AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: J. HALI STEELE

Jenny: Hi, Joann. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little about you.


Joann: Hi, Jenny, I'm really excited to be here. Where should I start? I was born and raised in SE Pennsylvania. Worked most of my life in the clerical end of the corporate world. I have a grown son and four furfriends. Guess the cats are my new children. Or I'm their child. We're still working that one out! *g* I like to travel and when I'm home I spend most of my time writing or reading and when I'm not doing that I'm with my sisters just hanging out.


Jenny: What inspired you to write your first romance?



Joann: Don't laugh. The TV series Beauty and the Beast. I know it's weird, but I always felt the leading character, Vincent, who looked like a lion, should have had a much better girlfriend. My first serious work started out getting him an honest to goodness heroine but it morphed into vampyre cats. LOL I've always loved writing and started with poetry and it grew from there.



Jenny: What's currently on your iPod/mp3 player/cd player?



Joann: I have an iPhone without a song on it! I listen to Soundscapes a lot. It's my favorite music to write by. Something about the sound of nature that's inspirtional and soothing. On my cd player at home and in the car it's my techno tango collection which includes Gotan Project and Tanghetto. Nina Simone's usually mixed in there somewhere. And then there's Enigma. I guess my taste veers all over the place. LOL.



Jenny: Describe a typical (or non-typical) writing day?



Joann: Lately I've had a few of both, what with jury duty and a fried computer. But typical would be up early, start the coffee pot, feed the cats and then I'm at the computer. I try to stick to a schedule but it doesn't always work. I usually begin by going through email, visit facebook, myspace. I have a few blogs I like to check on and then I start writing. Lunch gets fit in there somewhere.



Jenny: What's the one question no one ever asks that you wish they would?



Joann: "What's your feeling on spay and neuter?" I'm one hundred and ten percent for it. Just something I believe in strongly.



Jenny: What's your favorite setting from one of your novels?



Joann: I'm working on a novel now that takes place around the everglades. The swamp with Spanish Moss is so mysterious. I've visited that area a couple times and really thought it was beautiful and romantic. And there's the high desert. Cactus, Joshua trees, flat and wide open. Snakes and spiders. *g* I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite between the two of them.



Jenny: What do you think makes the idea heroine/hero?


Joann: The ideal hero? Hmm... Strong, handsome, lots of hair on his head and some on his chest. He's got to have just a few morals, enough to keep him 'good'. He's got to be a little sarcastic and above all not take any mess from anybody. A heroine, well, she's just got to be whatever the hero wants her to be. But she's got to give him hell now and then.



Jenny: What are you working on at the moment?


Joann: Archangels. Erotic angels. They're a pretty interesting group. They've got to come spend time on earth to better learn to deal with humans who've made quite a mess of what the good lord gave them. They have to become more like men. Which isn't a good thing for an angel.



Jenny: Which comes first--the plot or the characters?



Joann: Character's come first for me. I get an idea in my head about a character that lives and brews there for a while. When I'm ready to let them out, I'll usually jot down a brief outline, a synopsis, of their story. Once I start writing, the characters certainly take over.



Jenny: Any new releases coming up?



Joann: As it happens, I have two this month. SCREWED, a menage where my heroine, Purple P Rose, is a private eye whose boyfriend is bi, and she has a run in with a vampyre who decides he wants her to be his. She's quite the interesting character and together the three of them are pretty exciting. It will be released by Changeling Press on June 12th and there's HARD CASE from Ellora's Cave arrives on June 17th. Case is a white lion infected with vampyre blood. He has the ability to be both but has lived most of his life as a vampyre. He's the owner of a string of voyeur clubs and has found himself falling for the manager at his newest place. She's a snow leopard shifter who doesn't like lions. Two very exciting and different stories.


You can see more of J. Hali Steele at www.jhalisteele.com


Read on for a brief excerpt from J. Hali Steele's new novel, Screwed...

Purple P. Rose is a brash private investigator. Her latest case has her visiting the city’s seediest nightspot, the Mons Venus, with partner and boyfriend, Richard E. Rection. Their new case is full of surprises. Dick discovers he’s bisexual and is worried Purp won’t like it.

They are both unaware there’s a new and sinister being in town -- Peter Hard, a vampyre who enjoys the taste of women and men alike. He’s chosen Purple to be his. Ready to claim her, he uses his powers to coerce Dick to bring him in as a partner.

Their lives will never be the same again.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: EPPIE WINNER, JL WILSON

Jenny: Hi, JL. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little about you.

Thanks for letting me drop by and chat about my books. I love talking about writing!

I'm a Midwesterner and write "mystery with a touch of romance; romance with a touch of gray". This means my heroes/heroines are all in their fifties and my books aren't hotties -- they're more a tiny bit steamy ::grin:: All of my mystery and suspense books are set in the Midwest and feature 'regular' people, everyday people who get tossed into unusual circumstances.

I write mystery for The Wild Rose Press, romantic suspense for Cerridwen and Resplendence, time travel for Cerridwen, and futuristic paranormals for The Wild Rose Press. Yes, that's right: 4 editors, 3 publishers, and 11 books out! I've got contracts for 6 more books to release in the next year or so, and have 6 more books waiting to submit.

My mysteries for Wild Rose are first-person narrative, which is a real challenge to write. My romantic suspense books are third-person narrative and are all based on some incident in my past. My time travel books feature time travel, combined with reincarnation. Lovers are sent back in time to reunite and reconcile issues that have prevented their successful reincarnation.

Obviously, I like to stay busy ::smile::

Jenny: What's your favorite food?

I'm lost 30 pounds of a 40-pound (hopefully) weight loss, so the little 100-calorie pack snack foods are my lifesaver right now. I love the cookies and the Cheetos (I'm a sucker for Cheetos and diet Pepsi). I also love fresh fruit and am eating a lot of strawberries and raspberries now that they're in season.

My goal is to lose 40 pounds by the end of July, and I think I'm on track. I walk a lot (10,000 steps a day) and watch what I eat, and so far, so good!



Jenny: What's currently on your iPod/mp3 player/cd player?

I have an I-touch, so I've got movies, podcasts, and music. There's about 3000 songs on there as well as 10 or 12 movies, so it's a looonnnngggg list. I've been taking a lot of trips lately so the movies have really come in handy on long flights.

I just recently discovered Death Cab for Cutie and Finger Eleven, so have been watching their videos and listening to their songs. I'm going to an Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood concert in a couple of weeks, and recently saw John Prine in concert. My musical taste and my movie taste are both eclectic. I love action movies, and really don't like romances. But check with me next week, I'm sure my selections will change!


Jenny: Describe a typical (or non-typical) writing day?

I get up at 4:15 a.m. and am at my full-time job by 5:00, drinking my first cup of coffee. I take a long walk at noon then come back and work until 2:30 or 3:00 then head for home. I take care of home things (feed the cats, water the garden, feed the outdoor critters) then have a small meal. I'm at my computer by 5:30 for writing (my husband works erratic hours and we've given up trying to have dinner together).

I write/do promo/ do research until about 8:30 or so then I close up shop for the night and spend some time with hubby before heading for bed at 10 or 10:30. Two or three nights a week I go out with friends, and on weekends I'm often very busy but can usually squeeze in 3 or 4 hours of writing. I work on my Work In Progress every day: EVERY day.


Jenny: What's the biggest lie you've ever told?

Well, the biggest whopper was probably about my weight on my driver's license. I mean, I vastly under-weighted myself. That wasn't the lie that had the biggest consequences, though. That's one I'll keep to myself!


Jenny: What's your favorite setting from one of your novels?

I think the 1876 time period in "Forgiveness" is my favorite. I set it in Minnesota at that time, so it was still a frontier and still somewhat uncivilized. I loved writing that book and envisioning the setting.


Jenny: What do you think makes the ideal heroine/hero?

I think both of them have to be honest, with themselves and with each other. In addition, they should be willing to take care of themselves as well as each other. I don't expect the hero to rescue the heroine, but he should be willing to do so, and vice versa.

A good sense of humor helps a lot, too.


Jenny: What are you working on at the moment?

I'm currently working on two books at once, which is a challenge but is also very energizing. I'm making great progress on them and hope to be done with them by the end of summer. It normally takes me 3-4 months to write a book and get it ready for submission. I seldom take much time off between books, but I may change my habits since I'll be starting a Sci Fi series this fall that will require a lot of research.

You can always find out my progress by checking my Twitter posts, Facebook page, or MySpace page. Go to http://tinyurl.com/ak8hl8 for information about how to find me!


Jenny: Are you a panster? A planner? A planster? Which method works best for you? Why?

I have a general idea of what will happen in a book -- a few key scenes or outcomes -- but other than that I tend to go where the characters take me. I do a rough outline as I write, so I can easily go back and find facts, and that helps me decide if I have the right amount of action, etc.

I also write chapter-by-chapter, not from the start to finish. So I'm able to craft each chapter, making sure it has an arc, making sure it has a hook at the end, and blocking it out to be approximately the same amount of pages per chapter. That way, when I get to a certain point in the book, I know certain events should have occurred. For example, by Chapter 13 I should have had the Big Black Moment, or by Chapter 3 I should have a victim and a suspect. It really helps me structure the entire book when I structure each chapter individually.



Jenny: Any new releases coming up?

I have a release today (June 5) of Mayhem, Marriage, and Murderous Mystery Manuscripts, a mystery set at a summer resort. The heroine is a writer and she gets embroiled in a murder investigation that is complicated by accusations of plagarism.

In September I have 2 releases: Human Touch, the first book in my futuristic series for The Wild Rose Press. It's set on a different planet and follows a cloned man who has to act as a paid companion to a rather eccentric woman.

Also in September I have Temperance, the third book in my History Patrol series about time travel, reincarnation, and lovers who rediscover each other throughout time. It releases with Cerridwen Press and features a talking cat named Theo and a hero named Will, who killed Theo in a previous life.

Then next year I have at least 3 books releasing for sure, with 3 more possibly releasing.

Busy times ahead!


Visit J.L. at www.jayellwilson.com


Read on for a tantalizing excerpt from J.L.'s novel, Mayhem Marriage....

A knocking sound issued from the phone. I continued driving, starting to mentally map a path from Julie’s house to Barb and Sadie’s. “Should I stop, Julie?”
“Just a minute, I’ve got somebody at the door. It looks like … maybe a trick-or-treater. Although it’s late for that. I usually get them early in the evening. Hold on.” There was a pause and I heard noises: a rustling sound, a laugh, someone saying, “Trick or treat” in a far-away voice. Then I heard Julie say, ‘That’s such a pretty outfit. It reminds me of Cinderella.’ Then she came back on the line. “I don’t think I’ll need to have you stop because …” Julie laughed. “What? Would you like some candy? I’ve still got quite a bit left.”
I heard a woman’s voice, sounding distant. Julie probably held the phone at her side because the sounds alternately were louder then quiet, as though she was moving. Someone said, ‘… not worth it. You shouldn’t …’ Then the voice faded.
I suddenly heard Julie. She didn’t speak directly into the phone but her voice was louder and clearer. “We need to discuss this. Why are you so upset? He said you didn’t mind. Rita—”
A sharp noise buzzed through the phone, making me jerk it away from my ear. Then it was repeated, a popping sound echoed in my head. I thought I recognized that distinctive sound.
“Oh, shit.” I glanced at the map and made a left turn, but realized quickly that was wrong when I saw busy Interstate 35 in the distance. That highway didn’t appear on Julie’s map. “Julie! Julie, are you there?”
The only sound I heard from the phone was footsteps and moaning.
“Julie? Julie, what’s going on?” I turned around in someone’s driveway and headed back the way I came, losing precious moments as I hesitated at street corners, looking for Roselawn Street. I made another wrong turn and it took me three or more minutes to discover I was in a looping cul-de-sac with no outlet. I retraced my path, made a wrong turn but quickly corrected myself before finally finding Roselawn. I made a left onto 86th Avenue, a broad street overhung with tall trees giving it a tunnel-like feeling and trolled slowly down the dark street, peering at house numbers.
I pulled up to 4640, my phone still pressed to my ear. The open front door spilled light out onto the stoop, illuminating the woman sprawled on the porch. I raced up the front sidewalk but I suspected I was too late when I saw the blood pooling around her head.
Then I saw the wound on her chest, high above her neckline and under what was her chin. The chin was gone, and so was most of her throat.
It appeared the conference curse was alive and well, but I was pretty sure Julie Garza was dead.


BIO:

J L Wilson is a Midwestern author who writes ‘mysteries with a touch of romance … and romance with a touch of gray.’ She can be found on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and a few blogs here and there. This link tells you where: http://tinyurl.com/ak8hl8.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: SANDY WICKERSHAM-McWHORTER

Please Welcome The Wild Rose Press's Very Own, Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter to Author Spotlights by Jenny!

1.) Hi, Sandy. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little about you.

Well, I’m from Muncie, Indiana, and have lived in Ohio since 1973. I’ve been an LPN since 1980. I have my husband of 36 years, two sons, a daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, two dogs, and an odd number of goldfish in my outdoor pond living with me in an 1890s home that was once a general store\post office. I dig antique glassware and bottles out of the back property; amateur archeology-love it! I began writing in third grade when I started turning my dreams and nightmares into short stories (I still have that notebook and The Winds of Fall is a combination of two of those dreams). Science fiction classics and comic books were my reading mainstay from 3rd grade on; then as an adult, I added historical fiction and romances in the ‘80s. I finally realized I was a writer in 1990 after a comment by my oldest son. When I found out I needed cheap nursing CEUs and the degree most writers seem to have, Ohio State University beckoned. I do freelance proofreading\editing when I can get it. I’m a proud Veteran of the US Air Force, as is my husband, and a proud member of the RomVets, an on-line group of Veterans who write romance (who just released the Time Raiders series by the way) and the RWA.

2.) Where do you live? Do you like it?

I live halfway between Columbus and Cleveland in the country and it's okay, but there are other places I'd rather be: by Lake Erie in the summer and in the winter in the Southwest in any one of the several art-centered cities in Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada, in the winter. I hate winter due to the asthma I developed later in life.

3.) What's currently on your iPod/mp3 player/cd player?

I don’t have the first two and have a tape player in my car. I have Adam Lambert’s Mad World bookmarked in My Favorites in my computer. There’s just something about him and that song that I can’t resist, and I’m 50-something! I listen to talk radio in my car and have the TV on with the sci-fi channel playing on low in the living room when I write. I’m old enough that I can’t listen to music and need silence to concentrate now; if an earworm song gets in my head I’m a goner! I like oldies from the 60s and 70s when I do listen to music-but I like so many songs from those eras that they keep me up all night long if I hear one I really love.

4.) Describe a typical writing day?

Good question! In the winter, I substitute teach many days, then come home, have supper, write or do household stuff, then go to bed for the next day. I also take my MIL to her hairdresser appointments and food shopping every Thursday, run my oldest son around when he doesn’t feel well after kidney dialysis three days a week (he needs an O- or O+ kidney ASAP), I occasionally teach English 101 in local male prisons which means lots of papers to grade and classes to plan each week, I watch certain TV shows with my hubby after he gets off work, and a ton of other things I won’t bore you with. Every time I sub, I get no less than 1 and a half hours free to write or edit already-written pages, no job I know allows that kind of freedom! Then I put the edits in the computer in the evening and write more if there’s time. In the summer, I do everything I do in winter except subbing which gives me more time to write, but add in some yard work for myself and MIL, artwork, and catching up on projects I don’t get done in the winter. I try to do one major art project every summer, usually in professional color pencil. The last thing I did was a picture of Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio, on Lake Erie.

5.) Do you go by goals? Weekly? Daily? Monthly?

I wrote an article on setting writing goals that allows a writer to do two books in a year and I don’t follow it! Central Ohio Fiction Writers, my RWA chapter, has a monthly week-long Powerdraft challenge, and I do that fairly regularly. We sign up on an e-mail loop and support each other as we try to meet whatever writing goals we set for that week, I try to write half or all of a 5,000-word chapter during that time. The rest of the time it’s draft what I can during work or in the evening, type it into the computer that night or the next day, take pages with me to edit, and do what I can at work. I try to write as much as possible each day when I have spaces of time because there are many days I can’t write at all. My writing speed really depends on the amount of research I need to do, and like many authors, I over-research, it’s one of my favorite parts of writing.

6.) What's your favorite setting from one of your novels? Why?

My favorite setting so far has been Bolder City\Las Vegas, Nevada and the Hoover dam where I set Cottonwood Place. I had to go to Arizona twice when my father was dying and I fell in love with the landscape, the architecture, and the desert. For an artistic easterner like me to see a southwestern sunset the first time, well, it’s hard to describe! It’s like suddenly going to Mars or another planet! Both the hilly and mountainous land and sky are the same deep shades of pink, red, purple, orange, it just takes your breath away. Here in the east, we have reference points like green trees that break up the landscape. The stars are brighter at night in the desert. Ian reacts in Cottonwood Place to the southwestern landscape just like I did. And I have Skye in The Winds of Fall react to the night sky in the Texas desert just I did when I went to San Antonio, Texas, for basic training in the Air Force; I was mesmerized.

7.) What do you think makes the idea heroine/hero?

This is a hard one that I’ve never given much thought to before. I think that all the heroes I write are my Scottish-descent husband in some form. He’s Joe in The Winds of Fall, the heroines’ fathers in The Winter Road and Orion comes in Winter. Tall, dark, thick brown hair, broad-shouldered, nice tush, long hair (my DH’s is short now, though) and bearded. They have to be strong mentally and physically. Notice I haven’t said much about the mental characteristics yet? I think I don’t like heroes who make the woman do all the changing and think they know everything, men who mistreat women on purpose, sadistic tyrants like spouse abusers, guys like that, whether they change during the story or not. Heroes should be willing to see the heroine’s point, protect her, and do just about anything for her love.

8.) What are you working on at the moment?

Orion Comes In Winter, a futuristic sci-fi romance and The Winter Road, a romantic suspense based on the Ice Road Truckers TV series. The new series starts Sunday the 31st!! Yea!! I get my Ice Road Truckers fix again!!! (Yeah, I know, I’m weird.)

9.) Are you a panster? A planner? A planster? Which method works best for you? Why?

A planster I think. I mull the idea over in my mind awhile, sit down with pencil and paper, write a “rough” rough draft then sit at the computer and flesh it out. I can’t seem to get into all those character charts, wallboards and such things that other authors do. I used to beat myself up over that, but I stopped when I realized my style. I did recently do a ”16 personality characteristics” chart for the Ice Road book characters, and I think that will be handy. I’ve also started making a list of physical traits and family members of each character because I forget them from the book’s start to the end and have to keep checking early chapters all the time-ack!
10.) Any new releases coming up?

Unfortunately, Cottonwood Place and The Winds of Fall are it right now. I got so wrapped up in other things including trying to write the Ice Road Truckers book and all that family life stuff that gets in the way, so I have zip. I will finish the Ice Road and Orion books this summer and submit one or both to Wild Rose Press.

Jenny: Thanks so much, Sandy, for sharing your time with AS! For those of you joining us, read on for an excerpt of Sandy's novel, Cottonwood Place!

“Where do you go when there’s no place left to go? If you’ve been everywhere and done everything and aren’t satisfied, come discover the mysteries of Cottonwood Place Bed and Breakfast Inn and the captivating Southwest.” (Cottonwood Place Brochure)

Megan MacCloud knows before meeting him that Ian Hunter is the neediest of the many troubled guests her inn has helped. Estranged from God, neither she nor Ian believe that He can bring them the harmony and love they crave. Ian says he couldn’t resist driving across the country to her after her face on a brochure “hypnotized” him. Because of past abuse, her attraction to him is dashed when she learns he drinks. She resists loving Ian, but her family and almost human pets frustratingly bond with him immediately, proving he’s good. Megan, her Grandma, and pets resolve to help Ian stop drinking and be a doctor again. He helps solve major problems with guests and saves several lives as Megan and her mysterious Navajo-and-White family show him religious and lifestyle philosophies are foreign to him yet truly American. When Megan’s kidnapped by a guest for unknown reasons, Grandma says that to find Megan, he must first “find himself.” What does she mean? Can God use Megan’s family, their Navajo ceremonies, and the police to find Megan and help her and Ian “walk in beauty” before it’s too late?

Visit Sandy at http://www.sandywick.com

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: E. JAMIE

Please welcome fellow RWR member E. Jamie for our very first Romance Writer's in the Rough Author Spotlight!

1.) Hi, Nancy. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little about you.

Thanks for having me today! I write erotic romance as E. Jamie (www.ejamie.net) for Amira Press (www.amirapress.com) and I'm also a full time freelance writer, working from home which I love because I'm able to have time to work on my fiction as well as my freelance assignments!

2.) Where do you live? Do you like it?

I live in Toronto, Canada and I really do love it. I'm very much a city girl and Toronto is sort of the Candian NYC. I'd love to have a summer cottage or little vacation house in the country to get away from it all every once in a while but I definitely need to live in the city. I need the noise and vibrancy of it.

3.) What's currently on your iPod/mp3 player/cd player?

Right now I'm listening to the new version of Hallelujah by Alexandre Burke. I love that song in all its version but that one is my new favorite. It's just so big and powerful! I have a mix of songs as my tastes really run the gamut from Classical to Country. I can't write in silence so it's either the TV or music I'm listening to. Maybe this is a sign I'm getting older but lately I find it easier to write to classical or instrumental music. Anything without lyrics. Movie soundtracks are fantastic to write to! Used to be lyrics didn't bother me but now they can sometimes distract me. (sighs) Yep, I'm getting on up there, I think.

4.) Describe a typical (or non-typical) writing day?

I had my first non-writing day in months this past Sunday as I had finished edits on my upcoming release Till Death Do Us Part so I decided that day that I was going to do nothing! Just fiddle around on line and do some reading. Then of course Monday came and I got sick. I am not a fan of irony. I used to have an outside day job so I had trained myself to write in the late afternoon/early evening. Now, I still find that easiest for me. I am sooo not a morning person so I spent the first half of the day doing e-mail stuff, catching up on blogs and promo stuff and then around 2 or so, I pull up the current WIP and get to it.

5.) Do you go by goals? Weekly? Daily? Monthly?

With my latest WIP, We'll Meet Again I worked for 5 pages a day and managed to finish it in about 3 months. I wasn't sure if that was fast or slow but with 350+ pages at the end of I was told that's pretty good. That's usually the page count I try and hit on a WIP, 5 pages a day, sometimes it works, sometimes I don't. Life happens. I don't really set goals beyond the day to day writing wise. I just take it one day at a time. But I'll do that with the works themselves. For example, my last release Redemption hit #3 on my publisher's bestseller list, so my goal with my current release Play ground Of The Gods is to have it hit number one. Next year a goal will be to have one of my books on bookstore shelves.

6.) What's your favorite setting from one of your novels? Why?

Oh that has to be Texas in my novella Redemption. One word: cowboys!

7.) What advice would you give any new writers just starting out?

There's the famous BIC (Butt In Chair) but I also say MYA (Move Your Ass) Get our there and submit! Keep submitting because there will always be a place for your work. Rejection is just a part of the game and I truly believe the only unsuccessful writers are the ones who quit and stopped submitting.

8.) What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I am taking a break between WIP's as I've just finished a WW2 romance called We'll Meet Again. It involves an American nurse and an English soldier and I'm hoping to get that published by either Harlequin Spice or Harlequin Historicals. Keeping my fingers crossed.

9.) Are you a panster? A planner? A planster? Which method works best for you? Why?

I'm very much a planner. (Plantser?)(laughs) I can't imagine not knowing exactly what was going to happen when I sit down to write. Though of course, surprises happen that take me in new direction but the basic storyline stays the same. Does that make me a plantser then?

10.) Any new releases coming up?

Well my current release with Amira Press is a sci-fi/futuristic paranormal called Playground Of The Gods and I have Till Death Do Us Part coming out tentatively on June 5th with Amira in ebook and it will also come out soon after in print! It'll be my first print release and I am very excited about that!

Visit E. Jamie's Websites at:

http://ejamie.net

http://freelancewritingservices.net