beautiful Perth, Western Australia) and immediately formed a bond. We've stayed in touch since, although sadly because Perth is on the other side of a huge continent, we haven't actually met up again until this year at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney. When I was so happy to give Christina a big hug and congratulate her on her fabulous debut sale to Berkley.

I've read Christina's FORBIDDEN, a very hot and emotionall complex tale of the love between a Roman commander and a Druid Priestess in Roman-occupied Britain. Nothing like a couple of small impediments in the way of a couple's happiness, snork! It's fantastic and I highly recommend it!

You can find out more about Christina and her books at her website: http://www.christinaphillips.com/

And watch out for her next release CAPTIVE in February, 2011!

And don't forget if you click on the cover of FORBIDDEN, it takes you right to Amazon! Or you can order Christina's book post free to anywhere in the world from The Book Depository in the U.K. http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780425238080/Forbidden


Welcome, Christina! As you know, I was utterly blown away by your debut historical romance for Berkley, FORBIDDEN. Congratulations! Can you tell us a little about this story?

Thanks, Anna! I was so happy you enjoyed FORBIDDEN!

The story is set in AD 50 Britannia. My heroine, Carys, is a Druid princess and acolyte of the Goddess of Wisdom, Cerridwen. As the Roman Legions sweep through her beloved land, she and the rest of her clan escape into a magical enclave and are waiting for a sign from their gods before they attack their enemy. They were only supposed to remain there for a short time to rebuild their defences, but their High Druid has other plans.

My hero, Maximus, is a Roman Centurion, a patrician and loyal to his Emperor and Rome. When he discovers Carys spying on his bathing ritual (a scene I quite enjoyed writing!!!) he’s instantly captivated. Who is this woman, and why hasn’t she been seen in any of the villages the Legion has vanquished?

Maximus has been charged by his Emperor to eliminate all Druids. And Carys has sworn to rid her land of the barbarous invaders. Yet despite everything that conspires against them they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

Well, just between you and me and the doorpost, I enjoyed READING that scene of him bathing! In the lair, we love call stories. Will you share yours with us?

I’d love to! I love call stories too. I’d been writing for nine years when, at the encouragement of my CPs, I wrote my very first erotic romance. It was very short, very dark – and it sold to a small press. I was so excited by this – OMG a real live editor loves my writing! – that I decided to write a full length erotic romance.

FORBIDDEN took me nine months to write, I queried twelve agents, and a day to the month later my agent offered representation (not that I’m obsessive or anything but she actually offered representation at 11.30 pm on a Friday night and I didn’t sleep at ALL that weekend!!) Three months later we had a two book deal from Berkley Heat.

FORBIDDEN is set in Roman-occupied Britain. This is an unusual (while fascinating) setting, to say the least! Can you tell us a little about the rewards and challenges of writing in such a non-Romancelandia time period?

For me, the rewards of writing in this time period come from the mystery that surrounds the whole Druid culture. While I researched and used known fact as much as possible there are still huge gaps in our knowledge. So I improvised and wove a world where the goddess culture still predominated and women held equal status to men.

The biggest challenge was the setting and the time period. I knew that even before I started writing the book, but this book was one of those that I just couldn’t ignore. I had to tell Maximus and Carys’s story even though I knew it could be very difficult to place in the market. Thankfully I not only found an awesome agent who loves my world as much as I do, but also an amazing editor who believes in my Roman/Druid stories as well.

FORBIDDEN is hotter than July in Florida (yeah, I went to the RWA conference and I cooked!). I’d love to know how you approached the love scenes and how you kept the sensual and dramatic tension so taut while your hero and heroine were so…uh, busy!

I look at the love scenes as emotionally charged action scenes, essential for the growth of my hero and heroine as well as ratcheting up the tension in the overall plot. Although they may be getting naked physically – getting down to the action! – it’s really about what’s happening to their emotions, their pre-conceived convictions and in the case of Maximus and Carys, the prejudices they’ve held their entire lives about each other’s culture and heritage. So I don’t really approach the love scenes in a different way than I approach any other scene in the book. I do tend to write in a sensual manner in any case and I find the sensuality naturally heightens and heats up when my hero and heroine get, um, busy!!!

Can you give us a glimpse into your working day?

After the school run, shopping and the usual boring chores (which I do my best to put off until the last possible moment) I go into the spare bedroom which is now my official office *happy sigh*. Checking emails is an obsession and I need to get that out of the way before I can even think of opening my current document. This is not always a good move since I often get caught up in riveting online conversations and before I know it, it’s lunch time (but don’t tell anyone!) I tend to give myself lots of short term deadlines, i.e. five pages a day, finish chapter xx by the weekend, and so long as I meet them I seem to muddle through OK!

Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

Not advice as such. Every writer’s path is different. But one thing I’d like to share about my own journey is this – sometimes trying something completely different can be the turning point. Eleven years ago I started out by targeting Harlequin Mills and Boon Presents, was told by a lovely editor my voice fit the Romance line, but still couldn’t sell. I then tried chick lit and then paranormal romance. It wasn’t until I attempted the one sub-genre I always maintained I would *never* write (because it was far too hard!) – erotic romance – that everything fell into place. And of course you have to enjoy it – happily I discovered I absolutely *adore* writing about hot sexy warriors!!

Christina, it's been fascinating getting a glimpse at your debut book and your writing life. Thanks for swinging by today!

Thanks so much for having me in the Lair today, Anna! It’s been so much fun. I’d love to give away a signed copy of FORBIDDEN to one commenter. Which is your favourite unusual historical time and setting? What kind of smoky, sexy warrior is your secret fantasy – and who would you love to see play that warrior in a movie? (See what I did there – brought the conversation round to hot guys again!!!)Thanks a bunch!!!!!

Hot guys? That always gets the gals talking (and the cabana boys blushing!). Good luck, people! Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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Flying High with Hélène Young!

by Anna Campbell

Back in 2005, I'd finaled in the biggest romance writing contest in Australia, the Emma Darcy Award. One of the great pleasures of that for me was that I got to know my fellow finalists including today's guest, the fabulous Hélène Young.

Hélène is a fascinating person to talk to - she's traveled all round the world and currently works as a commercial pilot. Added to that, she's incredibly smart and funny. Just who you want sitting next to you at a long awards dinner.

I was utterly delighted when I heard last year that Hélène had sold a romantic suspense story to Hachette Australia. BORDER WATCH is out in Australia this month and it sounds absolutely fabulous.

Here's the blurb:

Above the crystal-blue waters of North Queensland, Captain Morgan Pentland patrols the vast Australian coastline. When Customs Agent Rafe Daniels joins her crew, she is immediately suspicious. Why is he boarding her plane when she isn’t there? And why is he asking so many questions?

What Morgan doesn’t know is that Rafe has her under surveillance. Critical information about their Border Watch operations is being leaked and she is the main suspect, but when Morgan and Rafe are shot down in a tragic midair attack, they realise they have to start working together – and quickly. One of Australia’s most loved icons is the next target and they have only nine days to stop it.

Will they uncover details of the plot in time, or will the tension that is growing between them jeopardise everything?

You can find out more about Hélène and her books on her website: http://www.heleneyoung.com/

You can buy BORDER WATCH from the Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780733624902/Border-Watch

People outside Australia can also purchase the book online from Booktopia: http://www.booktopia.com.au/border-watch/prod9780733624902.html

Welcome to the lair, Hélène! And huge congratulations on the publication of your debut romantic suspense novel BORDER WATCH.

Hi Anna.Thanks so much for inviting me into the lair – I love dropping by to read your guests’ posts and I now I get to be here too! Woohoo!

You work as a commercial pilot in beautiful Far North Queensland. Can you tell us how your career and this environment influenced your work?

My day job definitely influences my writing. The action is set in an aircraft very similar to the one I fly day in day out. The setting is North Queensland, a part of Australia that captivated me the first time I flew into it twenty years ago. Looking out of the flight deck window on a beautiful winter’s day, the view is spectacular – cerulean waters stretching to the horizon, white reefs rising out of darker depths, beaches dotting the coasting as we track north to the tip of Cape York, and the lush green of pristine rainforests. Gee, can you tell I love it?

Can you tell us about your writing journey?

I first started writing with intent when we moved to Cairns for me to pursue an airline career. Initially I shied away from writing about aviation because I didn’t think anyone would be interested and I also didn’t think I could demystify it enough to make it readable – who knew there were so many acronyms... My early manuscripts wandered around in the wilderness of ‘I don’t know where my voice fits.’ I tried writing to Harlequin Mills and Boons guidelines for Sweets. That didn’t work. I tried writing Sexy. Nope, no better – the only heat in my sex scenes were my cheeks when I reread them… I entered contests and learnt so much from the feedback. I attended RWA conferences and sat in stunned silence in workshops realising I knew so little. Bit by bit I learnt my craft. Four books later, after some great advice from a contest judge I took a deep breath and starting writing BORDER WATCH. Ten years after completing my first manuscript, my fifth one finally found a home!

Here in the lair, we love call stories. Would you share yours with us?

I still smile when I remember that day! I’d been fortunate enough to final in the RWAmerica Golden Heart Competition and through that, met the wonderful Bronwyn Parry (love DARK COUNTRY, her latest book!). At Bron’s book launch for AS DARKNESS FALLS, she introduced me to Bernadette Foley from Hachette. I may have been guilty of stalking Bernadette … but in a nice way! (When I pitched to her at the 2008 RWA conference it did mean I wasn’t incoherent with nerves – I’d got that out of the way at Bron’s launch!) Bernadette asked to see the complete manuscript and she then sent me some wonderful advice on that first draft. I took it on board, pulled the manuscript apart and tried again. And waited.

My husband and I were headed to the stunning Whitsunday Islands for a week’s sailing holiday where phone contact would be limited and I was fretting. We dropped anchor in Nara Inlet in time for sunset. My husband was ripping the top off a bottle of champagne when my phone rang. I could tell it was a Sydney number and one I didn’t recognise. I hesitated for an instant, took a deep breath and then there was this lovely familiar voice telling me Hachette Australia was interested in buying BORDER WATCH and my next book! I did manage to say yes, (after some prompting) and I did manage not to scream until I’d hung up though I clearly remember standing on the deck of the yacht with tears streaming down my face.

What a great call story! What’s next for Hélène Young?

My next book is BEYOND THE BORDERS and it takes Lauren, one of the secondary characters in BORDER WATCH, on her own adventure. She’s also a pilot in Border Watch and has more attitude than a cage full of leopards.

Love "more attitude than a cage full of leopards!" Now this is a story I want to read! Can you give us a glimpse of your working day?

A typical flying day involves four to six sectors of flying which can be up to eight hours in the air. We start by flight planning, checking the weather, working out how much fuel we can carry, briefing the cabin crew, then heading for the aircraft. On a typical summer’s day in North Queensland. I’ll be soaked to the skin by the time I finish inspecting the aircraft for serviceability… On a glorious winter’s day I’ll be feeling sorry for anyone stuck in an office. I fit writing in when I can. I try to be disciplined about either doing internet stuff – blogs, emails, e-loops - or working on a story. That involves having to turn the internet off. I have lousy self-control…

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

My advice is join RWA Australia or America – they are both wonderful organisations that foster writing. Enter competitions, get feedback, toughen up and persevere. Write what you know, write what you love and believe all things are possible! Write characters that people can connect with, empathise with, love with!

Hélène, thanks for that great interview. Is there anything you'd like to ask the Bandits and Bandita Buddies?

I was chatting today with a journalist about what makes a character believable. She was fascinated with the process of creating a new character from scratch and how a writer does that. What do you start with? Is it a face, a photo, a whiff of aftershave on a train? Does your character drive you or do drive them? I’d love to hear about your process.

Writing Banditas, we'd love to hear your answers to Hélène's question. Readers, what makes a character come alive for you in a book?

Get commenting, people! Hélène has very generously offered one lucky commenter a signed copy of BORDER WATCH. Good luck! Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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Surrender to Beverley Kendall!

By Anna Campbell

It's my week for hosting fabulous debut authors!

I'm delighted to welcome to the lair a wonderful writer and a fabulous advocate for the romance genre (especially historical romance, yay!), Beverley Kendall! SINFUL SURRENDER, her first historical romance for Kensington, has just hit the bookstores!

Bev has very generously offered TWO signed copies of SINFUL SURRENDER as prizes to people who comment today. So get commenting, people, while I go and pour Bev a margarita and find her a cabana boy. They've been a bit nervy since Courtney's visit so I might have to sneak up on one and throw a net over his head!

You can find out more about Bev and her books on her website: www.beverleykendall.com

Bev also runs a wonderful romance website called The Season which is mainly, although not totally, about historical romance. There are contests and news and a fabulous bulletin board where you can talk other romance fanatics. Check it out! http://www.historicalromancereleases.com/tableofcontents_1qtr.html

Bev, huge congratulations on your debut SINFUL SURRENDER which is a fantastic read. That's a lovely cover too! Yum! Can you tell us something about the story and the inspirations behind it?

I've always adored the stories where the heroine is in love with her brother's best friend, so when I was thinking up a plot for my first historical, it just naturally came to mind. I love a story when either the hero or heroine is pining for the other. I love the angst of it. And you know one of them for whatever reasons, is trying to resist. And the relationship between the heroine’s brother and the hero is something that can live or die depending on how the brother feels about the match. I think most brothers who are a bit wild themselves and hang out with equally rakish friends, don’t think said friends would be suitable for their sisters. That is instant conflict right there, and I love it!


How delicious! Here in the lair, we love call stories. Can you give us yours?

My call story was a little surreal to me. I was sitting at my desk at home, working on my second book, THE GAUNTLET. I’d given up on selling SINFUL SURRENDER as I couldn’t get an agent for it. The phone rang and I noticed it was a New York City area code. My mind immediately went to all the people I knew in New York and my old work place. I quickly dismissed that any of them would be calling me. I answered the phone cautiously. This very lovely female voice asked to speak to Beverley Kendall. Kind of formal, you know. I identified myself. She said this is Hilary Sares from Kensington, and I swear to you that’s all I heard. My mind started racing. Why on earth is Hilary Sares calling me? You see, I’d received a rejection letter from Kensington for the first version of SINFUL SURRENDER months before. I’d sent a ‘better’ version off a week before I received that rejection letter, so when I got the letter, I thought it was dead in the water. Well, apparently she liked the second version and wanted to buy it. I know at one point she started to laugh because I was babbling, and I remember she laughed and said she loved making these kinds of calls. I don’t know that I was coherent for the rest of the call. But I did say I wanted to try and get an agent before I accepted the offer. I asked for a week and she said fine. That’s what I remember about the call that changed my life.

What’s coming up next for Beverley Kendall?

My next book, and the second book in the series, is THE GAUNTLET. Now, that title WILL change as I've been told it's not sexy or romantic enough to remain. LOL. But THE GAUNTLET is the story of Missy's (heroine in SINFUL SURRENDER) brother, Viscount Thomas Armstrong and Lady Amelia Bertram. They appear together very briefly at the end of SINFUL SURRENDER and their introduction is far from amiable. There will be lots of sparks (the good and bad kind) in this book.

I look forward to that. You write in the Victorian era. What appeals to you about this period in history?

To me it was the perfect median between what I felt wasn’t modern enough (hot running water, water closets, better lighting and heating) for a person to be comfortable and too modern to come even close to the industrialization and technological advances of the twentieth century. Does that make sense?

It does indeed! You run a fabulous website for romance readers called The Season, which largely although not entirely concentrates on historical romance. Can you tell us about the site and what inspired you to set it up?
The Season was inspired in part by something Kris Alice, who works for a romance review magazine in Germany, said on Twitter one day. She started following me on Twitter, announced that she’d found another debut author, and said she wished there was a place she could go to find out about all the new authors coming out. My sister then latched onto to that little nugget and suggested I create a site that featured only debut authors. I didn’t think that a site that narrow in scope would work, so I said what about a site that features all historical releases. And so The Season was born. Now it’s expanded to include four contemporaries and paranormals per month and other fun things. I’m trying different things out right now. If they work, I’ll keep them. If they don’t, I’ll stop.

Bev, you’re one of these superwomen who juggles work outside the home, a romance writing career and motherhood. Can you give us a peek at your usual day? Do you have any tips on time management?

LOL. No, I have no tips because I don’t manage them well at all. I feel like various things in my life are getting short changed like cleaning. LOL. Currently, I don’t have a full-time job (paying) as I was laid off last summer. But I work more than full-time hours. I usually work on the site and blog at least three hours every day. I try to write at least three (doesn’t always work out that way). My son gets home at 2:30 so I better have all those things done by then. After he’s in bed, I will go back to working on the site or writing. It’s honestly more work than I’ve ever done in my life. I need another five hours in a day to feel like I’ve truly accomplished everything that needs to be done. Promoting is another strenuous activity. LOL.

Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

Don’t follow rules. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t right about this or that, or that that story won’t sell. And worry more about writing a great, entertaining story than anything else. Although, you must get through an editor to get your story out there, at the end of the day, the readers have the last say as to how good a job you’ve done.

Bev, what a great interview! Now do you have a question for the Banditas and Bandita Buddies?

I see phases in historical romance. Like right now I’ve been seeing more courtesans as heroines. What type of heroine or hero would you be interested in reading about? Do you have a favourite now?

Bev has very kindly donated TWO copies of SINFUL SURRENDER as prizes today for people who comment. Good luck! Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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Meet Debut Historical Author Beverley Eikli!

by Anna Campbell

I'm always over the moon when I can introduce the lair to a long-term friend who has recently sold her debut novel. Beverley Eikli's LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION is out in the U.K. from Robert Hale on 29th May. Huzzah!

It's easy and economical to buy the book from The Book Depository in the England who will post any book in their catalogue anywhere for FREE! http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/browse/book/isbn/9780709087779

Bev and I first met at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Melbourne in 2002 and we've been firm friends ever since. Our relationship was cemented by me sitting down next to a stranger at the first workshop and saying hello. Stranger introduced herself as Beverley Eikli. I asked what she wrote. Bev said historicals. I said historicals. I asked what era. She said Georgian. I said Georgian (at the time, I was working on the endless Hungarian prince saga). Clearly this was someone I had lots in common with! Interestingly enough, we both now write Regencies!

You can find out more about Bev and her amazing life and her books on her website. While you're there, make sure you check out the beautiful photos of colonial Africa and Bev's travels. That's where the lovely shot of the animals and her family home in Lesotho came from in this blog.

Bev, congratulations on the release of your debut historical romance, LADY SARAH’S REDEMPTION. Can you tell us about this story?

Thank you, Anna, I’m delighted to be here. LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION is a deception/redemption Regency Historical romance about society beauty Lady Sarah – initially a little vain and self centred - who assumes the identity of her ill-fated shipboard companion to avoid an arranged marriage. Masquerading as governess to the sixteen-year old daughter of deeply principled British MP Roland Hawthorne, Sarah falls madly in love with her employer. Hawthorne is on the other side of politics to her own politically minded and beloved papa, so she finds him very fascinating.

The story is set mostly on Hawthorne’s country estate except for the danger and adventure part which takes place in a London bawdy house where Sarah tries to redeem herself in Hawthorne’s eyes after he discovers her deception. Yes, an unlikely place to seek redemption, but it’s where Hawthorne’s daughter is being held as part of an elaborate extortion plot engineered by Hawthorne’s old enemy.

Of course, the feisty, beautiful Sarah gets into all sorts of trouble as she tries to play the grand heroine and prove she’s brave and loyal, not spoiled and vacuous.
Suffice to say that Roland Hawthorne, my sexy, passionate but very serious hero is deeply humbled by Sarah’s actions. In order to restore her honour and standing in society he resorts to rather unconventional means to publicly vanquish the villain – and, of course, win the girl.

Can you tell us about your writing journey? I know you’ve led an amazingly peripatetic life, including stays in Africa and the Solomon Islands. Has all that travel fed into your writing?

My writing journey? Hmmm. It’s been a convoluted one. When I met my husband, Eivind (pronounced Ivan)– a Norwegian bush pilot around a camp fire in Botswana at the luxury safari lodge I was temporarily managing - I told him about my writing. (I also told him I was leaving for Australia the next morning to marry my boyfriend of 8 years, but that’s another story).

Eivind said he wanted to read the book I’d just finished writing, so I posted him the floppy discs. Yep, this was 16 years ago and technology has changed a lot since then, but technology is one of Eivind’s passions and he has always made sure I had my own laptop - and checked that I was taking regular backups! When we were both employed in the airborne geophysical survey business, I was able to type away at my stories when Eivind was on a different contact or I was the only female on crew and not in the mood for hobnobbing with the boys.

For four or five years I operated the computer equipment in the back of survey aircraft as we contoured the Greenland Ice cap at 200ft above ground, or the jungle of French Guyana - the ‘steaming broccoli’ we called it - or surveyed the Skeleton Coast of Namibia where we spent the most fabulous year.

Many of the stories I’m now working on, including LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION, were developed during this time, but of course, the road to publication is a long one…

Nowadays, with a three-year-old livewire running around, my only writing time is 5am to 7am before the household wakes and makes its demands. However, during a very pleasant 18 months in the Solomon Islands, despite my eldest daughter being two at the time, I finished a couple of novels - thanks to a nanny, maid and gardener – in between liquid lunches at the Honiara Hotel, my volunteer work on the Honiara Beautification Committee (the capital was very battle-scarred after the recent coup) and the many embassy and other social functions which made our small expat community so much fun.

As far as the experiences feeding into my writing, I think one’s work is always unconsciously borrowing from life experience. Not the physical environment in my case, obviously, since I write English-set historicals, but the study of personality. I worked closely, for many years, with a lot of interesting and sometimes very curious personalities – mostly men - which I’m sure comes out on the page in ways I don’t even know.

I know you worked long and hard to achieve publication and I wondered if you had any advice for unpublished writers.

The most obvious one, for me, was perseverance. I was 17 when I wrote my first full-length novel – a painful 550 page epic in which my heroine drowned on the last page. Thankfully only my mother ever read it! – and it was more than a quarter of a century before I got a publishing contract. However, my second piece of advice is to join a writing organisation and benefit from the mentoring or critiquing of one’s work, or the ‘egging on’ one may need to enter competitions and submit. It was only after I joined Romance Writers of Australia that I learned how to make professional approaches and started winning competitions and getting editor requests for full mss. Not to mention all the craft techniques for adding power to my writing that came from attending conference workshops.

Oh, and definitely, grow a thick skin! Competition feedback and regular critiquing are a great way to develop one.

When I first met you, you were writing in the Georgian era, whereas Lady Sarah’s story is definitely set in the Regency (in 1819). Can you tell us what appealed to you about the two different eras and why you eventually settled in the Regency? Do you have any yen to set books outside this time?

I was writing in the Georgian era because I loved panniers! When I realised how much more adventurous and active my heroine could be in a simple high waisted sprigged muslin I changed to the Regency.

No, but seriously, a political or otherwise important historical event always provides the setting for my stories. I chose 1819 for LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION because the harsh treatment meted out by authority during the Peterloo Masscacre in August that year was something my privileged hero was up in arms about. It gave him a social conscience which appealed to my heroine and made her rethink her own values.

I have another three Regency Historicals on the go but I’d love to set a story during the Georgian era. What a great backdrop for a heavy political or sexual intrigue. DANGEROUS LIAISONS, the film based on the book LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSESES by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, immediately comes to mind. It’s one of my all-time favourites, together with Karleen Koen’s THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, which is set during one of history’s worst financial crises, the South Sea Bubble, around 1711.

As for other writing ventures…. I’m just about to hand in my second Regency Historical, WIDOW IN WAITING, about a woman, Olivia, whose vengeful late husband has stipulated in his will that their son is to be brought up by the husband’s cousin, Max. Olivia’s growing love for Max is complicated by her knowledge that her son, by being a bastard (her terrible secret!) has usurped the title and wealth that Max should, by rights, have inherited. I find it fascinating to explore the psyche of women in a time when they had absolutely no rights – even to their own children.
A big writing deviation I’m excited about is a medicine murder romantic thriller. Early next year I’m commandeering my dad into returning to Lesotho, the mountainous kingdom landlocked by South Africa where I spent my early years and where dad was private secretary to Chief Leabua Jonathan, the country’s first Prime Minister. During the 1950s and 60s dad was a District Commissioner with magisterial duties and his stories of medicine murder and the intriguing expatriate life he and Mum lived there would make fabulous fictional fodder.

Yes, it would be a huge departure from what I write now, and may not come to pass as I’m totally fascinated by the 18th and 19th centuries and all the romantic possibilities resulting from usurped inheritances and fallen women needing rescuing.
…And the clothes! I’d miss the clothes which are such an integral part of a woman’s behaviour. The heavily corseted eighteenth century heroine would be far more restricted than her Regency counterpart but I’m planning to set my next romance in the mid 1700s.

To help me out, I’m curious to know how adventurous and spontaneously amorous you think my Georgian heroine could be wearing panniers that extended 2ft on either side and laced stays made with up to 40 pieces of whalebone?

Bev has very kindly offered a signed copy of her debut historical romance LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION to one lucky commenter today. I read this book in manuscript and loved it so good luck, people. Whoever wins has a treat ahead of them! Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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Gabi Stevens Climbing Mt. Everest

by KJ Howe

The publishing industry is a challenging one during the best of times. In this economy, finding a home for our books might parallel climbing Mt. Everest--a true test of nerves, an endurance event including the risk of life and limb, and a feat to truly admire. Today I'd like to welcome someone who has recently reached the summit! A warm welcome to Gabi Stevens who will tell her tale on the rocky path to publication:

Three weeks ago, my new agent sold my new paranormal series, Time of Transition, to Tor. The first book, THE WISH LIST, is due on bookshelves May 2010. I'd had publishing success in the past, but my career stalled when an editor left my publishing house. Despite having an agent, despite contest wins, good reviews, and a burning desire to succeed, my writing career was going nowhere. And then, as an added insult, I had to get a day job to pay tuitions for twins (yes, I know I was lucky before). When the first two years passed without any nibbles, I thought it was a fluke, but as the drought continued, it became harder and harder to keep going, to keep writing, not to quit. I started doubting my abilities, believing that I didn't have what it takes, that I'd never have another book published. I tried switching genres, switching critique groups, and going through many, many months of utter despair. So why didn't I quit? Here are...

The Top Ten Reasons I am Still in the Game:

10. I already owned the equipment — Computer...check; research books…check; paper...check. Are you kidding? I buy my paper by the case at my favorite office superstore.

9. The lovely fellow writers I have gotten to know over the years — They are a support group. They wouldn’t let me quit. They "get" me.

8. I couldn't turn off the voices in my head — If you're a writer, you know what I mean. Too many characters were demanding life, and every time I considered leaving them behind, they'd protest.

7. Nothing feels as good as typing "The End" — It’s a sense of accomplishment when you've finished a novel. And now I have three completed novels and three proposals that I can regale my agent with.

6. Time means nothing — Time exists, but the way we measure it is arbitrary. Why do we have a twenty-four hour day with sixty minute hours made up of sixty second minutes (I know, I know, the Babylonians)? I read a book once where the calendar was kept with a deck of cards. (Think about it: fifty-two weeks in a year, fifty-two cards in a deck; four suits times thirteen cards equals fifty two, and you have jokers for leap years.) And age is just a number. In my head I will forever be twenty. Only wiser than when I was actually twenty.

5. The importance of teaching my children that having a dream and pursuing it is (almost) as important as succeeding.

4. It's just cool to say you're a writer — the Muggle world...I mean the non-writing world...doesn’t "get" it anyway, but they're impressed.

3. I needed an excuse to keep my book buying habits — I read a lot. Too much. No, really. When I run out of books, I read my husband's robotics journals. I don't understand them, but I read them. I have no TBR pile. Actually I do right now, but it's only three books. Check back in a week.

2. I enjoy it — Yes, writing is hard, yes, it can be frustrating, but I like to play with language and words. I like looking up grammar rules and definitions. Diagramming sentences should be required for all students. It's fun.

And the number one reason I haven’t quit…

1. Embarrassment.

Yup. My prime motivator was not being able to face my family and friends. I couldn't tell them I failed. I try not to care about what others think about me, but this was different. I couldn't quit because I felt I made a liar of myself and disappointed those who believed in me. I wanted to be able to hold my head up, and I couldn’t have done that if I had quit. (Hey, this is about my reasons for not quitting.)

Wiser men than I have written about persistence, so I leave you with these words from Isaac Asimov: If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success—but only if you persist.

--Gabi

Thanks for sharing your story, Gabi. Your perseverence is inspiring and I can't wait to read your novels! If you're a writer, what are you willing to sacrifice to make your dreams come true? If you're a reader, do you like hearing "CALL" stories about your favorite authors? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Gabi Stevens was born in California to Hungarian parents. They never understood how she could make up stories and entertain herself for hours at a time. She must not have understood that she was a storyteller either because she waited until her twins turned one and she feared her brain was turning into mush to write her first book.

An award winning author, Gabi now lives and writes in New Mexico where she lives with her robotics engineer husband, three daughters, and a neurotic dog. She loves to play games, has a wicked addiction to reading, and avoids housework and cooking whenever she can. She is the author of a new paranormal series, The Time of Transition, from Tor. The first book, The Wish List, appears in stores May 2010. You can follow her blog at http://www.gabistevens.blogspot.com/.

A special congrats to Bandita Donna MacMeans who is going to be up on stage tonight at the RT conference in Orlando accepting a special award. We're cheering you on, Donna! KJSource URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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Debut author Lisa Cooke in the lair

sponsored by Donna MacMeans




I've known Lisa for several years and knew that if her everyday humor and charm were captured in a book - she'd have a hit on her hands. I didn't have long to wait. Lisa's debut book, TEXAS HOLD HIM, hit the bookshelves this month. Romantic Times Bookreviews says "It's a luscious, fast-paced adventure with appealing characters and great scenery." Luscious. I like that. Please join me in welcoming Lisa Cooke to the lair.



Thanks for inviting me to hackey hudjson today! I’m so excited to be here and to talk about my new release, TEXAS HOLD HIM. I love historical romances, and my favorites are definitely the ones that add humor to the mix. When I write a book, I always think about what types of personalities will give the best potential for a passionate romance and a giggle or two (or three or four).

The hero in TEXAS HOLD HIM is a Texan (of course) named Dyer Straights and a Southern belle who needs a sizable amount of money to pay a blackmailer so she can save her sick father from prison. Dyer is the best gambler on the Mississippi and Lottie agrees to give him a night in his bed in exchange for poker lessons. The ensuing scenes were a blast to write. Lottie had never handled cards in her life and her questioning of the logic of the game exasperates the hero to no end. Of course, there’s much more to the book than poker games, but the banter between my hero and heroine entertained me enormously as I tapped away at my keyboard.

My next book is a story about an 1890’s Appalachian midwife who suddenly finds herself with three fiancés. A MIDWIFE CRISIS will be released in February of 2010 with Leisure historicals. And yes, it’s got a few giggles in it as well, or did you already figure that out by the title?

Luckily, I found an editor who loves humor as much as I do. When Leah Hultenschmidt of Dorchester Publishing called me this summer, I almost fainted. I remember looking at the caller ID and seeing “Dorchester” and thinking, they must have the wrong number. When she told me she wanted TEXAS HOLD HIM, I could have swallowed my tongue. I’ll never forget her telling me that I had impressed her and Alicia Condon (senior editor). Then she added, “Well, actually, you’ve impressed quite a few people here.” What a cool thing to hear on a hot summer day. She said she laughed out loud at the poker lesson scenes. When I heard that, I knew I’d found my editor
match from Heaven.

So, how about you? Do you enjoy a good chuckle when you read, or do you prefer serious stories? Is it something that changes according to your mood or do you pretty much stick to one type of book?

Leave a comment and you might win a copy of TEXAS HOLD HIM for yourself. Anyone up for a few lessons from a sexy riverboat gambler?
Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!



Hey - if any of you are headed for the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando, Florida this week, be sure to stop by and visit Lisa, Christie, and I. To read more about TEXAS HOLD HIM, visit Lisa's website at www.lisahistoricals.com
Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/debut
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