Cait London Shares Her Expertise!

Interview with Cait London


Cait, Welcome to Deb’s. We are so happy you could take time from your busy schedule to chat with us.

I had the pleasure to meet Cait at the Lori Foster Reader/Writer event in 2008 and enjoyed every minute of our conversation. I was so happy to discover that she is as wonderful in person as her books are.

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, your family, etc.
Thank you, Debbie.
I’m a do-er as you can see by my three blogs, http://caitlondon.blogspot.com which focuses on my work, writers’ issues and tips. If you write, do check out that blog and my writing tips, at my website, http://caitlondon.com. http://thesecondcup.blogspot.com features the stuff I’m interested in, daily stuff for women, including favorite makeup, movies, etc. http://myjamjar.blogspot.com is about the homemaker stuff, i.e. making jam and applebutter, sewing, whatever. Plus I’m a grandmother, so I make lots of cookies. My three daughters are currently providing more tots.

I’m also an artist, as you can see at my website studio, large canvases. I’m also interested in computers, graphics (I run my own website and blogs, plus newsletters), and photography, herbs, etc. So I’m one of those artistic personalities, but I never started out wanting to be a writer. Now I am and didn’t happen easily. 7 years, count ‘em, before my first sale. My agent at the time, now deceased, said that 10 years was the average. That was prior to Internet, which makes things easier now, but also makes for more competition.

2. For our readers unfamiliar with your work, please tell us what kind of books you write.

I’ve written a variety of romance, ranging from Desires (Any Tallchief readers out there?), western historicals, romantic thrillers, romantic suspense, and I enjoy adding psychic elements. My psychic triplet trilogy is on the stands now. BTW, I do not consider true psychic work as paranormal, i.e. vampires, shape shifters.

3. I’ve been a long time fan but didn’t realize until I started doing a little research that you wrote under two names, Cait Logan and Cait London. I have read several of the Cait Logan books but didn’t realize it was also one of my favorite suspense authors!

Cait Logan books started in Berkley’s Second Chance at Love category/series and I was invited by Joan Golan, now editor at Steeple Hill, to write historicals. She’s quite the mentor and purchased my first SCAL (category), prior to the historicals, which I also wrote for Dell. I loved writing NW western historicals as I grew up in central WA State, about an hour south of Canada, where there were lots of westerners and rodeos were common. In my reading of others’ books, there is no worse turn-off than not to know the actual landscape and feel of the land. And that is why I drove the Oregon Trail, and the Indian trails in the NW, and up into Canada, for Delilah, my mountie book. I’ve yet to see another book like that, as I am a true researcher. Wedding Gamble was set in MT, and it was also unusual as I researched billiards and it is the only book of its kind in American Billiards Congress museum as I worked with them on research.

4. Do you still write under the Cait Logan name or do you write exclusively under the Cait London name? Do you have any other pen names you would like to share with us? What type of books do you write under these names?

I’ve been tempted to write more Cait Logan westerns, but I don’t know. Most of my books are contemporaries under Cait London. That’s it so far.

5. How long have you been writing and how did you get your start? How long did it take you to be published and what was your first release? When did it come out?

My first, Lady on the Line, a SCAL contemporary about a lady lineman, was published in 1986. It took SEVEN years to publish and that was because I’d met an agent at a conference, who sold that first SCAL to Joan Marlow Golan. Back then, we did not have all the writers’ organizations and Internet information we have now (most long-term writers developed their skills prior to Internet). So it was basically throw what you know out there and waste a lot of manuscript mailing money, learn what you could and try again. Reflecting on how it was to struggle without groups, magazines, Internet, etc., I think I learned more about writing skills from basically just working like a dog with a portable non-electric typewriter. BTW, plotting wasn’t in my skill-bag then, and now I enjoy it. But the editors said I came in with Characterization, already built in, so that was a help.

6. How many books do you have out now and have they all been in the romance genre? I know you have written in many different sub-genres including historical, paranormal and your most recent releases have been a romance suspense trilogy with a psychic twist.

I’ve written about 70 novels and novellas to date, all in the romance genre and all mass-market traditional.

7. Please tell us about this trilogy and when they were released. Are they still available for purchase? I know our readers won’t want to miss these awesome books!

There’s quite a bit about them at my website, and they are available. Most of my Avons are. As the mother of 3 daughters, I already understood the birth-order personalities of the triplets and relationships with their mother. Much of me is in all of my books, including Claire’s (1. youngest/rural MT/At the Edge) handcrafting/sewing, Tempest’s love of color and artistic bend (2. Lake MI/A Stranger’s Touch, NYTs bestseller) and Leona (3. eldest/Lexington, KY/For Her Eyes Only). I feel my family may have an intuitive streak, and linked with Leona’s experiences.

Thanks for the awesome, btw.  The triplets are descendants of an ancient Celtic seer and the Viking chieftain who captured her. None of them want their ability, and all have been traumatized by 2 major events in their lives. Their connection is so strong that they cannot live together or near, for any amount of time. And that’s it folks. Each has their own love, their own story and plenty of danger, and Leona’s story, FOR HER EYES ONLY completes the trilogy, though there is interest in Greer, a world famous psychic who helps solve cases.

8. After writing in so many different sub-genres, do you have a favorite? Is there anything that you haven’t tried that you would like to do in the future?

I love all my stories. I worked really hard to craft them from the basement elements, so it would be hard to choose. I’ve written away from my usual, but we’ll have to see if that takes off. If not, I will have tried and have enjoyed the journey. I enjoy most journeys and adventures, and do not think that stories can be crafted by sitting behind a desk alone, rather by experiencing. (No jokes here, please.)

9. What do you have in the works now? Can you give us a sneak peek and give us a release date?
I write every day, but do not have future releases scheduled at this date. FOR HER EYES ONLY was a 10/08 release and since then, I’ve been working on different material and that’s about all I want to say now—suspense, you know .

If you are a writer, please do visit my Writers Survival posts at my blog, http://caitlondon.blogspot.com for info on software, newsletters, etc. I do seminars on The Business of Writing, and those posts are a taste of that.


10. Are you a big reader? What kind of books do you enjoy? Who are some of your favorite books or authors?

I am a big reader. I enjoy almost everything but science, unless it is archeology non-fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction prescriptive, biographies, magazines, too. I read almost anything in paper print, and have not tried the e-formats yet as I work hours on my computer and not willing for more screen-gadgets on my down-time. (Love computers, software, btw.) While I read almost everything, not much sci-fi (Love the sci-fi channel and movies) and vampires (love those movies). Not too much on endangering the child books, either, or forensics, or detective/sheriff/investigators, which I think may be overdone now. Not too much on regency/victorian/etc. However, I always buy Jayne Ann Krentz and love her Arcanne series. Like others, my reading trends are changing and diverse. I’ve just enjoyed Lori Foster’s 2 Servant books. But at the bottom of my reading list is hard-boiled detective/forensics, and that is just a personal taste matter. Not really fond of books in which the heroine is a writer, as that is too close to home. I want to read about different material; however, if the story and character are strong enough, I’ll enjoy it. I would like a really good Viking story, much like Woodiwiss’s. When starting to diversify my writing, I tried a Viking proposal, but the agent said they weren’t selling and wouldn’t market it, so I moved on. Just after that several Viking novels hit the stands.

11. Has anyone or anything influenced you in your writing career? Would you change anything if you were doing things over?

I’ve met and have been influenced by many people, not only in writing, but how they manage their business, lives and careers. In romance, I think we may have partly caused our own put-downs, by simply not acting with better judgment and dignity. In retrospect, I couldn’t have done more ad work/traveling/workshops, as I was a single with 3 daughters, so I stuck pretty much to what I felt I needed to do and that included a day job for insurance, etc. Only when my daughters were almost through college did I go full-time, so I had 13 years or so of writing fulltime and working at a day job. Imagine 3 in college at one time, and you get the picture. When you get that first big notice as I did, that is the time to step out and make a mark, but I chose to tend to my family obligations. It’s said that it is difficult to recover, once that time is gone, and it is. Yet, I did what I thought was right and do not regret that.

The recommendation as of now, 4/09, is to do as much online as you can for your books, and that would have been a real plus for me back then.

12. I know you are an inspiration and have been a huge help to other authors. You blog, you give talks and answer questions and always have an encouraging word to new authors. Is this something you think should be available for all authors, new and old alike?

All beginning authors, or those moving out into conferences or online, should have some sort of a master guidebook on manners, i.e. how important thank-yous are, even when they are for rejections. The way to start this is for seasoned authors to post their worst experiences from other authors.

On bad reviews: If there is anything no author should do, it is to rake someone else over in a review-like forum. Absolutely vitriolic stuff has no place in reviews. They should be clinical, done in proper format, and not I’m-so-cute show-off style. Just think of how you might feel, if someone took after you in the same manner.

For seasoned authors, some sort of a re-think business questionnaire, i.e. balancing PR time against copy-producing time.

13. Come on and spill the beans….what kind of writer are you? A strict plotter and outliner who plans everything out before you start writing or are you more of a casual style writer? Have your characters ever taken off in a direction that you hadn’t planned and if so what did that do to your story? Did you let them get away with it?

I learned how to plot in several ways and they are listed at my website, http://caitlondon.com. One of the best ways is to number chapters into paragraphs, so you can see where the midpoints are and then see the shape of the novel. This eliminates having to rush through the ending. I typically write 2 proposals, one extensive for myself and a short one for the editor. When in trouble, in the actual writing, I go back to the long one and it always helps me out. But a story does twist and turn on you. All I can say about that is make certain that the lead characters stay that, else you’re in serious trouble. I edit as I go, but in the overall edit, straightening out the threads/layers, I really balance the h/h to see if they are strong enough to match. I also balance the antagonists against the protagonists, as they need to be worthy opponents. In final edit, I may redo the whole first chapters to balance the book. I have to get in and write the characters before feeling how they mesh and bring them to life. Characters have to mesh, the subcharacters’ POV bringing to life the main characters. Think of it like the gears inside a clock, everything revolves around something else, touching and changing it. We’re affected by the lives of others, as well.

Here’s a visual: I think of my story threads as multi-reins on a chariot that need to be controlled. A story has to be controlled, even if it takes off in a different direction.

14. The characters are strong, the twists keep us reading and even though I want that happy ending, I hate for the books to end. If you could choose what you wanted a reader to remember about your books, what would it be?

That it was a gift, something with texture and life, that provided a short escape. However, my writing isn’t for everyone. Some writers are middle-of-the mark, i.e. and no strong feelings are evoked about their work. I’m not one of those. Either readers love me, or they don’t. Apparently, my style and stories incite passion either way.

15. Do you have an all time favorite book or character from your writing? Do you ever base a character from real life people or events?

I do not have favorite books, unless it is the WIP at the time; it’s the same with characters. I do base my characters on real people, live or not, and some events. But that’s only the start of my story-building. I believe a book is built from some nugget and then grows. Or it does with me. BE MINE was built on the image of an Amish girl I saw riding her pony beside the road. So that was a person and an event. I’m pretty fast at generating story ideas, and can look at an old windmill and get a story. I guess that’s where the artist comes in, meshing with the writer. BTW, there is a high percentage of writers who are also artists of some sort.

16. What do you do for fun? I know that you are a painter as well as a fantastic author. How did you make this transition from painting to writing? Do you still paint in your spare time?

Boy, that is a hot topic among those who are both painters and writers. The consensus of the majority is that we can only devote ourselves full-time to one or the other. There are exceptions. I’ve been writing heavily for years, and have only done a few paintings. But I’ve taken lots of photos while traveling and intend on painting them, mostly seascapes. I miss it. The psychology of the writer is interesting. My stories, once started, will not let me rest.

17. Give us an example of an average day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule? A certain word count or number of pages per day?

I’ll start writing fresh copy at 4-5a. Take a break around 9 or so, then edit a bit, do what I have to, etc. and then start working around 4p. But some days, like when I’m trying to get my mind off a story that just ended and before starting a new one, I’ll take a trip. I love to drive, and stories just cling to me then. If in a plot problem, all I have to do is take a long, open-country drive, and it’s pretty well sorted out by the time I get back. But no specific pages per day. I am fast, though, and as the story picks up speed toward the end, I’m really going, careless of anything but my aching body. One time, I was so much in a scene that I felt my fingertips were on fire.

18. What is the best piece of advice you have been given as an author and what would you tell someone just getting started as a writer?

A book is like a song, it flows and has a tempo. When you feel the heartbeat, you’re in the stream and the book is beginning to breathe into life. One of the worst things a beginner can do is to forget that all the elements need to NOT be dissectible. Too much dissection can kill a story, too many cooks in the broth, too. If you’re in a critique group, make certain it’s the right one. I’ve never been in one as I do believe that giving out the story to others is like sharing a first kiss. You can never relive that first fresh blast and the editorial comments are all I want. However, writing is a very individual activity, with individual preferences, and other writers function perfectly well in their groups. I believe that in writing, you get out of it, what you invest in it. No one else can do that for you.

Cait, thank you so much for taking time to chat with us. I look forward to your upcoming books! Please come back and visit us again soon.

Thanks so much for asking me, and I will. And I’m also hoping that my responses to your very good and insightful questions helped someone.

Patti O'Shea-Paranormal Author Interview

Patti, welcome to Deb's! We are so happy you could take time to visit with us.

Thanks for inviting me!

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your family, background, etc.

I live in Minneapolis, MN, attended the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism where I earned a degree in advertising copywriting, and went to work for Northwest Airlines–in accounting. I moved around the company until I ended up where I'm at now–757 Engineering. I've always enjoyed traveling and working for an airline gave me an opportunity to visit more places. I've also always had an interest in airplanes and I've learned a lot about them during my time in Technical Operations. Plus, I've been able to get some up close looks that I wouldn't have anywhere else.

For our readers unfamiliar with your work, please tell us what kind of books you write.

My stories are paranormal romance with a lot of action and adventure in the mix and I have a couple of action/adventure futuristic books, too.

Your most recent release, In Twilight’s Shadow, was the second book in your Light Warrior series. Please tell us about this series and the books in it. Will there be more books in this series and if so, what is the next book in the series? Do you have a title and release date yet?

The Light Warriors books are about a society of magic users who protect humans from demons and other dark-force creatures. Each territory has a troubleshooter assigned to it and they handle the problems that arise within their area as well as other assignments that their council might give them.

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is the first book. The heroine is Ryne Frasier and the hero is Deke Summers. The little blurb I use for the book is: When a troubleshooter for a society of magic users rescues a private investigator from a dark spell, she finds more than an ally as she faces down her former mentor.

IN TWILIGHT'S SHADOW is about Ryne's sister Maia Frasier and Creed Blackwood. Maia gave up her magical powers years earlier because she'd fallen to the dark forces, but she's still struggling to cope with the loss. Creed is dealing with his own issues when it comes to dark magic and they're both going to have to defeat their demons–literally as well as figuratively.

The next story is EDGE OF DAWN and it will be released July 2009. During In Twilight's Shadow we find out that Creed has a little sister that he's never met. This is her story. The blurb for this book is: Glass artist Shona Blackwood is ignorant of her Gineal heritage and unaware that people who can do magic actually exist, but when she's targeted for death, troubleshooter Logan Andrews is assigned to protect her. A straightforward job quickly goes askew and what Logan doesn't know might cost both him and Shona their lives.

I'm writing the fourth book in the series now. The working title is IN THE DARKEST NIGHT, but there's been a few other books with similar titles, so it might not be called that when it's actually released. This story is about Logan's brother, Kel. Logan worries about him throughout EDGE OF DAWN and now we'll find out what happened to change him. His heroine has had a rough time with life, too, and they're both wounded individuals who are trying to heal.

How long have your been writing and what was your first published book?

I became serious about writing about eighteen months before I sold my first book in January 2002. I'd been writing before that, of course–since 8th grade–and I had finished three other books, but it was mostly dabbling when I felt like it rather than dedicated, regular writing. Now I write every day.

My first sale was RAVYN'S FLIGHT, released in November 2002 and reprinted in 2006. It's a futuristic romance set in 2040 with a hero in army special operations and a heroine who's part of a colonization assessment team. They're light years from home when all their teammates end up murdered and Ravyn and Damon are on the run from an unknown killer. They have to stay alive long enough for help to arrive from Earth, but it isn't going to be easy.

How many books do you have out now? Do you have a favorite character or book that you have written?

As we start 2009, I have six books and one novella out. My seventh book will be released in July 2009 and the eighth is scheduled for March 2010.

The question about favorite character is tough and I don't think I can pick. I spend so much time with them that each one becomes a really close friend, and while I'm always glad to have finished their story–I want to know what happens!–I miss them when they leave. I tell people it's as if someone you've lived with has decided to pull up stakes and move across the country. Yes, you can visit, but it's just not the same.

Although I can't pick a favorite character, I do have a favorite book–IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR. This used to be impossible to choose, too, but something about this story just wedged its way into my heart. I guess it helps that it's one I really wanted to tell and the fact that I wrote two other books before being able to start this one kept the anticipation high. I also loved Deke's sarcastic, smart aleck comments. And there's Ryne. She's so tough–she feels she has to be–but emotionally her demons are winning the war. Deke anchors her, helps her find the footing she needs to defeat them and move forward.


How did you get started in your writing career? Are you a full time writer or do you hold another job as well?

I have a full-time job at Northwest Airlines in 757 Engineering. I really would love to write full time, but it's not feasible right now. It does get exhausting, though!

My start to getting published was pretty interesting. I mentioned earlier that I'd dabbled and I had submitted two of the three books I'd finished and gotten good rejection letters, but it wasn't until around 2000 that I really committed myself to writing. After finishing the rough draft of RAVYN'S FLIGHT and revising the first three chapters, I sent it out to contests put on by various local chapters of Romance Writers of America and continued revising the rest of the book.

One of the first contests I entered in the summer of 2001 was called the Southern Heat. Among the prizes for winning was being able to send the full manuscript to the final judge who was an editor at Dorchester Publishing.

I had just finished revising the entire manuscript so that it was ready to submit, when I received a letter saying I'd won the Southern Heat and that I should contact the editor of my category to arrange to send my manuscript. This was December 2001. I contacted her, mailed it off on New Year's Eve, and ten days later, went on vacation. I did have internet access while I was away, but I couldn't read my email. (Things have come a long way!) I came home and I had so many messages that it took hours to download all the email. One of the notes was from the editor who had RAVYN'S FLIGHT asking me to call her.

My first thought was that something had happened to the manuscript. Maybe a page had gotten lost or the post office had dropped it in a mud puddle and it wasn't legible. The possibilities were endless and the offices were closed by the time I saw that note. I called the next day, and sold my first book in January 2002.

I understand that you have done a lot of traveling. Do you use these travels as research for your books?

I think everything we see and do shapes us to a degree and that includes the places we've been. I know my visits to different cities and countries have influenced settings in my stories. For instance, when I wrote THE POWER OF TWO and my hero and heroine needed to go to the Raft Cities, I based the poverty my characters saw on my visit to Samarai Island in Papua New Guinea. I've also used a nighttime trip I made to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL and Los Angeles in general for IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.

Is research something you enjoy? Approximately how much do you do for each book and what is your favorite form of research? Travel, internet, printed materials?

Yes and no. I'm insatiably curious about a lot of different things and I always seem to be learning something new. For example, right now I'm listening to a podcast on earthquakes and seismology from the University of California-Berkeley. I have no plans to write a story with earthquakes, but I thought it might be interesting (and it is). Of course, I also had an interest in nanotechnology years before I was published and I didn't think I'd ever need the information for anything, but I ended up using quantum brain nanotechnology as a major plot point in THE POWER OF TWO (2004), so who knows? Maybe one day I will be writing a story that involves seismology.

The less fun part of research comes in when I need specific detail for a book and it's the kind of information that isn't easy or quick to find. I think small facts are important, but some of what I'm looking for can be obscure stuff that gets buried in a much larger sections of data. Or if I don't know the exact terminology to search for, I can end up with far too many hits to wade through, none of which contain the information I actually need.

I like to use the internet because of how quick it is to do a search, but I try to find corroboration since the information can be suspect online. I do have a lot of books filling my shelves, but then I have to figure out exactly which book it is and find it amid all the other volumes, which isn't always quick or easy.

What do you have in the works now? Can you give us a sneak peek? Sure hope so.

Next up is EDGE OF DAWN in July 2009, I'm working on the fourth book in the Light Warriors series for a March 2010 release, and I was asked to submit a story for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE 2. I'm not sure what the release date is for that.

The Work In Progress (WIP) isn't ready to be shared yet, but I'm happy to give a sneak peek at EDGE OF DAWN. I don't even have an excerpt up on my website yet. This is part of a scene that takes place a few days after Logan and Shona meet. It's the second time they've talked to each other.

Logan spotted Shona up ahead and his thoughts derailed.
Friday night her hair had been straight, tamed; today it tumbled in waves to just above the small of her back. Her sky-blue T-shirt was tight and short, baring her midriff and accentuating her full breasts. Her jeans were pale yellow and fit her every bit as closely as the pair she'd worn last Friday. For someone tall and lanky, Shona was nicely curved and Logan felt an unwelcome surge of warmth return. He swallowed hard.
She hadn't seen him yet, not with all the people between them, and he took the opportunity to stop and stare. He was too far away to really see her face, but he remembered--the high cheekbones; the elfin chin; the rich, chocolate-brown eyes now hidden behind dark lenses; and her full lips. Just the memory of her sexy mouth was enough to intensify the heat inside him.
Someone jostled Logan as they walked by and it brought him back to his senses. He closed the remaining distance.
As he neared the coffee shop, Shona caught sight of him and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. Her lips curved and that small, tentative smile was enough to knock him off balance. With a deep breath, Logan reminded himself that he was a Gineal troubleshooter; he was trained to control his emotions, not let emotion control him, but damn, she hit him hard.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey, Shona." He kept his tone easy because she looked anxious. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"I was early."
Her hands tightened around the white, plastic bag she held hard enough to make it rustle. "Is that my jacket?"
"What? Oh! Yes, here." Shona thrust the bag at him and Logan had to make a lunge for it to keep it from hitting the ground. "Sorry," she said, her face flushed.
"Don't worry about it. Want to grab a cup of coffee?" Logan gestured toward the building behind her.
"I was going to invite you to show my appreciation for your help." Her eyes widened. "Not that a cup of coffee comes close to repaying my debt, but I don't know if anything could."
"You don't owe me anything." She tried to interrupt him, but he held up a hand. "I know you're grateful I came along when I did, but that doesn't incur a debt on your part. I look at it as doing what's right, kind of like racking up good karma points with the universe." He smiled at her. "And I have three sisters; I'd like to think someone would help them if they found themselves in a similar situation."
Which was unlikely. If someone was stupid enough to grab one of them, any of his sisters would blast him with a spell before anyone needed to come to their aid.
"Paying it forward," Shona murmured.
"Something like that." Logan took her elbow, steered her toward the entrance to the coffee house, and held the door for her. The place was crowded and there was only a single open table. "Why don't you grab that," he pointed to the one available spot, "and I'll get the coffee? What do you want?"
"No. You take the table and I'll get the coffee. My treat, remember?"
He wanted to argue, but there was something in her demeanor that suggested she wasn't going to allow him to buy. Logan silently capitulated. "A large coffee. No cream, no sugar, none of that other frou-frou stuff. Just black, okay?"


Tell us a bit about your writing style. What kind of writer are you? A plot and outline person or are you more of a pantser style of writer? Have your characters ever developed a life of their own and taken off in a direction that you didn’t expect? If so, what did that do to your story?

I'm more toward the seat-of-the-pants side of the spectrum, but I've shifted over time. I used to be nearly a pure fly-into-the-mist writer, but now I usually have a synopsis before I start writing, and to my surprise, I've liked having that loose framework. I can't see me moving too much farther toward plotting, though, since just the thought of index cards makes me break out in a cold sweat.

My characters arrive as fully-formed people, so they tell me their story and I write it down. If I try to force them to do it my way, progress grinds to a halt and I can't write any further until I figure out what had one or both balking. It happened in ETERNAL NIGHTS when I had Wyatt kissing Kendall. I couldn't figure out why I was stuck after that point, but it turns out it was too early; he wouldn't risk scaring her. I still had the kiss after I fixed that spot, but because Wyatt was only semi-conscious when it happened, it fit better and it also caused more complications through the story.

What's really hard is when the characters keep secrets and then spring things on me just before it's time to reveal it in the book. The most flagrant example of this was in my first book, RAVYN'S FLIGHT. I went through almost half the book before Damon mentioned the big event from his past. I'd suspected there was something that had him so determined to protect Ravyn, but it could have been his personality. Once he finally revealed the truth, more things about him made sense.

Oh, and it happened with IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR and Ryne's past. I knew there was a reason why she was so dead-set against getting involved with a human, but I didn't know what–exactly–that was until right before it was revealed. I tried to talk her out of it because I really didn't want to go there or write it, but she insisted. And it was a pretty big part of what drove her, so I guess she was right.

If the characters give me enough notice before they head off, it's not really that big a deal because I can just adjust as I go along. When they spring a surprise on me right before I'm ready to write the scene where they reveal their secret to their hero/heroine, then it's a little bigger deal and usually involves going back and adding some foreshadowing earlier in the story. With Ryne, I didn't have to do that because I knew there was something and was already foreshadowing, but with Damon, it did involve sprinkling clues in throughout the first half of the book as I revised.

Are you a big reader? Do you have a favorite book or author? Do you read the same genre that you write or do you find this a distraction to your writing?

I used to read a book a day before I sold my first book. I literally have boxes and boxes in my basement filled with thousands of books and bookshelves all over the place. Now so much of what used to be reading time is writing time and I don't read nearly as much as I used to.

Oh, wow, I have a lot of favorite books and authors. It's impossible to narrow it down to one. I do tend to like darker books with lots of action and suspense. My favorite "romance" movies are The Terminator and Speed if that gives any indication of what kind of story I enjoy reading most. And I do read in the genres I write. Since I rarely pick up a book while I'm writing, I don't find it distracting.

I've also begun to read more non-fiction. My latest was Survival Of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem. The book was about why certain genetic diseases are still in our gene pool. I found it utterly fascinating and couldn't put it down.

Has anything been different than you expected since beginning your writing career? The fans, the book signings, promo? What do you enjoy the most?

The biggest surprise was how much time and energy is taken up with things that have nothing to do with the story I'm writing. I'd heard other published authors talk about it, but I couldn't believe it could be that bad. I was wrong. It is utterly amazing how many things eat up writing time. While I'm trying to write one story, I might be doing promotion on an earlier book, reading through copy edits on the manuscript I turned in months earlier, and discussing a future project all at the same time. Then I'll go to my day job and someone will ask me about the book and I have to ask which one they mean.

Favorite thing, hands down, is hearing from readers who enjoyed my stories. I keep each and every email and I plan to scrapbook them all. Before I sold, I never emailed a writer when I loved one of her stories, but now that I know how much it means, I do contact authors whose work I loved.

Give us an example of a normal day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule with a certain word count or number of pages a day?

Now y'all get to find out how boring my normal days are! The alarm goes off at 4am and I hit the snooze as many times as I can before I absolutely have to get up to get ready for my day job. Eight plus hours at work where I tease engineers and do projects, and then home. Chores, errands, email, and if I'm lucky, I can sit down to write by 6pm. If I'm not lucky it'll be 7 or later. I usually write until my brain shuts down and then go to bed to start it all over again the next day.

I do try to do a set number of pages a day and spend the weekends trying to make up for the number of pages that I'm short. I also use my vacation time from my day job to make my deadlines.

What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies or collections you would like to share with our readers?

I scrapbook, although I haven't had much time to do it lately. It's a way to be creative without using the same part of my brain that writes. I also started gardening after I moved into my house. Kind of, at least. I like looking at the flowers, but I mulch so I don't have to weed too often. The coolest thing was that one year while I was standing outside watering my lilies, a hummingbird hovered within a foot and a half of me and I thought, wow! I'd like to start doing container gardening for fresh vegetables. Maybe in 2009.

If anyone is interested in seeing some of my 2008 flowers, I've got a slideshow up here: http://pattioshea.blogspot.com/2008/08/flowers-flowers-flowers.html

If you could give one piece of advice to a beginning author, what would it be?

I've received two really great pieces of advice, so I'll share both. The first was: Writers write.

At the time I heard it, I wasn't putting in the work to be a writer, I was waiting for some magical day when I had more time, when the muse struck, when I had the perfect idea, etc. It didn't sink in right away, but later I realized that if I really wanted to be a writer, I couldn't wait until I found the time–I had to make the time. I really wanted to be a writer, I'd wanted it since I was fourteen, so instead of watching television or whatever, I'd write.

The second piece of advice that really helped me was: The writing process will change and don't try to force yourself to write a book the way you wrote the previous one. Use whatever process that book needs.

Every single book I've written has had a different method of coming to life. I did intensive character sketches when I wrote RAVYN'S FLIGHT, but on other books I've only filled out some of the questions, and in some cases, only the physical descriptions of the hero and heroine. It depends on what I need to do to tell the story. When I wrote THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL, I had to do it at night. I joked to people that because my hero and heroine were nocturnal, they wouldn't come out to work until later in the evening. I thought it was weird, but hey, whatever it takes. Thanks to the advice, though, I've been able to let myself go with the flow and not get hung up on the fact that isn't the way I wrote my last book.

Patti, thanks so much for stopping by to chat. I know we are all looking forward to your next book! Please come back again soon!


Visit Patti at her website http://www.pattioshea.com to learn more about her and her upcoming books.

Interview with Jodi Thomas

Please welcome the awesome Jodi Thomas!!!

Jodi, welcome to Deb’s! I have to admit I have a huge, long time fan of your work and I am thrilled that you could take time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.

**Deb, I am glad to be able to touch base with you. Thanks for reading. Most nights when I’m working I stay at the desk an hour longer because I know people are out there waiting. It makes writing so much more fun to know that you’re going on the journey with me. So now to the questions….

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your family, background, etc.

**I’m married to my best friend, Tom, and we have two sons. We’re both Tech grads so football season around our house is crazy this year. I have a master’s degree in Family Studies and am a certified marriage and Family counselor. I’ve taught school, worked at a Museum and several libraries.

Do you have any hobbies or collections you would like to share with our readers?

**Seven years ago I agreed to be Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University. I have the coolest office in the center of the campus. In the mornings I open my do to anyone who has questions about writing. Some afternoons you’ll find me in my office listening to beginning writers read their work. I don’t know if you could call it a hobby but teaching others about writing is a great joy in my life. I’m working with the university to put together a week long workshop in June. Anyone wanting to write can come for a week of work, lectures and fun. Plans will be up on my web site by January.

For our readers unfamiliar with your writing, please tell us what kind of books you write and what is the setting for your books.

**I write books set in Texas. With five generations of Texas blood in my veins, I know the land and the history. I’ve written over 20 historical novels and five set in modern day. I write stories about people. They come alive for me and I hope they will for my readers.

How long have you been writing and how many books do you have published now?
**I sold my first book in 1988. There is a list of my books on my web site www.jodithomas.com


Are you a full time writer now or do you still teach? Did you find it hard to find enough writing time when you are working full time?

**I still teach a few classes and find I rarely write during the day. Still, after 20 years, my writing time is between about 9 and midnight every night.

What was your first book and when did it come out? What genre of book was it?

**Beneath the Texas Sky, 1888. It was a Historical Romance.

What was your reaction when you saw your book on the store shelf? I know I would have been ecstatic! Do you still get a thrill from seeing each new book on the store shelves?

**I loved it. I’d go down to bookstores at night just to look at it. I’d type my name in at the library and yell when I saw it come up.
Now with almost thirty books out, I still get excited when I first see the cover. On my third book, THE TENDER TEXAN, my name was on top. I called my editor and cried saying it made me feel like a real writer. She said, “Jodi, you are a real writer.” That was the first day I believed it.

Tell us about your road to publication. How long did it take you to be published and if you were doing it all again, what would you do different?

**I wrote for about four years before I sold my first book. Sometimes I think I started years before that thinking about stories. I don’t think I’d change a thing, it’s been a great journey.

I know you write mainly western historicals but you have also written some wonderful romantic suspense and mainstream fiction. Are there any other types or genres of books you have written or would like to write in the future? If you could write any other genre you wanted, what would it be and why?

**I love reading other genre, but for me I think I’m writing what I want to be writing. I would like to write a book on writing one day. I’ve also wanted to write a cookbook.

I was fortunate to be at the 2006 Rita Awards when you won another RITA for THE TEXAN’S REWARD and were inducted into the Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Your books have won so many well deserved awards. Did you ever expect that your writing would have this kind of impact in the world of romance readers and writer’s?

** In truth, no. I still feel like I have to work very hard just to get the story down and it’s never a good or as polished as I wish it were. From the beginning I wanted to tell a story of two people in love. It’s not about sex scene, or great bodies, it’s about the passion of loving someone so much you’d give your life for them if it came down to it. That kind of passion lasts a lifetime, not a night.

Your newest release, TALL, DARK & TEXAN, the third book in your Whispering Mountain series is getting rave reviews. I know I absolutely loved it! Please tell us a bit about this book and the others in this series.

**I love the men of Whispering Mountain. They had to grow up fast as boys when their father was killed and the battles they fought left them strong and scared. There is a legend that if a man sleeps on the top of Whispering Mountain he’ll dream his future and at some point in the book each man must face that. For the third book, Teagen’s story, I wanted to write a very tender love story because he’d a man who has been hardened by bad times and loneliness.

How many more will be in this series and can you give us a sneak peek into the next book? Do you have a release date for it yet? I know I’m really looking forward to more of your wonderful books!

**There will be two more. I’m working on Sage and Drum now and loving it. This couple is wild and passionate. The next one will be Duck and the ladies and it will be the three little girls, all grown up, from TALL, DARK,AND TEXAN and the little boy from the first book. His uncles tell Duck to find them all husbands.

What do you have in the works now and do you have any idea when it will be released? Is it connected to any of your previous books or will this be the beginning of another series we can look forward to?

**I have a new book to follow in the line of TWISTED CREEK called REWRITING MONDAY that will be out in April 09. It’s about a small town newspaper that is so bad they have to rewrite every Monday and a big city reporter who gets stuck in the town. Love and adventure follow.

**Sage and Drum’s story will be out in Nov. 2009 It’s going to be a fun story.

I know most of your books have been connected in some way. Whether it be a family, brides, etc. Do you enjoy writing the connecting books more than stand alone titles? I know I love re-visiting characters as the series progresses.

**My characters become like family and I like seeing what happens to them as they grow older through the series.

Tell us about the research you do for your books. Do you do a lot of traveling or online research and approximately how long does it take for you to research each book?

**I always try to ‘walk the land’. In FINDING MARY BLAINE I walked among the homeless in Austin for several days. In TWISTED CREEK I rented a lake house and began the book by the water. For books set in the past I like to drive through on country roads where I imagine the lay of the land looks about the same as it did 150 years ago.

What do you use to keep the pertinent information on your characters, backgrounds etc to keep from mixing them up? Do you use note cards, a spread sheet or do you just have a fabulous memory? I’m always fascinated by the different ways the authors keep track of their characters.

**I have a six foot story board next to my desk where I list all facts in the series and I still have to go back again and again and check.

What kind of writer are you? An organized outliner who plots things out thoroughly or are you more relaxed in your writing style? Do your characters ever take off in a direction you haven’t planned for them and do you let them get away with it. What ever you are doing it obviously works well!

**I sometimes spend months writing the first few chapters trying to catch my character and what I want him or her to be. Then I have a one page outline of where they might go. Sometimes new directions and problems come up. I love that when it happens. On those nights I write longer because I can’t wait to see what is going to happen.

Do you find time to read with your busy writing schedule? If so, please share some of your favorite authors or books with us.

**Of late I read very little. Once I finish a book I’ll take a month and read two or three books a day. I love books and my list of favorite authors is over a 100 long. For me the magic time is on those rare days when an author takes me away and I feel like I’m living in the story. You know those books you carry around with you everywhere just in case you have a minute to read one more page. I’ve even read at stop lights. One of the greatest compliments a reader can pay me is to say, ‘you kept me up all night.’

Do you think your writing style has been influenced by anyone? A family member or another author? If so, how?

**No. it’s the voice I hear when I tell myself a story.

Give us an example of a normal day in your life. Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule with a certain word or page count per day or does real life get in the way at times?

I leave the house about 9 and drive 30 minutes to work---always listening to a book on tape.
I’m in my office from about 9:30-noon answering e-mail and talking with people who drop in
I eat lunch with writers and friends almost everyday. Canyon only has a handful of restaurants.
From about 1-4 I close my door and try to write but most days something else takes my time.
Around 4 or 5 I drive home. My husband and I eat dinner and watch the news or go out with friends or family.
About 9 I climb the stairs to my study and work until midnight most nights.
All I need is two more hours in the day, then I could buy groceries, go to the gym, work in the garden, read more, watch a movie and talk on the phone. All of which I tell myself I’ll make time for next week.

Jodi, it has been fascinating getting a peek into the life of such a wonderful writer. Thank you so much for coming to visit with us! I know we all look forward to many, many more of your fantastic books!

**Thanks for having me in for a chat. I enjoyed it. Wishing you all great hours of reading and happy trails through life. Love much, Jodi Thomas

My Man Michael has been causing an uproar in the world of romance lovers. Fourth in her SBC Fighter series, My Man Michael definitely takes on a different twist. It doesn't take long to realize this isn't your typical Lori Foster book. Is it enjoyable? Yes! Would I recommend it? In a heartbeat! Is it for everybody? No, but then no book is. All that being said, I give you my review of My Man Michael.

Lori Foster continues her SBC fighter series with My Man Michael, and as usual she has a winner! Although a tad different from her other SBC books, My Man Michael will take you on a ride that you won’t want to forget.

Michael “Mallet” Manchester, upcoming extreme fighter in the SBC has a shot at the championship, the one thing he has spent years working and training for. But a sudden and tragic car accident takes that away. Injured, in pain and depressed, Michael “Mallet” Manchester doesn’t have a clue what he is going to do with his life. Fighting was his life and it will take him a lot of time and effort to even be able to walk so fighting was out of the question. So what is a man to do? What can possibly bring Michael back to the life he loves?

Suddenly out of nowhere, Kayli Raine appears, tougher than most women and Michael is instantly captivated. Thinking his pain medicine is causing hallucinations, Michael doesn’t believe her when she offers him a chance to be whole again. But to even think about having that chance gives Michael the motivation to accept her challenge. What comes next is something he never dreamed of and a story that you don’t want to miss!

Lori Foster continues to enthrall her readers with her fabulous characters and setting so real it’s hard not to feel as if you are in the story yourself. Her outstanding books make her a continuing favorite! Way to go Lori!

The Bikini Diaries by Lacey Alexander

I don't normally read erotic romance but I couldn't resist picking this book up and I was very impressed with it! Hope you enjoy the review I wrote on it.

The Bikini Diaries can be described in one word times three. HOT, HOT, HOT!
Lacey Alexander has once again given us a sexy book with an insightful look into a woman’s world.

Wendy Carnes considers her self a good business woman and has never really expected to have more. On a business trip to Emerald Shores she sees a bikini babe that gathers all the male attention. Wendy begins to wonder what it wonder what it would be like to “be” the bikini babe. Could an average woman make the transition and give herself a fantasy of a life time? Could she really have a one night stand without feeling guilty?

With the help of some sexy clothes and a can do attitude Wendy sets out on her journey to meet her fantasy man and does she ever! Brandon Worth is an extremely sexy man and leads Wendy further into sexual fantasies than she could ever dream. Their journey and growth together will keep you riveted to the page.

If you love a book that sizzles with passion, The Bikini Diaries is a sure winner!

A Taste of Magic-REVIEW

Wanted to share a review I did of a fast fun read of debut author Tracy Madison.

What would you do if your wishes came true? This is the story of Elizabeth Stevens who is having a birthday that she won’t ever forget.

Do you ever have one of “those” days? The ones where you wish you could change it? Elizabeth Stevens is having a rotten birthday. Not only is it the one year anniversary when her rat of a husband left her, now she has gotten suckered into making the man’s wedding cake for his upcoming marriage!

But not all the day is bad…Grandma Verda passes on a “special” gift to Elizabeth that changes her life and those around her. With the ability to add a “wish” into her delicious baked goods, Elizabeth suddenly finds that sometimes you really do need to be careful what you wish for.

A Taste of Magic is a fast, fun read and will definitely be going on my recommended read shelf!