Linda is the very first of our Happily Ever After Authors to be featured. I’ve done a short interview – the format for all of our Author Features – to showcase her work and so that you can get to know her a little better…..

Judah: Hi there, Linda. Thanks for taking the time out to share on my blog.

Linda: Hi Judah, thanks for having me.

Judah: Why don’t you start off with a short description the type of books you write?

Linda: I write sweet/sensual Regencies, which are stories set in England about 200 years ago. Most contain humor, with sometimes a little fantasy and the paranormal mixed in. I have no idea how I developed this particular combination, besides the fact that I like a funny story. The humor is paramount, and if fantasy or the paranormal will enhance the fun, I add it.

Judah: Okay, I’m curious….Why do you write Regencies?

Linda: I like the Regency because the era is recognizable without being everyday. In terms of technological and social progress, the Regency was the start of the modern world. Also, the time is far enough in the past to contain the fantasy all romance should have, yet not so long ago as to make that world incomprehensible.

Judah: I’m sure you get asked this all the time (I know I do). Why did you become an author?

Linda: A few years ago, I went on a romance reading binge. Twice a week, I went to the library and took out romance after romance. I stayed up late to read, and got up early to read some more. At such a rate, I tore through the books at my local library, the ones from the inter-library loans, and then . . . I ran out.

Panic! What to do?
“Why not write your own?” a voice inside me said.
“What, me write? I’m not creative.”
My inner voice shrugged. (How does an inner voice shrug?) “You could try. What do you have to lose?”

My inner voice was right, so I made the attempt. Almost at once, I discovered how hard writing is. But did I stop? No, I kept up. And here I am, wherever “here” is.

Judah: What three words best describe you?

Linda: Persistent, persistent, persistent. That’s French for “too stupid to quit”.

Judah: Okay, so how did you manage to become an author, to break into the industry and get accepted by a publisher?

Linda: I lost the contest.

In 2007 The Wild Rose Press ran a time travel contest. The winners would be published, and every entrant would receive a Free Critique from A Real Editor.

Free Critique from A Real Editor? You bet. So I wrote a story. To minimize the gory details, I lost. But the editor saw enough to ask me to resubmit. I resubmitted twice. That story is Lady of the Stars, now available from The Wild Rose Press.

Judah: Isn’t it amazing what that “voice in my head” will get us involved in? I for one am very glad that you listened, and that your work is “out there” for the world to enjoy.

Linda: Thank you, all.

You can visit Linda’s website at: http: //www.lindabanche.com/ or check out her profile on our Author Profiles – Linda Banche

Hey everyone! This is my first official “Author Interview” and I’m kicking off in a big way – with a group of twelve authors who define ourselves as “Happily Ever After”… For this post, I’m looking at a little background to the authors, and the group, and over the next week or so will be doing one on one interviews with each of us. So bookmark, subscribe, add to favorites, whatever. We’re going to have some fun!

At HEA we’re a diverse bunch. Some of us share publishers. Some of us share yahoo groups such as Bookspa and Sweeter Romantic Notions. We were chatting together and recognised the things we had in common were male-female romance and, of course, HEA. Bekki was the inspiration behind the group, but it’s a winning combination and we work well together.

You can find the HEA Authors on their blog at: http://happilyeverafterauthors2.blogspot.com/

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Bekki Lynn
A wife, mother and author of contemporary romance. I write sub-levels within this genre. I currently have a m/f series going, and I’m here to celebrate romance between one man and one woman, the ultimate love connection. Aside from writing, I’m an avid reader, love movies, television and music.

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Francesca Prescott
I live in a small village just outside Geneva, Switzerland with my husband, two teenage children and two dogs. I enjoy writing romantic comedy, as well as short, humorous articles. I have a romantic comedy set in Ibiza, Spain, published by BookStrand, and I’m currently rewriting a romantic saga set between England, California, Sicily and the island of Ithaca, Greece. Apart from writing, I enjoy horse riding, Pilates, Yoga, reading, music, watching movies and going for long walks in the countryside. I look forward to contributing to “Happily Ever After” with all these wonderful, talented authors!

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Lee Silver
(waving hi from Norfolk, VA)
I’m a BookStrand author. My writing explores mainstream m/f romance in a framework of high tech intrigue. With a technical background in engineering, I love to write fast-paced drama staged in a not too distant future. If my stories can pull my readers away from the hustle and bustle of their lives long enough to put a smile on their faces when they head back to the real world, I couldn’t ask for more!

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Lindsay Townsend
Hello! I’m married, I live and work in England, Yorkshire. I love all things romantic and am looking forward to exploring and celebrating love and relationships in male-female romance. I am working on a medieval historical romance at the moment and have several historical romances and romantic thrillers published. I enjoy reading, nature, music and chocolate.

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Savanna Kougar
Hi, romance lovers. It feels like I’ve been writing some form of romance since forever, beginning when I was thirteen and the Beatles craze hit. Currently I’m living on what I call the tame prairie, and loving it. I enjoy writing paranormal romances, about any subgenre there is. So far, I have two shapeshifter novellas published, one near futuristic and one set in another dimension. I’m looking forward to exploring love in all its many romantic splendors with the other authors and with the readers.

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Jennifer Turner
Hi! I’m 30, married, and have a nine year old daughter I regularly refer to as the Heathen. I’m also an author of dark paranormal romance, and absolutely love writing about vampires and otherworldly creatures. I’m the new kid on the block in regards to this kick ass line-up of authors, but am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with everyone and celebrating the timeless dynamics of the male/female romance!

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Koko Brown
She lives in Florida where she writes contemporary romance in various forms of paranormal, time-travel and historical, usually mixing them to bring life, love and romance beyond the depths to join soulmates. While not writing, Koko loves to travel, have great conversations, thrift store shopping, riding motorcycles (she recently sold a Yamaha 650 Classic), surfing the internet and working up the nerve to go snowboarding again.

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Linda Banche
Is a brand new author and writes romances set in the Regency era. Her stories contain humor (most of the time), fantasy (sometimes) and occasionally the paranormal (once in a while). Linda read romances for years before she finally decided to write my own. She quickly found out it’s a lot harder than it looks. She lives in New England and likes aerobics and ducks.

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Judah Raine
Hey there! I live in a leafy suburb of Durban, South Africa, called Westville. My grown daughter and I share a house overlooking a river with our zoo – seven of them in all! I love writing. It’s my “grand passion” and I’m really excited to have one book released in 2008 with Siren-Bookstrand (Still Running) and The Look and A Thick Black Line coming out very soon. Being “creative-obsessive”, I indulge in all sorts of things from music (I’m a guitarist and vocalist, and now stretching my wings as a songwriter) to beading, and pretty much anything else that comes my way. Life is great, and I’m really happy to be here…

I took my muse down to the river today for a little “one on one” quality time. The poor thing was feeling more stretched and thin than I am, being charged with the unenviable task of having to continue to keep yours truly inspired in the midst of a life that currently resembles Calamity Central…

I seem, at the moment, to be trapped in a place of “crisis management” – the kind of “okay, what has to be done RIGHT NOW, and the rest will have to wait until they have to be done RIGHT NOW… It does make life interesting, I suppose, but leaves little room for the activities dear to an author’s heart. Like writing.

Aside from juggling (and trying to hold together) a full time job as a property agent in a crisis economy (property, like cars, is currently a “no-go” area), helping my interior designer daughter get her own business off the ground, being Mom, Dad, Zoo Keeper, gardener, pool cleaner, general handyperson, gate repairer, sole breadwinner, domestic executive, doing-anything-else-legal-to-make-ends-meet-person, I’m also busy with edits on The Look which is due soon, doing major rewrites on The Unmaking of Missy, which is overdue for submission (by my schedule, anyway)…

And so it goes. So it figures that my poor old muse should be feeling the fallout… I realised that, as a writer, my muse is really my best friend. I also realised that, most of the time anyway, I tend to pretty much ignore her (she’s definitely a girl, I need someone who thinks Venus and not Mars) unless I want something.

So this morning I hauled her out of bed early and dragged her off down to my river, leaving my dogs on the home side of the fence (much to their disgust, because don’t I know that I need their protection, and anyway since when can I have fun without them?). We sat quietly on a rock in a secluded corner, listening to the dawn symphony of the water burbling in cheerful peace, a fitting backdrop to the early bird chorus and the odd very late frog proclaiming the message that rain is due.

We didn’t really talk. Didn’t touch on the books unwritten, needing to be rewritten, or even the ones half written. We just sat and shared the slow brightening of the world as morning slid into place, caught the first warming rays of the sun through the trees, dangled our bare feet in the cool water and let it wash some of the weariness and stress away.

It was a blissful time. Short, because duty calls and moments like these, sadly, are necessarily brief. But we both returned with lighter hearts and easier spirits, and somehow the tasks ahead seem easier than they did before.

I learned another valuable lesson. My muse, like any loved and needed creature, needs to be romanced now and then. Nothing extravagant or expensive, nice as those moments might be, but in the little things that bring you back to where you need to be…

Jude

a href=”http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=351″>

Did you know that erotic romances are for women what porn is for men? A mood… er… enhancer.

In my novella, “Danger, Word Games!”, however, the heroine is disenchanted with romance, disenchanted with pretty words and disenchanted with men. If you feel like that on this Valentine weekend, you’re not alone!

Title: Release Day-Dark Immortal by J.K. Coi
Date: 2009-02-15

Today is release day for my new book Dark Immortal, which is third in the Immortal Series and I’m very excited to be celebrating with you here!

I think there is something seductive about a hero who has a sordid past, who struggles with a baser, darker part of himself. There’s a thrill that comes with being involved with someone who’s not necessarily…safe. At the same time, I think that it’s important for his motivations to be understandable. A bad boy who’s nasty and cruel just for the sake of it, isn’t going to get sympathy from anyone. But a man who’s angry and defensive for a reason, and who can find it in himself to work through that and still be an honourable and decent man—well that’s someone you want to hang onto.

In Dark Immortal, Diana and Alric have been together ever since she rescued him from 100 years of isolation and imprisonment in a very dark place. But that experience changed him, and now Alric struggles every day to control the beast that was born in him as a result of that torture and pain—a struggle that becomes even more difficult when he almost loses Diana in an attack that takes her memory from her so that she doesn’t remember him, or the life they’ve built together.

Loving an Immortal was never easy…without her memories it might be impossible.

Five years of happiness, erased in one vicious act of violence.

Diana freed Alric from his prison and the insanity of his own mind, offering him the kind of love only a fool would deny. Now she lies broken and comatose from a vampire attack, locked deep inside herself where he cannot reach her.

Awakening in a strange bed, Diana has no memory of how she got there. The huge, muscled man leaning over her is straight out of nightmares full of blood and pain. Married to him? It can’t be true…even if her body craves his touch, and the anguish in his eyes shatters something deep inside her.

Alric has no intention of giving up on the woman who never stopped fighting for him. His one hope is that time will heal her mind. But with a demon god poised to tip the balance of power, time is not on their side…

Alric lifted a hand to her face, lightly trailing a curled finger down her cheek. Callused and rough, but warm on her skin.

She started, her gaze jerking back up to his. His hand was too large, like the rest of him. She knew very well there was little she could do if he decided to use that size and strength against her.

And so did he.

It should scare the crap out of her, but even so, she didn’t pull back from him.

He touched her with such gentle care, almost trepidation. As if he were more afraid of her, of what she might do, than she was of him. Curiosity rode her. If by some fantastical twist of fate this man was telling her the truth, then she would know from his kiss.

Won’t I?

More to the point, if he kissed her and she felt nothing, then they would both know it. She would be able to put aside the ridiculous uncertainty that continued to torment her once and for all, and maybe he would even let her go.

His gaze shifted to her mouth before he closed the distance. Warm, firm…but light. He was giving her all the time in the world to reject his touch and pull away. When she didn’t do so immediately, he groaned and leaned in closer. There was nothing demanding in his kiss, and yet she felt as if she were being marked, as if this one kiss could break down all of her walls and leave her shivering and vulnerable.

“Diana.” He murmured her name as if it were made to be uttered in his deep voice, his breath stealing between her slightly parted lips. His hand curved around the back of her head, holding her to him with the gentlest of tethers as he slid his tongue across her lips.

The kiss changed. From soft and unthreatening, to one that hungered—and dared her to feed the hunger. Accept it. Crave it.

Oh God.

Excerpt of Dark Immortal

The way was hard, sometimes. And so often you would thank me – for little things like toast and honey, and a pen than wouldn’t run dry when you had to write lying down. And you’d tell me that I’d touched your life, and that you were glad that you had found me.  But looking back, as I sift through the memories and trace their textured colours, I see now that it wasn’t like that at all.

The real truth? I could be strong, because your strength was so much greater. I could have faith, because your faith was so much simpler. I could endure, becuse your courage was so much deeper.  Somehow you filled the space you were in. Not with words, or with demands, or even obligations. Just filled it gently, then overflowed, and gave, and gave, and gave.  I knew from the start that I would always share you with the world. Everyone loved you, and there was just too much of you for only one heart to hold. But that was okay, too, because somehow the more you gave, the more you had to give.

Our time was so short, and now our “together-dreams” are gone. But we had so much.  We lived so much. And I had the most precious gift of all. I had the chance to walk with you, even just for a little while.  To share the moments of pain and to comfort you, the moments of fear and to hold you, the moments of peace and the moments of joy, and to be touched by your humility and your courage.

I was able to walk with you, and then to watch as you walked on out of sight to a place where I cannot follow until another time.  But, though the empty space in my heart is now as great as the space you once filled, I can be at peace with your going, just as you were.  And I can be at peace because, through all those long, dark hours, it wasn’t I who prepared you for the dying, but you who prepared me for the staying behind.

The way was hard, sometimes.  And so often you would thank me for the little things. And you said that you were glad that you had found me, and that I had touched your life.

But, looking back, I see that if I did, in some small way, touch your life, it was because of the way you loved me. And in giving me the joy of loving you my life was touched, and healed, and changed.

And, for just a little while, I held in my hand the most precious gift of all.

A tribute to my late husband, Gary, My Unforgotten Valentine…

Who passed away from bone cancer almost 12  years ago.

The man who taught me that fishing could be the most romantic thing ever (see My Most Romantic Moment) has, sadly,

Gone Fishing…

Did you know that the invention of writing was first achieved by the Sumerians of Mesopotamia somewhat before 3000 BC and by Mexican Indians before 600 BC? Egyptian writing began about 3000 BC and Chinese writing by 1300 BC.

And what about in the New World? Scientists have now uncovered evidence of what is believed to be the earliest form of writing ever found in the New World. The discovery was based on glyphs carved on a cylindrical seal used to make imprints and on greenstone plaque fragments found near La Venta in Tabasco, Mexico. The writings were produced during the Olmec era, a pre-Mayan civilization, and are estimated to date from 650 B.C.

Fascinating stuff, writing. Writers angst over it, study it, and strive hard to construct sentences that, when strung together, will produce the next best seller. Writing comes to us in a thousand venues, novels, essays, magazine articles, billboards, and even eulogies.

One of my favorites is proverbs. Yes, I’m a proverbs nut. So few words and so much meaning. Today, I leave you with a few of my International favorites to ponder. With some, their meaning is clear, others you might have to think about for a minute. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Pray that you will never have to bear all that you are able to endure.
Jewish Proverb

If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water.
Yiddish Proverb

When the sky falls we’ll catch larks.
Irish Proverb

A lie travels round the world while truth is putting her boots on.
French Proverb

Write kindness in marble and write injuries in the dust.
Persian Proverb

However long the night, the dawn will break.
African Proverb

Keta Diablo writes for Phaze, Siren Publishing, Ravenous Romance and Noble Romance. You can find her on the web at http://www.ketadiablo.com. Watch for her novella, Crossroads, coming from Phaze in March of 2009.

And now I’m writing an eight-book series about wolve and the humans they shift into. The Snetinels are a security and investigative agency of eight shifters, remnants of a once mighty pack now using their skills to help others. To celebrate the release of Book One: The Edge of Morning (Total-e-bound) I’m running a contes. Now through Saturday visit my web site, www.desireeholt.com, and email me with Wolf in the subject line. sunday I’ll pick a winner for a free download of the Edge of Morning.

x

Judah: Welcome peeps! Today I’m interviewing Kira Barton, an ordinary woman who was suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances. She e-mailed some notes a week ago about her adventure and I’ve made some margin notes of my own. Believe me, I’m fairly good at cutting to the chase, so grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. I also read the book, written mostly in Kira’s POV. Soon we’ll be able to pick her brain, get to the nitty-gritty of how in the heck she was transported to another realm.

Door to Judah’s office squeaks open and a lovely young woman with russet hair and violet eyes cautiously pokes her head into the room.

Woman: “Am I in the right place?”

Judah: “From the description in the book and your notes, you must be Kira Barton and, yes, you found me.”

Kira: “Yes, I am, and thank goodness. The last time I walked into a strange office, well, actually it was an abandoned warehouse . . .” Kira shudders.

Judah: “I know, I read the account of your adventure, and I’m dying to ask you some questions. Please,” Judah points. “Have a seat.”

Kira: “Frankly, I’m surprised you agreed to interview me; most find the tale hard to believe, a bit far-fetched, but I swear every word is true.”

Judah: “Let’s start with this serial killer, The Scarlet Angel. You decided to find this maniac and bring him to justice, right?”

Kira: “Foolishly, I did. The FBI asked me to write up a criminal profile on The Scarlet Angel, aka, David Standish, and once I saw the photos of the dead girls, well, let’s just say, I broke the Cardinal Rule – don’t get personally involved with your assignment.”

Judah: “So you tracked him to an abandoned warehouse and then what happened?”

Kira: “Even to this day, much of it remains fuzzy, but basically, he was determined to make me victim number five. There was a horrific scuffle and, of course, he overpowered me. There I was with my life flashing before my eyes – all 23 short years—and a soothing dirge drifted down from the rafters. I saw her then, so beautiful, so serene—”

Judah: “Saw whom?”

Kira: “Sirene, my deceased grandmother’s best friend, a powerful sorceress. Course, I didn’t know who she was at the time; only that once she arrived, Standish no longer held the upper hand.” Kira’s eyes, a lovely shade of lavender, narrowed. “Where was I? Oh, yes, the next thing I know I floated through a brilliant abyss and woke up in a rustic bedchamber. At first, I thought The Scarlet Angel had locked me in the room and would be back shortly to kill me.”

Judah: “Dreadful, but it wasn’t Standish, and you were no longer in Providence, RI, were you?”

Kira laughs. “The furthest place from Providence you can imagine. Think Narnia, think wild boars, spotted leopards and unicorns.” She pauses and her eyes take on a dreamy look. “And think a decadent-looking warrior with hair the color of spun gold and eyes like blue mosaic gems.”

Judah: “Ah, yes, the Prince you wrote about, this Balion, the Light-Prince of Locke Cress.”

Kira: “I wrote about him, yes, but words can’t describe him, don’t do him justice. He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on, and when it comes to knowing how to please a woman? Whew! Can you turn the fan on in here?”

Judah: “I read the love scenes, Kira, three times at least. Let’s just say my readers won’t be disappointed, and we’ll let them form their own opinions about his sexual prowess. Let’s move on to the some of things that happened to you while you were there. Quite often, you found yourself in life and death situations, right?”

Kira: “To put it mildly. I was chased by a pack of wild boars and had to fight for my life with only a crude spear. I tried to tell Balion that I was a kitten’s whisker away from failing gym class in high school, but he insisted I learn how to use it. Anyway, I managed to take down five, but not before one spliced open my calf with a tusk. A poisonous tusk. No sooner had I recovered, and masked assassins struck.”

Judah: “Umargo’s henchmen?

Kira: “The most evil of men, intent on killing Balion and his father, King Roldan, so he and the Light-Prince’s betrothed, Gwyneth, could rule Locke Cress.”

Judah: “Gwyneth and her brother, Garrick, betrayed your Light-Prince, did they not?”

Kira: “That’s the problem with Locke Cress . . . nothing is at it seems, and many are not who they claim to be. Gwyneth was betrothed to Balion since they were children, but she was in love with Umargo, and her brother Garrick had the ability to shift into a spotted cat.”

Judah: “You said, had.”

Kira: “We can’t tell them everything, Judah. Something good should come out of my life-altering journey to Locke Cress. I want them to buy the book, discover for themselves all the wondrous, yet crazy things that happened when I was hurled into that world.”

Judah: “You’re right, Kira. Let them live the adventure on their own. They won’t be disappointed. Now, where can they purchase the book?”

Kira: “At Siren Publishing. Thank goodness, Diana believed me and liked my story well enough to publish it. How else would I reach the readers?”

Judah: “Here’s the web site and buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/product-dustandmoonlight-13879-192.html. And I’ve posted the lovely cover and a little blurb.”

Kira: “Thank you so much for having me today.”

Judah: “My pleasure, Kira, and please, stay out of abandoned warehouses.”

Kira: “Don’t worry; I’ve learned my lesson. Bye for now.”

About the book:

“Fantasy lives in all of us. We long to be carried away to an extraordinary world, contrary to the one we live in. In Dust and Moonlight I tried to do just that. Join me in a journey where magical powers and true identities are concealed, where an ordinary woman was thrust into a mystical land that threatened my very existence. I had to rely on conventional wisdom to stay alive in this alien kingdom where wizards, sorcerers and evil reside. Well, conventional wisdom and a wee bit of help from my deceased grandmother who practiced witchcraft in her day. When I met Balion, Prince of Locke Cress, I discovered cosmic love, a love that crossed all boundaries and withstood the test of time. Live the fantasy, believe in the magic, and join me in the adventure of my life . . . and yours. ” ~Kira~

“Danger, Word Games!” by Eve Summers was released by Red Rose Publishing on 29 January 2009. An anti-thesis of a typical Valentine’s Day story, ”Danger, Word Games!” is a must-read for all those who find February 14th too sugary.

In the 3 days since its publication, ”Danger, Word Games!” has already made the Top Ten Bestseller list at Red Rose Publishing. Is it because of the hot cover (the hunk looks like Josh Holloway) or because readers can relate to the danger of falling for pretty words?

You be the judge: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=351 

Excerpt: