My guest today is aspiring author Candi Wall. She is a co-contributor at MuseTracks Blog and a contestant in the latest Dorchester contest for aspiring authors: The Next Best Celler. Contestants publish a story in increments of 500 words between June 1 and November 1, 2009. Readers vote on their favorites, and the twenty most popular stories move on to the next round. Dorchester editors pick their favorite ten out of the semi-finalists, and a winner is chosen from those ten based on fan base and editorial input. The finalist wins a coveted $2000 publishing contract from Dorchester.

Ciara: What’s your story about?

Candi: My story STAY is a contemporary romance set in Maine.

My hero, Bracken Elliot is the Captain of the local Fire & Rescue team. He’s a bit cynical and lives with a deep seeded guilt over the deaths of his youngest son and wife in a tragic accident. Overcautious tends to be an understatement with Brack, and when his deaf sixteen year old son is kicked out of school, he’s got his hands full.

Candi: I first heard about the contest on the RWC loop. At first, I didn’t think about it too much. Just seemed like a strange way to write. When I read a few blog posts and visited the site, I was intrigued by the novelty of the idea. I registered, posted my first chapter – and I was hooked..

Ciara: What makes text novels different from regular novels?

Candi: I think what really sparked the text novel popularity is the emotion that’s contained in some of these novels. Short chapters might be daunting for those of us used to reading a huge portion at a time, being sucked into another world and reading for hours, but the intensity inherent in some of these small chapters is amazing. I truly believe that the power of the words in that small increment is what makes the readers come back for more.

Ciara: How do I read your story on my iPhone?

Candi: Textnovel is accessible through the browser of most cellphones. Just open your browser and go to textnovel.com to read through stories. Normal connection and data charges from your carrier apply.

Ciara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what five books would you bring?

Candi: This is an easy hard! Would I get a day at the bookstore before being stranded?

Ciara: Do you think you are the next Charles Dickens or the next Louisa May Alcott?

Candi: Absolutely not! I don’t even pretend to want to stand in the shoes of greatness. I want to write and be read. I want to know that somewhere, somehow, my words affected someone and made them smile, laugh, cry, or think.

An open letter from New York Times Bestselling author Cherry Adair:

I NEED YOUR HELP!
Many of us have been affected in some way by breast cancer. (just the words send a nightmarish shudder up my spine!) My mother Petal died in 1974 of breast cancer. And while treatments and medical breakthroughs have improved enormously since then, the dreadful anticipation of breast cancer still hangs over our heads. A close friend died of cancer last year, and two dear friends are going through treatment right now. Just the word cancer is terrifying to most of us.

Many of us have been touched directly and deeply by breast cancer, and this year I want to do my part in something that has nothing to do with writing. Something bigger and way more important.

This year I’m going to walk 60 miles to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s annual Three Day Walk for Breast Cancer.

In this crappy economy everyone is struggling to find their financial footing. I understand that only too well. And charities, no matter how well deserving, are feeling the brunt of everyone cutting back in a big way. I get that most of us don’t have disposable $$ this year, so I’m going to match all donations up to $5,000 for this truly worthy cause!

I’m going to walk that sixty freakin’ miles, yes, that’s not a typo, sixty miles to raise money to fund breast cancer research. Just thinking about me walking that far makes my feet hurt, but it’s worth it. 100% of the net funds go to research, 85% to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and 15% to the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Even a few dollars adds up when we all work together.

Here’s the reality — either you’ve been affected in some way directly by breast cancer — you, or your mom, a sister, friend, relative or coworker, in which case you know how badly this research is needed NOW, or, you haven’t been personally affected by breast cancer (thank God!) but probably know someone who has. Either way, please help me raise $$ for this incredibly worthwhile cause. This is something that I feel passionately about, and every single dollar you donate will be greatly appreciated.

Think of it this way — if I had a new book out this year — I hope you’d buy it — could you perhaps donate the price of one paperback? Two paperbacks? A hard cover? More? (Remember — whatever you donate I’ll match it!! WooHoo – two for the price of one

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you’d like to participate yourself (I’d LOVE for you to come and join me and my team and sweat & groan walk with us in Seattle or volunteer to help in a 3-Day walk near you, then visit their website or sign up by calling 800.996.3DAY.

I’ve formed a fun group called the PINK PETALS (in honor of my mom) and we’ll each raise money, and then walk together in the 3 day. Fortunately, I don’t have to beg people to contribute per mile, but I am asking (please, please, please!) for you to donate something, anything to help me help the fight against breast cancer.

HERE’S WHERE YOU GO TO DONATE (Thank you! Thank you!!)
To contribute or find out more about PINK PETALS, please click here

Please join me in welcoming regency author (and one-time Seattleitte) Jenna Petersen! In her Lady Spies series, Jenna writes about tough chicks who use brains, instinct, and wiles to uncover conspiracies against the crown. It’s James Bond meets Regency London, and it’s a hoot! Jenna and I met at the 2007 Emerald City Writers Conference book signing (see photo). We are getting lunch in July at the RWA National Conference, so if you have questions I didn’t cover in this interview, let me know!

Jenna’s latest novel LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN comes out in 3 days: Monday, June 24th.

About Jenna:

Jenna Petersen knew she wanted to be a writer at a very young age and had a very specific image of what that meant. In her mind, she would live in Los Angeles (why not New York… who knows?), attend book signings, drive a very expensive car and date endlessly (and apparently, unsuccessfully). There was little actual writing involved in the fantasy.

Instead, she got a degree in Psychology from the University of Washington, married her high school sweetheart and moved to Central Illinois. There was much actual writing involved in the reality and she learned a lot in the years she waited to hear she sold a book.

Jenna enjoys travel, history, live baseball, Bears and Eagles football, and of course, all things related to reading and writing. She runs a website for aspiring authors called The Passionate Pen, which has become a popular resource in the romance writing community. She also writes erotic romance under the pseudonym Jess Michaels.

And now for the Interview:

Ciara: You write historical romance as Jenna Petersen and erotic romance as Jess Michaels. Is the writing process similar for these two genres? How would you differentiate erotic romance from traditional romance?

Jenna: I follow the same basic set up as far as creating character sheets, writing a synopsis based on key turning points in the book and then doing scene sketches, so my process is pretty similar. The difference for me as a writer is that my erotic romances tend to have a sexually charged conflict (a sex bargain or blackmail or Penelope’s seduction and resistance, that sort of thing). Versus while my historical romances may be super steamy, their core conflict isn’t necessarily a sexual one (though sexual conflicts may be part of the book). I actually have a little primer about what I think the differences are between sensual romance, erotic romance and erotica on my http://www.jessmichaels.com site, too, to help the reader.

Ciara: What was the first romance novel you read and how old were you?

Jenna: I came to romance very late in life. (Ciara: lol, like 31 is ancient!) I think I browsed a few that I don’t remember for the “good parts” as a teen, but the first one I really READ was Julia Quinn’s MINX and I would have been… 21? It was right when I started writing romance seriously. Reading her prose really made me realize how GOOD romance could be and what a fine tuned craft it was.

Ciara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 6 books would you bring?

Jenna: Oh crap. Only SIX??? Shoot. Okay, I’ll try: Kathryn Smith’s BE MINE TONIGHT, Julia Quinn’s THE DUKE AND I, L.M. Montgomery’s ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett’s GOOD OMENS, something by Jacquie D’Alessandro (I can’t pick one) and probably a survival guide of some kind (I’m on a desert island, I’ll need that guide).

Ciara: If you were stranded on said island what 6 heroes would you bring?

Jenna: My husband (he’s my personal hero). Then we get to have fun…. Okay, I’d take Justin Talbot, the hero of my upcoming book LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN because he’s really smokin’ hot and I would guess he could take care of things in a pinch. I’d take Lucas Tyler from DESIRE NEVER DIES because he’s the funniest hero I ever wrote and he would tell good stories and keep me entertained (and he’s hot). I would take Simon Basset from Julia Quinn’s THE DUKE AND I because he made me cry (and he’s hot). I would take Temple from Kathryn Smith’s last Brotherhood of the Blood book (which yes, I’ve read haha!!) because he’s a vampire leader and he would definitely know how to survive (and he’s hot). We’d just have to find him serious shade during the day. And I’d take… oh…. Max McCord from Maggie Osborne’s SILVER LINING because he’s a cowboy and he’d not be adverse to working amongst all this nobility (and he’s hot).

Ciara: Do you have a lucky eraser or other rituals to tempt the muse? Does your muse have a name?

Jenna: I don’t really believe in “the muse”. It feels too much like depending on some mysterious outside force to write. For me, I write because I put my butt in the chair and I push through the hard parts. But I do like to have Diet Vanilla Coke. I also like having my desk totally clean before I start a new book (though it gets quite horrible throughout the process).

Ciara: Do you do extensive plotting, character interviews, collages, or other pre-writing exercises? Or are you a pantser?

Jenna: I’m most definitely a plotter. I do character sheets (which you can find at Passionate Pen under the Articles For Writers link). Then I plot a synopsis based on turning points in the story. Then I do scene sketches, which are really prewriting the scenes, sometimes with dialogue and description if I’m really into a scene. Plotting helps drive me forward.

Ciara: Why do you think the Regency period is so popular with readers? How did you decide to write Regencies? Have you ever considered writing in another genre, say, paranormals or thrillers?

Jenna: I really loved reading Regencies, which is why I started writing in that time period. I think readers respond to it because it’s the closest you can come to a fairytale without a godmother. Think about it! Dukes, Earls, balls, a war! It’s like the perfect storm of romance. Plus, I’ve always liked the dichotomy of rules that if you broke them you’d be ostracized, and yet many of the gowns were so formfitting that the women couldn’t wear undergarments. It’s a very odd time socially!

I really love historical, so I intend to stay here, but I can’t say I haven’t ever had a couple of paranormal ideas. I don’t know that I’ll ever pursue that, though.

Ciara: Tell us about your experience with writing contests. You have had great success finalling in recent months: SEDUCTION IS FOREVER in the Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Contest and in the First Coast RWA Beacon Award, DESIRE NEVER DIES in the Orange County Chapter RWA Bookbuyers Best Contest, EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN in both the Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Contest and the Orange County Chapter RWA Bookbuyers Best Contest. How many contests do you submit to? Do you submit all your books? Did you submit to contests before you became a published author? Do you recommend that unpublished authors submit to contests?

Jenna: I’ve become such a contest whore, but I NEVER entered contests before I was published. I always felt like it was too many cooks spoiling the pot and you never know whether you got a judge who was a multi-published author or someone who just started writing last Tuesday and is certain they know all the “rules”.

But the published contests feel different to me. First off, they aren’t about correcting your writing, which is good. I tend to submit my books to contests that feature readers or booksellers as judges. The reasoning behind this is that those are the two groups that buy books (either for the stores or for home) and I’m exposing myself to them and that can’t ever be bad, even if I don’t final or win in a contest. I do tend to enter all my books from a particular year, so it can get expensive, but there’s also a nice ego pat when you win (I’m totally overwhelmed right now with all these finals, it means a lot to me). Plus, there’s something to be said for being “Award-Winning Author, Jenna Petersen”.

But really, when it comes to be unpublished and entering, that’s really got to be up to the writer. Some people SWEAR by the contest system through the RWA chapters. They love the feedback, they love the opportunity to get in front of editors and agents if they win, etc. It all depends on what experience you are looking for and how much money you have to burn.

Ciara: Your new book LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN comes out June 24th. What was your favorite part about writing this book?

Jenna: I really liked returning to my “roots” as a writer. My debut, SCANDALOUS, was dark and sexy and emotional (lots of people told me it made them cry, which was awesome!!). Then I wrote the Lady Spies and although I think all of them have a highly emotional, dark element, the concept (Charlie’s Angels in Regency England) was definitely lighter. But LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN takes me right back to very dark, very (VERY) sensual and highly emotional. My two characters are damaged by each other and it’s a struggle for them to come back together in a healthy way and find love again. That challenge was highly enjoyable. Plus, Justin (my hero) is HOT. Have you noticed a trend here?

Ciara: My friend Sarai bought LFAC solely on the cover. How much control do you have over the covers of your books? What has been your favorite cover so far? Do you buy books based on the cover?

Jenna: Okay, isn’t LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN the most beautiful cover in the history of mankind?? I adore it and I worship the Avon Art Department because they’ve never given me a bad cover. I have excellent cover karma, I guess (I must have been nice to an Art Director in a past life).

I don’t have a lot of “control” over covers, but I do get some input. I can only speak to the Avon experience, but here’s how it works for us. About a year before the book comes out, the Avon editorial staff and the Art Department have a cover conference for each book. So April 2009 books had a cover conference at the end of April 2008. My editor contacts me and asks me for title suggestions, info on character appearance and suggestions for particular scenes or poses I’d like to see depicted on the cover.

Now I send that info and I like to send pictures, too, of covers or images that I love. LESSONS happened a bit differently, though. I was actually writing SOMETHING RECKLESS and I had a great picture of the actor Julian McMahon from a GQ shoot. It was very sexy, with him slouched down on a couch holding a woman’s leg. I forwarded it to my editor and said, “Here’s a glimpse of my inspiration”.
She must have forwarded it to our art department because a few months later when I saw the cover for LESSONS, I could definitely see some similarities. But I’d definitely found that sending pictures really helps. I’ve always gotten something close to what I’ve described and my covers have always been better than I pictured.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I think it has to be LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN, really. I mean, it’s eye catching, it fits the book perfectly and it’s really sexy. I also love FROM LONDON WITH LOVE’s cover a great deal. I hear the cover for HER NOTORIOUS VISCOUNT (April 2009) is also going to be awesome!

Ciara: What are you working on next?

Jenna: I have a lot coming up, actually. In January 2009 I’ll be a part of A RED HOT VALENTINE’S DAY, an anthology with three other erotic writers. My story is called “By Valentine’s Day” and is about friends turning to lovers when they are trapped together by a storm. Then in April 2009 my next historical romance, HER NOTORIOUS VISCOUNT comes out. My hero is a former champion pugilist (boxer) who is forced back into Society when his twin brother dies and he inherits the title. My heroine agrees to “tutor” him in the ways of good manners if he helps her. Then next summer my next full-length erotic romance will be released. I just finished it. It’s called TABOO (at least for now). My heroine is a seamstress… oh and on the side she designs sex toys for the gentleman of the ton. The hero is the man she threw over (or so he thinks) four years before.

And then I’ll be starting a brand new historical series that I can’t say much about because I’m not past much more than the synopsis. But it will feature five different heroes who are all… well, they’re related in a very special way. I’m SOOOO excited to start writing this story! The first book has really captured my imagination. I hope I’ll be able to translate that on page.

Ciara: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Jenna: Most of my best advice can be found at Passionate Pen http://www.passionatepen.com . Mostly I’d say study your craft, don’t sweat the small stuff and WRITE.

Ciara: You went to the University of Washington here in lil’ old Sea-town. Why do you think the Pacific Northwest breeds/attracts so many authors? (Is there a scientific link between rain and creativity?)

Jenna: It seems like we authors tend to flock in several places. Seattle does have a huge showing for authors, but I know Southern Cali also has a huge group, so does Columbus, even Chicago. And the entire state of Texas seems to be romance novelist central. Weird.

I do like your idea of the rain breeding creativity. There are only a couple fun things to do inside when it’s raining all the time. Writing is one of them. Researching erotica is another.

Thank you so much Jenna!

Linda Winstead Jones holds a special place in my heart for authoring the very first romance novels I ever read (The Sisters of the Sun Trilogy) and starting me on a long delirious love affair with the genre. This is a big year for her: two of her books are 2008 RITA finalists and the RWA is honoring her with a lifetime service award. She was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions.

Raintree: Haunted is a finalist for the 2008 RITA and earned 4.5 Stars from the Romantic Times, which called it “nonstop action from start to finish.”

Prince of Magic is also a 2008 RITA finalist and earned 4 Stars from the Romantic Times. Publishers Weekly wrote that the story has “Punchy battle scenes and steamy lovemaking,” and praised Jones’s “gift for creating complex heroes and villains.”

Ciara: This year you are being honored with the RWA’s Emma Merritt Service Award. Can you tell us about the service you have done to earn this distinction? How has working with the RWA aided your development as a writer?

Linda: I was shocked when Sherry Lewis called to tell me that I was getting this award. It truly is such an honor. I served on the RWA Board of Directors as a Regional Director for four years. Honestly, I don’t feel my contributions were more worthy than those of so many other women who served on the board. Everyone who reads the Policy and Procedure manual from beginning to end deserves some sort of award! <g>

Serving on the board was such an interesting and rich experience, and I made many very good friends in those four years. Nothing is accomplished by one person alone. The best of our accomplishments were joint efforts, always. I truly am honored that the current board believes I made a significant contribution.

Ciara: Lets talk about the RITA, the Oscar of the Romance Industry. You won in 2004 for Shades of Midnight, and are a double finalist this year for Prince of Magic and Raintree:Haunted, all in the paranormal category. How did you feel when you got the call?

Linda: Long before I was a finalist, I heard the words “It’s an honor just to be nominated,” or other words to that effect. Until I got the first RITA call, I had no idea how true those words are. I was thrilled, of course. I’m not one to scream into the phone, but I did laugh (perhaps a bit hysterically) and once I was off the phone I did a little dance around the kitchen. (Because dancing is always an appropriate response to good news.) This year Donna Grant called me, and honestly, I thought the contest calls were going out the following day. I greeted her with a “what’s up?” and thought she was calling about some old board business. So, I was truly shocked, and then to be told I was a double finalist – more dancing was called for. Lots of phone calls and e-mails to friends and editors. Celebrations ensued. And then I had to make dinner and do laundry and get back to the work in progress, since a deadline is looming.

While I would of course love to win, it’s true that to be in such great company is an honor. When I won in 2004 I was sitting with my friend Lori Handeland, who had insisted that I write out something just in case. I had a short list of people I’d have to thank if I did win, and when my category came around and they started calling out the names of finalists, I realized I didn’t have a chance so I stuck that piece of paper somewhere in my program. Then they called my name and Lori screamed at me and I’m desperately looking through my program for that scrap of paper while she’s trying to push me out of my chair. <g>

Ciara: How did you get started writing paranormal and what has influenced you most in your work in this sub-genre?

Linda: While not technically paranormal, my first crack at stories which were very much out of the ordinary were with the fairy tale romances I wrote for Leisure/Lovespell. I loved writing those books! They were so different, and so much fun. From there it was a short hop to time travel, then to ghosts, and finally to fantasy set in an alternate world. It’s almost as if you give your brain permission to go beyond the bounds of reality, and it happily takes off.

Influences are everywhere, in fiction and in non-fiction, in television and in music. Often simply in letting your mind roam completely free. No constraints, no boundaries. You ask that question that always has to be asked – What if? – and then sit back and listen.

The characters from Sisters of the Sun, my first trilogy with Berkley, had been with me for a while before I actually got them onto paper. I could see the first chapter or two, but then it died from there. Nothing. Nada. Their stories just didn’t go anywhere. Then one day I was in the hammock in my back yard, watching the sky and thinking about the Fyne sisters, and it came to me out of nowhere. “They’re not from here.” From that moment The Sun Witch, and the other books in that series, flowed.

Ciara: You have written in many sub-genres under the names Linda Devlin, Linda Fallon, Linda Jones, Linda Winstead, and Linda Winstead Jones. What was your favorite book to write, and why?

Linda: You might as well ask me who my favorite child is. <g> The Sun Witch was very special, as was Cash. Madigan’s Wife, one of my first Intimate Moments, because I adored Ray. Raintree: Haunted, for so many reasons, not the least of which was Gideon. Prince of Magic, because Sian really spoke to me. I’m seeing a pattern here. Love the hero, love the book. There have been several favorites over the years, but the true favorite has to be the one I’m working on at that moment – whatever that moment might be.

Ciara: You were first published in 1994. What got you interested/started in writing and how long was your path to publication?

Linda: Like so many writers, I’ve been a reader all my life. As a child, as a teenager. I even loved writing term papers in high school, which definitely marked me as different. When I was in my mid-twenties, I took a creative writing course. We wrote poems and vignettes, and that was enough to get me hooked. With three small children, there was little time to write, but I tried. Those early efforts were not particularly good, but I learned a lot. It was strictly a part time hobby, one I gave up when my husband and I opened our own picture frame shop. With three kids in school and a business that was opened six days a week, there was no time for any hobby, much less writing a book.

In a twisted way, running that business is what lead me into writing. After a few years my husband took a job that took him out of town for weeks at a time, leaving me with a business and three kids who were attending three different schools. They all had activities – band, baseball, soccer, roller hockey. I painted the living room pink, but what the heck? I did it all. Now and then someone would as me how I got it all done, which surprised me. I got it all done because I had no choice. Being in that position made me realize that I was capable of doing whatever I wanted to do. And though it had been a while since I’d written anything, I knew I wanted to write.

When the lease on our shop was up, I told my husband I wanted two years to see if I could sell a book. He agreed, but he saved all our framing equipment so if things didn’t work out we could go back into that business. We closed the shop in August 1992. I set up my typewriter (yes, my TYPEWRITER) at the dining room table, and I wrote Guardian Angel. I bought a copy of The Writer’s Market and found a publisher that accepted unagented books (and also published western romance) and in May 1993 I sent them the first three chapters of my book. (without making a copy. Yowza.) In June I got a request for the full and sent them the rest (since of course that was all I had. Again, no copies.) In June I also found a local RWA chapter, which was a real turning point for me. I remember walking into the room and realizing that these were my people. They still are. In October of that year, I went to my first writer’s conference, Moonlight and Magnolias in Atlanta. I didn’t get much sleep that weekend, so when I got that call Monday morning, I was asleep on the couch and dazed when I talked to Alicia Condon at Leisure. I wrote all the details of the offer on a MacDonald’s napkin that was sitting nearby. <g> My first book was released in August 1994, exactly two years after we closed the frame shop.

And so it goes.

Ciara: What advice would you give writers just starting out?

Linda: Join a writing group – RWA or something else that suits you. We write alone, but the support of a group is invaluable. Also, don’t allow yourself to be paralyzed by the constant bombardment of rules that are around these days. Tell the story – that’s the most important thing.

Ciara: In your opinion, what are the most important elements of good writing?

Linda: There’s good writing and there’s good story telling. I’m not a perfect technical writer, I realize that, and the books I love might not be technically perfect. Compelling characters and a gripping story are what will bring a reader to an author again and again. What one man loves another will not, but in the end I don’t know anyone who raves about sentence structure or the scathingly brilliant use of adverbs. <g> Not to say that anyone wants to read a grammatical mess, of course, but loving the characters and caring about them is what makes for a great book, IMO.

Ciara: What is your favorite book of all time, and why?

Linda: This changes, too. I grew up devouring Nancy Drew, and for a long time Little Women was my favorite book. Then Gone With the Wind. The Stand, by Stephen King, Son of the Morning, by Linda Howard. I couldn’t possibly pick one.

Ciara: What are you working on next?

Linda: I’m working on another Nocturne, currently titled The Last of the Ravens – though of course that title could change. The story is set in the mountains of Tennessee, near to the place my good friends and I sometimes go to unwind, shop, and plot.

Ciara: If you could leave your readers with one legacy, what would you want it to be?

Linda: Legacy is a strong word. <g> All I want to do is make my readers laugh and cry and escape from real life for a while.

Thank you so much Linda! I look forward to meeting you at the Book Signing Event at the National RWA Conference in July!

Author Mary Margret Daughtridge joins us today to talk about covers and her new book SEALed with a Kiss, available now from Sourcebooks, Inc. The Romantic Times gave the book 4.5 stars and called it “a heart-touching story that will keep you smiling and cheering for the characters clear through to the happy ending.”

Readers: Leave your questions for Mary Margret and one lucky commenter with win an autographed copy of the book! (contest open for one week)

Covers, and the paranormal, and me

Covers—the good, the bad and the ugly have been a recent topic here at Ciaralira.

Having seen a bunch of covers over the years that I found appalling, the delight I felt when my editor sent the cover of SEALed With A Kiss was liberally mixed with relief. And then I noticed an odd sort of déjà vu.

Turn back the hands of time to the RWA national convention in Atlanta. There I met my agent, Stephany Evans, with whom I had just signed, face to face for the first time. We sat at a tiny table in a deserted coffee shop area of the hotel one afternoon, and chatted about a mutual acquaintance who writes books on metaphysics.

Stephany asked me if I thought I was psychic.

Since I think everyone is, I answered, “Yes, although I don’t think I have more than average talent.”

“Can you see what the cover of your book will be?” Stephany asked. I should insert here that SEALed was not sold at the time. In fact, the title back then was Designated Hero.

I shook my head. “I wish I could. I’ve tried and tried. But when I try to picture it all I can get is an impression of ‘blue.’” I shrugged. “Just lots and lots of blue in all different shades.”

The story proves I’m not much of a clairvoyant. I mean, you’d think if anything was going to make a psychic impression it would be the hot bod on the cover—not the blue (yes, lots and lots of blue in all different shades) background.

I think the story is a metaphor for how I write romance. I have scenes like that in SEALed With A Kiss. I even have a character who is influencing my SEAL hero, Jax, from the Other Side, and a dog who is…well, it’s hard to know exactly what Hobo Joe is, but he’s not just a dog.

I didn’t plan either one. Truthfully, I don’t plan my books at all. When I begin, I know who the hero is, and what qualities the heroine must have to balance him. I know that the book is going to have to end well, although it doesn’t look good for them right now. Then scenes just come to me in pieces, out of order. Sometimes I know where the scene should fit; a lot of the time, I don’t.

After a while I see what my hero and heroine are going to have to learn in order to deserve a happy ending. And when the story comes together, and the I realize I have been seeing the background all the time. Once the background is understood, the pattern is visible, and the figures emerge in the foreground.

Mary Margret was kind enough to satisfy my burning questions about her writing process:

Do you have a set schedule for writing? Do you write at a certain time of day?

Lately, going through the first move in twenty years, my schedule is shot, however what works best for me is to get up around 4.30 and write until noon. My brain seems to be most creative then.

Do you have any superstitios rituals that you do before you start writing? (my mom had a magic eraser she always took to tests in med school.)

[grin] I have a friend who made it through law school, she swears, because of a lucky green sweater she wore to exams. I’ve tried on everything in my closet. Nothing works. Sometimes when I get stuck, it helps to switch to longhand. It won’t work though, unless I use a yellow legal pad, and a yellow number 2 pencil.

What are your favorite books of all time? What books have influenced you most in your writing career?

I’m a voracious reader, often with five or more books open at a time. There are so many books I’ve loved, I couldn’t possibly choose a favorite. I’d have to say the most influential writer would be Robert A Heinlein. That man could write a story that could entertain anyone of any age, and I often think to myself, “What would Heinlien do?”

How did you decide on names for your characters?

I’ve already admitted a lot my writing process is a mystery to me. Take Pickett. She’s the heroine in SEALed With a Kiss. She’s a character who had lived in my head for years, waiting for me to find a hero for her, and her name had always been Pickett. Some people even advised me that it wasn’t a “good” name for a romantic heroine, but I couldn’t help it. Pickett was her name, and if I tried to change it, the character went flat. Fortunately, a lot of readers love the name, and think it makes her stand out.

I fumbled around for a good while though to name the SEAL hero. Then one day in an airport I saw a luggage check with JAX on it. Suddenly I knew he was Jackson Graham the third, and when he was a kid, his best friend thought that name didn’t fit him, so he nicknamed him Jax, because “that sounds like the name of a Jedi.” And what was the name of the best friend? Corey. I knew it instantly.

What do you like most about military heroes?

Writing military heroes chose me, more than the reverse. I read a newspaper article about a soldier in Iraq who had been ordered by a judge to leave the army, or she would lose a child custody battle. I was incredibly touched by the soldier’s internal and external conflict. When I started constructing a story about that, I asked myself who among the military would experience the most conflict between his job and his duty as a parent? The answer was easy. Someone in Special Operations. Those men make huge sacrifices around their personal life and relationships. I chose a SEAL.

When I began to research them, I learned what extraordinary men they are. They are already larger than life. Something one might not guess about them, is that they are funny. All the SEALs I have met have this insouciant, irreverent wit that cracks me up. I tried very hard to capture that in Jax, and I think it’s a large part of his charm.

How do you think curent military conflicts will impact the military hero sub-genre?

Good question. Actually SEALed With a Kiss is a blend of sub-genres. The hero is military, but the plot is a home and hearth, feel-good romance, that totally focuses on relationships, rather than the action adventure or romantic suspense usually associated with SEALs.

Since 9/11, romantic suspense and paranormals have gotten darker and darker, and more and more cynical, reflecting the spirit of the times. We see the heroes and heroines fighting inhuman evil that has persisted for eons. I think part of their appeal is that the reader gets to experience, vicariously, at least a momentary triumph over vast and incomprehensible forces–while being thoroughly entertained!

I have a theory that, now that people have absorbed 9/11 and recognize there aren’t any easy answers, there will be an upsurge of demand for romances that offer not only entertainment and escape, but light, and the hope that very, very human people of goodwill can face the challenges that confront our world today and prevail.

What projects are you working on next?

Jax’s friend the wily MENSA-material, Caleb “Do Lord” Dulaude, demanded his own book, before I was half through with SEALed With a Kiss. For this ex-bad-boy who grew up at the dirty fringes of society, becoming a SEAL saved his life, and possibly his soul. Now, to finally fulfill a promise he made to his mother, Do Lord must depend on an absent-minded professor, rather than another SEAL, to have his back; and he must lose his heart if he’s going to mend it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Learn to control your imagination. It’s your greatest asset, but it can also be your inner saboteur. When you imagine what might happen to yourself, make up happy stories. You will live out whatever stories you make up about yourself.

Thank you Mary Margret!

On this beautiful Friday morning I don’t have a book to recommend (though I will soon – I’m in the middle of Demon Moon by Meljean Brook and loving it). Instead I’ll give you a hint at fun things to come here at ciaralira.

1. The Traveler’s Guide to Romance Novels

When I travel I take a ton of books with me. I would like those books to be set in the place I’m globetrotting: mouthwatering stories with a backdrop I can take pictures of. It was so much fun to walk around London and say OMG! there’s the Serpentine in Hyde Park that Kate fell into in The Viscount Who Loved Me! or take a photo of the Half Moon street sign where Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons live. or Whitehall and Covent Garden Market where Lisa Kleypas’ Bow Street Runners have their headquarters. I was ecstatic walking past Whites and the former Almacks just knowing these are the footsteps of all my Regency heroes and heroines!

London is easy, but what about other cities and countries? So I’m making a list of recommended books for your travels. Going to Ireland? Read Nora Roberts’ Born in Fire trilogy or Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. Russia? Read Majorie M. Liu’s Shadow Touch. Seattle? Read Lisa Cach’s A Babe in Ghostland or Alexis Morgan’s Paladins of Darkness series or Richelle Mead’s Succubus Blues or Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series.

READERS: Recommend your favorites based on setting and I’ll add them to the list! (Extra credit for great fiction set in Seattle.)

2. Ciaralira blog to move eventually to www.ciarastewart.com and www.romancelandia.com.

Self explanatory. I have Big Ideas! But I have to restrain myself. Write Ciara, write. Don’t play on the internet. Write!

3. Guest Post: Author Mary Margret Daughtridge to chat with us about her new book SEALed With a Kiss.

Romantic Times Reviewer Cindy Helmer gave SEALed 4.5 stars and says, “How can this story miss? … it delivers in a huge way. Throw in a lost little boy and some great dogs and you get a heart-touching story that will keep you smiling and cheering for the characters clear through to the happy ending.”

Ms. Daughtridge will tell us about her inspiration, research, writing process – you name it. She wants questions! She will also be giving away an autographed copy to one lucky commenter.

READERS: What questions would you like to ask her?

We have a special treat today: Author Linda Wisdom is joining us to talk about what she loves about her new book, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover. She will send one autographed copy to a lucky commenter, so comment away!

Title: 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Author: Linda Wisdom
Publication Info: Sourcebooks, Inc, March 2008
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Jazz can’t decide whether to scorch him with a fireball or jump into bed with him…

Jasmine Tremaine, a witch who can’t stay out of trouble Nikolai Gregorivich, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer.

The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been off-again, on-again—for about 300 years. Mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz’s help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hearts and resist their ever-increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters, including Norma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz’s sports car, Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss, and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)!

From Linda:

Why I love writing about Jazz

And why wouldn’t I when we’re so much alike.

She’s snarky. I’m snarky. She’s Irish. I’m Irish. She has red hair. I have red hair. She’s tall. I’m short. She’s gorgeous. I’m short. She can kick magickal ass. I’m short. She loves all the scented body wash and body creams. So do I. She shares her tub with rubber duckys who are more than they appear. I collect rubber duckys who so far are what they appear. She has bunny slippers that can eat pretty much anything, although the charge they ate that squirrel up at Moonstone Lake is unfounded. My bunny slippers just look cute and so far stay out of the cookie jar.

What I love about this book is that Jazz is someone I’d enjoy hanging out with. She may have magick in her blood but she’s still female enough to love shopping and her lattes. And who wouldn’t love having a BFF who could wiggle her fingers to make pushy people disappear, well, maybe just go away. She drives a snazzy classic T-Bird convertible with an irascible ghost in the passenger seat. She loves cotton candy, funnel cake, and roller coasters.

And did I mention she also has a super hot sexy vampire in her life? Oh yeah, Nick Gregory, a vampire PI who used to work with vamp law enforcement. And right now, he wants her to help him take down a serial killer of vampires. And if their plan doesn’t work out, they’d be dust. Literally. Okay, I’m a good friend, but I’m not sure I’d be willing to help her storm a big bad creature’s mansion to take him down. But I’d sure be out there on the road cheering her on.

Irma’s been in Jazz’s T-Bird since 1956 and not too happy about it, but she can’t seem to leave the car either.

Fluff and Puff, the bunny slippers, believe the house Jazz shares with web designer Krebs is their playground.

Dweezil, Jazz’s creature of a boss at All Creatures Car Service is…well, let’s just say you have to read him to believe him.

Nick, see above.

And Jazz is in a cauldron all her own. She is so much I’m not and that’s probably a good thing. She can get herself out of trouble using magick. I’m not that skilled.

So how about you? Would you want a snarky witch for a BFF? I’m sure the sexy vampire would be a given. And how about bunny slippers that would make sure chocolate in your house never lasted more than a few seconds?

What would you want?

Linda

Thank you for coming! Don’t forget to blog for a chance to win an autographed copy of 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover.