Welcome YA Author M. Lathan

Today’s guest is YA Author, M. Lathan. M. lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests – creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions … like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.

Welcome to the Scribes, M. I’m so glad you could join us. Tell us about you and your book.

Thank you for having me, PJ. HIDDEN is book one in a YA fantasy/paranormal series. In the first installment, sixteen-year-old Leah Grant has given up on being normal. She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.

That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.

Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.
Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.

Let’s hope she can stay hidden.

EXCERPT:

A far second to oranges, the song I sang in the shower every night had a way of soothing me. More than anything, it made me tired enough to fall asleep. With Whitney gone, I didn’t have to whisper it.
The stars are out,
It’s time for bed.
Now close your eyes,
And rest your head.
May angels shield you with their wings,
As you dream your little angel dreams.
I didn’t recall composing that song, but apparently, I used to think I was good and perfect like the angels. I knew better now.
I stepped out of the shower and tugged a brush through my unruly brown tangles. I stared into the mirror over the sink as I started the song again. My skin screamed winter. I should be a warmer tan; I looked less creepy in the summer. Maybe that was why the girls had been digging into me so hard. I looked rather witchy. The unease that made them mock me was probably their souls warning them, urging them to notice I was different and dangerous.
At my worst, it feels like the fire that could easily shoot from my palm is raging inside of me. My heart picks up, more than when I’m scared. It pounds, I can’t hear. My blood dances, taunting me, begging me to hurt whoever’s hurt me. And I know that I can. I feel that I can.
But I don’t. I breathe and pray and let the magic cool.

Wow, cool excerpt, M. I can’t wait to dig into this series!

I asked M. a few silly–and not-so-silly questions. Here were her answers:

1. Do you ever read your stories out loud?
I didn’t know this was weird. It’s the only way I read when I’m at home. I hate reading in my head. There’s too much happening up there.

2. What are your future ambitions?
I want to be a wife and mother. I want to write every single day of the rest of my life. I don’t know what about, just that I will be doing that.

3. What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?
Hidden Book Two, Lost. There’s a new challenge for Christine that could end life on Earth she knows it. Wish her luck.

4. First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.
I remember reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as I child. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in my closet and prayed for the back of it to open to Narnia.

5. If you were a shifter, what animal would you like to be?
A cat. I would still want to live in a house, and I think it would be my best bet. If I were a dog, I’d have to be too energetic. I’d be an aloof, cool, creepy house cat.

Yikes! I knew there was a reason I wasn’t a “cat person,” LOL. Thanks so much for entertaining us today.

Goddess Fish Promotions organized this Virtual Book Tour for HIDDEN by M. Lathan. If you’d like to check out her other appearances, you can find her tour schedule here. During this tour, the author will be giving away a $50 Amazon or BN gift card to one randomly chosen commenter. To enter, please use this Rafflecopter link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4343/

If you want to follow M. or buy her book (only .99 cents right now!), check out the information below. Please make her feel welcomed and leave a comment, ask a question or enter to win that whopper of a gift card!

Author Information:
Website: mlathan.com
Twitter: @hiddenseries
Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/hiddenseries/

Buy link: Amazon

Unlocked secret: Spread the word–we’re having a party–Scribe’s style! Please join me next Tuesday, June 25th as I launch WESTERN DESERT, book two in the Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy. There will be prizes–including a NOOK Simple Touch, signed copies of a few of my other books, and a swag bag for one lucky winner. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating! I look forward to seeing you there.

Progress…not perfection

I hope you all had some much needed R&R this weekend. Needless to say, time flew and I barely saw the light of day beyond my computer. Fortunately, I’ve got some time off coming up to spend with my son who will be visiting next week from California. We’ll be attending the wedding of one of his cousins–who I can still remember being a bit of a terror. My sisters and I had a gaggle of boys all about the same age and trust me; they were all terrors in their own rite. What I’d like to know, is how did all our boys grow up so fast, and how have they survived to become adults? And not just adults, but men who have the courage to walk down an aisle ready to say “I do”. I guess it happened one step at a time…like everything else with forward momentum.

Phil, AJ, and Jay

The groom is on the left, his big brother is on the right, and my younger son is in the middle. California boy is missing from this shot, but I’ll have new pics with everyone looking clean shaven and dapper, I suspect.

Simpler days and wonderful memories aside, time waits for no man…or woman. In the mad rush toward my next book launch in…um…less than four weeks, I came to all of you in need of some help and advice last week. I’d like to thank you all for your enthusiastic responses! Your support and suggestions helped more than you know.

PJ Sharon here, and if you click on the link to my name, you’ll find a new website–sort of. Don’t go yet, though…let’s savor the big reveal for the end of this post, shall we? The new website is almost-but-not-quite-done. I’ll be working out a few kinks–like how to create a drop down menu so my books can be listed under one heading, how to find my HOME page in my menus since it isn’t there anywhere, and how to change the blogging link from my ABOUT page to my BLOG page. I’m still not sure I chose the theme I really want, and may make some changes there as well. I did choose the WordPress.com basic Responsive template so it would show up on all devices–a problem I was having with my other site that was “flash based” (who knew?)

In spite of entertaining his mom this weekend, my rocket scientist husband was kind enough to help me set up the web-hosting and get the site up and running. I used Go Daddy since that’s where I got my domain name. Hosting was reasonable at less than $40 a year. The site has some limitations–such as not being able to change the font without using Java Script, I believe…or it just might be me. There is a learning curve. Thankfully, I had step-by-step instructions from a YouTube video guru by the name of Tyler Moore. What a God-send! In a couple of hours, he talked me through designing and creating a decent website, including a new logo. I’ve still got some work to do, but it’s coming together and I am past the procrastination and freaking out stage–classic symptoms of fear of failure. It comes with the territory of being a perfectionist. As hard as I’ve worked to eradicate those tendencies, they still sneak up on me and tend to hold me back from achieving the next step toward meeting my goals.

The second issue I asked your help with in my last week’s post was coming up with a new tagline. I think I found one that works for me! Here’s what I came up with:

As for titles for Book Three in the Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy, I’m still pondering. With all of the wonderful suggestions I received last week, I’m narrowing it down to several possibilities and will get back to you once I’ve made a decision. For now at least, I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. The really good news is that I’m not the one walking down that aisle next week. I love weddings, but…talk about stress. Eeek! What big stuff do you have in the works?

I’d love for you to share your progress toward one of your big goals with us. How is it coming on those manuscripts? Anyone submitting? Have a book coming out? Building a website, FB page, Goodreads, Author Central pages? There never seems to be a shortage of things to do.

TODAY’S UNLOCKED SECRET: If we expect perfection, we’ll never finish. And like me with the website, you may never have the courage to start. As with the rest of life, if we take it one step forward at a time–eventually we’ll get to the prize.

Topped Chef–Interview with Author Lucy Burdette

 

Hey, everyone, Suze here. This week I’m thrilled that mystery author Lucy Burdette is back to chat with us. I’m even more that she has a new book coming out in just a few days. Topped Chef, Book 3 in the wonderful Key West Food Critic series, releases on May 7. Here’s what Lucy has to say:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a clinical psychologist and the author of eleven mysteries (eight of them written as Roberta Isleib.) I love to eat, talk, and write food, and I spend part of the year in Key West. Throw in a couple of cats, and all that combines very nicely in the Key West food critic mystery series.

Tell us about your latest book, Topped Chef.

Topped Chef is the third book in the Key West series–which I am having an absolute ball writing! In this installment, Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is tapped as a judge on a reality TV  cooking show. But when another judge turns up murdered, she must figure  out who’s taking the contest too seriously before she becomes the next  victim.

If you were casting a movie, who would play the characters in your Key West Food Critic series?

I am dreadful at casting movies and if this dream of one of my books becoming a film ever comes true, I will leave the details to the professionals. That said, I would love to cast Amy Adams as Hayley, and Meryl Streep as her mother! There is a drag queen character in this book too–for that I would suggest using the actual person, Randy Thompson. He’s a fabulous performer!

How do you market your books? Do you have any marketing advice for our readers?

Oh sigh, this is so hard because you can get sucked into the vortex of marketing and forget to write. I use Facebook (www.facebook.com/lucyburdette), Twitter in a half-hearted way (www.twitter.com/lucyburdette), Pinterest for generating book ideas and collecting food photos (www.pinterest.com/robertaisleib), and I blog with two wonderful groups of writers, Mystery Lovers Kitchen (www.mysteryloverskitchen.com) and Jungle Red Writers (www.jungleredwriters.com). When I’m approaching a book launch, I do as many guest posts as I can to spread the word. I try pitching magazines and radio shows. And since there is nothing better than talking with real readers in person, I schedule appearances at book stores, libraries, and conferences. And I also have a website: www.lucyburdette.com

Do you see what I mean about that vortex??

My advice is to pick a few of the many promotional options–the ones that suit your personality–and ignore the rest. And start early. And have fun at it! And try to give something to the readers–they won’t come back if your posts and updates are all about you and your newest release.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a little of both. I have to turn in a synopsis to my editor at NAL as part of my contract. But it usually turns out that when I begin writing, the book takes all kinds of U-turns in unexpected directions–which can be exhilarating, but also scary. In the book I’m writing now (or should be), the plot is kicking my butt.

How long does it take you to turn out a draft of a book? Is it an easy–or agonizing–process?

For this series, I have about nine months in between books. The first draft is always agonizing. While rewrites to me are fun!

What made you want to write cozy mysteries? Who are some of your favorite authors?

I’ve always read mysteries and I don’t like gore and violence so this genre is a natural for me. My first culinary mystery idol was Diane Mott Davidson. You might be able to imagine how thrilled I was to land a blurb from her about AN APPETITE FOR MURDER: “What fun! Lucy Burdette writes evocatively about Key West and food–a winning combination. I can’t wait for the next entry in this charming series.” DMD  Wow!

When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite way to spend your time?

I’m a huge reader, of women’s fiction as well as mysteries. I enjoy cooking, my pets, spending time with my family, and enough exercise to overcome the effects of all that good food.

How do you battle the Doubt Monster? We define the Doubt Monster as: the nagging feeling that your prose is terrible, your plot is silly, your characters are insipid, and no one in her right mind would read this drivel, let alone buy it.

My best advice on that came from my writing pal Hallie Ephron: Hold your nose and write. You can’t fix something that isn’t written! And I love my writer friends who understand how hard this work is–they are always available with a crying towel if needed…

What’s next for you? What are you working on now?

I’m in the middle of MURDER WITH GANACHE, the fourth Key West food critic mystery, which will be out in February 2014. The deadline is barreling down upon me! thanks so much for inviting me to visit! And best of luck with your writing Suze !

Thanks, Lucy! Lucy’s on her way to Malice Domestic today, but she’ll pop in from time to time and answer your questions.

The ARCs Have Arrived!

Hi there, Sugar here.

When I got home from work on  Friday I had a big package waiting for me at the door. I knew it wasn’t a pair of shoes. (I haven’t ordered any in months.) I suspected they were the bookmarks I ordered from Earthly Charms. (Great site!) But when I picked up the package and felt its weight I knew it couldn’t be just book marks. The address confirmed that the package was from my editor, but for some reason I couldn’t imagine what was inside. My book is not out until nearly September and since I only have a vague idea what goes on behind the scenes I wasn’t expecting Advance Reader Copies yet.

So happy together!

But there they were and when I saw them I squealed a little. I had a book! An actual printed book. No longer was it an idea in my head, or words on a screen. It was on paper. It had a binding. I could hold in my hands. I could inhale the pages. I was excited to say the least. But I realized that this was a huge step in the process. ARCs mean that now real people are going to be reading my book. They are going to be reviewing it. Some of them will like it, some of them won’t. And it scares me a little because, my baby, my first book, the thing I’ve thought about and sweated over for the past year and a half is being released into the world to be critiqued.

My mother made me give her a copy. That’s an even bigger thing than having strangers read it. She hasn’t read anything I have written in years and she doesn’t normally like romance novels. I’m afraid she won’t like it. I told her that if she doesn’t like it to lie and tell me she did. Which of course she will.  I’m not sure why, but having my mother read something I wrote is weird for me.

What about you all? Do you let your family members read your work?

Blogs to Help Enhance your Work by Katy Lee

Writing fiction is more than getting your character from point A to point B. Your character needs to experience the world and everything in it just as we do in our everyday lives. Our days are filled with intrusions like weather and sickness, but there are also things in the world that have the ability to cultivate us like the arts and architecture around us…most times when we’re not even looking for it.

Now I could spend a lifetime reading and studying the things in our world just so I can write them into my stories, but if I did I’d never get anything written. As much as I would love to spend my days at the library, or better yet, traveling the world to experience everything in it, it’s just not possible. But I also can’t neglect the fact that these things exist in my life and in the lives of my characters. So what do I do?

Well, while I wait for my cruise tickets to come in the mail, I have found a group of blogs that offer little tidbits of information a little at a time. Ideas and information that I can file away to use in moments where my stories are flat and are in need of some excitement or detail.

So today I wanted to share some of these go-to blogs that help enhance my work. I hope there is something in here for you, too!

1)     
http://www.redwoodsmedicaledge.com/

The Redwood’s Medical Edge Blog is medical facts for your fiction. Jordyn Redwood, a nurse by day, author by night, designed her site to help both historical and contemporary authors learn methods to write medically accurate fiction. She fields medical questions from followers, analyzes medical scenes, and posts on topics that can increase the tension and conflict in any story. No one person can be an expert in all things so she also hosts medical experts in other areas: EMS and obstetrics to name a few. Historical authors who have done research in a particular medical area such as civil war medicine are also featured. You want to know the protocol of an accident with injuries, or an illness a baby could have but go undetected? Jordyn is your woman.

2)     
http://gailingis.com/wordpress/

Gail Ingis is known as a “Renaissance Woman” for her varied accomplishments. She is a professor of history of architecture & interior design, photographer, artist juror, writer, design critic, and founder of the nationally accredited Interior Design Institute. On any given day, her blog can be about how lighting affects a room, drinking coffee in a café in Portugal, or a description of a Victorian era chair. You never know when your character might need to sit in one. Whatever the topic may be, Gail’s information can bring a flare for the exotic into your stories.

3)     
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/

Not just for writers. Whether you are an attorney, manager or student, writing skills are essential to your success. The rise of the information age – with the proliferation of e-mails, blogs and social networks – makes the ability to write clear, correct English more important than ever. (See my blog from last week about good writing here.) Daily Writing Tips is about that. Every day they send out a grammar, spelling, punctuation or vocabulary tip. And we can all use extra tips.

4)     
http://www.romancingthepalate.com/

Finding a passion for food in every love story is R.L. Syme’s motto for her blog. I took a food class with Rebecca Lynn last year and she helped me learn how to use food like another character in my stories. She brought life to cooking and eating and encouraged us to incorporate the feelings we experienced into our books, so our readers could feel them, too.  *This blog is in the process of being changed, so not much is going on there these days. I’m looking forward to her updated site soon.

Until then, I recently found this one and it has the same premise:

5)     
http://platedromance.wordpress.com/

Romance on the Plate: Taste the Emotions…Feel the Food. Here is a quote from the site to show how food helps to bring your character to life:

“He could not control his curiosity; he could smell the delicious aroma of caramelizing onions wafting from the copper vessel that was fired up on the stove. He stood upon a chair in the kitchen and watched as his mother evoked the magic of food……”

I feel like I am standing on that chair and inhaling right along with the child. Which is what we want to do for our readers, so they can get a taste, too.

The Unlocked Secret: Experience is key, but if you can’t experience it yourself, find a source that has. It will make your writing authentic. Check these sites out for ways to enhance your writing. If not these, I’m sure you can search for sites that meet your genre and style.

Question: Do you have a go-to blog or website for expertise or vicarious experience? Please share in the comments below.

And as always, thank you for your Tweets and Shares.

Writer Beware (How much should you spend on learning your craft?)

Hi there, Sugar here.  So I have a secret. Before I sold DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD to St. Martin’s Press I never spent a dime on learning how to write. Oh I joined the RWA and my local chapter. I went to the monthly meetings, I read  a lot of the writers I admired. I found good critique partners and beta readers. But I never paid for a class, bought a book or shelled out hundreds of dollars on workshops. Am I that good of a writer? Well, I would like to think so, but the truth is, I’m not. I know I can be better. I know that there is always chance for growth. But do I want to pay thousands for a chance to grow. Absolutely not.

I don’t spend a ton of time surfing Twitter but when I do, it seems that somebody is always trying to sell writers something. Classes, books, retreats, all day workshops. They all promise to make your characters stronger, your dialogue wittier, your sex scenes filled with more… Umph. But with all that stuff out there how do you know what’s worthy of spending your hard earned cash on.

So I put together a little list of things you should think about before you shell out your money.

1. Look carefully at who is giving the workshop/ writing the book/ selling the product. Do they have any credibility?  If they are teaching about craft, have they ever sold a book to a major publisher? Have they taught before? Have you heard good things about them?
2. For self pubbers. If they are claiming that they are successful and can teach you how to be, can they prove it? Are they willing to share numbers? Secrets?
3. Can you get what they are selling else where for free? There are a lot of blogs out, A LOT, for writers by writers where you can get good info for free. Read them.
4. Can you use your friends?  Just before I was about to submit my manuscript I thought about paying to have a professional critique it, but then I saw the prices. They ranged anywhere from $300-$800. Way too rich for my blood. Plus it’s only one person’s opinion. What one person might love another might hate. So use your friends when you can. They are readers too.
5. Have you checked out writer’s forums like Absolute Water Cooler or Query Tracker. You can learn much from reading the posts on there. 

Sure there are classes and books out there that are well worth it. But the best way to get better at writing is to get your butt in the chair and write. The more you write the better you get. I promise. It works. I’m proof.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about before spending your money on craft? And if I was going to spend some money, what books/ workshops/classes would you recommend?”

Happy Hopping

PJ Sharon here. Thank you for joining me at the Secrets of 7 Scribes group blog. I’ll give you today’s Unlocked Secret right up front. Writing is a tough job. Try to have a good time along the way. Fun may be defined differently for all of us, but a few of my favorite parts of this writing life (aside from writing!)are great conferences and group promotional events. I’m looking forward to RWA Nationals in Atlanta this July, and Fiction Fest this fall with my CTRWA pals. In the meantime, I have several group promotional events coming up.

Tis the season of Blog Hops and Book Lovers Buffets!

I’m currently participating with sixty-one other authors in the annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop. Since Dianne Venetta and friends organized the whole event, I didn’t have to do much accept prepare my blog and promote the heck out of it this week. The hop runs from April 10-19th and offers a Grand prize of a Nook or Kindle Fire and a $25 gift card to your favorite e-retailer.

The way it works is that you “hop” to each author’s blog where readers can collect gardening tips and awesome recipes (you must check out my super easy and scrumptious recipe for Sunny Delight Pie), and a prize will be offered just for showing up and leaving a comment. You can find the links to participating author sites on both my blog and the AIB landing page noted above. Prizes range from swag baskets to free books, signed copies to gift cards, and much more. On my blog site, all commenters who leave a valid e-mail address (not to be used for any other promotion), will be given a FREE short story called SOUL REDEMPTION, the prequel to WANING MOON, and will be entered to win an audio book copy of HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES.

I’m so excited to be able to offer the audio book as a prize. I’ve been listening to it at home and LOVING my narrator, Erin Mallon, who has totally brought Jordie and Alex’s story to life. Hearing the story is very different from reading it, and the experience is a bit surreal for me as the author. The audio book will be available for purchase in May! Also in May, the 1st-3rd to be exact, be on the lookout for the Book Lover’s Buffet, where you can pick up a ton of fabulous books for only .99 cents!

Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of being a published author these days, I try to focus on the “fun” stuff. Blog hops, audio books, contest wins, and conferences are at the top of my list. I truly do enjoy opportunities to hang out with amazing like-minded people and learn exciting new ways to write great books and connect to readers. I am honored to be a part of such a hard-working and innovative community. You guys rock!

So what keeps you going when you get overwhelmed? Do you have a favorite (“fun”) part of being a writer that makes the hard parts easier to endure?

#1KID is Back to Talk Writing

Hello, friends! I’m #1KID as you may know me from visiting here last year when I told you all what the Top Ten Secrets from a Writer’s Kid were, or maybe you’ve read my own blog, Road2Gold! Either way, I’m Katy’s kid!

I’m here today to tell you about my latest experience with a book I just read. It’s actually a book I’ve been waiting to read for about six months.  I’m sure many of you can relate to the excitement of when a book is released..

But as I read it, I noticed something different I’d never picked up on before. The author had a thing with “head-hopping”. If you don’t know what head-hopping is, then let me fill you in: Head-hopping is where the Point Of View (Or POV) all of a sudden changes. One paragraph you’re feeling what the heroine is feeling, then bam, we’re in the hero’s head.

Head-hopping is impossible when writing a first-person book, (which is what I write and usually read) but seeing that this book was in third person, I found it happening a lot. Like I said,  I’d never noticed head hopping before, but now it was like reading had an antagonist of its own. It slowed my reading and really jolted me out of the story. Sometimes I had to go back and reread the paragraph.

Can I ask if this is just me, or is there anyone else who experiences this? And why had I never noticed it before?

What especially bothered me was when the author head hopped into the POV of a secondary character. It tripped me up and confused me. Do we need to know what a secondary character is thinking?

I realize I’m a new writer, but if any of you Scriblings can explain why authors head hop, please tell me.

As for me when I write, I put the squiggly in between POVs. ~ Sometimes I put random symbols.( ψ Ω ∞ ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ ) I don’t plan to be published until I graduate high school, so I can be weird in my books. I write about angels, so a symbol of a pair of wings would be really cool.

My character, Vera North, with her wings

In the publishing world, what is the customary symbol to use for when an author doesn’t head hop and changes POVs? Thanks for your help and thanks for hanging out with me today.

Thanks Scribes for having me here today. But before I leave, I want to tell you that tomorrow is my first blogiversary! (Yeah, yeah… I made that word up.) I’m soooo excited! I’ll be celebrating in a few days on my own blog, so be sure to join the party!

Later!

#1kid

Getting Wylde!

Hi, Scribe fans! We have a special treat for you today. I recently discovered Irish author Anya Wylde and now I can’t get enough of her zany historical romantic romps. Anya will be here at some point today to answer your questions. And if you don’t have questions, just say hi to our new friend across the pond.

Tell us a little about yourself, Anya.

I live in Dublin, Ireland with my husband and poodle. I try and write ridiculous books in an attempt to tickle the funny bone which I strongly believe is good for health.

Tell us a little about your latest book, Penelope.

Penelope is a madcap romantic comedy where a clumsy country bumpkin is plunged into a glitzy London society. Along the way people attempt to groom her, help her and try and find a husband for her. What follows is a series of misadventures, love affairs, moonlit balls, fake moustaches, highwaymen, sneering beauties, and the wrath of a devilishly handsome duke.

Are you surprised by how well Penelope and your first book, The Wicked Wager, are selling? To what do you attribute your fantastic sales (other than having written a couple of great books)?

I am stunned. When I published The Wicked Wager I thought only seven of my family and friends would buy the book and thereafter it would languish. They still haven’t bought it but a whole lot of other people have. I think the main reasons it has done well are the low price point, a nice cover and good blurb. Also my husband has been a big help.

Do you have any marketing advice for our readers?

I think bloggers are a great help in getting the word out .Also pricing the book right, having a nice cover and a good blurb.

What made you want to write historicals? Who are some of your favorite authors?

I wrote historical because I enjoy reading them. The first romance book I ever read was Pride and Prejudice and since then the Regency era has become the most romantic time period in my mind. Apart from Jane Austen I love reading Julia Quinn, Wodehouse, Robert Jordan, Agatha Christie, Roald Dahl and so many more.

On this side of the pond there is a fascination with Ireland—and not just on St. Patrick’s Day either! Why do you think there is such a mystique about Ireland?

I am not sure. From where I am standing Ireland has no mystery whatsoever. Now, New York and LA are full of mystique, glamour and Hollywood magic.

How do you battle the Doubt Monster? We define the Doubt Monster as: the nagging feeling that your prose is terrible, your plot is silly, your characters are insipid, and no one in her right mind would read this drivel, let alone buy it.

I am convinced that my prose is terrible, the plot silly and the characters insipid. I don’t battle the doubt monster. I have come to accept him.

Do you have any pets? Tell us about them.

I have an adorable black poodle called Portia. She used to be fat and then we put her on diet and it seems to have worked (sort of). She is still lazy though, can’t do anything about that.

What’s your junk food of choice?

Chocolate éclairs, profiteroles and home-made caramel popcorn.

What are you working on now? When can we expect it to be out?

I am working on another romantic comedy. It is a sort of follow up of Penelope but this time it is her sister Celine who arrives at the Blackthorne mansion in search of love.

Anya Wylde lives in Ireland along with her husband and a fat French poodle (now on a diet). She can cook a mean curry, and her idea of exercise is occasionally stretching her toes. She holds a degree in English literature and adores reading and writing. You can connect with Anya here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anya-Wylde/462621383768241?fref=ts


https://twitter.com/Anyawylde

www.anyawylde.com

Another Next Big Thing by Katy Lee

Fellow author Debby Lee (No relation at all) recently tagged me in a blog. She sent me a list of questions that I’m to answer regarding my next book and post them to my blog. Now since I already told you about my October 2013 release, Warning Signs, a Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense story, here,  I will tell you about my next book after that one. So here goes.

WHAT’S THE WORKING TITLE OF YOUR BOOK?

In Too Deep to be released mid 2014 with Love Inspired Suspense. Title may change. In fact, knowing my editor, it most likely will. Warning Signs used to have a working title of Forever Silenced. That’s just the way it works.

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM FOR YOUR BOOK?

Well, first I love a good forensic anthropology story, especially when my heroine anthropologist gets to butt heads with a handsome cop to solve the case. But because I also participate in many events with the Creation Coalition here in New England, I wanted a character that has a strong faith in God as her creator, even when some of her colleagues don’t believe.  I hope to inspire readers to stay strong in their faith.

Now because I write romance, the romantic conflict ensues when my hero needs evidence to trust in her because of his own past betrayals, but my heroine doesn’t want to live her life with her actions always under the microscope.

WHAT GENRE DOES YOUR BOOK FALL UNDER?

Inspirational Romantic Suspense

WHAT IS THE ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR BOOK?

Bones have been unearthed on the island, but the real trouble begins when Anthropologist Lydia Muir and the handsome sheriff, Wesley Grant, start digging deeper.

IF YOUR BOOK BECAME A MOVIE, WHO WOULD PLAY YOUR LEADS?

A long-haired Bradley Cooper and a  sophisticated Jennifer Garner.

 

 

IS YOUR BOOK SELF PUBLISHED OR REPRESENTED BY AN AGENCY?

This will be published by Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense.

WHAT OTHER BOOKS WOULD YOU COMPARE YOUR STORY TO WITHIN YOUR GENRE?

I hate comparing my stories to others out there. I don’t want to compare this story to the T.V. show, Bones, either, even though that is the first thing that comes to mind. Like most writers my stories are unique and don’t follow another writer’s pattern. It keeps things fresh and surprising!

WHAT ELSE ABOUT YOUR BOOK MIGHT PIQUE THE READERS INTERESTS?

I was excited to return to the Island of Stepping Stones where Warning Signs takes place. So I got to revisit some of the characters from the first book. I hope you like them all!

And now if you would like to see Debby Lee’s answers to her book, click here. And thank you Debby for the invite to share!

P.S. Stay tuned, in a few weeks, I will reveal the cover for Warning Signs!!!