Blooming Author Sue London!

Sue London's book Trials of Artemis was published by Graythorn Publishing on May 12, 2013.

Tell us about your book. What is it about and where will it be available?

Trials of Artemis is the first book in a Regency romance series called ""The Haberdashers."" Our narrative starts in London in 1815. Currently you can buy it on Kindle or in a variety of ebook formats via my website.

The "blurb" for the series and first book is:

In 1805 three little girls decided to create a “boys club” because boys have more fun. Their childhood was filled with sword fighting, horse racing, and archery. Now in 1815 they are all grown up and expected to join Society. Who will marry such independent and deadly misses?

Trials of Artemis
Loving Lord Lucifer...
An independent bluestocking sneaks into a library to read rare Greek texts and ends up with a husband instead.

Jacqueline “Jack” Walters loves archery and Greek military history. In her third season she has failed to inspire so much as one marriage proposal and is planning to settle into the quiet life of a spinster.

Gideon Wolfe, Earl of Harrington, has been avoiding marriage but a case of mistaken identity in the library has left him saddled with an argumentative and unwilling fiancee.

What were your inspirations for your book? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

I've been reading romance for about twenty years and since discovering Mary Balogh have been principally interested in historicals. Entertainingly, one of the reasons I preferred Regencies at first is that they were often ""sweet,"" meaning much more like a straight up Jane Austen with nothing explicit or naughty. Well, the genre has gotten naughtier and I hopped right on board. Please be aware that this book is, um, explicit. Recent authors that have particularly inspired me include Diane Farr (her Fortune Hunter is my favorite), Grace Burrowes, Danelle Harmon, Rose Gordon, Elizabeth Rolls, and Lauren Royal. All fabulous.

Everything inspires me as a writer in general. Doing things, not doing anything, thinking, not thinking...

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 approach it quietly. They spook easily. Then I lay a trap around it, common referred to as an "outline." And then, if it's still there, I TYPE AS FAST AS I CAN TO COMPLETELY CAPTURE IT BEFORE IT ESCAPES.

The answer to "where" is almost anywhere. In front of the tv at night, at the cabin on vacation, in the bedroom late at night, at the coffee shop on the weekend. My mom gave me a tiny Toshiba netbook that has been my savior because I can take it anywhere and it is easy to use in bed at night.

If I think about the "optimal" writing environment I can come up with all sorts of fabulous ideas, but honestly it doesn't matter where I am or what's going on around me. The whole point of reading and writing is escaping from what's going on in the environment. What's the point of wasting a beautiful interior design on my writing area? 90% of my first book was written while other things were going on. The other 10% I got to sit on the porch staring at the river and enjoying the beautiful nature. The fact that I can remember that means that I WASN'T WRITING ENOUGH. See? Nice environment might equal bad writer productivity."

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

I wrote a blog post about that on one of my blogs. Basically last year I decided that author Sue should query publisher Sue and see if they couldn't get together and make this thing happen. Although they've had their moments of frustration with each other it seems to be working out.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I've done a few things (interviewed on Lindsay Buroker's blog about it) but for the most part I plan to stay quiet until the third book comes out. The most fun thing we've done so far is doing a livetweet with @erinscafe May 19th on the #haberdashers tag. Hilarious.

Blooming Author Amylynn Bright!

Amylynn Bright's book Miss Goldsleigh's Secret was self-published May 2013.

Tell us about your book. What is it about and where will it be available?

This is the second in the series - a Regency romantic comedy involving gunshots in the night and high seas rescues. There is some play on regular gender roles which is unusual for historical. The official blurb is:

When Henry Cavendish, Marquess of Dalton, leapt to catch the fainting woman before she hit the cobblestone, he never thought that one chivalrous act would set his well ordered life on end. His ingrained need to protect her has every bit as much to do with her enchanting beauty as it does his desire to wipe the hunted look from her startling blue eyes.

He thinks he has everything in hand, but the lady has secrets that put everything he loves at risk.

Olivia Goldsleigh just wants to live without terror, but a gunshot in the night proves things can always get worse. The beautiful and god-like Lord Dalton swears to protect her, to make the danger go away. She wants the man, the life, the family, the bliss he promises, but her secrets are certain to destroy them all.

What were your inspirations for your book? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Everything inspires me - songs on the radio, movies, nonsense my kids say. I've been writing since I was a little kid. Miss Goldsleigh's Secret wasn't originally part of the plan as the series was originally conceived. But after I finished book 1, Lady Belling's Secret, I was in love with the jilted fiance so he became the hero of book 2. The poor guy really deserved his own happy ending. 

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?

Well, with my first book I started by picking up my laptop and banging out 80,000 words of the most charming story you ever saw with no conflict whatsoever. After a zillion rewrites I think I've learned my lesson. I stupidly clung to the idea that I was a pantser and didn't want to be hindered by no stupid outline. You have to read that line like a Mexican bandit. Thank God, I learned that I'm a hybrid, a plantser. I get together with my sisters (writers too) and we hammer out the story in the broadest strokes. I write the high points on sticky notes and put them out on a poster board like a road map. That way I know where I need to get to but I have the freedom to allow myself a lot of creativity as to how I get there.

I work mostly on my spot on the couch. I have an unruly pile of stuff on the end table next to me and cats and dogs who pester me after my family has gone to bed. I have a regular job and kids and a husband so really the only time I have to write is late into the night when the vampires are up. I rarely sleep. Is this optimal? I seriously doubt it, but I don't have many other opportunities.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

My story begins with the call from my dream agent asking to represent me. Then we went on submission for two years. I got a ton of fabulous attention and some great feedback, but no offers. There have been so many success stories with self-publishing, that my agent encouraged me to try that route on this project. She put me in contact with some excellent editors and we beat the manuscripts into publish-ready shape. Then, with her assistance, I put the first two books of this series out through the Amazon White Glove program. So far, things have gone really well. I have more projects in the works - book 3 of the series and the first in a contemporary series that was requested by my agent and already been requested by a publisher.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I'm buying the Jumbotron during the playoffs, a skywriter on July 4th, and the space shuttle.

Or - I'm going to appear on every blog that will have me and plan strategic sales and use social media until my hands bleed. This marketing thing is really hard.

One of my biggest strategies was given to me by Tina Folsom - the goddess of her own self publishing empire - is building my newsletter list. Won't you please sign up?

You can check in with Amylynn on her blog The Quill Sisters, like her author page on Facebook, and tweet with her on Twitter.

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY: One lucky random commenter will win an ebook copy of Miss Goldsleigh's Secret! Comments must be posted by 2am eastern time on Wednesday June 25th in order to be eligible. Check back at 10am on the 25th to see the winner announced!

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 Shannon K. Butcher!

Shannon K. Butcher writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Her paranormal romance series is called the Sentinel Wars. Book 5 of the series, BLOOD HUNT, comes out in August 2011. The series is all about hot, tattooed, sword-wielding warriors and the magical women who make their lives interesting.

The first book of her new romantic suspense series, LIVING ON THE EDGE, came out in March 2011. It's not your typical serial killer story, but more on the action/adventure side of things. There's lots of mystery and intrigue to go along with a big, overarching storyline. It's similar in style to her first couple of suspenses (NO REGRETS, NO CONTROL) but with a larger cast of characters. The second book of the Edge series comes out in November 2011.

Shannon won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for NO REGRETS and BURNING ALIVE. All of her books are currently in print, and can be found at your favorite book store.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
My engineering career has been a huge help to my writing. All of the time and project management skills I learned, as well as organizing large amounts of information like what is created during world building, have really helped me stay on track.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
I'd be the Magnificent Multitasking Lass. My cape is a calendar. In one hand I carry the spatula of infinite hamburger flipping to feed my hungry boys, and in the other I grip a magical jug of detergent that can clean clothes and surfaces at 100 yards. My tiara is imbedded with Bluetooth technology, allowing my mind to connect to my laptop, which is strapped to my chest, recording chapter after chapter of the next book. With a phone in one ear and a glitzy earring dangling from the other, I'm ready for whatever my nemesis, the Evil Schedule, throws at me.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
No. There are times when it's harder than others. There are times when it's harder than being an engineer, but it was a good decision. I get to make people happy with what I do, and that is a rare opportunity. The fact that I can do so in my jammies is just an added benefit.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
The dress code is great--definitely makes up for the long hours. I love being at home with my husband and my dog. The flexible hours are nice, though sometimes I wish there weren't quite so many of them. :)

You can find Shannon on her website and on Twitter.

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.

Blooming Author J. M. Kelley!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

J.M. Kelley's book Drew in Blue will be published by Lazy Day Publishing 12/1/10.

Tell us about your book. What is it about and where will it be available?
Drew in Blue is a contemporary romance about a thirty-six year old loner unexpectedly saddled with the task of raising a baby while trying to sort out his mess of a life. Problem is, he just keeps making things worse for himself. It’s a running theme in Drew Doyle’s life, considering he never does anything the easy way. The River’s View, Pennsylvania gossip mill is watching each misstep as Drew juggles a price-gouging babysitter, a major case of artist’s block, and a best friend with an opinion to share on every bungled choice he makes.

His love life isn’t faring much better. Despite a long history of relationships that never really get off the ground, Drew falls head over heels for someone new, hoping she might be the one to end his romantic bad luck streak. After a few abysmally bad false starts, things finally start looking up. That is, until he finds out (the hard way, naturally) that his new love interest isn’t the one for him after all. Turns out it’s actually lifelong pal and high school girlfriend, Kristina Moser.

Drew’s feelings for Kris intensify as he witnesses her growing bond with his son and he finally realizes where he belongs. Now all he has to do is convince Kris he’s right… and she’s just not buying it.

What were your inspirations for your book? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?
I think I'm most inspired by every day life. I like to find the story in the people around me. I see a person on the street, and sometimes I wonder about what's going on in their life. Why do they look so sad or so angry? What happened? I love trying to piece together a tale about people we can identify with in some way.

Drew in Blue came from a desire to see a male character who is ultimately likable, but has his flaws. I'm fascinated with the male perspective, and wanted to show a man who isn't perfect, but underneath, he has a good heart. Drew does dumb things, he says the wrong thing at times, but his heart is in the right place.

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?
The grand vision for a story hits me out of the blue, and I know when I get that excited feeling that I have a concept that I want to see through to the end.

With Drew in Blue, the concept that came to me was basically, ""What if a guy who is a bit of a social leper suddenly becomes a father? How would his life change?"" And the rest came to me as I wrote.

I don't outline, in general. Maybe if I'm trying to plot out a few chapters, I'll piece together a rough outline, but overall, no. I'm a believer in letting the story tell itself. Maybe I have one idea about where the plot should lead, but eventually, the characters take over and tell me what happens next.

I think that tells me its working, if the characters are so real to me that I feel like I'm taking instruction from them. Outlining, for me, feels like a barrier between me and the people I've created.

As far as writing, I write where I can. In bed, at the park, at the beach, in the car. I take a notepad with me always, and when story strikes, I'm prepared. Also, I'm a bit of a night owl. My best stuff comes to me somewhere around the 3 a.m. mark. I've learned to stop fighting it, and just indulge the muse.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."
My original manuscript was about 80,000 words, and had an information dump starting chapter I was convinced was perfect. Eventually, I accepted that I needed a new beginning, and after attending the Pennwriters conference and sitting down with an agent who gave me some great advice, I retooled the beginning and added about 10,000 words.

Then I started to query with the worst query in the history of man and probably made a few agents laugh harder than they'd laughed before. But after reading through Query Shark and doing some research, I managed to create a functional pitch that started getting results.

I began to get good feedback from agents on the pitch and the sample pages, but the general rejection usually had to do with what the agents were taking on at that time. So I had to do some soul-searching. Did I need to go for print and wait for possibly years to be published, or was e-publishing an option?

I decided it was a good time to test the e-publishing waters, and after a few queries, I finally got that long-awaited 'yes' from Lazy Day Publishing. And I'm so glad I did. I'm surrounded with fantastic authors who are so supportive and eager to take this journey, and I have a wonderful publisher who is in-tune with their authors. I'm over the moon about the experience and my debut last December 1st.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?
I will publicize wherever I can. I'm shopping around for interviews and book review blogs. I might be batting my eyelashes at the local newspaper soon. Social networking is key, so I've set up a Twitter and a Facebook. I blog on my website at www.jmkelleywrites.com, and hope to be able to find potential readers through that, and I'm always trying to dream up new ways to get the word out about Drew In Blue. I have my nose to the ground, looking for publicity opportunities!