You can visit her on the web at www.vanessakellyauthor.com.

**Vanessa is giving away,  MASTERING THE MARQUESS and SEX AND THE SINGLE EARL. If you’d like to be added to the random drawing, please post a comment and provide an email address if it is not linked to your username.**

Readers love hearing about “the call”, tell us about your experience. How long did you write before you got published?

I was only writing fiction for about two years before I acquired an agent and sold my first Regency-set historical romance.  To this day I can’t believe it happened so quickly. That book was Mastering The Marquess, the second I’d written and my first historical romance.  I’d been working with my agent for a few months when she called with the offer from Kensington.  Of course, I was out with my husband when she made the call.  She left a cryptic phone message, telling me to call back later in the day since she had important news.  That was it.  Hours later, when I was finally able to reach her, she put me on hold!  Fortunately, it was only for a few minutes because by that time I was a nervous wreck.

Seems like historical romances are making a comeback, how do you feel about it? What do you think contributed to this?

Naturally, I’m thrilled that the historical romance market seems to be fairly robust these days, although it’s not as strong as writers in the genre could wish for.  Regency romance and Highland historicals still dominate, and Victorian and Medieval romances have their followers.  The Western romance also has a slice of the historical pie.  But it’s a crowded and competitive market, with lots of really great writers competing for limited shelf space.  So even though things are getting better, it’s not the easiest genre to get published in—or stay published.  But there are encouraging signs.  There are several good e-publishers like Carina Press, who are actively seeking historical romances, especially those that take place in unusual settings or time periods.  I also think that writers like Christina Dodd and Karen Robards returning to the genre is a very good thing.  And there have been some really great new authors the last few years who have helped raise the profile of historical romance.

As for what contributed to a renewed interest, I think the Jane Austen craze certainly helped.  And historical romance has always had great world-building, so those qualities which attract readers to popular genres like paranormal romance are also now attracting them to the historical.

Did anyone or anything influence you to choose the genre you ultimately wrote or have you always known you would write historicals? Do you write any other genres?

My love of Regency romance began in high school when my sister turned me on to Georgette Heyer.  I also loved Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and all kinds of historical fiction, so that became my natural reading bent.  I studied English literature in university, and went on to spend several years in graduate school studying the writers of the Georgian and Regency eras.  My thesis subject was Fanny Burney, a very popular novelist during those periods.  So when I turned my pen to romance, Regency-set historicals were a natural fit.

I do, however, write in other genres—with my husband!  We write contemporary romances and romantic suspense under the pen name of V.K. Sykes.  Our first book, CaddyGirls, will be released by Carina Press on July

It’s a really fun, sexy contemporary romance, the perfect read for a hot summer day.

What do you like best about the writer’s life? What do you like least?

I love the fact that I can disappear into my writing.  No matter how crappy I’m feeling on any given day, the very act of entering my fictional world and playing around with my characters makes me feel good.  I think writing—any kind of writing—is a deeply therapeutic and empowering act.  What I like least?  Deadlines.  Most writers don’t like deadlines.

Most writers are consumed with deadlines but when you have time to read, what genres and/or which authors are on your auto-buy list?

There are so many!  For historical romance, I auto-buy Eloisa James, Teresa Medeiros, Lisa Kleypas, Loretta Chase, Anna Campbell, and Joanna Bourne.  All of them are spectacular and innovative writers who really deliver the goods.  For romantic suspense, I love Karen Rose, JoAnn Ross, Christina Dodd, and Bronwyn Parry.  Parry is a recently published Aussie author who is phenomenally talented.  For contemporary romance, I love Toni Blake, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Susan Mallery, and Jennifer Crusie.  For paranormal and sci fi, Linnea Sinclair and Angela Knight.

If you weren’t a writer what would career path would you choose?

I did do other things before I started writing romance, one of which was working as a union researcher.  I loved that job.  It was hard work, but the satisfaction that came from helping people in the workplace was tough to beat.  When I was kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist but I was terrible at math and mediocre at science, so that was out.

If you were a lipstick color, what would it be called and why?

Clear gloss.  I know.  Boring, but I can’t stand the taste of lipstick.

What advice would you offer to the unpublished romance writer?

Be patient and be courteous.  Learn your craft.  Publishing is a game of endurance.  If you want to achieve your goals, you have to be in it for the long-haul.  And do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  There are great people out there in romancelandia who are very giving of their time and advice, and who can really smooth out the bumps in the road.  But I’ve also run into some people who make me want to hide under a rock.  Trust me.  You don’t want to be that kind of person.

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?

Probably that I wrote romance with my husband.  That earns us a lot of funny looks.

AOTM WORKSHOP

DATES: JULY12-15

TOPIC: TECHNIQUES FOR HISTORICAL ROMANCE

**Workshop is featured in our FORUM. Required registration. Become a member and participate for free.**

http://kriskennedy.net

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Let’s see, how long before I bore you all to tears . . .

I used to be a psychotherapist, working with high-risk, suicidal and self-harming women, doing therapy and training other clinicians and designing programs using the concepts.

It was exciting, highly-rewarding work, although the non-clinical work (regulations, cover-your-a** considerations, etc etc) started to be more draining than the work.  And I found I kept getting pulled to writing.

Finally, after I had my son, I really cut back on therapy and the consultations, and focused more on being a mom and writing.

You won the Golden Heart in 2008 for THE IRISH WARRIOR, your second novel. Can you please tell us a little bit about it and how you came up with the concept?

This was the craziest, morph-ing book.   I LOVE this book,. But at times, it seemed like the endless trek.   Fortunately, I love this book, so I could stick with it.  LOL  I love the hero and heroine: they’re funny, smart, truly in love almost from the first moment, but unable to admit it for a variety of reasons, not least of which is all the soldiers and barons hunting them down.  :-)

It started, though, as a much simpler story.  After the GH win, when my editor suggested we use that as the 2nd book in the Kensington contract, I decided I needed to amp up the stakes and make it more . . . stake-y.  :-)  Basically, I needed bigger plot, and I needed it organic to the character’s and their arcs.

And so, after many considerations and much tweaking, enter the beautiful weapons: the Wishmé Dyes.  This was amped-up external plot, and it was exciting and fun to research.  But I have to say, the best part of the book for me is Finian and Senna together.  And they are together, alone, for a great deal of the book, since they’re on the run, working together to survive.

I’m incredibly excited to say that Eloisa James read the ARC and is featuring The Irish Warrior in her June Barnes & Noble romance column!   I’m beyond honored, and thrilled to know the story is reaching further than the traditional medieval-reading reader.  Roxanne St. Claire also gave a quote for The Irish Warrior, and I can’t tell you how honored I am to have such stellar voices in the romance world taking note of IRISH.

What other projects do you have in the works and are they all historicals?

Ooh, yes!  Great question.

I am at work right now on a medieval for Pocket Books, set on the eve of Magna Carta with a dangerous knight on a mission who runs up against a very determined heroine.  She completely upends his world, but unfortunately, her mission crosses his, and threatens the tottering kingdom one of them is trying to save.

What inspires you? What were your writing influences?

Good writing inspires me.  The act of writing inspires me.  I love the creative well.  I get excited by the notion of being excited, and I feel tremendously blessed by that.  I think sometimes it’s hard to be persistent, if you have your eye on the prize, so to speak, say a publishing contract, or a certain level of talent or skill.  But I love the act of writing itself, I love getting better,  honing my craftsmanship.

Not to be trite and almost-useless in my reply or anything, but I suspect every book I’ve ever read has influenced me.     From Little House on the Prairie books to Anne of Green Gables to Julie Anne Long to E.M. Forester, I can sometimes feel the energy of those words–and the way I felt when reading them–running through me.

As far as specifically the medieval-ness of my stories….  when I first read Marsha Canham’s medieval series, Through A Dark Mist/ In The Shadow of Midnight/ The Last Arrow trilogy, I think it was that night I started writing medievals.  So, I dunno, does that count?  :-)

Tell us about the day you got “The Call”.

Oh, yes, the day of the Pink Eye.

I was tending my son’s pink eye when my agent called with the news. It was all, “Oh, wow, mmm, wow, yes, uh-huh” while holding a compress to my son’s ragingly pink eye, hoping I wasn’t getting pink eye germs on the phone.

Fun!  Glamour!  Whimsy!   Ah, the life of a romance writer…

What is the hardest part of being a writer? The easiest?

The hardest part is what I think must be true for all artists and athletes, for anyone who does something because they MUST, but that doesn’t they do it well every day.   Certainly, will alone is insufficient for the task.   Will and discipline are essential: with them, nothing meaningful occurs.  But alone, they aren’t enough.  The muse has to show up too, and she is fickle.

You can show up for work and will yourself to smile even when you don’t feel like it, but you can’t show up at the baseball game and will yourself to hit a homerun.  (Or, if you’re the Seattle Mariners, you can’t, apparently, will yourself into even a simple base hit.)

Likewise, I can’t sit at my computer and will myself to write wonderfully.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m a craftsman, so I sit at the computer anyhow, and  write crap those days.  I keep writing.  It’s just that it’s painfully hard when you keep hitting a wall, and can’t access the creative the Well.

That is hell.

The easiest part…  Hmm.  Can I say the best part?  Accessing the aforementioned Well.  ;-)

What is the biggest misconception about romance authors that you’ve come across?

Cats.  We all have cats.  And we write ‘smut’.    That it’s easy.  And that I’m too smart for this, and one day, I’ll start writing ‘real’ things that have substance and meaning.

Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?

Persist.  And love the craft.

If you don’t love writing, the process of it, it’s going to be hard to be persistent over the long haul.

And by ‘love,’ I don’t mean ‘enjoy.’

At least not all the time.  I don’t mean you have to love the times your stuck, or the way you can’t tap into the Well, or whatever.  I mean LOVE it.    Love the craft, the process, that it exists.  Be devoted to it.  Appreciate its depths.  Acknowledge how it taps into you, and changes you.  Give it at least some of your high-quality attention & time.

And in that state of being, persistence will pay off.  Persistence like that always pays off.

Finally, what can our readers learn from your workshop this month?

It’s going to be a terrific week!  We’re going to talk about tension.  Your readers’ tension.

We’ll talk about how to build page-by-page tension and generally how to make your characters suffer.  It’s going to be a blast.  Hope you enjoy!  (Your characters might not, btw. They may even rebel.  But in the end, they will thank you.  It’s Tough Love for the Fictional Folk.)

JUNE AOTM WORKSHOP JUNE 7-11
TOPIC: TENSION

**Workshop is featured in our FORUM. Required registration. Become a member and participate for free.**

Born in California, raised in the Midwest, Carrie Lofty met her husband in England–the best souvenir! Since earning her master’s degree in history, she’s been devoted to raising their two precocious daughters, wrangling the talented authors of Unusual Historicals, and writing romance. You can find her on Twitter, her Facebook fan page, and very occasionally on her blog. “Historical romance needs more risk-takers like Lofty.” ~ Wendy the Super Librarian

Carrie is giving away a copy of SCOUNDREL’S KISS to one lucky commenter. Winner will be chosen at random on May 14th and will be contacted via email. Please provide this info if you wish to be included in the drawing.

Please tell our readers and members a little bit about yourself?

Although I’ve been writing most of my life, I began writing toward publication almost four years ago. I’m also a history nut. My master’s thesis was on outlaws of the Old West, but that didn’t stop me from setting my debut romance, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS (http://www.carrielofty.com/WaSW.html), in medieval England! I have two daughters, two cats, and a husband who is particularly adept at talking me down off high ledges. If I’m not writing, I can be found upsetting over the latest season of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Doctor Who,” or slowly working my way through all of Shakespeare’s plays.

Your debut historical had a fun twist to the Robin Hood story, could you please tell us a little bit about it and how you came up with the concept?

Yes, in WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, Robin Hood’s estranged nephew, Will Scarlet, rescue the alchemist who can clear him of murder, but she is blind, obsessed with fire, and sister to the woman he helped kidnap.

My initial inspiration came when watching the 1970s Disney cartoon version of Robin Hood with my daughters. That got me thinking that I hadn’t seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in ages. It’s cheesy and the accents are terrible, but I had a huge crush on Christian Slater when I was younger. I began to wonder what happened to his Will Scarlet after the closing credits and decided it was time for him to become a hero in his own right.

You also have a new release coming out with Carina Press. How was your experience with this new ePublisher that is a division of Harlequin?

SONG OF SEDUCTION (http://www.carrielofty.com/Song.html), the story of a widowed violin prodigy and the composer she idolizes, has taken an interesting path toward publication. I wrote it without much regard for current trends in historical romance, which meant I didn’t think twice about setting it in Salzburg, Austria. Only when I went to shop it around to it I realized how difficult that setting would make it to sell.

Carina Press’s slogan is “Where no great story goes untold.” They were specifically looking for quality stories that, perhaps, we’re getting the attention they deserved because of market concerns. It turns out that Carina Press and a historical romance set in Austria was the perfect match for me. I’ve had a blast working with them and being part of the June launch. The cover, in particular, has received a great deal of attention. Now I can’t wait to see how my story is received by readers!

What other projects do you have in the works and are they all historicals?

SCOUNDREL’S KISS (http://www.carrielofty.com/SK.html), the stand-alone sequel to WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, is on the shelves now. In it, a Spanish warrior monk must cure a troubled English translator of her opium addiction, but she is ready to seduce her way to freedom–jeopardizing his vows of obedience, nonviolence and chastity.

I’m currently writing PORTRAIT OF SEDUCTION (http://www.carrielofty.com/Portrait.html), the sequel SONG OF SEDUCTION. It’s due from Carina Press in early 2011.

Branching out from historicals, I’ve co-written a hot-n-dirty apocalyptic paranormal romance called NIGHTFALL with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor (http://ellenconnor.) It’s the first of our “Dark Age Dawning” trilogy of sexy shifter romances, coming soon from Berkley.

What inspires you? What were your writing influences?

Music has to be my most constant inspiration. Although I’ve written about musicians in SONG OF SEDUCTION, I don’t play an instrument. But I listen to music constantly and I’m always in search of new artists and songs. I’m also inspired by people, particularly the chemistry of couples. I’m obsessed with learning how people fit together, what makes a couple work, why one person’s perfect lover would not be suitable for someone else. It’s all a puzzle and I’m endlessly fascinated with the variations. I hope that means I have a great number of romances left in me to tell!

What helped you make the decision to become a romance writer?

The impulse to write romance has always been with me. I’m a diehard romantic. But I decided to write toward publication when my husband moved to Virginia for a summer internship when he was earning his MBA. I stayed behind in Madison, Wisconsin with our two young daughters. I wrote to stay sane, curling up with my laptop after the girls were asleep. I realized then that in order to have a career of my own that inspired me, I would have to work hard and make sacrifices just like my husband was doing with his degree. I set a goal that I would be New York-published by the time our younger daughter entered first grade, which is this September–so I’m ahead of schedule!

What is the hardest part of being a writer? The easiest?

The easiest part, for me, is finding ideas. My brain is a wash and possibilities, settings, couples, eras of history, and even genres beyond historical. But the most difficult part is putting those distractions aside and focusing on the project at hand. Writing a novel takes discipline, and that doesn’t just mean getting a regular progress goal!

What is the biggest misconception about romance authors that you’ve come across?

I think there is a natural tendency to assume that the sexual relationships we described in our books are directly drawn from real life. Perhaps this is because sex in Western society is still such a taboo fascination. But I think it is dangerous to assume that women writers who produce stories for a primarily female audience are only capable of drawing from real life experiences. That implies, to me, that our imaginations are somehow more limited. Not mine!

Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?

Your story is worth telling. But don’t assume that it will tell itself. Learn your craft, put in the hours, and make sure you’re ready when opportunity comes knocking.

Any last words for our readers?

Thanks so much for having me! I hope you join me for my point-of-view workshop in the forum later this month.

Carrie Lofty’s Website: www.carrielofty.com

Interviewed by Jax Cassidy

WORKSHOP: MAY 17-31

TOPIC: DEEP POINT OF VIEW

What the heck is “deep point of view” anyway? Join Carrie Lofty as we look at how to meld research and fiction, with the goal of selecting and integrating the best details to enhance character point of view. Although designed and taught by a recovering historian, this workshop is geared toward the use of any detail, from historical facts to paranormal and fantasy worldbuilding. See how using character-specific details can make your fiction more memorable, endearing, emotional–every writer’s goal!

**Workshop is featured in our FORUM. Required registration. Become a member and participate for free.**

How did you begin writing?

I didn’t actually want to be a writer–I didn’t start writing fiction until I was 27 and bored out of my mind during a meeting (!), and I never thought of sending anything to anyone other than friends until five years later. Thanks to my supportive friends, who urged me to send things out, I did, and was lucky enough to find an agent–and have some book sell. It still seems like an unbelievable dream!

Where do you get your ideas?

I’ve gotten ideas from all kinds of places–hearing people talk, driving, cleaning the bathroom (yes, for real!), and even from dreams.

Who is your favorite character you’ve ever written?

Since I can’t read my own work, I can’t pick a favorite character. Sorry!

Your critically-acclaimed “Living Dead Girl” is very different from your sweet romantic comedies. Did you find it was difficult to make such a switch?

Not at all. I really like mixing things up, and there are two sides to human nature–light and dark. So why not write about both?

Why did you choose to write for teens?

Because I’ve never wanted to write anything else! (And I’ve also never written anything else!) I can’t imagine not writing YA. I love it, and I love writing it.

Describe your writing process.

It really depends–every book is different, but I do have to know two things before I start: the beginning and the end. They serve as my roadmap

What are you working on now?

My next book, Grace, is about a girl who has been raised to be a suicide bomber, and what happens when she decides she doesn’t want to die. It’s darker, more in line with Living Dead Girl and is also more of a dystopian novel than anything else I’ve ever done. It’ll be in stores on September 16th.

To learn more about Elizabeth Scott, visit her online:

http://elizabethwrites.com

http://blog.elizabethwrites.com

Rhonda Stapleton started writing a few years ago to appease the voices in her head. She has a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. In the twelve minutes of free time she has each day, Rhonda enjoys reading, photography, writing poetry, singing in the shower (and in the car, at work, or basically anywhere that provides oxygen), drinking chai tea, and playing on the Internet (AKA, connecting to the “mother ship”). Rhonda lives in northeast Ohio with her two kids, her manpanion, and their lazy dog. Visit her website at: http://www.rhondastapleton.com for more information about her and her books.

1. Tell us about yourself?

Well, I’m an author, mother, teacher, editor, and amateur photographer. I also hate blue food, love chinese and sushi, and hope to visit Japan in the near future.

2. How long have you been writing, and how did you get your start?

I’ve been writing since 2004. Stupid Cupid is actually the third novel I wrote. My first novel was a chick lit, and my second a YA (this is the one that got my agent). I’d originally written Stupid Cupid as one book, but my agent sent it to my editor who thought it would make a good trilogy.

3. How long have you been a member of Romance Divas? What does this site mean to you?

I’ve been a die-hard member since 2005, and it’s like crack. I love it. It’s a fantastic source for all things writing. I’m also the YA liaison, and I love it!

4. What should we know about the STUPID CUPID trilogy.

Ummmmmm it’s super goofy and light and there aren’t any vamps and werewolves in it. haha

5. How did you make this sale?

My agent sent it to my editor, who loved it enough to buy a trilogy!

6. I understand you had a booksigning in Canada? How does it feel to be an international superstar?

OMG it was so much fun. And sooo scary. But what a great first signing–I sold several copies, and some people even brought theirs in from home for me to sign. Talk about the ultimate flattery!

7. What will you be doing to help promote the trilogy?

Other than pimping the crap out of my stuff online? I’m doing group signings, podcasts, and blog tours and contests. And I have a few things up my sleeves…mwahahahaaaaa…

8. Tell us about a typical writing day For Rhonda Stapleton.

When I’m in drafting mode, I write at least 1 hour a day (which is around 3 pages for me), 5 days a week. My writing is typically done later in the evening.

9. Where do you get your inspiration?

It’s all around–my family and friends provide a lot of help, because they’re all crazy. hahaha

Interviewed by Amanda Brice

Rhonda Stapleton’s Website: www.rhondastapleton.com

WORKSHOP: JANUARY 27 – 29

WRITING THE YA ROMANTIC COMEDY

Wanna learn how to make teens fall in love with your characters and have a good laugh or two (or hopefully more)? Check out Rhonda Stapleton’s YA romantic comedy workshop and find out tips on writing funny, as well as how to keep the romantic tension building in a satisfying manner.

Workshop includes: Day 1–tips about writing comedy. Day 2–how to build a realistic teen romance. Day 3–bringing it all together.

**Workshop is featured in our FORUM. Required registration. Become a member and participate for free.**

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote).She lives with her husband and their children in north Florida where she works part-time as a labor and delivery nurse by night and writes romance full time during the day (sleep is not an option). Her first book, Bunco Babes Tell All, a sexy, funny women’s fiction story debuted in May, 2009. The follow-up, Bunco Babes Gone Wild, comes out in November. Maria is currently working on a romantic comedy scheduled for an early 2011 release date. You can visit her website at www.mariageraci.com.

What inspired you to become a writer and how long did it take from the first draft to the first sale?

I’ll be honest, I really can’t say what inspired me, although I’ve always loved to read. One day, I dropped my husband off at the airport for a business trip and on the drive home, I decided to write a book and I’ve been writing ever since. Five years later, I sold my first book.

How many rejection letters did you get before you finally got the agent and/or the sale? Were you discouraged or what did you do to overcome them?

I don’t know how many rejection letters/emails I have, although I can honestly say that the majority of my rejections have come after getting an agent. I only queried a couple of editors on my own before I decided that I’d rather have an agent first. I was very lucky. I think I queried about 4 or 5 agents before landing my agent, Deidre Knight-although it took her about 6 months from the initial query to agree to rep me. The first manuscript she shopped for me was rejected by about 10 houses in NY, and the second manuscript (which eventually sold) was rejected by the first 7 or 8 publishers who read it. Recently, my editor rejected the first synopsis I sent her on my option book. I did sell her the book, but I had to come up with a totally different concept. So, even after being published, rejection is something you have to deal with.

Realizing that rejection isn’t personal is key to survival in this business. Whether it’s being turned down by an agent, or an editor, or even a bad review, you have to shrug it off, learn from it, and move on. Having a good support group is critical, I think, to helping you overcome the downside of writing. I know for me, without my friends, I’d be lost!

What is the most difficult part of writing and how do you get over “writer’s block” or something like it?

For me, the writing is the easy part. Occasionally, I have writer’s block, but I work through it and somehow the muse finds me again. The difficult part of being a writer is the lack of control you have over your finished product. From the cover, to the title, to even the way your book is packaged and sold, is totally up to the publisher. You have some input, but the end decision is mostly out of your hands (at least at this stage of my career). Maybe once I start hitting some lists, then I’ll have more input!

Are you a plotter or a panster? Do you have any daily ritual or writing routine to get you going?

I’m a combination of both. In a perfect world, I would be a pantser and sit at the computer and just let the story unfold naturally. But that would mean taking a lot of wrong turns, and since I write under deadline, I have to have some semblance of a plot, otherwise, I’d go around in circles until I found my way. My only routine to get me going is plugging in the coffee pot!

If you were an ice cream flavor, what would it be called and why?

What are you currently working on and what should be look out for in the future?

Right now, I’m writing another light women’s fiction story for Berkley, titled The Boyfriend of the Month Club (my editor really loves the title, so I’m hoping I get to keep it!) It’s due to my editor in January and will probably come out early 2011.

Any last words or tips for aspiring writers to help them get started?

If you hope to make a living from your writing then always remember, this is a business, so treat it like you would any professional endeavor. Work hard, don’t burn any bridges, and always follow the Golden Rule!

Interviewed by Jax Cassidy

Maria Geraci’s Website: www.mariageraci.com