Behind The Book Mania ~ Author Spotlight on Isabella Macotte

Hiya Folks,

Please help me welcome the lovely and talented author, Isabella Macotte. She has embraced the mania today to share a bit about herself and her Victorian fantasy from The Wild Rose Press. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Isabella. What was germ of the idea behind The Heart Gem?

As a romance reader, I thought how intriguing it would be to know, really know, if someone is meant for you as a soul mate. How many of us have wished we could be assured the person we choose is the right one? So my story presents The Artifacts of Love, a group of mystical objects which can lead a person to their true love. The Heart Gem allows the holder to see a vision of the future. But of course, no magic is perfect.

Oh, that pesky magic, but perfect is boring anyway. Intriguing premise. What was the first book you remember loving?

So many books I’ve enjoyed along the way, but I’d have to say Janet Eyre stuck with me. The tortured hero and heroine in a gothic setting got me from the first page. I was hooked on romance novels from that point.

*Sigh* A classic, and responsible for hooking many of us, I'm sure. Where is the oddest place you’ve ever pulled out a book?

I frequently have a book or Kindle, with me in the car. Sometimes caught by a long train, I’ll pull out something to read. I’ve had some strange looks from other drivers probably thinking I’ve been reading the whole time.

LOL I'll bet. What is your typical writing session like?

I tend to snatch bits of time where I can. On a good day, that’s usually a little in the morning and late afternoon, followed by some evening writing. Sometimes sending the family out of the house for a few hours gives me the quiet time I need to finish a project.

Hmmm. I wonder why that never works with my family? Do you have a favorite character of those you've written?

Hallie Pinefoy of The Heart Gem is definitely a favorite character. She’s smart, driven, and has a great sense of humor. She attractive but doesn’t fuss about her looks. Hallie has a plan for her life, to own a business as a custom doll maker. Bremen Tyler comes along and offers to help her venture. As long as she goes along with his own plans.

Isn't that just like a man? Since becoming published, what was the biggest 'Woot' moment you experienced?

I wrote The Heart Gem for readers to enjoy. So, I’d have to say when a person who has read the story tells me they loved the book, it’s a ‘Woot’ moment for me. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Amen, sister! Where can we find you, Isabella, and The Heart Gem?

Please stop by my website at http://isabellamacotte.blogspot.com/ I’d love to hear from you!

Great. Can you tell us just a little bit more about you, the woman? And give us a taste of The Heart Gem, of course.

Biography

Isabella Macotte grew up in Chicago and now lives in the Midwest. Ever since she can remember, she was reading. Not just fiction but everything she could get her hands on. Science, romance, history and paranormal. Especially paranormal...anything scary, creepy, or gory, she loves it. From light paranormal elements to terrifying monsters, she'll make up a story to amaze or scare you.

Isabella Macotte writes the kind of romance she loves to read: a story with delicious dialogue, seductive encounters, a dash of the paranormal, and an irresistible hero you will never forget.

Passionate about books, Isabella keeps busy reading, writing and working in a library. But if a few moments remain at the end of the day, she spends them with a wonderful family and sweet bichon pup named Daisy.

BLURB:

In 1885, a proper Victorian woman's place was in the home. Convention never appealed to Hallie Pinefoy.

But plans for financial independence through a successful doll-making venture have one impediment. She's inherited a curiosity shop and a handsome business partner who's proving to be a delicious distraction.

When Bremen Tyler inherits a shop in coastal England, he breaks from the mystical Ancestral clan to live a normal life. The only way to guarantee a permanent break is to marry his Heart Match, a perfect soul mate. Bremen recognizes the captivating Hallie as his true love, but she isn't cooperating with his courtship.

If he can retrieve the stolen Heart Gem, an Artifact of Love, he can use it to prove their match. The surface of the Gem reflects the essence of a couple's future life, but the risks are great. More importantly, will Hallie realize true love doesn't need proof?

EXCERPT:

Hallie’s bottom shifted from Bremen’s lap onto the cold stone garden bench. Why was he stopping just when the moment was getting interesting? Then she heard the footsteps in the distance, rustling along the garden path. Her head still blissfully dazed, Bremen’s possessive hands moved to straighten the aquamarine gown’s bodice, which had drawn away completely from her breasts.

Clay’s face was an angry red, even in the dark night. She jumped at the intrusion and attempted to yank her hand out of Bremen’s, but his firm palm held on without releasing.

“Bremen Tyler, how dare you encroach on our relationship? Hallie and I have a long-established agreement among our families. You must honor this arrangement and withdraw your presence.” The shrillness of Clay’s voice reverberated through the grounds.

“I haven’t been informed of a promise or understanding. In fact, I have heard from the lady she is uncommitted. A state I’m determined to reverse.” Bremen’s deep voice was low and controlled.

“She would be committed to me if it were not for you. You are confusing her; she loves me but you are filling her head with promises and nonsense.”

“I have given Hallie neither false promises nor nonsense. She knows my true feelings.”

“She also knows my feelings and has said she will consider my offer.”

“If Hallie tells me it is you she wants, I’ll say no other word.”

“Hallie, tell him you will marry me. I believe my request was clear at supper,” Clay demanded.

“My love, make your wishes known, and we will visit the reverend directly,” Bremen countered.

Both men stared, waiting for a decision.

Pick Bremen, Hallie!!! LOL Nice, Isabella, can't wait to read the rest. Thanks so much for visiting today. 

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Saturday Sidebar ~ Are We There Yet?

Are we there yet? How many of us have uttered those words at one time or another? On a recent road trip to Dallas with my family, I know they crossed my mind at least a dozen times. Because, let's face it, whether you are counting the miles, checking off days on the calendar, or simply standing in line, waiting sucks. But what, after all, is the human experience, if not a waiting game? We all spend our lives in anticipation of the next big milestone or event, so why is it some people smile through experience while others grumble and complain? My theory is, the happy people of this world have learned to make the most of the wait.

That's easier said than done, I know. Two hours in the DMV can feel like a life sentence in solitary confinement, while that same amount of time in the cue for that for the roller coaster you are about to board is spent in excited anticipation while making friends with those around you.

So, which am I, the smiler or the grumbler? Before being diagnosed with breast cancer, I admit I was a bit of both. Believe me, every second spent waiting to rid myself of the tumor was excruciating, but the experience also taught me to appreciate every moment, to chase after every new milestone and enjoy the pursuit for the adventure it is. 

This week, my book, Gift of the Realm, has finally shown up in the coming soon section at The Wild Rose Press. I'm stoked, but I'm not there yet. I still have weeks more to wait, and so much more to do and learn before my release. However, I choose to look at the hours spent on promotion and marketing like time in the cue for that roller coaster, and not a life sentence in the DMV. 

That attitude, my friends, is my wish for you. Are you there yet?

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Behind the Book Mania ~ Author Spotlight on Vonnie Davis

Hiya folks, thanks for stopping by. 

If you don’t know my guest today you are in for a treat. One of the first authors I met when I stumbled into the world of publishing, I was humbled by her generous spirit of friendship, especially considering how very talented she is at the keyboard. I actually won a copy of her title ‘Storm’s Interlude’ in a contest and gleefully sat down to read. I couldn’t put it down. As a survivor myself, I was enthralled by the premise and the way the heavy issue of a cancer battle was balanced so tastefully with the heart pounding, steamy romance. So, pull up a chair and help me welcome my friend and fellow Wild Rose Press author, Vonnie Davis.

 

Happy Thursday, Mac and ALL you lovely book lovers. We’re moving into Spring, the energizing time of the year. Don’t you just love it? The white magnolia tree at the corner of our front porch is blooming, and I am thrilled, especially since we had snow on Monday. Mac, thank you for opening your blog up to me, so I could share my writings with your readers.

My pleasure, Vonnie. I’m stoked that you’re here. Can you tell? *grin* So, what was the germ of the idea behind Storm’s Interlude?

Often a snippet of a visual enters my mind. With Storm’s Interlude, it was a woman driving on a deserted road at night and a man, wearing nothing but a cowboy hat and boots walks toward her. I mentally saw this snippet five or six years before I began writing the story. There are several such snippets filed in the dusty recesses of my mind.

And what a snippet it was. Great opening scene. What is the first book you remember loving?

A book about an intelligent crow. Don’t ask me the title. I was in second grade at the time.

You’re forgiven. I can’t even remember being in the second grade. Where is the oddest place you’ve ever pulled out a book?

A zippered compartment in an empty suitcase.

So, that is where that book went! LOL Besides a critiquing partner, is there someone you let read your manuscripts before submitting?

I belong to a writers’ group and am the red-headed stepchild because I write romance and not literary works. I suffer through having my work torn apart, often crying on the way home. Consequently, I share only scenes I have concerns about, say those with several characters in it. I’m always worried I’ll confuse the readers with multiple people speaking. Fortunately for me I’m married to a writer and a protective one, at that. As people are making comments, he puts his arm around me and whispers words of encouragement. When he feels I’ve had enough or can see the steam coming from my ears, he speaks up. “If you’re through hanging my wife on the cross, tell her something positive about her writing.” One lady once quipped she saw nothing redeeming in my writing. Calvin has yet to forgive her. <grins>

*grinning back* Calvin sounds like a keeper. I would have been tempted to smack the critical cow. Oh, you weren’t finished. I’m sorry, proceed.

The only person who gets to read the entire manuscript is my agent. She does a line-by-line edit, asking hard questions like “why is she reacting this way?” She makes me delve deeper into my characters’ psyches. We go back and forth with the manuscript two or three times before she feels it’s ready to “shop out.”

So, cats or dogs?

We have a cat, Jazzie Miles Davis, known as Baby Puss for short. I’m not saying he’s spoiled, but he has his own Twitter account and often tweets that he needs people to send him snacks. Calvin grumbles because the cat has more followers on twitter than he.

I’m with Calvin. Out-tweeted by a cat is too embarrassing to be born. *Whispers, You go, Jazzie!* Since first becoming published, what was the biggest ‘Woot’ moment you experienced?

My first review. I cried. All writers hope their book will be enjoyed, perhaps even loved, but we carry so much self-doubt about our work—at least I do—that when someone says they love it, we are truly astounded. Talk about “warm and fuzzy”? Oh yeah!

Nice! But wait, I don’t like to think about potential reviews and you can’t make me. Think of something else, Mac. Oh, I know, what is your typical writing session like?

I’m retired, so I am free from so many obligations other writers have like children still living at home and/or outside job. I write every day. The first few hours are spent answering emails and visiting blogs. Then I read over what I wrote the day before, making little tweaks, and then I move forward.

Twice a week Calvin and I take a writing day. We go to Bob Evans for breakfast. The waitresses there know us and hook me up to an IV of coffee. I’ve dedicated a book to them for all their kindnesses. I write while Calvin reads the paper and fiddles on his iPad. We spend a few hours there and then move to a coffee shop where I log in a few more hours of hard writing. Then on to a restaurant for supper and I write there, too. 

I often tell the story about writing my first sex scene in a restaurant. I was deep into the moment with Storm and Rachel. Our waitress was refilling our glasses of iced tea. “What’cha writin’?” Before I thought, I told her I was writing a sex scene. “Oh?” She stepped behind me and began reading over my shoulder. “Oh my.” Her breathing got heavier. “Oh my gawd.” She leaned over me to get a closer eyeful of my scene. “Lawd, have mercy!” She bustled off. Later I was at the dessert bar and overheard our waitress talking to her co-workers. “I’m telling you she was writing hot, up-against-the-wall sex.” My ego balloon puffed up. “…and she was OLD, too.” Ego hisses out of balloon.

Oh my God, you have me laughing so hard. Having read that scene, I have to agree with the up-against-the-wall sex, but I hope you didn’t leave her a tip! Best advice you were given concerning your writing?

Calvin told me to write what I enjoy reading and to keep writing. The more one writes, the better they become.

Yep, Calvin’s a keeper. Tell us a little about Storm’s Interlude please.

Blurb:

Nurse Rachel Dennison comes to Texas determined to prepare her new patient for a second round of chemo. What she isn’t counting on is her patient’s twin brother, Storm Masterson. Despite her initial attraction, Storm has two things Rachel can’t abide: a domineering personality and a fiancée. Half Native American, with the ability to have "vision dreams," Storm dreams about Rachel for three nights before her arrival. Both are unprepared for the firestorm of emotions their first encounter ignites. Ultimately, it is Rachel’s past—an abusive, maniacal ex-boyfriend—that threatens to keep them apart…and Storm’s dreams that bring them together again.

I mentioned earlier a visual snippet I got several years ago. Here’s how I turned it into the beginning of my novel.

Someone swaggered out of the moonlit night toward Rachel. Exhausted from a long day of driving, she braked and blinked. Either she was hallucinating or her sugar levels had plummeted. Maybe that accounted for the male mirage, albeit a very magnificent male mirage, trekking toward her. She peered once more into the hot July night at the image illuminated by her headlights. Sure enough, there he was, cresting the hill on foot—a naked man wearing nothing but a black cowboy hat, a pair of boots and a go-to-hell sneer.

         Well, well, things really did grow bigger in Texas. The man quickly covered his privates with his black Stetson. Rachel sighed. The show was evidently over. Should she stand up in her Beetle convertible and applaud? Give a couple cat calls? Wolf whistles? Maybe not.

          She turned down the music on the car’s CD player. Sounds of crickets and a lonely bullfrog in the distance created a nighttime symphony in the stillness of this isolated stretch of country road. Lightning bugs darted back and forth, blinking a display of neon yellow glow. 

            The naked man strode toward her car, and Rachel’s heart rate kicked up. Common sense told her to step on the gas, yet what woman wanted to drive away from such a riveting sight? Still, life had taught her to be careful. She reached into her handbag and extracted her chrome revolver. Before he reached her car, she quickly slid her gun under the folds of her skirt.

Just let him try anything funny—I know how to take care of myself.

           Both of his large hands clasped his hat to his groin. His face bore annoyance and a touch of chagrin. “I need a ride.” By his bearing and commanding tone of voice, she guessed the man was used to giving orders and having them followed.

         Her eyes took a slow journey across his face. Even in the moonlight, she could see traces of Native heritage. His shoulder-length ebony hair, too long for her tastes, glistened against his bronzed skin. Proud arrogant eyes sparked anger.

Because Rachel believed in indulging herself, she allowed her eyes to travel over his broad shoulders, muscular chest and tight abdominal muscles. She saw a thin trail of dark hair starting below his navel, knowing full well where it ended, and fought back a groan. Her eyes slid back up to lock on his. “You need a pair of pants, too.” Knowing her voice hummed with desire, she cleared her throat, hoping the naked man hadn’t noticed.

He looked up at the sky for a beat. “Just my freakin’ luck! A birthday party gone bad, and now I’m bein’ ogled by some horny kid with damnable blue eyes.”

What the heck was wrong with her eyes? She quickly glanced in her rearview mirror and saw nothing amiss. She narrowed those “damnable blue eyes” and sneered. “Look, buster, I’m not the one prancing around Texas naked as a jaybird. I’ll have you know I’m hardly a kid.” She glanced down at the black cowboy hat. “And, furthermore, stop hiding behind that big ol’ Stetson. From what I saw, a French beret would do the job.”

There, let the arrogant fool stew on that while he strutted back to whatever rock he crawled out from under. She slammed her car in gear and sped off.

She swore she wouldn’t look in her rearview mirror. Nope, she would not look. Like a magnet emitting a powerful homing signal, her eyes slowly slid to the glass surface. He was standing where she’d left him, his Stetson tilted back on his head, his hands fisted on his narrow naked hips and his mouth moving. He was no doubt cussing her out.

*Snickering and thinking I should have passed out fans at the door.* Well, Vonnie, where can we find Storm’s Interlude, and you?

BUY LINKS:

Wild Rose Press; http://bit.ly/zBsUyl

Amazon: http://amzn.to/wWibTe

I blog at Vintage Vonnie and would love to have you sign up as a follower. www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com

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Behind the Book Mania ~ Author Spotlight on Ceri Hebert

Hiya folks,

Ceri Hebert has embraced the mania. Ceri is a new friend of mine and the author of multiple titles, including Yesterday's Tomorrow from Still Moments Publishing. As some of you may know, I just signed with Still Moments for my second title, and have met some lovely, talented authors there, including Ceri - but enough about me. Ceri has consented to indulge my curiosity by answering a few questions.

Ready, Ceri? (Thrilled to have you here, by the way.) First, what is the first book you remember loving? 

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander and the series of books about a horse called Bonnie by Barbara Van Tuyl were my first favorite books (sorry, I can’t pinpoint just one). My first favorite romance novel was Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small. 

That's so funny. I cut my 'romance' teeth on Skye O'Malley, reading the entire book aloud to my girlfriends on one of our many beach days when I was eighteen or so. In string bikinis, we all shared Skye's romantic adventure, and ended up with sun poisoning. The memory still makes me smile. Where is the oddest place you’ve ever pulled out a book? 

Don’t think it’s too odd, but I would always bring my Nook to the gym and read on the treadmill.

Smart. That makes the chore of working out easier, although I wouldn't know from experience. I'm exercise challenged. Don't like to sweat, and all that. Ahem. So, most authors begin writing because they love to read. Is this true with you and if so, did you write your first book because you were inspired, or because you thought, hell, I can do better than this? 

Definitely because I was inspired. I started writing when I was a pre-teen so I didn’t have any of those “I can do better than that” moments back then, though I often do now. I started to write because I was (and still am) a daydreamer. I write about lives that I’d love to have (for the most part). I’m also shooting for that Happily Ever After for my characters, the way I want to see it.

Thank God for daydreamers. Without them there would be no books! Besides a critiquing partner, is there someone you let read your manuscripts before submitting? 

I have a friend I met over the internet a few years back who has been a huge help. She became a big fan of mine with my story Sweet Forever and now I send her stuff all the time to read. She points out what works and doesn’t work and gives me all sorts of great ideas. I’d be lost without her!

Oh, I love hearing things like that! Friendships are the joyful beat of a happy heart. Tell us about your road to publication. Was it a hair-raising, pothole ridden mountain pass, or a well-tended superhighway?

A pot-hole mountain pass that meanders through little towns, turns back on itself, loops around detours every which way. As much as I yearn for well-tended, my life as it is now isn’t conducive to well-tended.

LOL Life would be boring without a bit of chaos. A writer claiming a favorite book is like choosing between your kids, but do you have a favorite character? And why? 

Wow, that is hard. My favorite character hasn’t been published yet, but of my published characters I’d have to say Krista in Where One Road Leads. Life dealt her a crappy hand one night and she spent years paying for it. Still she had the strength to go home, try to set things right and face down the people who blamed her for the tragedy that really wasn’t her fault. She’s strong, but we can see her insecurities.

Strong yet vulnerable, the perfect combination for a compelling romance heroine. Tell us a little bit about Yesterday's Tomorrow. What was the germ of the idea behind the story? 

I often wish that I could go back in time and do something differently, but if I did how much would my current life change? For the better? For the worst? I thought it would be an interesting premise for a story.

And you were right. Very, It's a Wonderful Life - ish. We'd love to read an excerpt.

Excerpt-

Bob’s white noise machine put me to sleep. The sound of girly laughter and chatter dragged me out.

“Turn the TV down, Bob.” I curled up in a fetal position and pulled my blanket up so just my nose poked out. I refused to open my eyes, not ready to face the day.

“Bob? Bob Weidner?”

That voice didn’t belong in my room.

Why would the television say my husband’s name? I opened one eye just a crack.

My heart did a drum roll.

I opened both my eyes a little more.

Very realistic dream. My heart continued a heavy beat. Interesting. From headaches and dizzy spells to hallucinations. I sucked in my breath to steady my unraveling nerves. This, I wasn’t ready for.

Someone shuffled past my bed.

Bob getting ready for work.

Please let it be Bob getting ready for work. I fisted my hands against the blanket, pulling it up to my chin, as if a lifeline to reality.

“Can you start the coffee?” I mumbled against my pillow and bit my bottom lip, waiting for the reply. Waiting for my husband’s voice.

“Start it yourself.” The voice, far too feminine, far too exasperated to be Bob’s continued. “What’s going on with you and Bob? Please tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”

My breath choked in my throat. I couldn’t have been out of bed quicker if someone lit a ton of dynamite under my mattress. My feet hit a cold wooden floor, not the thick, luxurious carpet they were accustomed to.

Wrong.

I hadn’t lived in a place with a bare floor in twenty years. The cramped room was wrong. The tiny, disheveled bed more wrong. Even the smell struck me as all wrong.

A heavy veil of perfume hung in the air. Nothing like that existed in the penthouse, which, except for the sachets in my drawers and the linen closet, was void of any kind of scent.

“What is your problem?” The person who was not Bob asked, and her brows rose.

My problem? Where in the world did I start? I swallowed quickly and tried to speak, but my throat went unbearably dry. I croaked like a frog.

I stared into the startled face of Sarah LoCaste, one of the girls I had shared an apartment with twenty some odd years ago.

Oh, yeah. That would shake up your morning. I've so enjoyed getting to know you a little better, Ceri. Before you go, where can we find you, and your books?

At my homepage/blog www.cerihebert.com 

Twitter- @CeriHebert

Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ceri-Hebert/183730891671970 

Yesterday's Tomorrow is available at Still Moment's Publishing

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Behind the Book Mania ~ Author Spotlight on Velda Brotherton

Hiya folks,

Thanks so much for stopping by. The lovely Velda Brotherton is caught up in the mania today, and sharing a bit about herself and two of her titles: Stone Heart's Woman and Wolf Song. What's more, she hasn't come empty handed. One lucky visitor will soon be adding a copy of Stone Heart's Woman to their collection. All you need do to be in the running is leave a comment. Be sure to include your email address so we can contact the winner. Now help me welcome our guest.

Hiya, Velda. Welcome to my mania.

Thanks for inviting me, Mac. Any mania is good enough for me.

A woman after my own heart! Okay, here we go. What was the germ of the idea behind your latest book, Stone Heart's Woman?

My husband does most of my research, and he spoke about a young boy by the name of Yellow Swallow, being the son of George Armstrong Custer and a Northern Cheyenne woman. That began my planning for this book about another son of this controversial man, raised white but torn between his two worlds. Put that together with the Cheyenne's final struggle to leave the Indian Nation and return to their home in the land of the yellow stone, and I had the beginnings of my western historical romance between Stone Heart and a red-haired Irish lass abandoned on the high plains of Nebraska. Both determined to help the Cheyenne in their quest.

A complicated relationship for that day and age. And your husband helps out with your research? Wow, a family affair. That's so cool. I wish I could get my husband to do a bit of research for my writing, but he's only interested in helping with certain scenes. Oh, did I say that out loud? *clears throat* So, what is the first book you remember loving? 

My mother taught me to read when I was barely five, and convinced the powers that were at that time to let me begin first grade because I could read. At the time there was no kindergarten.With the dire warning that I would fail by the eighth grade they let me begin school, mostly to be rid of my mother's daily visits, I'm sure. But to answer your question, I remember those novels that were little hard cover adventures whose names I can't recall. Stories by Burroughs about faraway lands. I ate them up from the age of seven or eight. The first book I truly learned to love and have never forgotten was The Robe. I guess I was in Junior High School by then.

Go Mom! Only a strong woman can go up against the school system, and win. The Robe, huh? Heavy duty! Where is the oddest place you’ve ever pulled out a book? 

In a tent somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and I read it with a flashlight after everyone else was asleep.

LOL. Been there, done that. We are in the presence of another manic reader, folks. Most authors begin writing because they love to read. Is this true with you and if so, did you write your first book because you were inspired, or because you thought, hell, I can do better than this?

Because I was inspired by unanswered questions. Once I began writing my story by hand in a notebook, I was hooked. The questions needed answers and after a few months of research, I went to work in earnest to write my first novel. It eventually garnered me an agent who came close to selling it several times, and even had it before some people at Paramount Pictures, but that fell through when Paramount sold out. I haven't stopped writing since, and that was almost 30 years ago. But I finally found a sort of success the hard way. Very few of us are discovered because of our first effort, and it's rarely that easy.

     

Amen to that, sister. Since first becoming published, what was the biggest ‘Woot’ moment you experienced? 

I was published for several years in newspapers and magazines, but the day that New York call came from an editor at Topaz/Penguin, I was almost too calm. Later I realized what had really happened and began calling everyone shouting and "wooting".  The editor who called me kept saying, "Do you know who this is?" because I was just discussing everything so unemotionally. I think I was in deep shock.

I can't imagine why...NOT! I would have peed my pants. Shy, extroverted, or somewhere in between?

Writing has done wonders for my personality. I was once so shy that I couldn't speak in front of a small roomful of people. I had to give up playing the piano because I fell apart when I had to perform a recital. Yet, after a few years of being published, I can stand in front of a crowd of hundreds and speak without a quaver. I have no idea why this is, it just happened without any effort on my part to learn speaking techniques. So, once shy, now extroverted, I suppose you could say.

           

That is so good to know. I don't have a shy bone in my body, but the idea of speaking to a crowd about my writing gives me the willies. What did you find most surprising when you were first published? 

How well I took to it as "what I do" surprised me. That is, for example, the other day I was talking to someone on the phone and he said, "Are you the writer?" The question struck me mute for a second or two. If he'd asked if I was "a" writer, I would have answered promptly. But "the" writer, like it was something special. That people actually treat me like a celebrity when I speak at conferences or attend a book signing is the most surprising thing imaginable. I write books like some people sell cars or work in a dentist's office or paint pictures. We do it cause it's what we do.

           

So right you are. Best writing advice you were given?

Never give up. Or further, if you can give up, then you aren't really a writer. My best writing buddy over some 28 years once said, and I've always believed this, "The road to success is littered with quitters." We don't fail because we can't do something but because we stop trying.

In my opinion that is the best advice a new writer can get. You won't improve if you don't continue, and you can't win if you don't play. If you wouldn't mind, tell us a little about Velda the writer, and Stone Heart's Woman and Wolf Song.

Here's a short bio:

Velda Brotherton writes of romance in the old west with an authenticity that makes her many historical characters ring true. A knowledge of the rich history of our country comes through in both her fiction and nonfiction books, as well as in her writing workshops and speaking engagements.  She just as easily steps out of the past into contemporary settings to create novels about women with the ability to conquer life’s difficult challenges. Tough heroines, strong and gentle heroes, villains to die for, all live in the pages of her novels and books.

Stone Heart's Woman - Stone Heart , son of George Armstrong Custer, is nearly killed when he chooses to fight for his mother's people, the Northern Cheyenne in their struggle to return to their home. Aiden Conner joins him in his battle after saving his life when the two are trapped in a soddie during a blizzard.

Wolf Song - Young Cheyenne shapshifter Wolf Shadow's first appearance at the Museum of the Mountain Man startles Olivia Dahl, but she soon grows accustomed to his presence in this paranormal set during the restoration of the gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

Awesome. Where can folks find you, Velda, and your books?

They can find me at
http://www.veldabrotherton.com/ 

And my books at 
http://www.tinyurl.com/7dr9mbn


Thanks, Velda. Okay, folks, don't forget to comment for your chance for a copy of Stone Heart's Woman, and be sure to leave your email addy. We'll be contacting the winner in a few days. Good luck, all.

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If I knew Then What I Know Now...

Welcome folks. So glad you came by, and since you're here, you won't mind if I pick your brain, right? Please? I'll be your best friend! ;-) Excellent! I knew I could count on you. Thank you, thank you! 

Okay, here we go. Since reading the words, 'We think your manuscript will be a wonderful addition to our line', I have met some awesome authors and web lurkers who have been very gracious in sharing their knowledge. Yet I have so much more to learn. About publishing, and writing, and the dreaded promoting. And I know there are many others out there who are in the same position. I am a believer in expediency, so with that thought in mind, I am asking all you lovely folks to share what you've learned, and answer two pertinent questions for us lost and wandering newbies:

 

1. If I knew then what I know now, I would have...

2. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have...

 I'm pretty new at all of this so take my answers in context. 

1. I would have jumped into the world of social media a lot sooner. There is so much to learn and gaining an education on a supersonic schedule gives me a headache.

2. I wouldn't have been so timid in my first experience with the professional editing of my work. I know the characters inside and out. I need to learn to trust to my inner voice when it balks.

Okay, your turn! 

*Leaning forward in my chair, anxiously awaiting your answers*

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Gift of the Realm

The cover is in! Release day set for 4/25/12

Beneath the fairie mound of Dunhaven's Door, two dreamers meet their destiny…

After a decade of trying to outrun her debilitating dreams, Keely returns to Ireland to face the ancient ring of stones and the man haunting them. Within the stones, she embraces her fairie heritage and her mystical gifts. But can she trust the handsome Halfling who shares her dreams and holds her heart?

When Keely reappears in his life, Colin’s fairie blood threatens to gain the upper hand. Compelled to assist the lovely Halfling, he agrees to help her break the three-hundred-year-old curse on their families, but he'll do it on his terms—as a black wolf.

Together, two Halflings can stand against any power, but only love can break the bonds of bitterness. Will Colin’s arrogant plan to outwit the King of the Fairies doom Keely for eternity? Or is their love enough to break the curse?