Interview with Avalon and Harlequin author Holly Jacobs

Grab a cup of coffee and a chair, 'cause love is in the air. Avalon and Harlequin Superromance author Holly Jacobs is a virtual cupid. From matchmakers to single dads to leg waxing (use your imagination ;), Holly's romances have spread love and laughter worldwide. She has even been featured in a Mutual of Omaha Aha moment video! Holly is a lot of fun, so sit back, sip your java, and help me welcome our honorary Valentine's week cupid :)

1. Holly, if I were asked to name an international romance star, you're name is the first that would come to mind. Your books are sold in Spain, Holland, Denmark, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France, and probably even more exotic places! It must be both thrilling and interesting to see so many book cover versions of the same book and how they differ depending on a country's marketing needs. Has your international success been due to publisher 'choice', the universal appeal of your stories, self-advocacy, or all of the above? Do you do anything different to address international marketing or to connect with overseas fans?

~Okay, I'm chuckling a bit, but thanks!  I'm going to go inform the family that you think I'm an international romance star.  Uh, I think they're going to do more than chuckle! But seriously, thanks!  I've sold internationally regularly since I started writing, on an average of three to six books a year.  But all of a sudden, last year the releases really took off.  I had 22 books released overseas, or reprinted in the US.  It was thrilling!  I've got a list of my most recent oversea's releases on my public FB page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Jacobs-Author-Official/197779663574406?sk=app_7146470109) and I’ll confess, I still get huge geek glee over seeing my books printed in languages I can’t read!

Some of the publishers are actual arms of Harlequin, others buy the right to publish my books from Harlequin.  I tend to hear about it as the books are released, and sometimes not until I get a royalty statement.  Most of the time, I have no clue why a particular book is picked.  However, BE MY BABY was released in Denmark last November and that one I do I do credit to readers who wrote the publisher there and asked for some of my books!  I am lucky...I not only have some great readers, many of them have become great friends.  Oh, and most international readers/friends simply contact me online, either through email, or on Facebook.

2. You write sweet and funny romances. Your 2001 title, I Waxed My Legs For This, says it all. But I'd say that even your more serious Harlequin Superromances are infused with a bit of witty humor, such as Tucker's unique t-shirt collection in A Father's Name(Sept 2011). Even not-so-funny predicaments can be hilarious in retrospect. Tell us about one of your funniest or most embarrassing moments (publishing or otherwise).

~Thanks for mentioning both books!  I have always maintained that if you find a man who will rip the hair off your legs for you...he’s a keeper!  LOL And I had more fun with Tucker’s t-shirts in A Father’s Name.  I had help from online friends coming up with some of the slogans. 

Hm, a funny experience?  My life is a comedy, so there are tons to pick from, but one of the more recent ones was at my first keynote speech.  Now, I’ve done writing workshops for years, and am pretty relaxed about them, but I was a bit nervous about a keynote.  After all, at a workshop, I have other people who ask questions, or make comments–I can play off that.  But at a speech...well, there’s just me.  So, anyway, there I was, in front of the entire conference and I started my talk saying they were my first keynote and if I sucked, please don’t through food.  (When you’re doing a talk while people are eating, that throwing food thing is always a possibility.)  So, I’m talking, and it seemed to be going well.  Then one of the ladies at the table next to my little podium, whacked her bottle of water, which flew in a lovely arc and landed...on the podium.  Now, it wasn’t exactly a rotten tomato, and hey, the lid was on, but still...  LOL It proved to be a very funny moment and definitely made me relax as I finished my speech!  (I’m happy to report, no other food or beverages were thrown.) 

Oh, another one of my favorite embarrassing moments was at the first conference I went to.  I’d just sold not only I Waxed My Legs for This? to Duets, and on that sale’s heels, I sold Do You Hear What I Hear? to Silhouette Romance, so everything about that conference was full of glee. I was getting dressed for the awards ceremony and singing Aida...loudly.   I thought I had the room to myself, but roommates snuck in and overheard.  And I don’t have a Broadway quality voice...I don’t even have a good karaoke quality voice.  SIGH.  But to make matters even worse, a friend in the next room overheard me as well.  (It was Pam Hanson, who writes with her mom as Jennifer Drew...we worked on Duets 100th Duet, You’ll be Mine in ‘99 & The 100-Year Itch together a few years later.)  Ever since that night, she likes to tell me that I have a lovely voice, and I assure her that it is lovely...if you listen through a wall!  Yep, my life is a comedy.  LOL

3. You're a wife, busy mom of four, wood chopper, eco-project pursuer, master basket weaver (don't argue...I've seen gorgeous pics!) and more. On top of that, you write for both Avalon and Harlequin. How do you juggle the deadlines and demands of writing simultaneously for different publishers? Any plans to join other others in self-publishing on the side, or is your basket full for now?

~Right now, I’m contracted with work for the bulk of this year.  I’ve got at least 3 backlist books being released as eBooks, and two new Avalon books (Everything but a Mother, Everything but a Dog) coming out.  And I’m currently writing a new trilogy for Harlequin SuperRomance that’ll be out in 5/6/7-2013.  I’m not saying I wouldn’t consider self-pubbing, but right now, I’ve got my nose to the grindstone, working on new books for my publishers.

As for my other activities...I’m such a geek!  We heat with wood, and I look at the wood splitting (walking the dogs, and shoveling snow) as my alternative to joining a gym.  I enjoy it...most days!  And I absolutely have fallen in love with basketweaving!  It’s nice of you to say I’m a master weaver, but really, I’m an enthusiastic novice!  Now, the eco-thing...I’m just lucky my online readers and friends put up with my...uh, enthusiasm!  We put a dual-flush toilet in when we did a bathroom renovation.  I was so excited about the water savings and waxed poetic about that toilet online.  They all indulged me...which was sweet! 

4. What better way to celebrate the month of love than to have a romance release? Not only are Confessions of a Party Crasher and The 100 Year Itch getting re-released by Harlequin this month, but you also have the debut release of Everything But A Mother, book 5 of your Avalon 'Everything but a...' series. Give us a little background on the series that has so many readers hooked.

~I will confess, I love the Everything But... series.  I’ve been writing much heavier books for Harlequin’s SuperRomance line, and while I love writing them, I really enjoy getting to return to my straight humor roots.  This series started with a trilogy (Everything But a Groom, EBA Bride, EBA Wedding) in which Nana Vancy, a tiny Hungarian grandmother has cursed her family to bad weddings and spends three books trying to break the curse.  Nana Vancy had so many fans, that I agreed to write the second trilogy (Everything But a Christmas, Everything But a Mother, Everything But a Dog) in which she gets together with her two best friends and plays matchmaker.  She doesn’t play it very well!  LOL In the book out this month, Everything But a Mother, as Nana Vancy and her friends trying to set up a daycare owner and a college professor–neither of whom want to be set up...especially not with each other!

Speaking of that series, the finale is out in October...Everything But a Dog.  In one of my other Avalon books (Night Calls), I put my Old English Mastiff, who’s since passed away.  In Everything But a Dog, my current dogs Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald get center stage (with different names).  I’m so glad they’re part of that last Everything But... story!

5. Speaking of backlists, we'd love to hear about The Call that led to your first book.

~I’d been targeting Harlequin since I started writing.  I thought their comedy line would be a good fit for my writing.  I’d sold to a couple other small publishers, but kept trying Harlequin.  I’d send in a proposal, it would be rejected, I’d send in the next, they’d reject... 

Eventually, I didn’t get form letter rejections, I got personal letters that told me what the weaknesses were in a proposal.  Finally I got a letter about I Waxed My Legs for This? and it outlined a few very specific areas they wanted addressed.  I did them immediately and I think I had that book back to them within a week or so.  And the I waited again.  My husband worked swing shifts on the police force back then, and he was off the March day I got ‘the call.’  We’d just got back from the store (I’d bought a new clothes basket...I have no idea why I remember that, but there it is) when the phone rang it was my editor saying she wanted to buy I Waxed My Legs for This?  I don’t remember much about the conversation.  I’m sure I babbled...babbling is my specialty!  But it was amazing.  When you work so hard toward a goal and finally attain it...well, it’s amazing! 

That June, just three months later, another editor, this time from Silhouette Romance, called and bought a book.  I babbled just as much!  I remember telling her we were going out to celebrate...to Taco Bell.  She told me she was not a Taco Bell fan (I know...and I still loved her anyway! LOL), but her brother, Larry, was.  Now, if you ever ready my Perry Square series for Silhouette Romance, you’ll find not only a hero named Larry, but a Taco mention.  That was for both of them!  LOL (Larry (my character, not my editor’s brother) is in Be My Baby, that book I mentioned was just out in Denmark!)

6. You literally have a cop right at your fingertips ;). Did he help out with any research that went into your 'Count on a Cop' Superromance, Homecoming Day? Did he (and his station buddies) read it? Can we expect any more cop heroes or heroines from you?

~He does help a lot.  I said “What if” to him any number of times as I write books with cops.  (Okay, I say what-if to him about every book...he’s a good sounding board.)  And he’s always a good sport about the cop questions.  Most of the time when I have a cop in a book, they’re not running around solving murders or saving the world.  They’re real people who go out and work with kids in trouble or who deal with crazy drivers, real people who...  Well, when I write a police officer hero, I try to make him a real man who simply goes out and does his best each day.  Sometimes they do solve a murder (In Lost and Found the cop hero was chasing down a disappearing dead body throughout the book), but most days they’re just trying to leave their city a little safer.  My husband is sort of the template I model all my heroes after...cops or not.  I’ve never written a hero who truly measures up to my husband.  I know, I’m groaning as I write that.  It’s so sappy.  But don’t tell him, it’s the truth! 

Oh, and I’m sure you’ll see cops in the future.  I’m sort of fond of cops as a whole!  LOL Two of my brothers are cops as well!

7. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Forget flowers. We need to start a tradition where people give romance novels (and chocolate...we can keep the chocolate) as Valentine's gifts :) What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever given/done for you?

~Okay, confession: my husband and I don’t do a lot of candlelit dinner, dressed to the nines sort of things.  He does bring me dark chocolate covered cherries on occasion (my favorite).  Mainly, we go out and walk the dogs together most nights, we split all that wood together, or do projects around the house together...it’s that together thing that matters to me.  He’s still my all time favorite person to spend time with.  Even when we do something big for a celebration, it’s not fancy.  Our twentieth anniversary was at Disney...with no kids.  LOL    I know, not everyone’s idea of romantic, but we love Disney!  We honeymooned there, too!

And I love the idea of giving romance novels for Valentine’s!!

8. Apart from not quitting, what's the one thing you did that you feel played a critical role in getting you published?

~LOL The not quitting certainly is a big part of succeeding, but when asked, I always say the most important thing for me was writing every day.  I’m at the computer every day.  I work on books I’m contracted on, but I also work on spec pieces that are just fun for me.  I write articles.  I...well, I write.  It sounds like a simple hint.  As simple as ‘not quitting’, but sometimes the most simple things are the most important.

9. Okay. Now I can't get chocolate out of my head. Do you have a favorite deadline crunch time snack? Any quirky writing habits/rituals?

~To be honest, I’m sort of a boring writer.  I don’t wait until the last minute and get all crazed in a deadline crunch.  I map out how many pages a day I have to write to meet a deadline, then I write that many pages!  LOL Yep, boring.  But I do much better with a cadence to my life, and I don’t miss deadlines, so it works for me. 

But yep, I’m boring.  Hmmm, I bet I could come up with a less boring if you’ll let me lie!  LOL

10. Let's pretend hunky, cop hubby just called and asked what movie you'd like him to rent. so that you can curl up on the sofa and watch in on Valentine's Day. What movie is it?

~Now, if it was Valentine’s and he was indulging me, I’d say something sci fi-ish, but if I were indulging him, it would be something actiony.  Uh, if we were going to simply indulge each other, Disney flicks are never out of order!  LOL

Thanks so much for inviting me over to visit today, Rula!  There’s more information on me and my books at my website, HollyJacobs.com.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s!

Thanks for being here, Holly!

Everything But A Mother:

Nana Vancy is at it again...she has two new victims, er friends in her matchmaking sites. Heather and Henry don't stand a chance of fighting love, not when a determined Hungarian matchmaker and her friends have them in their sites!

Buy it here:

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Read excerpt here

Visit Holly at:

www.hollyjacobs.com
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The winner is...

CAROL KILGORE!

Congrats, Carol :) You won a copy of Once A Good Girl. Just in case you missed Wendy's comment in the last post, go ahead and email your mailing info to wendy (at) wendysmarcus (dot) com. Enjoy!

NEXT WEEK: Join me Monday, February 13th for an interview with Harlequin Superromance and Avalon author Holly Jacobs. Find out how many languages Holly's romances have been translated into, get a peek at her international Harlequin covers and hear what she has to say about writing a 'universal' romance. Be sure to stop by! I'll have coffee brewing :)

Interview with Harlequin Medical Romance author Wendy S. Marcus

Good Morning everyone! Looks like Groundhog Phil saw his shadow and we're in for six more weeks of winter. What better excuse to curl up on a sofa with a romance novel? Well, grab a mug of hot chocolate (with extra marshmallows) and help me welcome Harlequin Medical Romance author Wendy S. Marcus. Never mind Phil's shadow and the extra six weeks of cold, Wendy's books will keep you warm all winter.

Hi Rula! Thank you so much for having me at your blog today. You sure did your research! Great questions!

Thanks, Wendy. It's all in the great answers, so on with the interview :)

1. Many authors worry about suffering from second book syndrome, but it’s safe to say you're in the clear. After your first book in the Madrin Memorial Hospital series, When One Night Isn't Enough, garnered a 4 star RT Book Review, I'd call your second book, Once A Good Girl, success on steroids! It recently earned 4.5 stars from RT Book Reviews and an extraordinary write-up including this..."The story challenges the guidelines of a Harlequin Medical Romance in an excellent way....readers will not be able to resist the rising tension that builds to a crescendo." Wow! Congratulations, Wendy! For many writers, especially those trying to break into category romance, pushing the envelope is a terrifying notion. One where a writer is never quite sure if they've struck a balance between being original and venturing too far outside the box. Along these lines, what advice can you give writers hoping to break into the category market?

Thank you for your kind words! Success on steroids…. I like it! I think the most important thing for a new writer is writing with your own, unique voice and style while staying within the requirements of the category line you want to write for ie. word count, heat level, and for certain lines technical elements such as medical elements for medical romance. Harlequin and Mills and Boon have excellent guidelines and help for new writers on their websites.

2. I'm amazed by how many romance writers (myself included) have/had left brained careers. Sometimes our left brained colleagues don't understand the switch in gears, but I'm a firm believer that one life/one career is an archaic idea and, much like brainstorming a story, our later choices can be better fits. I also believe that no career or experience is wasted. Think of it as hard core research ;). You earned both a nursing degree and a master's in health care administration...and may I add a doctorate in motherhood? All mom's deserve that one :). In writing for Harlequin Medical, you've formed a natural bridge for your experience. However, having seen the nitty gritty details of health care, do you ever struggle to find romantic inspiration in it all? Have your past colleagues read your books and given you 'feedback'?

For me, writing medical romance is actually quite difficult. As a nurse, I have to be very careful not to get too technical or realistic in some scenes. If I use too much medical speak or expose too much gore, I will pull the reader out of a scene. And that’s the last thing I want to do. To find romantic inspiration I must focus on my characters and their emotional responses to the medical situations they are faced with and the staff they work with as opposed to focusing on the medical conditions and treatments themselves. And with regard to past colleagues reading my books, I have heard from a few who said they liked them.

3. While we're on the topic of new careers, tell us your Call story that started it all!

Well, I entered a medical romance pitch contest back in 2010 just like the one Harlequin is running now.Find information here: http://community.harlequin.com/forums/write-stuff/editor-pitch-challenge-harlequin-medical-romance. I was one of five winners, along with fellow medical romance author Scarlet Wilson, and I was assigned my wonderful editor Flo Nicoll who agreed to work with me to see if I could turn my manuscript into a saleable medical romance novel. And it took A LOT of work! But after six long months of revisions, during which I basically re-wrote my manuscript…twice, I received ‘The Call’ in October 2010. First my then agent called with the news that Mills and Boon wanted to make me an offer. Then Flo called me from England! I don’t remember one word of the conversation. Luckily she sent me a summary e-mail afterwards!

4. I love your book covers and the way they focus on your heroines. I have to say that the model on the US cover of Once A Good Girl looks like Julia Ormond...and her expression says it all. Although many Harlequin books end up with overseas editions, for Medicals it's part of the routine. For every book you have out, there are multiple release dates and different covers. Has that posed any marketing challenges for you? Any advice for streamlining marketing in a situation like that?

Now that you mention it, I agree! The model on the U.S. cover does look like Julia Ormond! And as much as I like my Mills and Boon book covers, I would love a really steamy sexy cover. One day! As far as multiple covers and release dates, it does get a bit tricky. But if you look at the Books page on my website: http://WendySMarcus.com, I display the book covers for all my English language books with links for purchase. I’m thinking about adding an international page for my French and other language translations.

To give you an idea how release dates work, my current book, Once a Good Girl…, went out to UK medical romance subscription holders in October, up on the Mills and Boon UK website in November, on store shelves in UK and Mills and Boon Aus website in December, store shelves in Aus/NZ and Harlequin.com in U.S. in January, and on Amazon and Barnes and Noble U.S. in February. That’s a lot of promo time! I dealt with this by scheduling promo for January, when my books were either available for purchase or pre-order in all markets.

5. Book 3 in your Madrin Memorial Hospital series, A Nurse's Not So Secret Scandal, comes out this spring (April 2012 UK/May 2012 US-AUS-NZ). It's the last in this series, but you recently completed your fourth book. Any hints? Different hospital? Different town? Your fans want to know!

My fourth and fifth books are a two story continuity that will come out as a 2in1 in the UK, involving two nurses who are twins. I just sent my revisions on #4 to my editor and I haven’t yet started work on #5, but I have plenty of ideas percolating! Book #4 centers around Jaci who works as a community health nurse and women’s crisis center advocate.

6. Now don't take this the wrong way, but you're one funny person :) I love your sense of humor, and humor is definitely the magic pill to get through motherhood and life's general ups and downs. The title for one of the blogs you take part in, www.4badmommies.com ,  made me laugh. Does writing with kids underfoot get any easier as they get older, or do the challenges and distractions just change? What was one of your funniest and/or most embarrassing experiences as a mother, nurse or writer?

Thank you for mentioning 4badmommies! It’s a project near and dear to my heart. Our mission is to create a safe, compassionate place where moms can share their failures as well as their successes. Because sometimes we may feel like bad mommies; it doesn't mean we are.

I’ve been working from my home office for over fifteen years. It pains me to say that when my children were little, they watched a lot of television on the days I didn’t send them to daycare. And during those times, when I heard little feet pitter pattering in my direction while I was on an important call with an attorney or doctor, I have been known to place the call on hold and scream like a crazy woman, “Unless you’re choking or bleeding you’d better not come into my office right now!” I must point out, that worked a lot better when they were little. Now they come into my office whenever they please, because for teenagers, their problems are always more important than what I’m doing! Regardless of the challenges I faced working full time and raising three children, I’m proud to say I wound up with three great, well adjusted, respectful (most of the time) children! Oh, and I’m sure my husband played some small part in that, too!

7. To add to your honors, you were chosen to be the Mills and Boon New Voices Contest author mentor of 2011. Let's pretend you're mentoring every unpublished writer out there. Other than not quitting, what's the single most important advice you could give us?

Don’t write the first thing that comes to mind. Or the second.They are usually overused or cliché. Make your writing fresh and unique. (I can’t take credit for this. It’s something I read when I was a new writer myself. And boy am I glad I did!)

8. And now for some fun. What's your favorite deadline crunch time snack, and do you have any quirky writing rituals?

As a new writer I gave myself incentives for meeting my daily word counts. Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate with Almonds Nuggets. YUM! Unfortunately, since publication they’ve become a daily treat regardless of my word count. I rationalize this by telling myself dark chocolate and almonds are good for me! As far as quirky rituals, when I am deep in the zone and the words are flowing and I’m getting down to the wire on a deadline, I wake up, roll out of bed and go straight to the computer. I work on and off all day and night. And I don’t shower. Granted, I can only do this when I don’t have a reason to leave the house. And regardless, three days without a shower is my limit!

9. Coffee or tea? Beach or mountains? Denim, leather, or sweats?

I prefer decaf coffee with a shot of Baileys. I love listening to the waves at the beach. I’m most comfortable in sweats, but I usually wear denim, and I like my men in leather! (Don’t tell my husband!)

And now I’ll throw a question out to you visitors. Which of my book covers is your favorite? You can find them on my website: http://WendySMarcus.com on my Books Page and my Coming Soon Page. While you’re there check out the excerpts. If you see something you like, click on the purchase links.

GIVEAWAY: One of today’s commenters will win a 2in1 UK copy of Once a Good Girl… which includes a complete novel by Alison Roberts. The winner will be announced here this Thursday, February 13th.

BLURB: Once A Good Girl

Prim Victoria Forley’s perfect life changed forever the night she slept with Kyle Karlinsky, baddest boy in town. These days, single mum and uber-perfectionist nurse Victoria has goals that nothing – not even Kyle’s shocking reappearance! – can derail. But behind Victoria’s oh-so-frosty exterior is a heat that only Kyle can unleash… maybe it’s the right time to be with the wrong guy after all?

BUY IT HERE:
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FIND WENDY HERE:    
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And the winner is...

SNOOKIE!

Congratulations, Snookie! You've won Rogenna Brewer's entire My Marine Trilogy. Contact Rogenna with your information here. Enjoy :)

Also, a quick reminder to all...tomorrow is National Wear Red Day. Show your support and increase awareness of the deadly impact of heart disease on women by wearing red tomorrow, Friday, February 3rd. Check out the Go Red For Women sidebar link to find out more.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Interview with Harlequin Superromance author Rogenna Brewer

From her first Superromance in 1999, Seal It With A Kiss, to her latest release, Marry Me, Marine, Rogenna Brewer's uniformed heroes and heroines have gripped the hearts of readers. A navy heroine herself, married to her very own navy hero, Rogenna masterfully draws on her experience to create characters and stories that are true to life.

But she's also skilled at giving life a twist, as you'll find in her soon-to-be-released paranormal ebook series. Read on to find out more...and to see what brides and ghosts have to do with one another ;). Leave a comment and you'll be entered in a chance to win her entire My Marine Trilogy!!! Rogenna rocks!

1. Okay, Rogenna. Down to business. I remember when my local library switched from index card catalogues to computer catalogues. I think I hyperventilated, LOL. But the computer chip was planted so-to-speak. You're not only a successful author, but an experienced bookseller, reviewer and librarian. Given your experience, what changes do you see local libraries taking on in order to survive the rise of the e-book era?

Publicly funded libraries are having to do a lot more with a lot less. I'm fortunate to live in a large metro area where libraries have adapted with online browsing, interlibrary loan, eReaders and self checkout. Gone are the dark oak shelves and stiff back chairs in favor of floor to ceiling windows and media centers with modern decor. You can even get a cappuccino in the coffee shop at my local library. 

I see the modern library as a hub of digital information.  But libraries are having a hard time convincing publishers to let them lend ebooks.  Check this out from PW:  Digital Book World: New Retail Channels, The Library e-Book Wars and Bundling      

2. Speaking of e-books, you have several anthologies coming out this spring. Your experience in the Navy has made you famous for writing true-to-life heroes and heroines in uniform. I do mean famous! Just last month, Superromance Mitzi's Marine was mentioned in the Time Magazine article: Veteran Affairs: For romance readers - a hardy man is good to find. Congratulations! Your e-books, The Bennett Brides (March 2012) and The Bennett Ghosts (April 2012), delve into the historical and paranormal genres. Have you always wanted to navigate different romance genres, or did something more recent inspire these books?

My only claim to fame is that I'm still hanging in there after a career full of ups and downs .    

The Bennett Books started with a manuscript in which the heroine inherited a wax museum, and then the wax hero collected dust while I went on to write other things. I tried to sell the story as a contemporary, but realize now it was always a paranormal. The research lead to an equally dusty historical and over time those two books became interconnected trilogies simmering at the back of my brain.

One day I realized I had more unfinished manuscripts than published books.  Ideas are easy, writing is hard.  I don't know when that switch first flipped, but trying to write with my critical left-brain is not working for me. 

Left brain thinking is good for reevaluating a writing career, however.  That's when I decided to take a step back and finish everything I'd ever started.  I miss writing for the sheer joy of it.  And my older manuscript reflect that joy. 

The Bennett Brides is an anthology of three historical novellas. Or as I like to call them, historical romps.  They're fast, they're fun and a little sexy, but not erotica. In Fall From Grace a cattleman gets tumbled for the payroll by a debutante posing as a soiled dove. Only Hope pairs a outlaw with a suffragette lady lawyer. And all bets are off in For Love of Honor when a gambler turns a gold digger (as in gold miner) into a lady. 

Fast forward to the present. In The Bennett Ghosts anthology, three siblings inherit a ghost town. In A Will of Her Own the heroine gets stuck with the wax museum, complete with a real live handsome hunk squatter and his look-a-like ghost. Meanwhile, her brother doesn't stand A Ghost of a Chance in turning the town into a gambling mecca. And the old mine becomes a time portal for her sister and a time traveling gunslinger In the Nick of Time. 

3. More and more print authors are publishing e-books, either through an e-publisher or on their own. In your opinion, is this wave driven by a 'jump-in-or-be-left-behind' phenomenon, financial goals, or fear of an unknown future (ie. dividing one's eggs)?

I'm always behind.  But, yes, there's that fear of being left out entirely.

For me it's just come to the point where I'm tired of hearing, no thanks. My ideas are a little off norm and that makes them hard to fit into any basket. I was writing Navy SEALs long before I sold. I was writing light paranormal while there was an explosion of dark paranormal. I'm done chasing the market for little to no money.

What if, and isn't that the basis for any good story, authors could weave their own baskets. That's what's happening here. There are opportunities for authors that didn't exist before. I designed the covers for The Bennett Brides and The Bennett Ghosts myself. I can oversee every detail of these books. 

I'm willing to take a risk that the books I want to write will find an audience. And while I'm testing the waters with The Bennetts, that doesn't mean I plan to leave my loyal Navy SEAL readers behind.  I'm also working on a new Super as we speak, and I just got the rights to use secondary characters from my first three Supers. Which means I can publish a couple of SEAL books I've been sitting on for twelve years.

4. For every future there's a past, and we'd love to hear about The Call story that started it all for you!

You mean the call that almost wasn't? It was June 1, 1998. I got an email that Friday from an editorial assistant telling me to disable call-blocking for a call from the senior editor of Harlequin Superromance on Monday. Does anyone even remember call blocking? Well, I NEVER used it after that Friday. 

As you can imagine it was the longest weekend of my life. I didn't dare get my hopes up, yet I did.  And come Monday morning, I waited and waited and waited. Because the email said the editor would be leaving for a two week vacation, I made myself call the Toronto office just before close of business, after waiting all day by the phone. 

I was a nervous wreck. Got the editorial assistant, got transferred to the senior editor, and then got disconnected. So I called again. Got the editorial assistant again. She told me Paula was on the other line trying to call me back, but not to hang up because Paula was coming to the phone. Then Paula Eykelhof came to the line and bought my book and I can't remember a  thing after that. Except, when she asked what pseudonym I'd be writing under, I said I'd be writing under my own name. And she said, "Well, we don't have one of those (Rogenna) so I guess it's okay." 

5. Would you say your experience in the Navy has influenced the way you write in terms of plotting, pantsing, discipline etc...or are you a writing rebel?

Defiantly, the Navy influenced my writing.  But in subject matter only. 

But I'm more of a panster than a plotter. I see stories in my head like movie trailers. I can rewind, but the stories are ever changing so I want to get them down on paper as soon as possible or I may not remember that bit of dialogue that sounded so perfect the first time I heard it. Sometimes I get the gift of the whole story straight through from beginning to end. While other times the story needs to gel before it comes together.

I'm disciplined when it comes to putting my butt in the chair. But I'm all over the place when it comes to writing. I've tried different plotting techniques with varying degrees of success. But I can't say I've ever written two stories using the exact same method twice. I still fell like I'm trying to figure it all out.       

6. In both of your latest Superromances, Mitzi's Marine and Marry Me Marine, your heroes suffer physical disabilities after having served their country. I love it when a wounded hero finds a way to love life, a heroine, and himself again. No doubt, the wounds suffered by these men (and all who serve) run far deeper than the physical, and I think the awareness your books bring to this issue is wonderful. What type of research, psychological or otherwise, went into these stories?

It took me years to write Mitzi's Marine. I'd read an article, right after the war started, about our wounded being shipped home in the dead of night to Andrews Air Force Base. According to the reporter this was to keep them out of the public eye and their numbers vague. Anyway, he got my attention. I'd been stationed in DC and knew the base well.
I felt a calling to write a wounded warrior, but took my time answering it. Because sometimes we write to heal ourselves. So I spent a year asking everyone I trusted if they could love an amputee hero.  Of course, they answered, yes.  But I needed more time to come around. I wrote The Marine's Baby first, while my one-legged hero stayed in the background. I started doing research, read some real-life accounts of wounded Marines, and got to know my hero a little better. And then I started to write.

There were times I felt I didn't do Bruce justice. But I really did fall in love with him in the end. Nash from Marry Me, Marine came easier. After I got the idea, I googled and even found a real-life account of a Navy SEAL who'd lost an eye in Iraq. 

7. On your website, you mentioned that your word of the year is 'remarkability'. List three ways you think a writer should use this word to inspire a successful 2012 writing year.

"Remarkability:  Do what you do so well that people can't resist telling others about you."  ~ Walt Disney

1) find your niche. 2) write to your strength. 3) you can tweet, or you can give others something to tweet about.

8. Other than not quitting, what's the one piece of advice, or perhaps the one thing you wish you'd known, that you'd like to share with aspiring authors?

I could tell you, but you wouldn't believe me :)  There's a whole journey before that first sale, remember to enjoy the ride.

9. Now for a little fun :) Do you have any quirky writing rituals? What's your favorite deadline crunch time snack?

Years ago I convinced myself I needed an electric pencil sharpener before I could write. Then I sharpened a bunch of colorful pencils, lined them up on my desk and still couldn't write. I don't really have any quirky rituals. I surround myself with quirky things, though. There's a frog that sits atop my computer. I have a bouquet of flower pens. And an oversized wine glass that say, "instant diva."

I find writing by a timer useful and reward myself with stickers.

My favorite crunch time snack is Wheat Thins and diet Dr Pepper. And that's why I have to diet after every deadline.   

10. Fill in the blank: Rogenna Brewer was voted most likely to.........

...never get published, that's for sure. I wrote the JROTC newsletter in high school and my math teacher used to find all the spelling errors and typos that made into the final edition and hand it back to me corrected. While my typing has improved some, my spelling has only improved with spell check.

LOL, Rogenna. You showed them all! And I love stickers, Dr. Pepper and frogs too :)...real frogs...but I'm assuming the one atop your computer isn't real (although it'd make a great excuse for any typos, LOL ;). Thanks so much for being here today, Rogenna.


GIVEAWAY: Everyone, Rogenna has generously offered to give her entire My Marine Trilogy (which includes The Marine's Baby, Mitzi's Marine and Marry Me, Marine) to one 'super' lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing. The winner will be announced here this Thursday, February 2nd.

BLURB: Marry Me, Marine

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Operation marriage has to be a go….

Like any good mother, Angela Adams wants a better future for her little boy. And the one way she can provide that is to enlist with the Marines. Unfortunately, there needs to be a husband on the scene for that to happen. Fortunately, her recruiter connects her with Henry “Hatch” Miner—a wounded former Navy SEAL willing to help out a fellow soldier. Problem solved.

But marriage, even to a stranger, is complicated. Especially when beneath the gruff exterior, there’s a man with a heart of gold. It doesn’t take long for Hatch to prove he’s a good dad…and has the potential to be an even better husband. Suddenly Angela has a hard time convincing her heart this is a temporary operation!

BUY IT HERE:

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Don't forget to comment for a chance to win her marine trilogy!

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Pan Bread

I'm really excited about sharing this gluten free/dairy free recipe because it has become a staple in our house. Who can live without bread? Okay, okay. So I'm trying to cut carbs, but I've got a family to feed. An entirely gluten free family at that. My grocery bill and the increasing frequency of my grocery store trips has me convinced that my three kids (four including hubby) vaporize food. Have you seen the cost of a loaf of gluten free bread at the store? Need I say more?

Why pan bread? Because it's quick, versatile, easy and you don't have to wait forever on a loaf in the oven, only to discover the inside is still mushy. My kids told me that they like my pan bread better than any brand I've tried from the store. For one thing, it doesn't crumble (as many GF breads do), it's as fluffy as regular bread, it's great for dipping in olive oil, hummus, making sandwiches, as a side with stew or kabobs, or as wraps. I've even rolled it up with peanut butter.

Note that I use white rice flour. Now, I'm big on whole grain and I do incorporate it into the majority of our diet, but when it comes to bread and baked goods, I've found that white rice flour gives a more spongy, 'regular' texture. Feel free to experiment with adding a little brown rice flour if you wish.

Rula's GF/DF Pan Bread

Ingredients:

2 TBS sugar
2 TBS yeast
2 1/2 c warm water
1 tsp white vinegar
2 eggs
3 c white rice flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 c tapioca flour (same as starch...I use Bob's for this too)
2 1/2 tsp salt (adjust to taste...I keep mine flat rather than heaping or it gets too salty)
2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, yeast and warm water. Wait one minute and whisk in the vinegar and eggs. (I've found that a whisk works best in this recipe)

Dump in all the dry ingredients and whisk it into a pancake-like batter. That's all there is to it!

Now, set a non-stick frying pan on medium heat (wipe on a few drops of oil if necessary at first) and pour in a ladle full of batter, tilting the pan to spread the batter slightly to about 5 inches in diameter. When it begins to bubble on top, flip it with a spatula. It should take less than a minute or so per side to get golden brown (depending on your stovetop). On to the next!

Variation: Crumble about a teaspoon of dried oregano and/or thyme into the batter for an herbed bread...perfect for olive oil dipping...just like in the italian restaurants.

Makes ten 5 inch breads. If you want to make thinner breads (for rolling up) just add a little more water to the batter.

And since these look like pancakes and I don't want to be a tease, I'll be sure to post a mouth watering GF/DF pancake recipe soon!

Read-Rewind-Repeat

As a kid, if I didn't have a book in hand, then it could be found on my face. Seriously. I have the pictures my parents took to prove it. I'd fall asleep reading, and my book would settle over my face. I'm so glad that my kids inherited the reading gene. I found my youngest sound asleep once (she was five at the time) with her arms stuck straight up in the air...still holding her book. My middle child can't wake up in the mornings because he can't tear himself away from whatever story he's engrossed in at night...even if he has read it many times before (I think he has read Eragon three times already). And it's not for lack of books. It's for the love of a particular experience.

I'll confess that I'm a re-reader too. Yep. Like my kids, I've read books where I love the characters and their experience...their emotional growth...so much that I'll go back and read it again (and sometimes again). Just because I don't re-read a particular story doesn't mean it's not fantastic or memorable. There are simply some stories that make me feel good in a way that's...well...addicting. Call them chocolate stories, if you would ;). Sometimes it's the setting that pulls me back for an escape. Sometimes it's a delicious, mouth watering hero. Sometimes it's a heroine I can identify with. But often, it's a mixture of indefinable qualities that tap into an inner me. Simply put. I want to be there. So I go...again and again. Nora Roberts is probably at the top of the list of books I've re-read, along with Debbie Macomber, Susan Wiggs, and many others (including shorter, category stories).

Confession number two: I'll watch a movie many times over for the same reasons. I think movies are easier to re-watch just because of time constraints. I can multi-task with movies (ie. crochet, sew, brush the dog...). I've watched my favorite romances, as well as Star Wars and Star Trek movies, too many times to count. I've lost track of how many times my kids have watched the Harry Potter movies (I did make them read the books first ;).

To me, re-reading and re-watching are calorie free comforts. They're vacation escapes without the cost of airfare or lodging. What about you? What's the greatest number of times you've read a particular book or watched a particular movie? Which book or movie was it? Or are you a one time only person?

P.S. Coming soon...three weeks in a row of brain picking author interviews starting next Monday! Check out the right side bar for the schedule. I'll bring coffee :)

Word association

Our subconcious mind is a mighty thing. It can both empower and weaken any individual. In my opinion, it's at least partially responsible for luring even the strongest, most experienced writers into the dark world of 'clichedom' (let your mind add the accent). It can also make the difference between an individual gravitating towards a certain book title...or not. Think about it (or not). Our subconcious mind rules word association.

The idea behind getting the first draft of a manuscript out of your head and into print is to write without self-editing. Let the words flow. Get the story out...and revise it later. Well, when you write the first thing that comes to mind, it often includes a cliche. We've heard certain expressions, analogies, and actions so often that they're the first thing our mind goes for when we're trying to grasp for 'the right words'. Hence, the need to tackle the 'twist' during revisions.

What about book titles? Are there any words that turn you away because they have a negative association for you? I don't know the process publishers go through to choose book titles, but what do you want to bet that they've run stats on which key words sell? Which key words a reader associates with the feeling/experience they want to get out of a book? Subconcious marketing...a mighty thing ;).

So how about some fun with all this? You know the game. I say (list) a word and you have to respond with the very first word that pops in your head (keep in mind that I don't have content warnings on this site ;). I'm interested in seeing if the ten words I've listed result in similar responses for those of you who are writers, and perhaps different responses for those who are (non-writer) readers. Note: I've included some prefixes. Here it goes...

Dark
French
The
Pro-
Para-
Complete
Self
Free
Fire
Hand

After listing your first responses, give yourself a minute to think. Did any of your word association answers change?