November, 2005
Welcome to my new “Author of the Month” feature. Luckily, I have a very good friend who agreed to be my first victim … uh, guest
Suzanne McMinn is the author of twenty-two romance novels ranging from medieval historical to contemporary, to suspense, to paranormal. She has written for several different publishers, and now writes for Silhouette Intimate Moments. Third Sight, the second installment in her PAX series, is available now.
Suzanne, please tell us about Third Sight and about the PAX series.
The PAX League is a fun series about paranormal superheroes saving the world, and maybe, just maybe, their hearts along the way. The world knows the PAX League by its public facade as an organization dedicated to the philosophical pursuit of global peace. They engage in human rights missions, environmental campaigns, and charitable projects. But it’s all a cover for their true work. Paranormal Allied eXperts is, in fact, a top secret international anti-terrorist agency. Behind the bland exterior of their Washington D.C. building lies a covert beehive of laboratories and experimental studies dedicated to research into the mystical, telepathic, and transformational sciences that could lead the world into a new era of defense. Peace through PAX.
Third Sight is the second book in the PAX series. Anthropologist Nina Phillips and PAX superagent Riley Tremaine race against the clock to figure out the mystery behind ancient Peruvian stones that could, if they fall into the hands of terrorists, create cataclysmic disasters across the globe. It’s also a reunion story, which is one of my favorite types of books.
Readers are always interested in where authors get their ideas. Where do you get your ideas?
Everywhere. From listening to people talking to cable TV documentaries to the news. I’m always thinking…what if?
Over the years, you’ve written in several subgenres of romance -contemporary, historical, and now paranormal. Do you have a favorite?
My favorite is whatever I’m writing at the moment, so right now, it’s paranormal! I love writing paranormal books because anything is possible and the sky is limit. I love the sense of freedom and excitement in being able to create anything I can imagine in my paranormals.
Did you always want to be a writer? How did you sell your first book?
Yes, I’ve always wanted to be a writer, since I was a little girl. I wrote my first book after my first child was born. I wrote three books and the third one sold to a small publisher, Meteor Kismet Romance. The book was initially rejected with a nice letter suggesting changes. I made the changes and a few months later got the call. It was thirteen months after I started writing.
If, for some reason, you could no longer be an author, what career would you have?
An aspiring writer.
Tell us about your writing environment, and take us through a typical day in your writing schedule.
I have an office in my house where I write. When I’m on deadline, I usually write about four hours a day, starting around mid-morning and going to mid-afternoon. I have school-age children so I work my writing schedule around their school schedule.
Are you disciplined?
Yes, and no. I’m not always disciplined. But when I am, I really get on a roll. But I’m human, so sometimes I’m better than others at the discipline thing.
We know you don’t outline extensively before you begin writing. Where do you start? With a character? A situation?
I used to always start with a character, but as I moved into more plot-oriented books, I start with the situation now.
As an author, do you think your writing style has changed over the years?
I’m not sure that my style has changed, but the subgenres I’ve written in have changed over the years and so to some extent my writing has changed as I’ve moved from subgenre to subgenre.
When you need a break, to refill the creative well, so to speak, what do you do?
Watch TV and movies and read and sit on the beach.
If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
Write! Write a LOT! Then write some more and submit, submit, submit.
Are you planning to write more PAX books?
Maybe! I don’t know yet.
What are you working on now?
I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Seriously, I’m working on an all-new super-creepy fun paranormal series. Watch my blog for news!
I’d like to thank Suzanne for taking the time to kick off this feature. For more information on Suzanne and her books, visit her website and her blog . And don’t forget to check out those superhero PAX agents.
December, 2005
My guest this month is debut author Eve Silver. Her gothic historical, Dark Desires has been called “a gothic for grown-ups”, and Romantic Times Magazine says “there’s icy fear and smoldering passion, twists and turns thrown in here and there to keep you up all night.”
1. Tell us about Dark Desires, and what it was about this story that made you want to write it?
As a madman stalks the streets of Whitechapel in 1800s London, a handsome doctor with dark secrets instills passionate longing and fear in the woman who works by his side. Is he a dedicated, charming healer…or a cold blooded killer…
DARK DESIRES is a smoldering historical gothic romance, a dark book with an underlying message of hope. Darcie and Damien grow as they struggle with both inner demons and undeniable attraction. They delve deep inside themselves to find the strength to overcome adversity. I enjoyed building the dark tension of the story, the chill of fear, the icy threat of the shadows that lurk in the back alleys of Whitechapel, the Gothic thrill.
2. How long were you writing before you got “The Call”? What was that like?
I wrote historical romance for 5 years, and in those years I fantasized about “the call” almost every day. Yet, after dreaming about it for so many years, I never got “the call”. I was sitting at my computer facing a deadline for the day-job when my truly wonderful agent sent me the most understated email ever, pretty much a one-liner that said, “Call me. I have an offer on your book”.
The breath left me in a rush. All I could do was stare at the screen, read the message over and over again, and try not to throw up. I phoned my husband, and I was hyperventilating so badly that he couldn’t understand a word I was trying to say. He almost phoned 911. When I finally choked out an explanation, he was so excited that he took his whole office out for lunch to celebrate the birth of the bouncing baby book, while I sat at home and breathed into a paper bag.
But I did get the celebratory dinner and flowers later that night. And I’ll never forget the looks on my children’s faces when they came home from school and I told them the news. Euphoria.
3. Do you usually start with character or plot?
I start with the first sentence of the first chapter, and from there, the story pours out of me, or is dragged out of me, depending on the story and the day.
4. Where do you write, and what’s your schedule like?
My laptop moves around the house with me. I don’t have one set place to write. In fact, sometimes a change of scenery stimulates new ideas and thoughts. I use a different computer for administrative things and email,
which means that when I am on the laptop, I am not distracted.
Usually, I set a deadline for a chapter or several chapters, and I work toward that deadline rather than setting a specific number of pages to complete per day. In this way, I avoid the angst should I fail to meet a daily goal.
My wonderful critique partners, Brenda and Nancy, are a huge help in the goal setting process, and we meet every two to three weeks with the expectation that each of us will have a submission if at all possible.
5. With a full-time day job, how do you find time to write? Are you disciplined?
Finding time to write is no problem. Finding time for the day job is no problem. Finding time for the housework, the laundry, the grocery shopping… that is the problem. Something has to slide, and for me, it is the chores. My husband and children are extremely supportive, picking up the slack for the housework, the shopping. But the truth is that a clean, neatly folded pile of laundry might sit on the dryer for a week before someone gets around to putting it away. Or my truly amazing husband washes the mountain of dishes late at night long after I am asleep. Something has to give, and for me there is no temptation to wash the floor when instead I can turn on my laptop and immerse myself in a wonderful new world of my very own making.
6. When you aren’t writing, what do you do for enjoyment?
I read romance novels
My husband and I go for long walks with our very spoiled, very rambunctious Airedale terrier. I love to read, enjoy family and friends, and when I can whittle out the time, I love to go to the local scrapbooking studio to crop. My favorite game is Boggle; my favorite holiday is Halloween. And when I get the chance, I love to dance.
7. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
If writing lights your soul, if it brings you joy and you feel the incredible need to tell your story, then you must tell it. Hang on to your dream; persevere as long as the need to write burns brightly in your heart.
8. What’s next?
Look for my next dark historical romance, HIS DARK KISS, on shelves November 2006 from Zebra Books. I’ll be posting an excerpt soon on my website www.evesilver.net
My thanks to Eve for spending this time with me. Dark Desires is on bookshelves now.
January, 2006
Debut author Michelle Rowen is my guest this month. Her first book, Bitten and Smitten is available now. “Rowen hits the nail (or is it the stake?) on the head with her feisty debut novel about a reluctant vampire trying to cope with her newfound otherworldly status.”, according to Publishers’ Weekly. ” Romantic Times Bookclub has this to say: “Droll wit and wacky humor meet vampire mythology in this fun & clever debut…Keep an eye on this new discovery!”
1. Tell us about Bitten and Smitten, and what it was about this story that made you want to write it?
BITTEN & SMITTEN is the story of a girl who is made into a vampire after a (very) bad blind date and her trials and tribulations in dealing with what being a vampire means: outrunning vampire hunters, getting fangs, needing to drink blood to survive. I wanted to write this story as a twist on the vampire books I’d read where the slayers were the heroes and the vamps were the villains. My vampire heroine is an everygal who’s just trying to survive while being chased by the evil hunters.
2. How long had you been writing before you got “The Call”? What was that like?
I had been writing for years… really since I was around 10 I knew I wanted to be a writer. I have many books that I’ve started writing, but fizzled out at page thirty. The problem was that I was obsessed with “wanting” to be a writer. I wasn’t following through. As soon as I made myself finish a project, that was the project that did it. I was pretty happy with the way BITTEN & SMITTEN (then titled DEARLY DEPARTED) turned out. I’d worked on the first 75 pages through a course with Writer’s Digest. But I’d been told that vampire stories were not the draw anymore. That there were too many of them and I’d best look into self-publishing. I figured I’d try looking for an agent first before I threw in the towel.
Through my online membership with WritersMarket.com, I made my top five list of agents. I sent my query off to my first pick. And waited. After two weeks, I thought: “Why am I waiting?” So then I chose two agents who took equeries. One of them got back to me in an hour and a half to request the full manuscript to be emailed to him, and five days later he offered me representation — which was the very same day I received my rejection letter from the first agent.
When I got “The Call” that there was an offer on the manuscript, it had only been out-and-about in New York for one day. We gave the other publishers a week to counter offer, and one did — Warner Books — and I accepted their offer. It was amazing, and so fast. I’d been expecting to wait for months for an answer, as is the normal case, but I was very lucky. Plus I have an amazing agent: Jim McCarthy from Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (dystel.com).
3. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
The reason I was never able to finish a book in the past was because I was a pantser. I dove in with an idea such as: Bride runs away from wedding and jumps in back of cab with a groom running away from his wedding. Hey, that’s kind of a cute idea, actually. But the point is, that’s all I had. And I’d start writing. The beginning would be cute, but sooner or later my characters would inevitably end up at a diner for breakfast. And they’d eat and drink coffee while I figured out what they were going to do next. A lot of my characters are still at that diner.
With the Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Course I took, it slowly walked me through how to build a plot, how to create characters. It’s truly priceless knowledge that I will carry with me forever. However, I’m not an obsessive plotter. I need to know my main character inside and out. I need to know what she wants more than anything. I need to know how the book is going to begin, where it will be in the middle, and how it will end. How it will end is the most important. I need to know what I’m writing to. And, sometimes, that may change through the process of writing, but that’s okay. Just because you have a road map, doesn’t mean you can’t go see some extra sites.
4. Do you edit as you write, or write, then edit?
Both. I know the “rule” is that you’re supposed to write…and keep on writing until you’ve reached the end, and THEN re-read everything. I can’t do that. I’ll write ten pages. Then I’ll read them over. The next time, I’ll read those ten pages again, making small edits and then continue on to my next ten. Sometimes in the middle of the book, I’ll read back fifty pages before I continue, and edit as I go. It’s a long process, and sometimes I wonder if I’m just procrastinating ;-), but re-reading does help get me back into the story. After I’m finished the whole book I try to let it sit for a while. I print out a copy during this time and give it to my beta-reader (a friend who doesn’t mind critiquing it for me). Then two weeks or so later, I’ll pull it out with my red pen, a notebook, and start going through it. I make lots of notes. Asking questions, noting errors. Also, during this read I’ll keep a computer file with a scene by scene outline of what I’m reading. That way, I can see the whole story in five or six pages and be able to pin-point where my big plot problems are. Again, time consuming, but it has to be done to create something cohesive and readable.
5. Where do you write, and what’s your schedule like?
I have a laptop computer (an iBook) so I can write pretty much anywhere I want to. But when I’m in full “I’m Writing A Book” mode, I’ll sit at the desk in my bedroom, and light two candles that signify that Work Must Be Happening. There is also a very comfy chair in the living room where I’ll peck off a few pages. And, more often than not, I’ll write in bed with the computer propped up on my lap. This is a dangerous place to write, since I’m very prone to napping.
6. With a full-time job and a family, how do you find time to write?
I work full time at an advertising agency as a graphic designer which can be a draining job that requires overtime. Therefore I can’t call myself an every-day writer. I write on the weekends, at least until I’m fully into the book. After the first one hundred pages, I’m more likely to seek out time to write because I’m into the story, so I’ll write usually from 10 - midnight a few times a week also.
7. Are you disciplined, and how do you force yourself to write when you’d rather be anywhere else than at the computer?
I am so not disciplined it’s not even funny. And I do have to force myself sometimes to write. How do I do it? Good question. Basically, I’ll be sick of procrastinating. I’ll finally say, I don’t need to see ANOTHER episode of Trading Spaces. Let’s go upstairs and get some work done. And then I’ll try to fool myself, I’ll say I’m just making notes (I LOVE MAKING NOTES). I also keep a parallel project journal, so I’ll make an entry that goes something along the lines of: “I don’t know why I’m having a hard time starting. This is what I want to happen in the scene… my character’s motivation is this… let’s just do ten minutes and see how it goes…” And then I write for the ten minutes, and when done realize that two hours have gone by. Baby steps is the key. Baby steps. Don’t think of the book as four hundred pages. Think of it as a couple paragraphs at a time.
8. When you aren’t writing, what do you do for enjoyment?
I’m a mega couch potato. I love TV. Reality shows are my favorite. I’m a major LOST fan. I also love going to the movies, and out for dinner. I’m a regular sight at Chapters, browsing for more books to go on my TBR shelf. I used to draw a bit, loved doing celebrity portraits, but I haven’t done that for some time. I can also crochet and knit like a pro if the mood strikes me.
9. If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have one book, what book would it be?
Probably JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL, since being on a deserted island is the only way I’m ever going to have the concentration to finish that book. Seriously, though, I’d want to take the Harry Potter series (does a series count?) because I love that world, and Harry and his friends would make for good company on an island.
10. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
I will assume they have already heard the “don’t give up”, and “believe in yourself”, and “read a lot”, useless advice a million times before. I’m going to say, save up your money and hire a professional editor to critique your book. They will tell you what your friends and family won’t — what’s working and what’s not, and how to fix it. If you feel your book is worthy of publishing, but you can’t find a publisher, this is the way to go.
11. What’s next?
What ISN’T next? I have so many plans for new books it’s ridiculous. I am currently writing my next proposal for Warner for more comedic paranormal romances. I have an idea for a Chick-Lit that I’m working up right now. My agent has a young adult fantasy trilogy I started writing even before the vampire book going around New York right now. If that sells, I also have an idea for a fun YA series that I can work up. Writing, coming up with ideas and seeing those ideas take shape, become alive on the page, is truly the best feeling in the world. I am so lucky to have the chance to be a part of the world of publishing. I’m greatly looking forward to whatever comes next, myself.
Thanks so much for joining me this month, Michelle.
For more information on Michelle and her books, visit her website at www.michellerowen.com
February, 2006
I’m thrilled to have as my special guest this month Margaret Moore, a USA Today best-selling author with more than six million books in print. Her latest historical romance, Hers to Command is on shelves now.
1. Tell us about Hers to Command, and what it was about this story that made you want to write it?
The hero, Henry, is a continuing character is my previous HQN books, BRIDE OF LOCHBARR, LORD OF DUNKEATHE and THE UNWILLING BRIDE. His sister was the heroine of BRIDE OF LOCHBARR and his brother the hero of LORD OF DUNKEATHE. He was the good friend of Merrick, the hero of THE UNWILLING BRIDE.
Originally, Henry’s story was supposed to come after LORD OF DUNKEATHE, but my editor wasn’t too enamored of the story I’d devised for him. Merrick’s was stronger and clearer, so he got the nod. However, this worked out better in the long run, because I was able to use what happened in THE UNWILLING BRIDE to give Henry’s character more depth.
2. Many of your books are set in medieval England. What is it about that time period that draws you?
Broadswords. Armor. Chainmail. 
What I think really appeals to me is the type of conflicts I can explore. And there aren’t all those titles and rules of etiquette you get with Regencies and Victorians, although I’ve written in those time periods as well, and also Dark Ages and Restoration England.
3. Which comes first, the characters or the plot? Do you have an activity/place that inspires ideas?
Characters, and their problems. I can get ideas anywhere, doing anything, but most often they occur when I’m either actively brainstorming, or doing relatively mundane, everyday tasks.
4. As an author, do you think your writing style has changed over the years?
My style? I can’t say I’ve noticed, but perhaps if I went back and read some of my earlier works, I would.
What I’ve worked hard on is getting more emotion into my stories, and description.
5. Describe your writing environment, and take us through a typical workday.
I have two places where I work now — my downstairs, windowless basement office, which has two computers, the printer/fax/copier and scanner. Sadly, through glitches I don’t understand, I can’t actually write on those computers anymore — they don’t have Microsoft Word. I do my email and website maintenance from one there, though. I print from the other. Now I do my writing on a “Frankenstein” computer in the living room — it’s composed of parts from various computers that have been upgraded and has no internet access. The most important thing is the big window! However, it can also mean I’m trying to write in an environment akin to Grand Central Station — not good, since I prefer silence. Unfortunately, my husband can now work from home, and he prefers noise. Ever tried to write a love scene with The Price is Right on in the background? Ain’t easy! Many’s the time I’ve come clomping down the stairs to beg for quiet! Also, to print anything, I have to put it on disk, then run downstairs and print it. Makes for a lot of running up and down stairs when I’m doing revisions, as I prefer to proof read on hard copy.
I don’t know that I have a “typical” day — much depends on where I am in the process. If it’s the first draft, I tend to take more and longer breaks, to think about what I’ve written and where I’m going next. Also, as I said above, it gets exhausting! Generally, at that stage, I write in one - two hour “chunks” with two to three hour breaks for lunch and
dinner; I try to get about 10-12 pages done per day. I may write morning, afternoon and evening; I may not. If something good’s on TV, I’m watching it.
When I’m at the editing stage, I tend to get through more pages at a time. I do at least three complete drafts of a book, usually five, and many, many more of individual scenes or parts of scenes. Revising a scene upwards of thirty times wouldn’t be out of the ball park. If it’s near deadline time, that’s when I’m glad I have a VCR.
6. Are you disciplined, and how do you force yourself to write when you’d rather be anywhere else than at the computer?
It’s always a little daunting starting a new book –Page One and.. go! But I have deadlines, so most of the time, I don’t have a lot of choice. OTOH, I generally enjoy writing — especially synopses! — so it’s not like I’m dragged there against my will.
I enjoy writing synopses because I do them *before* I write the book, which means I’m the most free with my characters and story. Anything can happen! I also enjoy revising, because I’ve done the really hard work
of deciding what’s going to happen when and how, and am down to the fine tuning. I have no problem
deleting and adding (see above re multiple revisions
I think one of the most difficult things to try to explain to people who don’t write is how mentally exhausting it can be, especially the first draft. Then, almost every sentence means a decision that can affect the direction of the story.
7. If you could no longer write, what would you like to do for a living?
I’d retire. I’ve been a writer for fifteen years. I’m no longer qualified for anything else.
8. When you aren’t writing, what do you do for enjoyment?
Watch TV and read, mostly magazines and newspapers, or for research. I also try to exercise every day. I
can’t say I enjoy doing it, but I enjoy having done it.
9. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be, other than to keep writing?
There’s only one person who’s opinion about your work you should really pay attention to, and that’s somebody who’s in a position to pay for it.
10. What’s next?
I’ve just been offered a new four-book contract for more medievals with HQN Books. I’m delighted to still be writing for Harlequin — they bought my first book, and they’ve been extremely supportive ever since.
Thanks for spending this time with me, Margaret. You can learn more about Margaret on her website at www.margaretmoore.com. And be sure to pick up your copy of Hers to Command, in bookstores now.
March, 2006
I’m so pleased to welcome USA Today best-selling author Julianne MacLean as my special guest this month. Her latest book, Portrait of a Lover received a Top Pick rating from Romantic Times Magazine, while reviewers have called it “a once in a lifetime reading experience”and “a novel every reader must read.”
1. Tell us about Portrait of a Lover, and what it was about this story that made you want to write it?
Portrait of a Lover is the story of Magnus and Annabelle, two characters from my previous book, Love According to Lily. In that book, Magnus was a villain who had betrayed Annabelle and broken her heart years before, and
Portrait picks up eight years later, when Annabelle is still unwed, living with her adoptive brother Whitby. Magnus has returned to London and contacts her about her paintings, knocking her whole world off kilter a second time, but she despises him and is determined not to fall under his spell again. As a whole, it takes readers through moments of pure bliss to devastating heartbreak, and I think it will appeal to readers who enjoy a passionate tale.
The idea for the book came about while I was writing Love According to Lily, when Magnus first appeared as the villain of that story. It wasn’t long before I realized he had his own reasons for behaving the way he did, and when I figured out why he was so dastardly, I was inclined to be sympathetic toward his plight. So then, he just HAD to have his own book, and Annabelle, Whitby’s sister, had suffered for too long and needed to find her happiness, too. I already knew the characters and their backstory before I started, so the book just poured out of me. It was an absolute joy to write.
2. In your career, you’ve written western historicals and short contemporary category romances. Your last few books have been Regency-set historicals. What is it about this time period that draws you?
I always loved reading the British set historicals, and while I was writing my westerns, I dreamed of writing a Victorian about American heiresses in London, but at the time, Victorians were a tough sell. The market later opened up, so I immediately got to work on that story I’d wanted to write for years (which was To Marry the Duke.)
3. Which comes first, the characters or the plot? Do you have an activity/place that inspires ideas?
Characters always come first!! I actually have a tough time coming up with the external plot, and have to force myself to throw in some action when most of the story is taking place inside the characters’ heads and hearts.
Lately, the most effective inspiration for coming up with ideas has been a looming deadline. For my most recent proposal, I had the characters all figured out, but I needed some extra story, and my good friend Deborah Hale came to my rescue and met me for breakfast and brainstormed with me. I had the synopsis delivered to my agent the next day!
4. Describe your writing environment, and take us through a typical workday.
I used to write my first drafts on my computer in my basement office, but ever since Love According to Lily, I’ve been writing longhand in a scribbler with an Eversharp pencil, about 30-40 pages per week. I usually write at home on my family room sofa while my daughter is at school and the house is quiet, then I type those pages every weekend before I start again on Monday. I can also write in a coffeeshop or at the pool while my daughter is in swimming lessons, but most of the story happens on my sofa.
5. Are you disciplined, and how do you force yourself to write when you’d rather be anywhere else than at the computer?
Yes, I’m very disciplined. I aim for 5 pages a day minimum, and 10 on a productive day, but no matter what, come hell or high water, I WILL get at least 30 pages done per week. If I’m falling behind, I don’t allow myself to even turn on my computer to look at email, or heaven forbid, turn on the TV during the day. I force myself to stay with it even if I stare at the wall for three hours before the story starts to flow. Part of that necessity to get it done comes from my contractual deadlines, but even before I was published, I always stuck to a similar schedule. I just like to get a thing done so I can feel good about accomplishing it (and I love that feeling). I hate things hanging over my head.
6. If you could no longer write, what would you like to do for a living?
I can’t imagine doing anything else. If I was fired by my publisher, I’d re-invent myself, even if it took ten years.
7. When you aren’t writing, what do you do for enjoyment?
I watch SpongeBob Squarepants with my daughter and laugh my head off, and I love going to her basketball games (she’s on the school team). That’s my weekly adrenaline fix. I also love renting movies and reading for pleasure, and my husband and I love going to movies together and he writes as well, so we have lots to talk about in the creativity department. I run every day, and I love having “girl nights” with my close friends, where we meet for a glass of wine and laugh and talk about bras and see a chick flick.
8. Is there something readers would be surprised to learn about you?
I once went sailing with Prince Edward. Yes, the Queen’s son. And I used to be a disc jockey in a dance club in downtown Halifax, where I beat mixed and packed the floor with wild party animals on Saturday nights. (I was twenty, and it was a dream job).
9. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be, other than to keep writing?
Be passionate about the dream, and don’t let the rejections keep you down. Be tough, get up and dust yourself off, and just keep going. And never stop learning. Go to workshops, read how-to books, and get critiqued and apply what you learn. I have an article on my website called “How I Sold My First Book” and it lists all the things I did. See if you’re doing all those things.
10. What’s next?
Oh, that’s always a fun question. I just turned in a manuscript which will come out in February 2007, and it’s the last book in my series about American Heiresses. It’s set on the Isle of Wight in England, which I visited last summer. And now I’m gearing up to start a new series called The Wyndham Palace Saga, about a duke with seven sons, so if you’re any good at math, you’ll be able to guess there are at least seven books to come. I hope someone wants to publish them all :).
My thanks to Julianne for spending this time with me. Portrait of a Lover is on shelves now. Be sure to visit www.juliannemaclean.com for more information on Julianne and her books.