Blooming Author Rose Gordon!

Rose Gordon's debut book, Intentions of the Earl was published February, 2011; followed by Liberty for Paul, in March and To Win His Wayward Wife in April.

Tell us about your books. What are they about and where will they be available?
Intentions of the Earl kicks of the Scandalous Sisters series with an unusual plot:

When the impoverished Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, hits rock bottom, he makes an agreement that will end his eight year poverty streak once and for all. In order to gain his fortune he must do but one simple thing: ruin an innocent girl’s reputation enough to make her flee to America.

Brooke Banks isn’t interested in marriage, or so she thinks. She came to London to have a good time, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Widely known for her tendency to flout the rules, she suspects nothing when a handsome stranger appears on her doorstep.

Thirteen days, a handful of kisses and one scandalous situation later, Andrew and Brooke will have to choose to stick to their original plans, or decide if a life together is worth the risk.

Liberty for Paul comes next and is written about two secondary characters from the first book who met at a house party and took an instant dislike to each other:

Liberty Banks loves revenge almost as much as she hates one Mister Paul Grimes, who, she considers to be the most improper creature she has ever clapped eyes on. But when her plans for revenge against Paul go bust, she suddenly finds herself walking down the aisle to him.

Once married, a battle of the wills breaks out as each tries to reform the other. Liberty wants nothing more than to have a proper husband. Much to Liberty’s dismay, Paul will stop at nothing to have is all too proper wife do something--anything--to break the rules of society, specifically do the most improper thing which is to fall in love with the most improper man: her own husband.

And finally, the third book, To Win His Wayward Wife, is about the last unwed sister, the one who is in for a surprise nobody saw coming:

Not to be outdone by her sisters' marriage-producing scandals, quiet and withdrawn Madison Banks quickly finds herself walking down the aisle to a man who has secretly loved her for years.

Her groom, however, has no idea how to show his new bride that he truly loves her and following a bungled wedding night, finds himself in a position to either win his wife once and for all or lose her forever.

Can he prove himself worthy of her? Will she accept his love? Or will jealousy and past insecurities tear the pair apart?

All three of these books are currently available in digital format at Amazon, Barnes and Noble as well as Smashwords and their distribution channels which include Apple and Sony.

What were your inspirations for your book? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?
To be blunt, my first book was inspired by boredom. In the genre I read and write a common plot formula is an impoverished gentlemen, usually one of rank, is in desperate need of funds so he sets out to trap an heiress into marriage and without realizing it, he falls in love with her.

Bored of that scenario, I decided to go the other way and create a story where a man will gain his fortune by not marrying her. Instead he's being paid to ruin her reputation without offering marriage.

Going at it from this angle brought in a lot of conflicts the traditional plot doesn't contain. One of which is moral dilemma where the hero has to decide between doing what he knows is right where someone is concerned or keeping his word and following through with the agreement he made. Also, as love does come into play later in the book the feelings change from is he following his scheme through as a way to benefit himself or will he carry out the plot as a way to protect the girl from the villain who arranged the whole thing to start with.

In the end, he truly is made to choose between love and poverty.

The following books were inspired by the first. Before I finished the second chapter of the first book I already had ideas for plots for the following books--with one tiny exception. I was originally going to have Paul and Liberty have a spell of love at first sight but have to deny their relationship to the public because of Paul's close relationship with her father; but then, Liberty took charge of that situation and decided she hated the man, thus a new plot with the same characters was created.

As a writer I get inspired by dreaming up different stories or new twists on old, repetitive plots. I personally like to read about real characters with real problems. Not every hero should be a wealthy lord who can do whatever he wants; nor should every heroine be a damsel in distress. I like conflict--both physical and emotional--so knowing what I like and having a hard time finding it, I get inspired to write it.

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing your book? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?
I'm a pantser in the worst way. I have in my head how I want the book to start and end, but how it goes from A to B is determined by the characters. That said, if I do have something I think needs to happen I'll try to work it in. For example, in my second book, I thought the two of them needed a second ""first"" meeting where they could get past the unflattering first impressions they had of each other. So I did have to figure out how to work that in, but what happens leading up to them finding each other at the masquerade and immediately afterward was following what the characters were telling me to do.

I write one of two places: the dining room or outside. I have two young children who aren't quite yet school aged so I stay home with them all day and in between Hot wheel races and Lego towers, I slip off to the dining room to tap out a few paragraphs. If it's a nice day, I'll take them outside and let them play on the swing set while I type in the shade.

The optimal writing environment for me would include my children keep their voices at normal level without yelling, crying or screaming and it would be nice if I was only hit with five flying projectiles each day instead of dozens.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."
I'm not traditionally published, but I almost was. Last year I wrote all three books and shopped the first one around by itself for a while then all three as a series. A lot of agents were interested in the writing and the plots of the second two books but said the plot for my first book was unmarketable. One even said, ""Nobody in their right mind would want to read such a book.""

Finally, I had a small publisher make an offer if I would change a detail in my first book. I didn't want to change that detail because, to me, it would have ruined the entire book. I said no and walked away.

A few weeks later I proofed them all once more and decided to see how they'd do as a self-published eBook. For me, and these books, it was the right choice.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?
I do a lot of Author Interviews and Book Features. I have one lined up every two weeks or so between now and July. Some of the places include: Coffee Time Romance, Written in Blood, Lady Silk, My Eclectic Bookshelf and several others.


Check in with Rose on her website http://www.rosegordonromance.com/

Perennial Author Elizabeth Rolls!

Elizabeth Rolls is an historical romance author who has won the HOLT Medallion twice, and the Laurel Wreath as well as CataRomance's Best Harlequin Historical for 2007, been nominated twice for Romance Writers of Australia's Romantic Book of the Year Award, the Romantic Novelists' Association Romance Award, and an RT Reviewers' Choice Award. The major thrill last year was the RITA nomination for Lord Braybrook's Penniless Bride. If you are at all a reader of historical romance you should definitely check out Elizabeth's stories. She took a few moments from her busy schedule to tell us about her work.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
I studied music at university, and while I was writing my first term paper on 16th century vocal music, I made the earth shattering discovery (sarcasm fully intentional) that what drove the music on was dissonance, or discords, which were then resolved. Simple really. Dissonance equals tension, or conflict. So create tension, then resolve it. Of course you have learn where to place the tension and what to use as tension, but the principal is very much the same for writing a story. You need those builds of tension and resolution threaded through the music or story, with the final resolution leading to the final cadence, or in the case of a romance the HEA. Oddly enough, much later when I was studying for my Masters in Musicology, I found a book comparing the works of Mozart to the novels of Jane Austen in much the same way!

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
Dead right I'm a superhero/ine. What working mum isn't? And let's face it, all mums are working mums, whether they work outside the home or not. My superpower would be to get my kids to endless soccer training sessions on time and still have a meal on the table when we all get home. I'm keeping very quiet the fact that for one of those sessions I have a standing arrangement with another soccer mum to sneak off for coffee, pizza and talk about what books we've been reading! No one seems to have noticed that I rarely eat dinner on Wednesday nights ...

As for what I'm wearing ... I think I have a Team Steward's vest on (fluorescent green) and I'm clutching a container of orange quarters for half time and an umbrella.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
I never regret it, but there are times when I'm stuck that even the housework looks tempting. Times like that I go and work somewhere else. Working at home can be difficult because there are so many things to distract you. The phone, email, housework, making a pot of tea. So when I need to refocus I go out and work in the local library, or even a cafe. There's a great cafe across the road from the local laundromat and if it's too rainy to get the clothes dry I go there and work while the clothes look after themselves. I try not to do it too often because we have dogs as well as a baby magpie who still needs feeding, but every so often it helps to put me back on track.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
Getting that box of author copies in the post and thinking, "Wow. This is real. I made it." Getting a revision letter from my editor that focuses my thinking and helps me bring the best I can out of a story. I actually love revision letters because they make me think and inspire me. And hearing my kids say casually, "Yeah, Mum works. She's an author."

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
I write Regency Historicals for Harlequin. The best place to find my back list is either at eHarlequin, or Amazon.

My most recent release was the Historical Undone, A Scandalous Liaison, released as an ebook last year and now available in the anthology Delectably Undone. Also I have another short ebook coming out next month called A Princely Dilemma. This is a Royal Wedding special in honour of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Several of us have written stories celebrating royal marriages through the ages.